Alaska- The Return Trip

OK, so we hung out in Alaska for about two months- working on a tourist train, seeing the sights, and taking a couple road trips within Alaska. One to Seward, AK, and one to the Denali Princess Lodge. Beautiful scenery ALL OVER!!! But, we decided it was time to head home, so we packed up the trusty VW Fox, convinced Esther's brother, Joe, to make the trip with us, and hit the road. We wanted to take a little more time on the return trip than we did on the way up, so we planned several stops for the 14 day trip, and headed out. We didn't have much money, so what we did have we spent on camping gear rather than hotel rooms. We camped off the highway, next to some hot springs, on the beach, in some back-yards, and in the California Redwoods.

For the first leg of our trip, we just wanted to get through Canada as fast as we could. So we drove long hours and camped off the side of the highway. We did camp in a designated camp ground, though, when we got to Laird hot springs. We spent a day at the hot springs and got eaten alive by the mosquitoes. We finally made it out of Canada and entered the good old U.S.A. on the evening of July 4th- Independance Day.

We made it to our next checkpoint, Tacoma, WA, and camped in the back-yards of some families I knew from serving my mission up there. We spent a couple days there seeing the sights- Mt. Rainier, the Puget Sound, and all the Beauty of the Great Northwest.

Next stop was the Oregon Coast- one of my favorite places to visit because I had spent my childhood in the Portland area. We stopped in Troutdale, east of Portland to see Multnoma falls, then headed west to the Pacific Ocean. We camped on the beach for the first night, but for the second night, we decided it was time for a shower, and got a hotel room. We stayed on the Oregon coast for a couple days, saw some tide pools, visited the Tillamook cheese factory, and played on the beach. When the time came, we continued our trek down the 101 towards the California Redwoods.

Well, this was probably the highlight of our trip- the Redwoods! We stopped in at the local ranger station, got a permit to do some back-country camping, and drove the VW up several miles of dirt road to get to our jumping off spot. With all our gear on our backs, we hiked down to the river and followed it upstream for a couple miles until we found a spot that we decided we could use to pitch a tent. We spent one night upriver among those giant trees, the four of us, me, Esther, Joe, and Sasquatch.

After the Redwoods, we drove to Sacramento, visited Esther's aunt and uncle, then headed through Reno, NV to Salt Lake City, UT. We made it on time, on budget, and only one accident- VW fox vs. Chevy HHR- we won.

Looking back on the whole trip, I learned a lot about my shortcomings- my need for increased patience, my lack of understanding towards others, etc. but, I also learned a lot about my strengths- my ability to plan, my ability to compromise, and my greatest strength- Esther.

-Enjoy