Driving The Alaskan Highway

First of all, I have to give a shot out to the company who produces The Milepost. I used the book and the website for maps, road conditions, and places to stay. It's called "the bible of North Country travel" and it was the only resource I used.

My mother and I met up in Anchorage. We spent two days gathering supplies and planning our trip. If it was just humans involved, I wouldn't have worried so much. But since I had cats and a dog, I wanted to be sure all was ready. 

Me & My New Car!!

We stayed at The Puffin Inn in Anchorage. I stay there every time I am in Anchorage. I really like their jacuzzi suite. Plus, I could bring Dakota there and there never have been any problems. Funny story about that...there is a weight limit on the dogs. I had been bringing Dakota there since he was a 35 pound puppy, and so I never knew about the weight restriction. And when I came in with a 110 lb Dakota, no one said anything to me. The manager told me that he knows my dog and knew he was a really good dog. And Dakota has never caused any trouble there, but it was that little act of kindness that made me realize how special Alaska is. People are truly kind in Alaska. I will miss that. 

That Saturday, I got to pick up my new car. After living in teacher housing for 3 years, that car was the fanciest thing that I have ever seen. And it was mine! I couldn't believe it. It was so pretty and clean. I knew that wouldn't last long. Not with a 3,000 mile road trip with 2 adults, 2 cats, and a dog. 

I am going to note at this point that those two days were the only nights I shared a hotel room with my mother. She's allergic to cats and while it worked out for Anchorage, we didn't want to tempt fate and have her react to the kitties. 

Day 1: Anchorage, AK to Tok, AK; 328 miles; Glenn Highway

The first day out was pretty uneventful. Fitting all of our luggage & the animals was tricky. I might have freaked out about that. It was tricky, but once I got everything in and the animals were settled, I relaxed. 

I will say that Alaska has a nasty habit of renaming highways with the same name as another one. Then they rename the old highway Old _____. There was a couple of times that day where I had to ask myself, "Wait....did I want Old Glenn Highway?" I was glad I went over the route that night before. And if anything, that first day taught me to go over the map more carefully each night. 

I had called ahead the night before to reserve a room. The books all recommended it. What I didn't know until we got on the road, was that the season was 5 days away from starting. So not everything was open, BUT what was open (and enough of hotels & gas stations were open so we didn't feel the pinch) was pretty empty. So rooms ended up not being an issue. 

The highlight of the day was when I saw a sign for something called, "Glacier View ____." I thought, "Why would they call something Glacier View? Is there a glacier nearby!?!" And I turned a corner and saw to my right.....yeah, that's a glacier. I was beside myself! I didn't know I was going to be driving by a glacier! How cool is that?

Driving past a glacier

I guess there was something that happened. Gas wasn't an issue, but there weren't any rest stops on the road. And there was a long stretch of road with no bathrooms. So, at one point, I had to pull off and go behind a tree. I was a bit nervous doing that, but I took Dakota with me and figured he'd protect me. After that day, I was careful about going to the bathroom when bathrooms were available. But as the rest of the trip had rest stops, it wasn't an issue. 

We arrived at Tok, Alaska. And it was going to be my last night in Alaska. We stayed at Golden Bear Motel & RV Park. And the people who ran it were so incredibly nice. The rooms were nice but the restaurant wasn't open yet. But we went to dinner at a place called Fast Eddy's. 

At this point, I should note that we hadn't been driving on the Alaska Highway yet. We drove the Glenn Highway that day.

Here are some pictures of Day 1:

Poor Moose

We stopped here for lunch

My favorite picture.....

Golden Bear

We ate dinner here

Day 2: Tok, AK to Whitehorse, Yukon; 387 miles; Alaska Highway

That was the day of my phone interview at 5:00 p.m. (4 p.m Alaskan time). I had checked my cell phone plan and the website said I would be roaming. My goal was to hit Whitehorse by 3 p.m. I figured I could spend an hour getting settled. 

