Road Trip: New York to Alaska!

[Ink]

Hey-hey!

Hopefully someone still remembers me - ha - but, in regards to just being back from a grand adventure and not really forgetting this corner of cyberspace was here, I thought I'd try and muster up some conversation about road trips.

This summer I drove solo from New York - the Adirondack Mountains - to Anchorage, Alaska for a field school in Archaeology between University Alaska Anchorage and Yukon College. To first answer why I drove instead of flying - well, my grandmother decided to throw down the gauntlet at dinner by saying, verbatim, "A woman could make no such drive alone."

While the drive was, in and of itself, titillating as an idea - my grandmother's commentary was enough to get me fired up to just go do it.

The dig itself took place in the Yukon wilderness between the US and Canadian border stations (which are roughly 15-20 miles apart or so). We stayed in Anchorage for about 5 days in order to get ourselves situated with some background knowledge, and then we were off to acquaint ourselves better with the Yukon soil.

Yes, we lived in tents and braved bear, moose, and the general nuisance of camp robbers (a type of bird) and the deviant red squirrels, which had coffee addictions of immense proportions (I am still talking about the darn squirrels, yes).

First, of course, I drove across the US - making a pit stop in Green Bay, WI to see family, and then hauled up to North Dakota and into Canada. Part of the trip was organized so I could make pit stops in Peace River, Alberta and in Fort Simpson in NWT (North West Territories) for a few days to meet people.

My 2003 Chevy Impala amazingly survived 400 some miles on dirt road and so did I - a little scatterbrained as I might be.

The drive home was equally exciting as I managed to travel the Alcan Highway all the way down to Dawson Creek, BC, and then scuttled across Canada to Thunder Bay. I rolled home into New York from there.

The initial drive took me 9 days to Anchorage: 1 extra layover in Peace River, no driving, and 2 days in Fort Simpson - so about 7 total drive days, and then it took my 5 days to get home while living out of my car (the consequences of conserving cash for gas money 101).

Busted my knee on my return trip through Whitehorse, YT while drinking and dancing with drunk friends as a collective attempt to say goodbye gone wrong. Surgery is probable, MRI will tell me more... I had fun though. Drove home on the bad knee - even though I couldn't bear weight on it - thankfully there are no pictures of me flailing in various Tim Horton's for bathroom breaks. Probably security footage somewhere, though.

Total Mileage: 11,500 - about 9500-10,000 miles to the initial drive and 1000 miles just within the month scuttling between the Alaska/Canada Border - Beaver Creek, YT - Tok, AK and a few of my 'detour' trips, heh.

If anybody is interested, I should have a link up soon to photos once I get them back so you all can catch a glimpse of the Yukon insanity - like our midnight Yukon scale rainbows which were spectacular.

Now that I am back [s]into the swing of my eternal damnation[/s] at university, I am kind of curious to know all of your stories from on the road. Where'd you go? Why'd you go there? What made it awful or wonderful? How many miles and what else is there to note?

[Kaebora]

Now that's a real adventure to get to see all of that unspoiled wilderness in the largest state in the United States. I guess it's a safe bet that you didn't see any wolves. I hear they're a tricky animal to catch a glimpse of up there.

So... what were you looking for at the dig? Native american campsite remains?

[Ink]

No wolves. Saw lots of moose, and the morning before we drove from Anchorage out there, a young woman who was all ready set up at the site, had a bear prowling around her tent. LOTS of bear - saw my first grizz on the way home crossing the road. Big. Unmistakable. Thrilling. Again with the big... eesh.

And, as far as the dig site: we were at a local fish camp from the White River Fist Nation peoples. They hosted our dig (we ate lots of moose and whitefish!).

The premise of the dig was to find remains and get some radio carbon dates that might suggest it's the deepest, in-land Beringia site dating back at 14,000 years (radio-carbon date speak). We found microblades, lancelate points, bone... more bone... and, enough probable 'hammer stones' to add nausea to any person who knows lab work.

Sigh. We found our big finds at the end of the dig (last three days, mostly). Then it was the long trek home - but there is really so much country out there...

Road trip to Alaska - highly recommended.