Traveling in remote areas

So here is the deal. We traveled all over the state this past summer. When we put our car away for the summer the odometer said we put on about 7,000 miles. Holy burning rubber. A ton of this was way out where most people don't go. And therefore- completely out of wifi-data-even cell phone range. So much happened in such a small period of time it was hard to keep track of. I'm going to do my best to recapture all the magic.

First- here are some of our over all "take aways" from this summer.

1. Take what people write on the internet with a grain of salt as far as recommendations. We took several way out of the way dirt- no maintenance roads for 100's of miles this summer. Some of the things other people posted were kind of scary. It definitely limited some of the things we did because we were more cautious. I remember reading posts about how people were blowing tires from pot holes, breaking windshields from trucks throwing rocks on their window as they passed. Use your common sense people. Slow down if there are a million pot holes your car is probably not superman. Pull over if you're on a utility road with working trucks trying to gain momentum to get up the next hill. We had born in Alaska people tell us that we saw more than they have, or more than most at least in a single summer and are completely fine. Just go. Be smart. But go.

2. Follow the weather! Oh my goodness. We got off the island and and were like kids in a candy store but instead cooped up adults with an open road. We bounced around here and there and nothing had rhyme or reason (I wouldn't really change the all over randomness really). However, we are in Alaska. Even in June it can be pretty chilly- especially as we traveled north. And that's where we headed first. Check and chase the good weather. A few weeks in we figured out life (even though it seems pretty obvious) and my quality of life greatly increased. We had entire days devoted to laying in hammocks and basking in the sun. I even got the best Chaco tan of my life and I'm from Colorado.

3. Take pictures. But let some moments just be "good for the soul". We live in an age where we want to document everything. We need to get it on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, printed in a memory book, on our blogs even. We need evidence we were there and what we did. It can be a hard habit to break. But as soon as you have that camera or phone in front of you, you are more an observer than a participant. You miss things. Get your classic shots and wow moments in. But save some of it just for you. Take it in. Let it surround out. The experience will be ten fold.

4. Use what you have. You do not need the best of the best. Make a few investments here and there that will really add to the quality of your life but then just make do. Sometimes having to get creative is some of the best memories. We passed so many huge RV's or trucks with huge slide-in campers with all their toys strapped on to the side. It all seemed exhausting. I'm in the world's biggest backyard. Why do I need to be able to watch tv? And then lets talk about price. How much did all those rigs cost? We really were traveling on the bare minimum but I guarantee that we saw more and did more than any of those fancy rigs. 

5. Be prepared. I honestly have no big story to tell here. Because we were always prepared. We took extra gas, had plenty of extra water, always had enough food, and we made sure the car was up on its maintenance. In fact the brakes started to give the classic warning sound that they needed to be changed and we stopped for a few hours in Fairbanks and changed them in a Walmart parking lot. I use the word "we" loosely. I shopped for lunch and wandered the isles of Fred Meyer.