Driving the Alcan Hwy from Seattle to Fairbanks= ROAD TRIP!

The Alaska Highway (also known as the Alaskan Highway, Alaska-Canadian Highway, or ALCAN Highway) was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. Completed in 1942, it was 2,237 km or 1,390 mi long, but is becoming shorter due to rerouting.[1] The historic end of the highway is near milepost 1422,[1] where it meets the Richardson Highway in Delta Junction, Alaska, about 160 km (99 mi) southeast of Fairbanks. Mileposts on the Richardson Highway are numbered from Valdez, Alaska. The Alaska Highway is popularly (but unofficially) considered part of the Pan-American Highway, which extends south to Argentina. (cited by Wikipedia)

The rig

Holding Bismarck the Buffalo

He was a little grumpy...

Black bear and her cubs... three of the thirteen that we saw within two hours!

I was in awe... completely enthralled!

Bad tourist... I know. HAD to mark it off my bucket list though!

Bijoux

Hell's Gate Airtram

Vancouver, B.C. = lovely place!

Notice the street name? :)

Chevak sunset in May

Beer bath cooler in Canada

An Alaskan Summer

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~St. Augustine

This year I kind of joke that I made a deal with the devil.

When I first came to Chevak, I told myself that I would travel abroad at least once a year for as long as I am teaching in bush Alaska. The first summer, I backpacked Thailand for about 5.5 weeks. It was AMAZING! Elephant rides, PADI certifed scuba diving, trekking through a jungle, making many new friends around the globe... so many terrific memories.

This past summer, I spent a couple of weeks in Costa Rica... another FABULOUS trip. This time, there were mostly Americans traveling in our guided tour and... so many were in the education field! It was awesome because we all had this great commonality... we bonded quickly in our short time together. Banana plantations, volcanoes, howler monkeys, caymans, hot springs... the best thing about the trip by far was all of the fun nights with our group... it was phenomenal.

So, this school year I decided to take four grad courses over the school year. Since I am paying out of pocket and avoiding student loans, it just seemed like the smartest decision to stay in AK for the summer seeing as I will be having a big celebration trip next year. Over the summer, I will be working on my project proposal and some other "to do" list items for grad school, BUT....

I have some new Alaskan experiences coming my way! I will be driving the Alcan from Seattle to Fairbanks here in a couple of weeks, possibly visiting my grandma (on my dad's side) in Craig (SE Alaska), and then spending a few days/nights in Denali National Park at the end of the summer. Though I will miss my foreign travel, I am pretty excited for these new AK adventures coming my way! And, next summer, foreign travel will continue post-graduation!

Happy trails :)

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." ~Miriam Beard