Photoblog 1

Traveling up to Alaska via the Alaska highway is where I have seen most of the wildlife and scenery from this trip. This blog will mostly dedicated to photography. But, a short little update on my life here. So I am in Fairbanks and I will be here for a while. I got a job working construction. I decided to try and find some part time work or odd jobs along the way to help sustain my travels and well, I got a full time job instead. Oops?
So I drove up the Alaska highway, got into Alaska and spent my first night camping outside Tok (sounds like toke). Next morning, wednesday, the 1st, I drove to Fairbanks and camped at a hostel in town. The following day I started looking for some work and things to do. Well, I accomplished both. The next morning I was headed to Denali National Park for some backcountry camping and starting my new job Monday. So I spent three days in Denali camping, I was surprised that Denali has no real trails to hike and camp upon. Backcountry camping involves checking in at the back country office, picking a section on a map and heading out. There are no trails, no campsites, no facilities, just adventure. Quite an experience.

Outside Tok, AK

Black Bear Cub, AK Highway, Yukon

Dall Sheep, Denali National Park

Fireweed, Denali National Park

Fireweed on riverbank

Canadian Lynx

Campsite night two, Denali National Park

Campsite night two, Denali National Park

Canadian Lake near Alaska Border 

Kulane National Park, Canada

Unknown Flowers, Denali National Park

Baby mountain goat!

Wood Buffalo

Mountain Goats

Moose 

Mini Cooper. Ha!

Beginning of AK Highway, the car is still pretty clean

Alaska Border

I am not really sure why I thought it would be a great idea to drive a mini cooper to Alaska. Oh, I will get great gas mileage, carry just the basic necessities and other stuff. I guess thats what I was thinking. Sure the roads are paved, right? It's Highway, its the only road to Alaska, therefore it has to be in good condition. WRONG. When I crossed over into Canada from North Dakota I should have realized that all the vehicles in Canada were really big trucks. Im talking Ford F-350s and chevy 2500s jacked up and with duel wheels in the back. If you are not a car buff no worries, just imagine monster trucks cruising down the road crushing everything. Not only that but they have mud on them, shovels strapped down, spare tires and gas cans. And I have a mini cooper.
A Mini is the complete opposite of a huge truck. Its like putting an earthworm and a tyrantisaurus rex in a gladiator arena and telling them to fight to the death. The earthworm being the fiercest of all would slither up to the T-Rex and start nibbling between the toes of the Dinosaur. The strong teeth and jaws would gradually kill the T-Rex and through consumption it would leave a nice pile of compost behind for everyone to garden with. Yes but, NO! NO, NO, NO! If you thought the T-Rex was the analytical vehicle which represented the Mini Cooper you were wrong. But going back to the fight, the earthworm would probably win the fight. The T-Rex would not be able to find the tiny earth worm crawling around on a dusty gladiator floor. The T-Rex would then die of starvation while being stuck in this gladiator ring. Then the earthworm shines, yes, the earth worm would gradually turn this huge chunk of prehistoric meat into loamy garden soil. Earthworm wins! Okay back to crossing the border.

Sketchy AK Highway section

Follow the lines, look how wavy the road is

Everyone has big trucks, we covered that. When I say everyone I mean, most everyone. I then began to realize that the further north I went the fewer and fewer car like vehicles I saw. The vehicles got bigger, they actually hauled more ass and they are very intimidating approaching in your rear view mirror. When you look in your rear view mirror and all you can see is monster truck wheels approaching at like 140 you poop your pants a little. 140, they were going that fast? I know, I know, they were. 140kmh, it equals out to be around 90 miles per hour. With some new brown boxers I continued driving up towards Yukon. Once I reached the beginning of the Alaska highway in Dawson Creek, BC the traffic died down a little. However, not the monstrous trucks. There are a lot of Gas, Oil, Logging and Mining camps out in the "bush." Other than that most people are travelers, travelers with big ass trucks pulling trailers or piggy back bed campers still passing you going real fast. The mud that is sprayed up all over these trucks I just assume is from all of the non paved roads going out into the bush, most of that is true.
Then I got to Yukon.

