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Travelogue,
09/30/04
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Wrapping it up
I managed to squeeze one last
hike out of the season, through the forest and along the western shore of
Resurrection Bay. It was a fine, brisk fall day, sunny but cool enough to
hike hard without breaking a sweat. Here are a few photos from that hike:
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A few days later I left
Resurrection Bay in a light drizzle, having spend more than a
month living there. The town of Seward bid me farewell with a
rainbow that appeared just as I pulled onto the road to leave. |
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On the drive to Anchorage, the Seward Highway featured a wet
landscape brightened by sudden splashes of sunshine on snowcapped
peaks, and golden Aspens reminiscent of the Rocky Mountains.
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My days in Anchorage were
a blur of activity, running errands and completing final preparations to
store the RV for the winter. It rained most of the time and even snowed a
little, making
everything harder to accomplish. In the midst of it all I sat for (and passed)
a Coast Guard exam to add a Sail Auxiliary addendum to my recently renewed
captain's
license.
At last the time came to leave my
camper in its fenced storage lot, surrounded by other vehicles similarly
abandoned by owners fleeing the onset of the Alaskan winter. I'd done
everything I could to ensure the RV's safe hibernation. With a twinge of
regret I locked the doors and hopped into a cab. This summer's road adventure was over.
That night I luxuriated in a
motel room near the airport. A long, hot bath, room service, the first
presidential debate on television. It felt decadent and good. In the
morning I boarded a flight to New York. After a few weeks visiting there
I'll be starting another adventure, flying to New Zealand by way of
Tahiti. I don't know if I'll be cataloging that trip as I've done this past
summer. Probably not.
I'll close this travelogue with a
paraphrased line someone sent me. I don't know who wrote the original:
The goal in life
is not just to arrive at the grave safely,
in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly
used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming loudly, "Wow,
what a ride!"
RV mileage upon storing for the
winter: 65,250 (about 13,400 miles since leaving Rhode Island)
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