Our second day/night in Hope! Tango and I wandered and then relaxed most of the day. On a side street, we found the library, a coffee shack, and some historic cabins. From what I see, life is hard in Hope – long winters and then a short tourism season that centers on the salmon run.…
Goodbye Denali! I enjoyed my long stay at Denali but was eager to move on. On my way south, I stopped at the two Mt. Denali viewing sites between the park and Anchorage and was able to get a last view. Along the drive, I tried to ignore moose munching down the young plant growth. I…
As soon as I start thinking that I am the last crazy adventurer on the continent, I run into someone who humbles me. I never actually saw these folks, although I was hanging around nearby for over an hour doing my laundry. Their vehicle, however, is what alerted me to some serious travelers through the…
This morning I stumbled out of the tent, fed Tango, and started my coffee. A man from a campsite across the road walked over. “Did you see the moose in your campsite this morning?” Of course I didn’t because I sleep like a log and, apparently, so does Tango. He never barked. I could only…
My first strategy for dealing with crowds in our National Parks is to visit during the shoulder or off seasons. I don’t have that choice in Denali National Park, I am passing through now and by the shoulder season I will be snug in my RV, back in New Mexico! So, I needed to develop…
I am experiencing a run of sunny, pleasant days. “Nighttime” is around freezing but the days and evenings are full of sun and blue skies. I am feeling rejuvenated. This got me wondering, just how much of this trip has been rainy? Of the top of my head, I would say, most of it. However,…
People ooh and ahh about my trip through Canada and Alaska. Sounds great, what a life, how cool. The truth, however, is that my daily life is not much different than it was before. I do the same routines here that I do in my “normal” life, like walking Tango in the morning while drinking…
Everyone worries about me getting eaten by a grizzly. That may happen still, but I have always known that moose are more dangerous, in many ways, to humans. Bears, for one thing, do everything they can to avoid humans. That is why you are supposed to travel in groups and talk aloud when hiking in…
Time for some practical advice! Nothing on the list will be surprising but some people have asked about must-have “stuff” on a trip like this so here is my list! Before I give you the tangibles, from my perspective, here are some intangibles that you must bring: Flexibility. On a shorter trip, it is possible…
This morning on our walk we met Hector. He is from Mexico, in his mid-thirties, and riding a motorcycle through the Americas. He has been on the road for 2 years already, heading first through all of South America. He crossed into the U.S. at El Paso and then made his way through the U.S.…