Road trip from Alaska to Virginia in a '95 Saab 900

[rpiereck]

Here are some pictures of the planned route that will take me east:

Part 1: Anchorage to Haines, AK, through Yukon and Britishi Columbia, Canada:


Part 2: Haines, AK to Bellingham, WA through Alaska Marine Highway:


Part 3: Bellingham, WA to Atlanta, GA: northern route. This part is the most subject to change.


Part 4: Atlanta, GA to Enterprise, AL: quick and easy.


Right now I am in Seoul, Korea and just talked to the place in Anchorage where the car is stored. All is set for a pick up on October 1. I am excited and anxious for the trip!

[rpiereck]

Today started as a cool, blustery, rainy day. Skies were overcast and promising a damp trip to Glennallen. I had arrived from Rio de Janeiro the night before, so I slept in late, and only left Anchorage around 3:30 pm. It felt good to drive my car again after 30 days of traveling through Korea and Brazil.

The 180 mile ride took me 4 hours, counting a few stops for picture taking and one stop at a supermarket for food. Gas mileage was 25.3 miles per gallon both because the ride was hilly and I was fighting the gusting wind the whole way. Speeds varied from 55 to 75 mph.

Glennallen is a small village that is a gateway to a Wrangell Saint Elias National Park, a few wilderness areas and plenty of fishing and hunting spots. I, however, wouldn't be partaking in none of those, so upon arriving in town, right after 8 pm, I headed to the Caribou Hotel (pretty much the only hotel in town), got a room, had a nice grilled halibut dinner and headed in to post the trip report.

Leaving Anchorage at 4 pm, got me some coffee and headed out of town


Driving through Alaska in the summer means you will get stuck behind an RV many times. Early October isn't tourist season anymore, so I was fortunate to only get stuck behind one RV...

The road was pretty well paved until about 100 miles out of Anchorage. In most places I could cruise easily at 65-70 mph, just gotta watch out for wildlife!

The Glenn Allen Highway is one of the most scenic roads I've ever been on. Surrounded by mountains, river and glaciers, there are plenty of reasons for you to slow down, stop and take pictures. Not good for a fast trip!

One of the many times I pulled over to take a picture of the gorgeous surroundings

The Matanuska Glacier seen from the west

Stopped again...

And again...

Another view of the Matanuska Glacier. Sad to say, but the glacier looks smaller now than it did two years ago when I last drove this way.

I am glad that nasty white weather system stayed south and is headed another way. If it came this way it could mean snow on my path, which is something I am trying to avoid!

One of the more fun, windy parts of the road

Even though the road was well paved and I could easily do 80+ mph in some of the longer straights, doing so would be foolish, as large moose and some caribou are everywhere, and they will most likely kill you on impact. I did my best to keep speeds below 65 mph, but sometimes I crept up to 75 mph.

Mount Saint Elias looms in the distance. The mountain grows and grows as you drive the last 40 miles in a nearly unending straight, but as you reach the town of Glennallen the mountain still seems very far away but still very huge.

Nature calls, last pit stop before the end of today's trip.

I arrived in town as it was getting dark. The Caribout Hotel greeted me with a nice warm room.

Today's route through Alaska 1 Highway, aka Glenn Allen Highway

Stay tuned for tomorrow's trip report, and I head into the Canadian northwest.

[rpiereck]

Today I started earlier than yesterday. Well rested, I actually woke up right before sunrise (around 7 am). The Caribou Hotel ended up being a nice, simple hotel, not much more than a clean, safe place to sleep in. The bad was comfortable but the shower was the kind of shower where the water would get cold when someone else flushed in the hotel... I took a shower in the morning, and with everyone waking up in the morning my shower was hot, cold, hot, cold... it definitely woke me up good!! After packing up and loading the SAAB I had a nice hearty breakfast at the Caribou Restaurant (you guessed it, right next door to the Caribou hotel). Three eggs, two toasts, and some reindeer sausage, a cup of coffee and some orange juice kept me fueled well into the afternoon.

I soon left the Caribou compound and went to fuel up the car. On the way to the gas station I felt as if the rear end of the car was soft. Arriving at the gas station I found out my rear right tire was low: it had 15 psi while the other three tires had 32 psi... I looked all around it for a puncture but found nothing. Good thing I had bought a portable air pump in Anchorage, as the one in the gas station was broken. I figured I would be able to hear where the air was leaking. I pumped it up to 35 psi and waited five minutes: nothing. Not a hiss, not a sound. After five minutes I checked the tire again and it still had 35 psi. I figured what the hell, I had a little over 100 miles to go to Tok, so I left town towards the Canadian border.

The ride to Tok (which rhymes with Joke) was nice and quick. The temperature was near 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was a light breeze, so it felt chilly. The skies were again gray and there was a light drizzle. The road was pretty well paved and marked, which made for good going. It was my first time driving through the Tok Cutoff, so I tookit easy at first. I soon found the road rhythm (every road has a rhythm) and I settled at about 65 mph. Somewhere in between I stopped and checked the leaking tire and there was still 35 psi on it... When I got within 20 miles of Tok I found the holy grail of roads in Alaska. Pavement smooth as a baby's bottom, the road straight as an arrow for a few miles, and the vegetation well brushed and cut to provide plenty of visibility to approaching wild life... I got excited and let the turbo do its thing. I won;t say how fast I went but I will only say my SAAB is ready for the Autobahn when I finally move to Germany in December this year...

When I arrived in Tok the tire that was previously leaking seemed to have stopped leaking: again it held 35 psi. So I fueled up again, got some coffee and left towards Canada.

Another hour on the road and I was entering Canada. For the second time in my life I was crossing the Yukon territory going towards the USA. Last time I was headed North, this time South. The funny thing about the Yukon is that it looks like Alaska but feel completely different. The roads are rougher, the towns are smaller and there is a lot more open space. Alaska, for all its lack of population still feels more densely populated than the Yukon. Because it probably is...

The roads in the Yukon were rough. In some portions the pavement was very uneven and I had to slow down to 35-40 mph. The speed limit is the same as in Alaska (90 km/h in the Yukon, 55 mph in Alaska), but this being another country I just followed the speed limit until a vehicle with Canadian plates passed me. Soon a big commercial truck zoomed past me going way faster than the limit. I followed him and increased my average speed considerably. We were going the my usual 65-70 mph the whole way. Following a local had the advantage of not only going faster (when in Rome...), but also I had advance notice of rough sections of pavement as the truck would slow down or swerve to avoid holes. I followed that truck for over an hour, but soon pulled over to have a quick rest.

