Northern Exposure II
^{Towards Alaska, 2005}

Sunday 31 July 2005. We're still not sure exactly when we leave, but it'll be soon. We started scrubbing down the little RV today, we'll wash every­thing in it tomorrow, then start loading it, yada yada yada. All is more difficult because of the heat and our resultant lassitude. Meanwhile, we've selected reading material, and it's a right motley assortment, romantics and semantics and Atlantis and disasters. And that's the light stuff. Heh. Otherwise there's little to report; for more on our recent history, click here. And pray that my journey journal entries are brief, eh?

 ----- Original Message ----- 
 From: "Ric Carter" [ric@sonic.net]
 To: [Go2Go2Go2@yahoogroups.com]
 Sent: Sunday, July 31, 2005 11:12 PM
 Subject: [Go2] Northern Exposure II - the trip

Monday 1 August 2005. Certain relatives worry when we travel to exotic climes, like Mexico and south, fretting that we'll be kidnapped or murdered or worse. They're relieved that we're heading north; such fates are unlikely to befall us in Canada. But they don't think about the bears. We could be eaten by bears. We're more likely to be eaten by bears than violated by insurgents. Or we could fall through pack-ice, or stomped by moose or elk, or impaled by porcupines. Life is risky, anywhere. Keep that in mind.

The worst part of our trips? The preparation, especially loading the RV, especially the last minute food packing. That always takes too long. Next worst is the first week out, when we shake-down everything we stuffed in at the last moment ("Where the hell is THIS gonna go?") and readjust to the rhythms of travel. And next worst is the return, unloading every­thing back into the house, trying to decide what to really unpack and what to leave staged for the next trip. It's always a lot easier to either stay home, or just keep on driving.

There are other, cheaper, easier ways to beat the local heat than driving to the Arctic Ocean. We could park our RV uphill by the lakes along the Sierra Nevada crest, canoe and bike and hike and do artistic-intellectual stuff, spin back downhill every few days to shop and go online and do laundry. That would be cheap. Maybe we'll do that when we're more aged mature, or maybe even next summer. But now, before we fall apart physically and mentally, we want to do the world, get it while we can. There's more stuff for me to photograph and write about that way, too. Fun fun fun.

WHERE THE HELL ARE MY PILLS?!?!? I phoned the Kaiser-Permanente mail-order pharmacy over two weeks ago and the stuff that keeps my heart ticking is still a no-show. So I called again today — and K-P never shipped. And now they tell me that I have a secret medical appointment tomorrow. Huh? So we get to dive down early into the hot stagnant cesspool that is Greater Sacra­mento, see Dr Jim Bui and get my meds. Might as well visit Thomas Cook to exchange our Lempira too, get rid of our last trace of Honduras.

Ah well. Almost everything is clean; some necessities are packed; our fiscal road­blocks are clear. All that holds up our departure now are heat, pills, and determination. Looks like Wednesday morning is it. Finally.

FUTURE, n. That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness is assured. —Ambrose Bierce

Tuesday 2 August 2005. Down into Sacto, alas. Get all my pills, get our Lempira exchanged finally, get back, and there goes the day. Jump in the pool, dream a little dream. We'll have fun finishing the packing tomorrow, and taking a last swim, and maybe driving as far as some lake uphill for the night. Get GONE!!

I should have mentioned above that when we're campering around in the RV, we generally don't do RV 'parks' or any places with RV hookups. Very occasionally, when necessary, sure; but usually we plonk down on a quiet verge or out someplace remote. Much less expensive and noisy and both­ersome that way. See the notes from our Spring 2004 SouthWest drive (especially the pre-Bisbee part) for a taste of our RV lifestyle, if you care.

I don't know if the cheap style will be feasible as we head north across Canada but it should be easy on our return, as our guidebooks show the provincial campgrounds as being FREE from September onwards. There's probably a good reason for that, eh?

Wednesday 3 August 2005. That run to Sacto yesterday really threw us off, and it's so hot... but we really really should be gone by tomorrow. Today we loaded up a bunch of stuff, and sweated etc. Then we hit the pool for probably the last time this year, and we didn't fret too much. Life is too short for fretting without compelling reason, yes?

Good news from Bisbee: the Toland Adobe is rented this week (I think there's a birders' convention) and for the first three months of 2006. That helps. Hallowe'en through XMas should be a good time too — maybe we'll get lucky. And if we head south for the winter, we should drop in there right around the turn of the year for a few days, renew and strengthen our bondage bonding with Bisbee.

Thursday 4 August 2005. Morning: OK, looks like we're going. Time to break down and pack the computers now. I had some quesadillas (all the other food is packed) and too much coffee, so there's no excuse. More later, hopefully not in overmuch detail.

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