Baby steps, enjoy where you are at

It's a lazy Sunday here in Alaska but we are going to be checking out a used Class C around lunch time...sssh don't tell anyone :). 

Joe is more excited than I am, I'm always a wait and see before getting excited.  Too many times of getting ramped up just to be let down I suppose.  We are going with an open mind due to we both know this will not be our "forever" vehicle.  It's our starter vehicle! The one that we try on for size, gets our feet wet with in regards to living in a vehicle so we can narrow down our needs, must haves, and it would be nice to have.  We have a pretty good idea of what we "must have" but it's amazing how things begin to change once you're in it.  So we will see how this progresses.

We are getting exposed to spring weather in Alaska.  Like most areas we will have a bout of "warm weather" where things begin to melt.  Like right now we may reach 40 degrees today but within a couple of days it's snow snow snow!  It's not really called "spring here" but "breakup".  Which is a fun way of looking at the weather... I see that I'm breaking up with the cold dark weather but it really describes the TERRIBLE road conditions.  In Alaska they don't use salt on the roads, they use gravel of some sort.  So during the winter you are pretty much driving, in some areas, over packed down snow and ice.  No big deal you get use to it.  But now with the weather warming up that snow and ice is breaking up and you are driving on like the worst back country road imaginable.  Plus with this thaw and freeze craziness, once you get to the road, there are potholes that will blow out your tire if you are not careful in addition to all the gravel that was laid down...wind shield cracks are the norm.  So although the Alaska mountains are and will be forever beautiful in the background of my day to day driving, the roads are surround by black dirty snow and booby trapped roads.

Well my coffee is done and it's time to get moving and see what our future may look like!

Canada, day 4

I’m started off today as a passenger as we drive through the Canadian Rockies.  Yesterday’s drive was full of rain off and all but British Columbia is beautiful! 

We made a lot of little stops for pictures but you really can’t capture the beauty of the area, especially on a camera phone.  Joe pulled out his good camera so it will be good to see those pictures once we get to our new home.

Update: finally saw a herd of caribou!!!!  We had stopped for the night at Toad River Lodge, and were doing a walk about.  Across the lake I noticed an animal in an open field and pointed it out to Joe.  He ran back to the car for the binoculars!  It was a decent herd of caribou, about 9 of them!  We were so happy to finally see something!  Other than that,…. Saw some horses but they don’t count.  Also noticed some beaver damns, they are interesting animals, but no beaver.

One of our photo stops was at mile 0 of the ALCAN HWY.  It was rainy and chilly but it was a have to stop for a photo.

When we were leaving our hotel yesterday morning we wanted to stop and get some coffee. The prior morning, I pulled into a Starbucks although Joe had mapped us to a Timmy Hortons, aka Tims, for coffee.  So Tims are everywhere here, more than any other coffee place (Canada’s Starbucks?).  Joe has had them before and mentioned they are known for their coffee but when he knew them it was a basic coffee joint.  Now they have expanded their menu with breakfast and lunch fast food.  Anyhoo…. So that morning, no Tims.  The next morning, in the industrial area, we attempted to get a Tims.  The lines for the drive through were INSANE!  We parked and walked into one, inside there was a crazy line too, Joe checked his phone and found other Tims in the area and off we went.  But again, lines were crazy so I found a no name coffee shop with no drive through.  We got there, no line, actually no one in the shop so we were stoked.  A Philipino guy was working and we had a nice chat while we ordered our coffees.  I’ve started to order my coffee with almond milk.  I know I’m behind the times with this but it is delicious! When I asked about having mine with almond milk the guy stated, “I can do this for you” which is typical and it makes it sound as if I’m getting a special hook up but I’m not.  We passed through some other towns with Tims and the lines were still long.  Eventually that afternoon we passed one with no line.  We needed to stretch our legs so we decided it was time for a small coffee.  Joe ordered and it’s similar to DD, order a regular with its 1 cream and sugar but I ordered a double double.  First off the stuff was hot!  Some dumb American would have already sued them for a burn if they were stateside!  Mine was decent but nothing crazy line worthy. Even Joe stated we are not going to go out of our way for a Tims coffee!  Sorry Canadians, not sold on that one BUT I am sold on gravy with French fries!  That stuff is awesome!

We rented a small cabin at Toad River Lodge. It’s been a place for travelers since the 1940s before the ALCAN was built.  One of its touristy things is they have hats stapled to the ceiling and wall.  It’s similar to the dollar bill thing in some bars.  To me, as a public health person, it’s gross.  You can’t dust that stuff, you can see the dust on these things and they are serving food and drinks.  But like all these places, the food and coffee is good. The special that night was chili and it hit the spot and was fitting for a stay in a cabin by a lake in the mountains. 

One thing we’ve both noticed is how nice and friendly the Canadians are, along with a fun sense of humor.  This morning while we were having breakfast Yukon Jack came in, no joke that was his name, and was informing the owner there was an accident 5 kilometers up the road.  The guy was o.k. but was pulling a big camper trailer and was “impaired” instead of saying the guy was drunk off his ass.  They called it in and hopefully the guy got pulled out, it will take a doing.  We drove past and it was pretty serious and there was no way that guy was going to drive out, which he apparently wanted to do. 

Today we got a long drive ahead of us, 10 hours.  We usually try to keep it to an 8-hour drive day but at that stop point there were no hotels, everything was booked plus traveling with a pet puts more restrictions on us.  I keep telling Tux he needs to start pulling his weight but so far nothing. 

We will stop tonight and then one more night on the road before making it to Anchorage.  I am ready to be settled but am totally appreciating all the beauty we are driving through!

Animal sittings:

Buffalo: a big herd…. while typing of this entry!

Caribou: 9 alive and 1 carcass
Deer: 5

Last Day in SL,UT

Today we are doing laundry and repacking to hit the road tomorrow morning.  Yesterday we were in recovery mode from staying up till 3am playing "pick a song" and having adult drinks!  Joe and I are not use to that rock star life and yesterday we were out of commission!  "Pick a song" is just sitting around and each person picks a song to play, youtube works great for this.  It's amazing how someone else's pick will bring up memories and having you thinking of another song you want to hear.  Sometimes even some dancing breaks out LOL

The seasons have changed since being here in Utah.  It was warm, hot even, the first few days but yesterday fall has started.  It's been cool, windy, and last night with most of the morning it's been raining.  I saw a post already that the mountains have already gotten a dusting of snow but I haven't noticed it yet.  I guess it's a good way to transition into the cold :P
Tux has been doing well in his basement dwellings with Marcia and David's nephew.  Bo, the boxer, has yet to notice there is a cat living in his house.  I know he's gotten comfortable due to last night he started meowing for food!  He's been on a weird eating schedule but he's a trooper.  So while doing laundry today I'm hanging out with him for  a little bit and he's defiantly not wanting to leave my lap!
Life is good and things are going smoothly.  

Looking forward to our next leg of our journey and the new sights to see!