Watson Lake Update- MILEPOST GUIDE

I forgot to mention that along with using our GPS, Road Atlas, and Printed trip from Rand McNally, we are using the 2007 Milepost. It is a fantastic tool! It has really helped us to know what to expect in each town and what to look for along the highway. It has all kinds of historic and notable information. Mom, I know you have a copy of the guide. Yesterday, we followed Milepost from page 120 all the way to 153. It was pretty accurate with where we would see the various forms of wildlife. So, today you can follow us from page 153 on to page 208. Then, hopefully, tomorrow we'll flip to 304 right on into Anchorage (page 343).

Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

What a day we had today! I didn't mention before but our check engine light had come on- again. So, when we got up we brought it to the local GMC dealer (fortunately there was one in this town). After 3 hours and another $200, we were on the road again. This one said that the part was improperly installed by the other deal. Whatever, we were on the way again. We stopped by the Alaska Highway 0 mile marker and got a better photo. Unfortunately there were a few busloads of people in the way. So, finally at a bright and early 11 am local time, we were driving down the Alaska Highway. We drove through some of the most beautiful country I'd ever seen! The Canadian Rockies are gorgeous! We saw brown & black bears, rock sheep, moose, caribou, deer, and bison. Not all of my pictures turned out very well. I wish that I could share better with you all what I'd seen with my eyes. We saw a brown mama bear with her two little cubs following behind her. They were tumbling around and batting at each other. We stopped for a photo but didn't want to linger and upset her. We saw at least three separate herds of bison with their young. I was amazed at the number of sheep. We saw several rams with such big horns! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snap a great photo of one of them. Moose turned out to be the most elusive. I'm sure we'll have other opportunities to see these particular wildlife. We believe we will get back in the USA tomorrow- to Tok, AK. Of course that all depends on what time we finally rise and shine. We never stopped for dinner today and by the time we reached the hotel here in Watson Lake everything was closed. Except for the convenience store which had a thick layer of dust over all the products on the shelf. This did not lend a great deal of confidence in the edibility of the vitals. Nevertheless, we were hungry and all found food to eat. I did feel a bit more confidence when I noticed a flock of local teens purchasing and eating food. This particular hotel is quite over-priced and under-cleaned/maintained. It is a roof over our head, however, and the only place for many, many, many miles. And of course, the ever important issue- they allow pets (and children- ha ha).
**Pictures don't seem to want to load this evening. It could very well be the quality of my connection. So, you'll just have to wait to see the great pics I got today. I'm off to bed and let the kiddies connect for now.

Dawson Creek, British Columbia

This morning we got up and discovered we had lost the dust cap for the trailer tire. This protects the bearings from road dust and gravel and is necessary for the tire to keep turning freely. So, we had the delightful task of finding a store that carried that obscure part. Needless to say after three stores we did not find the correct part. So, Sgt Dad, ever the resourceful one, bought a cap slightly too small and wrapped it up with electrical tape and jammed it on! Off we went- and only a couple hours off schedule! We started the day at the border of Saskatchewan and Alberta and ended in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. This part of the country is nothing but farms and refineries. Some parts are quite beautiful and others just plain dull. We passed by Rochfort Bridge Trestle. It is the second longest wooden trestle in the world. It was beautiful and I was grateful I didn't have to ride a heavy train across it! When we pulled into Dawson Creek we found some flooding. We had seen the rain coming down from the mountains while we were driving but didn't realize that it was coming down at our day's destination. The motel we had planned to stay at had flooded and we ended up at the local Ramada. NOT CHEAP! It was quite unfortunate for us. They must have charged full rates knowing that many of the other hotels had flooded. But it's a much cleaner and nicer place than last night.
The first photo I posted today is of mile marker 0 for the Alaska Highway. It is located in the center of Dawson Creek. I took it while driving past, in the morning Sgt Dad is to take me by again so I can take a proper photo of this historic landmark! Depending on road conditions, we should make it to Alaska on Sunday.
I'll keep you posted!

Trouble on the Road

So we left MOA after a great time and headed towards Canada. There was not much traffic and crossing the border was uneventful. I had imagined us being pulled to the side and all our belongings being rifled through. Suprisingly they didn't even ask to see our pet's documents. We drove on through to a town called Yorkton. It was a good thing we stopped when we did too. We found the door to our trailer falling off, one of the bolts of the trailer wheels sheared off, and two lug nuts missing and the fourth was loose. Somewhere along the way was lost the license plate for the trailer and our check engine light came on. As bad as that sounds, we managed the get everything repaired and the drive today was uneventful, though late getting going. We were not able to get on the road until 5pm and stopped at 1am. We stayed at a Howard Johnson last night and they were kind enough to allow us a late check out since we were having car trouble. Sgt Dad took the van in to the local GMC dealer for repair, $200- not to bad, while he repaired the trailer. We think we still have three more days on the road. It's pretty remote up here. A whole lotta land between teeny, tiny towns. I'm not sure after today if the hotels will have wi-fi or not but since these seem to be trucker routes, most of them do have internet access. The hotel tonight is marginally clean, poor repair, but priced right, had availability and allowed our furry family members in the room. By the way it was downright cold this morning! It was only about 50!! They said it was cold for this time of year- but how cold? Also, we may have had our first glimpse of the Northern Lights- we couldn't tell for sure but the sky didn't look like city lights. I'll keep my eyes peeled to tell for sure.
So, I'll get pictures eventually, right now all the boys are dying to contact their friends and I've got to share.
Good night

