Dashboard pictures

  Here are some pictures straight from the dashboard 

   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
    
 

The Sign Post Forest

http://www.watsonlake.ca/our-community/sign-post-forest/
Check this off the bucket list

The Alaskan HWY

We started this morning at 0830. Not once on this trip have we had an early morning start. I took over at the wheel this morning, my husband had a few drinks on the dime of some local Canadian old geezers 😳 so with Anthony riding shot gun and dad in the back we started to burn up the Alaskan HWY. one thing to be cautious about is passing 18-wheelers! They kick up so much gravel so riding behind them is not an option. But trying to time it right to pass them is about as difficult as winning a stuffed animal in one of the claw machines in the front of walmarts. It kind of a now or never decision. Or “ready set go…” And the Hwy (at least up to this point) is NOT paved entirely. There are several patches of road that is gravel and some packed dirt. And all of it is filthy dirty from the salt and sand. But the views are stunning! There was a better part of four hours where it was not possible (without plunging the vehicle down a 4,000 foot cliff) to travel a speed over 40mph/64 kmh (getting good with the metric system 😉 going through these extremely narrow roads that have blind curves and no guards rails truly help you stay vigilant. I think my forearms got a workout from gripping the steering wheel. I had precious cargo to consider. I also had to bench Mr. Johnson from driving today. He would have buzzed our Subaru through those twists and turns a little to much like a true rally car. I don’t think I would be here to write about if I had chosen the latter. Some random bullets from today 

• When getting back in the car during pit stops I honestly can’t believe I have lasted 4,300 miles! The SMELL in there is so disgusting. I feel like I smeared my face in freshly laid chicken shit. 
• When traveling on the Alaskan HWY at an remote gas pumps they will put a $200 hold on your card until the price of your purchased gas clears! We didn’t pay at that pump we made it to Fort Nelson and filled up, grabbed cash and still made it to Watson Lake before we needed more gas. 
• Rowan Sage loves to squeal and “sing” along. She has been so good on the road. But for about an hour after she eats she just starts squeaking and squealing!
• The mantra for this trip is “Put a Sock in it” I mean what can one expect being within arms reach of 3 other individuals and a dog for thousands of miles and hours upon hours, put a sock in it is bound to happen. For us, as of lately, put a sock in it would be putting it nicely. 😂

We also FINALLY have started to see wildlife. First, was an Eagle, then an elk, then 4 big Caribou. And this evening it was about 60 bison/buffalo (whichever roams N.America) but these “gentle” Giants were grazing right along the side of the hwy. There was a huge sign saying *CAUTION* and we made small bets if we would actually see some. Then we saw all the tracks in the snow and the huge piles of poop and then there they were! And what did we do??? Got out of course and took selfies with them. We continued to see them for about the last 120 miles. Tomorrow, we are hoping to see a moose! 

We finally reached Watson Lake, Yukon!!! And got to check off one of our “must see” of the list. The Sign Post Forest 

http://www.watsonlake.ca/our-community/sign-post-forest/ 
Check it out!!!! And look below for our picture from it! We are resting up, showers but didn’t pull the bags down tonight. So standby for the same clothes in tomorrow’s pics. (As if anyone is looking at what we are wearing? There is way to beautiful of photos to care) at least that’s what I tell myself. 

Traveled 389 miles from fort St. John to Watson lake and total driving time was 9hrs 42 minutes (yes crazy! That’s because that was a crazy drive)  

    
    
    
        
        
  
Edit       ~Stephanie 

Pics from along the way

   
    
    
 

Banff/Jasper National Park

So yesterday we had a leisure start to our morning. Had the hotel breakfast and packed the car (the guys actually took everything down for us the day prior) then we set out for Banff National Park. We heard it was going to be beautiful however, we were not ready for what was in store for us. Just driving up to the gate we were blown away. Our first stop was Banff Centre. The little town of Banff. It was so quant and touristy with still a small town feel. It even had a high school. This is remote Canadian Rockies. Our first stop was a little park and the wash house. Then to Patagonia where they welcomed Max into the store! Puppy love. 

We ventured down the street, stopped bought some postcards for Anthony to mail back to the Beal Family and to his new friends/cousins Riley and Jenna. And because of our stop in Steamboat Springs, Anthony will NOT stop talking about how he is going to be the next X-Games champ snowboarder (he has never snowboarder) oh to be 9 years old again. As adults we just wish to be debt free! Which is actually sad. Part of this trip has really opened my eyes even more to the beauty there is in the world and we have only traveled N. America. And by travel I mean drive and explore. I’ve flown into many places but I don’t feel like you get the same thing out of a tourist “vacation” as you do from trying to search for food and a place to stay, which requires you to interact with locals. Not having a cell phone or the handy dandy map quest also creates a different element of learning and taking in. The local people here in Alberta seem to be pretty similar demographic as the U.S. People from all over the world (Philippino, Hispanic, and Asian) I only know specifically the Philippines because there was a lady with a name tag. Unlike the U.S. Spanish is not a first or second option for a language. But one of the other Romance languages is FRENCH! I knew it would pay off to have spent two summers in Quebec!😊 

