Thrive Outside

Throughout the night, we were startled by the sounds of a massive truck using their jack breaks.  We had no idea how loud they actually could be.  Thankfully, we were able to fall right back to sleep.  I guess that is the disadvantage of camping near the road at the bottom of the hill. The sun was gone but so was the mass of mosquitos on our tent.  The slight breeze kept them off and it only had a normal amount.  We packed up in a cloud and started our journey.   The low clouds made it so we had no idea what was 7 feet ahead of us, but our legs knew.  It was a CLIMB.  As we are continuing to slog up the hill, we hear the sound of (thump, thump, thump) like a helicopter.  Knowing that the sounds of the trucks sometimes have that similar sound, we both were like that must be a truck but it sounds like a helicopter.  Well, it took just a few minutes to confirm, it was a LOW flying helicopter.  It was hovering about 10 feet above the tundra-flying low because of the blackout clouds

We awoke to that irritating high pitched hum-mosquitos clung to the tent.  At one point during the night, we assumed it was raining but it was only the constant thumping of the mosquito landing on the tent.  Who knew these beasts that weigh so little can recreate a rain storm on our tent fly? I felt sick inside.  James being so encouraging, helped me to get going.  And to my surprise, it was great.  The weather was perfect and only when we stopped did we encounter the swarm of bugs. The view changed slightly and we pulled off for a few minutes to take a photo. We heard there was a place to get second breakfast at Happy Valley (even showers).  However, dreaming of the refueling activity, we were disappointed to see a mostly abandoned area.  A kind gentleman let us refill our water bottles and allowed us to set up the tent to enjoy a lunch break.  It was now HOT!  We fell asleep quickly under the shade of the tent, but woke up when the sun crept over the tent and heated everythin

It takes time to pack for a journey like this.  We realized that since James was going to be carrying a weapon, we needed a locked hard-shell case for it.  Scrambling, we were able to purchase one at Walmart late that evening. I had spent the past six days on an Adventure Tour, whereas James spent the past two nights in Seward with the young adults backpacking. Since we both just finished a long stretch of work, we ended up packing until about midnight the night before the flight. Our son, happily drove us to the airlines. Alaska Airlines is amazing with luggage and allows our bikes as one of the free bags! When the clerk was going over the locked case, he showed us we needed two locks.  The gun was totally accessible.  However, for a mear $10, we purchased another lock, and we were good to go.  Except...NO HELMETS.  We quickly grabbed the phone to call Max, but he called us and told us he was returning to the airport with our helmets.  Thankfully, we live 10 minutes from the airp

After a great night of sleep, we were ready for the last day. We took advantage of a little stop for hot lunch.  Wow, I never knew how much of an appitate I can have biking. just fueling up (actually with popsicles)   Met an interested person with a horse helmet riding solo.  You never know what you will see on the highway.  We had 10 seconds of cloud coverage for the day. So hot. We also ran into a gaggle of brand new Jeeps riding as a safari.  They were taking our pictures.  So funny.  They created a huge mound of dust. Since it was the 4th of July, we did experience more traffic going by.  I loved to put a gummy energy block in my mouth or a date to give me a shot of sugar to power up the hills. We were told that we would end with some miles of payment at the end, but we were disappointed with that.  As there were only three miles instead of eight.  Urgh. But, those last miles on payment were a dream.  The road didn't have potholes, but it was j

What an amazing day to awake.  We had great showers at the lodge. The day didn't disappoint.  It was hilly, but we were making some good time.  Saw a couple of people cycling the other direction from Anchorage, but overall a quiet day.  We saw the only wildlife a moose and calf in the bushes. We stopped at the river and enjoyed the conversation from two retirees from Palmer fishing.  I took the advantage of the cool stream to soak my buff.  It provided a nice retreat from the heat. The bugs were minimal.  Our support motorhome ended up with a flat.  But, was able to get a new one in Cantwell before heading home. The interesting part of our campsite was there was a little pond.  I waded into the middle and got to wash my hair.  So refreshing!