I'm an idealist at times. 

A couple of points to note: Day 2 is when we crossed the border into Canada. We were in the Yukon Territory of Canada at that point. Canada posts signs letting you know that now the signs will be posted in kilometers instead of miles. Oddly enough, Canada does NOT post when you've entered into a different time zone, but more of that later.

On this leg of the trip, part of the road had been washed out right before Whitehorse. By the way, even though the roads are paved, it's pretty gnarly. We had a to take a detour off the bad road, and the condition of the alternate road made me really curious to see why that road was deemed the better choice. There was a truck that had in big letters: FOLLOW ME on it to represent the pilot car. 

Our detour

At this point, it was 3:30....and we were still a ways from Whitehorse. I had a nagging suspicion I was going to miss my interview. 

Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon Territory and is quite widespread. I had asked the hotel if they were easy to find the night before. They weren't. It was by sheer dumb luck I found the hotel. 

I had tried calling the hotel, only to find my cell phone would only work if I dialed 911. It was now 4:00 and time for my interview and I had only just pulled into the hotel. 

Actually, I noticed the clocks said it was 5 p.m. and that's when I realized I had crossed into a new time zone. 

It turns out, I made my interview. I called from the hotel room and the school called me back. Everything went smoothly. I mean, I didn't end up getting the job, but that's okay. Everything worked out.

We stayed at the Best Western Gold Rush Inn and it had the softest bed I had ever slept in! There was one ugly incident that kinda ruined it for me. I had to take Dakota out the front door to walk him. And he's a really good dog. We turned this corner and he started barking at this one woman. Now, for all I know, she eats her babies. But a rep from the hotel was giving her some tour and came up to Dakota and started pushing him back with her body saying, "Oh I know, you are just an obnoxious malamute!" 

I wished I had said something to her. But I was just one part shocked at her behavior and the other part of me wanted to get my dog away from a woman who bothered him enough to bark at. But other than that, everyone else was really nice. I am still mad that woman said that about my dog. For all she knows, the other woman was pure evil. Dakota is NOT obnoxious! My mom actually complained to the hotel about that woman insulting my dog. 

Here are some pictures of Day 2:

Crossing the border...

Canada has spots to pull off & throw trash away

The bridge warned parts could break off

Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear

Canada has different candy...

...and money!

Day 3: Whitehorse, Yukon to Watson Lake, Yukon; 282 miles; Alaska Highway

Even though this day was the shortest drive, it was my least favorite. We hit a snowstorm on the way to Watson Lake and I did not like driving in the snow. I was worried when I saw the temperature dropping to 32 degrees. I did not want to deal with icy roads. 

This day was a turning point for me. I realized that I didn't want to do half day trips. I wanted to drive longer on my trips. I didn't want to be on the road 8+ days. 

I also didn't care for the hotel as much. It was my least favorite. The room was the pet room, which was nice, except that it smelled like it was the pet room. And people kept walking past the room with their animals, which would freak out my animals, so I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. My mom, on the other hand, really enjoyed her stay in her room. We stayed at the Big Horn Hotel in Watson Lake. The people were nice and it was easy to find.

Here are some pics of Day 3:

Yeah....sure it's paved....

Bear!

At one of the rest stops

Snow storm!!

Big Horn Hotel

Watson Lake

Day 4: Waston Lake, Yukon Territory to Dawson Creek, British Colombia; 613 miles, Alaska Highway

This day was my favorite day on the trip. As we were leaving the Watson Lake area, we stopped for some gas. The ladies working this one store had warned my mother that we'd be seeing lots of animals and the bison were particularly dangerous because they have no fear of cars. I took this to mean that they stay in the road and don't move. My mother took it to mean they charge your car like rhinos. I thought buffalo were more like cows. Turns out I was right.

