This
is a day to day journal of our trip from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
to Fairbanks, Alaska! |
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Day
1 -
July 28, 2003 |
We were supposed to leave early on
the 28th of July (Stephen's birthday), but we had a little trouble
with the U-haul place.
We didn't get to pick up the truck until 10am, but Stephen and
Rainey had to stand in line for an hour before they finally
got to drive drive the truck off the lot, then they had to go
weigh everything empty. Stephen and I went the night before
(actually 2 a.m.) to weigh the Jeep and trailer. Anyway, we
finally got the U-haul to the house and set up to load. |
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Our friends Rainey, Laura, Isaac, Henry, Jen
and Elliot helped us pack up the rest of the house and helped
Stephen load the U-Haul. Basically we started loading around
1pm (very late start) and at midnight we still had stuff on
the porch and the U-Haul was stuffed! We had to decide what
we were going to leave behind. We took both love seats and the
recliners to goodwill, but they turned us down. Boy are they
picky! We lost a lot of stuff, but I guess we don't really need
that much anyway. For the past 6 months, every week, I took
a car load to goodwill. I tried to get Stephen and Butch to
get rid of stuff too but they both said they NEEDED their stuff.
I think they have a different attitude now. Butch had to leave
his bed and some other stuff. Jen was helping him pack because
he was taking so long and she made him get rid of a lot! She
would say "I can't think of a single reason you would use
this!" and she would throw it away.
Rainey and Laura spent two nights with us and they really worked
hard to help us. We can't thank them enough for all they did!
Some of the stuff we couldn't take with us, they took for us
to sell or give away. We decided to take the U-Haul and trailer
down to Office Depot because they had a big parking lot and
it wuld be much easier to get the trailer hooked up there. I
thought we would have a hard time getting the U-Haul out of
the driveway. It made me nervous and I couldn't watch, but we
made it just fine.
We got the trailer hooked up and took video and pictures of
our convoy, plus my car, and said our tearful goodbyes to Rainey
and Laura. It was 9:30pm when we pulled out of the parking lot
and we drove down to the scales in Mebane so we could weigh
everything again loaded. We came out with 33,000 lbs. for the
U-Haul and trailer! Only 13,000 lbs. over the limit for the
truck!! ;-)
When we finally left the scales, after weighing and airing up
all of the tires, it was 11pm! We had about a 12 hour drive
in front of us and we all were exhausted! We drove about 50
miles and had to stop for Butch to go to the bathroom. This
took place about every 50 miles or so. We stopped at a truck
stop just shy of Charlotte and tried to sleep for about an hour,
but it was hard because we could hear the trucks and the traffic
on the interstate. We started travelling again and had to stop
once more outside Greenville, SC and this time we slept for
3 hours. |
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Day
2 -
July 29, 2003 |
Butch was still getting used to driving and maneuvering
the U-Haul and sort of got stuck. Stephen helped him get turned
around and we were on the road again. We stopped at a Pilot
truck stop outside of Greenville, SC and for some reason Butch
went over to the big trucks side and when he was trying to move,
he squeezed by a diesel rig and pulled hi bumper off! I was
really proud of Stephen and how he handled it. He didn't yell
or anything, he just called the U-Haul place and filed a claim.
I'm sure they were real glad to hear from us! Thank God we got
the $240 road insurance before we left! We got back on the road
and it was puring cats and dogs! It didn't stop Butch and Stephen
from flying down the road! I was a little more cautious. We
made it through the rain and on to Birmingham, AL to stay a
couple of days with my brother and his family. My friend Angel
drove up from Enterprise and although I was exhausted, I felt
it rude to go to sleep after she traveled 4 hours to see me.
I didn't mind at all because it had been so long since we had
been together. We talked for awhile then she had to leave to
make it back home before too late and there was a storm coming. |
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3-
July 30, 2003
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We got up and ate and then took the boys to see
"Johnny English" It was a funny movie and Jonathan
and Jordan enjoyed it as we all did because of my dad "John
English". After the movie we ate at a BBQ place and went
back to their house. Marshall, my brother, showed me his stained
glass hobby and I recorded him showing me the steps. We said
our good-byes because they were leaving early the next morning
for work before we left for LA and we wouldn't see them. |
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Day
4-
July 31, 2003
Stephen and Butch eating
lunch
Jeep and U-Haul parked at rest
stop
Hmmm...tastes like Chicken!
