I was asked by one of our thousands of readers (ok, less than three dozen) how I would classify the people or what was my impression of them. No doubt, for the most part, they lead a very minimalist lifestyle. I've got to say, I really admire their pioneer spirit. They tolerate inconveniences the majority of the people in the lower forty eight would not tolerate. A couple of things that come to mind are hunting and fishing. Not just for sport, but for supplementing their food supply. Often times during adverse weather conditions. Another example is from a conversation I had with a young lady in the laundromat (if you can believe I would just start talking to a stranger :-) ) Every week or two, she would drive ~90 miles, ONE WAY, to do laundry and make phone calls because where she and her husband live, there is no electric or telephone service. They only have an outside pit toilet, and naturally, it has no heat. The ~90 miles is the closest laundry! They have a generator, but due to the high price of fuel, they only use it when absolutely necessary. I asked her what she did for the doctor, dentist, etc. and she told me they drive to Fairbanks, about three hundred miles away! So to put that into perspective for myself, that is like us driving to Cincinnati!
Here are some of our summary thoughts of our whole trip, so far, from when we started:
- DESTINATION WE LIKED THE MOST - Seward on the Kenai Peninsula
- DESTINATION WE LIKED THE LEAST - Fairbanks. Not that it was terrible, just a bigger city with lots of vagrants and public drunkedness
- MOST SCENIC HIGHWAY - Richardson Highway from Glennallen going south to Valdez
- BIGGEST SURPRISE IN A POSITIVE WAY - Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota
- BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT - Lack of abundant wildlife viewing in Alaska, particularly in Denali National Park. We saw more wildlife in British Columbia.
- BEST FOOD - apple fritter from The Moose is Loose bakery in Soldotna and fresh caught grilled salmon
- BIGGEST INCONVENIENCE TRAVELING BY RV - no laundry facility
- BIGGEST CONVENIENCE TRAVELING BY RV - ability to stop and sleep nearly anywhere we wanted
- WHAT WE LIKED THE MOST - the landscapes; mountains, glaciers, rivers, wild flowers, and vast openness. Wildlife viewing in its native habitat.
- WHAT WE LIKED THE LEAST - paying $5.75 per gallon of gas. Lots of rain
- WHAT WE MISSED THE MOST - sunshine and warm air; short sleeves and shorts; our own laundry facility.
GIVING CREDIT
I must take the time to give credit where outstanding credit is due. From the time we left Madison, Alabama until we board the ferry tomorrow, we only ate three meals out; two lunches and one dinner. Bonnie, who is very well organized, very good at planning, and very wise to know the cost of goods would be high in Canada and Alaska, planned all of the food for all of the meals. That doesn't mean we brought it all with us, she would plan on places to stop at a supermarket to get supplies while we were still in the lower forty eight. Before we left she even pre-made eight home made lasagna dinners and froze them at home, then packed them in our rv freezer. I questioned when I saw how much food she was packing in the rv, but she assured me she counted the meals needed for the journey. Not just meals, but snacks and desserts as well, and those of you who know me well, know I like desserts. She did leave room to purchase the occasional local treat. It that wasn't enough, she packed a container with about thirty dollars worth of quarters. When I asked what all the quarters were for, she told me laundry, so we would not have to try to find a place to get change. Hats off to Bonnie!
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