So much has happened since leaving Monterey nearly a month and a half ago that I'm really not sure how to go about explaining it all. I guess the best (although least interesting) way is to simply take the chronological approach. If anyone finds it tedious reading about the ground I've covered between then and now, I won't take it personally. It's a lot!
The first stop was a one-way flight up to Anchorage, Alaska. After a quick overnight visit with a friend, I hitchhiked for all of the following day in order to return to Denali National Park, where I met up once again with Jenn. The plan? Hang around for a week until the end of the summer season, then head south in search of fertile plains (ie, new jobs!). A couple of days before the closing of the west end of the park, Jenn got the good news that she'd gotten a job on...are you ready for this...Maui, Hawaii!! With this turn of events, we decided to spend a week or so with some of her friends at their rustic homes in the outskirts of Fairbanks before beginning the loooooong drive south to California (where we both had some obligations to take care of before heading to Aloha land). We were able to dog sled, drive (and damn near destroy) a four-wheeler in desolate woods, build and burn the largest bonfire I've ever seen, experience true log cabins (ie, lacking in modern amenities and amazing because of it!), and we even saw the northern lights! All this, and we still had roughly 6000 miles over land and sea ahead of us!
For three days following departure from Fairbanks-ish, we drove south through parts of Yukon and British Columbia, Canada and then back into southeast Alaska. From there, we drove onto a ferry, which took us to Juneau and then a nearly 48 hour trip through the Inside Passage down to southern British Columbia. On the ferry, we saw whales, porpoises, bald eagles, and slept on the floor. Yep, that was part of the adventure as well. By the last day, I was going a little stir crazy from the lack of activity, and so we walked laps around the ship for an hour before dinner. Each lap took 8 minutes. That's how big it was!
Whew...I'm getting tired just thinking of all the ground we'd covered, but there was more...
After resuming our drive in Prince Rupert, we had several long days of driving ahead of us. We were very fortunate to have friends (some old, some newly acquired) to stay overnight with in Prince George, Vancouver, Portland, and Sacramento, before finally making it back to Monterey Peninsula. It's kind of bizarre to consider that I went so far, and then wound up right back where I started, but it was an entirely new kind of adventure which was no less thrilling for the fact that it was circular.
After less than a week in Monterey (actually, I managed to squeeze in a quick road trip down to Santa Barbara to see my family), Jenn and I were on a plane bound for Maui.
My head is spinning at this point, just thinking about this whirlwind travelling. It's actually quite entertaining to see the look on people's faces when they ask where we "came from". It's a difficult question to answer! In one sentence, I can throw in Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Alaska. I mean geez, who does that?! I'm not complaining though, quite the opposite. Now that we've been in Maui for nearly a week, it's finally sinking in that all of that flying, driving, and boating was to get us here, where we can start the real adventure! Just this morning, Jenn and I awoke at 5am in a chilly tent on the side of Mt. Haleakala in order to make it to the summit in time to see the sunrise over the moonscape terrain that the volcano features. It was amazing. I'm too tired to write about it though, so instead I'll try putting some of the photos up on my flickr site for those interested to see: http://flickr.com/photos/48159374@N00/sets/
whew...
