Driving to Alaska and Back: Yukon and British Columbia

I am FINALLY back for another installment of my LA to Alaska Trip recaps! I am woefully behind on blogging and have been itching to write more about our trip. We're back in LA now, and after a few days of catching up on sleep and seeing friends for the first time in a month, I've gotten a moment to update Have Dog, Will Drive. I'm going to do at least one more recap after this, and I'll also be writing a post about what we learned from the trip and what we would do differently + keep the same based on our experience.

Today, I'm sharing photos from our drive from Tok, Alaska (where I left off in my last post) to Williams Lake, British Columbia. We took a totally different route back to LA from the drive up, so these were all new destinations for us! I'm really glad we planned the trip that way, so we got to see more of North America.

The day after spending the night in Tok, we crossed the border back into Canada. Like all our other border crossings, it was uneventful. Still no questions about Willie OR any requests to see his rabies certificate. I agonized about that before the trip--so unnecessary! But you live and you learn.

Our destination for the first night back in the Yukon was Haines Junction. We were mesmerized by the snow-capped mountains surrounding it. With the foliage, it really felt like quintessential Autumn up there. So beautiful.

The area of the Yukon where Haines Junction is located is right along Kluane National Park. Unlike the much more well-known Banff and Jasper, I had never heard of Kluane before planning this trip. But now, I'm shocked that I hadn't, because it's one of the most stunning places I've ever seen. That's the thing about the Far North--so few people make the trip that there are virtually unknown WONDERS of the world up there. I feel so lucky to have gotten to see it.

We rented an adorable cabin through a family-run bed & breakfast called simply, The Cabin. It was such a thoughtful and special place. We were the very last guests of the season, and we couldn't have felt more welcomed. A husband and wife run the place together along with their very sweet doggos. The cabins do not have electricity or running water, but they have propane heat and lights (so old fashioned and cool--you turn on the lamps with a match), as well as a huge container of glacial runoff water that turns on and off with the twist of a tap. So while it's not "real" running water through pipes, it's not that rustic either. There is an outhouse to go to the bathroom. And, there's this view:

This was the view from our back porch. Those snow-capped mountains! It was surreal.

The colors took my breath away.

We cooked a yummy soup and grilled cheese on our little propane stove and slept long and hard. One thing we really noticed on the drive home was how TIRED we got. During the first half of the trip, we were so excited to be going to Alaska that we seemed to have boundless energy for driving every day. But on the second half, fatigue really set in. It wasn't terrible, but it's just something we noticed. If you are planning a similar trip, you might consider adding in some rest days during the return trip, because I do think it's normal to be a bit more tired.

After Haines Junction, we headed to Nugget City, Yukon! The name is a reference to the gold rush history of the Yukon. We had originally booked a campsite, but it was cold and rainy when we arrived, so we decided to upgrade to a cabin (this scenario became a theme of the return trip).

The cabin was comfortable but BEYOND kitschy (in the best way) and it made us laugh. Keep in mind this is truly the middle of nowhere; we didn't have cell service for around 3 days straight during this period in the Yukon and northern British Columbia. So we were glad to have a roof over our heads! Here's a little glimpse of how awesome/hilarious the decor was in our Nugget City cabin:

(Taken from my Instagram story)

We relaxed and actually watched the Emmy's on TV that night eating some takeout from the restaurant next door to our cabin.

The next day's drive was one of the prettiest of the trip. It was also a little nerve-wrecking as it was VERY isolated and rainy, making it especially unappealing to have any car trouble. Luckily, we didn't. This was also the day that we left the familiarity of the Alaska Highway and turned south down the Cassiar Highway. We had read that the Cassiar was especially rustic and remote, and it was. That said, the road conditions were very good. It looked like a lot of it had recently been repaved, so I think some of the reports I saw of rough road might be outdated now. The reason we took the Cassiar Highway was just so we could see more of British Columbia and experience a different route than the drive north.

The fog was wild; like a ribbon weaving through the landscape

Raincoats for everybody!

Our destination that night was Bell II, British Columbia, home of the Bell2 Lodge. In the winter, it's a major heli-skiing destination, but it has a lovely chalet village year round. We stayed in a super cozy chalet (again, upgraded from our originally-booked campsite) with a wood-burning stove. The grounds of the resort were beautiful and we had a great dinner that night from the restaurant.

