Anchored In

The conclusion of the trip from Vegas to AK!

So, Saturday (May 29) I arrived in Anchorage. On my way in I stopped in Wasilla to eat lunch with my friend Carleen, who moved up from Vegas. She was unaware of the fact that I drove up from Vegas, so when I told her we should get lunch as I'd be passing through Palmer/Wasilla, she was confused (she thought I flew up the week before). I delivered something to her that her brother Jacob told me to give to her, then I made my way into Anchor-town.

After a quick stop at the office (where, since it was a Saturday evening, virtually nobody was there, so no warm welcomes or reunions or anything like that). After that, it was off to my house! I was given a contact for somebody who'd be having rooms available, so I went to check it out. Looks good to me.

The house

The front yard

More of the front yard

The side

The backyard

They have a hot tub (pictured above), front loader washer/dryer, internet access, plenty of yard space as you can see, lots of freezer space, and right by the highway, so it's not far from work at all. I definitely made out this season.

Things I've learned from being on the road for 10 days:

1) Skippy makes a mighty fine jar of peanut butter (Natural with honey)

2) 2 weeks is enough time for the last bits of snow to be melted/cleaned up so the roads looks even more beautiful than they did last year

3) Driving 800+ miles in one day will burn you out from driving

4) "Crazy Memorial Day" traffic in the Matanuska-Susitna River Valley area and Anchorage looks like a normal day in Vegas

5) The concept of "Morning Metallica" is genius

This concludes my trip from Las Vegas to Anchorage. I start training Monday, and an actual tour Tuesday. I'll keep posting from the road.

Tik-Tok (backlog 3)

I ended Friday (May 28) in the little town of Tok, AK. This day was my longest trek, driving 810 miles, from the Liard River Hot Springs. So, off my day began! Not five minutes out of the hot springs campground, what did I run into in the distance?

A buffalo crossing the road!

He took his time, but I and the other cars waited...due to it's massive massiveness.

And the others never took notice of the cars. I have to say buffalo have to be one of the dumbest animals I've seen.

So, while most of the road up to and through Canada was paved, in several instances the road was not paved, so you can see me kicking dust up behind me.

This dust was only slightly exaggerated by my very slight fish-tailing.

Of course, one of the places I had to stop and spend a bit of time in was at Watson Lake, up in the Yukon. Here lies one of nature's most fascinating phenomenon: Signpost Forest!

The entrance!

Ok, so it's not so natural. During the construction of the Alaskan-Canadian Military Highway, a signpost signifying the distance to Alaska was damaged by a bulldozer. The private who was ordered to fix it decided to personalize it by adding a sign pointing back to his hometown, and the forest has grown since.

There are now signs from everywhere, be it street signs, welcome to signs, whatever.

The forest literally goes on for acres and acres.

It's so big it now engulfs the actual forest that is/was there.

And if you look long enough, you'll find something from home!

I didn't have enough time to look at everything, but in just my short adventure, I did find some signs that reminded me of friends, be it in name, hometown, or mission areas.

Just a few people who I was thinking of.

Speaking of signs, I saw the best one ever when I was getting breakfast in Watson Lake.

I need one of these for the upcoming season.

So, continuing on, I began experiencing something many Alaskans are familiar with - frost heaves! There is frozen water in the ground up north. The areas where it water stays frozen is called permafrost, and more precisely, continuous permafrost. It's officially considered permafrost if the water stays frozen for more than 2 years. Now, there are areas called discontinuous permafrost, where some of the water will thaw out in the summer, and refreeze in the winter. We call it frost heaves when it distorts the roads and causes them to be uneven and unsteady. Here is what the ride looks like.

I did take it a little bit on the faster side to better illustrate what it feels like. Any faster than what I was doing and you can bottom out your vehicle. I don't recommend doing that.

And back in the US!

This concludes the Canadian portion of the journey

Backlog 2

Thursday May 27

I had a rude awakening to a bright daylight staring me in the eye...at 4:45 am. Convinced I wasn't going back to sleep in my incredibly oh-so-comfortable vehicle, I decided to begin my trip. I made two discoveries this morning. 1) While most all of the gas stations in Canada have you pump your gas first then go inside to pay, 7-11 works the same way as it does in the US - pay first. 2) Resce's hot chocolate tis a mighty fine way to kick start an early morning drive.

So, it was time to begin the trek on the World Famous Alaska Highway.

I arrived in Fort St. John around 6:30 or so in the morning, and decided it was a good time to get breakfast. Sadly, the only place open was McDonald's. However, my curiosity piqued, as I wondered if this was the same McDonald's that I ate at last year, that had nice chairs and a fireplace inside of it. Lo and behold, it was! I don't recall them ever having bagel sandwiches in the US, but it was the best McDonald's breakfast I've ever had (...which still isn't saying much).

