Days 8 and 9

*Well, we have come to the last 2 days of the travel portion of our trip.  Enjoy! *

Day 8 September 8th

Mile Post 710 Yukon to Tok Alaska 590 miles in 14 hours

Wildlife: dead moose’s, coyote, swans

Temperature: 36

Timezone: Pacific / Alaska

St. Elias Range

We hit the road this morning at 9:30 am with a full belly and goods night sleep behind us.  We had breakfast with Mum an Pa and said our Thank You's and Goodbyes.  It's pretty chilly this morning and I have to confess- I did not pack properly. I packed for Sunny 90 Salt Lake, not frigid Yukon 36* weather. Layering is not an option because you can layer as many tank tops as you want, but my arms still freeze!  We just passed our first Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We slowed because we saw lights and a car off the road and people in the ditch. As we pass we are waved on and see why- they hit a moose!!  The RCMP female officer and 3 guys had tarps out and were gutting it right there on the side of the road- free food right?!?! As we have been driving we are always looking at different license plates, so far we have seen: Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Michigan, California, Utah, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Arizona, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington. I pointed out to Dale all the Alaska plates are going south...... We are the fools heading North! We just left the booming metropolis of Whitehorse in the Yukon. It was a cute little town and we got out to stretch our legs. As we were leaving town we saw......the first sign with Fairbanks on it!!!!! We are still 600 miles away but still a very welcoming sight;) As we left Haines Junction it was impossible not to notice the beautiful mountain range, the St. Elias range is the second tallest range in Canada and as of today already has snowcapped peaks ;) At 2031 Alaskan time we crossed the border into the 49th state and our new state, Alaska! We stopped for pictures and quickly got back in the car- it was a balmy 41* ;) Coming through the border was no problem at all- he quickly looked at our passports, scanned the animal paperwork and sent us on our way. We are now only 297 miles from Fairbanks.  We decided to stop for the night in Tok at the Snowshoe. We are just too tired and saw yet another car vs moose and decided we were not ready for that Alaskan experience yet! As we pulled in I have to note the temperature was only 36*!

Side note: so far on this trip I have a bruise on my rib cage from sleeping on the truck bed, bruises on both knee caps from only God knows what, countless broken fingernails and a stubbed toe! I am ready for a mani/pedi!!

Day 9, September9th

Tok Alaska to Fairbanks AK 203 Miles in 3 hours

Wildlife: Moose

Temp: 45*

Timezone: Alaska

Brrrrrrrr! Leaving the hotel room this morning was rough- I froze my toes off- because, you guessed it-I am in sandals!  After having a great breakfast at Fast Eddies in Tok, we are off. Only 203 more miles to Fairbanks, then time to find a place to live and find me a job!!!  When leaving Tok we were happy to be on “good” roads, keep in mind I am using the term good very loosely!  Throughout the Yukon and northern BC the roads were crap and that is extremely mild- lovely dirt roads with frost heaves everywhere that make traveling with an overweight trailer very enjoyable –not! Frost heaves suck- they occur when water under the soil freezes (because its so freaking cold up here) and it expands.  So these really really slow you down and if you miss an upcoming heave, you encounter a free test your shocks and marriage bump.  Anyways, the rest of the drive to Fairbanks was uneventful and I swear the dogs knew we were getting close- they were so antsy!  We arrived into town and the hunt for a hotel was on.  I called, literally, every hotel in the Mile Post book and the entire top search results from Google and I found 4 places in the entire city that would let us have the dogs – not what I was expecting.  We finally decided the extended stay was the best day and the best location so we checked in.  Needless to say- not impressed at all.  Thankfully we would only be here 4 nights- anymore and I think we may have looked elsewhere.  So that is it folks- our trip from Salt Lake City Utah to Fairbanks Alaska via Seattle Washington.  I can definitely say we were very lucky and had an easygoing trip with no drama or maintenance issues. 

The dog set up- they had the entire bed of the truck
as well as most of the back seat.  This is where we all slept Day 6.

The rest of my blog time will be dedicated to the fun happenings, daily life happenings in Fairbanks and the surrounding metropolis, as well as Dale and I’s weekly shenanigans. Hope you enjoy Alaska in My eyes.