Day 5 - The ALCAN

Hello from the ALCAN! We are on the Alaska Canada highway at Ft. Nelson. It has been a long rainy day and it is just starting to let up now. This remote campsite, has no phone service, but has wireless internet in an old abandoned looking part of a mobile home. We have had a good day driving this endless road.

Today we had our second bear sighting, a small cub. We missed the photo, because he or she ran off into the woods quickly.

Tomorrow we head to Whitehorse with a stop at the Laird hot springs.

We are slightly more than half way today and 1500 miles to go!

Back to our red wine, the ruthless mosquitoes and soggy tent.

~Dea



Rainy road from Prince George, BC this morning.


We took a 'short cut' to the ALCAN that proved to be a dirt testing ground for the Subie.


The ALCAN...

4th of July – Day 4 of the trip:

We spent last night in Banff at a hotel. It was good to get out of the tent for a night. Dea has been struggling a little with sleep, but we were well rested, and anxious, for the days drive. We have been looking forward to this stretch the entire trip thus far.

Banff was a beautiful town, but a little too touristy. We had expected something like Telluride, or hoping for something like Ouray- the reality, however, was more in line with Aspen. Very chic and hip. We found an Irish pub to have a pint and lamb burgers last night, and a good cup of coffee this morning, and the rest of the day was spent viewing the most magnificent scenes yet. I got a chance to get out of the car and shoot, and Dea, Pella, and I had a blast exploring the little nooks not far from the car. Then back on the Road.

With the heart of the Canadian Rockies behind us, we are posting this from Jasper: a wonderful little mountain town that looks a little like South Western Colorado, but no time to kick around. Headed for Prince George, British Columbia tonight.


There have been many Bear sightings in the area this week. This is the view of a typical trailhead- a little scary actually.


This was the only Bear we have seen so far though.


The view of Bonnet Mountain.


Pella was much more active today.


Dea and I at Crowfoot Glacier.


The wind finally began to blow the low hanging clouds out of the valley, as we got closer to Jasper.


The white mass at the bottom of this image is all part of the Columbia Icefield. This sheet of ice is massive. The photo doesn’t do it justice, as we are over 1K away, but the sight of it was humbling.


Dea and I with the Icefield and Athabasca behind.

Cheers for now

Oh, Canada!

On the border.

We are now in Fort Macleod, Alberta. Nice little husband and wife owned cafe- internet and good chili for this far North. Yesterday was a good push through Montana- saw Billings, Butte, Bozeman, Great Falls. The terrain was rugged, but there was a lot of Holiday traffic, so it didn't feel much different than Colorado. We didn't take much time to play, take photos, or do anything much else but drive after Billings. It was a good stretch though...

..But now the US is in the rear view. We are about 100 miles outside of Calgery, and then on to Banff where we want to spend some time. The stretch through the Rockies from Banff to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway only takes about 3 hours, but we plan to take all day..maybe two...

later Eh!

Great Falls - MT

Camped last night in Great Falls...


got into camp just after sunset, and we were able to wonder out of camp on a short trail.


Taking a walk with Dea and Pella.


Dea anjoying a glass of wine, and laughing at her charming husband no doubt.


Kids in the camp lit fire works well into the night. Pella wasn't impressed, but I managed to capture this Jackson Pollock like image.


Sunrise as we left camp this morning for Canada

Gazing out the window...

photos from the pasenger seat of the car...Montana....


Butte Montana


J.C. watching over Bozeman


The ONLY time we were ever in the left lane! Check that out- that is one hell of a way to transport a grill!


We finished off most of the Montana stretch in Great Falls, where we had dinner at Jaker's and camped for the night.

Livingston MT.

Gassing up in Livingston- just East of Bozeman. This is a really beautiful town, kind of a hub before the drive into Yellowstone Ntl Park. Apparently there is a parade here today for the 4th- three seperate people have told us that the Budweiser Clydsdales are in town! Kind of frightening how nice everyone is.

The last stretch of drive was stunning. We drove along a thin ribbon of light between brewing thunderstorms on each side of us: the Absaroka Range to the South and the Crazy Range to the North (yep, that's really the name). Dea and I are taking turns reading short stories to eachother- her "True Stories of World Travel by Women" by various women authors, and a book of Raymond Carver short stories for me.

It's been so nice to take this trip at our own pace. It may take longer to get to Alaska, but we are traveling light and having a blast. Next we will go through Butte, MT and begin heading North.


if this where at all legible you would see cowboys....

foreshadowing?...

we bumped into this guy in Billings after coffee. I think he thought I was crazy!

Day One

Hello friends. The first day went off without a hitch. 420 miles to Sheridan WY, 17mpg at 65mph. Both the speed and gas milage are better then we thought. Sheridan is the golf capitol of WY. I have a one iron driver in the back and Ben said we should "go hit some balls with that pitching wedge". We did not. We camped with Pella and rolled out very early this morning. We are now in Billings MT, sipping coffee, bloggin and hangin with Pella.



early morning at the campsite, sheridan, WY.



the low rider


bloggin at the rock creek coffe shop, down town Billings Mt


We are headed to Calagry today. Dea

We're OUT!!!

This is the last of the "this is the last...." posts. One last coffee at Amante with Chris and Justine. I'll finish up the Uhaul soon, and we will be on the road by noon. Next post (maybe) will be from Sheridan Wyoming.

Boudler in the rear view mirror....

One more day.

We're finally done with the final chores that the days before a big move brings. I'm sitting at Amante, again, finishing up some final photo projects and compiling phone #s of camping sites for the trip. Tonight we will get the Uhaul and load the larger things that I will need Dea's help with,and I will finish the rest tomorrow morning.