Mall of America

Boy am I tired! We got to the Mall of America right at opening yesterday- 10am local time. I was actually surprised that it wasn't crowded. I was expecting large crowds since it is summertime. For those of you Rochestarians who are following my journey, the amusement park section is about like Sea Breeze all packed tightly together. There are two roller coasters, a log flume, and an assortment of other rides. It is a great idea to have an indoor amusement park. You can play year round. Perhaps someone should consider building one of these grand malls in the Buffalo-Rochester area....
At any rate, many of you know that Cody doesn't like to ride the rides. However, we convinced him to try all the rides- and now he's an amusement park lover like the rest of us! He was the one pushing us after just a few rides. He rode all day!! We closed the park down! Let me backtrack a bit though. We rode from 10 until about 1 and stopped for lunch. Then we "cut the boys loose" and let them have the run of the park while we shopped the Mall. About 3 o'clock we were all ready for a break and walked back to the hotel for a swim. Let me tell you- my feet were ready to fall off! I could have kept on going if it wasn't for them screaming! By 5 the boys were ready to play again so they went on ahead while I finished the laundry and Ken took a nap. We met up again about 6:30 for dinner. Ken was tired of riding so he went back to the hotel while the boys and I closed the park down! All in all a good time was had by all! This was a great idea!
I think we'll make it as far as Minot, ND today. We may continue staying at Days Inn since they seem to have all we want and a generous military discount. Of course, state by state their quality could waver, so we'll keep our options open.
Now, I need to get this family up and fed to we can hit the road! See ya tomorrow!

Arriving at the Mall of America

Our second day of travelling was planned for much longer, 10 hours. Our "plan" was to drive about 10 hours then stop for the night wherever that was and finish the drive to the Mall of America when we got up in the morning. Our day did not go as planned. First off, we left 30 minutes behind schedule at 10:30 am. Then as we approached Gary, IN we hit incredibly long lines of traffic at the toll plazas. I'm SO glad it was a Sunday and not a weekday rush hour. Then, going through Chicago we passed right by the White Sox stadium as a game was letting out. All that plus an unscheduled rest stop (all this bad, fatty food- sooner or later someone has a stomach ache) led to us being behind schedule. So, instead of stopping sooner, we toughed it out and drove the entire way to the Mall of America. Since we were loopy tired and I'm weird, we drove past the Mall (at 1am) and passed by a Days Inn. Since it is directly across the street from the Mall we figured it would be way to pricey but we decided to stop in and check it out. Much to our surprise they not only had availability, indoor pool, smoking rooms, and allow pets but they also had a very generous military discount! So, we are staying here for two nights. We had planned to stay here all day and stay over anyway. Being here ahead of schedule is great since this will give us the entire day to play.
We also got our first moose sighting yesterday. It was at Black River Crossing, WI. Of course it was a statue and not a real moose! One of the kooky things you see on a road trip! And we had a bit of bad news.... my wonderful son decided to drop the bag w/ my camera in it. It wasn't very hard but hard enough to crack my lcd screen. So far, it appears it will still take photos but I have no way to see if I got the shot right. Of course before I left on this great adventure I had asked Sgt Dad to purchase a nice camera bag for it- which he declined. So I blame both of them! I should have bought the camera bag anyway. Needless to say, I will visit Ritz Camera and see if it is worth repairing. I guess youngest son has alot of chores to do to make up for this one! Grrr!

First Stop- Ohio

Well, we made it to our first planned stop: Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Apparently Poison is from the Cleveland area so the concert was nearly sold out! We stayed at a La Quinta which had all the amenities we requested: Pool, Gym, and allowed pets. It was about what I expected cost-wise although Sgt. Dad (cheapskate) thought it was pricey! Our next planned stop in 12 hours away- St. Paul, MN- Mall of America (MOA). Our plan today is to travel about 10 hours and stay where ever that will be. Then, in the morning, drive the remainder of the way and enjoy a day at MOA. We haven't really planned out the remainder of the trip from there but I suppose we'll look more closely at the map and plan that out. Or we'll just fly by the seat of our pants- we're kind of that way.
No pictures for this post- nothing really notable seen. Although if you could have been a fly on my shoulder at the Poison concert... lol. Some people don't realize the 80's are over! I saw mullets!
The boys and the dogs did just fine in our first day of travelling. While we were at the concert the boys chilled in the room w/ games & computers & pizza. They also enjoyed the pool. I know they will miss the pool we had in Henrietta.
Ok, I've rambled enough- If Mamma doesn't get this train moving we'll be here all day!

