Border with Alaska and Canada

Its around the minus 30 mark and the pipes and water pumps inside the car that supply my camping water have frozen up, i had a comfortable nights sleep though inside my big thick subzero bag and with the diesel heater I’m ok but i guess the heat doesn’t reach everywhere in the car so some things are freezing up.

I’m on my way back down to Canada and the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful the mountains are incredible, I’m thinking over the whole Alaskan experience and it has been a huge adventure really testing my vehicle myself and my traveling partner Chris Burton, 

Chris is no longer with me as he chose to stay in Fairbanks after a pretty stressful attempt we both had at driving the Dalton highway on that minus 40 morning it made me realize how dangerous it can get if you loose the engine and you have no heat.

I have not heard from Chris at all since he has left the expedition which is strange as he was very keen to help the RamblingRat benefiting StreetKids International and he wanted to carry on promoting our work after we had gone our separate way’s, i thank him again for all his help whilst he was with me as he was better than i at asking for sponsorship and has had a huge input into the expedition on the Canadian Alaskan leg of the journey, i do hope he emails me or makes a comment as to hear nothing from him after working together i felt that i have given him opportunities that he may never have been involved in if i hadn’t put my advert on Craigs list so it would be nice for him to comment on his time spent on the Rat Run.

As i am now leaving Alaska i want to thank Patrick Endres he has allowed Chris and i to stay in his lovely home on the outskirts of Fairbanks, he is one of the top wildlife photographers in America and is the number one name in photography in Alaska, his work is incredible, he has pictures of Polar Bears Moose Caribou all sorts of heart warming thought provoking pictures please look him up if you like wildlife pictures, he has been very kind by taking some professional pictures of my self and Chris which i use as the profile picture on my Facebook profile, his email is patrick@alaskaphotographics.com  and his web site is www.alaskaphotographics.com Thank you Patrick and the hot tub experience outside at 05:30 am with my hair frozen will stick in my mind for a while,, you crazy Moose!!

The border into Canada is called Beaver Creek and after you have left America which have about six staff you arrive at the Canada side and they have just one man on at night, he actually told me that he would be happier with two on shift but the Canadian authorities’ don’t agree and the american unions are a lot stronger i’m told, anyway i was again made very much welcome and their was only one car other than mine at the border he asked me to come inside and i made myself tea and some hot noodles on my tailgate before carrying them inside to eat in the warm. Because i have been coming in and out of Canada a few times he gave me a paper Visa with all my information on to make it easier for me and save times on the borders which was nice of him, we then chatted for a while about my trip, no other cars came through the border it is so very quiet and the snow is getting really heavy.

I made it all the way down the Alkan Alaska highway to the 37 where i turn off for Smithers, the road is really scary and i was overtaken by a truck and you cannot see anything and i’m a confident driver and nearly went off the road, it is so dangerous and i decided to call it a night and parked up in a small lay by covered in maybe one and a half foot of snow, i hope’t that when i wake up i don’t have to dig myself out, also i’m starting to not feel very well maybe its all the stress of being up north but i am really looking forward to seeing all my new friends in Smither’s.