Almost Home

Sorry that it has been a few days since we have posted anything.  We are in Iowa right now and are planning to be home on Thursday.  We are all excited to get home.  We will be staying in St. Louis tonight and going up in the arch tomorrow.  Hope all is well and we can't wait to get home!!

Driving from Fort Nelson to Pink Mountain

Can you see the road?

Neither could we :-(

Mom - Update

   I think that the last time I blogged we were trying to get to Fairbanks, Alaska.  We tried but the roads just got too bad to make it up.  So we lost our opportunity to go to the Artic Circle (darn it!!).  But we were able to go back to Girdwood to go snowmobiling!! I think that the kids updated you on that adventure.  We had a blast. 

    We had to take John back to the airport on Sunday evening and then we started out to Valdez.  Valdez was the site of the oil spill.  I will have one of the kids blog on that soon.  The drive down was beautiful!!  More huge mountains and lots of snow, but the roads were completely clear.  Which was great.  We spent the night there and went out to see the pipeline on Tuesday (I think, I am having major trouble keeping up with the days).  After leaving Valdez we went back up into the Yukon Territory and then back down to Skagway, Alaska.  The only way to reach Skagway from the rest of Alaska is by boat or by coming through the Yukon Territory. 

Leaving out of Alaska, we were treated to a veiw of a Lynx.  He was out in the middle of the road and then looked back at us then darted out to the woods.  It was shocking!!  Unfortunately, we had no time for a camera shot. 

We were then snowed in that night, but were able to leave out the next morning. 

We then headed back out the Alaska Highway.  Smooth sailing back to the Hot Springs, which felt amazing.  It was snowing but the springs were still 110 degrees.  Wonderful.  We all swam and played for a while, but had to leave to try to make it over the Canadian Rockies.  Boy was that a ride.  I have posted some pictures for you to see what our driving conditions were.  It was miserable!!  Remember all the beautiful mountains on the way out, well those are still here but now the road is covered in snow.  We made it over the rockies and slept in Fort Nelson last night.  The road there was great when we went to bed, but this morning we have a major storm coming through. 

We were only able to make 140 miles today and stopped off in Pink Mountain where hopefully it will stop snowing tonight and we can drive out again tomorrow.  We have about a foot and 1/2 on the ground today.  The plows are not able to keep up with the roads as is evidenced by the pictures below.  Please pray that we will get out of here tomorrow!! And back to the United States soon!!!!

Lots of love.

The sardines

Dinner Turn again Arm

Road side snow into Valdez

Pipeline going into Valdez

Avalanche remains in Valdez

Alcan Highway Caribou

Alcan Buffalo

Roadside Cabin in Canadian Rockies

Road we were attempting to cross

Andrew

One week left and we’re in trouble.  Today we were suppose to get to Dawson’s favorite place Dawson Creek.  Today we made it about 140 miles but had to stop in Pink Mountain about 140 miles from Dawson Creek.  It was a bad snow storm and I may not get back for next week’s game.  Tomorrow we are going to try to make it to Dawson Creek but hopefully farther. 

                How is soccer going?  Can’t wait to be back.

Erin - Can't wait to get home

So far we have been having a good time on this trip.  We have planned this trip just perfectly because of the great weather and the nice people.  We are on our way back to Georgia and I can’t wait to see my friends again and I miss soccer so much.  When I get home I’m gonna put on my tank top and go outside for the first time in forever!  Then that night I will go to sleep on a bed that is not shaking.  I can’t wait to be in my own room and my own space.  Of course I will miss the snow and mountains but I will survive with grass and a pool!  It will be good to see grass for once.   I can’t wait to be home.

Andrew - We are on our way home.

We’re on our way home!  Today we start are adventure home. It will take us 10 to 12 days.  We are going to get to Tok, Alaska tonight.  As soon as we get home I’m going to go next door and go swimming. 

                On Saturday we saw a tidal bore in the Turnagain Arm area of Cook Inlet. A tidal bore is a big wave that comes and fills up the inlet or river from the ocean at high tide. This phenomenon is caused by the area being shaped like a funnel.    When the water comes in for high tide the water is forced through the small end of the funnel and because of this force a wave is created.  This wave can be as high as 10 feet in Turnagain Arm.  Other areas in the world can bores that are 30 feet tall.  When we watched the bore is was only 1 foot but you could see the strong current coming through the inlet.