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We started driving to Louisiana and started raining
so hard that I could hardly see! We stopped at a rest stop/visitors
center just inside the Mississippi border to eat lunch. It finally
stopped raining and we drove into Jackson, MS. We were stopping
to get some gas and we had to cross a pretty busy intersection.
Butch was leading and pulled out in front of traffic and a corvette
had to slam on it's breaks! He just doesn't realize that he
so long and can't pull out in front of people!
We made it to Monroe, LA about 6:30pm and we parked the U-Haul
down the road at the Diamon J trailer park. We ate dinner with
Mom and Dad and then Stephen and I went to visit Clif's family.
That was really strange to be at my x-husbands parents house,
but we enjoyed spending time with them. Stephen played dominos
and cards with Jennica and Tina gave me an afaghan she made
for me to take to Alaska.
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The McCready
Family |
Stephen and
Jennica |
Anita and
Jennica |
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Day
5-
August 1, 2003
Jaid Christopher Gowan
Jaid and Papaw English
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Me, Stephen, Butch and my Mom and Dad took the
Jeep to the shop to get a fron end allignment done. We were
going to take it to Brown's Radiator shop, but when we got there
we saw a sign that read "On Vacation July 28-Aug 3"
Just our luck! We took it to Firestone and dropped it off while
we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrell! MMMMMM! I love their
hashbrown casserole!
When we returned, we found out they balanced the tires, but
couldn't do the alignment because of the lift put on the Jeep.
They recommended we take it to Eberts Tire down the street.
The guy who did alignments was gone to lunch and would be back
in an hour. We decided to go find a place for Stephen to get
his hair cut and that guy said it would be a 30 min. wait so
we went to find Baskin Robbins which turned into Kalidascoops
and their ice cream sucks! Anyway, Stephen got his hair cut,
we picked up the Jeep and went home. We then drove out to Epps,
LA to see my neice Adrienne, her husband Chris and son Jaid.
We ate dinner at Sonic.
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Adrienne,
Chris and Jaid |
Jaid and
Mamaw English |
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Day
6-
August 2, 2003
Stephen's favorite place;
SkyJacker in West Monroe, LA.
You can almost hear him say "COOL!"
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We went to Church and saw Stephen's Aunt and
Cousin and stayed for potluck. Stephen and I dropped by the
SkyJacker place to take pictures of the Jeeps and there happened
to be a guy there working on the vehicles that Stephen talked
to about our Jeep. He even took him inside the warehouse to
show him something. Stephen was practically drulling!
That night, my family (both sides) had a going away party for
us at Grace Baptist Church. Aunt Kaye made a special cake with
"North to Alaska" on it with sign posts and Dad played
the song "North to Alaska" by Johnny Horton. It was
really funny. I got to see about 1/2 of the family and just
as we were leaving my cousin Renee' drove up and said she thought
we were meeting at 6:30pm (the time had been changed 3 times)
Anyway her, my cousins Jen and Leslie (her sisters) came over
to Mom and Dads for a little while. After they left, Stephen
and I went to see my cousin Rob (I have lots of cousins) and
took him his hat and pennent we got him from UNC Chapel Hill.
We then went to Wal-mart to get an extra tire for the trailer,
but they didn't have the right size so we tried the other Wal-mart
and they didn't have it either so we just went home.
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Me and Mrs.
