Alaska at Last-ka.

Well, about 6 days of driving and delays later, we finally made it to the last frontier. And let me tell you, those 6 days weren't the easiest.

For starters, our first camping night consisted of freezing cold temperatures, wherein which we had to relocate to the car. Now for any of you who have had to try to catch some z's sitting upright, you know the feeling of a crick-neck-meets-crusty-eyeballs, and, in my case, rickety rods and screws to boot.

One thing can be said, though, Canadians prove to be the best and most courteous drivers, not to mention all around individuals. They were more than willing to offer a hand to the Californian's who (sometimes) didn't have a clue at where they were going. When we first got past the border into British Columbia, Nick and I couldn't believe just how majestic (yes, majestic) the area was.

We made it past Prince George, through a rural land that consisted of abandoned log cabins, massive rivers, lots of green, and came to a road block just up past Dease Lake.

Now, Dease Lake has a population of about 400 (probably less, though), a gas station, cafe, and a highly priced, expired-goods grocery store. There was a fire that apparently had crossed the road near the border, and no one was allowed to drive through. So we were stuck in Dease Lake.

We found a campground nearby run by an old man named Chuck. Our site was situated right on the edge of the lake, and Nick found some Moose droppings that he wanted to use as a fire-starter. I told him no.

The next morning, I found out that they were letting people through the fire zone escorted by a pilot car. We drove up to a second road block, where we waited for about half an hour when the pilot car returned, and led a caravan of RV's, minivans, trucks, and a Versa named Roller Skate through the scorched lands and onto the Cassiar-Alaska Highway junction. Once there, the roads were terrible and the sun never went down. So it began.


Our next stop was Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. We got in around 8pm, went to dinner (we split this Elk dish and fries that were to die for), and crawled into bed (thank you Canada's Best Value Inn). It's been dreadfully hard to fall asleep (we probably wouldn't sleep at all if it wasn't for exhaustion), simply because the sun keeps you awake.

Two hours before reaching the border, the road became not a road, but rather, a nightmare full of large washboard gravel sections, uneven pavement, and potholes. After our moods drastically changed in those two hours, we made it to Fairbanks. The mosquitoes were literally swarming. While we were there, we spent a whole day doing laundry, relaxing, watching The Mummy, eating KFC, and going to the hospital. Welcome to Alaska.
Today, the morning greeted us with a crispness in the air, as we crawled out of our 8x10 canvas tent at the Mountain Morning Hostel near the Denali National Park.

We saw some moose last night with little mooses, and are hoping to feed some grizzlies today (Nick's idea). We're trying to stay at places with free WiFi, so we can update more often (oops) - but tomorrow we're heading to Anchorage, and we're pretty excited to finally get to the coast.

Cheers,
Nick & Court

This Train is Bound for Glory, This Train.

Washington is a beautiful, beautiful state. I couldn't believe how unbelievably scenic the entire drive was - you're surrounded by rich, diverse, thick forests that travel for miles beyond the hills that the roads find their way through. Granted, it did rain on us a bit, but that's to be expected - after all, no place can really be that green without a large amount of precipitation.

The best part about it, though, was that we were able to make a couple stops and see a few familiar faces.

On our way to visit with family, we drove up to Mt. St. Helen's - a ginormous volcano that, shaken by a 5.1 earthquake nearby, erupted back in 1980, devastating 150 square miles of forest. It was freezing once we finally made it to the look-out point, snow had blanketed the peaks and it was strange to think it was probably sunny and near the 70's back home. The view was incredible (we'll put up pictures later). It would've cost us $8/person to get into the little observatory, but we agreed we'd save the money for a t-shirt with a 5-point elk on it and a penny from one of those penny-stamping machines for a memento. We're very wise with our money.

After the two hour long trip to the national monument, we got to spend some time with a handful of relatives. It's amazing the feeling when surrounded by people you love, and, quite frankly, I don't have the words to describe it other than this sense warmth and security. And I couldn't be happier that Nick is with me, because, well, as far as I'm concerned, he's a part of this family too.

We got as far as Bellingham last night, and now we're going to go across the border (my first time!) and get to William's Lake by this evening. We don't really need to rush, especially since the sun doesn't go down until well after 9pm (which is weird). We'll be camping in this remote area that Nick found where we'll be able to get some hiking in, too. The camera is out in the car, or else we'd have a lot of pictures to put on here as well, but I'm sure they'll all come in one gigantic post sometime sooner than later (hopefully).

Onto the next stop (good thing the passenger seat is able to recline now)!

Starbuck's Doesn't Open Until 8am on Sundays.

I can't believe we're in Portland already.

Needless to say, at around hour 8 of being in a car, you start to lose your mind, and you begin saying things like, "It's a birdpecker!" or "Don't touch my head." And after about hour 10 of listening to Harry Potter, Louis L'Amour and Star Wars on CD, all that your mind can really take is smooth jazz (it's a life saver, really).

We made it to the city, wherein which Nick and I decided to stay in a hotel so he could finish submitting his grades. We ended up going out to dinner (at 8 o'clock at night) to a place called Henry's Tavern; The receptionist at the hotel over-arduously recommended the joint after we noted our preference for a local eatery. Probably due to the fact that we both were exhausted (since we only got 4 hours of sleep the night prior), the food couldn't come soon enough in the socialite-y locale - but when it did, the gorgonzola fries tasted like joy in a calorie-laden concoction.

It's still hard to believe that we're headed to Alaska. I had asked Nick if the concept was somewhat bizarre that we're in Oregon - and tomorrow - Washington. Sometimes it's hard to see out your backdoor, or, at least, out from your comfortable little bungalow 800 miles away. He returned by noting it's odd in a sense that he doesn't know what to expect once we get there. I agreed, but then again, I've seen plenty of episodes of Deadliest Catch and Sarah Palin's Alaska, and I'm sure those are completely accurate in their representation of the state.

Here's to tomorrow, one day closer to the unknown.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3.

For as long as I can remember I've always wanted to go to Alaska.

I'm not quite sure when this exact notion came into existence, but I'm pretty positive it was between my conscious-ability-to-put-stories-into-contextual-real-life and the age of 12. And, as a lot of dreams do, it began with my dad.

I grew up hearing anecdotes above my head about the last frontier, 36' trollers, freezing days and sleepless nights in the back of an old pickup. He'd tell tales of grizzly encounters, people encounters, mother nature encounters - and as the years went by I couldn't help but imagine myself in such a place. It doesn't hurt, either, that my less-than-impressive dress and uncontrollable hair would probably fit in rather perfectly as well (or so I've been told*).

I'm rather unaware as to what exactly I'm getting myself into, but I'm dragging my best friend and partner (literally dragging**) along with me for the month of June.

Like on our three day round-trip excursion to Arizona and the Grand Canyon, we figured that if we could last roughly 18 hours in a car together, we could probably make it through anything. I laugh just thinking about it - the mere thought of now being restricted to a small vehicle for 7 days of 10 hour driving is surely going to be packed full of peace, love and joy - and I can't wait.

I don't know why I've felt so compelled to travel up north, let alone what's awaiting us. But there's something completely uninhibited - completely freeing about the idea of Alaska.

It's not just the concept of the final frontier, or roughing it, or even the chance at a potential Sarah Palin run-in. I think I've just been searching - searching for a place, well, to finally fit in. And granted, it'll only be a month, but for that one month I'll be with the man I love in a place I've always dreamed of living.

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Here's to the future and the month of June, it's a good thing God's in control,

Court

* Several times.
** Note sarcasm.