Processing

5/12/23

I’m trying to process the last 4 1/2 months. I haven’t gotten there yet.

I spent my entire day in airports with a tight throat and watery eyes, trying not to cry.

I look out the window at a peculiar light in the dark sky, thinking it might be the northern lights (how cool!) and my mind is flooded with memories. I wish I was still there

That’s not good. I was ready to turn the chapter. I should be excited to see my family- that should be at the forefront of my mind. But now that I’m gone, I yearn to be back.

5/13/23

“Where did you get those pants?! I love them!”

How do I casually tell someone that I bought them in Copenhagen from a man in the hippie community that handmade them from recycled pieces of clothing???

You don’t.

“I got them in Europe! I just got back”

“Oh wow! How long were you gone?”

Of course.

“4 and a half months”

Shocked eyes and dropped jaws.

I sit in the car ride home, and pull out the booklet that Shauna’s mom made for us with all the blogs I wrote. Such an incredibly kind gift. I read the first few blogs and have a giggle at some of the details.

Taking note of one of the guest performers that played Abba…. They ALL played Abba.

The names of the people I felt I’d connected with in the first few weeks. Now I take note of the differences. The people we ended up growing apart from, the names of those we became closer with, or the people whose names weren’t on the list yet. But, if I made the list now they’d be the first ones listed.

I can’t look at all the blog posts yet. I’ve gotta digest it in smaller chunks I think.

5/23/2023

NORTH TO ALASKA!!

I said goodbye to my parents and Charlie and was on my way!

I drove to Salt Lake City from Elko the 17 to meet Auntsis. The 18th we drove to Pasco, WA to stay with Mike and Cindy. Then the nights of the 19-21 we car camped through British Columbia and Yukon into Alaska!

Here are my notes in no particular order:

Dease lake wasn’t what it said in Google maps, so had to keep going, unsure…. No internet. From afar we couldn’t tell what the lake was. Salt water lake? Ice?? Sketch… it ended up being a great camping spot by the water.

The first section of poor road conditions and Lizzo was reassuring me it was bad bitch o’clock (I could do it!) and she agreed that I was was to fine to be stressed over the bad road. She said all I needed was to turn up the music and I’d be okay… okay… alright.

What’s the deal with Chinese and Canadian combined food restaurants?

All the mosquitoes the first night car camping… oh yes. I’m trying to to itch as I write the blog.

Mike and Cindy had two dogs, huckleberry and lucky. They were sooo cute!

Wildlife over the days:

7 bear (1 mama, & 3 cubs one brown baby rest black, 1 cub by himself black, 2 black bears regular) 1 moose, 1 coyote, 2 bald eagles, lots of hawks and geese, 1 ground hog, deer,

3 porcupine 1 big two small , 1 brown bear, 2 black bear!!! Crazy, 1 moose, 1 caribou, Dall sheep lots

9 moose, 1 pair trumpeter swans flying, 1 pair trumpeter swans

And a sucker fish that was declared “massive” he shouted to grandpa, drinking a beer in the grass as the fish was measured in a small sand castle bucket. That will be a core memory for those 3 kids. This was at Mcleese Lake.

We saw all the bears in Canada and all the moose (mostly) in Alaska.

Hey. Got any snacks in there???

We saw this guy from a distance. We parked on the other side of the road and FAR away from him. And he was a curious fella. He saw my car and came up and started scratching himself on my tire... and then my rear view mirror... crazy.

Speaking of my car...

I did run into a bit of car trouble right as we crossed from Canada into Alaska. Luckily there was a spot to stop and some construction workers who jumped right up to help. For those of you who remember, I’ve had quite the experience the last year and a half with car trouble. So I was VERY relieved when it was such an easy fix

I told myself I would have a name for my car by the end of the trip.

Huckleberry

For a few reasons.

Like Huck Finn, who was an adventurer! Just like my car. Huck was joined by Jim, which just so happens to be the name of the gentleman who helped me fix my car.

Huckleberry is also very in tune with my nature loving roots, specifically with an area of the world I'm well acquainted with.

Not to mention the COLOR of my vehicle. It's all fitting.

Overall, car camping was a ton of fun. I couldn’t think of a better travel buddy than Auntsis. We were so compatible! We hugged Wrangell St. Elias National park for a long time and it was stunning. The largest National park in the world by far. Larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Switzerland combined!

We also made a quick pit stop at the matanuska glacier which was nice!

This morning I dropped my aunt off at the airport. Now, I sit on a motor coach northbound to Denali to work southbound as a rail guide tomorrow.

I got into anchorage yesterday afternoon.

I suppose I’m not a fan of taking time to process.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this blog, and all my others… I’m learning, I’m growing, and I’m graciously soaking up everything life is gifting me.

I’m embracing this transitional period. I can’t wait to see what’s ahead, but I’m living in the moment and appreciating the now too.

Cheers,

Tay