Alaska Via Land...Part 1

Now that I was all packed up, there was nothing to do but say goodbyes, make any last minute route adjustments, get the cats in the car carrier (a process dubbed "cat rodeo" by my dad), and start driving.  One special goodbye was my sister coming over for supper.  She bought me a lottery ticket and said if I won I didn't have to go :)  I think we were both a little disappointed when I didn't even win $2.  Apparently luck is not mine in "The Game of Life."  It was hard heading so far away again when the time came to go.

 

 

 

My initial route was to be 3914 km.  A snowstorm coming through Alberta and Saskatchewan added an additional 100-150 to that as I skirted south through Medicine Hat to avoid the 10-15cm snowfall coming in the north. That did allow one more coffee stop goodbye at my brother's house in Medicine Hat that we weren't expecting to get.

 

I wanted to show a map with the stops along the way.  I had my trusty dusty MilePost Map, but no thumbtacks, so I used the next best thing at my disposal.  M&M's left over from the road trip.  The green M&M located on the far right of the map (beyond where it ends) was the starting point in Saskatchewan.  The reddy brown M&M on the left is Anchorage.  The blue M&M's in between represent the stopping points for the nights.  Clever and delicious.

 

 

 

Because I had driven south and avoided the blizzard, day 1 was a relatively easy 10 hour stretch.  At least for me.  The cats (who will be referred to collectively as The Panthers of course) had never been in the carrier except for short trips to the vet, or that one 3 hour stretch driving home from the airport, which I was pretty sure they had blocked out.  I had it in my mind that the car ride would be 5 days of intermittent cat protests, and that they would need to roam the car to stretch during the drive.  Following that, I expected to need an hour or two each morning of cat rodeo to get them back into the carrier at the hotel room.  What actually happened was far more difficult.  The Panthers curled into a solid ball at the back of their cage, went catatonic, and refused to eat, drink, move, or use the litterbox.  This made me a little nervous by the time I picked up my co-pilot in Edmonton, but i figured a night in the hotel would get them back to normal.  I even bought them KFC.  The chubby panther who loves chicken turned his head away and buried his face despondently in his blanket.  I was starting to get worried.

 

At the end of day 1, I noted the lack of litterbox and food bowl activity and decided they would certainly get hungry on day 2.  There was no cat rodeo required because the only movement out of the cat carrier was to momentarily hide in the hotel bathtub.  Abnormal panther behaviour indeed.

 



Day 2 saw more good roads.  Monique and I switched driver's every 2 hours or so, and passed through Grande Prairie, Fort St. John, AB, and crossed into Dawson Creek BC early in the afternoon.

Still great roads by Dawson Creek, BC

 The roads were fairly straight all the way to Fort Nelson, BC.  There was a noticeable increase in the amount of snow in the ditches, but the roads were still clear and dry.  It took about 10 hours to get to Fort Nelson, and thanks to the 2 bags of road food given to Monique from her hubby for Valentine's, we didn't even need to stop to eat.  He even included tuna for the cats.  Well, actually he wasn't too excited about the fate of the tuna, but there were 4 tins of tuna and 4 living creatures, so fair is fair.  Harry was quite happy to eat road tuna.  Aiden was still not having any of it.

We stayed at the Super 8 in Fort Nelson since Super 8's allow cats, and fell into bed surprisingly exhausted by 10pm, which is good because at 3am the kitty kids were calling out.  I managed to settle them down, noted some litter box activity, and crawled back into bed.

Logistics of Moving to Alaska

When I decided to leave Bermuda, there were a few things I started looking forward to.  Mostly I wanted to be reunited with the concept of 'my own stuff.'  While it's great that most places are furnished in Bermuda, I also started thinking about how nice it would be to have a home surrounded by stuff that had been all my own choice.  There were a few things that I had painstakingly chosen and loved back in my Edmonton home that I believed I could be reunited with as well.  I chose a September start date so that I could drive to Alaska, sparing my cats the trauma of the security line at the airports, and also allowing me to pack a whole trunk of that coveted 'stuff' that I would find.  I would arrive in the summer, making for an easy drive, and slowly acclimatize before the first snow.  Bigger 'stuff' could always be shipped up in a moving van, and I would spend the winter cozily reading books by the fire in my mountain view home after work.