Mini Cooper Destroyer

Some of the taller mountains in Canada

From Whitehorse, Yukon one can go one of two ways; down to the Alaskan peninsula or North to Fairbanks, Anchorage, and most everything else. For me I was headed the northerly route, so off I went. After leaving whitehorse there is very little traffic other than travelers. A few big rigs pass occasionally but there is very little reason for many of them out there. Then, there is one last split, at Haines Junction, Yukon. From Haines junction to Tok, Alaska there is a few gas stations, one or two run down hotels and the alaska canada border. It is vast wilderness from Haines Junction to Yukon and the roads show their wear. This area with its sub arctic conditions wear the road quite a bit. There are some paved sections, lots of packed gravel sections and pot holes which could literally eat a Mini Cooper.
 Driving this Mini with run-flat tires and no spare was an extreme risk. Had I had tire or wheel problems between Fairbanks to Whitehorse, 600 miles or Whitehorse to Edmonton, 1,200 miles I would have been absolutely screwed. There is absolutely nowhere in between that could help, unless it involves a bush plane flying something in. Not only that but if I hit some of the potholes I saw on the road, it would damage that poor, cute little city car to a much larger extent. Regardless I am here in Fairbanks and my car is somewhere where I am not, Craigslist, for sale. Who wants to buy it? It is quite hard to adventure in such a not so adventurous vehicle which has a difficult time on gravel roads.

Some mountains outside Delta Junction, Alaska

Edmonton Pt: 2 Boom boxes, Purple lights

List of recent US
presidents they keep
on the wall

Back to Edmonton, the absurdity and the fun that happened there. When I pulled into Edmonton I got off at a random exit and drove with my laptop open until I could pick up an unlocked wireless internet signal. So I sit outside someones residence, creeping out on the street, sitting in the driver seat with my laptop out, looking up where I need to go. I type into google maps where I need to go, 79th and 101st streets or something like that, map my route and head that way. Well here I am, 79th and 101st, a little unsure of which exactly is the right residency. Of corse, after looking and confirming with myself around 17 times if I was going to the right place, I was not. I was in the wrong place, Im supposed to be at 97th and 101st. So I get there and the guy who is hosting me is headed out to a show, no biggie. So I sit down on the van seat which is their front "porch" furniture, at the V.I.P Zone, and began to check e-mails. And when I say e-mails, I mean Facebook, who checks e-mail before Facebook? I'm there for just a few minutes and the other roommate comes home with a few friends, 3 or 4. I finnish up my e-mailing, or Facebooking and I head inside.

Darth Vader, President Bush and Paul himself, all
banned from the V.I.P. Zone

There are 15 people inside. What? I swear this many people did not pass by me sitting in the front of the house, "yeah we came in though the back," someone chimes in. Well we hung out for a while, quite a while and then it was the moment. It was the moment to load up the Boom box with 'Dance Mix," '94, '95, '96 or whatever else we were feeling. Paul had a lot of tapes, he also had a lot of boom boxes, 13 of them actually. 13, why 13? Well, the other 12, the tape player part does not work anymore. So I had some jorts and a sleeveless tee, Paul rocked neon running shorts, shirtless. Other people had brightly colored t-shirts, sideways hats and baggy nylon jackets. You know the kind, the ones you, or your mom wore two athletic events in the early 90's. They were the jackets you could never sneak up on anyone because of the loud swooshing with every move that was made. So our posse was gathered and we hit the streets. 8 D batteries packed in the boom box and 1994 was blasting out some of The Shamen, Enigma, and Salt 'N' Pepa, on tape.

Paul, Hannah and I. Hannah another couch surfer, from UK,
driving across canada. 

These guys live about two blocks off the main drag of the Edmonton college scene and four mins after leaving the house thats where we were dancing. A mobile dance party, that is what we were. We had people join on for a couple blocks, numerous high fives and cops giving you those smirks thinking 'I would really be hanging out with you guys if I did not have to work and keep a strait and stern face.' I asked Paul how often they did this, I felt like it was somewhat occurrent, this might be the 3rd or 5th time he had done it. No, it happens much more, "oh, it's like a once a weekend kind of event when I am in town" he says. We danced roughly ten blocks down, danced down to some other peoples house and back. Somehow we ended up with more people when we returned than we started with. Needless to say, a great time.

The begining of the mobile party

 I also promised to tell you all about the purple lights experience. We were walking towards a venue across town where a band was playing, Shout Out Out Out Out. Dual drummers and three synthesizers, basically a real live DJ band or so, however you describe it. Anyways, we were walking through the parliament grounds and someone chimes in to "place your open cans down and find a light." What, find a light? Oh, someone stands in front of a light and we all follow, each in front of their own light. Now these lights are very warm (yellow-orange) colored lights lighting up the parliament building at night. "A minute starts . . . Now!" is shouted out and we all stare into these huge lights for the next sixty seconds. At first it is really bright, really really bight and then everyones eyes start to adjust. "Done," I hear, and we all turn and walk away from the lights and everything is purple. Purple street lights, purple cellphones, look up at the skyscrapers and every light inside them, purple. It was too wild but only lasted for around five minuets, regardless, cool. Purple lights, who would have ever had such an absurd idea? Canadians maybe. I'm sure I could write more about Edmonton, like about the sign a the grocery store for please no more roller blading inside the store. Or how I got lost until sunrise but I wont embarrass myself. The end.