Day Five - Dawson Creek - Mile Zero of the Alaskan Highway

So, this is the real beginning of the journey! The stuff before here was just necessary to get us to this point. But - today - HOORAY!! We made it to Dawson Creek. This is what is known as Mile Zero of the Alaskan Highway.

We left Whiskers Point Provincial Park around 9 this morning, and headed on our way. Not too far up the road, we saw a black bear crossing from one side of the road to another. This wildlife is so exciting to see!! A bit later on we saw - yep - you guessed it, another moose!

We made quite a few stops on the way, as the scenery is just amazing. It is so wonderful to be able to enjoy that beauty that God has created. Just a taste of what is ahead, I am certain. We wish we could share some pictures, but the WiFi at the place we are staying lacks. So, hopefully we can add those in tomorrow.

One of the most noteable places we stopped was Chetwynd, B.C.

It is the chainsaw carving capital of B.C. And WOW - those chainsaw carvings are numerous and beautiful. There was just about everything you could imagine. We had a lot of fun walking around and taking pictures and just enjoying people's creativity. Again - pictures to follow!!

We got in to Dawson Creek around 2:00 and set up camp. After dry camping and not draining the black water tank for a couple of days - well, let's just say that things got a bit, hmmm, icky. But that got taken care of, and we went into town to the visitor's center. We got quite a bit of info for our plans for tomorrow - a walking historical tour of Dawson Creek. And then a few more things, as well. After that, we made a stop at Wal-Mart (yes they are up here as well) - and Safeway. We were all kind of craving some fresh fruit and salad.

So after that we headed on back to our campsite, and had dinner and here we are updating the blog. That's the excitement for the evening! Thanks for each of you who are praying for us - those who have commented, or sent emails and those who have not. We appreciate you!

Day Three and Four

We started out the day on our way to Valemount, B.C. As we headed up the highway, we decided it was going to take longer to get where we wanted to get, so we did a search with Susan (our GPS). She told us that we were right near a turnoff that would take us a different way and would cut off quite a few miles. So we veered off the road we were on, highway 5 and cut across on 24 and then started going north on Highway 97. While we were cutting across - we saw our FIRST MOOSE!! It was quite an exciting moment. So exciting, in fact, that Jennifer almost deafened Vince in hollering - MOOSE!!

We headed on our way, driving for what seemed quite a while - 275+ miles, and made a phone call to one of the parks that we are already reserved at on our way home - Robert's Roost outside Quesnell. It was a nice park, so we already know we will enjoy spending our two days that we have reserved there in August (boy, that seems like a long way away!). The next morning, we got up and went into the town (quite nice town) and did 2 hours worth of laundry and Vince was able to take care of a couple housekeeping chores - like getting a key made and a new hose for a water pump, etc.

We headed on our way after those few chores. On our way up 97. We drove without too much incident - except seeing ANOTHER MOOSE!! Fun, again. We were headed to a provincial park. But we were a bit concerned because they were only back-in sites. Fortunately, we found a place we could pull off the side of the road to a bit of a drive through site, well - actually just pull off site. The mosquitoes were ferocious, and it was rainy, so we pretty much stayed inside - enjoyed a couple of DVD's - Tim Hawkins and Chondra Pearce. This was our first experience with dry camping. We had a few moments of concern with the tank settings reading full and just about full. But = we made it through okay. Good training for our time that we will spend driving up the Dalton Highway towards Prudhoe Bay. We all had an early bedtime - catching up on lost sleep somewhere along the way. And that concludes days three and four. Tomorrow - we head up to Dawson Creek - Mile "0" of the Alaskan Hiway! The excitement builds!

Day Two - Kamloops, B.C.

We spent a second day in Kamloops - and it was a HOT one! We spent quite a bit of the day at the B.C. Wildlife park. That was a lot of fun, and we got to see several different animal feedings, along with a birds of prey show. The park is set up to be like a hospital for injured wild animals. They are taken here to be taken care of, and then, when able - are let back out into the wild. Here are some pictures of what we enjoyed today. Or not, as it seems like again, I am unable to load! Maybe tomorrow on that.

We will pack up and head to Valemount, B.C. Only about 200 miles up the road, and we will stay there 1 night.

So, that is all for now. Thanks for checking in - and feel free to leave a comment!

The Journey has Begun (Day One - Kamloops, B.C.)

