Ah, December.

And so the travels continue.

This time it is down to the Lower 48 ('aka' America) to revel in the company of relatives and long-lost friends. It is with great pleasure that my Isuzu Trooper was found in good working order after months of loneliness while I was out and about - the Trooper has become a friend of sorts, escaping with me to the Pacific Northwest areas and providing the independent means necessary to travel this corner of the world and to visit said relatives and friends. On that note, does anyone what to buy a Trooper?

This is but a short chapter in life. A two week period in the States to catch up with family, visit friends, share a cup of coffee and talk about life and where this crazy thing is headed. It's also time to prepare for the next chapter. The chapter in which I travel to New Zealand and serve as a "missionary".

The road is narrow and the path dimly lit, and yet I trod on questioning the path through the fog ahead and continuing to wonder "what if?" Why? Why do we do the things we do in a way that may not make sense? Is our thinking out of whack or is the path mistaken for another?

On and On

Shots of Denali (Mt. McKinley) with Dad and the dog and me.

Time slows down for no one. I keep thinking that any day now I will update this thing - not that I don't want too, it's just that procrastination is too often my friend.

And, so, I sit here and compose a brief update nearly two weeks after arriving back in Alaska from New Zealand.

In amongst these near two weeks my parents and I made a trip to Fairbanks for Thanksgiving in order to spend time there with my brothers (and one sister-in-law) and family friends. This is where the pictures above came from - well, during the drive north anyway. It was quite wonderful, but a bit chilly. 25 degrees F below zero at night with a number of degrees warmer during the day.

Now, there are preparations to be made here in order for a later-this-week departure to the Lower 48. In addition there are preparations for a near-future return to New Zealand...

As of late I have read a number of insightful, humorous, and informative blogs. Maybe someday I will add some wit and lessons learned to the electronic pages of personal views, maybe...

Back to the Last Frontier

The travels in New Zealand and Australia have nearly come to an end.

None too soon I think. The travels with my sister have been good. We're both tired and ready to be done traveling. Well, I know I am.

There weren't any knock-out, drag-down fights - thankfully. Though I suppose we came close a couple of times. After six weeks of traveling together in close proximity I suppose that such things are bound to happen, though I wonder to what extreme.

We both leave New Zealand today - just in time to return to the impending winter of North America, or rather, in my case, the quite present winter in cold Alaska. I can't wait.

Oh, and we both hope to return to New Zealand in the New Year. More to follow on that as well as a few pictures from the recent travels in Australasia.