Tomorrow is our 5th wedding anniversary. It has flown by. We have crossed the country twice and had numerous adventures. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Looking forward to another 50!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
More Trip Moments
Yesterday we had great weather for driving. A little cool in the morning but 4WD wasn't required and good temps all day.
No...
Yesterday's issue was a local redneck who was passing in a no passing zone on a blind hill and when he (yes - it was a "he") crested the hill I had a decision to make. Do I want to go over the cliff (no guardrails) or do we try and survive a head on collision. Luckily, the VW bus the redneck was passing realized what was about to happen and ran off the road giving said redneck room to get back on his side of the road. BTW - I went with head on collision because it was a really high cliff.
I was a little shaken by the episode.
Today's weather was a little dicey coming from Kamloops to Osoyoos, Canada where we went through customs. There was a little black ice and snow/slush on the road but we put it in 4WD and made it just fine.
Customs / Immigration went well. After answering 200 questions (what, where, when, why, how far, any horns, any new dog food, any firearms, any purchases in Canada, opening the doors, opening the hatch, etc.) it looked like we were good to go. Then the customs agent asked one last question...what's in the meat wagon?
Well, cleaning supplies, emergency supplies, 2000 rounds of ammo.
After the agent picked his jaw up off of the ground about the amount of ammo we had (which you can carry up to 5000 rounds), he decided to call it in. He told his superior we were moving from Alaska to Texas and had ammo. I was waiting for the superior to say - Alaska to Texas with only 2000 rounds??? That's not enough - search them. Anyway, they let us go without further waiting or searches.
I am sorry to say we will probably be replacing our windshield. After three winters on Alaska roads (where they use gravel instead of salt for ice) and driving the Alcan twice (where they use gravel instead of salt), we have approximately 3279 chips in the windshield. Several nice new ones from this trip. I'm just glad we didn't replace it prior to the trip.
In case you are curious, the most we paid for gas on the trip so far was somewhere around the Yukon Territory and British Columbia Canada territory line. It was $6.20 a gallon. It was an $82 fill up.
I don't think I'll add up how much we spent on gas. I'm just glad to see it under $3.00 a gallon!
No...
Yesterday's issue was a local redneck who was passing in a no passing zone on a blind hill and when he (yes - it was a "he") crested the hill I had a decision to make. Do I want to go over the cliff (no guardrails) or do we try and survive a head on collision. Luckily, the VW bus the redneck was passing realized what was about to happen and ran off the road giving said redneck room to get back on his side of the road. BTW - I went with head on collision because it was a really high cliff.
I was a little shaken by the episode.
Today's weather was a little dicey coming from Kamloops to Osoyoos, Canada where we went through customs. There was a little black ice and snow/slush on the road but we put it in 4WD and made it just fine.
Customs / Immigration went well. After answering 200 questions (what, where, when, why, how far, any horns, any new dog food, any firearms, any purchases in Canada, opening the doors, opening the hatch, etc.) it looked like we were good to go. Then the customs agent asked one last question...what's in the meat wagon?
Well, cleaning supplies, emergency supplies, 2000 rounds of ammo.
After the agent picked his jaw up off of the ground about the amount of ammo we had (which you can carry up to 5000 rounds), he decided to call it in. He told his superior we were moving from Alaska to Texas and had ammo. I was waiting for the superior to say - Alaska to Texas with only 2000 rounds??? That's not enough - search them. Anyway, they let us go without further waiting or searches.
I am sorry to say we will probably be replacing our windshield. After three winters on Alaska roads (where they use gravel instead of salt for ice) and driving the Alcan twice (where they use gravel instead of salt), we have approximately 3279 chips in the windshield. Several nice new ones from this trip. I'm just glad we didn't replace it prior to the trip.
In case you are curious, the most we paid for gas on the trip so far was somewhere around the Yukon Territory and British Columbia Canada territory line. It was $6.20 a gallon. It was an $82 fill up.
I don't think I'll add up how much we spent on gas. I'm just glad to see it under $3.00 a gallon!
Friday, October 23, 2009
AlCan Challenges
Day 1...Anchorage to Tok
On a bright note - the moose stopped by at Sheep Mountain to wave good-bye - what a nice send off - and totally unexpected!