The rest of the trip was pretty much the same: drive fast, avoid potholes, slow down on rough pavement and stop many many times to take pictures of all the gorgeous scenery all around. And this is something the Yukon had a lot of: the snow capped mountains, the taiga forest, the whole nature all around was very beautiful and I found myself stopping more and more as the miles went by.

With Apoptygma Berzerk (Norwegian futurepop techno) and The Rasmus (Finnish rock) pumping out of the stereo on my Swedish car, the northern landscape all around me gave a neat Scandinavian feeling, so I felt like eating some smörgås and driking some koskenkorva, so I had another break and ate a pastrami sandwich that was probably past its due date... as for the koskenkorva I had to substitute it with some canned coffee.. Yeah, not the same but Is till had almost 200 miles to go!

After 427miles, almost nine hours on the road, and countless stops along the way and with a sun setting over my right shoulder I finally reached my destination for today, Haines Junction. This is a village that sits right on the ALCAN (the Alaska-Canadian Highway, aka Alaska Highway), and where there is a junction that ends in... you guessed it, Haines, Alaska! Right at the junction I found a cheap motel on top of a bar (doesn't get any cheaper), asked to see the room first to make sure there were no bed bugs (i don't care for them...) and soon enough had the keys to my lair for tonight. After some cheap Chinese food and a pint of Guiness I came upstairs and started sorting through almost 500 pictures I took today!! The internet here is slow as hell, so it took me an hour to upload the 50-some pictures I chose to upload. Some of the pictures are below, the rest are on the gallery, the link is below.

Tomorrow I have a much shorter trip to Haines, Alaska. Should be about 3.5 hours non stop, but I know it's another gorgeous drive so I will stop plenty and take many many pictures. Stay posted, next time I'll update on a much faster inetrnet connection (I hope!!).

Leaving the Caribou Hotel


One of just a few non-paved sections in the US, this one was very well graded


You cannot drive by and not stop to look at a sight like this...


Only 298 miles left to go!


Yukon, I made it.


When I last saw this sign it was greeting me. Now it's saying goodbye.


The border as seen from the American side


Glad to know it's 90 km/h, not 90 mph. The mounties wouldn't have liked a SAAB speeding through the Canadian wilderness...


Roadside outhouse in the Yukon: much more primitive than in Alaska


A recurring theme on the ALCAN: many of the available service areas close from September through May, so drivers must plan accordingly when driving during the off season.


A memorial on the side of the road, dedicated to an engineer who designed over 133 bridges on the ALCAN, one of the many men who built this wonder that is the ALCAN. The bottle of whiskey no doubt was placed by a well-intentioned passerby in honor of a man who accomplished a lot in life. (on the gallery there is a higher def picture so you can read the citation if you care to)


Stop # 314




Beyond those peaks are some of the largest ice fields and some of the largest glaciers in the world, on Kluane National Park, Canada. The ice is over 2000 feet thick in some areas in those mountains.


The end of another day of just driving


No picture of the route because the internet here is so slow Google maps wouldn't load...

Gas mileage today was a respectable 28.6 mpg, very good considering a loaded car going against the wind...

Follow this link for the full gallery with 54 pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

Tomorrow I head back into the USA: Haines, Alaska is my destination.

Until then!!

[rpiereck]

Today was a day full of things that were unexpected. In the end everything worked out and all the unexpected stuff turned out for the best.

First let me say a few words about my sleeping place... the Kluane Park Inn was the only place that had rooms available when I rolled in last night. All the good places were full so I took a room above a bar, and that two good things I can say is that the mattress was smooth and there were no bed bugs. The walls were wafer thin, so right before midnight the whole Chinese crew who worked at the restaurant downstairs showed up. Apparently they live there. For about an hour I listened to Cantonese, and almost gained some fluency. Soon enough my Chinese friends went to bed and so did I.

I planned to wake up at 8 am, but I was awaken at 6 am by someone on another room listening to Flogging Molly at a good volume. At 6 am!! I was wide awake soon, so I jumped into the shower, got ready and left the Kluane Inn... never to return again. Next time I come through Haines Junction I am making reservations in advance!

Outside the air was a chilly 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 Celsius), but the SAAB warmed up quickly and the seat heater came in handy. After packing the car I left the hotel, fueled up with 10 liters of Canadian gas, pumped up that leaking tire (went down to 28 psi overnight), and looked for a place to eat. It was almost 8 am and there was nowhere in town to eat some food! Not a single diner, not a single gas station. No breakfast in Canada! Fortunately I had some apples, some chips and Starbucks canned coffee, so I left this remote outpost in the Yukon and headed south towards the United States. Alaska here I come, again!

The road out of Haines Junction was very different from the rough ALCAN I rode the day before. This road was newly paved, very smooth and well signed. Speed limit was a little higher too, 100 km/h. The scenery along the entire highway was to die for, probably the prettiest part of the trip so far, that stretch of earth between Haines, AK and Haines Junction, Yukon is absolutely gorgeous. Once again I stopped over and over again, drove at a slow pace, going 50-60 mph, enjoying the ride, the smooth pavement and the beautiful surroundings.

After a good two hours riding through the Yukon I arrived in British Columbia, a small, 40-some mile long stretch of road on the way to Alaska. The BC portion was highly mountainous and the road went up to the snow level at 3000-some feet high. The air temperature here was slightly above freezing and the road was clear, so I enjoyed the view and kept on driving. Soon the road had a sharp drop and downhill we went, flaked by granite peaks, ice, snow and glaciers, all the way down to Alaska.

Reaching Southeastern Alaska it felt like a completely different place. Gone was the sub arctic surroundings, gone were the vast expanses of open country, gone were the wide valleys between granite peaks. Southeastern Alaska is a place of humidity, rain forest, abundant wildlife and tress much different than those in the interior. Here fall is in full effect and everywhere I can see the colors of autumn. In the distance the granite peaks still tower, but here they end in the ocean and wide rivers, forming a network of fjords and inlets, another gorgeous place to visit.

I was still very early and was going to arrive in Haines before noon. I still drove slow, stopped to look at the wildlife, looking for bears and bald eagles. On the way to Haines I didn't see any bears but did see bald eagles. They seemed shy from far away, perched high on their favorite tree, not flying around as one would think a bird of prey would be. Asking a local I was told that the best time to come see the bald eagles is November, when tens of thousands of bald eagles congregate at the bald eagle preserve to feast on the run of chum salmon. I hope to someday return in November and see that spectacle.

I soon arrived in Haines, right before noon. My stomach was grumbling as I didn't have a proper breakfast. I stopped by a place I had heard of before, the bamboo room, right in downtown Haines, and had the most delicious, succulent, thick halibut burger ever. It was worth everyone of the twenty-four dollars I paid for it. I tipped the waitress and left with full belly to take car of serious stuff: my way out of here. Haines, like many communities in Alaska is pretty remote. It has the luxury of a highway that leads into Canada but no road connection to anywhere else in Alaska.

My way out of Haines was the Alaska Marine Highway System. An actual part of the Interstate Highway System, the AMHS operates ferry boats that crisscross the southeastern portion of Alaska, providing ground transportation between many villages. The Marine Highway stretches all the way down to Bellingham in Washington State. I had a reservation on tonight's ferry, at 8 pm, bound for Juneau, and then tomorrow I was to get on another ferry from Juneau, AK to Bellingham, WA. The ferry system is my bridge to the lower 48 states of the USA, and taking the ferry would save me 2000 miles over driving across all of Canada.

Arriving at the ferry terminal, four miles outside town, I was quickly told that the ferry had been rescheduled. The ferry I was supposed to board tonight at 8 pm had been changed to departure at 8 am tomorrow. Good thing was I was early, not late, but advance warning would be good, as I would be able to stay in Anchorage one more day and be able to take care of some business I had to postpone. Oh well. I headed back into Haines, got me a hotel room and had a short nap.

After the quick nap I decided to go bear hunting. Well, not hunting to kill, but hunting for photographs. I left Haines to Chilkoot Lake, well past the ferry terminal, a very popular place for salmon fishing. Right now is salmon season, and where there is salmon, there are bears. Arriving at Chilkoot Lake I was impressed by the enormous amount of sea gulls and salmon. Dead salmon littered the shores of the river that connect the lake to the sea. The air reeked of rotting fish, and wildlife was everywhere. Bald eagles on the trees, ducks, gulls, jays, magpies... there were tons of birds everywhere.

Right at Chilkoot Lake State Park I started chatting with some sports fishermen and they said that there were a few bears in the area, and that they come out in the morning and afternoon. Right now it was afternoon and it was about time the bears came out. Soon another fisherman arrived on a small boat, towing two nice king salmon. He told me he would clean his salmon here at the mouth of the lake, to attract the bears.

It wasn't more than five minutes after the fish were cleaned on the river that momma bear with two cubs in tow arrived. Those bears smelled the fish guts from well inside the forest and came out to feast. Someone yelled bear and the dozen people around me gave the awesome animals a wide berth. Although these bears are dangerous wild animals they do have plenty of fish to eat around here and generally leave humans alone. As long as you respect momma bear's space and don't leave food out in the open the bears pose minimal danger. The area where the bears settled to eat all the dead fish along the shore couldn't have been a better place for a bear spectacle! The bears were down by the shore while the humans were about 20 feet above, on top of a natural dirt wall. The bears didn't mind us photographing, filming and just generally gawking at them. The bear family went about their business eating fish. The bears ate most of the fish, and the birds fought for the scraps. When most of the dead fish were eaten and only rotten fish was left, momma bear went into the river and caught a few live ones.

Soon the bears headed further down the river and I lost sight of them. Te light drizzle picked up pace and turned into rain, so I packed my camera into my car and went back into town. Hungry again after seeing the bears eat dozens of pounds of bright pink salmon I went to another local restaurant, The Lighthouse, intent on eating salmon too. Something however told me to get the chicken teryaki bowl: the most generic meat with a very generic sauce. Well, to my surprise this was probably the best chicken teryaki I ever ate! Again I was well fed and left for my hotel.

The hotel was another surprise too. It was built in 1902, and was actually part of an old Army base that got decommissioned in 1947. Being a soldier I instantly felt familiar with the place, the building looks like an old government building, but has a certain charm and the room is large and comfortable. The only problem so far is that the heater doesn't work too well and the room is a bit chilly. I just hope the building isn't haunted!!

Tomorrow I must be at the ferry terminal at 7 am, ready to board the boat at 8 am, leaving this beautiful town and its bears behind. Well, with that in mind, I must end here (I thend to write a lot when I get carried away, I apologize).

I took over 1200 pictures today, here are a few that I selected, and there are even more at the gallery (link below).

Bright and early at Haines Junction. Beautiful scenery but nowhere to eat!!


On the way out the gorgeous scenery made for a great trip. I stopped plenty.


The creeks and lakes are already freezing here, winter is literally a few weeks away in the Yukon and the Alaskan Interior. By Halloween the air temperature will be near 0 degrees Fahrenheit.


I'll write about my travel companion at length on a later post, but what a car! This car is one hell of a continental driver. Comfortable, fast, economical...


Another of countless stops to enjoy the surroundings


The sun played with the sky colors as it went up


Bear sign at Kluane National Park, Canada. I didn't see any bears until I got to the USA.


Hiking trail on the Kluane Park




Arriving on the remotest corner of British Columbia


Tundra soil at high elevation in British Columbia


Eating miles


The Guardsman, one of the last three peaks before the US border


Descending into a completely different landscape, in the rain forest the vegetation is abundant


A much less glamorous border crossing


Mountains on Glacier Bay National Park (USA) beyond the Chilkat River


The tip, or the moraine, of Saskia Glacier


A natural palette


The Chilkat River


Rustic dwellings


Arriving in Haines


A boat on Chilkoot Inlet


One of the smaller boats of the Alaska Marine Highway System, the M/V LeConte


Tlingit totem pole


Frozen in time


This curious bird strangely followed me for a few minutes


Sea gulls fighting for a dead salmon


Chilkoot Lake




A beat up looking salmon, about to die after doing its salmon run up the rocky Lutak River


The catch of the day


Cleaning the fish to attract the bears


The bears soon came out




A cub eating a carcass


Momma bear fishing in the river


A happy bear


He wants more


Birds scatter as the bear approches


Viewing bears from a safe spot


Bears eat the freshest sashimi


Lutak river


This contraption over the river counts the fish as they go up and down stream. Each year the fish count is used to determine how big a catch each fisherman can take.


That's a lot of birds


Salmon who died on the way to their spawning grounds


A bald eagle looks on


Cold paradise?


