I have a lot of stories to share regarding the last week before I left Alaska and the drive down the ALCAN. But for today’s post, I thought I’d give a visual glimpse of the ALCAN by sharing one photo from each day. My sister drove with me. We left on Friday, October 6, 2017 and arrived in Laramie, Wyoming (the town we grew up in) on Thursday, October 12, 2017.

So, here are a few facts of the journey:

  • Number of miles: 3,090 (plus the get-lost miles)
  • Number of wrong turns we made: 3
  • Number of minutes we lost because of the wrong turns we made: 180
  • Person responsible for the wrong turns according to me: my sister
  • Person responsible for the wrong turns according to my sister: me
  • Number of blown tires: 1 (at a place of no cell service)
  • Number of minutes we lost due to getting the tire replaced: 220
  • Number of nights we intended to sleep in the van: all of them
  • Number of nights we actually slept in the van: none of them
  • Number of coffee stops: too many to count
  • Number of times we nearly ran out of gas: 2 (most embarrassing stat)
  • Number of dings in the brand new van’s windshield: 1
  • Weather: sun, rain, wind, sleet and snow…we saw it all

Day 1

The road coming into Tok, Alaska, looking back the way we came from Anchorage. Goodbye, Anchorage.

Day 2

This is not a photo of the highway we traveled down. Rather, a photo of the tire we left in the highway we traveled down. Story to come in a future post.

Day 3

An original Alaska Highway bridge built in 1942, outside Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, and called Historic Canyon Creek Bridge. We stayed the night at Haines Junction so this was in the glow of morning sun.

Day 4

Muncho Lake, British Columbia. The bright green-blue water is attributed to copper oxide leaching into the lake but you can’t see the color as well on cloudy days like this one.

Day 5

The twice daily ritual of wrapping the cat in a blanket to transport her between the van and the hotel. She adjusted to the constant change so much better than expected.

Day 6

Famous Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek. The wind is whipping like crazy but my dog and I jumped out for a photo.

Day 7

A large field of wind turbines in Montana and I didn’t even have a wide enough lens to capture the field in its entirety.

This is just a glimmer of the trip. I will share the trials, tribulations and the many wonderful moments of the trip in upcoming posts.

And, in case you are wondering, the license plate feature image, was taken at Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, at the Sign Forest which boasts over 75,000 signs. I Love Life.

Next stop: Tennessee to pick up my long-anticipated travel trailer at the Oliver factory.

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