And we made it to Day 5!

And as I'm sure Rob and Meghan have already told you, we're in Glacier National Park. This was supposed to be a sort of homecoming for me because I did work a summer here in Glacier between my junior and senior years of college, but so far, nothing looks familiar. Beautiful, yes, but familiar, no. I guess that's what 22 years does, and with so many changes in my life in that time, I guess I should expect the same of the park. Twenty-two years, people, twenty-two. Where did that time go?

And on that note, how did it come about that we are now on this epic adventure, to Alaska and back? I'm still not sure I know. About a month ago as we were preparing, Rob said to me, "You know, I really appreciate that you are willing to take on this trip, 7000 miles, in a 25-year-old vehicle, and me with no job to return to." I responded, "When you put it that way..." But really, why wouldn't we do this trip? Meghan is the perfect age at 11 - not yet in middle school, still talking to us at least sometimes, old enough to remember the trip, not too old to resent us for taking us away from her friends. It's part of the country we've always wanted to see. My amazing office readily agreed to let me take the time off. It was time for Rob to leave Amgen. We could go through life saying, "Some day, we should..." or, we should just go. We took a leap. So far, so good. Five days in.

Day 5:
Today we drove through Glacier National Park. Sadly, we couldn't drive the full way through the whole park, because half of it was closed. The part that we saw was still very scenic. We saw a couple of waterfalls, and a beautiful river. We also saw a lake, where the water was so clear that you could see all the rocks on the bottom. We are now camping in a KOA campground, that just happens to have Wi-fi!!!

1/2 way across Montana...Dutch oven dinner & dessert

Thursday night:  

We had a great time in Grand Teton and Yellowstone and are now over 1/2 way across Montana enroute to Glacier NP. Dinner tonight was a breakfast style dutch oven dish, immediately followed by a giant chocolate chip cookie made in the same Dutch.  Mmmmm good!

Day 2 of 2 and a half months...

Day 2 of the trip:

Today we are going to drive to the Grand Tetons. So far this trip has been pretty fun, all except for the long hours of driving. Yes, there was scenery, but nothing too interesting except for a giant dump truck. Last night we stayed at Sinks Canyon State Park in a little campsite. We went on a hike after we were unloaded and settled, where there were rivers to cross, rocks to hop over, and lots of fun to be had. We are meeting friends to camp with tonight. They came all the way from California! Surprisingly, we met each other at the same intersection! See ya next post! 

Tetons!

We drove 500 miles from CO, the Carey's 900 from CA and we met at a planned intersection at the same moment. What are the chances? 

Departure Day!!!

Hey guys! It's Meghan.  It's finally the day! The day when we leave! Ahhhhhh!!! We are mostly all ready to go, I think... anyway, we are packed, ready, and excited. We have some drivin' to do! We've all got all the clothes we can fit stuffed into a about a foot by six inch bags. Along with shoes, toothbrushes, and assorted other things.

 By the way, if you want to see even more pictures of our adventure, (selfie!), follow us on Instagram at @byronsalaskaadventureblog. We can't put all our photos on the blog!

One week to go!

Well, just over a week. Today Byron had his pre-trip oil change and overall check out. "Looking Good".  

We also 'test packed' to see how we were doing on the pile of stuff we've been adding to in the house over the past months. Amazingly, there's still some space here and there in cabinets, we can see out the back window (not that it helps when driving), and I think that the floor will be pretty much clear.

The 'Solar Shower' is installed and tested. Maybe we'll even add a shower curtain to hang around the raised deck lid! 

It will be a busy week at work as I transition everything to the folks taking over my job duties. Last day is Friday (morning), then pick up Aunt Jane at the airport, celebrate Meghan's graduation from Bear Creek. Saturday party with a whole lot of friends to empty out the home refrigerator, and hit the road on Monday! First stop, Sinks Canyon, Wyoming, then meet some friends in Grand Teton NP on Tuesday.

We can hardly wait!