At least that's what I thought was going to happen back then.  If you have been following the blog, you will know what ACTUALLY happened was much different.  In September I found out that a VISA screen was required prior to my entry into the US, and this seemingly small hurdle would ambiguously loom over my plans for the next 4.5 months.  When it did finally go through, I had to abandon the idea of shipping my beloved "stuff" up in a moving van as the quote came in surprisingly high -- just under $15,000 for a one way transport of the meagre pile of "stuff" that I could call my own after 5 years in Bermuda and having to leave behind any "stuff" that didn't fit in my 2 suitcases.  I have to admit this was a bit of a blow to realize that I would be starting all over yet again with just a pile of things in a suitcase.  It's a perspective a lot of people have long ago forgotten about -- moving into a new place with just clothing, a few treasured tidbits, random things that you can stuff in suitcase pockets (I discovered a cheese grater in one pocket...one of very few things i could pack down when leaving my Bermuda kitchen behind).  You choose your space wisely, and spend a lot of time deciding if you want to arrive with the convenience of a bath towel, or stuff in 2 more pair of jeans and book it to the store before your first shower in your new home.  You arrive without plates, cutlery, mugs, coffee pots....dozens of little things you take for granted every day.  Getting set up again each time costs a small fortune.

Fortunately, my parents had a great little car they could give me a fabulous deal on, so I had a car all lined up.  I had a copy of "The MilePost" and from it I couldn't decide if it would be reasonable or not to drive to Alaska in February.  It advised cautions, but also optimistically said it was a great time to avoid the high traffic of the Alaska Highway.  Red paragraphs about "winding roads through a limestone gorge, no guardrails" and the like caused a few furrowed eyebrows as I sketched out my plans, predicted my progress and researched kitty friendly hotels along the way.

I researched a couple of other options and found that it is possible to ship a car from Seattle to Anchorage on a container ship for around $1300-$1600 (check Wrightway Auto Carriers or Alaska Car Transport).  In my case however, I was going to have to cross a mountain range in February be it through southern British Columbia or Northern British Columbia.  It was going to either be 5 days in the car, or drive 2 days, fly one, and pick the car up off a ship after 5 days.  After a little discussion with my friend Monique who had offered to assist with kitty transport, it was decided to go for the adventure of driving.  I admit she was more excited than I was...possibly because I had been watching a series of road cams posted along the route for weeks.  One was frozen over and several showed what looked more like shovelled walks than highways.

As luck would have it, a massive blizzard hit the east coast while a high pressure system approached the west coast promising a short window of clear skies and unseasonably warm temperatures.  It was perfect timing.  But it was still a winter drive through Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska.  As I began packing and making preparations, the ratio of emergency supplies to beloved "stuff" shifted unfavorably into stuff.  I got brand new winter tires, new brake pads, and an oil change.  The backseat would be packed with kitty carriers and their stuff.  The passenger seat would be occupied,  But I would have the trunk for my stuff.  Except for the space needed for a sleeping bag.  The tow rope and booster cables.  Snow pants, warm boots, gloves and hats.  Some food, flares, emergency candles.  There would be long stretches without cell service so a satellite phone was rented for the drive.  A small shovel in case digging out was required.  A jerry can for extra fuel in the remote areas.  An emergency heater that operates from propane in case we found ourselves alone in the car and without heat in -40C.  Aside from that, the rest of the trunk was free to pack my new start into.  Sadly that "rest of the trunk" was looking pretty small.  I tried to choose wisely.  I am a sentimental being...I chose one beloved photo album filled with drawings by my niece.  A coffee mug from my sister.  2 towels, 2 dishcloths that my mom sent to Bermuda once in a care package.  All of my Christmas presents including a mini speaker, a USB stick, shampoo and conditioner, a cat calendar from my nieces, a new sweater.  I sorted through dresses and shoes, and packed away many favorites with the hope to reclaim them again one day in the future.  I was ready to start the journey to Alaska.

Heaven Sent

Jaycena would be 22 today.  She should be receiving Happy Birthday calls, making good on plans with friends, being spoiled.  I should be telling her all the things today that made me think of her and smile.  I should be hearing about her special day.  But there were no words today.

