North to the Future (Part 1)

As it turns out, moving to Alaska in the middle of January is not the easiest of tasks. We never would have made it had it not been for all of the amazing people who helped us out along the way. We cannot thank you enough!

After three days (the longest I think anyone has ever stayed in Merced by choice) of madly unpacking our storage unit in Merced, California and repacking our two cars, Kevin and I were ready to head north. The fact that we ever made it out of Merced is entirely due to my parents' amazing help. Driving all 3,222 miles on the AlCan (Alaska-Canada Highway) from Merced to Anchorage was a little more than we were willing to attempt in the winter where temperatures of -40 and below are quite common and preparations to winter camp when you car slides off the road are a necessity.

Our vessel, The M/V Malaspina and its namesake, the Malaspina Glacier, Alaska

So instead we headed north to Bellingham, WA to hop on the Alaska Marine Highway, an amazing ferry system that provides service from Washington to Southeast Alaska (and beyond during the summer). During the summer, these ferries are packed with tourists, RV's, and folks camping on the decks. Our fellow passengers on this voyage were in the same boat (heh heh heh) as we were, wondering what the heck we were all doing, moving to Alaska in January. The best surprise was meeting up with our friends Steve and Anne while waiting in line to board. They were returning to Anchorage after spending the fall in New Hampshire and I am not sure if we would have made it to Anchorage without them!

So long to the continental US. Hello to always paying higher shipping rates.

From the AMH Site

Our first day of travel had beautiful weather. Then it started to rain/snow which made hanging out on deck a little more difficult, particularly as they kept warning us to hold on so as not slip overboard. We pulled into Ketchikan, Alaska, our first stop, early on the second morning where the snow/rain/slush had pretty much brought the town to a halt. Kevin and I, eager to get off the boat during our three hour layover, pulled on our Xtra-Tufs and waded around in the slush on our way to scenic downtown. It looks a little different without four cruise ships docked there. Things got a bit more rowdy on board when roughly 50 highschoolers boarded in Ketchikan for an overnight trip home from a speech and debate meet and/or basketball game. Makes the bus ride to Farmington seem kind of dull.

The rest of our journey north was occupied by weaving a climbing rope rug, lots of reading, and creative cooking using a hot pot and a microwave. The clouds finally lifted a bit as we approached the Lynn Canal, north of Juneau, on our way to Haines.

I was particularly fascinated by this lighthouse that seemed to be perched in the middle of nowhere.

Looking south down the Lynn Canal.

Our trusty boat docked in Haines

Part 2 to follow.

PS- "North to the Future" is Alaska's State motto... like I could make that up.

The View from Your Window

Kevin has gotten me hooked on the View from Your Window contest hosted by The Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan every week. This week's contest can be found here.

Every Saturday he posts a new picture and people have until Tuesday to guess. He reveals the answer at noon. I have never sent in an answer, but I guess that I should as I think I may have won this one. I knew it was Thailand immediately although I was instantly reminded of the fact that we left coastal Thailand just days before the devastating earthquake and tsunami in that region in 2004. Sobering thoughts to be sure.

Being obsessed with sunsets, as any good New Mexican is, I was inspired this evening to share this view from my window. Looking west, out of our kitchen window, you can see our lovely, snow covered backyard, storage shed, and an incredible sunset beyond. I am such a sucker for a great sunset.

Lest you think we are living in a dark and frozen wasteland though, know that it has been sunny and absolutely gorgeous here for the past two weeks. The sun rose this morning at 8:19 am and set this evening at 8:01 pm. We are rapidly headed to the equinox and our full twelve hours of daylight. I guess it still is a bit chilly, though, depending on whose standards you are going by. It was a balmy 11 degrees this morning as I went to work (morning temperatures recently have been in the low single digits) and 33 degrees (Realfeel 35 !!) on my way home. Heatwave!! Frankly, I think we would all be pretty excited to get some more snow soon so we can ski on something other than ice. As much as we might want to think so, winter is not over quite yet...

Finally, just so you know, John Baker just won the Iditarod this morning in record time. And yes, up here, that is a really big deal.

Two in the Far North

In Margaret Murie’s classic story, Two in the Far North, she begins her journey to Alaska on a steamship, traveling north from Seattle to Skagway. Once in Skagway, she and her mother transfer to a train to cross the imposing coastal mountains, finally, taking a boat down river from Whitehorse to her new home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Along the way, she describes her passion for the adventure of setting out to a new and wild place and her growing love of the landscape that she would ultimately make her home for many years and the preservation of which would be her life’s work.

Many years later, we follow a very similar route as we set off on a journey, perhaps not quite equal to hers in adventure (no dog sleds sadly), but to seek out new adventures and lives in the far north. While almost 100 years separated our two journeys, our route was not that much different from that of Mrs. Murie. With excitement and trepidation, we boarded the Alaska Marine Highway in mid-January in Bellingham, Washington, and sailed north through the inside passage. Crossing the the coastal mountains by car, we drove through the interior, past the same landscape Mrs. Murie saw on her first trip north, and soon arrived in Anchorage, our new home.

As part of this move, we are now almost a continent away from many of the friends and family we love, many of whom have never been to Alaska and have asked a million questions about what our lives will be like here. I promised that I would keep up my defunct blog to help share pictures and stories of our adventures, a promise that I have not kept so far in our first two months here. I will blame it on moving. But, better late than never I guess! This will hopefully be the first of many blog posts for folks Outside, providing a glimpse into our world here in Anchorage. So much has already changed since we first arrived in January, but hopefully I can keep things up to date from here on out!