My trusty steed


The town of Haines from a distance


Today gas mileage was over 28.5 mpg, and it was aided by a lack of wind and slow speeds.

The route from Haines Junction, Yukon to Haines, Alaska


To see the entire album with many more pictures click this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

[rpiereck]

For those that have been following me and hoping for an update yesterday night, I apologize. I should have mentioned on the last update that while on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry boat, there is little to none internet or cellphone access (my wife who is in Korea must also be wondering why I haven't called last night. Oops!).

Well, I am now sitting on a ferry boat, writing this piece on the boat's galley, saving it for later update. Within a few hours we will arrive at the southern Alaskan town of Ketchikan, a very picturesque location, where I sure will have internet and phone access, and it will be then that I will be able to update the blog and post this piece. My wife will also get a telephone call, even if it is early morning in Korea.

Yesterday was another early morning day for me. I had to be at the ferry terminal at 6:45 am, so I woke up early, around 5 am, had a nice warm shower at the century-old Halsingland and got ready to leave. One good thing to report is that the hotel although looking old and slightly haunted had no nightly apparitions. I slept like a baby. Leaving the hotel in pitch black darkness I made my way to the terminal. It was a cool damp morning, temperature in the 40s, my car covered with thick, sticky dew. The ride to the terminal was slow as I enjoyed the coming twilight, the sky behind the eastern mountains getting slowly brighter every minute. I stopped to take some pictures along the way, that's for sure.

Arriving at the terminal I was given my lane assignment and parked my car on lane seven, awaiting the ferry that should be here any time. I then met a couple of German tourists who were driving an old Toyota Landcruiser with German plates, they had their truck shipped to Argentina, then they drove from South America to Alaska, and now were about to board the ferry towards British Columbia and were going to cross Canada, then head down to Florida for the winter. I was instantly jealous of their trip. They were a nice couple who were obviously enjoying a good and much longer road trip than mine.

I was actually taking two ferries today, and I soon boarded the first ferry towards Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Juneau is the most isolated of all US capitals because it is surrounded by glaciers, so roads cannot be built. You can either fly there or ride a boat there. This was going to be my first time in Juneau. The boat ride took 4.5 hours, I snapped a couple of shots of the gorgeous scenery along the way, and then had a nice 2 hour nap. Before long I woke up as we were approaching our terminal at Auke Bay, right outside of Juneau proper. The SAAB and I had to exit our ferry and then we had a 2.5 hour break in Juneau. I took the opportunity to see one of its most famous glaciers, the Meddenhal Glacier. At Meddenhal we saw a lonely black bear and a couple of icebergs on the lake in front of the glacier. After that I had a quick little drive through downtown Juneau, a quick visit to the Alaskan Brewery company, home of the best beer this side of the Missouri, the Alaskan Amber (you must try it). I had two small samples of fresh brews and drove back to the ferry terminal.

The next ferry would be the ferry that will bring me back to the lower United States, or as Alaskans call it, The Outside. This ferry takes three days and I will arrive in Bellingham, Washignton on the morning of October 8. There is only one stop along the way, which is our next stop in Ketchikan.

The ferry ride is very nice, almost like a cruise boat, but without all the touristy attractions. With my car safely parked on the hold, I was assigned a small but comfortable cabin, and then went to explore the boat. The boat has a bar, a galley where they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, a small move theater where they play Hollywood movies as well as a few Alaskan wildlife features, and a bunch of different lounges with comfortable chairs. Many people ride the ferry without getting a cabin and just sleep on the chairs. During the summer months when the weather outside is more forgiving a few adventuring souls are allowed to pitch a tent on the aft deck of the boat, and a small tent community appears. I did that when I came to Alaska in August 2008. In October it is much colder than August so there are no tents.

The temperature on the outer decks of the boat is chilly, around 40-some degrees, but with the strong winds due to the boat movement it is downright freezing out there. I go outside to take pictures and come right back in. The boat ride right now is very smooth, much smoother than an airliner, as we are navigating the Inside Passage, following shipping lanes between large islands, so we are protected from the rough open seas. There are times when there is no wind and the water looks like glass. The islands surrounding us are fully green, not a sign of autumn anywhere, but the rain, a constant feature of this part of Alaska, is mostly gone today. The sun peaks out in between clouds and we are dry. Wildlife is far away on those islands and we see no land animals. Birds are plenty and we spot a few whales far far away. I haven;t gotten lucky yet and seen a whale from up close, but everybody is hopeful that we will get lucky and see whales up close.

After sunset me and a couple of other photographers on the boat head to the bar, to play yatzee and enjoy the boat's evening ration of beer. I stay with Alaskan Amber, IPA and Summer Ale. All wonderful beers. The alcohol serves as a punctuation to a day of light driving and smooth sailing. Tomorrow is another day at sea, but we will face the open waters and things might get a bit rough. Tomorrow will also be another day without any cell reception, so there will be no updates tomorrow. I will post tomorrow's update on the morning of the 8^th, when we arrive at the Juan de Fuca straight in northern Washington state.


As usual, pictures below. Cheers!

6 am on Chilkoot Inlet


Light driving today


M/V Taku, the ferry that took me to Juneau


The docks at Haines


Beyond that fog is the village of Skagway


Snowy peaks over Haines




The whole village of Haines


Smooth sailing


Parked in the ferry


Juneau black bear


The Medenhal glacier


Waterfall at Medenhal


Glacier detail


Iceberg on a lake


Lining up for the next ferry in Juneau


My small cabin on the ferry


The last vehicle to be loaded onto the ferry, a Juneau city trolley going to Washington state for repairs


Fishing is a major industry is all coastal Alaska


Remote dwelling by water's edge


Beautiful Inside Passage scenery




A beautiful sunset


Tasty brew to finish the day


So far its been 364 miles on a ferry boat.

As usual, here is the full gallery with 68 photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

Please be patient as I will only update the blog again on the 8th!!

[rpiereck]

Days five and six were days that were spent sailing south towards the USA. On day five we were arriving in Ketchikan, Alaska at around 10 am, so I slept in until 9 am. The boat was rolling pretty good the night before, so I went to the bar, had a few beers and added to the rolling. I ended up sleeping very well despite the motion. I woke up to a gray day (as it's usual in these parts) just as we were approaching Ketchikan.

