I think we'll like it here!

They fed us, even thought we showed up several hours early!

Mia's crash course in plants that hurt

John took us for a walk in Palmer Park

We made it!

I lied earlier. The rainbow was the neatest thing in Wyoming.

This is what happens to your air filter when you drive the Alcan!

FINALLY!

AK to CO Part 4: We cross the boarder!

Yes, the goat was on the road.

A REAL BED!

These next four pictures were the coolest thing about Montana. Really, that's it. The first one was taken from the parking lot of a little gas station that had the "You ain't from around here is ya" feel to it.

Mia's random freak reaction to who knows what. We think it was because she was rubbing her face on the mesh of the playpen and I must have missed some cleaner when I was rinsing it off.

And THIS was the coolest thing about Wyoming.

AK to CO Part 3: Definitely Blaming Canada!

This picture has a story. Really, you had to be there. It was late and we were searching for a lodge or campground when we saw a sign that said "Inn on the River" claiming to be 3k's in. Sounds nice, doesn't it? We drive down a nicely packed dirt road that winds and turns, then it starts to get a bit bumpy. We joke that the Subaru can take it, Jeeps aren't the only ones who get to have fun! Then it gets downright hairy. They didn't mention that there were 6"+ deep gashes in the road going downhill and nowhere to turn around! If it weren't for the trailer we might have made it. We found an area that we could carefully use as a turnaround (just don't look over the edge!) So we got out and unhooked the trailer and managed to push the thing slightly uphill onto this little clearing, then I spotted for Gary as he turned the car around. We made it out without breaking anything! We agree that the sign should mention the Hill of Death and the fact that trailers are bad idea.

Forget the Inn on the River, we went for rustic charm!

Leave a place better than you found it!

Cliff Swallows had built their nests around the campground at Mukluk Annie's. This was the washing machine building, and they weren't happy that we were visiting!

This soft travel tray was probably one of the smartest purchases for the trip. She was able to play with toys that wouldn't otherwise stay in her lap. It really broadened the selection of things for her to play with. It didn't keep her from throwing things just to be impish, but it contained the entertainment!

Someone thought it would be fun to put their licence plate on a tree in this Canadian town. People from all over the world thought it was a good idea .

Black Bear

Bison

We really needed to get out of that car!

AK to CO Part 2: Somewhere in Canada

We left much later than anticipated with about 2,000 lbs more than the Subaru normally carries. We filled our spare gas cans, got some snacks and headed north.
Not even an hour and a half into the trip we realised that we had a flat tire at a road construction stop. I highly recommend carrying a tire plug kit at all times!

The offending shard of metal.
We had to change the car seat cover shortly after that. I am SO glad I made another cover because it could have been a sad little ride for her!

This is probably the last useful sign we saw until Colorado. Canada was hard to navigate once we started going through bigger cities because they didn't have a lot of signs. You can find a place to eat but sorry about your luck if you need a highway!

An unpaved stretch.

These are frost heaves. If you don't see them coming they can seriously mess up your car and your neck.

Shortly after crossing the boarder we saw a Canadian Lynx. After some research we found that they are actually a threatened species in the states, normally only seen in AK, but they are trying to make a comeback in the upper Midwest.

Within 10 miles of the lynx was a young brown bear. He was pretty curious until I snapped a picture. He squeaked and galloped of after the click of the camera. I was inside the car of course!

This was the site of the second flat, a day after the first snafu. We had help with this one. Four guys helped out but I didn't think to take a picture.

Just a boat in Canada.

That's a dust storm, not fog. It was the afternoon and I thought it was odd that fog would hang around so long until we drove through it.

It was cramped in there!

AK to CO Part 1: Packing and Goodbye

The night before we were to leave, half of the power went out in the house as I pressed the "start" button on the dryer. After failed troubleshooting, the electric company sent workers out and determined that there was a bad section of wire beneath the road between our house and another jump box. We had to pack the last load in the dark until they could route temporary power to the house. The guys were awesome and didn't stop until we had a functioning house, thanks MEA!

Mia insisted on being a big helper so she held the padding in place while I wrapped the table legs.

We had been packing for a while. Whenever we finished off a box, we took it to the downstairs room until it was stuffed. It definitely streamlined a lot of the loading.

The empty container

Brian and Ben helped us move a huge chunk of the larger items. Trish and Jeff came to help us the next week but we didn't take pictures.

It was like a giant puzzle

Hmm. I seem to have a double!

We were afraid that someone would get tired of going around the container and call the cops, but we managed to get out without a ticket! That was really the only place for it since the driveway and yard were so slanted.

Almost done! Gary used straps to reinforce some sections.

We made it to one last AKX meeting before leaving

Mia and her friend Lily. Their last hurrah was at the Anchorage Zoo.


Kaia came to help keep Mia entertained, this was their last little hug!

Karen came to see her one last time as well

We didn't get to say goodbye to everyone because things got hectic!