Up, up & away.

Alright, here we go.  The day has come to fly out to Nome.  The plane leaves at 8:00am and we are pretty excited.  I think we have gone through this scenario a couple of hundred times and now here it is.  For me, personally, this adventure is a ride into the unknown and I have no fear.  We all have an idea of what we are going to do today, but we control none of what actually happens.  I am okay with that feeling of powerlessness.  Are you? 

Time to sit back and enjoy the ride.  Let life happen and enjoy the journey.  The journey is the path, or is it the other way around?  Two months ago there was no way I was going to Alaska, but here I am now.  I have been led me to this moment and I am as ready for what lies ahead.  This is not like knowing you are being shipped off to fight a war or anything like that, but there is risk involved or everyone would be doing it.  Risk of family, job, home and death are possible.  But, when are those things not at risk?

Thank you, God, for this opportunity.  I am never alone.

Here we go!

Happy Mothers Day, Mom.

I just wanted to say Happy Mothers Day and let you know that Josh and I are doing great in the Great Northwest.  We went to Mt Rainier National Park, yesterday to camp, but the 300+ tent campsites were not open yet, so we just drive around like a couple of lost chickens. 
We finally found a campground and a secluded spot to camp and rest from the unexpected scenic drive of the afternoon.  As soon as we popped up the tent(in under a minute thank you), we were asked to move b/c the tent sites we were in were not open yet.  I really thought I was going to cry right about then, but we took our time and moved to another spot and all was well.  We got some great pics!
Today, we are going to do some laundry and get some sleep in a bed for the last time for 3 months or so. 
Tomorrow, our flight to AK leaves at 8:00am and is a 13-hr trip, including 7-hr layover in Anchorage.  We are excited to be on the final journey-leg of our journey.  From tomorrow on, we will be simply be on our journey.  We cannot wait.  The forecast for Nome is Sunny, low-40s highs and high-30s lows.  And, snow is forecasted for Tuesday and Wednesday!  Cool, huh?

Well, thanks for being a great Mom and enjoy your day, today.  We will send some pics soon.

Love,
Nathan & Josh

Well, we are commited now!

It's Friday night and Josh and I are camping at Dash Point State Park, just south of Seattle, WA.  Frank White (our pickup truck) has been dropped off at the Alaska Logistics loading dock and they will he loading him into a 20' container some time this weekend.  We made it into Seattle about 6:30am, yesterday and got a crappy motel for the night for much needed sleep and to get some packing done. 
Tomorrow we are thinking about camping at Mount Rainer Nat'l Park.  Mt. Rainer is so imposing over this entire area and is the highest peak in the Lower 48.  It should be a blast.

Good morning, Salt Lake City!

After hours and hours and hours of driving we have reached our first important stop on our journey; Salt Lake City.  Of course, we are hear before anything except McDONALD'S is open, but hey!
Josh has to call the claim owner and they are going to meet up and sign paperwork and we will be back on our way.

Mental note:  travel through Southern Utah during the daylight next time.  Highway 191 from Eastern Arizona all the way to SLC proper is unreal.  Even at night, I saw some of the most beautiful rock formations ever.

Adios, Tejas, mi amigo.

Well, this is the first time I have left our Great State, via vehicle, since the Summer of 1997.  Scott D., John Champaigne and I went with some girl to her family reunion in Colorado.  we piled into a rented mini-van and left the bars in San Marcos at about midnight.

Man, this is one huge state!  Driving since 11:45pm last night, we crossed into New Mexico and its painted desert just after 1:00pm today.  We are heading to Gallup, NM and then we will head north along the eastern side of the Grand Canyon and into Moab, UT.  Our destination for this leg of the trip is Salt Lake City by late afternoon tomorrow.  Frank 'the tank' White is a freakn machine and is powering us through. 

Frank White & the Subavator

And, we are off!

We rolled out of Round Rock at 11:45pm and are making our way to Ft. Worth.  We are stopping there to see my buddy, and financier, James.  From Ft. Worth we will make our way to Abilene and out the top of this great State.

Talk to you from another state, soon.  YeeHaw.