So there it is - the whole story of our gradual move from Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Hope, Alaska. Here are the statistics:
Transportation:
Amsterdam to Brussels by train
Brussels to JFK Airport in New York by air
New York to Denver, Colorado by air
Denver to Los Angeles, California by car
Los Angeles to Brussels by air - Brussels to Amsterdam and back by train - Brussels to London to Los Angeles by air (Sheri’s trip back to Amsterdam to apply for Dutch citizenship)
Los Angeles to Hope, Alaska by car
Total car miles traveled: 7,155 (= 11,448 km)
Starting date: April 1
Arrival in Hope: May 27
U.S. states visited (10): New York, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming (see photo of our route map in the photos web log)
Canadian provinces and territories visited (3): Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory
National Parks visited: Great Sand Dunes (Colorado), Petrified Forest (Arizona), Zion and Bryce (Utah), Yellowstone (Wyoming), Banff and Jasper (Alberta, Canada) and Skagway National Historic Park (Alaska).
Car problems: Rear oxygen sensor in Denver, catalytic converter in Great Falls, Montana, alternator near Dease Lake, British Columbia, and a flat tire also in Dease Lake.
Exchange rate: $1 US = $1.255 Canadian = .797 Euro
Most expensive gasoline: Barstow, California ($2.779 per gallon) although it might have been even more expensive in Los Angeles or San Diego.
Dawson City, Yukon Territory: $1.155 Canadian per liter = $.92 US per liter OR $3.48 US per gallon!!! (1 gallon = 3.78 liters)
Animal sightings: 11 black bears!!! (including one mom and her cub), 3 moose, numerous elk and bison in Yellowstone, bald eagles, lots of deer (mule and white-tail), many longhorn sheep (very close) in Jasper, and almost as many squirrels as mosquitoes.
Highlights:
The Fairyland Loop Trail in Bryce National Park (see photos)
The black bear sightings, especially of the bear sitting at the edge of the lake that allowed us to watch him for a while.
Happy hour at the Embassy Suites in Denver.
Running down the sand dunes at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and not being able to stop running or laughing.
The Jeep ride in Sedona – doing dangerous near-vertical drops with Lance as our very capable driver.
The undiscovered (by other tourists) Beauty Creek hike along an amazing gorge with loads of waterfalls in Jasper.
Many of the Canadians we met and, especially, the ones running the Beez Kneez hostel in Whitehorse.
Driving in British Columbia….It is incredible to realize that we already driven all the way to Montana and because BC is so large, we were still only half way to Alaska.
Finally getting here!
But most importantly, the time spent with friends and family along the way!
Lowlights:
Hangovers from the happy hours at the Embassy Suites in Denver.
Waiting for our alternator to be delivered to Dease Lake and doing manual labor to reduce our motel bill.
The number of visitors at Banff National Park and since many of the alpine hikes were still snow-covered, everyone sharing the same day hikes.
Loud, drunken teenagers at the Jasper National Park campground
Glacier National Park road closure
The weather and the mosquitoes that greeted us in Alaska
Thanks for reading. We will update the log now and then over the summer as exciting things happen or when we have too much time on our hands. Sheri starts her season as a guide for Adventure Alaska (see www.adventurealaskatours.com) on the 22nd of June and Michiel will soon be cleaning cabins, acting as nanny for Todd and Barb’s 3-year old son, and doing work around our cabin in order to reduce the rent.
Happy Summer!
