Review (Week 1)

Well, we have been in Alaska for a week now. I can say that it has been anything boring. We have made several trips to the Pet Emergency Room and now think Maggie is on the way to recovering. We are still figuring out where things are located. We did receive good news from the contractor building our house; he has indicated that he plans to finish about 6 weeks early. No complaints with that.

The sun finally came out to meet our arrival. Tuesday and Wednesday were beautiful. The locals are all complaining that it has been unusually cool this year. The weekend turned cloudy and rained both days even though you would not know it with all the festivals going on for the 24 hour solstice celebration. On Saturday we picked up the ATV's and will be looking for the first opportunity to take them out. We are planning on a afternoon this week.

Connor volunteered at the PET ER where Maggie was taken care of. He went in for a couple of hours Sunday to clean cages and help with the animals. The doctors have all been very nice.

We took some time to head up to some of the trails and let Maggie roam. Connor thought it would do her good to be "in her natural habitat" There have been several bear sightings so we were very aware of our surroundings and decided it may be a good idea to get some bear spray... so that is on our to do list for this week....

Day 14 - Final Leg

Today was our final leg to Anchorage. During the night our concern for Maggie continued to grow. Nancy noticed that her gums and tongue had turned a pale white. Speaking with the doctor only increased our concern. We awoke early to get to Anchorage as quick as possible so that we could get Maggie to a doctor.

We made very few stops and drove as fast as the crooked, bumpy road would allow. The drive today was very beautiful and we made a mental note that we would have to do the drive again when we would have time to stop and enjoy the view. Along the way, we saw mountains almost totally covered with snow and right next to them were mountains covered with green trees and shrubs.

Driving into Anchorage we went straight to the Pet Emergency Clinic. We had phoned ahead and they were waiting on us. Once again, she was admitted to the clinic and they began another series of tests to see what is going on.

We were all pretty tired when we finally checked into the hotel. Everyone was glad the long journey was over. The trip meter showed a total distance of 4,377.6 miles.

Day 12

Whitehorse, YT to Tok, AK. This morning we walked down to the river in Whitehorse and down Main Street. This is difinitely a town from the wild-west days. Most of the buildings have retained their original look with minor upgrades.

Maggie was pretty slow and seemed very tired when we returned from our short walk. She spent most of the day sleeping.

We came across a playful fox that seemed intent on catching something in the tall grass. We watched him play for about 15 minutes taking several photos of him.

The road today has been very rough. There have were alot of areas that have been plowed and have temporary gravel patches. Many areas have experienced "Frost Heaves" that make for a rollercoaster of a ride. Around 3pm, we finally crossed the Canada/Alaska border and everyone is happy that we are getting close the end of our journey.

Day 11

Fort Nelson, BC to Whitehorse, YT!

Our best day for animal viewing. We saw several groups of Buffalo, Bears and Stone Sheep.

The Buffalo were just grazing by the highway and didn't bother looking up when we stopped to take their pictures. You can tell by the hair that they are beginning to shed their winter coats.



We saw several bears. One group was a mother and her baby cub. We watched them for some time and they didn't seem to mind us watching. This mother and her cub were busy with the flowers by the highway.

This male bear was a different story. He was on a small hill over-looking the highway when we spotted him. We stopped to take pictures and he immediately started walking towards our truck. A loud motorcycle came by and he ran back up the hill. I thought it would be safe to get out and get a better shot. I walked about 30 feet from the truck and bent down to get a better shot. This bear immediately started running towards me. I grabbed my camera and headed to the truck. He was coming pretty fast when another car skidded it's tires to get his attention. The bear changed his direction and headed towards the car that had made the noise. Only after additional horn honking did the bear decide to go back in the grass.


There were several areas on the highway that had cars and RV's at a standstill as there were Stone Sheep just walking down the mountainside and along the road. They did not seemed phased by all the cars traveling along side them. The would pop up from areas that seemed to be a shear cliff, walk down the road for a ways and disappear as fast as they came.

Day 10

We left Grande Prairie this morning for our drive to Fort Nelson British Columbia. We hit Dawson Creek at lunch time and started the "Famed Al-Can Hightway" at mile marker zero.

The drive through the Rocky Mountain National Forest was beautiful. The weather could have been nicer which would have made the view that much better. While driving Ed spotted something in a tree so we turned around to see what it was. As you can see by the pictures.. It was a mother bear with her cub. You have to look for the baby... he is hiding above mom between the split in the trunk.

By late afternoon the rain was coming down pretty hard and we had to make a mental note that it has been 10 days in a row that we have had rain if not all day at least part of it.



We are planning a long day tomorrow in order to make up some of our lost time from Calgary. We have also been told that for the next few days we will have limited internet service and no cell phone service.

Day 9

Well, after our unexpected visit to Calgary, we are back on the road again. We made a stop in Edmonton for lunch and then continued to Grande Prairie.

Maggie made the trip pretty good considering. She still has tender joints from all the tests and is still very stiff and tired. She was diagnosed with meningitis/polyarthritis along with a few autoimmune items. We will have to wait and see what the medication brings and she will have a visit with her new vet in Anchorage once we get there and we will have to go from there.

We have new pics of her with all her shaved 'test areas'. The next few days will be longer due to our delay in Calgary and the roads (we are told) will be getting more 'backwoods' which slows you down as well.

We are just anxious to get there now with all our unexpected surprises :)

Day 8

Another day waiting in Calgary, Alberta. We spoke to Maggie's doctor this morning and she seemed positive that they were on the right track to figuring out what she has. We hope to be able to get on our way tomorrow.

It has done nothing but rain the last 7 days, which proved fatal to one of our suitcases. I checked it yesterday morning and it was soaked. I had it in what I thought was a waterproof bag. In reality the bag was water resisitant ; but with the amount of rain we have had the last 7 days, the bag leaked around the seams and no one caught it until everything in it was soaked. The colors bled onto the other items and many things had to be thrown away.

Tomorrow is another day and the sun has to come out sometime. We are planning to drive from Calgary, Alberta to Grande Pararie, BC. Will update the blog tomorrow night.