Willie was very comfortable living the chalet dog life

Given that you can drive for hours and not pass anything else, it's kind of amazing that a resort like this can exist out in the middle of nowhere. They generate all of their own electricity and run their own plumbing and water supply. It was a bit pricier to stay there because of this, but you won't find anything else like it in the area.

Next on our itinerary was Telkwa, British Columbia. I'll be honest and say that when I booked that night, it was kind of just because I saw Telkwa on a map and it looked to be a good stopping point. It's really rural, so I didn't have super high expectations going in. But Grace and I ended up being blown away by Telkwa and now think it was one of our favorite nights of the trip.

First, on the drive between Bell II and Telkwa, we saw FIVE bears on the side of the road! First we saw one by itself eating breakfast, then we saw a mama and baby, and then we saw two more randomly (and were driving by too quickly to notice whether they were by themselves or not). Because seeing wildlife was one of the things we were most excited for on the road trip, this was SUCH a cool day for us.

Bear crossing the road right behind us!

We pulled over and rolled down the window and got into a staring contest with this bear. It was AMAZING to see one so close!

Then, our day got even better once we rolled up to our accommodations for the night.

Enter the most glorious glamping experience there ever was. Oh my goodness, did we LOVE this place. The name of the site was called Fort Telkwa Riverfront Accommodations. It's an RV park on one side and then they have these tent-cabins along the river. The really surprising thing is that they do not advertise photos like the one above at ALL. We had no idea it would look like this when we pulled up. I booked it just based on the location and the description that they had tent shelters with heat. Not that it's all about money, but for a view like this in the LA area and for the "glamour" of a safari-tent-esque experience, you would be charged $300. This place was $60 and included fresh chopped firewood. There was really great heat and electricity in the tent, and the WiFi was so good (fiber optic) that we could stream movies from inside the tent! Also, the people are THE friendliest around. I could rave about this place all day long. There isn't a bathroom in the tent, but there's a huge bathhouse right beside it with hot showers, a sauna, and nice clean restrooms. We were in heaven.

Sunset & snow-capped mountains over the river looking out from our tent

Cooking some local fish over a fire at our campsite

Sauteed veggies and pan-seared fish--delicious and simple camping meal

We did not want to leave! It was just so beautiful and peaceful. Hearing the river rushing by at night was sublime.

The next day, we drove to Williams Lake, British Columbia. I'm embarrassed to say I don't have a single photo from this day of our trip! It was pretty uneventful--this was really just a convenient stop and a place to sleep before getting to Vancouver the next day. We stayed in a Best Western, which was comfy and dog friendly. One thing I really liked about the hotel was that the pet friendly rooms had a back door that opened right up to a green space to walk your dog, so you didn't have to go through the lobby for doggy bathroom breaks. Such a smart setup! I wish I could offer more in terms of recommendations for Williams Lake, and it seemed like a nice little town, but we were exhausted and didn't really see anything but the hotel. It was also around this time that we noticed a decent sized crack in Grace's windshield, which must have come from a logging truck hitting the windshield with a pebble or something. So we had to deal with that (and ultimately will have to replace the entire windshield--just part of the cost of a trip like this!) and didn't venture out that night.

The next day we woke up very excited to get to Vancouver! I'm going to pause the recap here and save Vancouver, Portland, and Northern California for the next one. Thanks for reading!

Driving to Alaska and Back: "The Alaska Highway"

I am writing this post from the utterly charming city of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Grab a cup of tea or glass of wine and get ready for another looong Alaska Road Trip recap! You can find all of my posts about our trip here.

By the way, I love writing these posts so much. Thank you for reading, wherever you are. When we are on the road or camping or exploring, I don't work on the blog, but when we both need some time to relax after a long drive, it's the perfect thing. In the background as I write this, Grace is watching a National Geographic special on TV, Willie is sleeping (and running in his dreams the way dogs do), and I'm typing away. It's raining and hailing outside here in the big wild Yukon and oh so cozy.

But I need to back up a few days.

My last post, about the Canadian Rockies, ended with us spending the night in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Dawson Creek is known as "Mile 0" of the Alaska Highway, which stretches from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks, Alaska. It was built during WWII for the purpose of connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska (pretty wild to think that before that, there was no direct way to drive to Alaska. There just weren't roads! And there still aren't roads connecting many parts of Alaska.). Since we got out of the Canadian Rockies, we have followed the Alaska Highway the whole way, and it will take us straight across the border into Alaska.   

