On to Dawson Creek - Day 6 AlCan Road Trip

We continued winding our way through mountains, hills, meadows, farm land, wildflowers, waterfalls.....it's spectacular.  The Canadian Rockies are amazing. 

The kids first moose - also saw deer and eagle

We stopped for lunch along the road.  Nolan and I feasted rice bowls. The rest had their standbys. 😊The lunchtime scenery couldn't be beat.

 The kids stayed inside Uchi. They were worried by mosquitoes. On second thought, they may have been wise. 😲 Someone really needs to make a mosquito emoji.

Must practice with the selfie stick from JaRissa. 

 Chetwynd seems to be the Chainsaw Art Capital of  North America. They had just finished their annual Chainsaw Art Competition. 

We arrived in Dawson Creek, set up Uchi at the Northern Lights RV park, drove into town for dinner, tried to find an auto part at Wal-Mart, came home to do more laundry and play Farkle. It's  not near as fun without Mom, Dad and Lorri. 🎲🎲🎲

We have internet for "basic" things - no streaming or they'll shut us off (Netflix, Face Time, Skype etc).  We are working to get house things done while here. We'll spend an extra night and play tourist tomorrow and we'll REST.

An oddity we're noting. RV parks are much cheaper per night than in the States - however - one has to pay a "loonie"  (dollar coin?) for 3 min shower! We're showering in Uchi as we aren't charged extra for electricity or water at our site.

BEAUTIFUL BRITISH COLUMBIA - Day 5 of AlCan Road Trip

I wake up early. This is a beautiful spot to wake up early in. I appreciated not having the temptation to jump on social media or send out a few tweets. I'm enjoying some aspects of being "disconnected." 

While Stacia and I checked the Alaska Graffiti, the guys completed their check lists. 

Unique technique, Alex

I can't get over the beauty of British Columbia. Lakes, ponds, mountains, forests, meadows.....

We stopped at Walmart in William's Lake to buy a Canadian pre-paid phone and to answer a couple of emails. Yes, it's nice to be disconnected - BUT - challenging in the middle of making an offer on a home. 😵

Note how Nimo insures none of "those" drivers park in front of Uchi

 Alex has my camera and my perch in Uchi. I found it fun to note he is drawn to barns, like his mom. Not bad through the windshield....I think we need to find an online photo class for he and I to take.

We stopped at Northland RV Park outside of Prince George. We were told we didn't have much bandwidth, but we're getting things done.  We went into town and found a drive in  - it IS Sunday night after all.

I am  about to call it a night. Consecutive driving days wear me out. The others are playing a round or two of Farkle.

CROSSED THE BORDER - Day 4 of our AlCan Road Trip

Today is an exciting day! We are REALLY moving to ALASKA!😁 We got up early and crossed the border at Sumas/Abottsford crossing. It's open 24 hours a day, and we'd heard it took less time here than other crossings. 

Crossing the border!!!!!😂🙌💓😁

We got to the border as the guards were changing shifts. Michael pulled up and they asked for Yuuki's rabies certificate, their passports, and an inventory. They queried him about guns and ammo (which we'd shipped to Alaska).  Then they decided, rather than searching (Thank you JESUS - we'd heard nasty stories about RV searches), they'd have me verify Michael's info. I, of course, did not know this. 

I pulled forward as he went through. They asked if I was traveling with the previous vehicle. No sense denying this as we have matching Alaska graffiti. I confirmed I was. They asked me a lot of questions about HIM....barely looked at OUR passports and didn't ask for our inventory list. 

"Does he have any alcohol, ammo, drugs or tobacco in the trailer or RV?" 

"No. We're not a fun group at all."

She didn't crack a smile.  😔

"How long will he be in the country?" 

"We aren't sure - no more than 10 days is a safe bet." 

Still no smile. I was working hard for this smile. 😐

"Does he have a gun in the trailer or RV?" 

The words began to slip out of my mouth, when I realized some folks don't take sarcasm well....and I stopped myself JUST IN TIME from saying, "No, but I have 20 bazookas in the Jeep." 😀😏😁

The lines were growing as we drove across the border....and the line coming into America was quite long. It was a Saturday morning. 

Rearview Mirror 

Well, yes, I DID make a video - though I was informed I am not supposed to do such. My reasoning is  they would have signs posted if they didn't want me to video. 