We spent most of the day anchored in Ketchikan. We had a few hours in port and many people decided to debark and take a taxi into downtown. Back in 2008 I had done the same and knew Ketchikan didn't have too much to see, plus I was still feeling a bit tired. I stayed around the boat, taking pictures of a near empty vessel, then headed out to a nice local restaurant outside our docks for lunch. It was lunch hour and the restaurant was extremely busy, full of tourists, local workers, Coat Guardsmen and a few business types. I had a delicious baked salmon, and went for a short walk near the terminal. It was raining lightly and I didn't have a good rain coat, so I headed back to the boat.

After a few more hours we left our harbor and continued our slow progress south, at a steady 16 knots. A few hours after leaving Ketchikan we entered Canadian waters and left the relative protection of the Inside Passage and headed into open seas. For almost 24 hours we would be sailing a few miles off the British Columbia shore, and the boat was pitching a bit more than the night before. It was still fairly mild, considering the seas in this area do sometimes get extremely rough. On of the boat workers told me that in mid September they had 110 knot winds here and the boat could not serve food for an entire day as the boat was tossed about. I am glad the waters are calm in early October!! Soon it was night and we were off to the bar again!

The next day I woke up at 8 am, looked outside my cabin facing port side (that's left side for you non seagoing people) and all I saw outside was gray again. You could barely distinguish sea from sky, save for the ripples on the sea. We were sailing on thick fog. With nothing to see I went back to sleep and woke up at 11 am. Very well rested We sailed the open waters until about early afternoon when we arrived on the British Columbia Inside Passage. With the protection of the islands the roughness of the sea went away and the clouds also somehow dissipated. This part of British Columbia is very similar to the southern Alaskan panhandle, with small, remote fishing villages perched at water's edge on lush green rain forest covered islands. An absolutely stunningly beautiful landscape.

We passed by many nameless villages as well as bigger ones such as Port Hardy and Alert Bay. The latter was a very interesting village because it has the tallest totem pole in all of British Columbia, and we got close enough to see the 173-foot tall pole, next to a huge native Big House. The pole is made of three separate trunks and has many carvings on its face. We got close enough to see the pole and the Big House but not close enough to see the detail of the pole's carvings.

At one point later we got lucky enough to see some orca whales. They came close enough to be seen but not too close. Although I did get some fins out of the water the whales did not jump out as we all wanted, and just swam away. Later in the day we also saw some dolphins but they also were shy and swam away. The rest of the day was spent seeing birds, fishing boats and islands pass by. We had a gorgeous sunset and then went into a narrow straight at night, the boat turning left and right many times as it navigated the tight shipping lanes.

One more night awaited us on the way to the USA. I packed the stuff in my room, too most of my luggage to the car and went to sleep early and sober. Tomorrow I would be waking up early for the arrival at Bellingham, back in the USA. I will post those pictures later.

A gray day as we approach Ketchikan


One of the easiest modes of transportation in southern Alaska are the numerous float planes that crisscross these islands, going from dock to dock carrying passengers, supplies, food and mail.


The terminal at Ketchikan


The village of Ketchikan stretches for a few miles at water's edge.


Residential part of Ketchikan, looks cozy but wet




The M/V Columbia is the largest boat on the Alaska Marine Highway but is only operated during the summer. It winters at Ketchikan. I rode the Columbia while going north in 2008, and it is a much bigger boat than our current vessel, the M/V Kennicott


Fishing boats are everywhere in both southern Alaska and British Columbia




Ketchikan is the home of the Misty Fjords National Monument, a large protected part of this rain forest that surrounds us. You can see why they are called misty, as the fjords all around us are constantly blanketed by clouds and fog


Many supplies reach this area by barge. Here a tug boat is sen pulling a barge. You see all kinds of supplies on these barges, from prefab homes to trucks, containers, building supplies, logging and mining equipment. They only sail when the seas are calmer like now.


On day six, as we approached the shores you got a neat layering effect on the shore


It was nice to see smooth water and open skies after a day at sea


Upper deck of the M/V Kennicott


An orca whale far away, I had to crop this image a lot to get the outline of the whale


Canadian lighthouse


Canadian boats










Alert Bay with its 173-foot tall boat, plus a Big House to the right and some other native buildings at water's edge


Tons of birds today, but they were small so I rarely got them with my lens. They would fly away as the boat approached




Gorgeous surrounding got us busy taking pictures all day




Getting artsy, playing with the in-camera photo editing software


Soon the light faded and I had an early night, getting ready to arrive at the USA the next day. Bellingham here I come!

The ride for these days, Ketchikan to Alert Bay to Bellingham.


More pictures at the gallery: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

I am currently in Spokane, Washington and headed east. Tonight I arrive in Montana and will post the last two days.

Until then, cheers!

[rpiereck]

My last day on the ferry from Alaska started early, I woke up at 5:30 am to shower and get ready to drive off. I also wanted to be on the top deck as we approached Bellingham, hoping to get some great sunrise shots. I had a quick breakfast at the boat's galley then went topside and was greeted by a beautiful sunrise as expected. There were clouds over the shore but not at sea, so the sky was warmed with a nice amber glow that just made the arrival even more welcoming. As we approached the shore however we were surrounded by a thick fog that blanketed Bellingham. Soon we were in the thick of it and could not see a half mile out.

After watching the boat crew do an awesome job of delicately maneuvering such a huge boat into the dock, the captain came on on the speaker and told us the car deck was open and we could soon leave the boat. My car was the second out of the boat so I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the offload, the boat loadmaster wanted to vacate his ferry quickly and efficiently, and I was told to drive off as soon as the first car was out. After leaving the terminal I had the chance to pull over on a gas station and check out that leaking tire. The car had been sitting in the ferry for three days and had leaked only 3 psi. The leak wasn't as bad as I thought, so I would put off pulling the wheel off until arriving at my cousin's home in Atlanta, GA. I suddenly thought that this was the first time my car had been outside Alaska since 1995, when it was bought in Seattle and trucked to Fairbanks. Its whole life, until I bought it, was spent in Fairbanks, and since I bought it, in Alaska. Now my car is driving in new environments, checking out new roads. Of course it's just a machine but I imagine if it were alive it would be excited with the journey ahead.

That first day back in the Washington was fast paced, as I wanted to get to Spokane but had a few things to do near Tacoma. I headed South on I-5, passed straight by Seattle, and my SAAB faced what might be its first ever true traffic jam. We were bumper to bumper until downtown Seattle, then from there I continued South towards the Larsen SAAB in Fife. I had ordered a few parts I needed about a month before and had to pick them up, then had a quick stop in Fort Lewis. From there it was North to the I-90 and over Smohomish Pass towards the dry side of Washington State. It's incredible how much the scenery changes once you go up and over the mountains, but you go from lush green, wet rain forest on the west, to dry rolling hill grasslands on the east.

