So far, the Alaska Highway through British Columbia (and along the eastern edge of the Canadian Rockies) has been an interesting mix of very good road.

And not.

We had heard horror stories of issues with logging trucks, but so far, the highway has mostly been ours alone. (Maybe I shouldn’t have said that).

Our drive today took us along the eastern edge of the Canadian Rockies.

We camped Monday night (8 June) at the Toad River Lodge, about 1/3 of the way along the highway. We are a day ahead of plan.

This turns out to be a very interesting spot. Our site is right along the lake, and we have a number of ducks, beaver and muskrat, and two moose, for company.

8 days and almost 2500 miles later, our trip can finally start. We made it to Dawson Creek, BC, the start of the Alaska Highway.

The Alaska Highway was built during the second world war to provide a supply line to Alaska in case the Japanese closed our western ports. It starts in Dawson Creek, near the Alberta border, winds across BC and through the Yukon Territory, and ends near Fairbanks. In all, it is about 1350 miles of paved (or mostly paved) road. That’s two day trips from NJ to NC, but we are going to cover it in about 10 days. It’s time to slow down and smell the roses (and photograph the bears).

The winters are hard on the roadbed, and building on permafrost is an art not yet fully understood by all, so we don’t expect the road to be a smooth one for the whole trip. I do hope we can manage to find diesel when we need it.

It’s been a long road — more than 2400 miles so far. We’re parked in a large, and crowded, camp west of Edmonton, AB. Tomorrow, we get to the start of the trip–the beginning of the Alaska Highway.

From Wisconsin, we drove across Minnesota, stopping in Fargo, ND to see some old friends from NJ. Who knew we knew people in Fargo, ND?

We camped in a city park on the banks of the Red River, one of the few rivers in North America that flows north. The bank was a little closer to the rig than designed — the river was in flood stage.

The next day it was on to Portage la Prairie, Canadian seat of the Bell clan. But apparently none still in residence. Or at least we couldn’t find any.

From Fargo to Regina (Saskatchewan), the country was mostly dead flat.

30 May.

It’s here. Months of planning are over, the rig is packed, and whatever is forgotten will stay forgotten. The house is so clean that I asked Patrice if we were planning on selling it. Now the house is in the rear-view mirror, as we embarked on our 10,000 mile odyssey.

It was a gorgeous day for a drive, and beautiful country to drive through. The Smokies of Tennessee, the Appalachians of southern Kentucky, and the plains of southern Indiana.

As we entered Indiana, the weather started to close in, and we ran through rain on and off, but the bulk of it held off until after we parked in Columbus, Indiana.

31 May.

Another late start, but better today than yesterday. Only 90 minutes late, instead of 3 hours. A cold front came through during the night, and we left Columbus in a cold gray drizzle. Patrice drew the first shift, which gave me the stint through Gary and Chicago. I drew the short straw; 3.5 hours and 140 mile. I definitely do NOT want to come back this way.

But as we left Chicago, the sun finally broke out, and we had a beautiful afternoon drive.

Finally settled in in Oakdale, WI, in a little camp off the interstate.

Daunting, when you look at it this way.

T-5 days and counting.

The rig is serviced and ready to go. We still have to pack and do some last minute shopping, but come Saturday, das Abentueur beginnt.

We should cover about 10,000 miles in about 61 days.