 On Sunday we went snowmobiling.  The area where we went had a small community of people living there that were completely off the grid.  Off the grid means that these people have no power (they use propane and generators to get power.).  They use wood to heat and cook on.  The cabins were about 12X10 feet. (some were bigger)   They got water from a spring coming out of the mountains.  The road leading to their house is totally maintained by them. 

Snowmobiling was fun and fast.  We got to roast Reindeer Dogs.  These are hot dogs made from reindeer.  They tasted good, but I now know why my stomach was hurting!!  I can’t wait to get home. Miss you guys!! 

Erin - Snowmobiling

Today we went snowmobiling at the Great American Tourist Trap.  The snowmobiles went very, very fast like jet skies.  Our snowmobile was about nine ft. long and two ft. wide.  The guides were nice and the snowmobiles were clean and we had a nice time.  Oh yah for lunch we ate rein deer hot dogs!  They tasted good.   

After snowmobiling we came to the Holiday inn that we are staying in right now.  At the inn we are entertaining ourselves by watching television and playing the play station.

           Tomorrow we are going to see the Alaska Pipeline in Valdez and I will post about it tomorrow!

          Erin

Snowmobiling Girdwood, AK

Eating our Reindeer Dogs

Wonderful Family!!!!  Thank you God!!!

Andrew Today and yesterday

Hello. Yesterday we drove about 300 miles and got to see Mount McKinley but the road was too bad on the way to Fairbanks so we had to go back 100 miles or so.  When we got to the camp site we played king of the mountain at the camp ground.  The snow was 10 feet deep but it was compact to where you would not sink.  And then today we came to Girdwood and are staying here tonight.  This morning we went sledding.  Tomorrow were going snowmobiling. 

          Were half way done and can’t wait to be back.

Erin - Today

Hello! Today we went to a local park to go sledding.  We would get launched by dad down the hill to the valley below so you would skid across the snow.  Andrew went the farthest but soon after we were done I, Andrew, and Erica alongside my dad went to a huge hill and went down and who do you think went the farthest?  Me!  Andrew only made it down once and I went down like nine times!  Let’s put it this way. He doesn’t do good with curbs.  Oh yah the hill went in circles so that’s why Andrew didn’t do so well.  After we left we drove in the car for about two hours and then arrived at the place that we are staying at tonight.  It is at an RV park at the base of the mountains at the side of the ocean.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

            Tomorrow we are going snowmobiling so we will tell you how that goes!

Homer - Alaska

Yesterday after being snowed in at Seward until the afternoon, we headed our for Homer, Alaska.  Homer is known as the Halibut capital of the world.  The drive there was through many mountain passes and the snow was quite deep on the roadside.  As we neared the coast, the snow became less and less and ultimately there was no snow.  It did not dampen our spirits at all!!  When we got there we saw one of the boats from The Deadliest Catch series on TLC.  The Time Bandit is based out of Homer and we were able to see it at the docks.  This is the boat that Captain Phil captained.  For those of you who watch the series, he was the captain who got sick at sea and had to lifeflighted off the Bering Sea.  He died after being at the hospital for several days.  Across from the docks by the sea at Homer is a memorial to all those who have been lost at sea.  We were able to find 5 blocks from the Time Bandit crew on the pavers there. 

After leaving Homer, we are going to try to make it to Fairbanks.  Hopefully we will get there!!!

Boat coming into the harbor

Girls and Dad at Campsite in Homer

Time Bandit at dock

Memorial to Seamen

Inside Monument

Poem at the monument

The arches on the bell reads "This bell tolls for all the souls set free upon the sea". 

Andrew - Seward Alaska

How’s it going?  Yesterday we got stuck in Seward, Alaska because of the roads.  They were very dangerous.  We started are journey at sea level it was a steady rain.  Within ten minutes of starting out the roads were covered in snow and ice. We had to make a decision to go on or turn back. My grandfather who was driving decided to turn back.  We got to go to the sea life center.   The sea life center had a lot of the normal animals, but l loved the huge sea lion.  It was like 10 feet long and came right by us again and again with his arms out stretched in a Superman pose.

Travel plans worked out good. The snow was coming down pretty hard and the wind was blowing 90 mph on the mountains. Then, as quickly as it started it stopped, the sun came out, the plow drove through and we drove to Homer.

Will post more soon!!