The Alaska Highway is the wildest place I have ever been. Just for context . . . I have been on safari in Botswana. Hiking in rural Turkey. Slept under the stars next to a volcano in Chiapas. I know I have a flare for the dramatic, but nothing (from my personal experience & travels) compares to the Alaska Highway in terms of remoteness.

It is stunningly beautiful. It weaves through British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska (the last of which we haven't gotten to yet, as of the time I'm writing this), and the landscape truly is "Larger than Life." That phrase happens to be the Yukon's motto (on all the street signs), and it's perfect. I'm not trying to knock other beautiful places in North America, but the Yukon and Northern British Columbia just makes anything else look miniscule. For example, I'm from North Carolina, and we have the world-famous and gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains. The fall foliage there is amazing, and the mountains are mysterious and serene-looking. While I will always love my home state . . . the Yukon's mountain ranges and fall colors make the Blue Ridge Mountains look like a toy train set version of the landscape. I just can't imagine anything that can compare to the sweeping views and VASTNESS of the Yukon. I can't describe it adequately and a camera can't really capture it, so you just have to go and see it for yourself!

Grace and I spent a lot of time today in the car wondering why we have never heard of anyone taking a vacation to the Yukon, even though it's jaw-droppingly, tear-jerkingly beautiful. We figured it's a couple of things. One, it's so very remote. And two, there isn't really anything here other than the landscape (plus Whitehorse, which is an awesome city that I have fallen in love with).

The Alaska Highway is also no joke. I can see how very quickly, the remote terrain would become terrifying if you had car trouble or got stuck after dark. Just to paint a picture for you, it is often six full hours of driving between "towns." And a "town" often consists of one gas station, a Tim Horton's (sometimes they don't even have that), a motel, and an RV park. About halfway between "towns" there is usually some type of gas station. We haven't been in any danger of running low on gas, but yesterday, right as we got about 30 minutes into our drive, the check tire pressure light came on in the car. We had a 6 hour drive ahead of us to the next town. Honestly, my heart was in my throat for the rest of the drive. It all worked out, but it's scary! I should add that while I have a Canadian cell phone plan, I have 0 cell service for 5 or 6 hours out of the day when we're driving. My phone will just say "no service" for the whole drive. There are also no street lights for hundreds of miles. I said a lot of silent prayers (not wanting to worry Grace) that we wouldn't blow a tire in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. We usually see another car maybe once ever 15-30 minutes. Okay, now I've probably convinced you never to do this drive, haha!

But seriously, I would recommend this trip to anyone with the right preparation. It's been surreal and inspiring and beyond my wildest dreams. We keep saying that we feel like we're on safari. We've seen reindeer, bison, elk, moose, coyotes, bunnies, and tons of beautiful birds. Sadly, we also saw an enormous black bear that was roadkill. But even that just illustrates how larger than life it is here--even the roadkill is HUGE. The only way you can "get it" is by doing it.

Reindeer on the highway

So you might be wondering, where actually DID we sleep at night if it's so remote? I'm going to break it down for you, which I hope will be helpful if anyone is thinking about planning a similar trip! I know I scoured these types of recap posts when I was planning ours. All accommodations listed below are pet friendly (a couple people have asked . . . we don't have Willie as a service dog or anything like that. We just stay in pet friendly places--they're not hard to find!).

Dawson Creek, B.C.: We stayed at the Stonebridge Hotel. Room service food was DELISH. Comfy, would 100% recommend. Really nice people working there. And, huge plus, an amazing and enormous *free* brekkie buffet starting at 5am. We loved that.

After Dawson Creek we drove to Fort Nelson, B.C.

I don't want to be a downer or dissuade you from staying in Fort Nelson. For one thing, there's really nowhere else to stay between Dawson Creek and Watson Lake (both of which were great stops, but they're about 12 hours apart, so you pretty much have to stop in the middle which leaves you with Fort Nelson).

