Alright! One month beyond schedule and I am spending Sunday afternoon catching up on this.

So we back track to Summer 2010, my last summer in Talkeetna, AK. The truck engine swap and the ice excursion were joys of the previous year and lessons to be carried into the next adventures.

In September of 2010, I had been dating a wonderful gal for 2 summers and we decided to move to Girdwood, AK together to be somewhere "more active" in the winter. Talkeetna is population 600 in the winter and Girdwood is maybe twice the size but more importantly home to Alyeska Ski Resort. Before making this move, I decided I need to road trip out of the state as I had been land locked for a bit too long.

I told my lady that I would love to travel down to the West Coast and visit my own family but also visit the areas around where she went to college so that I could just spend more time on the West Coast. As if our first big couple road trip wasn't enough, I added the pressure of inviting my best friend to fly up here and take a one way road trip with us.

First, We said good bye to an old friend at the local dump.



My friend Yancey is from Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean island. I met the kid in 5th grade Chess club and being that we had two single working mom's, we found each other in every single after school program and just became good friends. Any ways, I was about to go on this epic trip and begged him to buy a one way ticket to Alaska and out of California for a free road trip. He did and man did I shell shock the hell out of the poor kid.

Upon his arrival in mid October, we opted to do a big in state trip before leaving. We decided to drive down to Valdez, AK and then up to Kennicott Mine, which is a great tourist destination mid summer but as we would learn COMPLETELY quiet in October.

Yancey arrives!


We take Yancey hiking!





Yancey and my girl Corinne. Notice Yancey is freezing his buns off. Poor kid had never been camping in his life and his first 4 nights out, we had him in sub 32F weather with snow on the ground. That is a big deal for islander from Atlanta, GA.


My friend Yancey is a big time board game player so he entertained us with a variety of card games that he had brought along. This is a great view from inside out favorite bar in Talkeenta, the history Fairview Inn.



As we began to prep for our instra-state trip, it occurred to me I was probably going to need a tailgate. This wasn't anything a big hammer, a little flattening and 1 ratchet strap couldn't fix.



Most of our trip was high mileage days with stops for day hikes here or there. Anything simple to see more parts of the state.

Yancey and my friend Eric spent countless hours fighting it out in the back of the truck.



Yancey put up with a lot of weather and was a good sport. We got him out near a couple glaciers which he seemed to enjoy.






We enjoy a evening in Valdez and as we left the next morning we experienced some hesitation and shuddering. Fortunately, it was one of the best days to be stuck in Valdez but while my friend enjoyed the weather, I was on FTE figuring it out with your guys. Turned out to be a UVCH issue, within an hour or two we were packed up and rolling out. FTE at work












As we turned down the 60 miles road to Kennicott Mine, we learned that the bridge may be shut down for post summer season repairs. That night we learned this was in fact true. The construction crew told us I could drive across the river mid day and that with 4x4 I should have an issue as their own 2wd work trucks were doing it. We turned around to camp for the evening and enjoyed a nice fire.







And the next morning.

 

Alright! One month beyond schedule and I am spending Sunday afternoon catching up on this.

So we back track to Summer 2010, my last summer in Talkeetna, AK. The truck engine swap and the ice excursion were joys of the previous year and lessons to be carried into the next adventures.

In September of 2010, I had been dating a wonderful gal for 2 summers and we decided to move to Girdwood, AK together to be somewhere "more active" in the winter. Talkeetna is population 600 in the winter and Girdwood is maybe twice the size but more importantly home to Alyeska Ski Resort. Before making this move, I decided I need to road trip out of the state as I had been land locked for a bit too long.

I told my lady that I would love to travel down to the West Coast and visit my own family but also visit the areas around where she went to college so that I could just spend more time on the West Coast. As if our first big couple road trip wasn't enough, I added the pressure of inviting my best friend to fly up here and take a one way road trip with us.

First, We said good bye to an old friend at the local dump.



My friend Yancey is from Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean island. I met the kid in 5th grade Chess club and being that we had two single working mom's, we found each other in every single after school program and just became good friends. Any ways, I was about to go on this epic trip and begged him to buy a one way ticket to Alaska and out of California for a free road trip. He did and man did I shell shock the hell out of the poor kid.

Upon his arrival in mid October, we opted to do a big in state trip before leaving. We decided to drive down to Valdez, AK and then up to Kennicott Mine, which is a great tourist destination mid summer but as we would learn COMPLETELY quiet in October.

Yancey arrives!


We take Yancey hiking!





