Moving to Alaska
While James was deployed back in 2015, he called me up one day and asked what I thought about moving to Alaska. Without hesitating I said “Yes!” Then he asked if I’d want to move to Hawaii and without hesitating, I said “No.” “Good, that’s how I feel.”
After we left Germany, the Army sent us to Texas, which we weren’t big fans of (no desert living for us!) so we were anxious to get out of there.
It turned out there was an opportunity for him to be stationed in Alaska so he jumped on it. Just one month after he returned home from deployment we packed up and headed north!
Heading North
We had the choice either to fly to Alaska or drive up the ALCAN. Driving sounded like an amazing opportunity for our family. So we bought a camper, a pick-up truck, and a copy of The Milepost and made a month long trip out of it. It was the adventure of a lifetime and we are so thankful we took the time to make our move so special.
The Grand Canyon
We headed north and stopped first at the Grand Canyon. None of us had been there before so we spent a few days exploring. It was also our first time camping as a family in our new camper so it was a really great experience!
Yellowstone National Park
Next, we made our way to Yellowstone and spent a couple of days there. The best part was the further north we drove, we started seeing more and more trees. We would roll our windows down to smell the fresh air once we left the desert. With both my husband and I growing up in the north (MN and OH) we had realized after several southern duty stations (GA, AL, and TX) that we prefer the northern climate.
Glacier National Park
Our last major stop was Glacier National Park, which was our favorite of all. We spent a few extra days there. Because our move was taking place in September, all of these parks we visited were pretty empty as the tourist season was already over, so we felt like we had the campgrounds to ourselves.
The Alaska Highway
Once we left Glacier, it was time to cross into Canada and make our way to the famous Alaska Highway. We spent a lot of time researching and planning our trip before we left so we knew where we would be stopping along the way.
Because we were traveling in the off-season, many stops along the Alaska Highway were already shut down for the winter. We had to make sure we knew which ones were open for filling up our gas supply.
It was incredible! Anyone considering coming to Alaska should drive there and see the beautiful sights along the way. We stopped throughout Canada to camp and I could go on and on about the great times that we had.
One campground was on a pumpkin farm so we went picking. Another had a small treehouse right in our site for the girls to play in. One had a museum and even though it was closed for the season, the kind owners unlocked it and allowed us to explore the displays for a bit.
Alaska at Last
Finally, we made it to Alaska! And wouldn’t you know, we got our very first flat tire of the trip as we pulled over to take our photo in front of the famous sign. No problem, James changed the tire and we went on our way. We made it to Alaska the first week of October, ready to start a new adventure. But the trip up was the best beginning we could have asked for!
More On Our Life in Alaska
Now that you know how we got here, start reading about living in Alaska!
Hii so I’m curious about getting waterfowl I live in Alaska and it can get extremely cold (-60) so I’m just worried if that may be too cold for keeping them in a duck house it would be extremely helpful to know which region of Alaska you’re in cause in your post you said that you even let your ducks free roam outside thank you for reading!!
Hi Natalie! We live in the Interior region of Alaska. Also, we live at a high elevation up in the hills so it rarely gets below -20 where we are. You would definitely want to make sure they have an insulated coop and have a heater to use when it does get that cold, just in case!