Alaska or Bust

In a few hours we will begin our great journey. We are packed, the house has been turned over, and all the plans are made. Today our plan is to reach Cuyahoga Falls, OH and catch a Poison concert this evening. We took Blackie to the groomers for a bath yesterday and even he is ready to go.
My poor boys are so sad to leave their friends. I hate it for them. They think we are too old to understand but we do. I wish that we could bring all of our friends everytime we move. Honestly, does it really matter much where you live if you have yoru family and friends nearby? Geography does matter but it's not the number one thing.
Well, time to get dressed and on the road.
See ya!
Love you all in Rochester!

Ozzy & Harriet Go to NYC

So, we did make the trek to NYC after leaving our car for shipping in Edison, NJ. However, we didn't get clear directions from the guys at the shipping office who knew where to go view the great Lady Liberty and instead relied on the GPS unit. It went crazy in NYC. We're not sure if the tall buildings interferred with the signal or the incredible mass of traffic and slow speeds. At any rate, it brought us to the Staton Island Ferry and the view from there is not great. Had we gone to Liberty Park (as the shipping men suggested it would have been better). However, I did get my NYC trip out of my system. For the record, I will never attempt to drive in NYC again. I would love to go back; for while I detested the driving conditions, I LOVED the hustle and bustle and even the sounds of honking horns! It was fantastic! I will fly in to NYC and use the subway to get around. I imagine it's much, much easier. We passed Wall Street, drove on Broadway, I saw the Empire State Building, walked through some of Battery Park, and of course snapped my long distance shot of the Statue of Liberty. We drove past Ground Zero. We couldn't really see anything because new construction has begun and barriers are erected around the site. I can't imagine the horror of that day and those poor people attempting to run to safety. It was nice to see the new construction going on there. We drove through Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel. I think the world over is familiar with all the sites of NYC. It was exciting to be in a place I've heard so much about. I attempted not to gawk like a tourist but, being a tourist, I did.

To the Sea

So, I got up early this morning and enjoyed a walk along the Atlantic, picking up shells for my little sister who loves them. It was so pleasant and the temperature nice, unlike yesterday when I was COLD! I spied a romantic- he was writing John & Deb in the sand and took a picture of it for her! Had I known what he was doing I would have snapped a picture but I thought he was just searching for shells like myself. Then as I walked futher an older, French couple flagged me to point out a sea turtle making it's trek back to the sea. It just plodded along. Had I not ran out of battery power I would have captured video. After I saw it swim away I traced it's path back up to the sand dunes hoping to be able to see a nest of buried eggs. I couldn't find any mounds so I don't know if that was the reason it had travelled so far or not. After all, I'm no marine biologist. I'm not a "morning person" per se but I did enjoy the early morning walk. Although, Mom would say it wasn't early morning at all (7am)!

Atlantic City

Well today we drove to Atlantic City. We are doing this because Sgt Dad has to take his car to the port to be shipped to Alaska. So, since we were "so close" we came on down. Actually we had plans to drop off his car then drive down but due to a series of unfortunate events (how many of you get the reference to the books? I'm such a book geek!) we were delayed and changed our plans. I'm very tired right now or I'd regale you with the details. Suffice it say, I'm in the doghouse but was able to rectify the situation.
So tomorrow it's off to the port and a side trip to NYC to see the Statue of Liberty!!!! Yeah! Of course I'll be accused of making my mistake in order to ensure I got my way with the side trip to NYC but in all honesty I did not do that. Though I am happy it has turned out this way! I can't wait to post my own picture of Lady Liberty!

Transitions

Well, today was my last day at work. It was sad saying goodbye. Everyone went all out on a potluck luncheon for me though! It really made me feel good. It's so nice to feel well liked. I really enjoyed my job and was sad to leave a position that was such a good fit. Of course I will miss all the great people with whom I worked. It was such a nice place to work- so nice in fact that I referred my own Mother and she now works in my place!
Of course this means I'm now beginning the final countdown. 10 days and counting! As I type Sgt Dad and Middle Boy are outside assembling the trailer that we purchased to haul the essential items that we want to bring with us.
Travelling such a great distance and not having housing lined up means we need to bring a good deal of clothing and for a variety of weather since it can change drastically in Alaska. We also will have our two dogs and need to bring their kennels and a fair amount of dog food. There is the air mattress and bedding. We also need to bring a selection of tools in case of breakdowns in the more remote portions of Canada. I'm even thinking we should purchase 10 gallons of gasoline- just in case there aren't enough gas stations. I'd sure hate to run out of fuel and who knows what the cell phone coverage will be in the far north east???

Post Twenty Two or Milestones

Well, I have passed another parenting milestone- my youngest child has had his first "formal". It's so cliche but the time seems to have flown by. So, baby boy will be graduating from 8th grade next week. He likes girls and IMing. He isn't a baby at all. Then perhaps worst of all, my oldest will finish 11th grade therefore becoming, GASP, a SENIOR! Sometimes I wish I could time warp and hold them as babies again.
In other news, I am not going to continue posting my "post numbers" anymore. I don't see the point in it as I am getting the hang of titling them.
In other, other news, our impending move is fast approaching!! My plan is to take photos and upload them daily with a little tidbit of our daily adventures. So, "tune in next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel".