And Outside We Went: Part 2

I’d love to say that we are purposely staggering the blog posts to give our readers an appropriate amount of time to digest each part of our insane North American road trip. However, the truth is we've been running ragged from one job interview to the next in search of the right fit for us as we look to settle down more permanent roots here in PA. If you want to know how it’s going I can sum it up in one word: BUSY! I won’t bother giving details, one of us will just let you know where we'll be whenever it is that we figure all that out.

Now, onto more pressing issues, the much anticipated second leg of our journey. When we left you last, we were just reentering the good old continental U.S. of A. It was great to be back. Cheaper gas, no more fake money that may or may not smell like maple syrup, and we were done with the God awful metric system. Ahead of us was the promise of a new National Park, a familiar city, and the wide open spaces that define Montana.

Our National Parks tour began with a chilly 29 degree entrance to Glacier National Park. We knew we only had limited time in the park as we drove along the 10 mile long Lake MacDonald towards Avalanche Creek. We set out on a 4 mile hike to Avalanche Lake, but first came across a sweet looking gorge that was carved and smoothed by the glacially fed waters that flow through it.

The shaped rocks of Avalanche Gorge

After taking pictures from every possible angle, we made our way through the spruce, cedar, and cottonwood lined trail. Avalanche Lake is fed by the Sperry Glacier runoff. Interestingly enough, you can’t actually see the Sperry Glacier because it is positioned below a ridge on the far side of the lake. In this snow covered natural amphitheater you are surrounded by rock faces which cause the sound of your voice to reverberate seemingly without end. Despite it being only November 1st, this scene was more representative of Winter than Fall. 

I promise, Sperry Glacier is out there

While we wish we had more time to spend at Glacier, we were excited for the next stop, Missoula, MT. For those of you that follow our adventures, you should recall that we stopped in Missoula on our way to Washington. We absolutely love this city. It is not overwhelming like most cities, has great places to hang out, and friendly people everywhere you go. As we thought back on our two years of travelling, it was a shame we never got a position in or around Missoula because that would have been an awesome experience. We didn't dwell on what could have been though. There wasn't enough time. Before we knew it, we had to move on yet again.

Our goal for Day 8 was to take the scenic route from Missoula to Salt Lake City, UT. Unfortunately, we made a wrong turn going through Idaho and took the VERY scenic route. While we got to our destination safely, it was not without a little stress. Thankfully the stress was relieved by the scenery of the Salmon River, lava fields, and snow-capped mountain peaks.

Diamond Peak riding above the clouds

It was kind of crazy driving into Salt Lake City because they have this weird toll system. It looks like you have to have Utah's version of EZ Pass to be on the highways, but from the little bit we understood it seemed that you could bypass the tolls by using the carpool lane. It's an odd system, but we made it safely and didn't have to pay any tolls. I'm still waiting for a series of tickets to come in the mail, but so far I'm in the clear.

The beehive is a symbol of industry that is
found everywhere, including road signs.

In Salt Lake City we were visiting Amanda's childhood friends Derek and James Butcher. She knows them from her years vacationing at Quimby Country in Vermont. Derek lives in the city while James flew in from Colorado just to see Amanda. Amanda and her friends caught up, we had dinner, went bowling, and then had a second dinner. Bowling was clearly the highlight. James LOVES bowling. It is pretty much assumed that anytime James visits Salt Lake City he is going bowling. He did win 3 out of 4 games, but I take pride in the fact that I was the only one to knock him off the top of the standings, even if only once. Overall, it was a fun and food filled night on the town.

What a good looking bowling crew!

The thing that surprised us the most about Salt Lake City was the weather. When we arrived on Saturday, November 2 it was 67 degrees and I was wearing shorts. When we awoke on Sunday to leave, it was frigidly cold and absolutely dumping snow. That made our morning drive painfully slow, but we made it through the snowstorm unscathed and into the red rock wonderland that is southern Utah.

What the heck man?!?

Ahhhh....that's more like it.

Southern Utah was the part of the road trip I was most excited for when we set out 9 days prior. There are 5 National Parks, world class hiking trails, extreme landscapes, and 5 NATIONAL PARKS!!! We set up shop in Moab, UT for 3 days and 2 nights while we explored Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. As its name would imply, Arches National Park is known for large sandstone structures which have been carved by wind and rain into the arches seen below.

One of over 2,000 natural arches in the park

It’s a long story to describe how an arch is formed, but I’m going to tell you anyway. Millions of years ago the area that is now southern Utah, was an inland sea. This sea formed and evaporated at least 29 times, leaving behind large deposits of salt each time it went away. This super thick layer of salt was then covered by sand and other erosive particles. This layer of sand became thousands of feet thick and eventually the weight from the top layers of sand turned the lower levels into rock. This rock remained stable until the pressure from its immense weight caused the underlying salt to liquefy. When the now mobile salt reached the Moab Fault, it bulged upwards fracturing the sandstone above. Over time, weak spots around the cracked sandstone were eaten away by wind and rain, resulting in the formations you see today.  Eventually these rock formations will erode away, so enjoy them while you can!

During our second day at Arches, we went on a ranger guided tour of the Fiery Furnace. This is a labyrinth that travels through fins of sandstone. It is home to creatures such as mountains lions, mule deer, and kangaroo rats, as well as vegetation like Utah junipers, rabbit brush, Mormon tea, and pinyon pines.

More fun facts:

• Kangaroo rats never drink water during their lives, even in captivity. They conserve enough water from the food they eat to live and excrete only a solid uric acid crystal as needed.
• Utah Juniper berries are used to flavor gin
• Mormon tea is one of a family of plants from which the drug Ephedra can be harvested

Working hard to get through the furnace

Anyway, back to the action. The Fiery Furnace tour forces us to climb over, under, around, and through the surrounding sandstone. It was a blast, but I’m thankful we had a ranger with us because it would have been very easy to get lost or turned around. We made it out safely and quickly hiked over to Landscape Arch, the largest known arch in the world with a span of 306'.

Save the best for last, right?

While Canyonlands is only about a 45 minute drive from Arches, it is a very different park. We chose to explore the area called Island in the Sky. It is at a significantly higher elevation and is filled with an infinite series of canyons, mesas, and buttes. We hiked our hearts out here completing 5 different trails, each with unique features to behold. We had scenic overlooks, slick rock scrambling, craters of unknown origins, an arch, and even an ancient Puebloan granary. We were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, but experienced about as much of the Island in the Sky at Canyonlands as is humanly possible.

Amanda enjoying one of the best views in the park

Thousands of years ago grain was stored here.
Now Charlie trespasses here.   

We were reluctant to leave Moab since we had so much fun here, so we decided to do one more side trip. We did a little off-roading in our filled to the brim Ford Escape so we could check out a hot bed of dinosaur fossils which have been left exposed for public viewing. I give all the credit in the world to the paleontologists who discover these things. How they find them is beyond me. Even though the signs at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail specifically tell you where to look, I still couldn't find some of what they were describing.  I can’t even imagine trying to find them on my own. The ones that were readily viewable were really interesting though since neither of us had ever seen a natural fossil up close and personal. It was well worth whatever damage was done to our car’s suspension.

A Sauropod vertebrae: one of the fossils I could actually find

As we headed west across Utah, we made sure to pass through Capitol Reef National Park. This was the quickest National Park visit we have ever made, but still a worthwhile detour. Aside from the always impressive rock formations southern Utah is known for, Capitol Reef offers roadside views of ancient petroglyphs. The Fremont people who lived in this area about 2,000 years ago etched images of people and animals into the rock walls which have been well preserved and are easily visible today.

Art class from over 2,000 years ago. 

With the sun setting and temperature dropping into the teens, we made a beeline for Bryce, UT. Following a good night’s sleep, we were ready to attack Bryce Canyon National Park. Despite its name, Bryce Canyon isn't actually a canyon. It’s a series of natural amphitheaters that have combined to form a beautiful and ever evolving chasm. The layers of sedimentary rock have been worn away into delicate looking hoodoos and spires which rise from the walls and floor of this immense landscape.

A little snow, a lot of beauty

While driving along the main road through the park, each viewpoint is just as breathtaking as the last. The best part though was following the Navajo and Queen's Garden Trails deep into the canyon. It gave us such a different perspective than the overlooks and allows you to appreciate how impressive this place truly is.

Among the hoodoos

We didn't initially know what to expect from Bryce Canyon. We honestly didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but it ended up being one of the most memorable stops along our whole road trip. I would love to go back there and explore further. Plus, going to Bryce gives you the chance to repeatedly use the word "hoodoo". I love saying that word. HOODOO!

Having left the hoodoos behind, we made our final stop in Utah, 2 days at Zion National Park. Zion is most known for the beautiful valley that was carved out by the Virgin River. Photographers from all over the world set up shop throughout the park to capture the stunning sunsets that illuminate the valley walls. Aside from the picturesque scenery, this park is home to two of the most well-known hikes in the United States, Angel's Landing and The Narrows.

First we tackled Angel's Landing. This is a 1,488 foot rock outcrop whose summit provides unobstructed panoramic views of the Zion Valley. This is a strenuous, though well-traveled climb which includes rocky terrain and series of steep switchbacks. One such section is Walter's Wiggles which has 21 consecutive switchbacks that ascend over 800' vertical feet (more than half of the overall elevation gain) in a very short period of time.

After this climb we came to what we thought was Angel's Landing. We were certainly tired enough to think it should be the end of the trail. It turns out we were just at Scout Lookout and still had a half mile more to go. A very treacherous half mile. The last part of the trail follows a narrow path with sheer drops on either side. There are chains to hold onto for balance, but in reality, those chains just give you a false sense of security. Since 2004, 6 people have fallen off the cliffs and plummeted to their deaths. A very comforting sign informs you of this before you set off.

Seeing this makes you feel
all warm and fuzzy inside

Yep, a half mile onto that.
For the record, a horrible idea.

We carefully navigated the ridiculously narrow trail all while wondering, "Who thought this was a good idea?" When we finally reached Angel's Landing though, we understood why people risk their lives for this vantage point. It was absolutely spectacular, especially with the clear blue sky as a backdrop and sunshine lighting up the valley below.

Zion Valley on a perfect day

We ate lunch, while making sure the bold ground squirrels who reside here didn't steal our food, before we made our way back down. The hard part is watching your step while not looking down so much that you see just how far you would fall should you slip.

Safely back on the ground, we made our way towards the Narrows. First, you follow a well maintained trail along the banks of the Virgin River. The Fall colors were still prominent on the trees lining the river and the water was rushing past us in areas of whitewater rapids. Normally, once you reach the end of this trail, you would continue on hiking through the river itself. This path takes you between canyon walls that extend over 2,000' above you while wading through knee to chest deep water. Unfortunately, the water was so cold that only those fitted with dry suits were able to continue on. Since we did not have the proper gear, we could only take in the scenery before heading back. I want to come back to Zion someday just for the chance to complete this unique excursion.

I relished the two nights of camping at Zion. Due to unexpectedly cold temperatures in the previous National Parks, we were unable to camp as much as I would have liked. However, I understood that sacrificing camping experiences was a better option than turning Amanda into a 5'2" long popsicle. With the milder temperatures at Zion, we could again enjoy a roaring campfire, brisk fresh air, and sleeping under the stars.

The time passed all too quick and just like that we were off once again. On day 14 we were leaving Utah behind us as we headed for the most visited National Park, Grand Canyon. However, I think I've taken up enough of your time for now. Thank you for humoring me as I rambled on about how amazing Montana and Utah were. We'll let this leg of the journey sink in before starting the next. Who knows, maybe we'll have jobs locked down when we get to Part 3! Or maybe not. You should know by now how this process goes. 

And Outside We Went: Part 1

When we last left you it was the end of October and we were prepping for our bittersweet exodus from Alaska.  A month has come and gone since that post and we have driven 8,210 miles through 18 states and 3 provinces, spent 27 consecutive days together in one jam packed Ford Escape, visited friends and family in 5 different cities, enjoyed 9 new (to us) National Parks, and learned a ton about the geology and history of our country.  In the end we are back in PA where our adventure began 22 months ago.  Looking back it is hard to believe how much we've experienced in just 22 months, while it is also difficult to comprehend that we've sustained this nomadic lifestyle for nearly 2 years.  But before I get too philosophical we've got a massive adventure to share with you! 

I’m pretty sure this 27 day escapade will be the most challenging experience we've had to write about due to the sheer number of places we visited and adventures that were had within such a compact amount of time.  With that said I have no idea where to start, but I guess I have to start somewhere…

How about we start with our last week in Homer?  It was busy and emotional as we packed our belongings, treated our last patients, reserved lodging in Canada, and said our goodbyes to the Homerites that helped make our time in Alaska truly memorable.  We cannot say thank you enough to those at Homer PT and Darcy, our amazing roommate and partner in crime.  We miss you all already. 

The healing crew at Homer Physical Therapy

Romo and Lelo kept us all under control

Clearly we couldn't leave Alaska without spending the last hours we had with the Spitler and Marshall families.  These are the friends who first welcomed us and provided a home base upon our arrival to Alaska in the spring.  To allow one last visit in Soldotna we turned in our Homer house keys and started our mega North American road trip on Friday, October 25^th…first stop just 75 miles away! 

We miss you!!

After one last evening of quality time we had to say “see you later” first thing Saturday morning.  As we drove away from Soldotna it started to really sink in that our Alaskan adventure was over.  Luckily we were ending one adventure while simultaneously entering a new one.  One that you hear people talk about, but very few people take on (voluntarily that is!) – a month long road trip to see and learn as much as possible about our large and diverse country.  We were psyched and ready for this voyage!   The only thing between us and further exploration of the U.S.A. was that huge mass of land we call Canada.  Canada, oh Canada…why must you be so large??

Winter in the north is totally unpredictable, especially at higher elevations.  We were told by many Alaskans that we better prepare for the worst, because driving the Alcan (Alaska-Canada Highway) after the middle of October can get pretty dangerous due to wintery conditions (blizzards, ice, etc), poor road conditions, wild animals, and fading daylight.  Thus, we prepared…

What you don't see are a 2 gallon gas can, tire chains, lots of clothing,
lots of food, many maps, and a first aid kit.
In case things got really bad we also had our wireless printer and my violin.

We planned for the first leg of the trip to be high on mileage, low on adventure.  The goal was to safely, but quickly, make our way out of Alaska and through Canada before winter could catch up with us.

So with day 1 of 27 under our belt we headed north from Soldotna to Tok, AK.  This day we covered 463 miles of highway that allowed beautiful scenery of the Kenai, Chugach, Alaska, Wrangell, and St. Elias mountain ranges, as well as the turquoise waters of the Kenai River, Turnagain Arm, and the freaking huge Matanuska glacier that makes you ask yourself, “why am I leaving this beautiful place!?”  There was no time for sulking though because we hadn’t even entered the country that divides Alaska from the lower 48.  

Simple, but beautiful.

After a quick layover in Tok, Alaska we expected day 3 to start out with a quick 90 mile drive to the border of Alaska and Canada, but the weather turned wintry and we were greeted by snow covered roads that made for a long day of driving as we headed toward Whitehorse, which is the Yukon’s capital city.

Farewell Alaska :-(

Frigid temps, slow driving.

Slowly, but surely we continued into Canada.  Our total mileage wasn’t too impressive at 386 miles, but it took close to 9 hours to negotiate the snow covered roads.  Thankfully we safely pulled into Whitehorse just before closing time at Yukon Brewing Company.  We took advantage of this excellent timing and filled our growler with some delicious Lead Dog Ale.  We ate a quick and classy dinner at McDonalds, watched a Netflix movie, The Sessions at the hotel, and got a good night of sleep in preparation for another day of driving.

401 miles of clear driving greeted us the following day, as did some wild life!  This was a nice change of pace as we weaved our way between the border of the Yukon and British Columbia.  We worked our way southeast toward Liard Hot Springs.  Multiple people had encouraged us to make a stop here and enjoy the natural hot springs so we did as we were told.  This place did not disappoint and was seriously healing.  I kid you not, an hour of soaking made some pretty painful neck and upper back pains disappear.  So if you refuse to get physical therapy for physical impairments, I highly recommend Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park in northern British Columbia…it is worth the trip! 

Wild bison everywhere!

The one and only Liard Hot Springs

For kicks we decided to try our hand at some cold weather camping after our delightful dip in the 107-125 degree Fahrenheit hot spring.  The outside temperature was dropping and forecasted to be in the 20’s.  We set up shop, turned on the Pocket Rocket stove to boil some water, and then chowed down on a delicious meal of dehydrated chicken teriyaki.  We didn’t have fire wood, but conveniently had a filled growler and Fig Newtons that kept us warm while we recapped the previous days and game planned for the days to come.  We slept like babies, but I must admit that I’m not very hardcore.  I had about 10 layers on and slept in a 15 degree sleeping bag, within a 0 degree sleeping bag.  This did result in some perspiration.  At least I wasn’t cold!  Charlie managed with toe warmers, fleece lined pants, and a hoodie…he’s much tougher than I.

Needless to say, we were the only people tent camping.

