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So it is official...the Evans family is on the road to the trip of a lifetime, ALASKA. ! We left Whitehall at 4:30pm on Thursday, June 28 for a 6-7 week trip that will take us through the Canadian Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and The Yukon and all around Alaska, otherwise known as, The Last Frontier. For us half the fun will be the long drive there because we plan to see some amazing places in Canada, like Banff and Jasper National Parks and great destinations all along the Alaskan Highway(ALCAN).
When we left Whitehall it was a sweltering 87', but that was nothing compared to the 97' as we crossed into Illinois at 7:30pm. Aaron made great time driving crossing into Iowa at 10:30 and a rest stop in Davenport, Iowa was our campground for the first night. It was so blazing hot inside the camper, even with the windows open, that no one slept that great. In fact, at 3:00am Hanna woke me up to walk Abby and while we walked Hanna was out on the grass wide awake doing cartwheels. Brett got us all up and moving around seven and we were on the road again
This is camping!
The evening view from our "campsite" at beautiful lookout point in Wall Drug, South Dakota.in no time.
Day One Facts: Total mileage: 350 miles
50 State Plate Quest: MI, MO, IL, IN, IA, FL, NV, WI! OH, ND, TX, UT, MN, Ontario
Wildlife Report: Nothing
Funny: As we pulled on the highway in Whitehall Aaron pulled off the road stating, " I think we have a flat tire on the camper." Brett thinks he's going to puke. Of course Aaron was joking, maybe nt so funny.
FRIDAY, JUNE 29: On the road at 7:00am and heading towards South Dakota. If you want to follow the path we took today we drove on I80 making our way thru Iowa City and DeMoines then we veered north at Omaha, Nebraska towards I90 and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Officially crossing into SD at 1:45pm. When we hit Mitchell, SD we had our big break in the drive...the traditional Cabela's shopping trip! Stocking up on needed gear for our upcoming Canadian and Alaskan adventures. Then had the best meal of the trip so far at Culver's.
The kids were so excited when we crossed into the mountain time zone and got to set clocks back an hour. It was suddenly only 8:30pm.
When Aaron pulled over for the night an hour later Hanna wanted to keep going until dark like we usually do not realizing he had already driven at least ten hours in one day. We pulled into a scenic lookout point in Wall Drug, SD at 9:30pm totally ignoring the NO CAMPING signs. The view was awesome and there was an amazing cool breeze blowing as we all walked Abby and stretched our legs. We even opened the slides on the camper for a totally comfortable night of sleeping. Over the course of the night several semis and cars drove thru and stopped so we weren't the only ones with the great idea.
Day Two Facts: Total Mileage: 728 miles
Plate Quest: SD, GA, WA, CA, MA, MT, NY, ME, CO, TN, KS, NE, AZ
Wildlife Report: One coyote, appropriate because that's South Dakota's state animal
Funny: Brett and I traded seats to give the girls a "Brett Break" and he had a fun time managing the snack bag and DVD player. He might have found out it's not so easy.
Not So Funny: As soon as we hit the road in the
morning Aaron asked me what I would do if he suddenly slumped over the wheel? Seriously? Panic? Slump over too? No, I am supossed to grab the wheel, put it in neutral and coast to a stop. Sounds easy enough when pulling a 5th wheel going 70 down a major highway.
Tidbits: 1) Passed the World's Largest Truck Stop, Iowa 80. 2) If you didn't know Iowa is the Silo and Smokestack State, last time thru we actually started counting them, once we hit about 600 we quit counting. 3) Also passed LeMars, Iowa...the ice cream capital of the world. Now that is Maggie's kind of place!!
SATURDAY, JUNE 30: Abby woke me up at 5:00am to go for a walk. She is obviously still on Michigan time, and when I looked out the window there was a little fox outside the camper eating garbage. Aaron, and I decided we needed good coffee so he plugged the Keurig into the generator and brewed up some Black Tiger. It was hilarious.
Our path today followed I90 thru Rapid City and Spearfish, IA, to Gillette, WY, which we crossed into Wyoming at 9:30am. At 1:00pm we crossed onto Montana
heading towards Great Falls taking a short cut up highway 15 from Big Timber to Hobson and then west to Great Falls. Our last main stop before crossing onto Canada. The construction we hit delayed us a bit and by the time we hit Great Falls at 7:00pm everyone wanted out of the truck so bad. Maggie had a fever, Brett had a loose tooth that hurt him all day that Hanna finally convinced him to rip out. I thought his screams were going to push Aaron over the edge. Of course, there were no available campsites in the two RV parks in town so we stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot that took us 20 minutes to find. So showers can wait one more day.
All in all I'd say we made amazing time and have had a great first three days of travel. Everyone all agrees that half the fun of getting where you're going is the drive there. By your (Aaron's) 30th hour of driving though, it does start to get old and just about when you can't take looking at another barren farm the scenery changes. The rewards are coming now though, as we are
only 122 miles from the Canadian border and then an additional 200 to Calgary, Alberta, our first big stop. There should be lots to do and see because the Calgary Stampede is going on. We have campground reservations in Canmore at a beautiful RV park called Spring Creek for July 2-5. So we plan to take our time tomorrow and really enjoy the ride.
Day Three Facts: Total Mileage: 729 miles
Plate Quest: WY, AK, VT, CT, LA, PA, WV, ID, Alberta
Wildlife Report: another coyote, too many cows, horses, sheep and antelope to count, and let's not forget our little garbage eating fox
Funny: As we pulled into McDonalds for breakfast Maggie was license plate hunting and asked what state is "Ark-n-Ass"
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Sue and Lacey
non-member comment
Your email about the blog came through - Alaska at last!!!
So glad things are going well so far - except Brett's tooth/screams, Maggie's fever and Abby's middle of the night outings. We can't wait to continue to follow you amazing adventure - stay safe and have fun!!!