Yancey and my girl Corinne. Notice Yancey is freezing his buns off. Poor kid had never been camping in his life and his first 4 nights out, we had him in sub 32F weather with snow on the ground. That is a big deal for islander from Atlanta, GA.


My friend Yancey is a big time board game player so he entertained us with a variety of card games that he had brought along. This is a great view from inside out favorite bar in Talkeenta, the history Fairview Inn.



As we began to prep for our instra-state trip, it occurred to me I was probably going to need a tailgate. This wasn't anything a big hammer, a little flattening and 1 ratchet strap couldn't fix.



Most of our trip was high mileage days with stops for day hikes here or there. Anything simple to see more parts of the state.

Yancey and my friend Eric spent countless hours fighting it out in the back of the truck.



Yancey put up with a lot of weather and was a good sport. We got him out near a couple glaciers which he seemed to enjoy.






We enjoy a evening in Valdez and as we left the next morning we experienced some hesitation and shuddering. Fortunately, it was one of the best days to be stuck in Valdez but while my friend enjoyed the weather, I was on FTE figuring it out with your guys. Turned out to be a UVCH issue, within an hour or two we were packed up and rolling out. FTE at work












As we turned down the 60 miles road to Kennicott Mine, we learned that the bridge may be shut down for post summer season repairs. That night we learned this was in fact true. The construction crew told us I could drive across the river mid day and that with 4x4 I should have an issue as their own 2wd work trucks were doing it. We turned around to camp for the evening and enjoyed a nice fire.







And the next morning.

 

The next morning we drove back to the bridge and were given permission to cross at our own risk. For most of you that have followed this story, you know this wasn't really an issue. The river was a little deeper than advertised but Mugly didn't even flinch.








After several more miles, we arrive in McKarthy which is the itty bitty town which once supported the mine. Now it is purely a tourism town with very few residents in the winter. Makes Talkeetna look like a metropolis! Because we were there late 0 business were open. We figure a nice long hike up to the mine would be a good way to spend the day and we moved on.







Arriving at the mine






While hiking around the mine, I saw this awesome ****** in action. Normally I would have gone up to talk to the local who was working on the mine but I figured he worked this hard to live in the middle of no where, I wasn't going to be that guy that ruined it for him.



Once we had satisfied our need to adventure, we decided to hike back to the truck and get back across the river before dusk. Upon getting to the bridge, we were denied because it was too dark to risk crossing in case something went wrong. Frustrated we turned back to town to find a place to camp. At this point though, my friend Yancey had picked up a mean cold and really needed a warm place to stay and eat. I went to the solar powered phone and called the two B&Bs, an elderly couple told us they were closed but would be happy to help us out. They kindly opened a cabin, turned on the heat, brought us some soup and even some home made desert.



Classic way for my friend to see the way people take care of each other out here. We would have been miserable in the tents but my friend was ever so grateful to be somewhere warm and well fed.



The next morning we thanked them and tried to compensate them for the food but they only let us pay for the cabin. We thanked them again via multiple post cards on our trip to California. Upon arriving at the bridge, they told us to wait 10 minutes and we were the first people to cross the repaired bridge much to Mugly's relief.




From here we turned back to Talkeetna, to unpack and then repack for our actual trip to L48.

 

My friend only had so many days before we had to get him to his plane leaving California, so this rushed our Alaska to California trip because of the previous trip around the state. This means we didn't stop to smell the roses are frequently but my friend still enjoyed the road trip and getting to see just how vast and open the Alaskan Highway really is.

We made our departure from Talkeetna and left north for Fairbanks where we spent a night in a public state recreational cabin for fun. There was a local hot spring which also added to the intentions of staying at the cabin.

The one time I seem to stop everything and clean the windows well, is right before any long road trip.





The next day we stocked up at Walmart and off we went.



Our first morning and Corinne in her warm spirited PJs.


The variety of conditions you see is crazy.



Stopping for pictures. At this point we had joked about a mohawk, so I mocked one up. This would eventually lead to an actually mohawk. When facing seasonal employment, one might as well enjoy it.
I don't have a lot of friends but this guy has been a stand up friend since 5th grade, always believed in me and looked out for me no matter what.True long lasting friendship at work.



I don't think we stopped and bought a meal along the entire trip which saved money but it wasn't fun either. This is an example of how we made dinner on a windy night.



Most of the women I have met would never once consider this fun for a "first" road trip together. Corinne has an awesome attitude about it all.



Next morning


Good shot of Yancey reflecting.


Wildlife


Getting closer to the border. This looks like a photoshop but I swear it is real. lol!


