Washington to Alaska Adventure

For the past five days my brother and I have been road tripping from Washington, across Canada, and up into Alaska. I must say, I now have a new appreciation for how far north Alaska is. A three hour flight over the ocean from Seattle to Anchorage just doesn't really define the reality of it.

Beginning of road trip

Sun roof allowing me to keep constant check on my bikes above.

Radar detector, CD's, rear view mirror that you can't see with because my car is so full... set to go!

The first night we didn't get very far, just across the canadian border where we visited one of my good friends in Summerland. I was set on spending the afternoon on Lake Okanogan because I figured it was the last time I was going to feel 90 degree weather like that in a long time!!! 

Lunch of a Road Tripin' CHAMP!

Summerland Sun

The next morning we woke up early and drove hard for 15 hours across B.C. to Fort St. John where we spent the night in a pretty sketchy one star hotel. We were there enough time to cook a bowl of canned chili in the microwave and get in six hours of sleep before we hit the road early again  for the 15 hour section to Whitehorse. From then we spent the next day relaxing in Whitehorse with another college buddy- walking around town and getting a workout in. It was super nice to have the day off after two long days of being cramped in the car.

One rule of thumb- when you see gas.... you get gas! Not many places to stop in the middle of no-where. Here a small gas station right as our gas light went on.

Lots of pretty views

Erik and I hanging out in the sun at Whitehorse

Soon enough we were back in the car for the last section of the trip- the 13 hours from Whitehorse to Anchorage. I was pre-warned about this section, so I had an idea of what was coming- but I didn't really realize the degree of craziness. Right before you cross the border, back into the US there is about a 100 mile section of huge frost heaves that could very possibly swallow your car. I actually couldn't even believe they considered it a road. It was almost as if a river ran down the middle of the road at one point. After the huge ruts and bumps, the next hour was on dirt roads, where they were doing a bunch of road construction. After driving the crazy bumpy pavement- the dirt road actually seemed like a relief.

Sign Post Forest. We actually found a Bjornson Street.

lots of wildlife right beside the road.

The trip was super long, but also very pretty. Lots of wildlife, lots of road construction, lots of RV's, lots of people living in the bush, and lots of open land.  I have to say one of the craziest things we saw during the trip was on the last day, when we were driving through the upper yukon, we passed a large native, walking a baby in a stroller down the side of the highway, with a huge gun wrapped around his back. If I wasn't scared of the man's intentions, I would have stopped and taken a picture- because it was sure a sight to see. I have come to realize there is a reason people are out in the bush- not necessarily a bad reason- just a reason... and its better to not ask.

Glacier we drove by near Anchorage

I have some pictures from the trip- Erik and I decided to randomly take pictures along the way. We were switching driving a lot, and Erik was too lazy to pull out the camera- so we missed some of the super cool sections.... but still some shots to explain the trip.

Lots of Road Construction!

Hanging out waiting for pilot car.

Oh yeah.... we hit a moose twenty miles from Anchorage on the way into town and crushed my car. It was raining hard and the dang thing came out from behind the overpass at a pretty good speed. Luckily neither of us were hurt.... but my car was. 2400 miles of road tripping... and the last twenty minutes "the shit hits the fan".  BIG BUMMER. I guess it makes for a good "You know your in Alaska when....." story. I took my car into the shop and it looks like it is supposed to take three to four weeks to fix. I suppose its back to the "These boots are made for walking".

And its off to my first Glacier camp with APU this weekend!