Moy |
me and Stephen
with his family |
Stephen and
his family |
Stephen with
his cousin Terry Lyn and her
husband Orie |
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Beautiful
watermelon basket Aunt Kay made |
My Dad's
side of the family
(Phil, Gary, Venita, Janet, Wayne, Mamaw, Dad, Mom,
Karen and Little Timmy) |
Cake that
Aunt Kay made with signposts along the Alaska Highway |
Stephen and
I
cutting the cake |
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Aunt Jean
and Aunt Kay |
Me and Stephen
(he looks like
he is holding a bible) |
Me, Aunt
Jean, Mom and Aunt June |
Me with cousins
Jennifer, Renee' and Leslie with little baby Lily |
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To all the
family members and friends who put this party together:
Thank you we had a blast!!! |
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Day
7-
August 3, 2003
"Toofy" at Ponchos
Mexican restaurant
Me and Stephen at Ponchos
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Stephen had to do some work on the Jeep and the
trailer and we didn’t end up leaving for Texas till after
noon. We stopped in Shreveport to eat at Ponchos Mexican restaurant
(one of our favorite places to eat). We got back on the road
and headed for Texas. We stopped at a truck stop with a Whataburger
in it (because Stephen was dying for it), and my friends from
college, Sheri and Melissa met us there. We stayed there for
about an hour and drove the rest of the way to my friend Lesa’s
house in Saginaw, TX where we spent the night. Stephen played
with her son Gregory for a little while and Lesa and I played
catch-up.
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Sheri, Jeff,
Melissa, Me and Little Brandon |
Lesa and
Gregory |
Lesa and
her Mom Jimmie |
Jimmie, Lesa,
Me, Stephen and Gregory |
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Day
8-
August 4, 2003
Lunch at a rest area
Familiar sights at the
gas pump
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We had planned to leave early the next morning,
but Stephen wanted some Southern Maid donuts and we still needed
an extra tire for the trailer, so we didn’t leave till
around 11:30am.
We drove through Oklahoma City, OK where they had a lot of construction
going on and while trying to change lanes, Butch almost creamed
a Jeep! It was by the Grace of God that he didn’t! We
drove as far as Salina, KS and spent the night at Best Western.
We wanted to make it to York, NB but we got a late start.
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Sunset
in Kansas |
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what I had to put up with all
the way to Alaska! |
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Day
9-
August 5, 2003
Amanda in Cheyenne, WY
Amanda's son Cannon |
We drove to Cheyenne, WY with no problem. We
got to my friend Amanda’s house around 5pm and her husband
Dane grilled chicken for us while Stephen worked a little on
the Jeep. He was adding stuff to make us more comfortable like
extra fans since the a/c wasn’t working well and velvet
arm rests. After dinner we watched some of our home videos and
just spent time together. We had a great time!
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Dane, Amanda,
Cannon and us |
Me and Stephen |
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Day
10-
August 6, 2003
Butch and Stephen check
out the Jeep
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Amanda and Dane made us a hearty breakfast and
we got back on the road. Our plan was to make it to Shelby,
MT so we could make the Canadian border by Thursday, BUT around
Garyomen (a Crowe Indian Reservation) the Jeep started spitting
and sputtering and the check engine light came on. (Spivey Rain
Cloud hovering!) We pulled into a truck stop that happened to
have a trading post. I got to looking at it and it turned out
to be the very place the Battle of Little Big Horn took place!
It was pretty cool, I got a collectors spoon from Montana and
some post cards. We were in the middle of nowhere so we decided
to try to make it to Billings, MT so we could have the Jeep
checked out. We made it and tried to get a free diagnostic check
and no one knew how to use the machine. (Spivey Rain Cloud filling)
We decided to spend the night and get to the dealership the
next morning.
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Monument
for the Battle of Little Big Horn |
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Day
11-
August 7, 2003
Sign we saw too many times
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While I did laundry, Stephen put another transmission
cooler on the Jeep and took it to Bumper to Bumper to get a
diagnostic check and they found a cylinder misfire. They said
it was probably bad gas. We decided to stay another night since
it was so late. Stephen and I walked downtown, about 5 miles
round trip, and had dinner at Dennys. On the way we came across
a sign that read “Community Garden”, “Taking
Pride in our Billings Community” It was funny because
the place was a vacant lot with trash all over!
