The it has begun thread.. (Anchorage, Wasilla: rentals, food, cars)

[HighlandLady]

Welcome home

[akvarmit]

Whew! Wow! I don't know what else to say .....cool trip!

More things I've learned the past few days.........
"Open ocean crossing" on the ferry is not up there with my favorite things, thank goodness for the motion-sickness medicine. The ferry food was actually good. Had a blast meeting interesting folks on the ferry!

Also, when folks here say "don't stay in Canada", one should take that seriously! Beaver Creek was scary! Along the way we saw eagles, a wolf, ptarmigan, snow hares, caribou.....now just waiting for a moose!
Here's a pic of the roads when we crossed Chilkat pass up out of Haines......and then a pic of what made the trip all worthwhile! (coming down from Tok)
Thanks for everyone's help here over the months! Listening to the advice here made for a really smooth trip that I have really no complaints about.
More pics later!
Dawn

[Nephler]

Great photos akvarmit.
Open ocean on the ferry..yes that can be good one.

[Crossfire600]

Thanks everyone!

The Chilkoot pass was really hairy.. actually about the first 400 miles out of Haines was hairy...

Were is the best place to see the northern lights from?

[aurorawatcher]

Nice pictures. Glad to hear you made it ok. ( Ferry rides are better than the rides at Disney )

[lyoness]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

Well 4,442 miles and 21 days later we finally arrived in Anchorage.. akvarmit ordered some pizza and I am sure she will fill you in later tonight.. I don't regret one minute (Except staying in Beaver Creek in the Yukon) I was never so happy to see a border agent for the good ol USA!

Yeah!!! You made it in one piece! (losing bits of your mind doesn't count), how did Lightning bug like the ferry ride? Details, we want details, and more picutres!!

[HighlandLady]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

Thanks everyone!

The Chilkoot pass was really hairy.. actually about the first 400 miles out of Haines was hairy...

Were is the best place to see the northern lights from?

You'll have to head a bit further North out of those city lights first off...there is a possibility they will put a show on tonight

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by HighlandLady

You'll have to head a bit further North out of those city lights first off...there is a possibility they will put a show on tonight

How far is "a bit further north" ??

Lyoness, I'll have Dawn post some more pictures for you.. lord knows we have enough of them. One thing that I realized about 300 miles into the Alcan was that you could take pictures all day long every minute and while pictures show you the beauty that surrounds you there is no way you can truly appreciate the beauty unless you are the one taking the picture.

I believe that the Great Spirit created Alaska last and calls this place home.

[HighlandLady]

You are in Anchorage now, correct? Anywhere away from the city lights. I usually post in the Aurora prediction thread when I begin seeing them...just start out on the Parks Highway until you get to a point when you can see them clearly - providing they are visible in the first place

[akvarmit]

Originally Posted by lyoness

Details, we want details, and more picutres!!

Hi Lyoness!
Okay, more details.....Lightning didn't do too bad living in our SUV for approx. 4 days. Some of the other dogs did get sea sick and puke in the cars during the rough part, making for happy doggie owners at the next "car deck call". Of course, some doggies just would not pee on the cement floor...but they eventually do . We got canned food to make sure our dog would eat.....and I'd leave her dry food with her. I have found dry food stashes all through the back seat....Right now she's adjusting to the fact that we're going out and not taking her with us everywhere, and I think she's a little ticked. PS - she's still carrying around the rawhide you gave her, good idea!

I started each day on the ferry hitting the $3 cappuccino machine in the cafe and then to the front of the observation deck to watch the sun rise. Sitting there was kind of like being on the bus bench in a Forest Gump movie - - - people came and went and the conversation just continued. Everyone just sharing what they knew about the different areas or where they were headed. We actually met the Phd "researcher" that published the whales "bubble feeding" theory years ago and had studied all the whales in the passage by Juneau. I could have listened to him talk for the whole trip! Very humble, insightful guy. It's unreal how time passes just hanging out.... And before I'd know it, hours had passed and it was time to eat again. (Probably where these extra travel "pounds" appeared from!) The oyster stew was great!

Haines is a cute town, I would have liked a little more time there, but at that point, we were getting close and wanted to get a move on. In Beaver Creek we had a "room" that was part of a sectioned off "trailer" with no power in the bathroom. When we asked about any food in town, the hotel owner laughed. (we ate the soup I packed for the ferry) When we told her we were peeing in the dark, she laughed and handed us a lightbulb which didn't work. Then the lights came on by themselves a few hours later. When it's off season, the businesses open when they feel like it. She said she'd open for gas at 730 am and never did, so we just high-tailed it to the border crossing. I guess it met the basic requirements of "heat" and "shelter". (But cost the same as a real room elsewhere!) There's a great place to stay over the border in the US (Border City) but it didn't have an ad in the Milepost, just a mention at that milemarker...and I hadn't read that far ahead.

The border crossings weren't bad, hubby had some hunting rifles and we had no problem ...he had printed out the forms and had them all filled out. We used our birth certificates and licenses since we don't have the passports yet. They never asked us for the Canadian insurance card I got from Nationwide just in case.

Here's some pics....