From Jaycena's Facebook page, words she chose in the corner

There were no words, but there was a sled dog, and in my head spun thousands of words about Balto.  Memories of the cartoon, her still childlike voice saying "Balto," and images of her drawing Balto, talking about Balto to Grandma, watching Balto for the hundredth time with Grandpa and both of them yelling "Barooooooooooo" along with him as he howls into the Alaska wind.  Balto.  Jaycena should be able to see my 'Balto' today.

As a young girl, Jaycena also loved horses.  All horses, all colors, sizes, shapes, breeds.  She carried toy horses, cuddles toy horses, slept with horses, and talked and drew about horses and horses and horses.  There were no words, but there were wild horses along the road. 

This is always a hard day.  My sister sent a little message this morning to wish me safe travels and remind me that a special angel would be watching out for me today.  And indeed safe passage from the Yukon to a town with services in Alaska was made -- despite a punctured tire and some 600 km between garages.  At the end of that was a kind act of a garage that stayed open late to do the repair and charged $9 and declined any extra saying "give it to someone who needs it."  Northern Electric in Tok, Alaska gets a shout out for the earthly assistance...a shout out to my little angel Jaycena who surely put it all together.

And so on her 22nd birthday, what is lacking in words in present in signs all through the days.  Her presence in my world left an imprint that will last the rest of my life.  I found a little snowman in the Alaska wilderness, and tucked a little bear in its scarf for a moment along the way...a little bear given to me once by a little girl long ago yet yesterday...my sign to her in lieu of words.  Happy Birthday...love you Jaycena.

Alaska via Air

I got a great deal on the flight to Anchorage on Delta.  And a great deal on the flight out on Alaska Airlines.  Alaska Airlines has a little more legroom than a lot of other airlines, but if you want in flight entertainment you have to rent a little tablet that is preprogrammed with the movies and shows.  It's only $8, but I was planning on watching the scenery go by.

 

Anchorage is nestled below the Chugach Mountains and edges right up to the ocean on a little peninsula.  The mountains are part of your every day scenery, as seen in this airport snapshot.

 

The Anchorage airport is a nice little airport.  There are a few nice little shops and some interesting taxidermy, although I prefer animals in the wild, and in the case of this one, at a very great distance.  I guess this is the closest thing to a live polar bear I have ever seen.

I heard a lot about the moose in Alaska.  Apparently the 'urban moose population' of Anchorage is somewhere around 1300.  That's not much in a city of 300,000.  I am looking forward to seeing a few moose (not mooses or meese or moosei, my favorite made up term for multiple moose).  Moose have only trampled 2 people to death in the city, none since 1995.  The city also has black bear, grizzly bears, and wolves.  Oh, I mean outside of the city, right?  No, no, they pass through from time to time it seems.  A few may even be permanent residents, which is more than I can say for myself.

Anchorage has direct daily flights to Seattle, Phoenix, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and Denver as far as I can tell.  Heading south, you fly right alongside the rather impressive mountains of the St. Elias range, seeing Canada's highest peak at 19,551 feet, Mount Logan, and the 2nd highest peak in North America, Mount St. Elias at just over 18,000 feet.

Sometimes skiing or snowboarding we think we have powder.  I looked out the window and thought...now THAT's powder.

You could make out icy blue crevasses in the ice, and the deep, ancient blue in the ice where it meets water.  I guess these are part of the glaciers...as seen from 35,000 feet.

I wondered if any polar bears were hopping around down there, or if this is too remote even for them.

3.5 hours later, I was back in Seattle, on a warm sunny day.  I suspect I will be making a few of those quick flights south next winter.  Up next...Alaska....by road.

First Impressions of Alaska

I made it!  I got myself to Anchorage, took a tour, did the pre-employment steps that can be done, and left Anchorage in about 40 hours, which included about 20 hours of blissful sleep in that glorious Arctic dark..  Here's a synopsis of what I learned, or at least what I think I learned based on fleeting observations.

1.  There really are more beards in Alaska.  I noted a much higher ratio of grizzled faces on the Seattle to Anchorage flight than I have ever noted on any other flight to anywhere I have ever been on.  Say...a solid 40%.  Still not the majority, but noticeable.