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Day
12-
August 8, 2003
Stephen changes the flat
Our home for the night |
We planned to drive to Shelby, MT again. It was
only 30 miles from the border and about 310 miles from where
we were. Things were going ok until we discovered that we were
on the wrong road! (Spivey Rain Cloud getting full) We had to
turn around and go back 40 miles to Billings! The first time
we left it was 7:30am, the second time it was 9:30am, but we
finally got on the right road. We were again in the middle of
nowhere Montana on highway 191 when BLAM!!! We had a blow out
on the passenger rear tire on the Jeep. (Spivey Rain Cloud explodes!)
Stephen changed it with a not so good spare with the intention
of getting a new one once we got to Great Falls, MT. When we
finally made it there, the man at the Tire-O-Rama called all
over trying to find the tire we needed and the only one he could
find was in Helena, MT. He said they could have it for us in
the morning so, you guessed it, we spent the night about 150
miles from the Canadian border. ARRRGGG! We found a Super 8
and checked in. We walked across a busy 4 lane street to eat
at KFC then we went to the drugstore to get cold medicine for
Stephen because he started getting a cold since we left and
he felt miserable! If that wasn’t bad enough, when we
returned to our room and prepared for bed we discovered the
ice machine was right outside our door. All night we heard people
filling their ice buckets! (Spivey Rain Cloud still pouring!) |
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Day
13-
August 9, 2003
We made it to Canada! |
The tire place didn’t open until 9am so we had to wait
around for a little bit. Once they opened they got right on
the Jeep and we talked to some people that were also waiting.
They were telling us what we might expect at the border. We
didn’t leave till around 11:30am and ended up spending
around $300 for two new tires!
I was very anxious about crossing the border. I just didn’t
know what to expect and I haven’t been in another country
besides Jamaica. We stopped at a rest area just before the border
to eat lunch and switch drivers. Stephen drove the U-Haul and
I drove the Jeep. At the border they asked us a bunch of questions,
but really it wasn’t bad at all. We stopped on the other
side to take pictures and then headed toward Calgary, Alberta.
We got about 60 or so miles outside the city and Jeep started
acting funny again. Spitting and sputtering and the check engine
light came on just like before. We tried to make it to Calgary
and get a hotel for the night because we knew, since it was
Saturday, it would probably be Monday before we could get anyone
to look at the Jeep. Stephen was feeling terrible, traffic was
awful, the directions I had to the hotel were confusing and
the city was huge. It was not fun at all! (Spivey Cloud throwing
buckets on us!)
We finally found an Econo Lodge and they said we could have
two rooms for $113. We called Super 8 and the guy there said
he could give us both rooms for $81 so we headed over there.
The guy was really nice and let us park by the pool right outside
our room. Once we got settled we went to eat at Red Lobster!
We had a really good waitress and we told her manager what a
great experience we had. After eating, we went back to the room
for the night. |
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Day
14-
August 10, 2003
View of Calgary from the
train window
at the Calgary mall...of course Stephen is making one of his
dorky faces!!
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It was Sunday and the dealerships were closed
so we took the C train downtown to the mall. We spent the day
at the mall and looking for Toofy a girlfriend. We went into
Carlton Cards and saw this fat mouse that we took a picture
of with Toofy. He was screaming the whole time (Stephen’s
voice for him) “No way man!”.
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Toofy and the fat mouse! |
We got tickets to see S.W.A.T. at 4:10 and had an hour to kill
so we sat in the comfortable seats and watched people. It is
amazing to us that so many girls wear low cut jeans with flabby
stomachs! We walked down to Zellers and found a blanket for
me so I wouldn’t freeze during the theatre. We played
some video games and then watched the movie. It was a really
good movie. After the movie, we caught the train back to the
hotel and got in our swimsuits for a nice swim in the heated
pool. It was not very heated and the temp had dropped with the
sun so Stephen went to run a hot bath and said he’d let
me know so I could run from the pool to the tub without freezing!
After the bath, we walked to Dennys for dinner.
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Day
15-
August 11, 2003
I am so frustrated!!
More of Calgary from the train |
Stephen got up early and took the Jeep to the
dealership. I stayed in bed! About an hour later the courtesy
van brought him home (where the U-Haul is) and he said he talked
with a really nice guy named Dan. He was going to thoroughly
go over the Jeep and fix the a/c, the bent rotor cap, etc..
