(CNN)There's nice, and then there's Canadian-nice, which sometimes involves driving a total stranger, her two kids, a pair of elderly dogs and a cat named "Midnight" more than a thousand miles through a snowstorm to another country.
Dashing through the snow
It all started because Lynn Marchessault, her 13-year-old son Payton, 10-year-old daughter Rebecca and the family pets needed to get from Georgia to Alaska. Marchessault's husband, a staff sergeant in the US Army, is stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.
In a 4x4 and a U-Haul, eh?
So Marchessault packed up all their belongings, bought a 4x4 truck that could handle Alaska winters, rented a U-Haul, and made plans for a cross-country family adventure during the balmy days of early fall.