There’s a race of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t sit still.
So they break the hearts of kith and kin
And they roam the world at will.
-Robert Service
There’s an old bromide to the effect that “an ass that goes traveling doen’t come back a horse.” Well, maybe. Truth is, as a friend of mine says, “Wherever you go, there you are.”
Anyway, here’s an invitation to come with us on our journey to the Last Frontier. You’ll have a web-side seat as we wander through country so beautiful it tightens the sphincter and dazzles even your bloodshot eyes. You’ll experience a ten car pile-up in your mind as we navigate fifty-something feet of truck and trailer, rookies that we are, windshield burn dulling our already senile minds. Listen as our so-called sense of humor digs us deeper than we’d like with the locals we encounter. Hang with us as we stumble through some backcountry trails with bears and bison in pursuit and get skunked on some of the continent’s finest fishing waters. Watch as tourist traps separate us from badly needed diesel fuel funds.
Where We’re Headed
Let me tell you a bit about where we’re going — or, at least, where we think we’re going. But first, you have to understand that it’s been brought to our attention that enormous sums of money have been wagered at a certain diner in Portland to the effect we’ll never even get out of town. With this in mind, we encourage you to stay tuned for our first posting from Syracuse Tuesday night –hopefully, technology permitting, etc.
From Syracuse it’s off to Ottawa and then westward ho! Just above the Great Lakes across Winnipeg and Saskatchewan and into Alberta for the long trek north after catching the Alaskan Highway at Dawson Creek. Hitchhike along through Ft. Nelson, WatsonLake, Whitehorse and, finally, Dawson City before entering Alaska at Chicken and Eagle (pop. 37). By now, we’ll have traveled about 5,000 miles and poured receipts from nearly 500 gallons of diesel fuel into the coffers of needy oil companies.
For the next ten weeks or so after arriving, we’ll travel just about every foot of every connected highway in Alaska, beginning in Fairbanks and ending in Skagway. There will be stops just about anywhere and everywhere and a side trip on the Alaskan Marine Ferry for a six day sojourn on Kodiak Island.
Then, in early September, we’ll start home with visits to Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks along the way. We should be back in Connecticut in late September to catch the opening acts of the annual leaf show.
What We’re Bringing
Okay, Okay, about “The Men Who Don’t Fit In.” Even though most of you know us as a couple of pretty parochial homeboys, that isn’t a mistake. (Don’t worry about mistakes. There will be plenty of them –mostly to keep you folks who are always looking for them happy!) Anyway, it’s not the men who don’t fit in, it’s everything we’re bringing with us.
We’re not exactly roughing it. The trailer comes equipped with heat/AC/micrwave/flat screen TV/refrigerator/stove and oven/luxurious broadloom carpet — and seemingly enough storage for ten people. But….
We’re loading, in no particular order, backpacks and hiking boots, two kyaks and an array of peripherals, a gas barbecue, six lawn chairs, a screened dining tent, tools, a mountain bike, two laptops and a printer, seven fly rods, eight spinning rods, one conventional outfit, waders, boots and walking staffs along with nearly 300 recently custom tied flies, a multitude of cameras (which we may figure out how to operate), a MASH level first aid kit, a smoker for the salmon we snag and don’t release. We’ve loaded up on DEET and rain gear — but if there’s any bear spray aboard, Dave ain’t saying.
This hasn’t been like packing for a trip. It’s more like moving — from two houses to a trailer, while acquiring all sorts of new stuff.
Communication
We’ll try to post a blog three or four days a week using modems, WiFi or whatever technology we can hunt up. Occasionally, we’ll be in dead spots outside civilization and peace will prevail for a few days. But you can feel free to make comments on the blog any time the spirit moves you. The web address for the blog is alaska.andstuff.com (don’t forget the dot after alaska)
To those of you who have been so kind as to discuss with us bear encounters, trailer wrecks, missing persons, fishing fiascos, capsized kayaks, busted headlights and windshields, bugs the size of golf balls or so small you no-see-um, torrential and continuing rain, accidents, illnesses, and hospitalizations, along with earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches and erupting volcanos, our profound and fervent thanks. You have prepared us for any eventuality.
C’mon, hop aboard…..