He said the cost would be around $941 (Canadian). In the meantime,
Stephen, Butch and I went to Wal-mart on the train and bus and
then went to the bank to exchange some money. We caught the
bus back to take a much needed nap and were almost asleep when
“knock, knock”! It was the maid coming to clean
the room! (Spivey Rain Cloud? Hmmmmm) After the maid left, we
were just about asleep again when Dan called. He said the part
for a/c was more expensive than once thought and it would actually
cost $1,111 to get the Jeep fixed. OUCH!!
We moved the U-Haul around on the other side of the pool because
the parking spaces were empty and it would be much easier getting
it out of the parking lot in the morning. The courtesy van picked
us up and took us to the dealership to get the Jeep. Everyone
was really friendly and Dan was so nice that Stephen decided
to write a good comment letter to his boss. After getting the
Jeep, we took it to the gas station to fill it up because they
added some stuff to the tank to help it run better, then we
went to the bank to exchange some more money! It’s all
so confusing. It feels like America, but it’s strange
because of the currency and other subtle differences. Stephen
says it’s USA with a different flag. When we got back
to the hotel, we met a couple (Shane and Amanda) that has a
Jeep Cherokee too! They were Alberta trail guides for the Canada
Jeep Jamboree. Stephen talked to Shane for a long time about
Jeep stuff and I talked to Amanda about everything else. They
were a really nice couple.
We ate at an Italian restaurant called “Modi” for
dinner. The food and atmosphere were great, but the service
was awful! We had to ask 3 times for our candle to be lit and
they never did! After eating, I went to the donut shop to check
my e-mail (Internet café) and Stephen went to check on
the laundry we had started. When I came back to the room, Stephen
was upset because he found out the hotel rooms were $81 each!
The guy swears he told him that, but Stephen said he didn’t.
Anyway, we ended up paying $250 for our rooms!!! |
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Day
16-
August 12, 2003
Water Park in the West Edmonton
Mall
View of the Aquatic Center
Adventure Golf in the mall? |
We got up early and started out for Edmonton,
Alberta. We only had 181 miles to go today because we wanted
to stop at the West Edmonton Mall (that’s the only vacation
thing I wanted to do on this trip). Everything was going good
until about 50 miles out the Jeep lost power! It was really
strange! It just quit, right in the middle of the road! Stephen
called Dan at the dealership in Calgary and they talked for
awhile about what it could be. They decided to fill the tank
back to full and see what happens.
We made it to Edmonton to the mall. It’s the worlds largest
mall! It has an amusement park with a roller coaster, a water
park with 4 or 5 huge water slides, an ice-rink and an aquatic
center with dolphins, turtles, fish and penguins! We walked
around for a little while still looking for Toofy a girlfriend.
We ate at the food court and then we split up and gave Butch
my cell phone so we could reach him if we needed to. Stephen
and I got tickets for the marine life area where we got to go
down in the sea caverns to see the fish, turtles and penguins.
We got preferred seating for the dolphin show, but we weren’t
impressed. The dolphin didn’t even jump! He just swam
in circles and showed us his fins. What a disappointment! Stephen
had never seen a dolphin show and this one was awful!
We looked at the water park and played miniature golf at “Professor
Wims Adventure Golf”, then we went to Galaxy Land and
rode “Mind Bender” the roller coaster. We ate dinner
and continued our search for Toof’s girlfriend. We finally
found her at “Abbington’s Animals”. She is
so cute, with puffy cheeks and her teeth stick out too! We named
her “Tiffy” We bought purple ribbon to tie around
her ears and we’re looking for a dress (I know we really
need help, but it’s fun)
"Toofy and Tiffy" |
We met Butch and went to the police station to find out the
best way to Hwy 43 towards Dawson Creek, BC. The nice policeman
told us and we were on our way. We made the decision to stay
outside of Edmonton in Spruce Grove or Stoney Plain. I saw a
Super 8 in the Milepost (the travelers bible for Canada and
Alaska), but we couldn’t find it. We found out later that
it hadn’t been built yet! We drove to Stoney Plain and
they were booked so we went back to Spruce Grove and got a room
at the “Royal Inn”. They were really nice rooms!
