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We enjoyed a relaxing day at Richard's house in Park Ridge, IL.  The kids and I went to a movie at an old art deco theater and spent the rest of the day playing games in the yard...horseshoes, BB practice, hula hooping, etc.  Richard also has a lot of instruments, so we had our own jam session with Jacob playing the acoustic guitar and the violin.   Anna and Jacob both played the drums.  We thought about you a lot during the movie, Jamie, because there were lots of Charlie Chaplin scenes and the kids recognized every movie clip. 

This ends our trip.  Tomorrow we leave Chicago and drive home as quickly and safely as we can.  We are so anxious to see you.  Lots of love, Elizabeth

Thunder Bay Fort Williams

We looked forward to our two night stay in Thunder Bay, Ontario after our long trip from Regina.  Mom suggested that we tour an old fur trading fort in Thunder Bay and it was well worth it.  We all enjoyed it, especially Anna and Jacob.  Fort William Historical Park is one of the largest living history attractions in North America, devoted to re-creating the days of the North West Company and the Canadian fur trade.

In the evening, we drove across the border to Grand Marais for dinner and exploring Lake Superior.

 

Love you so much.  We are having a good time in Chicago.  We will see you tomorrow evening.

Love, Elizabeth

Edmonton to Brandon

We are slowly making our way home, although the floods in South Canada and North Dakota are closing many of the roads we need.  Minot, ND, where the flooding is so terrible, is exactly where our path would have taken us.  Instead, we have been heading east trying to avoid all of the road closures. After a long day's drive on Canada's Highway 1, we neared Saltinuda, Saskatchewan and came to a barrier closing the highway for flooding.  We were very fortunate that several local people guided us through back roads to circumvent the flooded area and get back on Highway 1.  It was challenging, however, since the road was dirt, gravel, and very rutted.  On top of that, we had to go down the closed highway on the oncoming side and cross through a flooded area.  It was shallow enough, however, not to cause a problem.  We were extremely grateful to them for their assistance.  It was an eerie experience driving the rest of the way into Winnipeg, Manitoba.  With the road closed, we drove for nearly 100 miles without seeing another car.  We arrived in Winnipeg at midnight very grateful for the assistance of those people.  It is still strange to us that the area was flooded.  No body of water was near us, but the land was flat and the rains must have been hard.  The road and surrounding farms became lakes.  We were told that it had been declared a disaster area.  I am so sorry for them and for the people in Minot, ND.  It looks terrible.  We have no phone service, which is not something I expected once we left the Yukon.  I am glad that I was able to talk with you earlier today.  I'll call later today.  Love you, Elizabeth

Mile 0 of the Alaska HIghway

We arrived in Dawson Creek, Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway, just in time for dinner.  It was an easy trip today with good roads.  The scenery was ordinary, but we did finally see a caribou.  One of my favorite side trips was a drive over an original 1942 wooden bridge...part of the old Alaska Highway. 

Of course, we had to take photos at the beginning of the Alaska Highway.  It was actually the end for us since we drove from Delta Junction to Dawson Creek.

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Leaving Fort Nelson

We have had our first good night's sleep in several days.  Forget the fact that the motel is called Lakeview Inn and Suites and there is not a lake in sight.  If there were anything to see in Fort Nelson, other than something about shale oil, we would stay another night.  So, yesterday ended up being a great day with the beautiful scenery, the great motel room, and the wildlife views.  Unfortunately, Jacob did not sleep last night and woke Anna up at 5:45 am.  This may not be such a great day.

A few parting scenes from our trip to Fort Nelson.

Big Horn Sheep

Stone Sheep.  The minute we pulled the car forward, the baby dashed up the side of the mountain.

Muncho Lake on the way to Fort Nelson

A common scene throughout Alaska and Canada.

Wildlife tally...
Herd of Bison
Group of Stone Sheep
Group of Big Horn Sheep
7 Moose and 3 baby moose
5 black bears and 2 brown bears
2 Trumpeter Swans
1 Sealion
2 Sea Otters
Countless eagles
Whales
Lots of seals
2 sculpin..that Jacob caught
Sounds like a song.  We have not seen a caribou, but there is always today.

We need to pack up and leave.  Who knows what wonderful things we will see today.  I don't know if we will have Internet service and phone service today or not.  Let's hope.  I hate not being able to be in touch with you.

We miss you so much.  Lots of love, Elizabeth

Trip from Beaver Creek to Watson Lake

Since we go for periods without Internet access or phone service, I fall behind in my blog posts.  I think I left off in Delta Junction, AK.  Aside from taking photos of the pipeline and the monument that marks the end of the Alaska Highway, we took photos of a nearby river still thawing from the winter snow.  I hope you can see the blue tint.  The water is the most amazing color. 

