Alaska: Day 11

I didn’t think I’d write a post today because all we did was drive.  And driving is usually fairly uneventful.  Usually.

But, last night, just before going to bed we saw that there was a winter weather advisory for the exact area through which we’d be driving.  Is that clear?  A WINTER weather advisory…for May 17th.  Even in Alaska, this is not normal.  Denali National Park, where Denali (more commonly known outside of Alaska as Mt. McKinley) is located, is right between Fairbanks and Anchorage, and they had a winter storm warning – snow, low visibility, more snow, and maybe a blizzard.  We were a little concerned, so we set to leave earlier to try and beat it.

By the time we began the drive out of town in our shiny rental car (which Hertz had upgraded from a compact Toyota to a Jeep Patriot because they were feeling nice), the snow was starting to fall.

We made it on the road for about an hour…and then Millie got sick.  All over.  Ew.  So, we pulled over and, in the snow, cleaned the daughter and the car seat and bagged the icky things and were back on the road in twenty minutes.  Promptly, the three of us not driving fell asleep, lulled by the Patriot, winding roads, and Christmas-y outdoors.

Two hours later we were all awake and chattering and Millie was ready to eat and drink some milk.  We debated, but her complaining won out.  And, sure enough, an hour and a half later, in even heavier snow, we repeated the actions of the morning.  More cleaning and bagging icky things.  We ran out of easily accessible Millie clothes and she was reduced to one of Matthew’s shirts.

Back on the road again, we finally made it to Palmer and our hosts’ house, after 6.5 hours on the road.  This family was one we went to church with in Fairbanks, but has since moved south and we are delighted to be able to see and spend some time with them.  Their youngest son and Levi are only a few weeks apart in age and were pretty much inseparable all evening.

Amelia didn’t really have a great evening.  She does seem to be feeling better, but was so overtired from a lack of a normal nap for the past few days (her normal naps are three or so hours) and the sickness today that she was just a mess.  I think she’s finally asleep now…and Levi is just fine, minus the ever-returning cold/cough he’s had every other week since we left Africa.  Ugh.

Meanwhile, outside, the snow has been falling ever since and does seem to be stopping anytime soon.  The forecast predicts four inches for this area.

So, the glamorous life of a missionary family continues…