Alaska at Last! (Part 1)

We made it!!!

Our 10-day trip of a lifetime is finally complete(ish). We crossed into Alaska on Thursday!

We're not yet in Port Alsworth; we're staying about 1-1/2 hours outside of Anchorage at the King Ranch, home of Kingdom Air Corps, with Dwayne and Carolyn King. We met up with the Kings on Tuesday at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.

It was such a huge blessing to us to be able to travel with the Kings. Not only did they provide invaluable information about traveling this famously rugged road, they also let us sleep in their camper for those freezing two nights on the Alcan (we had been planning to tent-camp!), not to mention the wonderful company they provided on a lonely stretch of the trip. :)

 Plus, we finally had someone to take our picture!

Driving the Alcan proved to be a spectacular experience. We encountered some singularly interesting weather - highs in the 50s, and yet we were driving past lakes, rivers and streams that were solidly frozen over.

Apparently, last week they had quite the storm; one man who owned a gas-station that we stopped at for fuel told us they had been towing cars out for three days straight after the storm! For us, though the further north we've gone, the more snow we've found, the weather couldn't be better! The roads were dry the entire way and the sky was clear. Alaska, quite literally, has given us a warm welcome. :)

We've passed many landmarks, seen "exotic" wildlife and gaped at so much beautiful scenery along the way. I could never describe all of it to you, I only hope that you will be able to experience something like this someday, but for now I'll try to give you a taste of it through my pictures.

 In Watson Lake, Canada we stopped at Signpost Forest. I have no idea how it began, but it's a place where people traveling along the highway stop to hang up signs, usually from their hometown, but often just random road signs.

A beautiful sunset our first evening on the Alcan.

(The sun doesn't set here until about 10:30-11:00 at night...long days)

 We camped next to this mountain that same night.

 "Stone Sheep"

Buffalo by the roadside. Look at the little baby one!
(anyone know what a baby buffalo is called?)

Laird River Hotsprings

 

We actually stopped and swam here on Wednesday. I read that the water varies between 108-126 degrees. It felt marvelously refreshing!

Sunset, our second night on the Alcan. (This was taken at about 10:30pm.)

I divided this post into two parts for the sheer length of it!

Glacier National Park (Pictures!!)

(Tip: Just so you know, if you click on the pictures you can see them full-screen.)

 

 On our way to Glacier National Park!

 Our cozy campsite in the park.

 

First thing in the morning, we walked down to the lake.

 Driving up the Going-to-the-Sun Road, we stopped at this spot for a while.

 

Not a very good picture, but this one is for our families. :)

Days 5-7 - Alaska Bound!

It's been a long two days since we left Gillete, WY.  Wow, there is so much to cover!

Shortly after we left Gillette, WY, one of our trailer tires blew out and we spent an hour putting on the spare, finding a place to buy new tires and upgrading to better-quality tires.

After that incident, the rest of the day went smoothly. We made it safely to Glacier National Park and set up camp for the night. I was feeling a little bit in shock having had my first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains that same day...*jawdrop* Fortunately, we stayed nice and toasty in our new tent and sleeping bag despite the temperatures dropping below freezing that night.

The next morning we walked down to the lake to take in the view. Unfortunately, I can't get our internet connection to work fast enough to upload pictures (believe me, I'm just as disappointed about that as you are), but it was simply amazing. There was no way my poor photography skills could capture the awesome beauty of the park, but I hope you'll be able to get a glimpse of it when I'm finally able to upload pictures!

After we packed up the campsite and had a quick breakfast, we drove down the Going-to-the-Sun highway and stopped at a few spots along the way. About half of the road was still closed for the season but we had a really good sampling of the park that way. By the time we got back from our drive it was time to head for our border crossing. We so wished we had more time to spend at the park but I'm still holding on to the hope that we'll be able to visit again someday.

