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Day 14

29 July

Tok, Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska

318 miles 5 hrs 47 min

YES! WE ARE HERE!!!!! Ahhhhh, 14 days in the truck, and we are HERE! I think today was the longest day yet, due to the excitement and anticipation of the drive into our new hometown (and the fact that there was construction along the way which added about 2 hours).

The last half of the dive into Anchorage was beautiful! Ive got to say, I think driving here has been more rewarding then if we were to fly in....2 weeks in the car, thinking, talking, wondering, waiting what's the new place/town going to be like? What will our new "lives" be like? We are very excited but a bit anxious/nervous about starting all over again. This is our 8th move and 6th state since being married, and I wonder when it will become easy? I'm sure it never does, but at least its always an adventure (right my military friends?!)

Before driving to Anchorage, we decided a have a quick look at the house we will be renting in Wasilla. The owner of the house was actually there getting the house ready for us, so he came out and we introduced ourselves and he let us come in and check it out. The kids seem very excited as am I, its a beautiful house with lots of room for all of us! The owner even told us a little tidbit of making sure we keep an eye on our kids in the front yard starting around Nov, "Because, see that dip right there outside the window....the rain collects there, and the moose like to lay in it." WHAT?! Haha, that really caught me off guard, but I guess its really common up here to have wildlife in your yard! Cant wait! I can just see Christmas morning coming downstairs and seeing a moose outside the window of where our Christmas tree is..... ;)

So, after a look at our house we drove on down to Anchorage, checked into the hotel, and decided to just stay in, order pizza and take the kids swimming. They had a lot of energy to get out and I didn't want to deal with that at a restaurant ;)

Tomorrow, I get to meet up with a close friend who just moved here from Dover too! Cant wait to see a familiar face...other then the 4 Ive been with in the car for the last 14 days!!! :)

Hopefully we will explore some more of Anchorage tomorrow, then Sunday try out a church and do the walk thru of our house and get the keys!

I hope you all have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it! I do have a lot more pictures I took along the way, the ones Ive posted are more of the highlights. When I have time I'll try to post them all to FB for something. Also, I'v had thoughts of posting some of the scenery pictures on my photography website if anyone is interested in purchasing them ;)

I'll let you know when they are up on www.susanwetlesenphotography.zenfolio.com

Christmas in July

Day 13

28 July

Whitehorse, Yukon to Tok, Alaska

623 km 8 hrs 34 min

Today was a fun day! After a little bit of driving we made a stop at Kluane River to stretch out and let the kids explore a bit. It was SO beautiful! I wanted to just stop for the day and set up camp right there, make a fire and roast some marshmallows and just take in the beautiful scenery. The kids had a blast finding rocks and tossing them into the water. Thankfully we got there when we did because after about 15 minutes a few tour busses pulled up and swarmed our spot. Thats ok though because I was able to get some good pictures before they arrived.

After the lake we stopped for a late lunch at Buckshot Bettys, the only place in Beaver Creek to eat. Cute little place! Once our bellies were full we headed for the Canada/Alaska border. Thankful to be back in the US! A short drive after that we were in Tok, Alaska, our stop for the night. We checked out a gift shop and then checked into the hotel and went to get some more food before heading to bed. The hotel we are staying in is only open from May-September, so right now they are decorated for Christmas! Of course the kids love it! ;)

So good to finally be in ALASKA! Tomorrow we make the drive to Anchorage (and possibly a drive-by our new home in Wasilla?;)

One of the most photographed spots

Almost there!

Love this one!

We caught his smile!

He loved the rocks too!

Kluane River

Love it!

Cheyenne took this ;)

Finally here!

Cheyenne is in two places at once!

Here's Your Sign (Jeff Foxworthy)

Day 12

Wednesday 27 July

Watson Lake, Yukon to White Horse, Yukon

438 km 6 hrs 16 min

This morning when we woke up we checked out the Sign Post Forest that was in Watson Lake. It was started in 1942 by a homesick US Army GI. He was working on the Alaskan Highway, and put up a sign in this very spot stating the milage toward his hometown. Others soon followed suit and there are nearly 70,000 signs to date. (just a little history for ya;) Its really neat to walk around and read all the signs, and/or see the things people have put up....I even saw a shoe nailed to a post, guess thats all they had to contribute....

Our drive to Whitehorse wasn't too long, and unfortunately we didn't see very many animals, but we did continue along the beautiful scenery.

Whitehorse is the Yukon's capitol, and a fun little town right on the water, with unique shops and restaurants. Wish we had more time to spend in this neat town, but, tomorrow we cross into ALASKA!!!!!

Sign Post Forest

Gabe's birthplace, hence, Cheyenne's name ;)

Teslin, Yukon

So beautiful!

Just Moosin' Around 2

Day 11 Continued.....

Laird Hot Springs

They were so close to the car!

The herd on the side of the road

Love seeing bears!

Just Moosin' Around

Day 11

Tuesday, 25 July

Fort Nelson, British Columbia to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

313 km 7 hrs 24 min

Today we made some awesome memories. We saw about 5 different animals alongside the Alaskan Highway; buffalo, caribou, stone sheep, black bears, and rams. It's like driving through one of those safari adventures, but 10 times better! Beautiful scenery, truly wild animals in their natural habitat, and it's free!

We made a quick stop to get one of those "buttery cinnamon rolls" we had seen signs on the side of the road for for the last few miles, sounded good, so why not? Wow, the most ridiculously messy but incredibly delicious cinnamon roll I've ever had! I didn't want to share with anyone, but it was ginormous, so I guess I had to....