2.  Alaskans are friendly.  Super friendly.  Not a striving to be polite kind of friendly, but an open and thorough exchange of information in pretty much every exchange.  In less than 48 hours, I feel I could drop by my new home restaurant Club Paris, the original location of Kaladi Brothers coffee, the Verizon cell phone booth, the drug screening outlet, the social security office, the bank, the extended stay America check in desk, and a few other places and just say "hey, it's me again, wanna grab a coffee or something?" and pick up where we left off in the conversation.  Going into this I knew 2 people in Anchorage and they immediately offered me a place to stay (for months if need be), rides, and any assistance needed.  I think, and hope, it's an Alaska thing because it's a good thing!  And I really need to thank Stan, Donna, Jett, and Butler for opening their home to me -- and Sharon and Dave for also offering their home to me.  Stan acted as chauffeur, tour guide, and ambassador while finishing up work and getting ready to leave on his own vacation that same evening.  Thanks!



my new friend Butler

3  Alaskans become Californian in cars.  On icy windy roads, I was constantly surprised by the vehicles rapidly speeding by, often using the shoulder or meridian to pass an offensively speed limit compliant vehicle, and cutting into the not-really-that-busy traffic with only inches to spare between vehicles.  It seems all laws of personal space are obliterated when driving.  I think it is going to take some time to get used to driving there.

4.  Alaskans are honest.  People talk to you and really talk to you.  Every conversation I have is one that refreshingly offers a flow of personal information with business, etc.   I think my banker will be really worried he did something wrong if I don't stop by for address updates, etc.  Seriously.

5.  Customer service is amazing.  First name basis with people everywhere I ate, staff walking with you to the door and holding it open at the bank, everyone is super helpful.

6.  Alaskans love coffee.  I was told there it has the highest per capita ratio of coffee huts.  I say huts, not shops, because they are sorta like meat wagons.  Build a shed, put it on wheels, park it somewhere near drive by traffic, and you have a coffee hut.  My friend Stan drinks more coffee than me.  Seriously.

7.  Alaska airlines is awesome.  They have engineered the cabin so all the economy seats have more legroom than some of the other airlines.  Their rates are good.  And need I say the crew are laid back and happy and open (captain announced a friend of his was on board, who was also a pilot, was sitting in seat 18D, and once won a bird call competition in Seattle for his impersonation of the yellow bellied warbler, and invited us to all go ask about it).  Oh yeah, and flights from Calgary are super cheap.

8.  It's not really that cold in Anchorage.  I had to take off my jacket a few times, and my feet were warm in my winter boots.  The worst bit was about -15C, which is cold but not as cold as some Saskatchewan days this winter.  There was not much snow in town, although it has been a mild winter they say.  And it isn't that dark.  The sun is a little slow in rising, I can live with that, but Anchorage is getting around 9 hours of daylight right now.  Not so different from Edmonton.

9.  It is dry.  I am not a chapstick person.  I never use chapstick.  But the moisture was sucked out of my body via the lips within a couple of hours in Anchorage.  My skin got flaky, and I swear I dessicated a bit.  If you are coming to Alaska, bring chapstick.

Here is a little experience that seems representative of my Alaska experience.  I walked up to a cell phone kiosk in the mall and said I was new to Alaska and would like to get a phone.  I would need calling to Canada, and good roam within Canada rates.  The two guys in the kiosk did not hesitate to say "yeah, you should go to the competitor booth around they corner, they will have a better deal for you."  I was a little shocked.  I kinda wanted to be sold a plan by this company.  So I thought I would ask about unlocked phones, and they explained they don't really do that, it's not a big thing in the US, that's more of a thing for people who travel internationally a lot.  Then they told me about their friend, in a band, who plays in Canada, and what works for him for a phone plan.  They asked how long I had been in Alaska, and when I replied "first day!" they said "that's sic!"  So after following the Alaska exchange protocol I was now catching on to, I explained my path to getting there, found out about their hometowns and when they moved up, and asked "So am I going to like it here?"  "Yeah, it's great, but you're here at the worst time of the year.  It's the light I miss...I mean (glancing at the fluorescent light above him in the booth), I live in this artificial environment.  I'm a hamster."  By now I am grinning ear to ear.  "The one thing I would change," he continued, "is I would gladly pay a little tax if they would just put some salt on the roads.  I come from the lower 48, where we believe in SALT, so you aren't sliding around all the time.  Just a little salt.  That's all I ask."  His coworker piped up "You know why they don't use salt on the roads don't you?  It's because of the moose.  They like to lick the salt, so it draws them into the road.  Wouldn't you rather slide around a little more than you'd like to hit a moose every day?"  "I didn't know that, well, that's cool as long as there's a reason."  Still grinning, armed with the knowledge of their histories, children's ages, and moose stats, I left with no clue what a phone plan would cost.  But I think I'm gonna like it here.