We had been a little worried about the border crossing in Canada, as we'd heard a lot of horror stories, but we made it through, easy-as-pie, in about 5 minutes. :) Honestly, I still don't feel that much like we're in a foreign country. Apart from people speaking with Canadian accents, the only other cultural difference we've experienced has been a lady asking Jonathan if he was "in the queue" meaning "are you in line?" Of course, it is hard to get the full Canadian experience when we only emerge from our truck to fuel up or sleep.

We had a short day on Sunday, only driving about four hours from Glacier Park to our next campsite. It turned out well because somewhere after the border, Jonathan noticed a funny noise coming from the truck. He was able to quickly pinpoint the noise, figure out which part he needed, and an extremely obliging family member found a place where we could get it on Monday. Perfect!

We used the extra time on Sunday evening to relax a little bit more. When I say "relax" I mean, "climb to the top of a hill that would be considered a mountain back in Georgia". This little hike ended up being steeper than the top of Stone Mountain by the end of it, but the view was absolutely worth it! I so, so, so wish I had carried my camera up with me for your sake....but alas, I did not! :(

Monday morning: (finally, I'm catching up here!) we packed up our little campsite again, (we're getting pretty efficient at that) and headed out. Because of the part Jonathan needed to pick up for our truck, we had to tweak our route a little bit and go through Calgary instead of staying on the Icefields Parkway. To get to Calgary we had to actually drive over and through the mountains instead of just between, which was quite an experience for me. I can't wait to show you pictures! We also noticed an extensive area that had been hit with a forest fire. We must have driven for twenty minutes seeing these vast mountains covered in dead trees. I had never, ever imagined that a fire could cover miles and miles and miles of trees that way!

We entered Calgary at about lunchtime, Jonathan picked up the park, changed it out in a few hours, and we were back in business! (I'm so glad I married a mechanic who can keep stuff like this from becoming a huge deal.) After that we only had about six hours of driving left, which was fairly uneventful.

The scenery did change after we passed through Calgary. We lost sight of the Rocky Mountains and entered the plains again. Something I can't get over is how blue the water is here. Every single puddle and creek is this deep vivid blue that you simply can't imagine unless you've seen it yourself. I didn't know such rich color existed in creation.

One more thing I want to mention from today is something that was one of the biggest highlights of our entire trip for me. The reappearance of deciduous trees. I'm serious. Since we left Missouri, every single mile has been a new sight to me, new landscapes and strange plants. It's the experience of a lifetime but it can be overwhelming. Out here, the mountains are definitely gorgeous, but the evergreens and the jagged peaks look harsh to me, a GA girl used to softly rolling hills and oak trees. So today, when I spotted the birch trees just beginning to leaf out, giving me a small taste of home, I felt just like God had given me a gift. :)

Tonight we made it to Valleyview, AB and are staying in a hotel. I can't tell you how much we've been looking forward to showers and a real bed again! We definitely feel luxurious tonight.

Tomorrow we're driving to Dawson Creek and starting down the Alcan Highway! :) Only three more days on the road!

Day 5 - Alaska Bound!

We're heading out to Glacier National Park, MT. We'll be camping out there tonight so I doubt we'll have any internet service to post for a while.

On Sunday we're spending the morning touring the park and then heading to the Canadian border crossing. Once we cross the border we'll have our cellphones off to keep from getting astronomical roaming charges.

Monday we'll have a 9-hour drive and be camping somewhere along the road.

Tuesday we're meeting a friend in Dawson Creek, BC, Canada and starting on the Alcan highway.

Hopefully, before then I'll have time and an internet connection to update you again but until then, God bless!

Day 4 - Alaska bound! (R&R)

Today has been quite a wonderful day of rest and relaxation for us. We're staying with our friends Ryan and Sarah Flaming in Gillette, Wyoming and having a great time! It's been so refreshing to take a day off of the road, stretch our tense muscles with some frisbee and soccer, soak up some sunshine and fresh air, and just hang out with friends. We greatly appreciate Ryan and Sarah's amazing hospitality; it has been such a blessing to us.