            Andrew

Aquarium Day - Erin

Yesterday we went to the Sea Life Center in Seward (an aquarium).  We saw a lot of animals like Puffin, starfish (that we got to pet), Sea Lions, Harbor Seal, and Crab.  Oh, we also saw an Octopus named squirt.  I loved petting the sea anemones especially, and it was fun when some stuck on to you!  It was at the end when we saw the jelly fish and all they did was sit there and maybe jerk around a little bit but nothing cool.  (It would stink to be a jelly fish)  In their defense they did look cool.  My dad liked the starfish most of all, I liked the giant sea lion named woody it was like ten feet long and five feet wide.  Erica liked the Sea Lion as well.  Wow mom liked it to.  Alan liked the octopus and so did John.  I am not sure what Andrew liked because he is asleep. 

                We are now on our way to a place to hike and after that a place to sled.  Bye!

Erin       

Pictures

Whittier Alaska

Seward Highway

Seward Highway

Seward Highway

Andrew - Idle Time

Hello guys sometimes the things we do in between the things we do are some of the most fun things we do.  Each day we try to do a cool activity. Some days it’s looking at something like Mount Rushmore next it’s a physical activity like dog mushing like we did today.  Either way there’s a lot of idle time in between.  Although most of the time is spent driving we have a lot of fun.

            We have invented some fun games like motor home tag, or motor home surfing where you stand on the bed and see who can stay up the longest; Dad and I like the view while looking out the front driver’s windshield while hanging upside down from the top bunk.  I’m sure we will come up with some more zany ideas.

Even though I miss soccer and you guys it’s been a pretty fun trip so far.

Alaska - It's Amazing

Hey everyone.  Thanks for the comments.  WE love to hear from you.  We picked up John at Anchorage on Tuesday afternoon.  The kids and I were so happy to see him!!  After picking him up we went to visit the Alaska Zoo.  It was beautiful.  The zoo was fun.  It is in a very natural setting at the base of a mountain.  There are natural trees and snow everywhere.  As we were walking through the snow was falling and we were throwing snowballs at each other.  The animals were unconcerned with weather.  They were running around and performing for us.  We loved it!!



After we left there we stayed over in Anchorage and then headed south to a small village of Girdwood.  There we had our adventure for the day.  We went dog mushing.  Our guide was fantastic and the dogs were beautiful and playful.  As we approached them in the meadow, they began to howl and tug at the lead lines.  They were ready to mush and so were we.  We got on the sleds and the kids hunkered down in front of the adults and off we went.  It was so easy.  The temperature was about 35 degrees and we had to stop ever so often to let the dogs cool off.  They prefer to run at temperatures between 20 below to 0 degrees.  I was amazed to see how hot they got!!  We were bundled up in ski clothes, hats, gloves and hand/foot warmers.  We mushed through the valley.  The moutains surrounding us were 5000 feet tall.  They were covered in snow!!  What a great way to experience Alaska!!!

After our dog mushing adventure, we headed further south to the coast, Seward Alaska.  The moutains were majestic.  I know that you are sick of hearing me talk about the beauty of the mountains, but they are more amazing than I could imagine.  Please see the pictures.  We camped by the ocean last night with a big fire and roasted marshmallows for smores.  We saw some otters and seals playing/eating in the bay (Resurrection Bay).  Then, today we awoke to snow.

On our way to Seward we passed through a valley by the inlet called turn again arm.  Winds there today are expected to exceed 60 miles per hour today.  A nasty storm is brewing in the Bering Sea and we are being pummelled by wind, snow/rain.  We made it down to Seward but are now held up by the weather.  We hope to visit the Sea Life Center here today and hopefully will be able to make it through Moose Pass tomorrow.  We heard that the little town of Girdwood where we were yesterday has already received 6 inches of snow this morning.  We are suppose to go snow mobiling in a couple of days into the mountains, so it sounds like we will have plenty of snow to make the trip.  However, we were hoping to make it up to the Arctic Circle, but I see that possibility dwindling away due to the hazards of the weather.  More soon.

Turn Again Arm

View from our Campsite at Seward, Alaska



Turn Again Arm Seward Highway

Dog Mushing Girdwood

One of the Dog teams

Us with one of our dog teams

Camping at Seward

View from our Camp site

Pictures through the Yukon Territory

Bison in theYukon Territory

Yukon Traffic Jam

Canadian Rockies

Partially Frozen River In Yukon

Yukon Territory.  Pictures can not do it justice!!