We happened across a spawning area while crossing a stream. Really cool to see so many salmon at the end of their lives but at the same time letting their eggs go to start the next cycle. Smelled horrible of course, but unique opportunity I thought.




There is NOTHING as sweet as getting through the border crossing procedure and being told "Welcome Home"



And now I have a mohawk.

 

RiffRaff and PartsGuyEd

For some reason once we got Yancey to the airport and he flew home, I sort of let off on taking pictures. Corinne and I enjoyed several fun weeks with family but due to sooner than expected job offer, we had to turn around and head back to Alaska about 1 month before planned. This resulted in shortened time on the West Coast but I was still able to squeeze in a meal with Clay and Kristen of Riffraff as well as pick up some goodies. It was great to see them again and so great to his business doing well.

We already know he is an absolute stand up guy and when I was looking for some budget off road lights to get me through Canada again he gave me some hints on cheap Hellas when I was drooling over the Lightforces for sale. He turned down his own business and saved me a ton of money at the time, but I still picked up some RiffRaff swag and picked up a Diamond 5inch system from him. Up until this point, I was running open down pipe if you can believe it. Corinne and I enjoyed not having to yell for our trip back up to Alaska. You can bet when I do buy those Lightforces it will be from him.

I also got to meet PartsGuyEd but it was due to a rear axle seal leak that sprouted on my leave from Riffraff. Under normal circumstances we would have enjoyed a meal somewhere, but it just didn't work out with the ailing truck and time crunch. When I told Clay about the seal leak, we got on the horn with Ed and by the time I made it up to him, they were able to get me in and taken care of. I know Ed has since retired but he went way out of his way to work Mugly into the shop and after I made a last minute decision to have most of the front end on the truck fixed, they got in done in an 8 hour day.

I know it is 2 years too late, but MAN without either of those guys. I would have been in a huge pickle. My dream is still to get down to a RR meet and spend some time with everyone without the hassle of time crunches.

I will shut up and post a couple photos.

Babe the bull with his blue *****:








And then back to the grind we go. Off to Alaska for new jobs in a new town!







New lights made a big difference!



Another romantic dinner for Corinne and I.



Wildlife



Corinne doesn't consider herself photogenic but occasionally, I get a good one.








Ugh, the fog.







And BAM, in less than 20 photos we made it:



At this point we jumped through all these flaming hoops only to find out that the jobs were already filled. They gave us a pity interview and we wound up job less on a friends floor until December.

 

Living in a ski resort town is probably one of the best choices, ever. We didn't have such a great snow year the first season but the second season we had a KILLER snow year in 2011. About 961 inches which was the highest snow fall for any resort in the US.

My plans were to stay in Girdwood for one winter and then try to get my foot in the door for Diesel Mechanics school in Seward, AK. An injury at work required shoulder surgery and completely sidelines those plans for a year but it worked out thanks to a great surgeon and a ton of snow.


This is still the same truck I bought back from the insurance company for $1800.00. Kind of hard to believe.








A couple shots of some good riding days and a back country trip via snowcat!








Then in slightly bigger news, I bought a 500 dollar Subaru to get me half a mile down the road to my job. It lasted about 2 months but I got 1 ticket, bought 1 battery, a tire and 5 wipers in that time and then the fuel pump died in December. So I ignored it all winter and eventually sold it for 200 bucks to someone who wanted to fix it up for his son.

Pull it out to clean it up


And then ram it into a space again

 

And this is a long blahblah part.

So more to the point, I eventually got my act together and got into AVTEC, the state funded trade school in Seward, AK. Using some knowledge from the guys on FTE, I knew I wanted either welding or diesel mechanics.

I decided to do what everyone and their mother has been pointing out to me for year, I went with something that I was good at and had passion for. My family and mostly the positive feed back from the group here helped push me towards this change in careers. The money is good, the work is challenging and the opportunities are endless in Alaska and it seems in many other areas as well.

I got into the November 2011 class but that was held back as I went under the knife for a slap tear in my shoulder in mid October. So The March 2012 class allowed me to heal up, work the winter and save up to be a student again.

As March approached, I had been unable to find a place to live. I began storming up the idea to live out of a camper until summer when places would become available. Corinne was going to live in Girdwood until our lease was up in May and I figured I could return home on weekends to work and reload on supplies. So operation Camper began.

