May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous. leading to the most amazing views. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

Edward Abbey
Road trip – the great American adventure.  8 days 2800+ miles (4500 km) 6-7 hours a day on the road.  New sights, what’s over the horizon.  What makes that gully, what makes that tree grow there, why is there an outpost there, what is the history of this area, what did it take to build this road, where are these cars going???  So many questions so many observations.  So much to do. 

Traveling the highway south from Anchorage one sees a ittsy bitty teeny tiny portion of the world.  And you realize how big the world is.  And this is what we miss when we fly over taking but hours to go our distance.  Imagine what one sees from a bicycle or walking.  
And four continental divide crossings.  One at Mentasta summit going from copper river drainage into the gulf of Alaska, then over the pass to Yukon draining into the Bering sea, and near Haines junction back to gulf of Alaska drainage, and back to Yukon. Today crossed over to the Mackenzie river drainage flowing into the Beaufort sea and Arctic Ocean.  Whoop whoop. And the upcoming trip crosses the great river of the west Columbia, green, Colorado, rio grande.  I find it exciting.

Sitting here tonight just us beside the road and blue lake.  Busy road this Cassiar highway, in the past 3 hours since our arrival maybe 25 cars.  But we sat at a picnic table, watched the loons on the lake, sun appearing and disappearing behind the clouds, occasional light rain grilled some brats and had a delicious meal of brats and Cole slaw.  Does life get any better.  

But I realize not everyone might enjoy this.  Jeanne and I hosted an exchange student from Sweden many years ago and we would laugh as he would be asleep in the car before a hundred meters had gone by.  Me, there is way to much to do. If one is driving keep an eye on driving but also the vehicle systems, electrics, rpm, fuel, speed, stay on the road, Is everything attached to the car still there etc.  One can take those things for granted but in the end are rather important.  If a passenger navigation, reading on the history of area, where are we and how far is it to ?

And we have been listening to podcasts stored on the phone.  Mostly medical lectures, but TED talks and such too.  Always interesting to learn new stuff.  

But and that is a big but, not everyone, I think, finds the thrill in all those tasks.  A friend once brought their mother to Alaska and drove to Denali park from anchorage.  A distance of 200 miles.  Her mother could not figure out what the expanse of country was between Anchorage and Denali park.  But in their defense perhaps I do not see the intricacies of New York City blocks. Everyone to their own.  I like this here. 250 kilometers (150 miles) to the next petrol station, with nothing but awesome forest between.  

But as noted perhaps it is not for everyone.  Maybe sitting in a car for long hours creates an antsyness .  Some folks just cannot sit still or cannot occupy their mind with the myriad questions I seem to fill my mind with.  

We did go for a delightful walk today along side miles canyon on the Yukon river.  Makes it me think of the history of the Klondike gold rush and the endeavors of mankind to get rich.  

Oh yeah I forgot the part in last entry about problems with sprinter van and engine diagnostics light saying the van would erupt in approximately 500 miles.  Well read the manual numerous times and concluded it was tire pressure gauges which had just been installed with the new tires were not calibrated.  So wth several readings of manual determined how to calibrate and working awesome since.  Just need to figure out how the computer works.  Sorry but it is 2016 and computers are part of our lives.  Even on a road trip. 

Ok made it to to Alaska after driving 1425 miles (2293 km).  Hyder is a town of 50 permanent population and only access is through Stewart, British Columbia, Canada.  But it is Alaska. Mileage in miles etc although have to have a passport to leave town.  Drove to salmon glacier where parked for the night.  Long day 399 miles.  But the drive changed country from boreal forests of spruce to pines, firs, hemlock, and cedars.