I tossed the phone as it was my turn to answer questions.

We went through some beautiful country today! 

I turned the wheel over to Nolan - 3 hours is about as long as I can look at the back of Uchi before my eyes start shutting. I was settling in for a snooze, when I realized...if the airbag goes off I'm going to have my legs wrapped around my head.....Nimo is NOT an air ride as Uchi is....I miss the soft couches and legroom....but the scenery and discussions with Nolan make up for any discomfort. I will note,  when Uchi glides over a bump in the road, we take air! 😨

Nolan is a great traveling partner!

 BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS British Columbia

Yuuki approves of me driving in Nimo. She gets to ride on the dash! 

 My man delivered! We pulled into a campground on the shores of Kokanee Bay at Kokanee Bay Motel and Campground. 

We saw two eagles flying over the bay....one with a fish in it's talons. 

We drove up to the Hungry Bear Diner (we are getting per diem after all).  I did a load of laundry.  There was no internet to be had ANYWHERE in town. We've decided to stop at a Walmart tomorrow (surely we'll find one), and buy a Canadian pre-paid cell phone which will allow calls to and from America and a new set of walkie talkies.  Izaak gave us some, but we're having trouble hearing each other clearly with them. We've changed batteries several times. As we have no cell phones - we NEED a way to be in contact....flashing lights isn't working well.😉😏😕

Our Alaskan House Hunt - Part 3

We shared last night we had terminated our agreement to buy "the motel." It is a huge, lovely home....The seller was unable to do repairs which we needed done.  This would force us to use money we'd put aside to fix driveways, buy wood stoves and build a garage on these repairs. There was no way forward, if we couldn't attempt to  "meet in the middle" on the repair list. We had felt increasingly uneasy about committing to this home, so the fact they countered our request for repairs gave us a final opportunity to discern if we were simply having cold feet or if we should look elsewhere for a home.

We had seen this home while we were house-hunting in Alaska. We liked it, but some of the rooms were a bit small for us - the master bedroom, dining room and living room. It has the kind of  construction our friend, Steve, told us to look for. He's a contractor.  It was the first home we looked at, but our heart was still set on one of the 9 acre homes that early in the search.  This was the most expensive of our last three choices.....but when we  evaluated considering the improvements, repairs and such we'd need to do on each home - it came in cheaper. We don't have to paint, put in carpet, build a garage, install a tub, buy a new stove top, grate and gravel a steep driveway, buy appliances, and on and on. They are leaving appliances, washer/dryer, AND a wood stove which we will install.

Who knew?

This home is 5 br/ 2.5 bath. It's 3500 SF - which makes it twice the size we originally began looking for and about 1/2 the size of the first house for which we submitted an offer. It sits on 2.28 acres of flat, usable land. Some treed - some cleared.  It's near a recreation area....and was quiet and peaceful when we visited.

Lazy Mountain from the Dining room

Via MLS

I love these cupboards, it's BETH'S FRIDGE - which I wanted badly - AND it has a GAS stove. There's a nook through the kitchen - we're still discussing how to best use it. I'd love it for a quiet time spot....The floors are Brazilian cherry hardwood.  It's smaller - but cozy, and we can see ourselves living in the top floor and renting out the bottom floor in the future. It was built in  2009; the other was built in 1982. That means the septic, floors, roof are all 27 years newer.  

S Vickers Photography

The living room is long and narrow....but full of windows! There are two rooms and 1.5 baths upstairs.

S. Vickers Photography

It has a walk in basement. The laundry, 2nd kitchen, 1 bathroom and 3 large bedrooms are down here. I can see an island/bar to the right of the doorway to separate the kitchen from the entertainment/family room...and provide a spot to serve from, as well as put puzzles together.....Soda Shoppe stools with red vinyl seat covers. 😊  

S. Vickers Photography

This home really has all the things we were looking for: 5 rooms, possibility for a Air B/B, no covenants, allows horses/chickens, out of town, "close" to town, game room, spot for archery range, garage, wood stove....and there are HEATED FLOORS in this basement!

The current owners have already moved to their new home. If the inspection, repairs and appraisal go quickly, we may be in this one before the Gherkins arrive from Oregon.

If God opens the door for property, we'll be able to easily sell or rent this home. The other had limited market appeal due to it's size.

We are working on details and somewhere along the road we'll get the formal offer to sign and submit it.