We saw quite a few beautiful lakes on the drive! Between Muncho Lake and Watson Lake (where we are staying the night), we found some natural hot springs to take the kids "swimming". Best $10 Canadian money I've ever spent! It was so beautiful, and so relaxing! There were probably about 15 other people there, so it wasn't too crowded. The kids were hesitant at first, they didn't like walking on the rocks that were on the bottom, but once they got in, we couldn't get them out!

After (reluctantly) leaving the hot springs, it was a couple more hours to our stop for the night.

There's a really cool sign forrest here, I got a few pictures of, but we are going to check it out more tomorrow....

I'm going to put up another post so I can show you some more pictures from today (I'm only able to post 5 at a time)

Mama caribou and babies

Stone sheep crossing the road

Muncho Lake

Rams

Bear Country

Day 10

Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada to Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

583 km 8 hrs

Today we drove past a number of black bears on the side of the Alaskan Highway. What a cool sight to see! No moose though (yet), but I'm sure we will see our share of them in Alaska.

A pit stop was made at A&W to stretch out our legs, and of course get some root beer! The large mug was seriously the size of Chase! But that didn't stop him!

When we got in our hotel room I noticed the time difference on the clock, didn't even realize we were going to be an hour behind today, but hey that means more time for the kids to unwind....just waiting on a call from the front desk saying they need to quiet down...what can I say, thats what 10 days in a car will do to ya.....

Tomorrow we are going to try and find some hot springs between here and our stop for the night, should be fun!

She liked putting her hands in the air while we

were going downhill like a roller coaster

He normally doesn't like the carbonation

from soda, but he couldnt get enough of

the root beer!

Traveling is tiring!

Gas station in Pink Mountain

Are We There Yet?!?

Day 9

Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada

756 km 8 hrs 38 min

Today was a great day. We stopped in Edmonton, Alberta to check out North America's largest mall. It has over 800 stores, 100 eating establishments, 2 hotels and 9 theme parks, an indoor water park, an amusement park, ice skating rink, 2 putt putt courses, bowling, bingo and bumper boats, a sea lion show, underwater aquarium, an IMAX theatre, dinner theatre and casino.....So, of course we had to check it out!!!

We ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory, then checked out the pirate boats that are in water in the middle of the mall, that is where they have bumper boats, which was the "fun" thing the kids picked to do. We would have stayed all day at the mall (and probably went broke) but, we still had about 4 hours of driving to do.

After the nice long stop at the mall, we hit the road again. We arrived in Grand Prairie, Alberta about 10:00 at night and the sun still had not set (guess I better get used to it since apparently the sun doesn't set until 2 or 3 am in Anchorage ;)

Canola fields

Pirate boats in the middle of the mall!

Cheyenne was "8" for the day so she could drive

her own bumper boat ;)

Gabe and JD got soaked!!

The beautiful Alaskan Highway

Oh, Canada!

Day 8

Billings, MT to Calgary, Alberta, Canada

542 miles 9 hrs 41 min

Today was a LOOOONG driving day! Nothing too exciting happened other then leaving the lower 48 and crossing the border into Canada, which only took about 2 minutes! So thankful it wasn't a crazy long process!

SO tired, so goodnight!!

Cool cross we saw

About to leave the states

Dinosaur a few miles (or should I say

kilometers?) after the border

Rush Mountain

Day 7

Keystone, SD to Billings, MT

373 miles 6 hrs

This morning we woke up and checked out the small city at the base of Mount Rushmore called Keystone. We ate brunch and then happened to stumble upon a fudge/ice cream shop ;)

After that we drove the few miles up to the monument. Thanks kids, for helping me with the name of this post. They keep calling it Rush Mountain, we correct them so they can get it right, but still, its cute.

They unfortunately weren't too interested in seeing the presidents, I think mainly because it was SO hot today, and all they could talk about was how THIRSTY they were! Oh well, we got a few pictures, and at least they can say they have been there, right?

The kids happen to see on the tv earlier this morning a running commercial for all the things to do in Keystone, and of course something they just HAD to do! A ski lift that takes you up the side of a hill and then this really cool slide you take down the hill. Chase was sleeping, so he and I sat in the car and waited while the others went to have all the fun! jk;)

Then, it was time to hit the road, especially since we had spent more time in Keystone then planned. (Let me tell you, Wyoming and Montana are beautiful! Its amazing how living in the "city" you forget there are such gorgeous places as such. We did see quite a few spots that would be perfect to have a ranch someday!) After the 6 or so hr drive to Billings, MT, we ordered a **DELICIOUS** BBQ chicken Hawaiian pizza to the room, watched a little tv and called it a night.

Tomorrow we cross into Canada, should be an interesting day!

PS- Chase seems to be feeling a bit better. He still has an awful cough, which I think he's just trying to get all the junk out of his lungs. Please continue to pray for a complete healing, and also that the rest of us can stay healthy for the next week while we are driving through Canada!

Thanks!

Slide the kids got to ride in Keystone, SD

Beautiful scenery of Montana

Remember This

Day 6

Comfrey, MN to Keystone, SD

479 miles 7 hrs 59 minutes

This morning we packed up and left the Minnesota farms. It was sad saying bye to family, but time to hit the road again.

We decided to drive through the Badlands on the way to Mount Rushmore. The kids enjoyed it much more then I had anticipated. Cheyenne kept saying, "Mom, I'm going to REMEMBER this!!" It was so cute! :)

After the Badlands we drove to Rapid City and ate at Fuddruckers, then drove to our hotel down in Keystone, which is at the base of Mount Rushmore. You can actually see it from our hotel, but we will be getting a closer look in the morning!

Pretty rolling hills through South Dakota

First place to get out and look at the Badlands

Exiting the Badlands, I LOVE this picture!