July 7, 2009

Today was another beautiful day. We started our day off by viewing a gorgeous sow moose and her calf grazing in the field. The last 300 miles of Canada were brutal roadwise. It was mostly gravel and the few paved spots were a nightmare of potholes and frost heaves. Amber is now a beautiful shade of gravel brown. Border crossing into the US was a breeze. We were very prepared this time and Mike claimed everything down to our last two slices of turkey. The customs guy laughed, congratulated us on our engagement, and waved us on our way. After crossing back into our wonderful country (I really mean this, I am truly proud to be an American!!!), we bought Alaskan Amber (which our Westy is named after) and Alaskan summer beer. Ice was thirty miles away so we said forget it and decided that we would just drink warm beer to celebrate finally arriving in Alaska. Mike and I then found a FREE campsite at Deadman's Lake that was absolutely breathtaking. In all of Canada we spent well over $200 on campsites that had more to be desired. This one was located in a forest of tall spruce trees, private, lakeside, and all you heard was silence. It even had a spring pond which we used as our cooler. We took a swim, a bike ride, and had a fire. This is what our trip is all about. The best things in life really are free!

July 6, 2009

Woke up nice and early today. Usually it rains in the early morning and is cloudy. Then it clears up and is beautiful. Today was another one of those great days. We had a much needed shower and some cinnamon buns from the center of the galactic cluster (whatever that means). Then we were off. We entered Yukon Territory today. This day could also be called wildlife day. We saw lots of mountain goats and stone sheep, wild mustangs, 2 black bear cubs, 3 mother black bears, buffalo, and another magnificent moose! We also stopped at Liard Hotsprings for a swim. It was amazing! We got some beer ($50 for an 18 pack) and got a site in Watson Lake. We also stopped at the signpost. It is a collection of signs from people all over the world who have traveled the Alaska Highway. An airforce officer from WWII started this trend. We did find several signs from Wisconsin there! We ended our day by riding our bikes to the only pub in town. Canadians don't drink like us Wisconsinites. The bar closed at 11:00. We did not even need to use our headlamps. We are well on our way now-only 1000 miles to go until we hit Anchorage!

July 5, 2009

Today we passed through Dawson Creek. It is the 0 mile mark on the Alaska Highway. We also entered the Milepost book and map today. We passed some more Westy's as well, maroon and silver. Amber slowly drove us up into the Canadian Rockies. We stopped at the Sasquatch Crossing Lodge and ate Alaska Highway Sasquatch burgers. Mike bet me that if I could eat the whole thing he would buy. Needless to say, I have earned my right to be part of the Hamberger family! We saw our first black bear today. We had a quarter of a tank left and decided to fuel up at the next station. Unfortunely this gas station was closed on Sunday! We were just coasting down the hills trying to save as much diesel as we could to make it to the next station (100 Kilometers away). There is absoulutely nothing but trees in between and Mike was figuring out how he would strap his gas tank to his bike and make a run for fuel when we ran out. We were about 15 miles from the next station when a huge black bear decided to cross the road in front of us. Mike slowed down and the bear turned toward us and decided to charge Amber. OK, as I said the bear was big, but Amber weighing in at over 4000 lbs is much bigger. The bear realized this when he/she got closer and decided to dart away into the woods, so much precious diesel was wasted during this wierd game of chicken! The fuel gauge was hanging below E when we coasted to the next station on fumes. What a miracle! 1200 miles to go.

July 4, 2009

Oh, the scenery is so much better today. We saw two coyotes trotting along on the side of the road, two baby fawns grazing, and a very proud mother doe. We also saw many buffalo. Finally we stopped at Swan Lake Campground just after the border of British Columbia. Happy 4th of July from Canada. We are celebrating with Canadian beer, ribs on the fire (Kevin a nice canadian gave us wood), corn on the cob, and potatoes. Every step of the way, there is more day light. It stays light out until 1:00 in the morning. Even the children are still riding their bikes at this time. No one is ever up at 8:00 am when we wake up. There seriously is only about 5 hours of night time. It has been a grueling drive. It is really tiring, especially for Mike. He is the driver and I am the map watcher and campground guide. We are averaging about a providence a day. 1600 more miles to go!

July 3, 2009

We crossed into Alberta today and traveled partially through. We hit the under 2000 mile mark! Yeah! Our first milestone. It was a long drive and finally we settled on a campground. Can you say ghetto? A woman with summer teeth told us just to pick a site on the lawn behind her store, they only had outhouses (not so bad), the water was undrinkable, and she tried to rip us off $9. Okay, anyone who knows me would understand that it is not the money in this situation. They tried to take advantage of us because we were unsure of Canadian money at first. However, after reading up on it in the travel book we received, Kelly grew some balls and got it back! We spent the rest of the night next to some very friendly, yet very young Canadians who like techno music too much. Needless to say, we packed up and got out the next morning in 10 minutes.

July 2, 2009

Started off early again today. Mike drove for 8 hours. If only he would let me drive precious Amber (hee, hee). Passed the providence line into Saskatchewan. Saw many birds, cows, horses, prairie dogs, and buffalo. Coyote and deer are regular road kill as well. Nothing much else but the road. Man, Canada is long!!! Staying at West 16 RV Campground tonight in Saskatoon. Having chili dogs and then calling it a night. We still have so much more road to go-2300 miles to Anchorage!

July 1, 2009

It is officially Canada Day. For real!!! We crossed the providence line today going into Manitoba. We stopped at the Manitoba Visitor Information Center. That is when we found out today is special. We even got two Canadian pins to add to Amber's travel collection. Canada is beautiful. Ontario and part of Manitoba have rolling hills, rock cliffs, tons of lakes, moose, dear, and bears. We actually passed a sign that said "Be bear safe". We also passed a sign that said we had met the half way point of Canada! Again, we passed another Westy. They are getting more plentiful as we venture on. Only one obstacle today. FYI tell your bank you are going on vacation or they freeze your accounts! Also, they have different currency, degrees in Celsius, Kilometers/hour-not miles, and only beer vendors can sell alcohol. We finally arrived at Meadowlake Campground in Brandon, Manitoba. Staying here tonight, consuming delicious Kokanee beer, and watching Canadian fireworks. Tomorrow off to Saskatchewan. 600 miles down, 2700 to go til Alaska!