The Adventure South in Dora the Explorer

Day 8

I woke up this morning thinking it’s now or never to hit the road. So that’s what we did. The crews have had plenty of time to do their job and it is still snowing. We are caravanning with a guy named Robbie – he’s 27 with a wife and baby boy, they are flying – he is driving. He said he wants to leave at 8:30 so I rush around and get it together with three minutes to spare, but of course being a guy and all, we didn’t actually get out of there until 9:30. It is still snowing but the road is definitely better than the last leg. The thing is I can be driving along thinking it’s not so bad and BAM, all of a sudden it’s a whiteout, slippery roads and no sand trail to follow. Talk about being in the moment. . ..I can’t be anywhere else. Usually my road trips allow me to solve the problems of the universe but this one has been about keeping Dora on the road. If your car leaves the road it is guaranteed to roll. We passed one area where five vehicles were over the hill on their sides and one actually was upside down, tires straight up to the sky. I slowed down even more after seeing this. It was 35-50 MPH most of the way. Anything over that was scary and unpredictable.

My shoulders are now attached to my ear lobes and my hands are shaped like I am permanently gripping the steering wheel. I have to constantly remind myself to relax, drop the shoulders and let up on the grip. And 15 minutes later I have to do it again as somehow the shoulders have crept back up and my hands ache from the amount of pressure I have on the wheel.  Breathe! I could certainly use one of those awesome deep-tissue massages that I enjoy in Homer.

We are so happy to finally make it to the other side – Dawson Creek is the beginning of the Alaska Highway. It’s still snowing but the roads are almost clear and we are out of the Canadian Rockies, or at least in the foothills. I can actually see pavement for the first time in days. I am craving a margarita to celebrate reaching the end of this wicked road, but what I got was extremely sweet, fluorescent green (that was the scary part), and tasted so bad that I sent it back and ordered a Canadian beer instead. They sure don’t make margaritas here like the Homestead Restaurant in Homer!

The dogs are the perfect travelers, knowing when to sleep and when to get up for a pee. They are into the routine already. Of course the three seasoned road trippers are teaching the young pups how it’s done. The odometer just reached 2,000 miles so we are almost halfway to Hendersonville, North Carolina. We’re hoping the next half is much quicker.

Anne sharing the seat with BunBun

Bunny on the icy roads

GooseGirl calm as ever

So happy to report that Day 8 has come to an end in Dawson Creek BC, Woody’s shoulder is much better and we’re settled down for the night before heading to Edmonton (400 miles) and beyond tomorrow morning. I am hoping to cross the US border on Friday. I had no idea I would be in Canada this long. Gas is around $6/gallon, YIKES! We’re in the parking lot of the Comfort Inn inside Dora. The dogs are snoozing and I’m getting ready to join them. It’s been a long, tense day but we are through it.

For the record it is snowing here, will I ever get away from it? My son sent me a text that read: “Mom, it’s snowing in North Carolina, they must know you’re coming.” I truly hope he is joking or else we might have to hop the first plane to Jamaica.