What I ended up with? A cheap, dry & warm camper for 800.00. The down side? It fit a long bed truck. The ride from Anchorage to Girdwood was schetchy as hell but I took my time and we got there safely. The unit doesn't have mounted jacks so I had to move these giant MF'ers with me. To help balance the weight out, I removed the backseat and put all the gear in the cab of the truck, using chains to hold it down in case of an accident. It worked unbelievably well actually.

To top that all off, Corinne and I had agree that we would consider adding a dog to the family when we settled down in Seward. The plan being that the dog would be a reasonable 1 year old when I graduate and look into working on remote sights, this would provide Corinne with a day to day companion. It worked out that a co-worker had puppies she was getting rid of the day I left for Seward and having been around them early on and knowing the parental dogs, I couldn't resist. Life was stressful enough, why not add to it?


These are cell pictures, I am about to seperatly load up some from my Nikon.

Cleaning out my truck from the epic winter in preparation to buy the camper.



Ain't pretty but it will do.



Introducing Schatzi, our Rotti Lab mix who joined me on day 1 to Seward. At first I was sure I had bit off a bit more than I could chew, but it worked out. The camper stayed on the truck when I went to school so the puppy was always 5 minutes from me, and since I don't smoke I used the frequent breaks to run outside and give her a break. It was so pleasant to have a dog again and the strict schedule around the puppy and school had me out of trouble and in bed by 10 pm every night, completely worn out.









I qualified for a loan with Snap On and despite the existence of better deals out there, I just went with it. Their student credit program gives you 54% of their prices and while that cost is still high, I just wanted a nice "work only" tool set.


In class I got assigned a 6v-71, only worked on by one student before I got my hands on it.




And my jaw bounced off the steering wheel when I saw this badass rolling through town this summer. What a rig!


End of season party in Girdwood around May.

 

Living out of the camper was a unique experience and I really enjoyed it. The camper ran off a deep cell battery that I would charge up every two days in class, and I usually went about 5 days on the smaller propane tanks that I could swap out at the grocery stores. It was often cold and windy at the camp group but the rent was cheap and I had the entire place to myself. Not to mention that the camper was basically a GIANT rolling dog kennel, Schatzy enjoyed the daily adventure of going to school, the grocery store, the snow, and the play time in the camper.

Buying it in Anchorage.



At home, before leaving to Seward that night. Corinne prepped the camper and puppy while I gutted the back seat and put all the weight I could find in the cab. We took this picture to remind ourselves of this years from now.



The only place to stop between Girdwood and Seward, refreshments and ice cream only. No bathrooms



And this was home for 3 months. During this time my Dad called and asked if there was anything he could do for me and I told him that having a 2nd reliable 4x4 would be huge. It would allow Corinne to drive down on her weekends and save us money on future trips to Anchorage etc etc. And it is with MUCH thanks that I was able to buy a nice Toyota Tacoma to help out during this time.















Schatzy hard at work while doing my homework









For comparison: 7 am



4 pm

 

SO, this pretty much catches me up on the last two years of my life. This thread is basically the only reminder I have of the events and adventures that have gone on in the past years. It has motivated some of you guys and many of the things you guys have said or done, have helped me get to where I am today. I really regret not keeping up with this thread or forum, but life just sort of "happened" for a while.


I can happily tell you that I still have Mugly and she is happy as hell to not be dragging that camper around any longer. I managed to sell it this summer for 1200.00 which we put towards a 1 year lease on our apartment. Schatzi is now 8 months and weighing in at around 65 pounds and an absolute joy.

She has quickly learned that any time I am near a vacuum sealer, it means YUMMY.




I owe all of you guys such a huge THANKS. None of this would have been possible without everyone's help and knowledge.

So to quit on the mushy stuff, I will add a couple photos from life in Seward, AK.

Corinne and I decided to get serious... No, not this marriage thing you assumed, but rather we bought an appliance together. I own my very first beer fridge.



Then I tried to kill every damned fish in the ocean!


And now I am ready for winter



And I am proud to say I became a gun owner for the first time in life. A Weatherby PA 459 Shotgun and just because I could, and a WASR AK 47.





Back to the point, I am ever so eager to graduate and get out there in the world again. I think I have finally figured out who I am and what I should do with my life, so I look forward to where this is going.

I don't know what my plans are for MUGLY. She is a tried and true truck, but I can't see myself wanting to dump all the money into her being that she is a salvaged title truck at the end of the day. Once I get some money under my belt, I may start scouting the lower 48 for another 7.3 and maybe hold onto MUGLY for plowing/off roading and maybe even the few parts that are left?

I don't know, but right now I am not worried about it. Life is great and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

Hope you enjoyed my latest ramble, Thank You.