North to the Future: The official motto for the state of Alaska

With our 2nd senior mission now complete, we are off on our next grand adventure. Going to Alaska has been on our bucket list for about 5-6 years. While we were serving in the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission, we decided that we would take the opportunity to drive there this summer. It took a lot of planning to make it happen, and I spent most of the year studying the route, making plans, and gathering equipment. All through winter, I looked at maps and read guidebooks. When we drove along Route 66 last year, we learned that long days in the car were difficult and draining. We wanted to make our trip to Alaska more enjoyable. Since we had the time on our hands, we arbitrarily set a window of 3 months aside and began looking at dates. The first thing we did was buy a copy of Milepost, the ultimate guide to driving the Alcan Highway. I spent long winter evenings in our SLC apartment plotting the route, intending to take 1 month to reach Alaska, one month in Alaska, and then a month to return to Utah. As much as I kept Alaska as the end goal, I soon realized that I couldn’t shortchange Canada. The route to the Alcan Highway would take us through the Canadian Rockies, which I found was so rich and beautiful that it deserved much more of my attention.

About 10 years ago, a massive wildfire swept through Waterton National Park in Alberta, directly across the border from Glacier National Park. A skeleton forest was left behind, but the land is putting forth rich growth of young trees and plenty of wildflowers.

In my planning, we decided not to drive more than 150 miles a day, giving us ample opportunity to begin our day leisurely, stop along the road as much as we wanted, and be in camp by midafternoon. The routing worked out quite well with that plan. Some days we drive a little longer, and some days we drive much shorter. We even have stopovers for multiple days to give time for deeper explorations. We are currently in Banff National Park for 3 nights, and tomorrow we drive to Jasper National Park for another 3 nights. At first, I intended to keep our trip spontaneous and not lock into fixed reservations. I worried that if we constrained ourselves to a tight schedule, we couldn’t respond to impulsive wants and needs. I learned however, that many of the places where we want to spend time and activities we want to do require reservations, and that forced me into making a day-by-day itinerary, at least for the first 2 months. I have not planned our return to the lower 48 yet, and I don’t expect to make plans while on the road. So, while the trip to Alaska and our time in Alaska are fixed, we are open to follow the open road for the way back.

I love photographing wildflowers. While driving through northern Montana, much of US 89 was mostly a 2-lane country road with no shoulder and no pullouts. It pained me to pass by gorgeous fields of wildflowers and stop to shoot. While hiking in Waterton National Park, we came across this specimen of Beargrass. I love Beargrass because I never see it in the mountains around Utah.

As with other trips we’ve made in the past, we try to keep off the interstates. We enjoy backroads and older highways. Top speed with the Scamp is only 60 miles an hour (or 100 klicks while in Canada), so we don’t lose any time anyway on the slower roads. We left our home in Orem and followed US 89 north to Bear Lake, Jackson Wyoming, Gardiner Montana (passing through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks), Great Falls, and the east side of Glacier National Park.

We entered Canada at Cardston, Alberta, where we stayed with dear friends for a few days, and then up to Calgary and finishing this section of the journey in Banff National Park. Even with keeping close to the goal of only 150 miles, we find our days full. The further north we travel, the longer the daylight stretches. Sunset last night was at 10:01pm. We drop into bed exhausted and sleep peacefully for about 8 hours. Travel suits me well and I find I get deeper and longer sleeps in our little trailer than I do at home. Maybe it’s because I wear myself out during the day or maybe it’s because my cares are simpler and I am at peace in the beautiful surroundings of the great North American prairie, and now, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. I have little time for processing photographs, though I have taken nearly 1000. I will share a few of the highlights in this post and hopefully find the time to catch up while in camp.

This image of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park is deceptively beautiful. What you don’t see, are the hundreds, if not thousands of other tourists behind me. The park is overwhelmed with visitors this time of year. If I were to rate this lake, I would give the setting and the scenery a solid 10+. The overall experience however was closer to 2-3. I don’t like crowds, and this place was no better than Disneyland on a holiday weekend.

We are largely disconnected from the world at large. We don’t follow headlines as closely. Though we have Starlink, we don’t have time or interest in social media. It’s a simple life and one I could see myself pursuing for the remainder of my days.