I continued on my drive, and around lunch time I happened to arrive in the next town, Fort Nelson. I stopped at Canada's favorite sport's bar, Boston Pizza. I don't understand the name, as it's not even a chain that originated in Boston - the first one was established in Edmonton. I think Canadian's have a penchant for American sounding names (I keep seeing Nevada Bob's Golf Shop and Vegas Pizza Resteraunts everywhere). I ordered my favorite pizza (pepperoni and black olives). Safe to say, it was the best pizza I've ever had in Canada.

The journey along the highway.

I ended my day with a stay at the Liard River Hot Springs, where I camped out for the night. I'm the only one here without a camper, RV, or a tent, and the only one here with Nevada license plates. I went for a little hike to check out the area.

In order to make a trip of 27,000+ furlongs (or, if you prefer miles, 3500), one must have all the essentials in order to be able to sleep, eat, and maintain sanity along the open road. Fortunately, my vehicle was multi-functional:

My bed.

My office/entertainment center.

My dinner table.

My kitchen.

Backlog 1

So, since I've been without internest access for almost 3 days, I have a little catching up to do. Here's a log I tried to keep on the road so I didn't forget anything:

Wednesday, May 26

Leaving Calgary, I journeyed into Banff National Park.

The drive was beautiful, and the little town of Banff was quaint and had it's charm. It also had it's own quirks...such as the dollar store.

I walked in and saw some really incredible stuff, like stainless steel water bottles and iPod accessories...only to find out that nothing in the store cost less than $1.50 (everything, in fact, cost what you would expect to pay in a regular store). Maybe Dollar is the name of the owner of the store.

After having lunch in a greek shop, I headed out through Banff National Park, through the town of Jasper, into the town of Dawson Creek, where the famous "mile 0" of the Alaskan highway sits. I found a church building (not sure what denomination it was...I should have taken a picture of it) somewhere in the back of a neighborhood, off the highway where I parked my car and slept for the night.

Here are some of the sights along the way

This is called "Weeping Wall"

Athabasca Glacier

Yukon Ho!

Today begins my journey into the barren wasteland that is Canada. Just kidding. Canada is gorgeous. If you've never been, I highly suggest you go. Off I leave from Idaho Falls, through Montana into Alberta.

It was a beautiful day to start. Sunny, with the right amount of clouds. This is a shot as I was going through Montana.

I'd never been to Montana before. Check off another stated I've now visited. The trip was a combination of gorgeous scenery (look at the pic above) and boring farm lands (no picture available). It was a weird mix. I think Montana alone is beautiful enough to justify having to drive through Nevada, Utah, and Idaho.

Around 5 or so in the evening, I entered into Canada, into the province that is Alberta. There was a sign I didn't get a picture of saying "Attention Americans: Speed limit in Canada is posted in KILOMETERS." So, driving 110 in Canada doesn't feel quite like you're driving 110.

I will spend tonight in Calgary, enjoying the last big city I'm going to see for a long time, as Anchorage isn't quite big enough to be a "big" city. On a side note, McDonalds in Canada tastes just as bad as McDonalds in the US, but with enough HP sauce (a Canadian steak sauce, my favorite), it almosts tastes like food. Next post will culminate the remainder of my trip through Canada.

The Falls of Idaho

Well, this will be my last night in the states for a few days now, as tomorrow I venture into the land that is Canada. I've spent a couple of nights with the Huntsman clan, relaxing, doing some laundry and studying up on commentary I'll need to know for the summer ahead.

I went out earlier to buy some supplies I'll need for the road ahead (ie. food), and upon my return to the house, this is what I saw.

Ducks just hanging out.

After a bit of time spent outside, I decided to play with the dog (Chena) while her owners were away at work. I figure I know a couple of friends who'd be jealous of the dog, the cool weather, the bit of snow we had earlier today.

That's their dog, Chena. She's a skiddish puppy, but friendly and loves to play. I was told by some friends when they saw that picture that they thought I just cut my hair. I know that spending time in the cold and away makes one more rugged and animalistic, but I don't think we should insinuate that I'm now a dog.

Well, tomorrow, I begin my 680+ trek into Calgary. What will lie ahead? What adventures will I run into? What kind of internet access do they even have there? Find out on the next installment, whenever that may be...

The long journey...

Not really. After spending a couple of days in Provo, Friday I headed on up to Clearfield, UT. Never heard of it? Neither had I. It's just south of Ogden. There I spend a couple of days with some more Vegas friends. To illustrate the slow rate of travel the beginning of my trip has been, I was talking to a friend about me hanging out with the Hazardously Hilarious Hansens on Saturday, to which he responded "You left Vegas on Wednesday, and you're only in Clearfield today...Saturday. Are you driving to Alaska or walking???"

While I know how slowly the beginning of my trip is going, I am also realizing that this will be the last time for a while I'll actually have time to not do anything, as the summer gets extremely busy.

Today I made my way up to Idaho Falls to visit the Huntsmans - friends from my first summer in AK. Now I prepare for the wild part of the trek...going through Canada, eh? No more will I have the comforts of friend's houses to bum around in, and home cooked meals. But also there will be more photo opportunities. I'm looking forward to it