I arrived in Spokane as soon as it got dark and got a hotel room near downtown. Only when I arrived at the hotel I realized how tired I was. In an attempt at downloading the pictures I took on that day I mistakenly formatted a memory card from my point and shoot camera, erasing a couple dozen pictures. Fortunately I still had all the pictures from my DSLR, so I still have some stuff to show. I took a nap for two hours, then woke up, saw the end of the Bathurst 1000 race (which was an awesome race), and the whole Formula 1 Japan race. A few more hours of sleep and I woke up again, this time ready to hit the road.

Day eight took me out of Washington state through Idaho and half of Montana. The drive here was very fast paced, with the speed limit through most of the day at 75 mph, I cruised at 80 the whole day, save for a few construction zones. Every time I stopped the car I felt drunk with speed, as if I had spent the last hour or so on a trance, watching the world pass by at 80 mph. Such a weird feeling. One thing that was different however was that driving on a modern interstate highway is much different than the kind of driving I was doing in Alaska and the Yukon. Back in the wilderness I could stop when I wanted to, stopping numerous times throughout the day. On an interstate there is much less stopping, and many times it is dangerous to stop on the road. I found myself taking pictures on the move, which isn't safe either...

I arrived in Bozeman, Montana at sunset, but feeling still wide awake and on the speed trance I pushed on through the night towards Billings. Between Bozeman and Billings was another two hours of highway, and I found myself slowing down because of the darkness. After twenty minutes in the dark road an Audi station wagon passed me at 80 mph, and I just followed that driver all the way to Billlings. The drive was again very fast and the darkness just accentuated the trance I was in, it didn't even feel like two hours. I stopped at the first hotel in Billings and got a room to wind down and get ready for tomorrow.

My plan tomorrow is to visit the small SAAB dealer in town, Dana SAAB, get an oil change for my car, then head out towards South Dakota. I am considering not taking an interstate highway, just take a side road and enjoy the day. After the last two days of fast highway driving I am suddenly ahead of my schedule and have three extra days to spare. I can afford to slow down and stop a lot for pictures instead of taking them on the go...

Sunrise nearing the Washington coast






Birds were out early in the day and I got some of my best bird shots










A few minutes before sunrise proper




The fog over Bellingham was so thick you could almost carve it with a knife






The Bellingham cruise terminal, the southernmost stop on the Alaska Marine Highway


Impressive performance from all the workers maneuvering this hoge boat so precisely


First gas on the USA!


Mount Si in North Bend, WA, such a gorgeous mountain!


The Wild Horse Monument on I-90 in the middle of Washington State






I-90 curves


The dry side of Washigton State


Smooth pavement is such a bliss


Arriving in Idaho, one of the most naturally beautiful states, too bad I had such a quick trip through it


Alaska Moving Company going the same way, I can only imagine that all my home is packed inside this truck and we're going the same way...


Montana dry grass hills


A Geo Metro pick up truck... this thing was doing 90 mph with no problem!


From here on it's all downhill to the Atlantic Ocean!


Which way? Getting lost in Montana


Snowy mountains in the distance




Night driving between Bozeman and Billings


Who needs headlights when you got a moon this bright


This last two days netted 980 miles. The fuel mileage is somewhat impressive, as even at 80 mph all day long I did about 28 mpg.

Here is the map for the last two days drive:


Here is the gallery with all the photos of the last two days: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

Now I am off to bed (already late!), I leave for South Dakota tomorrow!

[rpiereck]

I had a very nice night in Billings, and had a hard time waking up, as the king size bed I was in was very, very comfortable. After getting ready and heading out the door I was greeted by a nice, cool morning, temperatures in the low forties. It was about 8:30 am and my first stop was Dana SAAB, the small dealership in Montana. Dana SAAB is the oldest SAAB dealership west of the Mississippi river, and they have been in business since the 60s. Upon arriving at the dealer I was greeted by one of their salesman, Dell, who was very friendly. Dell says their whole operation although small, relies on a lot of loyal customers, since they have been in business in a small city for almost 50 years. Their dealership serves a huge geographical area, and they get customers coming from four states around them for new cars. Their fingers are crossed that the factory's troubles will soon be over.

My SAAB needed two things, an oil change and a new headlight wiper blade. While I waited for the service I snooped around and got to check out a new 9-5 Aero and a 9-4x. Both are beautiful cars, I spent lots of time going from 9-5 to 9-4x and decided I really like the 9-4x, the trice is just right and it's a truly a handsome SUV. I wish it was available with a 4 cylinder turbo engine, but I am not buying one right now so it really doesn't matter. After a nice chat with the service manager who was very interested in my car, I left the small SAAB dealer and took off towards Wyoming, another one of my favorite states: it's remote, lightly populated, and has gorgeous scenery to feast your eyes.

At first I drove out of Billings on highway I-90 but quickly got tired of interstate driving and decided to take a scenic route. I got off the highway near the small ranching community of Hardin and headed inland. Driving towards another ranch town named Saint Xavier I could not help but wonder that even in these side roads the speed limit was 70 miles per hour. Montana is famously known for having no posted speed limits until 1974, instead telling drivers to drive at "reasonable and prudent" speeds during daylight hours (night time speed limit was 65 mph). Off Saint Xavier I took a cattle road to Lodge Grass, the cattle road had a posted speed limit of 55 mph, but it was too rough for my car with many cattle gates, so I kept it to 45 mph or less. The drive through cattle country was very nice and I had plenty of opportunities to stop and enjoy the sights. Arriving in Lodge Grass, what seemed like a native village, I got back on I-90 and continued towards Wyoming.

Wyoming is a state that is very similar to Montana but more sparsely populated, as it has the smallest population of all states. Driving through it was much like in Montana: a fast highway with nice, smooth curves, surrounded by the beautiful rocky mountains. To my southwest were the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, and the sights were to die for. I stopped for lunch in the town of Sheridan, which had a very charming downtown with a true western feel to it. Continuing east I drove all the way to Gillette, WY where the gas is very cheap, a whole dollar cheaper per gallon than in Alaska. After Gillette the scenery changed from mountainous to the grasslands that stretch from here to the Missouri river.