We did not love Fort Nelson. Unfortunately for us it was just kind of one flop after the next as soon as we rolled into town. We stayed at the Sunrise Inn and Suites. It is pet friendly and has great reviews online which is why I booked it. I booked by emailing directly with the owner, who was very friendly. Fast forward . . . we pull up to the "inn" and no one was even there. We finally reached someone by pressing the buzzer which I guess was connected to a pager (?) and she said she'd be there soon. When she got there she was clearly flustered that we wanted to check in. She tried to call another hotel to get us a room there, said we must have "accidentally" booked a room with only one queen size bed since we have two people and a dog (I was like "no . . . that is fine with us"), and she eventually "upgraded" us to a bigger room because they obviously didn't reserve the room that we had booked in advance. But the bigger room wasn't pet friendly, so she kind of acted like it was an inconvenience that we had a dog but said it was "fine for one night." Trust me, I would have taken our business elsewhere had there been any other option in that town . . . or any other town closer than 6 hours away. Later, we realized our door didn't close properly--the lock was like hanging by the hinges and could have easily been broken into. But given that there were no other rooms in town, we were stuck. Around 10pm we were terrified when some truckers stood RIGHT outside our door drinking and yelling (this is the type of place where you can drive right up to the door of the room, there's no lobby or hallway). It just was not ideal.

Food options were also bleak. We walked across the street to a place called Gourmet Girl, which had glowing reviews online. I went in and chatted about the takeout options they had. I mentioned we were just passing through town for one night and happy to have found a dinner takeout place across the street from our hotel. I went to relay the info to Grace (who was waiting with Willie outside) and she gave the thumbs up and I went back to order. They were then like "oh we can't make the food until tomorrow." I'm sorry . . . am I living in the twilight zone? What was the conversation we just had?! I walked out and we ended up ordering some takeout from a Canadian chain called Boston Pizza . . . not my first choice but there were literally no other options. I felt like Fort Nelson was just like that in general . . . not a lot of options. I know it's the far north and there aren't a lot of resources but we have now been to multiple towns that are even more remote and had GREAT experiences. Again, sorry to be negative. Just our experience!

We later joked that the Sunrise Inn and Suites was so named because you want to leave at sunrise . . . which we did! We started off along the Alaska Highway and were immediately in a better mood. The mountains and wildlife were breathtaking. 

We stopped at a lake called Muncho Lake and fell in love! They had a super cute campground that we hope to camp at one day. I would spend a week just relaxing at Muncho Lake. It was beautiful.

After stretching our legs at Muncho Lake, we drove on to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory (with our tire pressure light blinking). After Fort Nelson, I had kind of a sinking feeling that every town along the rest of the Alaska Highway would be bleak. Happily, I was wrong :)

We LOVED Watson Lake! Such good vibes. When we got into town, the very first thing we did was pull into a car repair shop we saw. I walked up and found some very "Yukon" people (bearded . . . looking like they could weather 50 years of Yukon winters . . . you get the picture) and asked if they could help us check our tires. They sort of responded (I wasn't sure what they said) and was honestly pretty dismayed at the situation, but I should have withheld judgment because the older man who worked on our tires turned out to be the SWEETEST guy. They had a bunch of shop dogs that Willie loved. They tried to not even charge us anything for pumping up our tires! (Which I wouldn't allow of course). We had a good feeling about this town right away after that experience.

Tires refilled, we decided to go to the Signpost Forest which is a Yukon landmark. Rather than explain it myself, here's a photo of the sign at the entrance:

It's pretty famous (in the realm of Yukon travel), so I'd read it about it in advance and decided to surprise Grace by having signs made of our hometowns (Waterloo, Belgium, for her, and Raleigh, NC, for me). I tucked them away in a bag and showed them to her right as we were driving to the Signpost Forest! It was so sweet nailing them up beside each other.

I have to mention here the people working at the little giftshop next to the Signpost Forest. They were AWESOME! They let us use nails and a hammer to put up our signs, and they were just so friendly and knowledgeable about the area. The one guy running the shop (I wish I had gotten his name) has amazing photography skills, especially of the Northern Lights in the area, and he gave Willie treats. You must must stop here if you go to Watson Lake. It made our day. This is a link to the shop's website--it's the cutest little place!

After that we went to our hotel and didn't leave for the rest of the day. Haha!! We stayed at Andrea's Hotel, which was a little dated and kitschy but I would overall recommend given the remoteness of the area and lack of other pet-friendly options. And we got surprisingly tasty Chinese takeout from a restaurant right next door called the Golden Dragon! We were very charmed by the hospitality we found in Watson Lake. It's a gem of the Far North.

The next morning we set off from Watson Lake for Whitehorse, which is the capital of the Yukon. This was one of our shorter drives at only 4 hours and 30 minutes. We took in the views from the car and the time flew by.

