Dean Moves to Alaska
My brother-in-law, Dean, decided to make the move to Alaska and be our neighbor in Soldotna. So, he sold his house, packed his stuff, and said goodbye to Houston. Barron and I flew down for a super short visit to Texas before we hit the road with him to make the long drive.
This is the little plane we fly in to get from Soldotna to Anchorage - just a 30 minute quick flight. We got to sit right behind the pilot this time.
Tuesday, June 18 - Some great friends stopped by the night before we left for one more visit and a beer. Mike and Adam are long time friends who have actually already visited us in Alaska and will now have lodging options the next time they come up. :)
Wednesday, June 19 - We headed out from Cypress for the last time with Dean's new Jeep Gladiator and box trailer full of stuff.
Our goal for the day was to get to Little Rock, Arkansas, to stop for the night and visit the other Smith brother, Steve, and his family. We had an awesome steak dinner and got to visit with our nephew Matt, his wife Melody, and their sweet kiddos, Alexandra and Andrew. We also got to meet their new dog, Maggie. It was wonderful to spend time with all of them!
Thursday, June 20 - We got an early start and headed to Oklahoma City, where we met up with Barron's long time friend, Scott, for lunch (wish we'd gotten a picture of us all together). Then, from there, we headed for Kansas. We found a sweet spot to camp by a river at Ellis campground.
Our frog, Stanley - gift from our nephew Jacob. He enjoyed all of the spots we visited too.
Friday, June 21 - This was definitely the WORST day of the trip! So there aren't really any pics.
First, we were woken up by extremely high winds at the campground and had to pack up all of our tents and gear in about five minutes as tornados were moving into the area. It was quite a wake-up call! I don't know that any of us have packed up that fast in our lives!
Then, on the way to Colorado, Dean's truck started making a strange noise. We discovered the plastic lining for the wheel wells were flapping into the tires and getting shredded. So, we had to stop at John Elway's dealership in Denver and get them repaired.
We were able to grab a quick bite fo lunch while they quickly took care of the repair. They were awesome to us!!!
We finally got back on the road and ended up at a campground in Rawlins, CO, for the night. We were glad to be done with this day!
Saturday, June 22 - We headed to Wyoming and got to stop in Jackson Hole for lunch and a quick beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. It was Barron and my second trip there - it's still beautiful. If you've never had the chance to go, make some plans.
Dean's first time ever in Jackson Hole...
We went through Grand Teton National Park...
Then we headed into Yellowstone National Park, where we got to Old Faithful with about one minute to spare to see the eruption...
We also went through the Old Faithful Lodge briefly to check out the beautiful fireplace and all of the log beams in the multi-level lobby...
We stayed in a cute little AirBnB townhome in Bozeman and had a delicious dinner at Montana Ale Works - definitely recommend it!
Sunday, June 23 - We drive through Montana on our way to the Canadian border. We had lunch at a pizza place in Kalispell - it took forever! But we did it make it to Canada, through Customs, and to our AirBnB in Invermere, British Columbia, where the guys got a little goofy.
Monday, June 24 - This day was absolutely GORGEOUS - travelled through Kootenay National Forest, Banff National Park, and Jasper National Park in Canada. Really amazing scenery! We want to plan a trip to come back through and stay and enjoy it all!
Wildlife bridge...
We had lunch at a super yummy brewery in Yellowhead County in Alberta...
And a beer...
We saw a giant beaver on the side of the road...
But, we also saw big horn sheep, deer, black bears, caribou, and mountain goats along the way through the parks.
We camped out at Pink Mountain campground but got in really late because we were pushing our mileage. It was a short night's sleep.
Tuesday, June 25 - We drove through the Northern Rockies area and saw at least ten black bears, several mountain goats on the road as well as an elk and a few buffalo.
We had a lunch at the beautiful Muncho Lake...
We camped out at Robert Service campground in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory. We had a nice campfire and cheese, crackers, and beer for dinner. :)
Wednesday, June 26 - We crossed back into the US today, straight into Alaska! The end was in sight! We saw more wildlife and stopped off at Fast Eddy's in Tok for pizza dinner. We stayed at North Country Lodging in Tok, from AirBnB. It was perfect!
One foot in, one foot out :)...
Here's what a lot of the Al-Can highway looks like... all sorts of buckling from the extreme weather changes throughout the year... you have to go really slow in order not to bottom out your car or especially your trailer...
Thursday, June 27 - Day 9! We finally made it to the Kenai Peninsula and to Soldotna. But, we first met up with cousin Adam in Anchorage to have lunch...
