“So, you had to be there…” That’s what my brother told me when I was catching him up on all our wild Alaskan adventures. How do you even try to explain all the wonders we experienced over the course of a year, over just a few beers. You don’t. He had asked if we were still blogging about our travels. Testament to the fact that he clearly stopped following along long ago. If he ever read it. Regardless, I was explaining how my own blogging had tapered off. Did you notice?

“At some point,” I said, “I just couldn’t find the words anymore.” I found it difficult to convey the awesomeness we were experiencing, and actually do it justice. He just nodded and said…

You had to be there.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. It was a relief to hear it put so simply. I’ve been shoulding all over myself ever since my posting started tapering off here. We’d been on a pretty good run, with Rene and I consistently posting (almost) weekly for the past few years. Perhaps it suggests my lack of proclivity to convey our Alaskan experience in words. And photos never do most adventures justice. So, I stopped trying.

I could blame it on how we’re focusing our efforts on work that pays the bills. And, how I pour most of my time into The RV Entrepreneur podcast I’ve now been hosting for more than a year now. But in reality, it’s about much more than Alaska. And you just had to be there.

For instance, you had to be there when we pulled away from that big old house in our new truck and fifth wheel more than 17 years ago. I burst out laughing. And I would have laughed even louder if you’d have told me I’d still be traveling today. Or still writing about my year in Alaska. Or at least trying to. Yet, here I am in another new trailer. Now our third Arctic Fox. And boy do we have some stories to share about our search for this new home. But again, you had to be there. Like the time I fell through the roof of one used rig we were seriously considering. We’ll get to that too.

You had to be there on those long runs is subzero temps, when the groomed trail gets covered in deep snow. And oh, we never shared that long trek slog across Willow Swamp. That’s where you wonder where the trail even is. And no, I haven’t yet written about the Iditarod. Or, how I have hundreds of photos from that day with our friends on the lake, watching all the mushers take off. Another experience I’ll never forget.

And then there’s Denali. There are simply no words…I couldn’t begin to explain the white-knuckle drive on icy roads with two wolves who watched us in wonder. What were we thinking? The trip to the kennels was certainly worthy of writing, yet that was yet another experience we never shared. But there have been so many. If I’m catching y’all up, where do I begin?

Do I try to describe our anniversary weekend in Valdez? Yeah, it was beautiful, and amazing, with great weather. But how do I explain how we were there a week early? Travel Tip: Don’t go to Valdez the week before the season starts if all you want is some fresh fish.

So there.

Where do I begin to catch up, with so much that has already happened since we left Alaska. What a whirlwind. In just a couple months, we’ve put nearly another 10,000 miles on the truck. We drove daily from Alaska to Los Angeles. After just a couple weeks, we drove back to Colorado then on out to New York. If I forget to tell you about our ultimate New York Fashion Week experience, suffice it to say you had to be there. Maybe Rene will fill you in soon.

New York Fashion Week: Elysian’s Catwalk FurBaby Show

But that’s not all the driving we did. Next, we headed to upstate New York for a wonderful visit with my sister. We even got to see the tug boat parade, and watch fireworks from the boat. Then, it was on to Hershey, Pennsylvania where I co-hosted The RV Entrepreneur Workshop. Meanwhile, my new Mac acted up with a whacked screen. But I digress. The trip continued to Virginia before we started heading west again. That’s when we got serious in our search for a new trailer.

The Search for Our New Home

We were bent on finding something fast. I almost wrote a blog post titled: I’m sick of this lifestyle! It would have been pure clickbait. I was referring to how we were staying in so many hotels. But Rene threw out my collection of key cards I was saving for the photo. And now, we’re back in Colorado. We’re enjoying the comforts of our new home.

However, we’re also discovering that even the best built rigs have all sorts of issues. And, it’s easier to deal with most of those myself rather than the warranty claim hassle and wait. Because, we’re off to Vegas next. We’re running the first official Las Vegas Marathon. Then, finally we’ll head back to FOY for the winter. I’m so done with driving. It will feel good to get back into our regular groove again.

So, I guess this a long rambling way to say Alaska rocked our world. Getting there and back turned our life upside down. And honestly, you had to be there. But as for the lack of blogging? This long strange trip helped me realize that the best adventures are to be had and thoroughly enjoyed, not necessarily constantly shared.