Right now it's 11:22PM local time and Jonathan and Ryan are out flying. Jonathan needed to put in a few more hours of night flying before we get up to Port Alsworth and Ryan has a plane, so they were able to work out a deal. (Did I mention how super-accommodating the Flamings are?)

Tomorrow we're hitting the road again, heading for Glacier National Park in Montana, where we'll spend the night camping. It's a 10-hour drive from where we are now, so we'd really appreciate your continued prayers for safety and alertness on the road.

We're so very thankful for the wonderful support we've had as we have prepared for this move and finally begun it. Your encouraging comments and commitments of prayer mean more to us than you know. Thank you!

Day 3 - Alaska Bound!

Today we began our day feeling like it was the middle of January instead of the beginning of May.

This is what we woke up to.

Look what we did to our poor truck and trailer on that dirt road.

 

 

 

Part of our trek today followed a piece of the Oregon Trail and took us right by Chimney Rock. Honestly, at first I thought it was rather unimpressive compared to Stone Mountain or other famous landmarks I've seen. As a physical landmark, it really isn't that noticeable, but when I paused to think about the pioneers who have passed here before us and the enormous amount of courage and grit it took to do what they did, when I realized that, here we are, with all of our belongings packed up, heading to a place we've only been told about, following in their footsteps, this place became much more significant to me. :)

Mountains!

 Mountains!!

Near the end of our trip today in Wyoming!

Snow Pictures!

Wednesday weather turning bad.

My first snow in a long time...on May 1st!

Our poor truck and trailer after we took it down the dirt road.

Day 2 - Alaska Bound

Day Two proved to be pretty exciting as we began the day with sunshine and warm temperatures and ended it with icy roads and a blanket of snow on the ground! Talk about a drastic change!

Watching the weather and landscape change has been one of the most fascinating things about this trip. We left Georgia with the trees fully leafed out, the pollen mostly washed away and the leaves taking on a deeper, summer-y green. As we drove further north, we began to see the colors lighten and some of the flowering trees reappear. Driving through Missouri and Nebraska today, the leaves disappeared altogether and we soon ran into rain which turned into freezing rain and finally, snow! I thought it rather amusing that the first snow I've seen in around two years happened to be on May 1st. ;)

Driving through a snowstorm definitely kept the day from being boring. The paved roads never got too bad, but once we neared our housing for the night (one of Jonathan's friends' house) we had to turn on a dirt road, which had turned into a slushy mess. We slid around a good deal and succeeded in turning our bright white trailer a lovely gray-brown but fortunately we didn't get stuck and we made it there in one piece. :) (Sorry I don't have pictures tonight. I left my camera in the car and it's cold, wet and dark out there! I'll try to post some later.)

Every mile we drive continues to be a new record in my ventures west. In Tennessee and Kentucky the landscape didn't differ that much from my home state. Out here I can see for miles and miles. I can see the beginning and the end of trains a mile away! It feels very different from my familiar hometown and every now and then I feel a little disoriented, but I'm so glad to be making this trip with my best friend!

Day 1 - Alaska Bound!

Day One of Ten - accomplished!

We feel very relieved to have this first long day behind us. Leaving this morning, we were really nervous about how the truck and trailer would perform with a large load over such a long distance. Today, we drove 826 miles - from Newnan, Georgia to Kansas City, Missouri - without incident, so we're allowing ourselves to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Today I, Jenna, broke my record of the furthest west I have ever travelled, when we crossed the Mississippi River! I was pretty excited about that, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of the West over the next 9 days.

 

We passed through 5 states today, out of a total of eleven that we will enter during this trip. Tomorrow we drive from Kansas City to Ogallala, Nebraska. The forecast says there will be snow tomorrow so we appreciate your continued prayers for safety as we drive!