Two Weeks and one Day... (Alaska)

     After leaving Whitehorse, we drove only 5 short hours and arrived at our destination which was Tok, Alaska. It was surreal when I first saw the Alaska sign. I sat and looked at it for a long time before I snapped this photo. I was finally here. I finally made it to my destination. 15 days on the road driving through 2 countries seeing some really amazing sight and now I was here, my destination, Alaska. I made it.... Now what?
     The thought occurred to me that all this was bittersweet. I had always wanted to visit Alaska but this trip wasn't permanent. I had to fly back to NY. My partner was the one moving here, I just came along for the ride and in a few days I would have to leave him... indefinitely. I was sad and elated at the same time. But never mind that now things will work out. I pushed those thoughts into the back of my mind and pressed forward to enjoy what lay before me.
     Crossing the border back into the U.S. was not as big a deal as it was in Canada. When we went through Canadian customs we waited in line for 20 minutes. When they found out we had some firearms with us, we were held up an additional 30. At the U.S. border they asked us about any food or pets, asked about the firearms (we scrambled to find our Canadian paperwork, but the agent told us not to bother with it) and we were on our way. Easy, peasy....  Nice!!
     Tok was our destination for today's drive and what an easy drive it was. We stopped at the first hotel we came to and figured we would have an early day today before heading another 5 hours to our final destination which was Anchorage. The weather had really been nice for our drive thus far. When we left Whitehorse the temperature was around 40. When we arrived in Tok, it was 16! As the sun went down, the temperatures dipped into the negatives! Not a fan of Tok!

Very cute little town, but not fond of the weather. I decided to do a little research and found they had a population of 1200 or so. I was very surprised! It looked like a town of 2 houses and about 4 hotels. Oh, and a gas station. They did have one of those too! They also set a record back in 2009 for the coldest day. -80 degrees... Fahrenheit!!!  What?!!! That's crazy! After our night there, we got outta dodge!!

Onward and southward!! From Tok, AK Anchorage is directly south. So the farther from Tok we got, the warmer it became. Which meant we could step out and take some pictures!

As we drove on we began to see classic Alaskan mountains. There was no snow on the ground but you could always see it in the distance on the tops of the mountains. What incredible scenery we drove into!

We had been driving a few hours when we spotted this lake. We couldn't resist getting out taking some pictures here. The blue sky, mountains in the distance and rocks on the shore were all begging to be captured.

 It was slightly overcast as you can see here. The clouds were massive as they stretched across the sky. But we were able to get a glimpse of blue off in the distance.

This is Kevin taking some really nice shots here! I think his landscape photography is much better than mine, but I would never admit this to him!! Ha!

A short 5 hour ride from Tok and we arrived in Anchorage. We took a small detour and looked around the town of Wasilla. I could see myself living there. It's a cute little town. The first stop we made in Anchorage was to the college where my partner Kevin will be working. They were nice enough to put us up in a dorm suite until we could find a place to rent.

 So we ended up here at East Hall at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.

 They gave us a suite which is usually shared by 4 people. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a common shared living area. The only downfall was that there wasn't even so much as kitchenette. This could get expensive if we have to eat out all the time!!

This is the cute little shared living room. We do have a little fridge which turned out to be a good thing for storing our left over pizza and what not.

This here is our little bedroom. With twin beds....  We ended up moving the desk that's by the window here and put the twin beds next to each other. It's not ideal but it will work for now. We have the entire suite to ourselves. The only awkward moment is when we have to walk by the front desk which is run by students. I feel like every time they see Kevin and I going to our room they are whispering, "Who are the old people?" Hahahaha..



It isn't ideal or perfect but it will do. Kevin and I talked a bit and I think I'm gonna be staying for a few weeks before I leave. It's extraordinarily warm here in Alaska and there is no snow on the ground. Kevin wants to look around and maybe hike some trails before he has to start work in two weeks. He also wants to see if he can take me down to Seward which is where is was over the summer.

For now the dorm suite is home and I'm enjoying myself. We'll see what happens after I've been here a few weeks! I will let you know that I've put in about 4 applications up here. Just for haha's really. I mean... you never know right..... ?