Day 1 of the Great Alaska Road Trip

Day 1: 115 miles

Fjord near Juneau on the previous cruise

Pretty wimpy beginning. After all the organizing and packing of the car, we drove a measly two hours to our daughter's house in St. Paul. Pretty anti-climactic. But my monthly writers' group met tonight. No point in going home afterwards. (Great group! And I'm not just saying that because they told me to.)

I was in high school when I first heard of the Alaskan Highway. In those days it was a dirt road. You had to be an auto mechanic to attempt it and carry extra gas cans. I am not a mechanic; nor did I marry one. Eventually I gave up the trip as unrealistic, but it remained a dream.

Fast forward fifty years. Driving to Alaska has also been my 89-year-old mother-in-law's dream. A few years ago we cruised the Alaskan coast with her. That simply whet our appetites to see more of the interior. Mom is moving more slowly these days. She wants something to hold onto to steady herself. But her mind is alert. She can sit in the car and look out the windows and be as wowed by the scenery as my husband and I. We have traveled together before, and can be pretty sure we won't be at each other's throats after three and a half weeks of being cooped up in the same vehicle.

So here we go. Mom flew to Seattle last week for a few days with her daughter's family. Tomorrow Steve and I will begin our journey in earnest.