Back to day one challenges...Gale force winds going through the Mat-Su valley. Snow on the road at Glennallen making it a little slick and leaving cell service 60 hours. (Yes - I had withdrawals. However, Robert had a much worse case.) Snow falling at the Canadian Border where we spent the night. We had to get gas about ever 175 miles. (Pulling the trailer through the mountains uses LOTS of gas.)
Squirt mostly slept in his bed.
Day 2...Tok to Watson Lake
Woke to snow on the roads. Made it through customs. Found the gale force winds again. (We are going into winter - WHY are the winds blowing from the south?) Squirt slept most of the day on my lap or in his bed. Ended the day in ice fog and 32 - 33 degrees. Got here after 12 hours or so. Glad we have the 4WD but how much gas are we using?
Day 3...Watson Lake to Dawson Creek
Started the day in freezing rain - luckily that only went on for about 150 miles before it warmed up enough to help the roads. Spent most of the day in 40's t0 50 degree weather. Fish is still frozen. Squirt slept on my lap the entire time I wasn't driving. He got sick. Doing his laundry now. Based on the prices in Canada, I certainly hope the dollar is doing well against the Loonie. We saw caribou, sheep and several buffalo on the road. Once again, we did see a moose but it was dead on the side of the road. (We have never seen a live moose in Canada...) Robert thought about taking the rack off of the moose except for the jail time that would be associated with it. (That and the rack wasn't that big. :) ) Good GRIEF we are going through the gas.
Our second running of the AlCan highway was successful. I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful the drive is. The mountains are exquisite and the wildlife sightings special. It is even better when you have the entire road to yourself. So what if it is slick here and there. It is worth making the run in the fall.
Squirt however is pretty sure we took a wrong turn.
On a bright note - the moose stopped by at Sheep Mountain to wave good-bye - what a nice send off - and totally unexpected!
Back to day one challenges...Gale force winds going through the Mat-Su valley. Snow on the road at Glennallen making it a little slick and leaving cell service 60 hours. (Yes - I had withdrawals. However, Robert had a much worse case.) Snow falling at the Canadian Border where we spent the night. We had to get gas about ever 175 miles. (Pulling the trailer through the mountains uses LOTS of gas.)
Squirt mostly slept in his bed.
Day 2...Tok to Watson Lake
Woke to snow on the roads. Made it through customs. Found the gale force winds again. (We are going into winter - WHY are the winds blowing from the south?) Squirt slept most of the day on my lap or in his bed. Ended the day in ice fog and 32 - 33 degrees. Got here after 12 hours or so. Glad we have the 4WD but how much gas are we using?
Day 3...Watson Lake to Dawson Creek
Started the day in freezing rain - luckily that only went on for about 150 miles before it warmed up enough to help the roads. Spent most of the day in 40's t0 50 degree weather. Fish is still frozen. Squirt slept on my lap the entire time I wasn't driving. He got sick. Doing his laundry now. Based on the prices in Canada, I certainly hope the dollar is doing well against the Loonie. We saw caribou, sheep and several buffalo on the road. Once again, we did see a moose but it was dead on the side of the road. (We have never seen a live moose in Canada...) Robert thought about taking the rack off of the moose except for the jail time that would be associated with it. (That and the rack wasn't that big. :) ) Good GRIEF we are going through the gas.
Our second running of the AlCan highway was successful. I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful the drive is. The mountains are exquisite and the wildlife sightings special. It is even better when you have the entire road to yourself. So what if it is slick here and there. It is worth making the run in the fall.
Squirt however is pretty sure we took a wrong turn.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Our last day in Anchorage - but we will be back!
Yep...they took container #1 away yesterday and now container #2 has arrived. We should be done by mid-day here. Don't know if we will leave tonight or tomorrow.
It sure has been fun and we will miss living here. Houston, of course will have new adventures and I do plan to keep writing and not change the name of the blog.
We don't know where we will go from Houston but we do know someday we will be back in Alaska with a cabin on 50 acres or so. Just have to find the right 50 acres!
It sure has been fun and we will miss living here. Houston, of course will have new adventures and I do plan to keep writing and not change the name of the blog.
We don't know where we will go from Houston but we do know someday we will be back in Alaska with a cabin on 50 acres or so. Just have to find the right 50 acres!