It was a long trip, but it was really beautiful and exciting to see so much of our fabulous country again and see how much open land and green, undeveloped space is still left out there. It's so wonderful! Get out there and see America ! You won't regret it!
This is the little plane we fly in to get from Soldotna to Anchorage - just a 30 minute quick flight. We got to sit right behind the pilot this time.
Tuesday, June 18 - Some great friends stopped by the night before we left for one more visit and a beer. Mike and Adam are long time friends who have actually already visited us in Alaska and will now have lodging options the next time they come up. :)
Wednesday, June 19 - We headed out from Cypress for the last time with Dean's new Jeep Gladiator and box trailer full of stuff.
Our goal for the day was to get to Little Rock, Arkansas, to stop for the night and visit the other Smith brother, Steve, and his family. We had an awesome steak dinner and got to visit with our nephew Matt, his wife Melody, and their sweet kiddos, Alexandra and Andrew. We also got to meet their new dog, Maggie. It was wonderful to spend time with all of them!
Thursday, June 20 - We got an early start and headed to Oklahoma City, where we met up with Barron's long time friend, Scott, for lunch (wish we'd gotten a picture of us all together). Then, from there, we headed for Kansas. We found a sweet spot to camp by a river at Ellis campground.
Our frog, Stanley - gift from our nephew Jacob. He enjoyed all of the spots we visited too.
Friday, June 21 - This was definitely the WORST day of the trip! So there aren't really any pics.
First, we were woken up by extremely high winds at the campground and had to pack up all of our tents and gear in about five minutes as tornados were moving into the area. It was quite a wake-up call! I don't know that any of us have packed up that fast in our lives!
Then, on the way to Colorado, Dean's truck started making a strange noise. We discovered the plastic lining for the wheel wells were flapping into the tires and getting shredded. So, we had to stop at John Elway's dealership in Denver and get them repaired.
We were able to grab a quick bite fo lunch while they quickly took care of the repair. They were awesome to us!!!
We finally got back on the road and ended up at a campground in Rawlins, CO, for the night. We were glad to be done with this day!
Saturday, June 22 - We headed to Wyoming and got to stop in Jackson Hole for lunch and a quick beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. It was Barron and my second trip there - it's still beautiful. If you've never had the chance to go, make some plans.
Dean's first time ever in Jackson Hole...
We went through Grand Teton National Park...
Then we headed into Yellowstone National Park, where we got to Old Faithful with about one minute to spare to see the eruption...
We also went through the Old Faithful Lodge briefly to check out the beautiful fireplace and all of the log beams in the multi-level lobby...
We stayed in a cute little AirBnB townhome in Bozeman and had a delicious dinner at Montana Ale Works - definitely recommend it!
Sunday, June 23 - We drive through Montana on our way to the Canadian border. We had lunch at a pizza place in Kalispell - it took forever! But we did it make it to Canada, through Customs, and to our AirBnB in Invermere, British Columbia, where the guys got a little goofy.
Monday, June 24 - This day was absolutely GORGEOUS - travelled through Kootenay National Forest, Banff National Park, and Jasper National Park in Canada. Really amazing scenery! We want to plan a trip to come back through and stay and enjoy it all!
Wildlife bridge...
We had lunch at a super yummy brewery in Yellowhead County in Alberta...
And a beer...
We saw a giant beaver on the side of the road...
But, we also saw big horn sheep, deer, black bears, caribou, and mountain goats along the way through the parks.
We camped out at Pink Mountain campground but got in really late because we were pushing our mileage. It was a short night's sleep.
Tuesday, June 25 - We drove through the Northern Rockies area and saw at least ten black bears, several mountain goats on the road as well as an elk and a few buffalo.
We had a lunch at the beautiful Muncho Lake...
We camped out at Robert Service campground in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory. We had a nice campfire and cheese, crackers, and beer for dinner. :)
Wednesday, June 26 - We crossed back into the US today, straight into Alaska! The end was in sight! We saw more wildlife and stopped off at Fast Eddy's in Tok for pizza dinner. We stayed at North Country Lodging in Tok, from AirBnB. It was perfect!
One foot in, one foot out :)...
Here's what a lot of the Al-Can highway looks like... all sorts of buckling from the extreme weather changes throughout the year... you have to go really slow in order not to bottom out your car or especially your trailer...
Thursday, June 27 - Day 9! We finally made it to the Kenai Peninsula and to Soldotna. But, we first met up with cousin Adam in Anchorage to have lunch...
It was a long trip, but it was really beautiful and exciting to see so much of our fabulous country again and see how much open land and green, undeveloped space is still left out there. It's so wonderful! Get out there and see America ! You won't regret it!
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