I soon crossed into South Dakota and arrived at the famous Black Hills National Forest, and headed off the interstate highway. I knew South Dakota would be a long, boring drive (it's all rolling grass hills...) but the Black Hills are South Dakota's most endearing feature, so I had to visit it. I went south on highway 385, going through the national forest towards Hill City and South Dakota's prime tourist destination, Mount Rushmore. I drove through the beautiful and dense forest as the sun set, and got a chance to see a lot of whitetail deer in the thick woods. One time I saw a herd of six deer together on the side of the road. I stopped the car and got out to take pictures but they jumped into the woods. I managed to get a few shots but due to the diminishing light they came out blurry, only a few were acceptable. I drove into Hill City in darkness, had a quick dinner and went to bed early to see Mount Rushmore in the morning.

Early October was a nice time of the year to visit Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills because this is obviously a very busy area in summer. Even with the tourist season over and most businesses closed for the year the parking lot at Mount Rushmore was over half full, with cars from every US state and Canadian province, and one pick up truck from Oaxaca, Mexico. I spent about two hours in the memorial park, snapped more pictures of the granite sculptures then I could care for, had a nice hike in the woods and left, heading east towards the Missouri river.

The rest of the day was pretty boring, driving through miles and miles of grasslands and farm towns. The grass was often broken up by wheat, corn or sunflower farms, and I stopped often enough to relieve the boredom. I pushed through all day and as the sun was going down I entered Minnesota. It was 100 miles in the dark until I stopped in Fairmont. Tomorrow I continue east and will most likely stop for the night near Chicago,IL.

Realizing I am ahead of schedule I had a change of plans, and instead of heading straight to my cousin's home in Atlanta i decided to visit my brother in Alexandria, Virginia, so my route will continue east for now...

Checking out the 9-5 Aero XWD, the car is impressive


The oldest SAAB dealer west of the Mississippi


Montana's famous Big Sky was gorgeous


Do not stray into the grass on Montana's rest areas


Taking a nice detour off the Interstate


Hey! That's a lot of hay!


Fall colors are taking their hold


Free grazing Montana beef


Welcome to the least populous state in the USA!


Grand Teton mountains in the distance




Stay away from this place


Red pavement and green grass in Wyoming


These tepee sculptures are on all South Dakota rest areas


One of the few times the rolling grasslands broke into red clay hills


Deer in the Black Hills


Beautiful Black Hills scenery




I met a couple of dead presidents on the second day






Washington detail


Some kind of cleaning crew was giving the presidents their yearly shampoo...


How about some Red Ass wine?


The Black Hills are beautiful, the rest of South Dakota is flat, flat, flat




Something on the side of the road to break the monotony...


Sunflower farm


Crossing the Missouri river, officially halfway across the USA


After so many days driving with open skies I saw this looming over Minnesota


Rain greeting me over the state line


Moon behind broken clouds near Fairmont, Minnesota


These two days netted 888 miles, fuel mileage was an impressive 31.8 mpg from Montana to South Dakota, then 28 mpg across South Dakota.


Here's the gallery: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

Chicago here I come!

[rpiereck]

The last two days were a race to the east. As scenery got less interesting, and traffic got thicker I wanted to get to the east as fast as possible. Leaving Minnesota on a cold and rainy day I took off on I-90 headed towards Wisconsin and Illinois. Minnesota's scenery was as flat as eastern South Dakota, but the towns seemed cleaner and better organized. What was passing by my windows was still as boring as the day before, but when the rain stopped and the sky cleared a bit the clouds were more interesting than the earthly surroundings.

Wisconsin was a pain, as there were lots of construction on the highway and there were lots of crappy drivers who were hogging the left lane, which drives me mad. The rain was on and off in Wisconsin, which just made it a little extra unbearable. I was getting so frustrated with traffic that I pulled over on a rest area and had a nap for twenty minutes to ward off the road rage. With renewed energy and some classical music to calm my nerves I braved I-90's madness again and continued south towards Illinois.

I was afraid Illinois would be worse than Wisconsin, as I noticed that people with Illinois license plates drove like apes in Wisconsin. Fortunately I-90 is a toll road in the land of Lincoln and I suppose some cheapskate drivers decided to take another road. With traffic lightened the Turnpike was not so bad. The highway had new pavement and new, huge rest areas that reminded of airport terminals and I zoomed towards Chicago. Chicago was much like any megalopolis, a web of highways, and I was glad to have a GPS to navigate them. I went around the windy city and only faced light traffic.

I drove into Indiana at dusk, and Indiana's turnpike was even better than Illinois'. I was pushing 80 mph in the dark, and the fact that I hadn't seen cop on I-90 since Spokane was not beyond me... My intention was to go no further than Michigan City but before I knew it I was in South Bend. I exited the highway and got a hotel near Notre Dame University.

The next day was another rainy day, and I left Indiana after a quick breakfast at Denny's. One thing that I noticed is how much South Bend stunk, with a smell of industry and pollution, and I felt bad for anyone living here. Driving off past Elkhart, the RV capital of America, heading east on the Indiana Turnpike I soon entered Ohio. The scenery in Ohio was prettier than Idiana's, with less industry and more farms, but it was still just rolling hills and the fast Turnpike through it. Ohio's turnpike was the most expensive so far, it cost me almost $20 on tolls to drive through Ohio. Illinois cost me less than $10.

The best part of the day's trip was Pennsylvania. There was a definite difference between Ohio and Pennsylvania. On other states it seemed that the state line was for the most part a made up boundary, as one state seemed the same as the one before. Here, however, everything was different. While Ohio was rolling hills, Pennsylvania was deep, pronounced hills, Ohio was a bit flat while Pennsylvania was very colorful. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was narrower without feeling constrained. The weather from the state line to Pittsburgh was very nice, with broken clouds and the sun peering through. As I drove into Pittsburgh however the skies closed up and soon it started to rain.

A few days prior I had posted on SAAB Link that I was swinging by Pennsylvania, and Chad from Simply SAAB had invited me to swing by his shop. It took me about fifteen minutes driving through Pittsburgh to get to Chad's shop. Simply SAAB is a two-man operation, with Chad being one of them. I spent about an hour with Chad, he got to check my 1995 900 Se Turbo and I checked out a '06 9-3 SC Turbo X he has for sale. I also watched his do a service on a 4 cylinder 9-3.

