August 10, 2021

Admittedly, time has gotten away from me. Seems like just yesterday we were leaving Alaska to head back to the lower 48. Now, we have already been settled in New England for almost two months! So I figured it was about time to get caught up on all of our recent adventures!

First things first…Can I just say that I felt our “survivability” rating was much higher traveling through the Canadian wilderness in July as compared to March?! I’m mainly referring to the fact that we wouldn’t have died from hypothermia if we had broke down on the side of the road as temps had ranged between -9°F to 30°F on our initial voyage. For anyone who read my first blog concerning our travels to Alaska, Dave had to navigate the Alcan Highway in blizzard, ice road trucker kind of conditions. However, it was a stark contrast in July with wildflowers blooming, long days, and the midnight sun as our companion.

What didn’t change: the roads were still full of potholes and frost heaves, making for a very BuMpY first couple hundred miles. Also, still no internet (much to my children’s dismay) for the greater length of Alaska and Canada. It was still a ridiculously long journey, taking us a full seven days to drive from Homer, AK back to St. Louis, MO. And while we have vowed to never, ever drive the length of Canada again, it was definitely a sight to behold.

Listed below are some highlights, along with March vs. July comparisons:

• Roadside dining with Matanuska Glacier as our view before leaving Alaska

• Crossing out of Alaska and into Canada

• Animal Sighting: 4 bears (1 grizzly cub and 3 black bears), 2 porcupines, 2 moose, 1 gigantic bull moose, herds of Bighorn Sheep, caribou, and bison, and a few Trumpeter Swans

• Breathtaking views of Muncho Lake and the Canadian Rockies

• Winter vs. Summer Driving

As for Covid testing, it was much less streamlined entering into Canada at the Yukon vs. Alberta. We were able to get our required Covid tests at the local hospital prior to arriving at the Canadian border. Once there we provided our passports, reason for travel, and negative results. After being cleared to enter Canada, we were given Covid swabs and informed we needed to register online, schedule a telephone appointment, collect the specimens, and then drop them off at the nearest location, all within 24 hours. This sounds completely doable, unless there is no cell service for the next 48 hours, and by the time you do have service, it is the weekend and the tele-appointments are only Monday-Friday. Ultimately, we collected the swabs ourselves (I am a nurse after all), sealed them up, and dropped them off on our way out of British Columbia.

• Winter vs. Summer on the Alaskan Hwy

While the first few days of our drive pictured postcard perfect scenery, Saskatchewan on the other hand resembled Kansas…hundreds and hundreds of miles of Kansas with flat farm fields as far the eye could see. When we finally crossed back over into the U.S. at North Dakota, I had never been happier to see road signs marked in miles, gas priced in dollars, and no roaming notificiations on my cell phone. And while I’m so thankful we were able to have the opportunity to travel through Canada…next time I’ll take the easy way out and fly.