We began our Great Alaskan Road Trip today, June 21, 2010. It was great to finally have it all come together and get on the road! We left the house around 9:30 after a time of prayer, and headed off to VanLoo's Auto Service to have the tires and lug nuts checked out for safety. Then one of their guys came and prayed over us - and that was quite nice. Off to the DOL to have our tabs renewed. (It's always something, isn't it!) Then we stopped at Bedlington's and had our trailer weighed. It came in at 8,840 lbs. - which Vince was really pleased with. The truck weighed in at 10,320 lbs. So a combined weight of just over 19,000 - not too bad. The border crossing went well and we went on Highway One to get here. Through some pretty good grades and up and down, and Vince was almost in tears at how well the truck managed the whole way! There was no straining or anything - it ran perfectly, like almost nothing behind us! We made it to a Kamloops around 2:30 and checked into our Kamloops RV Park. It is decent, the staff nice - we are at After getting hooked up and all, we headed off to the Riverside Park - the kids did some water play and we met a really nice couple - so many comment on the truck and ask questions about the scooter lift up front. So, here we are back at the campsite. Hoping everyone falls asleep - SOON!! Tomorrow we will go to the Wildlife Park - I think everyone is quite excited about that! Then the next day, we will hit the road again. That's all for now. Here's some pictures to show you about our day. Well - so we thought - but our internet connection is really sketchy so they aren't uploading. We'll try again in the morning!!

2 sleeps left!!

We only have one day and 2 sleeps til we leave. We had a small gathering tonight, had a bit of cake, etc. We are packed to the gills! With everything except for a few perishables and our clothing and toiletry stuff. It is amazing to realize that it is almost time! Just a small snafu! Vince realized tonight that our tabs are expired!! That means just a bit of a delay in leaving on Monday, as that must be taken care of before we leave! It's always something, isn't it! We leave you with a few pics from tonight. There is our cake, a view from the top of the trailer of the truck and I think that's it! We'll either post again tomorrow or we won't! We'll see.

Thanks for your comments and your prayers and thoughts and all that. We appreciate them - and you!

4 days to go

Wow - it is amazing to realize that we are just 4 days out from our departure. Today, my parents arrived from Florida. They usually come up in the summer, and usually we get to be here to enjoy time with them. But, this year, they are staying in our home while we travel. Hopefully they will stay for a while after we return, so that we can enjoy at least some time with them this summer.

So, we continue to work on packing. A little more each day. There is seemingly always something to get done. We still have to get clothes packed, as well as perishable foods. Then there are all the toiletries, etc. I know it will all pull together! As of yesterday, we officially closed the office for the summer. Not accepting messages, got our machine set saying we are *North to Alaska!* Then there is the truck. Vince is working on making sure that it is all ready to go! Continuing the countdown!

Down to the Wire

So, two weeks from tomorrow (Monday) we leave on our adventure. It is hard to believe that after working towards this and waiting for all this time to pass, that it finally is here. Watching Ice Road Truckers tonight was like - Oh my goodness - - - we are REALLY going on THAT ROAD???? Hmmmm, what have I signed up for (Jennifer talking here!).

This weekend we finally got some sun that helped us to get some stuff finished. One of those important details was to finish painting the rusted tongue of the trailer - - - it's amazing with how much a person pays for these RV's and they can't seem to put a decent primer or paint on it. Our trailer is barely a year old, and we had to do this already. Then we laid out where the food bins will go, along with the mobility scooter and the 13 gallons of fresh drinking water.
And at the last minute, Vince noticed that with the small wardrobe that we had right inside the trailer it was actually quite a bit of wasted storage space. We aren't planning on taking too much in the way of hanging up clothes. So, we got it all measured out, and Vince set to work on making it into a 3-shelf closet. The top shelf is perfect for the printer that we are taking with us. The next shelf down is basically set up to be a charging unit. This means that all electronics (cell phone, ipods, etc.) will have a place to be when they need to be charged. It is set up with an APC Surge Protector, with power strip liberators (little mini extension cords), so up to six bricks for charging can be plugged in at a time. And - with a family of five, and all our assorted electronic paraphernalia - we need it!! The last shelf has a purpose as well! We will use that to store DVD's and the variety of medications - both prescription and not - that we need to keep our family happy and healthy! Underneath the bottom shelf, there is about 18 inches still. We will use that area for a bin of parts and tools that we are taking for computer repair, or possibly for extra shoes - or who knows what!

Vince also worked on getting the GPS unit updated (new map updates) and googled all the RV parks and got them input, so that is ready to get us where we need to be as well.

So, the countdown is on. There is much still that needs to be done, but we feel that we got a lot done this weekend. We are thankful for the weather that God provided for us to be able to get so much done! We will be posting more frequently now that the departure date is eminent.
--Vince & Jennifer