James and Jeeeen gave us a gift certificate to Sushi Zamni as a going away gift. It will so nice to unplug tonight and have a quite dinner with Dea- just the two of us.

I was, also, able to catch up with the ann boys for happy hour at Connor O'Neil's last night as well. The last group outing before we leave. Good to toast a couple pints of Guinness with the guys. Rode my bike downtown to meet them- I'm really anxious to be back in a small town where I can use my bike as my only means of transport....except for when it's 40 below zero i suspect. I was all smiles riding home past all of the usual hang outs.

only 30+ hours until we are Northward bound.

Crazy Derrick

Dea and I haven't ween Derrick in quite some time. He has, temporarily hung up his wheels as well, bought a new house in Denver, and started a new job. I'd like to say that these are the reasons that we haven't seen him, but I think it is more to the fact that we need the months between meetings to recover!

We had dinner at Dagabi, and then back to Jen and Brad's place for wine on the deck. We talked, per usual, long into the night about art, photography, science, a little politics. After many glasses of wine, and my last scotch from the old house, we....um, rafted down the 'river' at 2:00 am- only way to go out with Derrick...


Dea and Derrick in the sky chairs.


Derrick putting 'safety first'


Derrick 'lewis and clarking' the creek that runs behind Jen and Brad's place.

JT loves porta-johns...

Dea and I had dinner with JT, Sue, Tark, and Beth last night. I've tried to quantify it before- trying to deal with hanging up my wheels. It's hard to explain but there is a bond that is born during races. I have missed the long training rides in the mountains with these guys, the laughs and jokes about nothing in particular, the conversations that can only be had after five hours in the saddle. Although things are a little different since I stopped racing, I count JT and Tark as two of my best friends. I regret that I will miss Tark and Beth's wedding and watching Leah grow up. Historically I have not been the best at keeping in touch with friends that are separated by great distances, but I will not lose track of these guys and their families...too much fun to still be had.


JT has a seriously creepy love of porta-johns- there are roughly 600 eateries and stores in a one mile radius at Flatirons, and JT finds the only porta john...

Sunday with Shane and Constance

I'm sitting at Amante this morning with Pella, writing a list of all the things I need to do today..and the rest of the week. It's nice to be back in town with all of my creature comforts. The farm was excellent- the most relaxed I've been in quite a while. Jen and Brad's place almost feels like home as well, because we've spent so much time there the last couple of years. Five more days until we are out.

We dropped Dea's parents at the airport yesterday afternoon. It was really nice having them in town, we all had a great time. We laughed a lot...and, of course, Wanda cried when they left. Hopefully we will see them again, relatively soon, in Alaska.

Dea and I had dinner at Constance and Shane's last night. They live only a few blocks from our (new) temporary home, and we were able to ride our bikes- amazing how little things like that make me so happy. It had been a while since we had been at their house- they have done such a great job with renovations. Every corner is spotless, and meticulously detailed, and modern. Their backyard looks like a botanical garden! We were really impressed with the work Shane has done- he may be getting some calls from me if we buy a place in Fairbanks.



Constance made wonderful homemade pesto.

Good bye to the Olwins

We were lucky enough to catch Brad, Jen, Ty, and Katie before they left for Minnosota. We are moving into their house later today until we leave on the 1st. Great to sit on their deck one more time and drink wine and laugh. They are great freinds, and will be missed. Tye, if you are reading this- be good to your sister:)


Brad, me, and our good friend the pinot.



Dea, Tye, Katie, Jen & Brad.

Dea's parents are in town...

...and we spent the weekend doing the usual parent activities. We did a couple short hikes, drank a lot of wine, and even more coffee. It's been really good to see them one last time before we head North. It's always good to have them visit, but this weekend has been particularly pleasant, given that we are leaving soon.

We hiked up Sanitas Mountain in the morning...


Les and Wanda on Sanitas Mountain.


Dea and I.


The best bloody marys in Colorado- lunch at the Sundance in Ned.



All of us at Boulder Falls. I've never seen Boulder Creek with this much water- it was insane!


Les and Wanda.


Dea amongst the mist of the falls.

Storm at the farm

An insane strom ripped though Boulder a couple nights ago. Since we are staying out of town at Kathy and Greg's farm, we had stadium seats for the big show. It's incredible how upslope storms can pound such an isolated area in the front range. We had winds that blew over deck chairs, but avoinded the rain. Boulder, however, got drilled- as we watched from the deck of the house...dinner and wine in hand...


sasha hanging out minutes before the storm rolled through.


the storm starts brewing from the south with high winds.


the skies grew dark, as the rain pounded the distance. this photo was taken about an hour before sunset.

Traffic

Well, i did my last drive on HWY36 today. I was gettign weary of the traffic in, and around, Boulder as of late. I can't imagine we will encounter much traffic in Fairbanks...maybe getting behind a slow line of moose.


this kind of backup will not be missed!

going away party....

...at Pasta Jays. We closed on the sale of the condo yesterday morning (we're homeless now), celebrated Dea's Birthday, and had a going away dinner. So good to get the crew together in one place in Boulder. Liters of Chianti were flowing, and home made spaghetti all 'round. More goodbyes of course.

Dea and I drove by the old place on our way out to Kathy and Greg's, and Amy (Jeff and Amy were the couple that bought our old place) was out on the patio enjoying the cool night air and view of Indian Peeks. We kept driving...surreal.


half of the crew..


the other half.


justine and amy.


beth and jen...giving me the finger(s)??


james, what are you looking at..jeeeeen is over there.


kathy and janna


dea and megan


me and dea...alaska bound.

beth has more photos over at her blog