Viva La....ahhh...Anchorage

It has been a lot of hypothetical planning and a very very long time waiting, but it looks like I am soon to be lost-and-hopefully-loving-it in Alaska!  I accepted a job there before leaving Bermuda, and hit a lot of paperwork obstacles along the way (mostly neither the HR rep no I realized that we had to do the lengthy VISA Screen process, so that only started in September when I was originally supposed to be starting).

However, today I presented to US Customs and Border Security and requested to enter the US under TN Non-Immigrant status and handed over all the supporting documents.  I finally got to see the little offices behind the regular customs officers in the airport.  They were polite, professional, and even had a few tips to offer about Alaska, and overall the whole process went smoothly.  I received a stamp in my passport that shows I am lawfully allowed to reside and work in the United States for up to 3 years.  As an added bonus, the Calgary airport has a US Customs preclearance area, so I can sit back and enjoy the flight to Seattle, and then onwards to Anchorage.

I have also been lucky to run into a lot of people bestowing random acts of kindness on me -- my friend Candi who opened her home to me for a visit and good rest before my flight today, a young man travelling to Montreal who, like me, parked in the wrong spot at the Park and Fly and tackled a passing shuttlevan with me, a different young man who carried one of my 3 enormous bags onto the shuttle, and the airport security guard who caught me in the check in area and gave me a luggage cart "courtesy of the Calgary airport."  It is either my super lucky day, or I really look like a basket case...maybe a little of both.  But who cares...I'm moving to Alaska!!

My work today is pretty much done.  Tomorrow the paperwork continues.

Do I Nafta?

NAFTA.  The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1994.  There are actually a whole lot of countries involved in this, but the one particular item I have made note of is that Canadian, American, and Mexican professionals in specific trade can move between the countries a little more freely with the signing of this act.  I met the credentials by being Canadian and by being in a profession listed in the NAFTA Act.  I took extra care to write the American Board exams as well as the Canadian exams with the idea that one day I might just want to go and work across the border some day.  As the years went by, I talked to others in my profession who had done exactly that.  It was easy -- you just presented at the border with a job offer for a period of less than 3 years, your original degrees and licenses, and off you went.  I have to admit this is sort of what I have been expecting I could do.

However, due to a change in the global environment, the NAFTA Act is trumped, if you will, by Department of Homeland Security.  Medical Professionals are now required to have a VISA Screen, per a Homeland Security act in 2004.  The VISA Screen is administered by one busy and likely overworked office somewhere in Pennsylvania, called CGFNS.  The VISA screen requires that every school, every professional certifying body, registering body, or licensing body that you have ever been listed with submit your history to them.  Sadly, for me, this included 2 post secondary schools, 2 certifying boards, and 3 licensing bodies in 3 different countries to stop what they are doing and dig into their records and send off the information.  The volume of mail means it takes about 20 business days for CGFNS to review a piece of information.  In the event that something is amiss....a space left blank, a new person on staff at the school signed your form, a letter will be generated and sent regular international mail to that place, and the cycle begins again.

It took me 4.5 months to get a certificate saying I had a valid VISA screen.  I was a little surprised (and almost offended) that my upstanding Canadian goodness was not immediately recognized, and in fact, it took 45 days longer than the worst case scenario I had been warned of (3 months).  Apparently, the process gets a little longer the more places you have been and the more people you have to bring into the process.  But, it's finally done and I am a pretty happy camper.

So, a word of advice.  If you are a medical professional considering working in the US...apply for the VISA Screen 6 months in advance.  Do it before you job search.  It is good for 5 years.  So if you are even remotely thinking of it, do it now.  Yes, you have to...NAFTA doesn't cover all the bases any more.  That's it for today.