Days running into Alaska.

Day 8ish - 11ish And I say that because the days are actually running together!
We stayed at a place called the Woodland in a town that had the biggest gas refinery in North America. The town was full of hard working, people. Women were there holding signs to redirect traffic. The men were blackened with hard work and sweat from the days activities. Some of these people were very young but you could see they had had a life filled with hard labor. It was very humbling to see as we were checking into the hotel with our suitcase and clean shoes and not removing our soiled boots at the front door. Reminded me of some of those fun days in the Air Force out in the field. There were stacks of soiled boots on rubber mats near the front door of the hotel. Not something you run into everyday. This particular hotel had cinderblock walls and outside industrial decor. Internet did not work through these thick walls. Breakfast was from 5-7am and you could order a sacked lunch for the factory for about $13.50. On this day we opted to sleep in a bit and went to the restaurant inside the hotel to order two egg sandwiches to go for breakfast. Hint…if you are in the middle of nowhere Canada…bring mostly all you need to eat or be very prepared to spend ,well,a traded kidney. Two egg sandwiches-one kidney, and we were on our way.
I had failed to mention there is a magazine we purchased before our trip. It is called the Milepost. It is an Alaskan travel planner. It suggests stops and places of interest and this day we were going to stop at a couple of places it suggested. One place hailed of really good cinnamon rolls and they were GREAT!! The gift store had contained contained hats and mounted moose trophies on the wall. On the outside there what I thought was sheep shearings but instead found they were from a tree that was outside of the little cabin. Huge cotton puffs flew through the air and landed on us. It was surreal in the morning light with the smell of cinnamon rolls. We talked with some other people traveling and asked about their trips. There are tour busses that go the through all of Canada and stop along the way to places of interest. Everyone seemed to say go to the hot springs. So we looked at our Milepost book and saw where we could go and see these Hotsprings. We weren't all that far and it would be a great place to stretch our legs. So on we went. Looking for the hotsprings not realizing that we would run into something even better than that.
We started reading where the road would be pretty steep and winding and took precautions to be very careful around these curves with the trailer. There was no warning for this though. We came around a curve and there it was. BEAUTIFULNESS. I've seen pictures but thought that someone must have messed with the hue, now I know I just had never seen anything like it. At the base of these mountains was a beautiful lake biue/green like the water in Destin. It was called Muncho Lake. They had plane tours through the water and Dave said "we are coming back here and flying over this lake" YAY! You have too book in advance so we couldn't go that day but that is something to look forward to. We walked around it and felt just how cold the crisp clear water was. If anyone has any doubt about how good our God is they have never been here. So thankful for all that He made for us to show us how much he loves us.
Eventually we did come apon the Hot Springs. We walked down a long boardwalk to the hot springs and noticed all the people wading in them. We touched the water. It was much warmer than we had expected. There was steam rising from it and it was 75 degrees out. Should have seen that one coming! It was like jacuzzi water! Wow! What the first people who came apon this must have thought!! There were wild strawberries all over as well and I have to say that they were the best tasting strawberries we have ever had!! They were small but they were just so much more than that little berry let on.SWEET! Hot stprings and snack stop Rocked!
What we didn't count on were all the wildlife. You see wildlife warnings all the time on the highway but to see all the sheep and bison and actually have to stop for good long time periods not to run over things is another story. Sheep would just be in the middle of the road, hanging out. They looked more like mountain goats, but there they were just chillin no intention of moving anytime soon. The bison traveled in herds. They had their little ones and were adorable! We have had a run in with everything except a moose.
One thing we would never expect out here are the bicyclists. We are literally an hour between stops driving. Their bicycles are loaded down with sleeping gear and they are out here for the long haul. Most surprising thing is that they are mostly all about 50 or 60. That is IMPRESSIVE. I hope one day that we can do something like that so I'd like to start training now. I have feeling that we are going to be enjoying lots of different activities that we have never even thought of before.

Our gas cans came in handy today. A really nice German lady was on the side of the road that ran out of gas. She was driving a car for someone else to another town. She told us that the town was coming up was pretty neat! We decided to check it out. There was something called the sign post forrest. Signs from all over the globe were there. Familys vacations documented on wood, metal, special signs, and stolen street signs.It was amazing!!!! Dave ran off back to the jeep all of a sudden…I thought….hmmm…maybe bathroom break? He comes running back with the COON INSTRUCTOR sign, a hammer, and nails. YUP we have a sign up there at the sign post forrest in Watson Lake, Yukon!!! :)
We drove on to a place right outside where there were cute little cabins. We chatted with some motorcycle folks that were prior military and were about 7,000-8,000 miles down on their trips. And I thought we had gone a distance!!! That evening we split a bison steak. We found out that the owner usually hunted them herself.
We woke and started on the road again and then we came apron this place called lake Kluane Lake. It was spectacular. Seemingly untouched mountains and lake with fireweed all around. Its beautiful. And there was a camp that we could stay. That's exactly what we did. Our tent right on the beach. And sunset happened at 1220 am. (See the moon picture and more pictures to go with this post on my facebook page)..Sun rose before we woke again at 430am. Mountains were magnificent. Water was magnificent. God creates magnificent things. Thank you for showing your love of us all around us!!
And we've hit it!! We are in ALASKA! Reception is still sketchy. We ARE SO SO SORRY FOR ALL THE CALLS WE HAVE MISSED. We LOVE YOU ALL! Thank you for calling and checking in on us. Our voicemails were totally full with love. Thank you :).
Brief next day.....we drove and stopped at a hotel who is doing Christmas in July..We had a great dinner that we met a great couple from Wisconsin that had been married 42 years. They just came from Anchorage and had been there for about a month. They gave us all their information on day trips and places to stay and what we could not miss!! They were such a sweet couple! They told us about their children and we exchanged information. It was such a great evening! It got even better, since they are celebrating Christmas in July...carolers came and sang into the evening, with bells on! That was really nifty! The best part of our evening is that we got to talk to our sweet little ones and Michelle their cousin! They were playing and having a blast!!
That brings us to the last of it..Today is the last day of driving! We should be in Eagle River tonight!!! And that brings us to another journey..thank you for coming along on this one!