I am not exaggerating when I say that it was love at first sight for me and Whitehorse (well, I hope it's mutual, at least). It's the coolest city. And yes, it's a city, not a town, though by LA standards it is tiny. If you've been to Asheville, North Carolina, it kind of reminded me of that. It's funky, charming, diverse, and unique. To me it also had a bit of European flair to it. It was so clean and beautiful and pure. It holds the Guinness World Record for the city with the least air pollution in the world. It's official nickname is "The Wilderness City." The Yukon River runs right through it, and the atmosphere was moody and dramatic when we arrived.

So dramatic, in fact, that we got caught in a hailstorm! Pebbles of ice came raining down on me as I hurried back to the car from picking up takeout lunch. For two people who live in LA, this was actually kind of a cool novelty . . . except for the fact that we had booked a campsite in Whitehorse as our accommodations for the night. Grace quickly made the executive decision to book a hotel room instead and I'm so glad she did. We ended up staying at the Coast High Country Inn, and it was LOVELY. We walked up to the front desk asking if they had any rooms, and they went above and beyond, booking us a spacious room with the biggest Jacuzzi I have ever seen, and feeding Willie treats the whole time. The lobby was filled with people, and Willie was seriously holding court with his little fan club around the fireplace! It was adorable. 

The Coast High Country Inn, our shelter in a storm--literally

Willie was VERY happy with our decision to stay in a comfy hotel and not sleep in a tent in a hail storm

After getting the room figured out, we explored Whitehorse a little bit! And I fell harder in love. We decided we definitely want to come back and use Whitehorse as a jumping off point for a bigger Yukon vacation. 

Adorable local bookstore

With a whole section on the Yukon + the Far North in general (heart eye emoji here)

We got takeout from the place in the photo above, Klondike Rib & Salmon. It's been featured on the Food Network a few times and is generally regarded as one of the best restaurants in the Far North! (The only reason we got takeout instead of actually eating there was because we didn't want to leave Willie). Super yummy and interesting food--we felt like Yukon locals eating food from there.

I was genuinely sad to leave Whitehorse and look forward to returning. But we weren't too bummed to leave, because the next day would take us into ALASKA! More to come soon :)

Driving to Alaska and Back: The Canadian Rockies

This is the second recap of our road trip from LA to Alaska and back. You can find all my posts about our trip here. 

After leaving Montana, we drove to the Canadian border at the Sweetgrass-Coutts crossing. It was extremely low key. I don't have any photos from crossing the border because I didn't want to raise suspicion or anything, but I wanted to describe our experience because I know I was super nervous prior to crossing. I had never driven through a border and didn't know what to expect.

It was the easiest thing ever. It look 3 minutes. We handed over our passports, they asked us to take off our sunglasses, and they asked us whether we were students and what our jobs are. We had come prepared with copies of Willie's rabies vaccines and small sealed bags of dog food in case they didn't let us take opened bags of food across the border, but all they asked was whether we were planning on leaving him in Canada. Haha!! No, we told them, he'd be coming with us into Alaska and then back to the mainland US. Basically, they just wanted to confirm that we weren't importing a dog; that we were just passing through.

Once in Canada, things actually felt pretty different right away! For one thing, the speed limit signs were in kilometers. That was confusing. Right after crossing the border we stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break, and I was very surprised that when I walked inside an attendant was waiting to answer questions about Canada and offer free maps. The stereotypes about Canadians being really friendly was SO true (and has continued to be throughout our time here). The Canadian accents are also STRONG and I didn't anticipate how foreign I would feel. They can 100% tell I'm from "the States" (as they call it). Everything in Canada is just so clean and nice. It's awesome here.

After a quick stop in Calgary for more groceries, we made it to our campground in BANFF NATIONAL PARK!! Somewhere I had been excited to see for a very long time. And it did not disappoint.

We had reserved a spot at Two Jack Lakeside Campground (pictured above) about 9 months ago. It's so popular (and tiny) that you have to book that far out to be able to get a spot. Ours was right on the lake, with its own little footpath down to the shore. This was our view:

I was pinching myself that we got to sleep right beside this. We had site #24, which I had read online was the best site in the whole campground, and I have to agree! It was heaven.

Because it's the dry season, campfires were banned in Banff while we were there. We didn't have a lot of nonperishables (we bought some food that ended up going bad because we weren't able to cook it, but it wasn't the end of the world), so I made a "scavenger's dinner" that was actually pretty tasty.

The next morning, we woke up feeling cozy in our tent and so excited to explore the park!

