Alaskan Adventure

I haven't blogged in a while because life has been busy lately.  My daughter Bethany returned from Guadeloupe and has temporarily moved home as she figures out what's next for her.

And then last Friday, three members of my family loaded up our Toyota Highlander and began a road trip that can only be called epic.  My original sabbatical plans did not include driving 8100 miles in 3 weeks.  But my husband Clif and 24-year-old son Rob started planning this trip to Alaska and since I was available and I'd love to see Alaska I figured I'd tag along.

I had no idea what I had signed up for.  But neither did my two men who planned the trip.  They poured over maps and planned the route that would take us to the Alaska Highway, but it's one thing to have a trip written on paper and another to DO it.

The tough parts have been really tough - 10 or even 12-hour days in the car.  We stop regularly but it's still a LOT of sitting.  And no matter how much you move around in your seat, after 12 hours, all your lower body parts are either sore or numb.  We're listening to the audio book of Michener's "Alaska" to help pass the time, and we've learned a lot about the history of the place we're going.

So we kind of knew about the bad parts - long days in the car, different motel each night, eating out of the cooler - but we had no idea how gorgeous the drive through Canada would be. It started with bright yellow canola fields (or mustard - the plants are related).

Since we started on the Alaskan Highway at Dawson Creek, we have seen unending forests, mountains, creeks and rivers.  It is breathtaking in beauty and scope.

The last two days have been 22 hours of driving through scenes like those above - without end.  And most of the day yesterday we drove without seeing another car on the road.

We've also seen some great museums, including the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg-  the best museum I've ever seen.  But internet is spotty - and phone service is nonexistent- so I am once again posting from my phone and I'm trying to keep it short.  Today I'm in a hotel lobby in Dawson City, Yukon.  It's the only place with internet.  The sun never set so it feels like a surreal movie set.  I took this photo of our motel at 11 pm.

Today we will finally reached Alaska.  Can't wait to see what adventures await!