After talking to Mom and Dad, Laura and Rainey, we called it
a night. |
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Day
17-
August 13, 2003
Toofy and Tiffy by the Jacuzzi
tub |
Well the day started out bad when we didn’t
receive our wake up call and the alarm didn’t go off!
(Spivey Rain Cloud just won’t leave us alone) We didn’t
get to leave until 7:30 am and were heading to Dawson Creek,
British Columbia. The Jeep was running pretty good and we passed
Whitecourt and were almost to Fox Creek when of course the it
started spitting and sputtering again! We pulled over and Stephen
called information for the closest dealership and found out
we had to go back to Whitecourt, about 30 miles! I was so frustrated
and Stephen and I were taking it out on each other. I couldn’t
understand why after all the prayers of family and friends and
ours, we were still having trouble. I knew in my heart that
it’s not Gods fault, but I was so FRUSTRATED!!! I just
wanted to get to Fairbanks!
We dropped the Jeep off once again at the dealership and walked
across the street to Subway for lunch. We wanted to find a bank
so we could once again exchange some money, but none of them
were in walking distance. One guy told us there was a credit
union down the street and ot the left. We walked down there
and didn’t see anything. We walked back across the street
and checked rates for rooms at the local motel, just in case
we had to stay the night. We were hoping we wouldn’t have
to, but low and behold, the fuel pump went out and of course
they had to order the part and could have it the next morning.
We stayed at the Western Budget Motel with Jacuzzi rooms! The
price for our room was only about $4 or $5 more than the other
hotels and we decided to make the best of the situation and
relax a little. I called Dad to let him know what was happening
and we took a very long nap. We walked across the street to
A&W for dinner and came back to the room for a nice relaxing
Jacuzzi bath. We talked to Rainey and Laura and then went to
bed. |
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Day
18-
August 14, 2003
Sign marking the beginning
of the Alaska Highway!
First of many signs for
Moose!
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We got up around 8 am and ate breakfast in the
hotel. Stephen called the dealership to find out the status
of the Jeep repairs. They said the guy was putting the fuel
pump in and someone would pick us up in about 30 min. We gathered
our things and went back over to the dealership to pick it up.
On the way, the courtesy driver took us to the bank so we could
exchange some money to pay for the Jeep. It ended up costing
$800!
We left Whitecourt around 11:45 am and were going to try to
make it to Ft. Nelson, Yukon, but time just got away from us.
We made it to Dawson Creek where we got on the Alaska Highway!
We drove as far as Pink Mountain and I suggested, since it was
so late, that we get a motel for the night. We stopped at one
hotel (I use the term loosely). They said they could give us
two rooms for $110 total plus tax. We decided to keep looking.
Everything was booked so we drove on to Bucking Horse River
and stayed at the Bucking Horse River Lodge in one of their
quaint rooms for $63! It was no Super 8 and Butch had to sleep
on the floor in the same room with us, but it was a roof over
our head! I called Dad collect because we were in the middle
of nowhere and our cell phones didn’t work. Now we were
beginning to experience the desolation of the Alaska Highway
I had heard about. The lodge had a cute little restaurant and
we ate dinner there. The people were very friendly, as everyone
we’ve met in Canada so far, including the drunk woman
we came across that was having truck problems. Stephen helped
them and she said she loved our accents! |
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Day
19-
August 15, 2003
Stephen at the Sign Post
Forest in Watson Lake
The Quaint Alcan Motel |
We got up early and ate breakfast at the little
restaurant and then we were on our way to Watson Lake! It was
a beautiful day and we drove in the mountains pretty much all
day long. It was a very winding, hilly road and it didn’t
have a shoulder for most of the way. Stephen and I watched Butch
go back and forth on the road and hoped he wouldn’t turn
the U-Haul over and spill everything we owned all over the road
or in a ditch! We saw some wildlife along the way. I just happened
to glance over and saw a black bear sitting down eating by the
side of the road. We saw what we think was a beaver trying to
cross the road. It looked like he might have been hurt, but
we couldn’t stop. We saw some people pulled over and looking
in a ditch. When we got up there I could see that they had hit
a bear! The bear was lying in the ditch with his feet in the
air! Poor Bear!