We saw: grizzly bears, black bears, buffalo, moose, goats, sheep, elk, caribou, deer but no eagles. This was the day I had to stop my car to let a black bear cross the road. I was laughing the whole time in disbelief. Dakota growled at the bears & buffalo. He growled at the bear crossing the street. 

We stopped at this great RV park/lodge. It was called the Toad River Lodge and it had an amazing collection of baseball hats from all over the world. The hats were all on the ceiling. The picture doesn't do it justice, because there must have been thousands of them!

It was also the first day I saw any signs of spring. Which was lovely.

It was a long drive. That last 100 miles was tough. We all wanted out of the car! We stayed at the Super 8 in Dawson Creek, which was very nice. It had the best morning breakfast we had during the whole trip. But that's the next day.

Here's a lot pictures for Day 4:

Grizzly bear (there were two of them)

Canada & British Colombian Flags

The bear crossing the road

This marks the end of the Alaskan Highway. It has taken me several hours to post Days 1-4. I will continue this post with Days 5-7 in a couple of days. Feel free to leave me comments!!

Furbaby Adventures

Poor Daisy

Before I go into my drive, I thought I would devote a post about traveling with my pets. If you are new to my blog, I have a (small) giant 110 pound Alaskan Malamute named Dakota. I also have two cats named Daisy & Lola. Daisy & Lola traveled with me from California to Alaska. That trip was a flight from Oakland to Anchorage and was uneventful (for the most part). We did get stuck overnight in Bethel, but that ended up not being that big of a deal.

If you are traveling within the state of Alaska, you do NOT need a health certificate for your animals. You do however, need proof that your animals have had their rabies shot. Since I was traveling through the Canadian/United States borders, I was required to have proof of rabies and a health certificate. 

Dakota was current on his rabies, however my cats were not. So a week before I left Akiak, I had to fly my kitties and myself to Bethel for the day. I was meeting up with my friend, Mandii, who was bringing her cat to the vet for the same reason. The vet is only in Bethel once a month for a week. So, you have to jump on his visits if you need something. Even to fly my kitties to Anchorage, they needed their rabies. So this was an important day. 

My kitties were ready. I had Daisy in a hard case carrier and Lola was in a soft carrier. I knew I was going to need to check one of my cats for the trip to Anchorage, and Lola tends to get scared, where Daisy gets mad. I figured it was best to piss off Daisy instead of terrifying Lola. So I would check Daisy and keep Lola with me. But for that day, I just wanted them to get used to their carriers. 

The plane agent couldn't drive through the giant puddle/pond by my house. So he waited for me at the end of the road. 

And here's where it gets horrible. As I was walking to the agents car, carrying my two cats in their carriers, I slipped on a patch of ice in the pond and I dropped Lola in the puddle. Both cats are screaming (Lola more so) and I kinda toss Daisy on the dry ground as I get Lola (who's screaming bloody murder) out of the puddle. Water comes pouring out of the carrier as I lift it out. The water was freezing cold and I am convinced Lola's going to die.

The agent came running over and helped me with the cats. My pants are soaking wet and I feel like the worst cat mommy EVER. I use my hat and my gloves to attempt to dry off Lola. The pilot of the bush plane let me keep Lola on my lap as I attempted to soothe her and keep her from dying (in my mind anyways). I had the idea of putting her in Daisy's carrier with Daisy. Once when Lola was a kitten and they both had to go to the vet in California, Lola had gotten scared and climbed in with Daisy. And when I travel with Daisy, her temperature spikes up because she gets stressed out. I figured Daisy would help keep Lola warm.

And besides, Lola's carrier was soaking wet. I was so focused on Lola that I didn't notice it was still dripping wet...on my lap...soaking my jacket....and pants....and cell phone...which made it totally useless until it dried off.....that night....

Anyways, I was waiting for my friend at the airport (which is pretty much a large room) so I transferred Lola into Daisy's carrier. Daisy was mad but Lola was just sitting there...in shock no doubt. 