Friday, October 16, 2009
We lost our neighborhood moose calf this morning…
Since Robert was home and the packers were there, I decided to go to work this morning. About mid morning, Robert called and said, “Hey, I just met the ADF&G representative!” (ADF&G being Alaska Department of Fish & Game.)
Of course I said – “What’s up?”
Well…I guess the packers were ready to work on the long rifles and Robert had to go downstairs and open the gun safe. He then left them and went back to the kitchen to work. Pretty soon he heard…
Ka…BOOM!!!
OK. Think about the situation. He just opened the gun safe, turned it over to people that normally don’t use guns and heard a gunshot. That would freak me out.
He ran downstairs, opened the garage and asked if everyone was OK. The crew chief said they were fine and the noise came from outside. WHEW!
So, Robert went outside and there stood the rep with a gun in his hands. Sadly, he had to put down our neighborhood moose calf today because someone had hit it with a car and broke one of his legs.
What a sad way to leave the neighborhood. Hopefully she will have twins next year!
Of course I said – “What’s up?”
Well…I guess the packers were ready to work on the long rifles and Robert had to go downstairs and open the gun safe. He then left them and went back to the kitchen to work. Pretty soon he heard…
Ka…BOOM!!!
OK. Think about the situation. He just opened the gun safe, turned it over to people that normally don’t use guns and heard a gunshot. That would freak me out.
He ran downstairs, opened the garage and asked if everyone was OK. The crew chief said they were fine and the noise came from outside. WHEW!
So, Robert went outside and there stood the rep with a gun in his hands. Sadly, he had to put down our neighborhood moose calf today because someone had hit it with a car and broke one of his legs.
What a sad way to leave the neighborhood. Hopefully she will have twins next year!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
It finally happened!
After three long years of waiting patently (OK maybe not so patiently)...a moose is bedded down in our yard right outside our living room window.
I put Squirt out for one last run and heard the tell tale crunching of brush next door. Sure enough, a moose was stripping the branches of our neighbor's trees. I went to the end of the deck, sat down on the chair (dripping w/ rain water) to see what would happen next.
She was a little unsure about us - after all - just last week the Great White Hunter Dog of the North had charged and she had to defend herself from the 12.7 lb Whirlwind of Destruction and she could tell he was out again.
BUT safely confined to the deck.
She eventually snorted, hopped the decorative log fence and laid down.
We decided to leave her in peace and watch her inside.
It makes me wonder if she was one of the calves raised in the neighborhood over the last couple of years. Maybe even the one I saw when it was only 5 hours old our first Spring (born across the street from our house). It would be so cool if she came back to have a calf here next Spring...
I put Squirt out for one last run and heard the tell tale crunching of brush next door. Sure enough, a moose was stripping the branches of our neighbor's trees. I went to the end of the deck, sat down on the chair (dripping w/ rain water) to see what would happen next.
She was a little unsure about us - after all - just last week the Great White Hunter Dog of the North had charged and she had to defend herself from the 12.7 lb Whirlwind of Destruction and she could tell he was out again.
BUT safely confined to the deck.
She eventually snorted, hopped the decorative log fence and laid down.
We decided to leave her in peace and watch her inside.
It makes me wonder if she was one of the calves raised in the neighborhood over the last couple of years. Maybe even the one I saw when it was only 5 hours old our first Spring (born across the street from our house). It would be so cool if she came back to have a calf here next Spring...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Countdown...
5 days to pack off...
11 days to getting in the car and driving south...
Winds are blowing like crazy now...our for sale sign has tipped over as well as one of our planters.
The other day, we were sitting on the back porch eating dinner and Robert said "look at how low that eagle is flying!"
Sure enough, I looked up and saw a big bird headed right for us. You could hear his wings flap. Only it wasn't an eagle. It was a raven with a biscuit stuck on it's beak camouflaging itself as an eagle.
I'm really going to miss this place - well - except the ravens!
11 days to getting in the car and driving south...
Winds are blowing like crazy now...our for sale sign has tipped over as well as one of our planters.
The other day, we were sitting on the back porch eating dinner and Robert said "look at how low that eagle is flying!"
Sure enough, I looked up and saw a big bird headed right for us. You could hear his wings flap. Only it wasn't an eagle. It was a raven with a biscuit stuck on it's beak camouflaging itself as an eagle.
I'm really going to miss this place - well - except the ravens!
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