Catching Up!

Well, today we were very glad to be greeted by civilization...signs advertising restaurants we know, real towns filled with a variety of eating and shopping options, even CITIES filled with museums and shopping malls!  We could stop anywhere we wanted, and I must say we did stop often to take advantage of all this region has to offer.  I am also happy to report that the weather is still cool here...I think the high was about 62 degrees today, and I am even wearing a sweatshirt as I type this.  We drove through grey, rainy weather most of the day and arrived here in Edmonton, the capital of the Alberta province around 9pm this evening.  Natalie has been nursing a small cold or allergies now for a couple of weeks, so we are trying to get her in bed early tonight.  I poured a bath for her, then went downstairs to get her hot tea from Starbucks (and an Orange Juice to boot -- love that 'ol Vitamin C!).  Then we ordered a kids meal to share from room service and now we are about to get her into the bed...but enough about today.

Back to yesterday, which was such an eventful day. We drove all the way from Whitehorse, which is the capital of the Yukon Province to Fort St. John, in far Eastern British Columbia. When you are driving the Alaska 'Highway', you face many difficulties. Rough pavement due to the terrain (it undulates wildly), a highway which may turn from pavement to gravel at a moment's notice and constant road construction (because they have such a short Summer season in which to do any work on the road).  In addition, animals such as bison, mountain goats, wolves, moose, bears and any number of other animals may be next to, or even on the roadway.  But the biggest difference in traveling here is the lack of civilization and the rarity of finding places to stop and receive services such as food and gasoline.  You may go 150 miles and not see another sign of civilization, when out of the blue, you will come upon a small oasis.  Usually it consists of a motel, café and gas station, all owned and staffed by the same folks.  Whatever they have stocked in their convenience store is what you can choose from, and whatever price they ask is what you have to pay, because there is no competition.  So you stop and get exactly what you need (nothing more), and move on down the road.

I was much more prepared for this return trip and had our cooler packed full of parmesan salami (the outer edge of the salami is ringed with parmesan cheese!), cheddar cheese, pretzels, peanut butter, water, salt & vinegar chips, crackers, some of Natalie's favorite candies and some cherries we bought at a farm stand as we were leaving Anchorage. So we were much better outfitted for this trip down the 'highway'.  Needless to say, if you need to stop often while traveling, the Alaska Highway is not the place for you.

We saw many animals along the way, including 2 wolves at dusk last evening, which was the first time we had spied a wolf.  Twice traffic was stopped by a herd of animals on the roadway -- once for Bison, once for Mountain Goats.  When you talk to Alaskans, they almost all fly in and out of the state, due to the inherent difficulties of getting to Alaska by road.  And when you tell them you did indeed drive to Alaska, there is a kind of recognition immediately afforded to you, as if they are saying, 'Hey, this guy is for real...he was tough enough to drive here'.  For whatever reason, having heard something of this reputation before we left, I determined that I would drive all the way from Mile 0 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Mile 1258 in Tok, Alaska, where you take the Glenn Highway another 328 miles to downtown Anchorage. It is a tough test, and I am proud to say that I was able to do it!  Here is a picture of me by the Mile 0 sign in Dawson Creek. I don't know that I would do it again, but it was fun to test myself and finish the job.  It is about 32 hours of hard driving, but worth every minute as far as I'm concerned.

And I will close with a funny story. Probably my favorite thing about Natalie is the passion with which she lives her life.  It is infectious, and I thrive on it.  But, sometimes, I have to reign her in a bit.  Yesterday we were coming up through one of the mountain passes, when we were stopped along with a couple of other cars on a sharp curve by a small herd of Mountain Goats.  I put my flashers on and pulled over as much to the side as I could, and we were honking at these guys to move, so we can get out of this precarious position.  Natalie has rolled down her window and is furiously taking pictures of these wild goats.  Now, several of them have SERIOUS horns.  And, on the side of this mountain, pinned down on a curve and hoping not to get smashed from behind, we have this interchange:

NATALIE: I want pet one...can I get out and pet one?
ME: (Laughing) No baby, you can't pet one.
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NATALIE: But seriously, I think I am going to try and pet one...
ME: (Distraught) No, Natalie, these are wild mountain goats, you can't do that.
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NATALIE: Come on, I am just going to try and pet ONE.
ME: (Shouting) Natalie, there is NO WAY you are getting out of this car to try and pet one.
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NATALIE: But they're just cute little sheepies
ME: No, they are Mountain Goats, with horns, and I am not becoming a widower this early into my marriage so you can pet Mountain Goats.  No sirree.
NATALIE: (Disappointed) Okay, you are right.  (Smiling) But I am glad you care that much!

These are just the things you get into in order to be with Natalie.  I love to watch the world through her eyes, and I consider myself most fortunate to have a ringside seat as we go through life together.  It just doesn't get any better than that.  We are going down to Lethbridge, near the US border tomorrow and staying with the parents of one of the therapists Natalie worked with this Summer.  We are getting closer!