Mandii comes with her cat and we get ready to leave to the vet. I grab the carrier to leave. The bottom drops out of the carrier and both my cats fall to the ground. Time seemed to stop for a moment. I was still holding the top to the carrier when I see Daisy run off. I shout, "OH MY GOD!" and drop the top on Lola, hoping to stall her as I go after Daisy. Mandii shouts, "I'll get the other one!" and this sweet family starts to put the carrier back together. 

I manage to corner Daisy and bring her back. The family has put it together for me, so I shove  Daisy in and I can hear Lola screaming by the bathroom. Mandii had her cornered but was waiting for me to get her. I have never seen such a terrified cat. I ended up holding her for a few minutes before putting her back in the carrier. I ended up taping the carrier with packing tape to keep it from falling apart again.

The rest of that day was pretty uneventful. I got their shots and health certificate. But this made me really dread traveling with them on a long road trip. 

Dakota's space

Cats behind a couch

Compared to that day, the trip was fine. I mean, they hated it. I'd have to catch them every morning, and they'd meow in the car for hours to let me know they were pissed. But we kinda got into a routine. 

Dakota had the easiest time traveling. I set up a pet hammock in the back seat. I stashed my mother's and my luggage on the floor and he got the whole back seat to himself. The cats had their carriers in the back. Every day, I'd set up the litter box & their food and we'd settle in for the night. 

Catching the cats...

Dakota and Lola seemed to adjust best to traveling. Daisy would hide every day. I loved the pet friendly rooms in Canada. The bottoms of the beds were blocked off so the cats couldn't hide under the beds, which made them so much easier to catch in the mornings. When they were able to hide under the beds, I just decided to pull the beds apart and flip the mattresses up. The cats had no where to hide. On the last few days, Daisy just seemed to give up hiding. She'd sit there and mew a little.

One morning, one of the cats would not stop complaining. I even stopped the car to make sure nothing was wrong. Then, I decided to put the cats together. They could soothe each other. That worked. For that day. There was a cat fight the next day. Both cats got a bit scratched up. We had two days left in the trip. By that time, I was so done dealing with them. I kept them together. They didn't make as much noise after that, but now I wish I had separated them. You'll see why in a moment.

Dakota sleeping in car

One thing I thought was funny, was every night, Dakota would crash like he spent the day running on the highway. Every time we stopped, I'd walk him but who knew traveling would be so tiring for him? But over all, he had the easiest time on the trip.

Dakota crashed out in hotel room...

So here's the aftermath: 

Dakota ~ is doing great. He loves all the extra attention he gets and everyone in the house adores him. He has a yard to play in and I've been walking him around. He sleeps in the hallway, guarding all of his new humans, but every morning, he jumps into my bed and sleeps with me for a bit. He wakes me up when my niece gets up. He's a happy boy.

Dakota enjoying the grass

Daisy ~ was the first cat (my brother has two boy cats) to adjust to the new living situation. Only in the fact that she started eating before any of the other cats. They all lost some weight before we moved the food & litter boxes around to help them adjust. Daisy hides all day and only comes out for me to pet her. She sleeps next to me every night and has become very needy. She is very vocal about needing my affection and that's new.

That's not a bed Lola!

Lola ~ makes me sad actually. I've had her since she was a tiny 4 week old kitten. Lola stays in the living room and only comes in the room to eat or use the litter box. She won't cuddle with me, but she cuddles with my brother & his wife. She's starting to let me pet her and she lets my niece pet her. She hisses and growls at every other cat (including Daisy). She's only starting to let Dakota approach her, which is more than she'll do for Daisy. For a cat who used to cuddle with me every night and sleep on my legs, it hurts my feelings that she is so mad at me. I am hoping she'll get over it soon. We've had a little progress. She did jump on the bed for five minutes last night. And she laid out by my head when I was reading last night. So maybe she's starting to forgive me a bit. She won't let me pick her up at all. 

