Alaska Trip Briefly Summed Up
How does one, sum up in a few words, all the components of an 11,000 mile road trip? What began as a dream for Steve, became a once-in-a-lifetime journey for the both of us. Almost everyone of those thousands of miles revealed something new and memorable.
“The human spirit was meant to fly into the horizon.
Meant to see sunrises from different latitudes.
Meant to see sunsets from different longitudes.
It’s the natural curiosity in us. We’re all birds at heart.”
Oh, the horizons we flew into were as diverse as one would expect and unique to us both. After trying for several days, the skies cleared and we were able to gaze upon the extraordinary Denali, our continent's highest peak. We stared in amazement at glaciers whose brilliant blue ice took our breath away. We strolled through small harbor towns and watched as the day's catch, the lifeblood of the community, was hauled ashore with much enthusiasm. We shared the road with travelers from all over the world and while at camp, exchanged mutual travel itineraries and reminisces of where we had already been.
Our favorite latitude, where a sunrise was observed, was N 66 33- the Arctic Circle. We went way out of our path to go, mainly to get the photo and the ability to say we were there, however we were rewarded by a surprisingly scenic drive and our best example of Alaska's famous Midnight Sun. During those evenings which never quite got dark, we wandered about late at night. We were in some kind of surreal place where we didn't seem to need sleep and we were powered by the endless sunshine. That was a huge surprise to me and once I got use to it, I missed it as soon as the sun began to wane.
The people we met added layers to our journey. While none of the encounters were lengthy, they are in our list of "bests". I'm not one to put individuals into a collective basket, but oh my gosh, both the Canadians and the Alaskans, all of them, were some of the most kind and generous people we have ever met. From the guy who was willing to share his Pad Thai at Salmonfest, to the volunteers at Canada Day who let me help out at the festival and made me feel at home. There was the gentleman at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics who patiently taught me how to hold on and help with the blanket toss, allowing me to be a participant in this unbelievable cultural event. Road workers, who turned their stop signs towards us, would then engage us in conversation while we waited. All wanted to know where we were going and were we had been. Most stated that we'd seen more of Alaska than they had and they were locals. There was something magical about that, for us. We wanted to explore not only the tourist places, but the roads less traveled.
For me, if I had to chose a favorite town, it would Dawson City, Yukon Territory. Frozen in 1898, we were given a glimpse of the hardy souls who ventured forth for the Klondike Gold Rush. We meandered its dirt streets and envisioned a different time which changed the course of all those lives. It was one of the many, many history lessons we learned throughout the journey. The history was one of our most favorite treasures we uncovered and it was everywhere.
It seemed the simplest of the events were my most favorite. From Steve agreeing to rent vintage swimsuits to lounge in the Hot Springs of Jasper, to the numerous free musical performances that filled our nights. In order to really be somewhere, we hiked to tea houses and across international boundaries. We made it a point to kiss in each of the extraordinary locales, a silly tradition but one that made it that much more special. Photographing the images we saw allowed us to really absorb what it was we were seeing. There were abundant wildflowers and wildlife, including a coveted grizzly, which made us stop and enjoy things a little longer. Those images captured are the lasting gifts this trip has given us.
So we are now home with three months of stuff to unpack, and as the dust settles we will continue to remember something different and unforgettable about this Alaskan Adventure while also knowing there are other horizons in which to fly.
2 comments:
Welcome home!!
Your trip sounds (and looked) amazing!
We live in a great country, that is for sure! There is so much to see. And you are seeing it!
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What a heart-felt story...when does your book come out???
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