Yukon Territory

As we started off on our last day of travel, the only type of wildlife we had yet to see were Stone Sheep. They are similar to Big Horn Sheep, but specific to the mountains of northern BC and southern Yukon Territory. It wasn't very far into the day when we came across some....

..and of course more bear. Being the true tourists we are, we pulled over and photographed most of them...

and then we made it to the Yukon!!

Watson Lake is famous for what they refer to as their Signpost Forest. We stopped to look at a few of the signs, but it would take way too long to see them all! Jason was shocked to see a sign from Pateros, which is close to Waterville.

I preferred Pie Town..

Look how far we have come from Chicago!

We hit our first and only construction wait. I don't believe we were stopped for more than half an hour, but just long enough to get out and stretch our legs.

A wonderful meal at Klondike Rib & Salmon in Whitehorse. It is located in the oldest building in Whitehorse and is famous for Muskox burgers as well as other wild game.

The South Klondike Highway from Whitehorse to Skagway is possibly the most gorgeous drive I have ever been on...inspiring. These are a few photos of Emerald Lake, also called Rainbow Lake by locals. The awesome colors of the water come from the sediment of the lake bottom which is called marl...very interesting.

Carcross Desert claims the title of World's Smallest Desert. We didn't get too many pictures as there was a tour bus right behind us and competition to be the first back on the road was fierce...

and finally.... we made it to ALASKA!!

We spent the day in Skagway, and boarded the Taku for the 11pm sailing to Juneau.

We made our beds on the top deck and were excited to sleep "under the stars." However, it was so light most of the night that we didn't really see any stars at all!

Since arriving in Juneau, we had an amazing convention and are still trying to absorb all the wonderful thoughts that were shared. Brian left for home yesterday, but John is sticking around for another week. We hope to get some sort of fishing in, but the prospect of catching anything does not sound very promising...

Juneau

Our ferry pulled into Juneau about 6 this morning. We made it to our "new home" and are mostly settled in. The sun is shining today and we don't dare waste that, so we are off to explore... Pictures and more info later!

Reflection Lake

Woke up to a lovely 24 degrees F complete with a frozen water hose this morning. I am pleased to say that the day did improve.

Sitting here on the bank of Reflection Lake I am awed by the surrounding beauty. What a breathtaking day it was on the Alaskan Highway. Every corner produced views just as beautiful, if not more than the last. We pulled over a couple times to attempt scenic photos but were never quite satisfied with what the camera produced. I can not wait to get on the road again tomorrow.

Who can pass up "...the opportunity to drive the original old Alaska Highway and cross the historic curved wooden Kiskatinaw River Bridge...the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska Highway that is still in use today..."? If the MILEPOST says it's worth it than by golly it is! ...and it was....

We stopped here in Blueberry and made sandwiches for lunch...ahh...the perks of pulling your home

Saw an insane amount of wildlife today... moose, elk, deer, bear and caribou...

We refused to pay $1.09/liter for gas at Pink Mountain, only to find this sign when we pulled up at the next gas station with less than 1/4 tank...

Thankfully the man who owned the station informed us we could ask the camp across the street for some of their gas.

$1.33/liter later we were back on the road and questioning our decision to drive rather than ferry. Down the road we spotted this cub and decided once again it is all worth it!

The Muskwa river valley

Stone Mountain

The MILEPOST had cautioned us for miles to watch out for Caribou. We were pleasantly surprised as we came around a corner to find a caribou standing on one side of the road and an elk watching us intently from the other! Does it get better than this?

Our campspot on Reflection Lake. It is right beside the Racing River, which forms the boundary between Sentinel and Stone mountain ranges.

A Little Further North

...and a little closer to Alaska! We're in Chetwynd, BC and once again have wireless. The campgrounds are getting nicer and nicer! Tomorrow we officially hit the Alaska Highway. We had a gorgeous drive through the foothills of the Canadian rockies today. It was a lot of uphill driving but the truck pulled our trailer like a champ.

The first couple of pictures I posted are from yesterday:

Leaving Waterville

Crossing the border at Oroville, WA/Osoyoos, BC

Today we hit snow at Prince George. The locals insist this is colder than normal. Temperatures were in the low 30s all day!

Neither my camera nor my amateur photography skills could do these mountains justice. This is Pine Pass "...the highest point on the John Hart Highway, and the lowest pass breaching the Rocky Mountains in Canada." - according to the MILEPOST.

This would be the closest I have ever been to what I believe is a grizzly/brown bear. (please correct me if I'm wrong) I was thankful to be in the truck and was nervous to even roll down my window. I'm afraid the city has turned us into wilderness wimps....

...arriving at our destination for the night. Chetwynd, BC the "Chain Saw Sculpture Capital of the World" ...and yes I got that from the MILEPOST as well...

There is snow on the ground outside our trailer but the heater seems to be working well. I hope you are all enjoying your sunny spring weather...because spring has yet to hit northern BC.

North to Alaska!

We had more left to do than planned this AM and spent more time than necessary in Omak before crossing the border, but are content with our progress for today. Jason was not too impressed with the slow Canadian speed limits and constant uphill/downhill of the Okanagan valley, but we both agree the scenery is unbelievable.

Free wireless internet was a surprise at our campground here in Cache Creek, BC. They charge $5 for a shower so it's a good thing I packed my own! :) We are staying in the same campground my family stayed at a few times on our annual trek down from AK. I quite clearly remember one stay where the van broke down and was even able to point out the campsite to Jason...here's to better luck this time!!

We're planning on getting an early start on tomorrows adventures...but for now, I'm going to sit on my couch wrapped in a fleece blanket and listen to the calming pitter patter of raindrops falling on the roof...ahhhh

The Move

We are no longer enjoying the view from #1910 but rather the cab of a pickup truck! We 're officially halfway to our new home in Alaska and have had a great trip so far. Kathy flew out to Chicago to help us pack up and get the move started. We managed to sneak away and see Mary Poppins while Jason studied for his last final.

We planned to hit the road right after Jason's final on saturday so we started loading the truck bright and early. Thanks to great friends we had lots of help, coffee and donuts!

...exhausted from cleaning and lacking plates or silverware we ordered chinese food and ate on the floor!

Saying goodbye to our first apartment!

We stopped in Bozeman to have lunch with Brian and were surprised by a lovely snow/hail storm....in May???..who would've guessed it.

Ronan preps with Beth

Bike rides in Waterville...

We've had a couple days here in Waterville to get the trailor organized and ready to go, and plan to head off on the last leg of our trek tomorrow morning. We plan to be in Skagway, AK by friday!!

Thanks to Kerry we scored tickets to Game 6 of Bulls vs. Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It was an awesome game with the Bulls winning by 1 point in triple overtime! The United Center was a mad house! I did get some fairly cool videos, but photos will have to do until I figure out how to upload them.

Jason and Jen exhausted from cheering but still smiling! This was Jen's first basketball game!

The weather was gorgeous last saturday so we decided to check out the Brookfield Zoo. We ended up staying most of the day! I did get a couple of videos here as well that I do hope to post sooner or later.

We were there first thing in the morning, so a lot of the animals were inside for feeding, which made the Rhinos that much closer and scarier!

... contemplating the life of a camel ...

Only 3 full days left here in Chicago! Kathy flies in tomorrow and we are very excited to have her and her help!! :)