I'm not forcing things. Hopefully, my furbabies will be just as happy as Dakota is with the change. Here's hoping!

And for the record: not one person asked to see my documentation for my animals' rabies or health certificate. Not the airline to Anchorage, not at the Canadian border, and not at the U.S. border....fantastic.

Dakota & I

Cuddling my boy on the drive

Leaving Akiak - 3 Weeks Later

I am now sitting at my brother's house, with Dakota and my five year old niece playing outside in the backyard. Today was 95 degrees where I'm living in California.

Dakota enjoying the yard

Several adventures have now been completed (leaving Akiak, driving the Alaskan Highway, finding a job, etc.) and yet I couldn't write about them. It didn't feel real to me. How could I write about something that didn't feel real?

I was in complete denial about leaving Akiak. I was absolutely sure something would happen and I would find myself staying. I was packing up boxes, applying for jobs, buying a new car, but none of it seemed real. I could only focus on the tasks in front of me. And maybe that's why I can finally sit down and write, my tasks are completed. I have nothing else to do but to finally accept that this is my new life. 

Those last few weeks in Akiak were hectic. I was stressing trying to get all my totes packed and sent off. The postal worker went on leave a week before I was supposed to leave. Her substitute was only working a couple of hours a day and didn't know how to insure packages. I really wished I had known that before I showed up. Those are the only packages that haven't arrived yet. Fingers crossed they get here. I ended up pre-paying and printing up labels off the internet. Of course, the USPS site had a glitch for the state of Alaska with printing labels, so I had to try a different site. And then I had a glitch on that site too. The day before I was supposed to leave, I was frantically printing labels. My plan B was to give money to someone in Akiak to just take the packages to the Post Office for me. Which someone actually did end up taking the prepaid boxes there for me. I don't know who took care of that for me, but I'm sending my thanks out there through this blog. Hopefully, it will get to that person. 

I have a lot to be grateful for, especially during that time I was leaving. I have found that you never really know how much you mean to people until you leave them. When I left Benicia, I found a great number of people made an effort to let me know I would be missed! (And these same people made a great deal to welcome me back as well!) The same was true with leaving Akiak. 

It became clear that I had gained a 2nd family in Akiak. My 2nd family not only made a effort to spend time with me before I left, but they offered to help me pack and clean. And what truly touched my heart was when they found out I didn't have any food in my house, they made sure I was eating meals by inviting me over to dinner and even breakfast on my last day. They really took care of me and made it very hard to leave. Maybe that's why I couldn't believe I was leaving, I didn't want to think I was leaving them. 

My two friends, Charity and Faith, even came to see me and my pets off. I couldn't believe my bush flight was actually on time. It still feels unreal that I really left Akiak. I know I will stay in touch with my friends via Facebook, but I miss them. 

Life feels so surreal to me. I am typing this and my niece comes up to me to show me her new stickers (outside having been abandoned for a cooler place). My cats are lounging around the house. The air conditioning is on in this large house. My brother is making dinner for the little one. I am thousands of miles away from Akiak.....literally. And yet not. Maybe there's a part of me that never left Akiak, or better yet: maybe I took a part of Akiak with me.

Elena, Moses, and I

Faith, Charity, and I

Students "helping" me clean

Loading the plane...

One last picture together....

Leaving Akiak

I'll miss these ladies!!!!! (I already do.....)

Life in Akiak

In a few weeks, I will be leaving Akiak and coming back to an urban area. And I will be asked the question, "What was it like living in a village?"

And it's kind of a hard question to answer. In many ways, it's like living anywhere else. You go to work, you come home. You have chores on the weekend and responsibilities. You may even go to a friend's house for dinner or a game night. You'll have friends, you'll have drama, laughter and tears....in that way, life is life.

There's a whole list of things you won't have. A date for example. No going out to dinner. No movies. No bowling night. And if you are in a dry village: no drinking. There's a lot more I could add to the list, however that's not my intention.