At six pm Chad closed his shop and we parted. He pointed me towards downtown, telling me to check out Moutn Washington where you can see the whole city, but as I drove off the rain just got thicker, so with the strong rain and the rush hour traffic I decided to skip Pittsburgh and head off. It was getting dark and I needed to find a place for the night. Not wanting to pay the premium prices of big-city hotels I drove south on the PA Turnpike towards VA. I went through some thick rain until Somerset, where I had a good dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, then got me a room at the Hampton Inn.

Now I am close enough to tomorrow's destination (Alexandria, VA) that I don't need to rush. Tomorrow will be a scenic, non-interstate drive, going south towards West Virginia then into Virginia, headed towards the nation's capital. I hope to be in Alexandria before rush hour or I am toast...

The last two days were very picture-poor, but here are some.

Driving off Minnesota in heavy rain


After the rain the skies were the most interesting feature in Minnesota


Wisconsin is open for business!


Over Wisconsin sometimes the sky would open up and let the sun through


The Land of Lincoln


More rainy clouds up ahead...


Yay! Another state!


Seeing double, or... That's a lot of packages on the road!


Ohio's Turnpike was expensive, but had the worst pavement. Where is that money going?


Best part of the last two days


Pennsylvania was very pretty


Chad's shop in Pittsburgh


A few of Sweden's best lined up outside the shop


931 miles in two days, a race through the midwest. Again, about 28 mpg through the last two days.


Not too many extra pictures this time, but here is the gallery: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

Hopefully the drive tomorrow will be more photogenic. Tomorrow is some of Pennsylvania and both Virginias, ending in Alexandria.

[rpiereck]

This was a one day trip and definitely the most scenic since leaving the Black Hills of South Dakota. My main goal today was to drive through some of the scenic mountain roads of the Allegheny mountains and also see the Flight 93 Memorial, which is located in Somerset county, PA.

The day started with a light drizzle over Pennsylvania. Again I slept very well at the Hampton Inn's king size bed, and had a nice, hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and coffee to start the day with a kick. Out of Somerset I followed the signs for the Flight 93 Memorial, but later realized that whoever put those signs was a moron, as it took me through the most roundabout way to get there. Instead of going straight to the memorial the signs take you north, ten west, then south towards the memorial. There might be some reason why the signs follow such a crazy path, maybe they follow the path the airplane took on that fatal day, but there were no signs throughout the route to indicate that.

Arriving at the Flight 93 memorial the light rain stopped for a while, which was nice, but there was still a cool breeze blowing, and I had to put on a thick fleece jacket to stay warm. The memorial is very simplistic and there is not much to see there. Just a lot of open land, and a path leading to a granite wall with the engraved names of the victims of the terrorists on United Flight 93 of September 11, 2001. There is a large rock that marks the point of impact of the airliner, and that is surrounded by American flags. The rock is about 200 feet from the walk path, so you really can't see the rock. Anyone expecting to see pieces of the airplane or personal artifacts of the victims will be a bit disappointed by the memorial, but it is still a very solemn place. There is one small room where you can sign a visitors book and write a message and post it on a wall. I wrote a message dedicated to the memory of the victims of 9/11 and to three of my buddies who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, wept a bit and left. The cool breeze outside quickly dried my few tears and I left without taking too many pictures.

I then programmed my GPS to take me south towards the Allegheny mountains and to avoid Interstate highways. My final destination would be Alexandria, VA, where both my brothers live. Leaving the memorial through country roads I quickly came to a nice hilly road, with sweeping curves and up and down hills. The Pennsylvania countryside was beautifully painted in the colors of the fall, and the dampness and wind just added to it. It was truly a sight to remember. I crossed a few small communities of obvious German descent like Berlin and Wellersburg and soon crossed into Maryland.

The Maryland portion was flatter, but surrounded by hills on both sides. A heavily forested area, this is definitely old country, as everywhere you see there is evidence of human occupation, even if it's old, moss-covered houses falling apart in the woods. The roads were narrow, traffic was constant and there was nowhere to pull over, however, so picture taking was relegated to drive bys... The city of Cumberland oddly reminded of Tokyo, with narrow roads through a high density area, with small manicured laws and that overall feeling that the whole place is very clean and orderly, much like Japan. Weird seeing that in Maryland.

The road in Maryland followed a creek for a long time, and West Virginia was just a few yards away at the other side of the creek for a few miles. I crossed into West Virginia at a town called Paw Paw, such a funny name (no doubt some native name). After Paw Paw the roads rose and the scenery was stunning. Again very hilly, with the road winding left and right, up and down, driving at anything faster than 45 mph was an adventure. I soon came to a place called the Forks of Cacapon, another curious name, and as fast as I was into West Virginia I was out of it. After the town of Good Virginia appeared out of nowhere and I even missed the welcome sign. Virginia was much flatter than West Virginia and I was soon on a fast, country road. I stopped in Winchester, VA for food and gas, and facing nothing but flat ground between here and Alexandria I decided to brave the Insterstate again, in an effort to beat the rush hour traffic out of DC.

I soon got on I-81, swung left on I-66 and headed towards the nation's capital. Even with the GPS guiding me I still got a bit lost among the maze of highways between Fairfax and Arlington (I blame all the construction sites), but soon found my way and took the Capital Beltway all the way to Alexandria. I managed to get into only a little bit of traffic jam, it last maybe 10 minutes, and I arrived at my brother's home by six pm.

The next two days were spent relaxing and doing the family thing, meeting my two brothers and their wives, a cousin I hadn't seen in 20 years and meeting my newest nephew for the first time. I intended to go to DC and do a night tour of downtown but instead we got drunk and one night went karting. Nothing like just relaxing after a 4,700 mile trip...

The signs that took me through a wild goose chase to finally see the Flight 93 Memorial


That dreaded date


The wall with the names of all the victims


Someone's gifts to honor the dead


The PA countryside was gorgeous as it switched colors




The winding road starts...




This road was beautiful but had lots of traffic and almost no place to stop and take good pictures. I got stuck behind big trucks many times!


A bridge in Maryland


Crossing into Paw Paw, WV


West Virginian roads were much like Pennsylvania's: windy tarmac through fall colors. Highly recommended to anyone who likes to drive.


Up and down, left and right she goes


218 Miles from Somerset, Pennsylvania to Alexandria, Virginia through windy mountain roads


Gallery link: https://picasaweb.google.com/renato....eat=directlink

The next installment will cover the drive to Atlanta and Alabama.