Chapter 10: There and Back Again

~The views continued as we drove through the night, Matt and Nate were however persistent in their claims of seeing eyes in the black. Concern was in the air as birds and a rogue owl flew in front of Ole Hezzie, probably trying to get a quick meal, but this didn't seem to faze the driver. Our drive through the desert continued without fear of anything.

~Around 2 AM Friday morning we stopped in the town of Elko, NV to fill up and reload on our supply of chocolate milk. This brief oasis only lasted about a half-hour, and our band of brothers moved forward. Eventually, all except our driver, Daniel, wasted no time falling asleep with the darkness of the desert around us all.

~Morning came quickly for some as dawn broke the silence of the world, into a song of salt and water. Dan was the only one to see the salt flats of Utah in all its glory. He was joined soon by Jared and Dwylin just in time to see the “Great Salt Lake”. Matt joined in the early morning event to see Salt Lake City, but only to return to bed once the city was gone.

~The Day of driving was overall uneventful for the group. Temperatures started to rise, gas prices began to lower while at the same time the wind gusts began to make themselves known once we entered the state of Wyoming. Stopping for gas, most of the guys headed inside the Flying J / Denny's to get a little something to hit the spot. Matt and Nate entered the RV with slices of pizza, while Jared came back with a salad (what a stud). Dwylin, however, returned with a container of biscuits and gravy (which apparently Western Canada and Alaska don't realize is a breakfast delicacy).

~Making good time, well as far as a 24 year-old RV is concerned, we continued our never-ending journey eastbound and down to Indiana. Receiving body blow after body blow from the wind as we entered our drive through Nebraska. We all of a sudden drove right in the winds best shot to this point. A nasty left hook to the side of the RV, and like an uncontrollable dizzy spell, we headed into the lane beside us. God's provision was there first because nobody was anywhere close to RV when this insult from the wind came at us. While there was nothing to the left of us, something had appeared to our right. We lost our camper's mouth guard, the camper's awning was surfing the highway, and forced us to pull off and stop.

~After a good twenty minutes, we finally got everything disconnected. Since there was such a lack of room in the RV for the awning, we felt we had little to no choice but to leave it behind.  On the bright side, Nebraska has some new scenery to behold just before you enter the Village of Potter.

~We raced on hoping to get to Omaha, Nebraska before all of the restaurants closed, and to see Dan's brother Chris and his family on their way home to Montana from Tennessee. Upon our arrival, around 11 pm, we had enough time to say hello, but not enough time for supper. So we said our hellos and goodbyes, and off to find a place to eat. Apparently, it is difficult to find a restaurant at 11:30 at night, but we finally found a place, The Fox and the Hound Bar and Grill. We left stuffed to the gills and ready for another night of driving.

~Now, about 1 am (CST) with only 580 miles left on this journey, we set out thinking of beds and home and now forced upon us... humidity. From this point on we left all the windows open to keep it at least a bit mild in the belly of Hezzie.

~Almost at 12 noon (EST) on this very day, July 23, 2016, we made into the driveway of where it all began. We pulled in ready to be home and all in desperate need of showers. Ten thousand miles will hurt a man!

~Our story is done in this chapter of our lives. Our own version of 'The Odyssey' has indeed ended. If anyone is in need of ideas of what part of America to go see? We all could recommend Alaska, but just leave 'Ole Hezzie' out of it. She came back from this trip with some of her fire and spirit in dire need of repair, however, we do have it narrowed down to where she left the skip in her step... Somewhere in the Yukon.

A Message from the Minority

(Warning!! The Messages your about to read may have grammatical errors riddeled throughout, proceed with the most greatest of cautions!)

~From Jon

My favorite part of the trip... I have many favorite parts like hanging out with five friends and getting to know each one a little bit better and there personal walk with God, it was an encouraging and fun trip. If I had to narrow it down to just one, while Alaska was beautiful and “Mount McKinley” was absolutely amazing. I would have to say the Banff National Park was probably my highlight. The majestic mountains and the rushing waters are so awesome! I just have to wonder how anyone can see this beautiful creation and say, there is no God.