Healed and well rested we continued driving 552 miles southeast the next day.  The excitement of day 5 included: (1) a full day of new roads as we had not driven on this section of the ALCAN when heading to Alaska in May and (2) entering a new province – Alberta.  A bonus for the day was driving through Dawson Creek, British Columbia where the ALCAN begins.  Constructing the Alaska-Canadian Highway was a huge undertaking with the purpose of connecting Alaska to the contiguous United States.  Construction occurred during WWII and finished in 1942, but was not open to the public until 1948.  This highway is infamous for being a challenging, bumpy drive; however, its 1,387 miles are now 100% paved.  Thank goodness for that!

There you have it!

Our destination on day 5 was Grande Prairie, Alberta.  The driving was challenging at times with extreme inclines and sketchy road conditions as we drove through the Canadian Rockies.  We slowly worked our way up to Summit Pass, which is the highest point along the Alaskan Highway at 4,250 feet.  You might not think that sounds too crazy, however our fully loaded, 4 cylinder vehicle can only crawl up hills and thus we were frequently passed by big rigs.  A moose could have out run our speed of 30 mph.  At least we had good wildlife viewing this day including caribou, elk, fox, and a mother moose with a calf.  This all came together as our longest day in the car thus far, around 11 hours.  We were very ready for our arrival in Grande Prairie.  We arrived in the dark greeted by an extensive city of lights as we entered the largest metropolis (population 55,000) we’d seen since leaving AK.  Strangely our GPS guided us to turn onto a dirt road which almost put me over the edge as we seemed so close to our hotel.  Charlie remained cool, calm, and collected and rode out the 2 miles of dirt road that just as strangely lead us to an updated Days Inn Hotel just off a main road.  Dinner and a drink at Mr. Mike’s Steak House were well-deserved after a long day of driving.    

A magnificent sunset ended a long day of driving.

Day 6 led us to our last stop in Canada.  We had 645 miles to cover until reaching a small ski town called Fernie in British Columbia.  First we had to get up and moving which was a challenge since we’d changed time zones twice in 2 days.  We did pull ourselves together though and were on the road by 7:15 am leaving Grande Prairie before the sun had a chance to rise.  This day of driving was full of ups and downs.  We were finally traveling on smooth, fairly flat highways with a speed limit of 65-75 mph; however, we were driving through large cities including Edmonton (the capital of Alberta) and Calgary which unfortunately meant we had to deal with traffic.  At this stage in our trip we were not in the mood for traffic.  We were so close to the second, outdoor adventure stage of our road trip that we needed donuts to help cope with the stress of city traffic.  Just as I thought we were on the home stretch of the drive the GPS decided to take us on another off road adventure.  This time the darn thing took us literally into the middle of nowhere on a pot-hole-filled farm road called Ridge Road 290.  I was driving, but refused to go this ridiculous route.  Therefore Charlie took over and continued driving on Ridge Road 290 for about 15 miles until we finally met back up with the regular road that took us back into British Columbia over the beautiful, but never ending Crowsnest mountain pass.  We then finally worked our way to the quaint town of Fernie, BC.

That's what I think of Ridge Road 290!

Crowsnest Pass crosses the Continental Divide
of the Canadian Rockies.

An unexpected stop in Sparwood, British Columbia.
Charlie NEEDED to stop and check it out.
The Terex Titan is one of the largest dump trucks in the world.
It stands 23' tall, weighs 260 tons, and can haul 350 tons of rock.

The tediousness of driving hours on end, day after day was definitely getting to both Charlie and I because we are people who thrive on and are stimulated by activity.  You can only do so many jumping jacks and switch kicks when changing drivers every 2-3 hours.  Arriving in Fernie felt like we’d overcome a huge obstacle…Canada.  We were now <50 miles from the U.S.A. and able to take a breather from the relentless driving schedule we’d kept for the last 5 days.  That night we both slept hard, allowed ourselves to sleep-in past 8 a.m. the next morning, indulged in a continental breakfast at our hotel, and explored downtown Fernie.  Before leaving Fernie we had to spend our remaining fake, I mean Canadian, money.  Conveniently Fernie had an excellent brewing company that allowed practical purchases of glassware, a t-shirt, and a growler fill (Big Caboose Red Ale)!  We had $9 to spare and used it towards gas, which got us about 2 gallons, if that.  Tip: Don’t go to Canada for cheap gas.    

Just one of our many Canadian memories

With a full growler and smiles on our rested faces we excitedly found ourselves back in the car for a <3 hour drive to Kalispell, Montana.  A successful border crossing was a good omen for phase 2 of our North American road trip. 

Stay tuned for much, much more…