DAY 7 ALASKA!!!!

We planned to get out early and have the hour time change in our pocket if we needed it.  BUT, Aaron's phone jumped ahead to the Alaska time Zone and he didn't notice.  So the alarm went off at 6:00AM (thinking it was 5:00AM in AK) we hit the road to realize we didn't have a hour anymore.  We did however make great time.  Roads were good and we got decent gas mileage. Justus was so excited when we finally got to Alaska!  He couldn't believe we finally made it!   The wildlife once in Alaska was a big change... we saw 60 bunnies along the highway.  We did get to see some Moose too.  Days driving were hard on the boys.  Nap time as usual!  They learned to get comfy in their car seats.  We were in Anchorage by 2:45PM.  We stopped to spray all the dirt off the truck and camper.  We were at Angela's by 4:00PM.  The boys were ready to play and run.  Auntie Angela gave them lots of attention and a well needed bath.  Aaron and I got to go on a date.... ALONE!!!  It was a very nice day.

Day 6 to Beaver Creek

We got up and out today...6:15AM.  Our plan was to go as far as we can!  We were about 1,000 miles from Anchorage at the start of the day.  We did stop for breakfast and let the boys play a little.  But not much time for that the rest of the day.  Whitehorse was different than we remembered.  We did make a trip around the town and a quick stop at the Harley shop then we hit the road again.  We thought we were making great time until we hit Haines Junction...  With Road construction and Frost Heaves, it was slow going.  It was a great day for Bears though.  We got to see 2 big brown bears!  We also drove by Sheep Mountain and got to see about 27 sheep eating and playing on the hillside.  We finally made it to Beaver Creek to stop for the night. We got to do some "camping".  We had a fire and made s'mores. The boys did not like them and chose to eat chocolate and un-toasted marsh mellows.  Justus also got to ride his 4-wheeler some.  A long day... but we did well 565 miles for the day!  One More day to Anchorage!

Day 5 to Watson Lake, YT

We planned a long days drive... and got off to a late start.  Aaron wanted to be gone by 5AM!  We left more like 7AM... with a few photos and gas we finally hit the road.  Dawson Creek is Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.  We drove a long hard day until 9PM.  We did get to see lots of animals today.  About 40+ Buffalo, 8 Black Bears, several Caribou, 1 Fox.... I think that's it!  We had a rainy day... but with few stops we made good time. By the time we got to the RV Park in Watson Lake the boys (all 3) were ready to play.  Only Aaron was playing with the Camper!  We hooked everything up for the first time... with help from Keith over the phone.... Everything Works!!!!  We are now about 680 miles from Tok.  We will head that way early tomorrow, but promised Justus a campfire.  So we plan to stop around 6PM and camp again.  Then head into Anchorage on Friday.  God willing we will be in Kenai on Saturday.  Enjoy the pictures!  

Day 4

Dawson Creek, BC

We had a pretty easy day today only traveled 550 miles in 12.5 hours. We made it to Dawson Creek it time to get a hotel and Watch "American Idol".  The boys had fun running around the hotel and playing. 

We had an uneventful day except for the 7 bears, 1 moose, 1 eagle and 6 deer we saw.  

Tomorrow is going to be an early and long, hard day. I want to make it about 700 miles and that will put us into Watson Lake and a really nice camp ground. If the weather is nice on the 22nd maybe the boys can play for awhile before hitting the road.

Well Stacey and I are off to bed, so....Goodnight!

It wont let me add pictures....so I'll do it tomorrow.

Day 3...into Canada

Well the day started in Seattle and ended in Canada.  Here comes the story....

A funny thing happens when you prepare two separate maps to get you from point A to point B....and you never compare the "highlighted" routes prior to applying the maps.

Route A, would have taken us from Vancouver BC to Dawson Dreek via whats known as an "interstate".   Route B took us from the border of Vancouver (one of the largest cities in the world, much like NEW YORK!) through the heart of a booming metro-highrise-oneway street-no street sign having city. Picture it....60 foot of truck and trailer lost in a congested city.  Well thats what happened. After the city we ended up on a narrow and winding coastal road. We were high up on the side of a mountain with 60 miles of ups and downs and switchback after switchback (still in 60 foot of vehicle). All of this to then realize...."did we miss a turn, this seems ridiculous and where are all the other tourists and big trucks???"

Stacey compared the 2 DIFFERENT maps and laughed at me. Then it was 10 miles STRAIGHT UP and then 10 Miles STRAIGHT DOWN the longest and steepest and longest hill I have ever seen!  We did however avoid an accident on the other route. We also saw a bear and took some great photos of the boys....

Road Trip Day 1 and 2

Well we put in two long days. Day 1 was 16 hours and Day 2 was 18.5 hours...and thats just driving time! In two days we made it from 200 miles outside Phoenix to the other side of Seattle. With two kids thats alot of time on the road. 

We are averaging about 60 miles per hour, but after you add in the potty breaks and play breaks it turns out to be about 45 miles per hour. Kinda slow going...for example 18.5 hours to go 700 miles.  All of the driving with out any upsets or issues. The kids travel fine up to hour fifteen and then they start to throw a fit....so it boils down to how far do you want to listen to them cry.  

Well the plan is to be in Anchorage on Friday...We'll see...

Road Trip Friday night (day 1, but not really)

We got off late... like most road trips.  We planned on leaving at 6:00PM.  It was a long day of "to do's" and it was too warm for Chevron.  We left Phoenix around 9:00PM.  Everyone was already tired but we hit the road anyway.  We made it to California and around 12:30AM pulled over and slept for the first time in our nice new camper.  The boys did great.  We all slept well.  Not a long day one... but we made a start of it!