I can't believe it! I am on the forum and not posting from my mobile phone whilst needing help on Mugly!

After what feels like years of absence I am proud to announce that I should be back around again. Why it took me a year to realize that my fancy smart phone could be rigged up to gain internet access on my desk top, I don't know. I am going to be sending out my Droid 2 for warranty work but when it gets back I will be online more often I hope!

Update on my life: I don't live in such a small town in Alaska anymore. I live in a slightly bigger town of 2,000 (instead of 600), with a ski resort about 45 minutes away from Anchorage.

I got a job working for the resort so that I could get a free season pass to the resort and have fun this winter after a long summer of hard work. I actually have the joy of driving a F350 (V10) box truck daily and make pick ups and deliveries all over Anchorage. I have about a 45 minute drive to and from Anchorage on the Seward Highway which if you google, is one of the most dangerous highways in the nation but also quite beautiful.

Mugly is still in my hands but she is parked and quietly resting in my condo parking lot after an epic 11,000 mile roadtrip to the lower 48 and back. I did take pictures along the way but not as many as I would have hoped. I did however get a chance to meet up with Clay and PartsguyEd on my adventures. Everyone here already knows they are good guys but man, both of these guys really came through for me on this trip. I will go on in great (and perhaps too lengthy) detail at a later point.

I promise to post up pictures about my adventures at first chance but right now I have to catch up on my internet life paying bills, checking balances, and convincing distant relatives that I actually still exist. I will however leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

I want to thank Clay and Ed for helping me get back up to Alaska in one piece and this entire forum for everyone's help along the way. I don't get the confidence to fly out into the unknown without knowing that I have some of the greatest people on tap for those "What have I done?" moments.

 

Welcome back... too bad we missed you down here

 

Awesome, glad ya had fun and saw some neat stuff. Guess when or if I ever decide to get away I can go ski on your membership. haha kidding Glad ya had a safe trip.

 

I am disappointed that I didn't get to meet up with more people than I did. My girlfriend and I managed to stay on the road for most of the 2 months were were cruising around. I have family on the west coast and she went to school in California for several years so we spent a great deal of time bouncing around so she could meet up with old friends.

Next time, I will hammer out the plans before leaving. Or so I hope.

 

Wish your time hadn't been so hectic Alex, it woulda been nice to meet you and take a picture with MUGLY!

Stewart

 

Good to see you and Mugly around here again.

 

Welcome back, glad this trip was less eventful than some of them.

 

Alex, welcome back! Good to see you on again. Hope you gave Mugly a bath before you put her to bed.

 

Hey Alex. Glad to see you are still on the adventure trail. lol. Looking forward to reading how the trip went. Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

 

Alex, I read you other Mugly adventure threads laughing (with you, I think). After living in Kodiak for three years, traveling to Seward, Homer, Cordova, Valdez, Yakatat, Cold Bay, Dutch Harbor, St. Paul, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Nome, Shishmaref, Kotzebue, and a few others I think those AK locals were looking and thinking, "That kids knows what life is about."

You embody the American spirit and AK may be one of the few places left where you can change an engine, in a public park, with a homeless friend sleeping in the cab as security and not get fined, arrested, harassed or stuff stolen.

And the fix-it-ticket, priceless. I love AK troopers, but sometimes....

Keep up the OUTSTANDING work. And please let us know when the Ford commercial, book and movie are coming out

 

I was wondering about you....



glad your back and made the trip safely.

 

Alex,

Update your location in your profile. It still says Talkeetna.

Glad you discovered "tethering", too.

Welcome back! I always look forward to the telling of your adventures in such a literate way.

Did you ever realize, early on, that you were taking along such a great companion (Mugley) when you set off to see The Last Frontier? Though you have had to add some "nutrition" to him (or her??) along the way, it was only as a result of your own doing and misdeed.

You are living the life most of us wish we had lived at your age, so keep it up, and keep us apprised of what you're up to! Chronicle your experiences on the Seward, as there will undoubtedly be some!

Best of regards to you, son, I salute you!

Pop

 

Same here! I'd like to have an opportunity to take a photo with MUGLY.

 

Jeremy, thanks for all the kind words. Having been up here you probably have a great idea of the crap I have dealt with but also the reasons I choose to live up here and deal with it all. I love life up here but I am growing tired of the seasonal life. The experiences are fun but the pay is meh. I need to up the income so I can play harder.

I have been dreaming of how I could drive around the world and document it. That is my real dream. It keeps my head full of thoughts when I am bored. Maybe I can get Ford on that.

Marv, thank you as usual for your kind words. I didn't have a clue as to what I was getting into when I bought this truck. It was an unbelievable fit for me and my situation. So reasonably priced and in such great condition with a motivated seller who simply didn't want an arm and a leg for it. I could have easily afford a much smaller truck or a subaru that would have also met my needs but it wouldn't have been the giant adventure that it has turned into. Something about these trucks just say "try me", and I will damn near try it every time! Had I picked another vehicle I wouldn't have ever had the confidence to just take a random road off the Alaskan highway and go adventure into the unknown.

I realize I have paid a hefty price for these adventures but I have learned so much about myself and the truck that I can't regret a moment of it. I do hope to "grow up" a wee bit and find a job that will allow me to make more and adventure more. There are times when I can barely afford my truck but I realize that she (to answer your question) affords me so much in life.

 

Thanks for another great adventure story Alex, always a joy to read.

Waiting for pic's.