This morning I talked to two retired German couples, within 10 minutes of each other. The first couple came into Hope in a rented RV and walked around and then another came just after that. They just missed meeting each other. Both couples were here for 4 weeks, traveling the Alaska “circuit” via RV. Both mentioned watching TV shows about Alaska (“Deadliest Catch,” etc). The first woman was so excited because she saw one of the “Deadliest Catch” boats in Homer. I told them that I also watch the shows when I have access to cable TV, which is not often. We laughed, to be here in Alaska, talking about reality TV shows.

Anyway, both couples were at the end of their trip to Alaska. One mentioned the late cold spring this year. I can relate to that. Still, they were sad to leave. One couple flies out today from Anchorage and goes to Iceland, where they will change planes. The other flies first to Fairbanks then goes directly to Frankfurt.

The second couple mentioned the trip they did last year, in the Western U.S. They did all the National Parks, including those in Utah. Germans love the parks and I have met many others on the road out west. I think one of the most popular routes is the Grand Circle, through red rock country. I am working on seeing the same area, but in small sections as I drive back and forth from NM to WA (and beyond)!  I am so blessed to have the time, health, and desire to explore our beautiful country month after month.

Speaking of exploring, after I left Homer I stopped by Seward for a visit to the Exit Glacier. Tango and I hiked up the trail, singing to any bears that might be lurking. When I hike in bear country, I tend to sing “When the Saints Come Marching In”, substituting “bears” for “saints”. So far, it has worked. This time I also sang Blackbird, substituting “black bear” for “blackbird”.

Then, back to Hope, where I met the Germans. I love this little town. I paid for 3 more nights camping but may stay longer. We will see how I feel after that.

I am at a literal and figurative crossroad. My plan had been to start heading back towards British Columbia and then the lower 48 after I reached Homer. Well, I was there! I didn’t stay but I reached my most southern destination and I have basically one direction left, an eastern-ish route up to Glenallen (Wrangle-St. Elias National Park), then back to Tok and the Alaska Highway. The Yukon awaits. I share my plans with Tango again. Shall we start back after Hope?  Should we get back in short order or wander slowly again. He stares at my breakfast, hoping that if he stares long enough that I might give him some. Then he wanders off. This time, we have the entire campground and RV park to ourselves and find only local dogs who seem uninterested in either of us. Tango roams free, always a treat for him. 

I have another consideration. I start an online writing class on June 25, and I need reliable Internet. The class is serious business, offered by a group of innovators in creative nonfiction (and the publishers of Creative Nonfiction magazine). I am super excited about the class and am thinking that before the class starts, I need to be through British Columbia and back in the US where I have my unlimited Verizon Internet.

Also, I have an RV friend from New Mexico who is in Oregon getting her house ready to sell. She could use some help painting and in the garden! I  could cross the border near Seattle and Vancouver, skirting both as much as possible.

Hmmmmmm. I did not foresee – or fully absorb – the amount of driving between Anchorage and the US. Border in Southern British Columbia, the distance between being in Alaska and driving out to the lower 48. I pulled up Google Maps and discovered that I have about 2500 miles until that border crossing. I can visualize and imagine 2500 miles. I drove 2000 miles in 4 days with a dreadful cold after the New Years, when I drove Alice from Ohio to New Mexico. Still, it is a long way to go, with about 2000 miles of the total being in Canada, which means gasoline at $5/gal. That is going to be a budget breaker, but I have done well conserving my resources so I don’t flinch much. Besides, this time the campgrounds will be open and the weather will be much better than it was in late April! Unless I hit a rainy spell, which would not ever surprise me.

Tango is still exploring the tidal flats, so I have to decide by myself. Yes, once we leave Hope, we will start the long journey home, stopping where ever we find something intriguing, maybe a few more days in the Yukon if I can find a campground not overrun with bears. We will cross back into the US by my June 25 class start date, explore one or more of the National Parks in Northern Washington for a week, then head to Oregon by the 4th of July.

The wind picks up and the sun goes under the clouds. Weather changes fast here. I could add some warm layers but instead Tango and I jump inside Alice. I may have mentioned that the large, slighty slanted windows create a greenhouse effect in the car. No matter how cold it is outside, Alice is always like a greenhouse inside. More than once we have found a comforting refuge there. Then, from inside the car, I watch a small plane that just took off from the small airstrip in the woods, above Hope. Like the Germans and the road before me, it heads east.