gmhTODAY 11 gmhToday Nov Dec 2016 | Page 72

In all, we drove 6,000 miles in 21 days. Our transport was a specially modified Mercedes Benz Sprinter we had built to accommodate traveling with our dogs. The journey was as important to us as the destination, so we avoided freeways where possible and travelled mostly two-lane roads with the small towns and pleasant surprises they offer. We traveled among large trucks transporting logs, liquid natural gas and ore – reminding us of the industries that take from the land to fuel the local economies along our route. Except for some beautiful metropolitan skylines, it was the land that provided the visual drama and pageantry with the people seemingly there just to provide a sense of scale. As we traveled north, each new vista trumped the last until we ran out of superlatives. Winding through the beautiful streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, we stopped at a Starbucks knowing that from here on out it was going to get really rural, really quick. Not long after entering the famous Cassiar Highway we took a detour to see a real glacier. Initially a light rain obscured the wide ribbon of white that descended into a steep valley. Once in full view, Bear Glacier did not disappoint. It was official, Michelle had seen her first glacier. While it was a small glacier, by Alaskan standards, she was in awe and I got to enjoy that. Priceless. Michelle McKay 72 GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 gmhtoday.com