~From Dwylin,

Trying to summarize the experience of this trip in a paragraph or two is well, totally impossible. If you asked me what my favorite place to drive was? I would probably have to say the drive to Homer's Spit from Anchorage, AK. Driving alongside the bay with such immense mountains on both sides. Once we came up to a viewpoint of the Spit, my mind raced back to a time as a kid reading The Hobbit. From a distance away I couldn't help but see Laketown in my head, the only difference was that instead of one 'Lonely Mountain”, The Town was surrounded by Gigantic Mountains.

The blessing God showed us weather-wise could so easily be described by one word... “DENALI”. Just going up to this mountain that only 30% of park visitors see a glimpse of, and even fewer see the whole thing. God blessed us with a view of the whole mountain, but this was just one experience. The whole trip was blessed with great weather and sights to behold. Little to no weather issues to speak of.

If I had to sum up what God was allowing me to see. God was showing off... God was saying look at Indiana, its wonderful in its own way, but come here and check this out.

~From Matthew,

So I guess I'll just give my three favorite things about this trip. The beauty of God's creation just blew me away!! I remember when we left Montana and just got into Canada and we were all glued to the windows making sure we didn't miss anything with all the mountains and rivers and lakes. We couldn't believe how beautiful everything was. But then the next day we went through Banff and Jasper National Parks and it made everything we had seen so far seem so small. By the time we got done with Alaska, we were passing by beautiful mountains and no one bothered to get their cameras out because it just wasn't as good as what we had already seen.

I also enjoyed the people on the trip. From random people we would meet, friends I've had for years, and Nate who we all got to know pretty well by the time we were done. Nate probably thinks he got to know us a little too well. I especially liked all the swimming we did. We hit most of the lakes we camped at, the one waterfall, and the pacific ocean twice.

But I think my favorite moment was the one night Nate and I decided to go on a hike at 11 o'clock at night. We climbed up Flattop Mountain and hung out there the whole night. We were just outside of Denali Park and the mountain looked just like it sounds. After you get done with your climb the top of the mountain is flat and long. Apparently, it's a great place to find caribou sheds. Nate was responsible for finding all three that we found. The last one of which was huge! I don't know if I've ever seen someone so excited. The best part about that night was the sunset/sunrise which literally lasted the whole night. We had a beautiful view of mountains everywhere. We got back to camp at about 5 in the morning. I think my sleeping pattern is still off track because of that but it was well worth it.

And last I have to give some love to Ole Hezzie. We put her through a lot of miles on this trip. And most of this wasn't our nice roads in the lower 48. A lot of that mileage was on the Alaskan highway and the other route we took through Canada to get home. Those roads were definitely not the best. But somehow we found our way through all of that with a 1991 Pace Arrow motor home that's being held together with zip ties and duct tape. For anyone who doesn't believe there is a God. Take a look at the vehicle we took over 10,000 miles of rough road, and believe!

OFFICIAL GRADE FOR TRIP:

A+

You just can't do much better

Within a month we hope to have our videos done. We took video each day with a camera to attempt to better summarize each chapter of this story.  We thank you for following our trip and hope you watch the videos when they are ready.

Chapter 9: Manifest Destiny

~After a short night of sleep, Tuesday morning came too early. It also brought a dead battery as the fridge was left on DC power for the night. We found a willing soul to give us a jump, his wife didn't seem quite as thrilled. We continued our drive south to Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge to check out some waterfalls. 

~ We first stopped at the Multnomah falls, got a few pictures then headed to the Oneonta Falls.

~In order to see this waterfall, a half-mile hike was required. The water from the falls was flowing out and we had to walk through it to get there. We were in a somewhat narrow canyon with 100 foot high walls on either side, several times climbing over fallen logs. The water was mostly just ankle-deep but as we neared the waterfall the chilly water reached chest-deep, but we plunged on. The falling water created quite a current, but that didn't stop us from testing our swimming skills. After a few minutes of catching our thrills, we exited the numbing water to soak in some sun.

~As we continue South, we catch the 101 and ride next to the Pacific, enjoying the ocean views. Becoming more concerning though is how quickly we are now losing brake fluid. What started at refilling every couple of days is now turning into every several hours. 

~We stop in Florence, OR in the evening for another refill and a more permanent fix. Shops are closed by now and the campground is full, so we grab some food and set up camp in the Abby's Legendary Pizza parking lot.

~Wednesday morning we buy a new master brake cylinder from the local Napa and Dan got to work to change it out while the rest of the house did some laundry. Not having proper tools though, Dan finally gave in and we took it to a local mechanic. While waiting for the Ole Hezzie to get fixed up we passed the time exploring the sand dunes in Florence, testing our frisbee skills in the stiff winds blowing through the mounds of sand.

~Finally, at close to 5:30 we are back on the road again headed south towards California. We make a stop by the Pacific to take pictures of the sunset. Dan and Matthew climb the large rocks dotting the shoreline and Matthew, Nathan and Jared charge into the very numbing waters of the southern Oregon coast.

~Thursday morning finds us making it to California and the Redwood National and State Park. We spend a couple hours hiking, taking pictures of the large trees and eating wild raspberries before setting our sights east and homeward bound.

~The landscape from western to eastern Oregon changes quite drastically but still maintains its own beauty. We periodically stop throughout the evening to watch the sunset, view the largest reddish/orange moon I've ever seen and enjoyed the vast skyline of stars, untainted by city lights. From here on out it's nonstop till we get home...

OFFICIAL GRADE:

A+

Chapter 8: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

~Our plan for the 15^th, was a very early wake-up call, 3:30 am, to get Jonathan to the airport. Then it would be a long day of traveling to get back to the lower 48 as soon as possible. With tears in our eyes, either from Jonathan leaving us or the earliness of the morning, we dropped Jonathan off and disembarked Anchorage. 

~The drive from Anchorage to Tok in Alaska on Highway one was a beautiful one with the sunrise lasting for what seemed like several hours. The road climbing, dropping and winding next to rivers and streams as the sun remained just hidden behind the looming mountains. 

~ After close to eleven hours of driving we made a brief stop at the Alaska/Yukon border for a few more pictures, including one with Mathew holding a framed picture of his brother Michael and sister-in-law Mindy, and then it was on to the Canadian Border Authority. We pulled up, shut off the Ole Hezzie, handed them our passports and answered a few simple questions and they were satisfied.

~Wouldn't you know, Ole Hezzie wouldn't start back up. Since we were sitting right in the traffic lane, we get out to try and push her out of the way but something is stuck and she doesn't seem to change into neutral. The border patrol gives a local mechanic a call and reroute traffic to another lane. Thinking we may have a problem with the transmission, we got towed a few kilometers to a campground for the night and plan to get fixed up in the morning.

~After a night's rest, a few more phone calls and some closer inspection. It seems our transmission is fine, but the emergency brake is sticking. The local mechanic tows us to his shop and we head off for breakfast at Buckshot Betty's. We end up just cutting the line for the emergency brake and are finally on our way again early in the afternoon. 

~We make a stop in Whitehorse at nine in the evening for gas. As Dan looks underneath he notices a new problem. It seems the tow earlier in the day and the rough roads have broken the frame holding the batteries and they are hanging precariously low and seem in danger of dropping off beneath the Ole Hezzie. After a couple hours of backwoods ingenuity and the help of a local named Arnie, the batteries are “secured” and we are road-ready again. 

~At 12:30 pm we cross a decent length bridge and Nathan and Matthew climb on top of the Ole Hezzie for the crossing. Dan keeps her slow as pictures are taken of the moonlight dancing off the water. Trying to make up some ground Matthew and Nathan keep us rolling until we are close to Watson Lake and junction 37, it's three AM.

~Dan is back up at seven to continue our drive out of the Yukon and into British Columbia. As a side note, the master brake cylinder for the front brakes has been leaking, so every couple days we've been having to top it off to keep the front brakes working. 

~The starter acts up every now and then as well, but if she doesn't start, Dan just crawls underneath, gives it a few taps as we turn the key and she fires right up. With rougher roads, stops for bull moose antlers, brake fluid refills, and road construction it's hard to make up ground, but we still decide to call it a day about nine pm on the evening of the 16^th near Houston, BC.

~Monday brought another full day of travel. Mile after mile again blows by with stops coming just for gas or to refill the brake fluid or to just avoid cabin fever and just stretch out a bit more while throwing rocks down a ravine toward some railroad tracks.

~It's close to nine pm when we approach the US/Canada border. Worried our hot starter won't restart if we shut it off at the border, we first pull over into a Costco. Parking lot to let it cool down first and refill the brake fluid once again. Turns out to be an uneventful crossing back into the states, not even turning the Ole Hezzie off. We continue south past Seattle and Olympia and pull over beside the highway at two am for some sleep, happy to be out of the Canadian territories.

Chapter 7: Thar be Fish in Them there Waters

~Wednesday the 13^th started with a late breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash and cinnamon rolls. It's hard to get an early start when the midnight sun tempts us to stay up so late. We drove to Wasila to pick up a new tire for the Ole Hezzie. While Dan and Nathan took care of the tire, Matthew, Dwylin, Jonathan and Jared did some laundry.

~With these details taken care of we finished our drive to Anchorage and from there continued south to Soldatna to meet up with Nelson, a friend of Dan and Jonathans. We ate an early supper at Frosas where we got our seafood fix. Jared enjoying some halibut and the rest of the guys cracking into some king crab.

After a brief visit at Nelson's place, we drove the scenic route down to Homer, traveling next to the Cook Inlet as more snow caps dotted the skyline across the bay. 

~We made it to Homer just after nine PM and drove down to the Homer Spit. The Spit is home to hundreds of travelers eager to take one of the many docked charter boats out the next day in hopes of a big catch of halibut or salmon. 

~On our drive down we were trying to book our own charter but couldn't find anything for all six of us so we started north again to dock our Ole Hezzie for the night.

Thursday was another late start on our drive back up to Anchorage. Jon and Matt woke up early for some fishing, but to no avail. Being cooped up driving was making some of us a little restless and ready for some action so we began to search for a good mountain to climb. After our second try, we found a good spot and began the climb. We spent a couple hours expending our excess energy making a roughly 2000 foot elevation climb. 

The climb made for some great views of the highway below as well as the Cook Inlet and mountains beyond. The workout left us sweaty and dusty so Matthew, Jonathan, Nathan, and Jared crossed the road to the inlet and took a dip in the cool, salty water.

Tired, and yet refreshed, we continued to Anchorage. The first stop was the mall for some souvenirs and a little food, then on to the Walmart parking lot. We picked up some more supplies and camped for the night as Jonathan is flying out at five AM the next morning, sadly his vacation is over.

OFFICIAL GRADE FOR THIS SEGMENT

A

BONUS PICTURE OF THE DAY

Chapter 6: Further Up and Deeper In

~After a two and a half-day stay in Watson Lake we were ready to be on the move again. We left Watson Lake just before 11 PM and drove the 16 hours to Fairbanks, stopping just to fill up with gas as everybody took 1 ½ to 2 hour driving shifts.

~The drive was mostly uneventful, couple moose lumbering across the road and an occasional elk along with one bear sighting. Being that it never quite gets completely dark this far north at this time of year so just a few hours of twilight driving is all we had to deal with.

~Fairbanks brings us to the end of the Alaska Highway, passing through the North Pole just before we reached it (totally serious). The Walmart parking lot in Fairbanks looked like its own campground as a smorgasbord of RVs and motor homes dotted the parking lot. We picked up a few more groceries and were on our way again, headed south towards Anchorage in search of a place to stay for the evening.

~We found a place to stay at the Grizzly Bear Campground. After dinner, Nathan and Matthew decided to head out in search of animal sheds. It was already after 11, but they took a flashlight and some bear spray and were off in search of adventure. They climbed to the top of Flat Top Mountain not needing the flashlight at all because of the altitude.

After finding it too cold to sleep out on the mountain they hiked back to Ole Hezzie at five in the morning with a couple nice caribou sheds in hand.

~Tuesday, the 12^th, we booked an eight-hour bus tour of Denali National Park starting at eight AM. About 30 percent of visitors get a glimpse of Denali Mountain, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, because it is often covered by clouds. But on this day, God gave us an almost completely cloudless day and clear views of the snow-covered mountain all day.

~The tour starts us about 80 miles from the mountain and winds its way through the park to roughly 35 miles from the mountain. Passengers on the bus keep their faces plastered to the windows in search of wildlife in the park. We see plenty of caribou loping through wide-open valleys or taking a siesta in the warm afternoon sun. We see several grizzlies during the trip, including a mother and three cubs, sadly there were no close-ups to get the heart rate going. We didn't get to see any moose in the park but did play chicken with a lone black wolf till he went off-road and trotted into the forest. There are supposedly 40 some wolves who make their home in the six million acre park, roughly the size of Massachusetts, so a wolf sighting is very rare.

~A short night of rest and long bus ride made for some sleepy tourists and we slept quite a bit on the way back out of the park. After exiting the park we topped off our brake fluid in Ole Hezzie, which was acting up that morning, and headed south again towards Anchorage in search of food and a place to park for the night. After some thick, juicy burgers at a roadside hole in the wall, we found a free spot to rest for the evening, nestled between the highway and a rippling creek.

OFFICIAL GRADE FOR THIS SEGMENT

A-

A Blast from our Past.

Enjoy this Suprise from our fourth day of our trip. going through the Jasper and Banff National Parks.

Enjoy

Chapter 5: What Does the Fox Say

Day 1 

~Wanting to get our wheel issue figured out we left camp at 5:30 AM Friday morning and pulled into Watson Lake, Yukon around 7:30. Watson Lakes biggest attraction is the Signpost Forrest started in the 1940s by an Alaska Highway worker and now boasts over 80,000 signposts.

~The early morning drive to Watson Lake finally got us our wildlife fix as we saw several herds of Bison grazing beside the road and Nathan was able to get a selfie with a black bear. In Watson Lake, Dan dropped us off at a laundromat and took the Ole Hezzie, seems to be the name we've settled on for the RV, to the Signpost Tire. Turns out we've got a bad right wheel bearing. They've got the parts in Whitehorse, about a four-hour drive. A greyhound bus could deliver but they tell us some folks they know are coming sooner and can bring it down.

~Satisfied, we grab some lunch at Kathy's Kitchen, pick up some fishing license and go in search of a campsite with expectations to have the part Saturday and be on our way again in the afternoon.

~Our stay tonight is the Watson Lake Campground, the lake supposedly stocked with good pike fishing, but we again struggled to cash in. So we instead grilled some chicken wings, potatoes, and carrots while testing our ax-throwing skills. Nathan and Jared were able to recruit another person for our late night swim in the lake as Matthew joined.

 We slept in this morning knowing our parts for Ole Hezzie wouldn't be in till later in the day.

Day2

~6 o'clock comes early in search of fish, but once again to no avail. They once again came back empty and headed for bed. All of a sudden around 10:30, Dan had enough, we put away our fishing rods and headed back into town.

~After breakfast in town we went out in search of good fishing spots. Billy, our very helpful mechanic, told us to head to the end of the runway on the opposite side of Watson Lake so we checked it out. Once again the fishing was left wanting so we headed back to town to check on the parts. Around seven in the evening we find out that the delivery folks decided to stay in Whitehorse to attend a wedding but assure us they will have it there between three and five PM on Sunday.

~We are beginning to get desperate to get out of town and Dan begins checking if there is a vehicle he could rent or even buy to drive the four hours to Whitehorse and pick up the part himself. Eventually, Matthew, Jonathan, and Nathan end up on the Alaskan Highway with the intent to hitchhike up and back for the parts. After 30 minutes of rejection, they're still trying to recover, they give up and we head back to the airport and our free camping spot for the night.

~On our way we spot a fox and stop for pictures. Nathan soon exits Ol' Hezzie with Oreos in hand. The fox seems to love the taste of the sugary Oreos and Nathan eventually can get it to eat right out of his hand and getting a selfie with the wily fox. Afterward, he comments that he feels bad for feeding it a GMO food.

 

~It's already nine PM by the time we arrive at our campsite and we decide to fry up our catch of fish from the trip so far and add in some baked beans and chips. After supper and clean up we head out for more fishing. It's already eleven PM, but still full daylight. We fish until 12:30 being swarmed by mosquitos and bringing back just one 30” pike. While Dwylin did indeed catch a fish, a White Fish, which isn't good eating. So we eventually decided to name the fish “White Trash”, and we through him back in the lake.

~The sun has set by now, but it doesn't sink far below the horizon so there is still some light and pink hues in the sky. Jonathan and Dwylin join Nathan, Matthew, and Jared for a late-night dip in the lake, Dan took his earlier, and we headed to bed.

Day3 

~We sleep late again Sunday morning and waste the day throwing a frisbee in the lake and exploring the woods. We begin to head back to town at 2:30 to check on our parts but our interrupted by another wildlife sighting.

~We park and run after what we think is a raccoon, hatchet, and sticks in hand. Turns out to be a porcupine, that we affectionately named Charlie. We played with him long enough for Nathan to get his next wildlife selfie and were again on our way.

~We parked Ole Hezzie in front of the Signpost Tire shop hoping the bearings would arrive sooner rather than later. Around 8 we finally get a call that they are five minutes out. We call Billy, our super helpful mechanic and he is willing to fix up the Ole Hezzie and get us out on the road again.

~Jonathan found an old wooden ore while exploring and we all carved our names and added it to the signpost Forrest.

~ Around 10:30 we head out still Alaska Bound!!! Yes, we still going to flippin' Alaska.  Because of the delay, the plan is to drive straight through to Fairbanks, an 18-hour drive, but you never know which way the road may turn...

Boy did it turn fast. Early this morning we had a bit of cell signal and it lasted just long enough for us to wish that it had not ever worked. Learning of the death of our friend Shadrick Miller has drained most of the excitement out of our morning, the morning that we are to enter Alaska. One of the worse parts of the whole ordeal is finding out while we are so far away, and knowing that we can't celebrate in his life with his family and friends. Shad, you were a great friend, but we hold on to the hope and promise of seeing you and our other friends and family again. Please keep the Sam and Cathy Miller family in your prayers.

Shadrick Miller

1993-2016

Chapter 4: The Road Goes Ever On and On and On

~After leaving the national parks the terrain becomes a lot less mountainous, but still more remote impressive than the flatness of Indiana. As kilometer after kilometer rolls by our heads remain on a swivel as we are in constant search of bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bison, caribou, elk, moose and bear with money being involved for the first person to spot a bear.

~With no major animal sightings the past couple days, we've been enjoying the changing landscapes, noting that some countries pack millions of people into small areas and here there are millions of acres of land with nary a person in sight. The first of these last two days brought us to Dawson Creek. British Columbia and mile 0 of the famous Alaska Highway.

~Fifty miles into the highway is Charlie Lake, our stop for the night. We got out the two inflatable rafts and entered the lake for some fishing around six in the evening. With the fish not biting we were just ready to head back and start supper at eight when the winds died down and the first fish was lured in. For the day several small pikes were caught and Nathan and Jared brought in six walleye.

We cleaned them and put them on ice, preparing for a fish fry later in the trip.

~We got a seven o'clock start the next day with hopes of more fishing and more fish that evening. It was a fairly uneventful travel day.

Still, no wildlife as we traveled back into some more mountainous regions with winding roads, rock walls, steep vertical drops and rock bottom rivers creating simple rapids. Mile 404 brought us to the town of Toad River. The Toad River Lodge is a do-all/one-stop offering restaurant, gas, motel, tire repair, camping and post office. From the ceiling of the lodge hangs a collection of thousands of trucker hats.

~Our stop for the night was MacDonald Campground on Muncho Lake, mile 442 of the highway.

As we stepped out of the RV, Jon noticed that one of the rear tires was leaking air. Upon farther inspection, the two tires on the right rear were almost bald while the left rears looked fine.

The spare was quickly put on with plans to look for new tires and the cause of the uneven wear the next day. We then proceeded out on the lake excited to add to our catch of fish. Fishing didn't come so easy today. After several hours on the lake we came back in around 8:30 with only a couple lake trout to show for it, but not enough for a meal.

~Muncho Lake is surrounded by towering 7000 foot high mountains creating great views while sitting out on the lake but also makes the water a bit on the chilly side. That didn't stop Nathan and Jared from taking a, "not so skinny", dip in the water before bed.

~After being refreshed by the cool blue waters of Muncho we all headed to bed to prepare for an even earlier start the next day.

OFFICIAL GRADE for this segment:
B+