We are in Dawson Creek this afternoon. On July 10, we began our journey up the Alaskan Highway. We certainly didn't know what to expect... we were just ready for an adventure. Nine weeks and 10,083 miles later, we can certainly say that we found one!
Our emotions fluctuate from remorse that it is over... to elation that we did it... to gratitude for the adventure that we have shared. It feels more bittersweet than I can possibly express... certainly more so than either David or I expected.
Quite honestly, we are surprised to be here. Between our time running short, R-2 needing maintenance, plus a promised visit to our friends at Kamparoo to get Ozzie checked out, we decided to forego traveling the Cassier Highway... for this trip. (After all, we will need to travel at least a little new territory on our next trip up here!)
It felt right to come back down the Alaskan Highway again. We stopped at some familiar places along the road but were amazed at how different it all looked. Many of the once-bustling lodges and tourist attractions are now closed. Most of the seasonal workers have gone home. The bright yellow fields of canola have been harvested. At every turn, trees sport their autumn colors. The wind has a definite chill. As the season has changed from summer to fall, we, too feel changed by our own harvest of experiences.
We looked at our MilePost yesterday and marked all the highways that we have traveled. We have been up the Haul Road, Dempster, and Alaskan Highways from stem to stern. We have traveled Alaska from Seward to Homer to Port Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula, from Valdez to Fairbanks, from Skagway to Prudhoe Bay, from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park to Denali, and dozens of roads in between. We have traveled the length of the Yukon and ventured into the Northwest Territory. What a trip!
Our camp looks like a small tent city this afternoon. Our sleeping bags, mattress, and bedding hang on makeshift clotheslines and sapling trees. With all the rain we have encountered, everything feels a bit damp and in need of a good airing. Tomorrow we're off to Wetaskiwin for Ozzie's maintenance, then back to Edmonton for a little work on R-2.
After that? Long ago we learned that the end of one phase of any endeavor merely marks the beginning of another. We have three or four weeks of travel left before arriving home. Let the new journey begin!
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