Highlights and Favorite Moments
I have received plenty of questions about my favorite places or memories of the trip. I have noticed that many of these involve bad weather or sticky situations. I guess that says a lot about me.
-The night in Mena, Arkansas. It rained so hard and while I never had rain leaking into my tent, the floor felt like a water bed. That was an interesting night, I was waking up every 2-3 hours to check it. I would occasionally hear Opa ask how I was holding up or joke that he was standing up to hold his tent poles.
-The night in Elk City, Oklahoma. The third day of the trip! We settle in just before a thunderstorm hits. I'm bracing myself against the wall of the tent and luckily I have my tent pointed in the direction that proved to be more aerodynamic in the storm. Opa and his 4 man tent, however, did not have the same luck. He was standing up for about an hour, holding his tent before the poles just snapped. He collected his things and slept in the bathroom.
-The night in Alamosa, Colorado. We had set up our tents in a KOA and gone into town for ice cream. As we were leaving, Opa noticed how dark the sky was and said that we had to race back to camp. He jumps off the bike so fast complaining about how he left his tent door open and a bunch of "shit" had blown in. He was tossing sticks and leaves out of his tent. I was utterly useless, bent over laughing, listening to him through the headset.
-The night in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We pulled in after again racing the grey clouds. We pull up to the site and it starts to drizzle. We race to set our stuff up hoping that we set it up before the heavy rain starts. As soon as both tents are finished, it stops raining. Of course.
-The afternoon in Hyder, Alaska. Opa told stories of camping there and seeing bears, talking about how his friends were annoyed by the bears. He kept saying that he could not believe that the Hyder had finally paved the main road.We went as far as the road would allow before turning back. The Canadian Border Patrol or Customs or whatever asked a lot of questions about 2 people only being in Hyder for about 45 minutes. Like we were going to commit some master plan.
-I enjoyed the random stories that Opa would tell throughout the day about growing up or becoming the person he is today. He had a lot of advice to share.
-The cough. Opa never moves the mic from his mouth, even to cough. I'll be listening to music and then his booming cough cuts through. I hated it then but, I have grown to enjoy and appreciate it, after watching him undergo major heart surgery. One day, it won't cut through and I will have nothing to groan about.
-The flat tire that took an hour to deal with in Haines Junction.
-The scenery of Destruction Bay.
-The excitement he had when he found a pair of basketball shorts that had a neon stripe in it to match his highlighter/neon shirts.
-Racing the rain many times and almost always dodging it until we were at camp. The best was when it rained in Durango or on our way to Dawson Creek. It was hot on our way back to Durango and when we found the shade and the cool rain-we tried to stay with it as much as possible. Riding in the rain to Dawson Creek was great because we stood up while riding for about 15-20 (in bursts) to dry off.
-The pictures I have with or of Opa. Napping in his chair after the day was done, making breakfast, or the hunts for our ever constant Dairy Queen. The best was the little jingles he would sing every now and then
-The night in Mena, Arkansas. It rained so hard and while I never had rain leaking into my tent, the floor felt like a water bed. That was an interesting night, I was waking up every 2-3 hours to check it. I would occasionally hear Opa ask how I was holding up or joke that he was standing up to hold his tent poles.
-The night in Elk City, Oklahoma. The third day of the trip! We settle in just before a thunderstorm hits. I'm bracing myself against the wall of the tent and luckily I have my tent pointed in the direction that proved to be more aerodynamic in the storm. Opa and his 4 man tent, however, did not have the same luck. He was standing up for about an hour, holding his tent before the poles just snapped. He collected his things and slept in the bathroom.
-The night in Alamosa, Colorado. We had set up our tents in a KOA and gone into town for ice cream. As we were leaving, Opa noticed how dark the sky was and said that we had to race back to camp. He jumps off the bike so fast complaining about how he left his tent door open and a bunch of "shit" had blown in. He was tossing sticks and leaves out of his tent. I was utterly useless, bent over laughing, listening to him through the headset.
-The night in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We pulled in after again racing the grey clouds. We pull up to the site and it starts to drizzle. We race to set our stuff up hoping that we set it up before the heavy rain starts. As soon as both tents are finished, it stops raining. Of course.
-The afternoon in Hyder, Alaska. Opa told stories of camping there and seeing bears, talking about how his friends were annoyed by the bears. He kept saying that he could not believe that the Hyder had finally paved the main road.We went as far as the road would allow before turning back. The Canadian Border Patrol or Customs or whatever asked a lot of questions about 2 people only being in Hyder for about 45 minutes. Like we were going to commit some master plan.
-I enjoyed the random stories that Opa would tell throughout the day about growing up or becoming the person he is today. He had a lot of advice to share.
-The cough. Opa never moves the mic from his mouth, even to cough. I'll be listening to music and then his booming cough cuts through. I hated it then but, I have grown to enjoy and appreciate it, after watching him undergo major heart surgery. One day, it won't cut through and I will have nothing to groan about.
-The flat tire that took an hour to deal with in Haines Junction.
-The scenery of Destruction Bay.
-The excitement he had when he found a pair of basketball shorts that had a neon stripe in it to match his highlighter/neon shirts.
-Racing the rain many times and almost always dodging it until we were at camp. The best was when it rained in Durango or on our way to Dawson Creek. It was hot on our way back to Durango and when we found the shade and the cool rain-we tried to stay with it as much as possible. Riding in the rain to Dawson Creek was great because we stood up while riding for about 15-20 (in bursts) to dry off.
-The pictures I have with or of Opa. Napping in his chair after the day was done, making breakfast, or the hunts for our ever constant Dairy Queen. The best was the little jingles he would sing every now and then
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