24 Sept 2016 – 15 Jan 2017 – Goodbye Pearl, two Canadian winter newbies & hello Mr Jangles

The thought of halting our trip was completely untenable. Coming up to three years in maintaining a steady momentum, why would we stop now? Yet staying a few nights over late summer at Nevil and Michelle’s place merged rapidly into a fortnight, which fused at equal speed into a few weeks, that somehow extended into […]

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7-14 Aug 2016 – Still drunk on Juneau: Alaska’s wilderness capital

Where the city ends, Juneau Icefield begins—and keeps going and going. Undoubtedly, its centerpiece is Mendenhall Glacier. Like just about everything else in Southeast Alaska, it sits inside Tongass National Forest. Incredibly, a temperate rainforest no less, which in parts endures more than 16 feet of annual rainfall. No surprise that a fine drizzle falling on […]

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24 Jun-31 Jul 2016 – Exploring Alaska’s Inside Passage…

Regrouping with the Fishhook Fatties in Wasilla from coming down the Dalton, we jumped at joining them in celebrating Jade Laughlin’s birthday. Over a succulent hog roast (formerly known as Leona, hand reared by one of the younger Fishhook Fatties), and locally brewed beer: a refreshing Rhubarb Hefeweizen and Salted Caramel Red blend, which had […]

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19-23 Jun 2016 – Where there’s pinnacle pleasure, there’s Prudhoe Bay!

After perhaps the liveliest non-rallies I’ve experienced—Dust to Dawson—the road to Thompson’s Eagle’s Claw Campground in Tok beat backward under us. I rose the following morning muddy-eyed having burnt the candle down to a nub. Stepping out of Tok and leaving behind the fairytale of trees whose brindled bark reminded me of muscular animals overgrown […]

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20 May-4 Jun 2016 – When curiosity meets bravado with beastly bad luck and awesome sauce!

Just up the road from Anchorage to Wasilla, located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, southcentral part of the state, saw us become furiously fast friends with Ian Goodwin and his wonderful wife Kristina. Kind and curious as much as brisk and efficient, Kristina radiated a lightness and joy more than anything else. […]

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20 Apr-19 May 2016 – “Come on Lisa—better get going while we only have 20 hours of daylight left.”

Having reached the outskirts of Portland at a pretty spot in Oregon by the name Lake Oswego, we dropped into Radioman’s place, a moto-friend’s house full of ‘Life Improvement Specialists’: guys that thrived on selling Harleys for a living. Their warm hospitality and sharing in the complementary ground of two wheels left us refreshed as […]

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6-19 Apr 2016 – Gigantic lumps of granite, Ewok forests and how to lose ‘friends’ and alienate officialdom

With a fraction over four million visitors present year in, year out—what on Earth did we expect when we entered the theme-park hub that for us, was Yosemite National Park? An exquisitely stocked and of course exorbitantly priced supermarket, conjoined with a labyrinth-inspired gift shop alongside heaving restaurants and other amenities of convenience, comprised the initial […]

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