After Choppy and I finished driving the Alaska Highway, my sister flew in from Minnesota and joined us for a few days of exploring Alaska (happily not as eventful as when she joined me in New Orleans).

I love this license plate on this car. Apparently, among the many things Nemo can't do is park a car properly.
I love the license plate on this clownfish-looking car. That said, it appears that you can put “park a car” on the list of things Nemo can’t do because of his bad fin.
You know you're pretty far north when you have to go south to get to the north pole.
You know you’re pretty far north when you have to go south to get to the north pole.
It only looks like a regular corn dog. However, as it is Alaska, it's actually a reindeer corn dog. Note: I prefer regular corn dogs.
It only looks like a regular corn dog. However, as it is Alaska, it’s actually a reindeer corn dog. Note: I prefer regular corn dogs. And eating without a giant bandage on my finger.
This is a giant igloo on the road between Anchorage and Fairbanks. I don't really have anything to say about this, I just wanted to show off a picture of a giant igloo.
This is a giant igloo on the road between Anchorage and Fairbanks. I don’t really have anything to say about this, I just wanted to show off a picture of a giant igloo.
This closed station was next to the giant igloo (in case the sign on the roof didn't give that away). I only took this picture because the random graffiti amused me.
This closed gas station was next to the giant igloo (in case the sign on the roof didn’t give its location away). In case you’re wondering why I took this picture, I suggest looking at the hilarious graffiti on the box covering the gas pump.
Here's an animal I was not expecting to see in Alaska: a porcupine!
Here’s an animal I was not expecting to see in Alaska: a porcupine! Note: In Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless, the main character, kills and eats several porcupines mere miles from where we saw this. I should not have been surprised.
An unanticipated bonus of having my sister on the trip: I no longer had to set up the tripod to get pictures of Choppy and me. I had Charlotte to take awesome shots like this one with Denali in the background (under the clouds).
An unanticipated bonus of having my sister on the trip: I no longer had to set up the tripod to get pictures of Choppy and me. She is therefore the one behind awesome shots like this one with Denali in the background (under the clouds).