Conveniently, we were staying in Jasper National Park the night after staying in Banff, so our sole itinerary for the day was driving the Icefields Parkway. It links the two national parks. It is known as one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and I don't think I have ever taken a prettier one myself. I was just mesmerized the whole day.

Along the way, we wanted to stop and see a few lakes, waterfalls, and other sights. At first, I felt like our day might be shot because at our very first planned stop, the parking lot was totally full and they weren't letting anyone in. But it turned out to be kind of a fluke because we didn't have that experience at any of the other stops on our route. We were far from the only tourists, but it was less crowded than US national parks in my experience.

Every twist and turn of the Icefields Parkway would have views like this. Just wow!!

Our first stop of the day was at Lake Louise, which is one of the most famous places on the Icefields Parkway. It's where the photo at the top of this post was taken. Here are a couple more that I took, just for good measure (I can't stop looking at pics of it, even though they don't do it justice):

Yes, the water REALLY is that color. It's because it's glacier-fed (from what I've been told). It is even prettier in person.

Next, we cruised along the parkway for awhile before stopping at Peyto Lake. Peyto is nestled deep in a valley, so the only way to really see it is to hike up to the Bow Summit to get a good view. This was the most strenuous hike of the day by far, and we were out of breath by the end. But it was so worth it.

It was ridiculously pretty. 

After Peyto, we decided to stop on the side of the road to picnic. There isn't a ton of traffic on the parkway (or at least there wasn't in early September).

There really isn't a bad view in Banff. You can look anywhere and it's stunningly beautiful. We just soaked it in as much as possible :)

Sometime after lunch, we passed into Jasper National Park. It is contiguous with Banff, so you wouldn't know you were in a different national park except for the sign. The landscape looks the same. Soon after getting into Jasper, we saw a glacier . . . such a cool bucket list moment for me! This one is called the Athabasca Glacier.

The snowy slope looking area in the background is the very tip of the glacier, also known as the "toe." A camera can't really pick up how HUGE it is, but it was truly amazing. We couldn't stop staring and just almost laughing in disbelief at how cool it was to see one.

Our next stop was Grace's favorite overall, and definitely one of my favorites too. It's called Athabasca Falls, and it is one of the most incredible waterfalls I have ever seen (and I've been to Victoria Falls in Zambia!). Once again . . . pictures don't do it justice. But here are a few favorite shots from the falls:

Even just compiling all of these photos now for the blog, it's hard to believe that we saw all of these places in ONE day. I felt like I needed a week to process it all. Banff and Jasper are gems of North America, maybe the most beautiful places on the continent in my opinion (of the places I've seen!). 

After Athabasca, we headed to our campsite in Jasper for the night: Wapiti Campground. We stayed at site A15, which was fairly private and had the Athabasca River running right behind it. Falling asleep to the sound of the rushing river was dreamy.

As we cozied up for our fourth night of camping on the trip, it felt so nice to realize we had really gotten into a routine. I had figured out how to set up the tent in about 5 minutes flat, and we were slowly becoming old folks with our nightly games of scrabble. It's been such an incredible escape from real life, where our days are marked by rhythms and not what time it is. Willie is the best trooper and we fall more in love with him every day. 

But as much as we really do love camping, we were all super excited to stay in a comfy hotel the next night. We left Jasper pretty early in the morning. As we were getting onto the main Trans-Canada highway, we saw a HUGE MOOSE in the dim morning light! It was standing right in the middle of the road. We both gasped. Willie slept through it. It was only a few seconds, and I didn't get a photo because it was so fleeting and I wanted to just really see it. But I will never forget seeing such a beautiful creature. Here's hoping for more moose sightings in Alaska! 

After a few hours on the road, we rolled into town in Dawson Creek, British Columbia (not related in any way to the 90s TV show) dirty and a bit tired. We left totally refreshed. Everyone including Willie got clean, we slept on soft white sheets, we ordered some pretty decadent room service, and we had a little impromptu spa night in our room. We stayed at the Stonebridge Hotel, which is pet friendly, and we really liked it. I'll leave you with some shots from our Instagrams/Insta stories:

Next, we're setting off across the rest of British Columbia and the Yukon to Alaska. I'm pre-writing this post and scheduling it for the weekend; by the time this goes live, we should be in the Yukon! I'm so excited to see it. Thanks so much for following along on our journey! I love recapping it and making sure I remember it all.