So Aaron and I started the drive to Anchorage on September 19th with only a slight detour to Nashville Tennessee to see a Titans game on the 20th. When I say slight I mean 600 miles out of the way, but what is 600 more miles when you’re already planning on 4,500?? The game was actually a lot of fun (I got my face painted with a Titans’ sword along with all the other 5 year olds). There was a sideline brawl and overall it was a close game throughout which made it that much more entertaining. After the game we hopped in the car and hammered out 400 miles to stay the night just outside of Chicago. On Monday we spent the morning and afternoon in the city. We went to the Shedd Aquarium on Aaron’s suggestion and my request (again I’m the little kid) and then we went downtown to Pizzaria Uno to experience some authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. I was starving after walking around staring at sting rays and sea dragons but it only took one humungous slice for me to go from starving to absolutely stuffed. Verdict made- Chicago pizza is delicious- although it takes them 45 minutes to cook it so don’t go when you’re so hungry you could eat whatever is swimming around the touch tank at the aquarium. Around mid afternoon we decided we would just go for it and head towards Montana. We drove a lot (I think?). To come clean and be completely honest- when I say “we drove” I really mean “Aaron drove and I slept”. It’s a commonly known fact that I don’t have to be anywhere near tired to conk out in the passenger seat as soon as we leave the driveway. To boot, Aaron hates sitting shot gun and would rather drive for 20 hours straight than watch me drive for 3. So what’s a girl to do? I let him drive. And I got enough beauty sleep to last me the winter :) . We stopped in Helena Montana and camped next to a beautiful lake surrounded by rolling hills. We went to sleep pretty early after so many consecutive hours of driving. I woke up at some point during the night and thought I heard someone or something outside of the tent. After laying there for a half hour trying to go back to sleep, my imagination kept on creating new scenarios of what exactly was outside of the tent and how exactly it was planning on killing and eating me. Crazy, I know. As much as I’ve made fun of Mom’s creative imagination that invents disasters when everything is fine, I have come to grips with the fact that I have inherited it. I had to wake Aaron up and ask him to peek out the tent for me and make sure everything was ok. After ignoring me once and telling me I was silly, he finally looked out the door to find a lake, some trees, and a starry sky. His report was, “Did you really wake me up to listen to the forest for you?” Yes. I did. Needless to say that was our one and only night of camping- but it was a pretty chilly night out so in reality I wasn’t really dying to do it again.
Even with all the sleeping I did in the car, I did manage to see every big game species there are in Canada and Alaska along the way. We saw deer, antelope, caribou, moose, and even a buffalo! Somewhere in northern British Columbia, Canada Aaron woke me up at 4 a.m. saying “Colleen get up you have to see this!”
I looked out my window and not even 6 feet from the car was a giant buffalo just walking down the highway! We followed him for 5 minutes or so and he never changed his pace or direction. Just kept on walking, klickety-klockety, down the white line. He was so big that I had my camera as zoomed out as far as possible and still only fit his head in the frame! I made sure Aaron kept the car in gear the entire time- that is one animal I did not want to see turn on us and decide he was tired of being watched. But he never did. Never even turned his head in the slightest he was so unconcerned with us. It was really neat to be so close to such a gargantuan creature and not be at a zoo.
I looked out my window and not even 6 feet from the car was a giant buffalo just walking down the highway! We followed him for 5 minutes or so and he never changed his pace or direction. Just kept on walking, klickety-klockety, down the white line. He was so big that I had my camera as zoomed out as far as possible and still only fit his head in the frame! I made sure Aaron kept the car in gear the entire time- that is one animal I did not want to see turn on us and decide he was tired of being watched. But he never did. Never even turned his head in the slightest he was so unconcerned with us. It was really neat to be so close to such a gargantuan creature and not be at a zoo. Some time midday Friday we crossed the border from Canada to AK a
nd the views were amazing. The St. Elias mountain range has some of the tallest mountains in Canada and the U.S. and they are simply breathtaking. I have decided that as many pictures as I take of all the sights in Alaska, a camera can never do them justice. The mountains are never towering enough, the water never looks as blue, and the sky not near as expansive. But I’ll post the pictures anyway in hopes that they will inspire you all to come visit and see the sights in person! However I would suggest a plane trip instead of driving 5,000 miles in 6 days...
nd the views were amazing. The St. Elias mountain range has some of the tallest mountains in Canada and the U.S. and they are simply breathtaking. I have decided that as many pictures as I take of all the sights in Alaska, a camera can never do them justice. The mountains are never towering enough, the water never looks as blue, and the sky not near as expansive. But I’ll post the pictures anyway in hopes that they will inspire you all to come visit and see the sights in person! However I would suggest a plane trip instead of driving 5,000 miles in 6 days...