We parked in the gravel parking lot of the Interagency Visitor Center just before 4:00am.  The building serves as both the visitor center for Gates of the Arctic National Park as well as the local headquarters for the Bureau of Land Management and the Division of Fish and Wildlife Conservation.

It may have been before 4:00am but the sun was brightly shining…just the way it had been for the last several continuous days and nights.

Our journey had begun the prior evening just outside of Denali National Park.  Ten hours of driving overnight while staring directly into the Sun along the road ahead had done quite the number to our equilibrium.

Uke managed to fall asleep almost immediately after parking the truck.  After that long intensive drive, I wasn’t sure how he could have possibly stayed awake any longer.

Myself, on the other hand, of course, lay awake staring directly into the Sun which was perched well above the horizon.

Driving a semi functional vehicle is not something I’m really proud to be knowledgeable about, but sometimes it comes in handy.

One of the large passenger vans at our worksite had a bad torque converter.  We were going to drive it two hours to Fairbanks (or as close as we could get).

The van backed up just fine, but when I shifted it into drive it would not budge.

After several attempts of revving the engine up quite high, shifting over and over into every gear, the van was still stationary.

On one final attempt, the van finally started to creep forward. I revved the engine just below its limit and it kept slowly creeping forward a bit faster.

“Go! Just GO!” Uke yelled at me from his nearby truck.

*Banging on Door*

“Andrew! Get up…..I smell smoke!”

We were just ten days removed from a significant fire on our property when I was woken up just three hours into a night of sleep.

Nevermind it was 8am, and also the fact that night does not exist in Alaska in June.

Smoke in the Canyon

I walked out of my door and the strong odor of a forest fire was unmistakable. The view of the canyon directly in front of our property was notably obscured by smoke.

However, we were clearly not in any immediate danger, unlike the last time.

“Meet me at my truck in five minutes.”

Uke called me and we instinctively knew it was time to go for a quick ride to try to find the fire.

The last month has more than likely been the busiest travel month of my life.

For starters, Sarah and I are married! We managed to fit a wedding and honeymoon in the West Indies into our odd lives.

We were officially wed on May 10th on the beautiful island nation of Barbados by the hilarious Rev. Holder.

It was only by a small stroke of luck that I ended up finding one of the most dreamy slices of the planet at all.

After spending a few nights in Hue during the peak of Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, it was time to slither just a bit south down the coast to Hoi An, Vietnam.

Tet is the biggest holiday in Vietnam and celebrations last for over one week, with much of the country completely shutting down to celebrate for several days.

Liberal Kansas to Trinidad, Colorado.

More Properly Known as: Liberal, Kansas to Trinidad, Colorado – May 2015

Just after the Sun peaked in the sky on May 16th, we were in the pre-trolling phase of  convective development. For today we were just outside of Liberal, Kansas.  There had been a moderate risk placed early that morning which stretched from Liberal, Kansas down to Childress, Texas.

We overslept, and the better risk appeared to be down south in Texas, however at this point we were too far north, and apparently more interested in Braum’s burgers than whatever the hell was going on outside with the atmosphere.

Road Food Time!

It was around 2pm when the towering cumulus clouds appeared to be anything but towering. Notably it wasn’t exactly humid outside as would be preferred for a storm day.

After the repulsively delicious and hedonistic meal was finished, we went out to the car and sat on our asses before driving further south out of town.

The car ride from the airport was daunting to say the least.  We were doing about 50mph through curves that would have been signed for 15 in the USA.  Honestly it was probably bad enough that I should have left questionable feedback for the Uber Driver, but I was having fun and wouldn’t do that.

After about twenty minutes of  bouncing from curb to curb, riding through tight and frequent twists, we were finally nearing the hostel. The car ride reminded me quite a bit of Atlanta, in the sense that this was a very large city, yet was sprawled out all over the place that you hardly knew whether you were in the center or not.

Rolling hills, short but yet very steep, which were covered with wide roads that wound back and forth…so much that you hardly knew which direction you were heading.

Arriving at the Hostel

The day dragged on longer than expected, and I didn’t arrive at the hostel until just after 9pm.  By that time, it appeared we were already in full evening party mode.  I could barely get in the door of the damn place!

It was the smallest and shackiest looking building I had gone inside of during my entire time in SE Asia.  The roof was flat and from street level, appeared to be about two feet shorter than I was.

Hontoon Island State Park, Florida

6th November, 2016

One of only a dozen or so of Florida’s 174 State Parks that I have been able to reach more than once is the secluded and secretive Hontoon Island.

Located near Deland, or about halfway in between Orlando and Daytona Beach, this park is only accessible by boat. So if you don’t have a boat to get there, sorry, you are screwed.

Not to worry, as the park offers a “ferry” to help you cross the St. Johns River and reach the island park.  The cost of the ferry is free and the ride lasts for about three minutes.

Also, this is one of the few parks that does not charge for admission either. I do encourage you to donate however to help support the park, as every dollar helps.

12 Feb 2018 – Hue, Vietnam

Tonight was the second night I spent in the street level bar of my hostel in Hue, Vietnam. It was also the second night I spent drinking a pitcher of beer with a German guy and our friend the Canadian Hedon Cowboy.

Let’s call the Canadian Cowboy….Nate.  Come to think of it, I never exchanged names with ‘Nate’ the three days we spent in Hue. This is not at all a surprise considering the circumstances at this particular stop in the journey.

Nate had blonde wavy hair that came down just past his ears and almost to his neck.  He looked like David Spade in Joe Dirt with a sprinkling of Matthew McConaughey. He also acted this way…if that even makes any sense.

11 Feb 2018 – Old Quarter, Hà Nội, Vietnam 

You’ve been standing on the side of the road for almost 20 minutes now. Your Grab driver was supposed to have arrived about six minutes ago. You can’t check where the driver is without an internet connection, however.

You decide to walk back to the homestay you just left in order to check on your Grab driver’s wellbeing. Of course, they canceled your ride.