Life in Akiak is very much shaped by the seasons. Who's out and about at what time. What are people doing? That's all affected by the weather. Here's what I mean:

Summer

Summer

The daylight is constant, which gives people more energy. Fish are running and the men are fishing while the women and most of the children stay at the fish camps. There are some fish camps in Akiak, but several of them are further out on the river banks. A lot of families go camping on the tundra. And when berry picking is in season, people are gone for days picking berries. I love the summer. The mosquitos are horrible, but there's a relaxed vibe in the air. Everything feels laid back and care free. People can go to Bethel easily on their boats. Most families have access to a boat.

Fall

Fall

The weather gets colder and the daylight starts to shrink. Still, children are out playing. Actually, with the exception of school starting. Fall is not really a big deal. Berries are still being picked on the tundra. The sewing circle starts up again. Most of the new teachers are still trying to figure out life in Akiak. The biggest deal about fall is the start of moose season. Wow, moose is big in Alaska. And it is rather tasty. 

Winter

The daylight is scarce. Kids will still be out playing but not so late. When the river freezes, people go ice fishing. There are dog sled races, and fiddles (a community dance). People drive to Bethel as soon as the ice road is safe. Some people ski, but no one in Akiak. The darkness didn't mess with my body as much as the extra daylight did. After my first year, I no longer "feel" what time it is. I have to rely on a clock and I have several around my house, just for that reason. It was never dark for 24 hours and so I saw the sunlight every day. It's also important to note that the snow machines come out (called snow go's).

Spring

The snows start to melt and the kids break out their bicycles. Bikes are a big deal with the kids. I was walking the other day and a boy passed me wearing his snow gear on a bike. As soon as it starts to warm up, here come the bikes. The season is particularly ugly to me, since everything becomes muddy puddles. The bigger puddles are more like ponds. At this point, the only way to Bethel is via a bush plane. There are still some snow machines out, but they have to go through puddles and stay to the side. Around this time, the kids will start worrying about a flood. A few years ago, Akiak suffered a huge flood. People had to come up and sleep at the school and the elders & women with small children were evacuated. The kids remember this and will start to talk about it. The fear is palpable. I was terrified the first year and I was prepared last year. This year, I don't think it's gonna flood. True, the river did freeze rather high, but I'm not going to worry about it. Most of my possessions should be out of Akiak anyways. There's a part of the river that bottlenecks and the ice pushes the water levels up in Akiak. Last year, there was some flooding, but no one lived in those areas. Birds return to Akiak and people go hunting and then pluck birds.

This is the path home...

4 Wheelers (ATVs) are a year round thing. I could have driven mine all year if I wanted to. This winter was pretty cold (below zero) and so I didn't want to. But my friends did. I just got a ride. 

Living in Akiak, I really felt the change of the seasons. Each season brings it's own obstacles (right now the kids are staying up too late playing and then melting down in the classroom) but there's also some good. 

Faith & I Plucking Birds

When someone asks me what living in a village/or Akiak was like....I think the only response I can give would be to say it was an adventure! Truly, life here is like nothing I have ever known. This experience has made me stronger, a little more tougher, given me greater insight into how cultures affect the classroom, tested my limits, brought me great joy, broken my heart, disgusted me, delighted me, drained me, fulfilled me, made me appreciate good friends more, brought me closer to other people, made me take a stand, introduced me to new people, made me appreciate what a good teacher is, made me cook my own meals, gave me time to read & watch movies, try new foods, allowed me to own a 4 wheeler, become more independent, showed me I can trust my gut, brought me love....and made me to get in touch with my adventurous side.

I wonder if I will seem different to people who knew me before I left California. I don't think I act any different. But I don't know. I feel different...changed for the better. Akiak was very good for me.    

   

June 2010 - I had NO idea how much my life was about to change...