The drive from Denver to Anchorage was beautiful, long and something I don't plan on doing again for a long time (Driving 3,216 miles in a Volkswagen Jetta is not as fun as it sounds, believe me)!
Paul and I started out our trip early morning on Saturday, July 28th. I, of course, was not ready to go so we didn't leave until around 8:00am. Saying goodbye was just as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Even three weeks later, thinking of how long it will be until I see my family again, tears sneak up on me. Anyway, the goal for day one was to make it from Denver to Great Falls, Montana. We almost made it the whole way but grew tired and stopped in Helena, Montana for the night instead. The drive through northern Wyoming and southern Montana was a beautiful one.
A peek at the Rocky Mountains in Montana
Starting out day two in Montana, our next stop was Whitecourt, Alberta. As much as I would love to tell you that the drive in to Canada was just as beautiful as Montana, it wasn't. It looked just like the drive on I-80 across Nebraska. It was a long day looking at amber waves of grain and what not.
The first thing I noticed in Canada, is that miles turn to kilometers. Many of you are probably thinking, WELL DUH, but it was the last thing on my mind. Needless to say, the metric system snuck up on me. Luckily, most cars have the kilometers on the speedometer so no conversions necessary. However, I did have to go back to middle school math, when pumping gas by converting liters to gallons (it was better to look at the liters because after the conversions you wanted to cry! Almost $7.00 a gallon in some parts of Canada!).
Going into Canada, I knew I wasn't going to be able to use my phone so Paul and I used Walkie Talkies to keep in contact. Needless to say, the walkie talkies became our only source of entertainment. It was fun for a couple hours... Then they were just annoying.
We didn't stop in any of the "cool" places in Alberta, like Calgary or Edmonton. We were on a roll and didn't want to slow down for anything. We made it to Whitecourt, Alberta around 10:00pm.
On day three, our goal was to get as far as possible. The drive from Whitecourt through British Columbia was incredible. I had never seen so many trees in my life. We were surrounded massive forests! We also hit the ALASKA HIGHWAY on this day. If you haven't looked at a map of Canada lately, once you hit the Alaska highway, there isn't much in the way of towns so we had to make sure we filled up on gas on a regular basis.
Even though we were driving through the most beautiful landscapes the most exciting part of the day for me, was driving through the town of... TAYLOR! Yes, Dad, It is all about me!
We drove through the late hours of the night and watched the sun go down. It was in British Columbia that we started to really notice the longer days. The sun did not completely set until 11:00pm!
That night we slept in our cars some where near the entrance of the stone mountain provincial park in British Columbia. With how incredibly packed our cars were, this was not a comfortable experience.
We stopped driving while it was dark out so we had no idea where we were. When we woke up we ended up being in the stone mountain provincial park. It was a beautiful place to wake up to! Here are some pictures of the park!
WE SAW A BEAR!!!!!!
These next pictures are from Muncho Lake in British Columbia. If you ever want to visit northern BC. I would highly suggest visiting this lake. There are float plan tours and fishing charters. Definitely a place I would love to spend time at!
Soon we were in YuKoN!!! At this point it really felt like we were getting close to our destination. Now, do me a favor and look at the Yukon Territory on a map. You will notice that it is a gigantic providence! We were no where near Alaska!
Since there really aren't many towns in the Yukon Territory. If you're traveling the Alaska highway, you can't miss Watson Lake. It is a town right off the highway. There isn't much to see in Watson Lake and even less places to eat... but there is a really cool sign forest! People from all over the world have brought signs to the forest. Very cool place to visit!!
After Lake Watson our next stop was Whitehorse, YT. It was going to be our last major stop before Alaska. We ended up stopping there for the night and taking some time to relax before the big drive through Alaska the next day. We thought we would get Subway, a six pack and watch the Olympics in the hotel. The subway idea was shut down because what would be $5.00 footlong sandwich, ended up being a $13.00 footlong. The six pack idea was shut down because what would be a $7.99 six pack of beer, ended up being $16.00! So instead we found a restaurant, had a warm meal, a tall beer and watched the Olympics on the big screen! It was a much better choice I might add!
The next morning we woke up early and hit the road to Alaska! Up until this point of the drive the roads were in great shape and there wasn't any road construction. After Whitehorse, we hit a rough patch of the Al-Can highway. There were gravel roads, potholes, animals, and construction stops every 50 miles. Needless to say, it was a LONG day! However, we did pass a beautiful section of the Yukon call the southern lakes. Massive lakes miles and miles long. Here are some pictures!
After hours of driving we made it to the Alaska boarder!
Another seven hours and we made it to Anchorage around midnight. It was a wonderful drive through Canada, we made it through safe and sound but I do not want to make that drive again ANY time soon! All is well! Anchorage is a place surrounded by beauty and I look forward to the many things I will get to experience during my time here.
