Sorry for the delay in updates. I made it to my Alaskan home on tues Dec 4. It was a day earlier than planned because we decided not to stop in Tok. It was -48 degrees there and that was just too cold. Who is "we" you ask, I will get to that!
Backing up, I made it from Laramie WY to Boise Id where I spent the night with my aunt and uncle. They totally spoiled me with a grilled steak dinner. I started off early the next morning and headed to a Firestone/Goodyear type of place and had my engine heat block thing tested and antifreeze changed out to the -40 degree kind. My aunt and uncle also gave me a heavy duty outside extension cord, something I had not thought of, but have definitely needed. I then drove through CRAZY fog until I reached Washington. I did not know that Washington had soo many vineyards. I took lots of pictures on my way of what I thought was beautiful scenery and mountains but as I look back at those pictures and compare them to what I am currently surrounded by and the bar has been raised. The pictures below are of Utah, Idaho and Washington.
I boarded the ferry on Friday morning. It was weird driving onto the ferry and then being lifted in an elevator to another level. I am not sure how they got all of us on there. I was instructed to only watch the guide and do what he told me, it is really hard to drive backwards while looking forward. Once parked we were so close I could barely get out of my car and was not able to go in front, behind or on the passenger side due to other cars being so close! The ferry was nice and relaxing. I still had a HORRIBLE cold so it was nice to be rocked to sleep. You are able to camp out on the decks or sleep in the observation rooms. Due to the weather, no one was camping out but there were quite a few people setting up camp inside in various corners of the ship. As fun as that sounds, I was very glad I had my own private room and shower. I met a lot of nice people on the ship and all had some great tips and words of wisdom for me. I was totally blessed by a young couple from MISSOURI! He is in the military and they were headed to Anchorage. Darcy is my new best friend because she thought I was 28ish, no she wasn't drinking but in her defence when we first met the observation room lighting wasn't the best :) We talked for hours and had several meals together and they have 2 labs that are soo great. We decided to travel the rest of the way together along with a few other military guys. I was a bit nervous about driving through the mountains of British Columbia and the Yukon so it was such a blessing to have a "military escort". The following pictures are of the ferry and places seen while on board.
Three days later we arrived in Haines Ak. It was snowy and cold. Just a few miles outside of Haines was a bald eagle preserve. There were hundreds of eagles just sitting in trees and flying around. It was along a part of the river that doesn't freeze so they can get plenty of food. We even saw an eagle in a tree eating a fish. I don't think I have ever seen an eagle in the wild much less hundreds of them. We got stuck in line at the border for over an hour but they were so nice. I was asked where I was going and why. After being questioned about fetal alcohol syndrome, I was declared to be who I said I was and allowed to continue on my way. We stayed in Haines Junction, British Columbia. we had dinner and breakfast at the diner at the inn. A nice young man with a strong French accent was easily amused with us. It was about -25 degrees there and I was soo happy to have my heat block and auto-start. I had rented a cute little place from the nicest couple and he was more than happy to help me plug in my car for the first time. We headed out tues morning with the intention to stay in Tok Ak that night. The roads through the Yukon were a bot challenging but my new jeep did awesome! I did learn that the thermostat only goes to -29 even though it was -40+. The border guards going back into the US were not as friendly and a lot more serous and thorough. We reached Tok around 2pm and decided to keep going since it was soo cold there. (-48). Below are pictures of British Columbia and the Yukon.
I feel like I won the amazing race; 9 days, 2 countries, 8 states, by land and sea and almost 4000 miles I am finally in Wasilla Alaska!!! My apt is really nice and cozy. I am renting from one of the school psychologists and his wife. I am technically in Wasilla but am very close to Palmer. I am surrounded by mountains and 2 large rivers. There was no snow when I got here but the temp has warmed up a bit and it has snowed a little over the past 2 days. It is such a different mindset here, people love it when it snows and have been doing a "snow dance" trying to get it snow more. I went to Anchorage on Friday to do a little shopping and have lunch with my new ferry friends, Adam and Darcy. I also finally got to meet an old coworkers sister from Fairbanks who was in Anchorage for the weekend. We had been talking since this summer when I first considered this crazy adventure and has been soo helpful. We had dinner at Moose's tooth with her friend Jessica (another school therapist). They are both soo nice. I started my new job today and I knew it was going to be a great day because as I was pulling out of the driveway I saw a mommy and baby moose walking the in the road. They were not amused with my bright lights but continued on their way. From what I hear this is very common. I tried to take a picture but it was too dark out. I am at a new elementary school and everyone was really nice. I am now a muskox! I also learned that this is a real animal and there is a farm of them not far from my house. I will check it out soon along with the reindeer farm down the road. I have also looked into dog sledding, ice fishing and snow shoeing. Stay tuned, more adventures and pictures to come! This is a picture I took while driving in Palmer.
