Total Miles: 5,234
Day 1: Eielson AFB to Haines Junction
Odometer: 87933
Miles Driven: 479
So on June 28th, 2017 we left our home for the past 3 years and 7 months! We woke up at 4:15am and left at 5:45am. Within the first 40 minutes Leighlyn got carsick and I remember thinking “what in the world did we get ourselves into?!” She had never gotten carsick before so it was definitely not expected! As I’m writing this we’re on day 4 and it hasn’t happened again. At around 7am we saw our first bit of wildlife! A bull moose with a huge rack! At 9:30 we stopped in Tok for gas and breakfast sandwiches. We crossed the Canadian border at around noon. We finally arrived in Haines Junction at 3:55 and checked into the Alcan Motor Inn. We then ate at a local restaurant, Frosties which was delicious!
Day 2: Haines Junction to Teslin
Odometer: 88411
Miles Driven: 210
We started June 29th at 530am leaving the hotel at 6:45am. At 830am we stopped in Whitehorse to grab breakfast. We were supposed to be driving to Watson Lake this day but we heard a lot of terrible things about the area so we decided to hang out in Whitehorse and just go a little bit farther to Teslin. This ended up being an awesome idea because we found a great park for Leighlyn to play at in Whitehorse. We also saw the Trans-Canadian trail and the Yukon River! We ate lunch at a place called The Deli. At 1230pm we left Whitehorse and made our way to Teslin. At 1:45 we arrived at the Yukon Motel and Restaurant, unloaded, explored and ate some dinner!
Day 3: Teslin, YK to Fort Nelson, BC
Odometer: 89,623
Miles Driven: 480
On June 30th we left at 5:35am! This is the day we saw TONS of wildlife. At 6:50 we saw our first black bear right on the side of the road! We made a rest stop at 8am and then had lunch at 11am. We saw our second bear at 11:15am, again right on the side of the road. At 11:30am we filled up at Coal River Lodge. At 11:50am we saw a mommy and cub black bear. At 12:30pm we came across a herd of Bison (probably around 50) and then bear number five. At 2:05pm we saw 3 Doll Sheep on the side of the road and then at 3:35pm we saw a herd of Doll Sheep up in the cliff by the road. We stopped for a minute and they all got up and left. As we were getting back in the car, they came up onto the road right next to us! By the end of the day we had seen 10 bears. We arrived at our Super 8 in Fort Nelson around 6:30pm and ate dinner at Boston Pizza!
Day 4: Fort Nelson, BC to Grand Prairie, AB
Odometer: 89105
Miles Driven: 366
July 1st we woke up at around 6:15am and left our hotel at 8am. The day started with rain but cleared up within the first 45 minutes. At 9:30am we saw another black bear! We stopped at a rest area at 12:20 and had some lunch. We got gas at Ft. Saint Johns at 1. Around 2:30pm we reached Dawsons Creek which was the Mile 0 marker for the Alaska Highway. There was also an old grain elevator that had been turned into a museum and gift shop that we walked around in. We arrived in Grand Prairie at 6pm and ordered take out from Hong Kong’s.
Day 5: Grand Prairie, AB to Edmonton, AB
Odometer: 89469
Miles Driven: 280
July 2nd we woke up at 6:30 and left at 8:30. It was a short day of driving (only about 4 hours). We got to Edmonton around 130pm and ate some dinner at Cafe Mosaics (some vegetarian, vegan, hipster cafe that actually ended up being pretty good) I had some sort of Tofu burrito and Elliott had a Mystery Burger haha. We then took Leighlyn to a big park to play!
Day 6: Day in Edmonton
July 3rd we were able to sleep in! It was great knowing that we had a day to just do whatever! First we found a cute little Coffee/Bakery called the Wild Earth Cafe. Then we made our way to the West Edmonton Mall (The biggest mall in North America). It was huge with an ice rink in the middle, a huge waterpark and a theme park with a real rollercoaster in it! It was really cool because while we were there there was a hockey tournament going on. There was even a team from Michigan!
Day 7: Edmonton, AB to Regina, SK
Odometer: 89, 847
Miles Driven: 510
July 4th we woke up at 5:45 and left the hotel 705am. We passed 2,000 trip miles today! It was a very long day in the car, about 11 hours. It was a bit of a frustrating day. We were on the hunt for an Alberta pin and a Saskatchewan pin and went to a few different places but there was nothing. Then we tried to find food and it took forever. It was probably our most frustrating day yet. Mostly between Elliott and I, the girls still did pretty good! We also missed the sign driving into Saskatchewan. I didn’t see one while I was driving (I drove for about 2 hours) so either I missed it or there just isn’t one haha
Day 8: Regina, SK to Hudson, WI
Odometer: 89357
Miles Driven: 771
July 5th we woke up at 5:45am and ate breakfast at the hotel. We were on the road at 8am. We crossed the border into Portal, North Dakota at 11:45. At 1:45 we stopped at Minot for lunch. We had Wendy’s and then went to Dairy Queen to get Blizzards. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten Blizzards and ordered Larges…they were huge! Haha At 5:30pm we decided to be a little spontaneous and change our plans to surprise Elliott’s parents a day early. We were supposed to go to Jamestown, ND on the 5th and Eau Claire, WI on the 6th. Instead we added another 357 miles to our trip and went to Hudson, WI. All of Elliott’s brothers would be arriving on Friday so we figured we would also surprise them as they arrive at Mom and Dads house! We got to our hotel in Hudson around 1230am (July 6th).