So after shopping and finding a new pair of boots for me, and some sack lunches and food for our cooler (we picked up a cooler on our way out of Steamboat Springs) we were off to site see. We pulled off onto some hiking area I fed the baby and Anthony and Nick withMax in tow, went beyond the tree line and what was sitting on the other side was a stunning river. It was a bright green color and had big patches of ice flowing down. There was even the train the passed through. I love trains and the would be a beautifully scenic trip. Our next stop was Lake Louise. Nick says “go ahead babe I’ll stay and watch the baby” Anthony and I made the short trek down to the frozen lake. Before we even came to the clearing I could hear voices off in the distance. Just sounds of pure amazement and laughter echoing. Once we came out to the opening it was so stunningly beautiful I am not even exaggerating that it almost brought me to my knees. I seriously felt like I walked into heaven. People were laughing and dancing, throwing snow balls. The sun was so bright off the white snow. There was a thick fog blowing over the tallest mountain peaks. I HAD to go back and get Nick! He couldn’t have missed this. I shuffled my way as fast as I could with loosing my breath because I was just in pure awe and it made me so happy I was giggling as I ran! I was out of breath when I came up to the car (not because I’m out of shape and ran uphill in the snow at an extreme altitude) but it was because at that moment, stepping out onto that frozen lake I was humbled! It was as if God had shown his face to me!! I think we all get wrapped up in our life which can feel so overwhelming and so “big and important” but a moment like this just made me think of one word “GOD” tears are brought to my eyes just writing about how gorgeous. (Ashley your wedding is going to be so breath taking) 

We continued on the drive through Canadain Rockies and hands down its better than the Colorado Rockies. 

We saw Glaciers and wildlife, the kids were happy and we were all together. We made it Jasper and the hotel we looked at staying at the day before was no where in site and there were mostly hostels. We decided to eat and get back on the road. Once we set out and were about 10 miles up the road snow started to fall and it came down fast and hard. We decided to turn back, but the question was “where is the road?” I could not even see the edges of the road and it was step drop offs on either side. Busting a u-turn was the only way back. I will say, Nick and I are really good about staying calm during hectic and confusing moments. (I would never travel with someone who panics) we calmly reassessed and made the turn around. We didn’t drive off a cliff and we made it back to town and found a hotel. And it was 114$ U.S. The room had three beds. And as much as I am against sleeping separate from my hubby last night was an exception. 3,415 miles side by side, 4 people/1 dog in a Subaru it was okay for us all to have our own bed. Rowan  Sage snuggled with mommy. 

We are now on our way to the ALCAN and that one way exit from Jasper was shut down this morning!!!! They said it was closed for 5-6 hours. So we made the command decision to take 16E and now we are on 40N headed to Grande Prarie then to Dawson’s Creek. Google it and see where we are and where we still need to go! It’s pretty crazy. 
Currently the baby is crying and Anthony is asking the same questions over and over haha. Stopping soon for gas and to fill our gas can (gas stations are scarce) and feed the baby. Enjoy the pictures from yesterday 

~Stephanie  

    
    
    
    
    
                                     
    
    
    
    
 

Leave me the little towel

  Last night we arrived in Calgary, Alberta. We stayed at the Super 8 motel which was actually true to its name, SUPER. It was pet friendly with only a 20$ pet fee. Our grand total was 109$ Canadian/82$ US. Nick was even upgraded to the suite, pays to have a handsome husband. And I’m not afraid to use him, lol. The hotel was walking distance to several places to eat. So we walked. After spending hours in the car, it’s nice to walk. The western part of Canadain seems very much like the US. We were even called in our room to make sure it was okay and to let us know to call if we needed “ANYTHING” maybe little Maria the front desk attendent was hoping my hubby would answer haha. We did not pack a stroller on the trip, so little Rowan Sage is either carried or put in the slinge.and  she is definitely ready to start eating puréed food. She eyes my food and grabs it! Once we got back to the hotel the men went to the hotel pool which was indoor with a water slide. I did homework and started the new blog. The guys came running back through the door jumped in showers and started to relax and I still hadn’t moved from my homework spot. When I finally got in the shower I released the only towel not used was barely big enough to dry little Rowan off. I just grabbed it and patted myself dry. 

A slow start to our morning, and negotiating our routes and days ahead, we are now on the move headed to Banff National Park. We filled up with 49.33 liters at .929/liter for a total price of $45.83 Canadian ($34 US) the last purchase here were Smoothies which were $14 for two large. Our total costs in Calgary was $160. 

One awesome site we saw while leaving Calgary was the Canadain Olympic training facility. Now, on our way to Banff! Stay tuned 

~Stephanie  

 

A little fun along the way

   
   

Oh Canada, Oh Canada..

Oh Canada Oh Canada 🇨🇦 we crossed the border at 1415 mountain time, and now we have arrived in Calgary, Alberta. The kids are still doing awesome!! And Max, there is no better dog. Anytime we stop we open the back hatch and out jumps Max, he can walk to potty without his leash and never even thinks about running off. When it’s time to go we say “let’s go Max” and up jumps Max. There was a lot of open farm land. And the weather here locally is around 50degrees F. Grabbing showers, then food! Our hotel is so nice and is only $82 American dollars, to include the pet fee.

 

some shots along the way….

Billings, MT

And we’re moving, 0630 local Billings, Montana time. There was nothing but gorgeous scenery and rolling ranches all through Wyoming and Montana. Here in Billings are a lot of Casinos! And was the first real built up city we’ve seen in hundreds of miles. Anthony has chapped lips (which is actually his normal) we grabbed him some red boxes that we need to find a place to drop off before hitting the border. There was a wintery mix for most of our drive yesterday and we woke up to about 2-3 inches on the car. The roads are to warm for it to stick. Today, we have 550 miles to go and about 9 driving hours. Yesterday, through Montana the speed limit was 80mph. We slept in our first hotel last night and grabbed Texas Roadhouse take out. It was dog friendly room and super clean. The sun has yet to be seen today. Now time to call AT&T about an international plan.