It is all so confusing with the change in time and the sky that never darkens that I quickly forget what we did on which day.  I think our itinerary went something like this...
June 15---Anchorage to Fairbanks
June 17---Fairbanks to Beaver Creek (Crossed back into Canada)
I must note at this point that I had started to regret that Jamie and I had spent so much time getting letters of consent notarized so that I could take the children across the border without him being present.  Since we make about 6 border crossings in this trip, we had lots of letters to coordinate for both the US border guards and the Canadian border guards.  We went through 5 border crossings and not one guard expressed any interest in seeing our letters.  They didn't ask me anything about the children.  So, I was thinking that we had wasted our time until the Beaver Creek border guard.  He asked for the letters; he questioned me about the location of the children's father; he wanted to see the rental agreement for the car; and he wanted to know how much cash we had in our possession...which at this point is quite a small amount.  We have one more border to cross...back into the USA. 
June 17----Beaver Creek, Yukon to Whitehorse, Yukon
June 18---Whitehorse, Yukon to Watson Lake, Yukon
June 19---Watson Lake, Yukon to Fort Nelson, BC
June 20---Dawson Creek if we can find a room

Our trip to Whitehorse was uneventful other than that we were all getting tired and a bit cranky.  We did see a moose, however, and that was exciting.  You can never see too many moose.

We stayed in a Best Western in Whitehorse and it felt good to have a decent room.  The kids and I had a few minutes before dinner so we toured a steam wheeler, the Klondike, that was dry docked in a nearby park.  Below is a photo of the kids in the observation room of the Klondike. 

On June 18, we left for Watson Lake.  Again, the scenery was nice, but ordinary compared to earlier scenery.  One standout on this leg of the trip was the George Johnston museum.  It was about the local Indian community and how it was forever changed by the Alaska Highway.  It was such a wonderful museum and so touching. 

Watson Lake...what can I say about Watson Lake except that the first thing you see when entering the town is a license plate forest.  The photo does not do it justice.  The forest goes on for almost an entire block. I can't help but wonder who just happens to have an extra license plate with them when they come to Watson Lake. 

We pulled into town looking forward to our room in A Nice Hotel (there are no chains in this wilderness) and found out that we had to register for our room in the gas station.  Of course, this made sense when we realized that our motel was attached to a derelict building, which was attached to the gas station.  The room was actually very nice, but terribly hot.  AAA needs to know about this!

The kids woke up this morning, June 19, and wanted to call to wish you a Happy Father's Day.  Sadly, we did not have phone service until this afternoon when I called you, just a few miles outside of Fort Nelson.  We had assumed that by this point in our trip you would be with us.  Looking at the photo of our motel last night, however, I'm sure you are glad to miss this part of our adventure.  The kids have already planned their belated Father's Day event.  They even have their presents.

Actually, it is taking us much longer to leave this area than it took us to get to Alaska.  The difference is that we first went to Ketchikan, a very southern portion of Alaska.  Now, our trip is coming from Fairbanks, a much more northern point and we can only go small distances each day to ensure that we have a room for the night. 

After two days of ordinary scenery, we were thrilled to be back in the Northern Rockies and gorgeous scenery.  Our trip from Watson Lake to Fort Nelson was fantastic.  The scenery was so beautiful and we saw lots of wildlife  We were thrilled at every turn in the road. 

Herds of bison graze near the road and occasionally walk across it.

The kids enjoyed swimming in the hot springs in Liard.  It was a ten minute hike from the highway.  The temperature ranged from 100 degrees to 127 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Well, it is getting late so I had better end here.  I am sorry if the posts do not make sense.  I'll try to organize them better when I'm home.  Please just know that we miss you very much.  We all send love to Grandma and Grandpa, too. 

Love you, Elizabeth

Fairbanks to Beaver Creek

We left Fairbanks in bright sunshine and feeling much more rested.  The scenery was not much different than what we had seen in other parts of interior Alaska, but there were a few interesting sights.  We ate lunch at Rika's, an historic roadhouse in Delta Junction, AK.  The food was great and the kids had fun touring the grounds.  We particularly liked the sod roof. 

Delta Junction also marks the end of the Alaska Highway...all 1,422 miles of it.  Actually, we had already driven the Alaska Highway on our way to Alaska.  Now, we are doing the reverse trip.

We were interested in seeing the way the pipeline was raised over the river

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We leave tomorrow for...I'm not sure where.  The Internet is terribly slow here so I need to say goodnight.

Love you, Elizabeth