N 61°13′01″
W 149°53′15"
The expedition is over, but the adventure is about to begin. While a very long and expensive journey, it all became worth it once we entered Alaska yesterday afternoon. Immense snow capped mountains in the far distance creating a massive and seemingly impenetrable wall of rock, snow and ice. Cruising down Alaska Highway 1 was amazing about 90 miles west of Anchorage. We passed by three glaciers, and those being the frist glaciers I have ever seen, they were truly break taking. Alaska is utterly unbelievable, and the drive out to the Kenai Peninsula, I heard was even better with mountains and jagged peaks to the east and the Pacific to the west.
Now that I am half way across the world, I am going try to reinvent myself...
"Driving west out of Atlanta, he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience. To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, mast of his own destiny."
-Into the Wild
Long story short, I am going to try to go by a new first name. Only a handful of people knew that I never liked the name Kyle. I just simply do not think it fits me, so I am going to see if this new name (which I won't reveal yet) fits me better.
N 58°48'09"
W 122°43'10"
Hopes were high this morning which was mostly due to the fact that today, we knew we would be seeing some significantly better scenery. Approaching the Canadian Rockies from the Alaska Highway is comparable to driving through scenic parts of the Appalachians. A build up of slow rolling boreal forest eventually transforms into immature mountains teaming with moose, black bears, and gray wolves. All of which, we saw today. We have even higher hopes for tomorrow when the landscape is truly worth writing home about.
When I have more time... probably in Anchorage. I will write a little more and post pictures, but for now, I need to catch some Z's. Sunrise is at 5:20am.
N 53°31'01"
W 113°30'20"
Only so many words can sum up the 12.5 hour journey today. Saskatchewan...meh. Mostly flat farm that is made more depression by the almost constant light drizzle looming over south central Canada. But Alberta is sooo nice. Rolling prairie fields as far as the eye can see which happens to be a good 40km or so. There is even Bison up here, and we saw a red fox cross the highway this morning in Manitoba... That pretty much sums up wildlife view in Canada, unless you count the Canadian Geese which here I guess are just Geese.
We are staying at another Hostel International in Edmonton. I mean you can't beat $29 a night room that is not the Bates Motel with wireless internet. We also found out that there is another one of these in Anchorage, so I figure we will crash there the last night of the expedition to enjoy a bed for one last time over the summer.
Beginning tomorrow, things start to get really interesting. Just past Grand Prairie, Alberta, the scenery starts to transform into the majestic Canadian Rockies. We are staying at a camp ground just outside of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, and this campsite has hot springs. If we are lucky, we will have some good weather. I just hope for a clean sky. In that kind of seclusion, I bet you can see the Milky Way easy.
N 49°53'36"W97°08'57"Canada is like a cross between America and Europe. The landscape and structure of the city is more American, but the feel of the city is more European. Arrived in Winnipeg just after 6pm central time. We are staying at a Hostile International. It is actually a really cool place. Cheap rooms, wireless internet, and it is downtown. We has a couple of pints down at a local Irish Pub called King's Beard and stuck around to check out the band playing on a Sunday night. Met a really interesting bartender named Francis. It was his birthday, today. 60 years young with the feistiness of an Irishman. Interesting character. So far day 2 of the expedition has been the most interesting. We are staying in another one of these in Edmonton tomorrow, so I might have more to write about. For now, I need get some sleep.
N 34°03'29''
W 84°27'44''
On the eve of departure, I take notice of the surroundings that I have come to call home in a much different light. In a matter of a few hours, I will be leaving all of this behind. The street is lined with cars up and down the neighborhood. It is graduation for the high school classes of 2009. That was almost me, at least for college. I was well on my way to major in some business or agribusiness related major, and in that past life, I would now be emerging in the world of a crappy job market... I feel as if following my heart was the right choice in more than one way.
Compass says West. That is where we are heading.
