People keep wondering how we are doing, and if that laptop did end up under the trailer tires. The good news is we made it to Alaska, I’m actually warming up to Windows 8 a little, the bad news is we got a ticket along the way. (not for speeding, with that huge trailer) I was sitting at a stoplight in Minnesota, and I heard someone knocking on the rear passenger window. Here it was a policeman! He informed me the children on the back seat did not have their seats belts on, and I was to pull over. Thankfully, I only got one ticket for $106, instead of the 3 tickets he said he could have given me. However, the good news is we had 0 flat tires, 0 breakdowns, and 0 problems. (Other than normal problems that occur when trying to sleep in a crowded enclosed trailer)
Once we arrived at the Canada border, I was expecting the usually pull over, open the doors, get all the children out, open the luggage, etc. Maybe it was due to the fact I was not driving a camo limo, or the fact is was 2 am, the border guard glanced at our papers, then asked me a few questions, and oddly kept insisting I had pistols in the trailer. I told him I don’t, and he can look, I don’t care. I did have some .22 long rifle ammo which I told the about. (which he asked about 3 times “is that for your pistol in the trailer?”). He must have believed me, because he waived me through without even looking inside the van or trailer. The border crossing took less than 5 minutes, a real record, and totally unexpected with a 24 foot trailer packed with stuff. I think the border guards just ask you crazy questions to see how you respond.
Our sleeping quarters inside the trailer:
We rolled through Canada without any issues at all, and managed to catch a few campground just as they were closing for the winter. Crossing the Alaskan border was just as easy as the Canada border. I was shocked, but pleased.
Around noon Saturday we rolled into Soldotna, AK. There I picked up our guns that I had stored at a friends house, and we continued down to Anchor Point.
Once we arrived in Anchor Point is when the problems started. It turns out lane had reverted back to a sort of mud bog like they use at “The Buck”. That wasn’t a huge deal, but it present a problem of how to haul our washer from the trailer to the cabin. This was easily solved however, due to my 4 wheeler racks. Hopefully this doens’t affect the warranty on the washer.
Once we arrived at the cabin, we discovered the gas stove did not want to work right. Then the van battery went dead, and wouldn’t take a charge. About that point the water pump decided to stop working right, which mean we didn’t have water pressure. The next day our trusty Honda generator stopped working. The neighbor Ron saved the day by loaning us his. It was around this time I learned how much water a washer takes. Keep in mind we were hauling water in 5 gallon jugs to dump into our water tank. The first run of the washer used up 25 gallons.
Now for the good news: I rigged up a trailer with a 275 gallon plastic water tank and an electric pump, which greatly aided the water hauling. (using the dumpy harbor freight trailer) I did have a spare generator stored in Soldotna, which allowed me to return Ron’s generator. I figured out the problem with the water pump, and that should be completely resolved this week, in the meantime I have the water pump working enough to hold us over.
The strange part is, I still enjoy Alaska, more than ever!
Also, I wrote a book that will be released the end of this year about some of our Alaskan adventures, it has over 100 full color photographs and I think it is interesting, but I’m partial. 🙂 It will sell for like $14. I dont’ have a title for it yet though. Marlene suggested “how to drive your wife crazy”. She does have a twisted sense of humor…
Happy days,
Matt
Some funny looking things we seen along the Alaskan highway:
