Slow internet... it's really selective internet!

I'm at work, not a place I like to blog but the computers are running on molasses!  Well, the programs and internet sites that are connect to my work are not working so here we are! I've restarted my computer 4 times and nada so I blog:P

Work is still going smoothly with no real complaints.  Things are at a pace that is almost a tad slow for me but I'm doing other things with my time.  Researching diagnosis, taking the time to really prep for people I'm working with, and doing some education. 

This past weekend, Joe and I took Stevie out for the weekend.  We didn't drive off far, it was just a regular weekend but it is amazing how camping and being out in nature changes one's mood.  After last week I was fine, wasn't overly stressed or anything along those lines.  We go out camping and it's like my work is a world away, although we just drove 2 hours away!  We spend a full day hiking on Saturday and it is confirmed...I did something to my knee :(  I have an appointment already scheduled so we will see what is going on with that!  Can't be restricted to only 4 mile hikes!  Not here in Alaska!

The trail we chose to go on is actually around 16 miles or so, an out and back.  You hike 8 miles out to a glacier and then come back.  We made it to almost 4 miles.  So we did a total of around 8.  We attempted to make it to the 4 mile marker but we were thwarted by marshy land we could not navigate through or around.  So we turned around, found a clearing, and took a power nap before heading back to Stevie.  Not a lot of food traffic on the hike so it was pretty low key and relaxing. 

Getting back to Stevie we relaxed with some drinks and grilled some cheeseburgers.  We heading home early on Sunday and it worked out great because we got back before the other RVs, so no line to dump, and we had the day to get ready for the week ahead!

Animal sitings update:

Buffalo: a big herd

Caribou: 9 alive and 1 carcass
Deer: 5

Dall Sheep: lost count

Rabbit: 1

Prairie Dog: 1

Tundra Swan: lost count
Moose: lost count
Bald Eagle: lost count
Porcupine: 1
Sea Lions: 4

Artic Ground Squirrel: 1

Kicking tires to find a good fit

In a few years we plan on being part of the Overlanding community, making our way down to the most southern part of S.America!  We are in the planning/research phase.  It's amazing how many people are doing it.
Things we are focusing on right now:
-downsizing...actually get rid of everything
-narrowing down the vehicle we want to move forward with
-do little camping trips here and there with Stevie
-save money
-get rid of debt
-find a travel handle :)

us doing research in Florida!

We have some friends that are well on their way and they have been inspirational for us. They are getting their rig together as I type this and should be on their way later this year.

Things and rigs we have talked about:

-truck campers: pop up

-pop up roof tents

-vans

-what are have to have items are

We've done lots and lots of reading online, Joe more than me :P. Yesterday we looked at some truck campers to get a feel for the size and to just stand in a few.  We tend to be "feel" people.  We can justify a lot just looking at pictures or floor plans but we have to see it!

not too bad...not a love connection

One of these had a slide out... not on our radar what so ever!

We are good at seeing the pros and cons with everything and with all the information out there it's easy to get caught up in research.  We've decided...bottom line, whatever we choose to go with we will be fine because of how we are.  

Initially in our discussions, Joe was set on the truck camper idea (we really want to have a 4 wheel drive).  I am and was good with that.  My "requirements" are a toilet and the capability of showering inside.  I'm fine with the outdoor shower but when it's cold outside, not a fan.  Everything else is under discussion.  Whenever we do look at something I focus on the storage and layout.  In my Internet viewing I came across the Revel and was hooked on THAT idea.  I came across that when we were in Florida last year.  Since then I have been looking at the Van Life community and following so many people on Instagram that are living out of transit vans etc.  

With this new possibility, Joe and I are looking at van conversions.  Things I like about the van idea...well, the main thing is  we don't have to get out of the vehicle to get in the camper.  We seem to base weather discussions on Medellin in Colombia, don't ask me why it just happened that way.  Joe has the weather for Medellin on his phone and every time he checks it, it's raining!  The last thing I want to be doing in the rain and/or cold is get out of the vehicle to get in or set up our living quarters!  With a van, you park and walk to the back... get settled, make dinner, go to bed :)  One of the reasons we got Stevie to play around in up here in Alaska, was that walk through Class C design!  Plus the safety of it also.  If we are in an area and need to leave quickly, we don't have to worry about getting out to get in to drive off!  We have not ruled out truck campers as of today, but it's quickly loosing in the pro/con list fight with the van!

It's going to be an interesting ride for us emotionally / mentally / and physically.

Rando: Stevie, death hike, glaciers, and research.

I've had a collection of photos on my desk top thinking that I have been meaning to use in a blog post...so here we are.
Since going to Homer with Stevie we haven't taken her back out, but we have a plan to in away a week for a Mermaid Festival in Seward AK :)
During our first outing, our shake down, with Stevie there are some things that we figured out:
Although a spot looks level, it probably isn't!

Joe's awesome make shift leveling job!

If it's going to fall over in transit and spill everywhere, it will. On the way home our bottle of olive oil spilled.  There are worse things to spill, so we are grateful for the nice smell in Stevie.  We did manage to get it all cleaned up, just kicked ourselves for wasting the expensive stuff :(
We did a pretty decent job at keeping our packing down to a minimum with not a whole lot of extra stuff, but we did realize that some other things would have been useful.

1 for food, 1 for kitchen stuff... this was just for 2 nights/3 days

We are traveling with a notebook so we can write everything down for our next travels!  It is helpful to plan meals for the weekend and think about making the meal and pack along those lines :). 
Another thing we found out traveling early in the season is that a lot of dump stations were not open and we had to figure out where to get potable water.  

Thanks Sanidumps.com!!!

Sanidumps.com is a great website/tool that will let you know where the dumps/water is at in your area, what they provide, when they are open, and if there is a cost!
Overall... a good first outing with Stevie!  We need to get a new mattress which is a pain but will probably throw a topper on for now and hope for the best :)

As was noted in the previous post, both Joe and I are "in-between jobs".  He's working on his last two classes for he bachelor's degree and as for me, I'm trying not to spend money on things I don't need just because I'm bored.  One thing about Alaska is there is always a hike to do near by!  There is no excuse not to get out and enjoy the beauty of this state!  I have a book of local hikes and the app AllTrails, which is awesome!  
One day we decided to hike Bird Ridge.  We've past it numerous times and I've noticed the sign for it.  It's right across from Turnagin Arm in the Chugach State park.  It's an out and back hike, 4.6 miles, with 3218 ft of elevation gain!  We've done other "hard" trails so we didn't think about this one too much.  We just packed up our packs, grabbed our hiking sticks (life savers), and headed out!

pay the $ people!

I've noticed that a majority of "locals" don't pay the $5 that most of the hiking tails ask for.  It's FIVE DOLLARS and it keeps the trails nice and the trail heads clean.  Please give or pay for an annual ticket!  

The views were amazing! It's always a tad easier going up!

We took a decent amount of breath breaks going up and to appreciate the scenery.  We see a lot of folks just flying up trails but we like to stop and look around.  It's so quiet at times and we saw a good amount of bald eagles doing their thing!  So much amazing beauty in our back yard!

We might have been half way up!

tide is going out...

Getting above the tree line we came across this bench.  We thought about taking our snack and a rest here but it was windy.  Plus we wanted to get to the top and then rest so we took a breather and moved on.  What is so amazing is that someone carried that big slab up there?!  I was worn out with just a small pack of essentials!

Be awesome!

One thing about this hike is that there is multiple false ridges and it does kill one's motivation after walking straight up!  We found a place to hunker down to avoid the wind, enjoyed the scenery while having a snack and water, then went back down.

our break spot before going back down

hiking sticks, don't leave home without them

I took no pictures going down due my knees were screaming at me!  My body is not use to that type of extended movement, straight up and straight down.  Whenever I found a some what level path my knees were praising the lord!  We both need to strengthen our legs for this type of hike before doing it again.  We were both proud of ourselves for doing it and getting as far as we did but we were exhausted!

After the Bird Ridge hike we took a small time out from hiking.  Yesterday we drove to Whittier.  I remember going there with my guard unit back in 2010 but it was Joe's first time and it's just about an hour drive.  We stopped at the Portage Glacier.  In 2010 you could see it from the road but now you have to take a boat :(

Glacier is back there...

One thing that is fun about going to Whittier is the tunnel.  It's a one late train tunnel that you drive through.  It's about 2.5 miles long.  Whittier itself is a small port town and in my view could make for a great setting for a suspense slasher film!  We drove around, took some pictures, and headed home.  

a lot of wooded wet areas for a killer to hang out in 

only two, maybe three, ways in...the one way train tunnel, boats, and a small prop plane or helicopter

The Buckner Building!

waiting to go through the tunnel to leave Whittier

We've been keeping busy but not too busy :P. This is my last free week before starting a new job which is always a wee bit nerve wracking.  
Joe and I are amazed daily of the beauty and how much nature we see around here.  Just driving around we see moose and bald eagles regularly.  The bears are waking up so from the stories I hear, we will be seeing them on hikes.  We have bear spray and we are trying to be smart about what we are doing and where we are at.

So here we are... I'll be back being an "adult" before I know it but we will keep on getting out and enjoying what this state has to offer!

Unemployed in Alaska

at our camp site in Homer AK

Yep, we are still unemployed but I got a firm job offer yesterday and may be starting my new job 14 May, so that has taken some stress off.  Joe is still looking and has applied for some government jobs of his own but is in no real rush due to starting his last two classes for his bachelor's degree.  He is using his post 9/11 GI Bill, so he's getting paid a decent amount of money to take classes :). As Joe said a month ago...we will be fine!

Chris, Grandpa, and me

Things have a way of working out when you don't fight them. After I submitted my 2 weeks and was on leave, my Grandmother in Missouri took a turn for the worse.  She was in her 90's so it wasn't a big surprise.  Everything happened quickly and within a matter of days I was flying out to support my Dad during the funeral.  I got to see a lot of family I have not seen in awhile in addition to my brother.  If I was still working, it would have been stressful for me taking the time off and navigating all of that.  So I'm grateful that I could just do my thing and fly out with no additional stress.  I got to visit with Grandpa.  He suffers from Alzheimer's but he's happy.  With Grandmother gone, she was slightly controlling, he gets to watch westerns all day :)

Off to Homer AK

Stevie

When I returned, Joe and I took our new family member to Homer AK.  Stevie is a 97' Fleetwood Sport Jamboree.  She is are trial run for living small :P and a way for us to get out and explore more of AK without worrying about hotels etc.  Homer hadn't woken up yet, so it was more of the sleepy fishing town while we were there.  We boondocked on the spit and practically none of the stores and restaurants were open yet.  I guess the magic open time is in May.  We spend 2 nights there.  One thing that Homer is known for is the bald eagles.  There wasn't as many as pictures show, it's probably a season thing too, but we saw enough!  They are amazing birds!  The size of them and to see them just flying around...we were constantly in awe!

boat docks at the Homer spit

We had a decent walk about in Homer, walking 8.8 miles one day!  Joe and I usually end up doing a lot of walking.  It's a great way to see things and take up time when you got nothing going on, which is usually the case when you're camping.  

all to our selves!

Stevie is great!  The heater is awesome!  We had some things things that brought up questions but we either figured them out on the road or just adapted until getting home.  Joe has a friend that rents RVs here in Anchorage and he cleared up some of our questions.  We did good for our first packing for a trip too.  We under packed kitchen stuff but over packed clothing LOL. It's a learning process but we are good and going with what we got, working together to solve problems.  The only thing we didn't try out was the shower.  

a must have for AK traveling!!!

We may be taking another short weekend trip next month.  We will see how things go.  Stevie needs a good washing, outside and in before our next adventure.  

down time while camping

My goal is to do quicker blog updates... there is so much to say and share when we go on our trips and even life here in AK.  We tend to have a lot of relaxing time while we camp so there is no reason not to do an update ;)