The strap that was holding the 96 Jeep on the trailer kept coming
loose and we had to keep pulling over to fix it. We saw some
moose drinking from the river and a stone sheep standing beside
the road. Driving in the mountains was BEAUTIFUL! Seeing the
natural beauty that God has made is tremendous! It made me realize
that I want to retire near the mountains! We made it to Watson
Lake, Yukon around 8 pm. The hotel we stayed at was the Alcan
Motel. We thought the one the day before was bad. This one was
more run down and we were the only ones brave enough to stay
there! We all crammed in the Jeep to go eat dinner. We stopped
by the “Sign Post Forest” There are signs from every
place you can think of. I found one from Niceville, FL (where
I was born), Monroe, LA (where I grew up, that one was upside
down) and others. I wanted to make a sign and leave it, but
I didn’t have anything to make one. Maybe on the way back
through in 6 years!
We went to the Gateway Motor Inn for dinner. While we were there,
I called Dad and Stephanie to let them know where we were and
we expected to arrive in Fairbanks.
We went back to the motel and went to bed around 9:30 pm, it
was still light outside, but we were so tired we didn’t
care! |
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Day
20-
August 16, 2003
View of the mountains in
the distance
|
We got up early and drove down the road for breakfast
before leaving the Watson Lake area. I just had my Slim Fast,
Butch and Stephen ate a big breakfast! The drive was beautiful
in the mountains with the lakes and streams alongside. We listened
to our Christian CD’s and had a wonderful Sabbath day!
We went through some construction, but it really wasn’t
that bad. Mostly, it was a breathtaking view all the way.
We stopped in Whitehorse and went to Wal-mart (last one till
next year when they build one in Fairbanks) to get a few things
and we ate lunch at Ricky’s Diner.
Stephen and I went to Radio Shack to get a plug for Butch’s
CD player and then drove the rest of the way to Destruction
Bay. I once again took advantage of the laundry facilities while
we ate dinner. We were all excited because the next day would
be our last trip day! |
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Day
21-
August 17, 2003
At the Alaska border!
Stephen at Delta Junction
(end of the Alaska Highway) |
It finally arrived, the last day of our trip to Alaska! It
was very cold when we woke up. We ate breakfast and hit the
road around 8:15 am. We hit some pretty rough road and one of
the straps broke that holds the tires on the back of the trailer.
We stopped and Stephen fixed it. We stopped at Koidern River
Lodge to fill up and go to the bathroom. While I was getting
a little amethyst cluster and stand for my souvenir collection,
Butch and Stephen put oil and transmission fluid in each vehicle.
We drove to Beaver Creek, the border of Alaska and Canada, and
changed drivers again. We past the border without any problems,
just a lot of questions like the other border. They asked us
if we had more than $10, 000 cash on our person??? I said “I
Wish!”
After crossing the border we drove to Delta Junction about 150
miles or so north. Delta Junction marks the end of the Alaska
Highway! There is a visitor center with plenty of photo opportunities
so of course we stopped to take pictures before heading the
rest of the way to Fairbanks. When we finally reached Fairbanks
we stopped at the welcome sign to take pictures. We found our
way to my friend Stephanie and Josh’s (Josh went to flight
school with Clif) house and started bringing things in the house.
It looked like we were moving in for good! Stephanie and Josh
were so GREAT!!! They have three boys; Gage, Dylan and Troy
that are just as cute as they can be! They told us we could
stay with them as long as we needed to. We caught up on old
times and then tried to go to bed, but it was so light outside
at 11:00pm! This would really take some getting used to!
 |
I was so
happy we made it I kissed the ground!! |
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| Well, this concludes our journey
from Raleigh-Durham, NC to Fairbanks, AK! Thanks for traveling
with us!! If you want to continue following our adventure, check
our monthly journal. |
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