Day #11: Another Day, Another Mishap...but nothing we can't handle!

Traveled Alberta and British Columbia
Weather: High temp: 68        Low Temp: 53       mostly sunny with a thunderstorm in BC this evening

Today's drive was all on a 2-lane road through logging areas of Alberta.  It seemed endless, even though it was one of our shorter days in the car.  We did see bighorn sheep before getting too far from Jasper.  They were licking hte salt off of the road, so it was a good thing that on oncoming car warned us to slow down by flashing their headlights!

A few hours into the drive, a passing big rig threw a large rock right at the side of our windshield.  It caused quite a bit of damage, with the cracks growing longer as we drove.  Luckily, our car insurance is with USAA and they are fantastic.  Within minutes of calling them, they were able to arrange for the local glass shop in Homer to order a windshield (it will take 4 days to arrive) and make an appointment to have it repaired after we get there.  In true Alaskan fashion, we could have the repair made on Monday, but it is the owner's birthday so he isn't working- Tuesday it is!  The shop owner also told me to tape up the cracks to keep them from getting larger and to keep the water out...so if you see the Pilot with the packing tape all over the windshield, that's us!

We arrived in Dawson Creek much earlier than expected, partially due to crossing another time zone.  We are now on Pacific Time...only one zone ahead of Alaska!  We walked a bit in town, found the historical Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway, and had dinner.  Tomorrow it's on to another of our favorite stops- Muncho Lake!

This describes our trip perfectly!

Day # 9: Icefields Parkway

Traveled in British Columbia
Weather:   High temp: 70      Low temp: 36              Cloudy to partly cloudy

We had a great day traveling across the Icefields Parkway.  Our first stop was the Columbia Icefield, where we had some lunch and then went for a short hike.  We brought the dog with us (he was so happy to finally be allowed to go somewhere with us!) and climed a steep, snowy hill up to the base of the glacier.  Along the way, there were markers showing how much further down the mountain the base of the glacier was in years past.  In 1844, it was all the way across the street at the visitor's center!

After the glacier adventure, we visited several waterfalls before settling into our hotel.  We are staying here for two nights and are happy to have a room with a separate sleeping area for the kids, a kitchen (we cooked dinner in tonight!) and a view of the mountains right out our front window.  We plan to explore the town of Jasper tomorrow afternoon.  In the morning, we are going to hike somewhere nearby.  After lunch we have a rafting expedition planned on the Athabasca River.  It was really great to find a company that offers rafting for all ages!

I will only post a couple of photos today, for a couple of reasons.
1.  Our internet isn't very fast again.
2.  The mountains, lakes, and rivers here are so massive that a photo doesn't do them justice.  There is no way to capture their beauty or enormity! If there is one place in Canada that I would say to visit, this is it.  They call it the most beautiful highway in the world.

Athabasca Falls

Glacier in Columbia Icefield

The Incredible Journey

Incredible? Absolutely. But when you see it all outlined in front of you, the first word that may come to mind is "long"...or maybe even "crazy." We have spent many hours during the past few weeks planning out our 5000+ miles of quality family time in the car. After determining how many days it is going to take us (FIFTEEN), we set about planning the route based on places that we really want to visit along the way. Then came researching hotels that will fit all of us comfortably and allow Midas (the wonder dog) to accompany us. So here's an outline of what we came up with. And even more impressively, all of the hotels are already booked. That may sound like overkill in the pre-planning department, but when you are traveling the Alaskan Highway in the summer without pre-arranged hotel reservations, you very well could find yourself camping at the first available roadside turn-out.

Day 1: CT to Youngstown, OH (547 miles)- no significance to this location, just a good place to stop for the night.

Day 2: Chicago (403 miles)- We have never been here and it's the only major city on the route. I foresee pizza for dinner this night!

Day 3: Sioux Falls, SD (573 miles)

Day 4: Gillette, WY (486 miles)

Day 5: Yellowstone National Park (355 miles)- we have been here before and can't wait to return!

Day 6: Extra day in Yellowstone

Day 7: Calgary (595 miles)- This is our longest day of driving

Day 8: Jasper National Park (267 miles)- This will include driving from Banff to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway, a place that we discovered by accident on our last drive out of Alaska and want to return to explore.

Day 9: Extra day in Jasper

Day 10: Dawson Creek, BC (328 miles)- Dawson Creek is the start of the Alaska Highway!

Day 11: Muncho Lake, BC (431 miles)- One of the most beautiful spots to stop. We have visited here before.

Day 12: Whitehorse, YT (422 miles)- I hear there is a good brewery here...

Day 13: Tok, AK (387 miles)- Finally in Alaska!

Day 14: Anchorage, AK (318 miles)

Day 15: Homer, AK (222 miles)- Finally!

We welcome input on any of these places, or points of interest along the way! Just remember that we will have the dog with us, so we can't do a whole lot of indoor activities.