The Grand Finale!

Fifteen months ago we embarked on our Great Family Adventure and now I am thrilled to report that WE ARE FINALLY BACK HOME!! HOORAY!!!! The renters have moved, so let the dogs run free and the unpacking ensue! We're all excited and I'm more than a little curious to see what sorts of things we'll uncover that I've forgotten about along the way..... 

After returning to our first blog post, I can happily confirm that we've achieved every goal and have come a long way. A VERY long way. In fact, I think the best way to conclude this blog is with a recap of the highlights, so here goes!

 

We:  

- Drove about 45,000 miles. (That's almost double the circumference of the earth!!)

- Are on our third set of tires for a car that is less than 2 years old.

- Had one flat tire (on the loneliest highway in America of all places...)

- Visited all four corners of the American roads system.

- Drove the entire length of both the Alcan and Dalton Highways.

- Drove the full length of the Alaska Pipeline.
- Slept in the barracks of oil workers on The North Slope.

- Drove through six time zones.

- Experienced 24 hour sunlight.
- Visited 43 states and 8 Canadian provinces. 

- Spent the night in 25 states.

- Walked on arctic tundra.

- Walked on Matanuska Glacier.
- Tasted glacial ice in our drinks after it had been fished out of the water in Prince William Sound.

- Waded in the Arctic Ocean. 

- Waded in Chena Hot Springs.

- Our oldest son flew a plane over Knick Glacier.

- Our youngest son drove a boat in the Everglades and rode on a camel.

- Were pulled by an Iditarod sled dog team.

- Witnessed the Aurora Borealis in it's full glory.

- Saw people surfing the Alaska Bore Tides.

- Learned how to use an authentic Eskimo Yo-Yo.

- Saw the tallest mountains in North America.

- Met and learned from Native people all over the continent.

- Visited long-unseen family from all four branches, in both the U.S. and Canada.

- Visited Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and quilters all over North America.

- Visited as many national parks as possible, both American and Canadian, during significant anniversaries.

- Saw the following animals in the wild: Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Deer, Caribou/Reindeer, Moose, Javelina, Alligator, Eagle, Dall Sheep, Bison, Elk, Fox, Rabbit and Hare, Porcupine, Hawk, Squirrel, Coyote, Sandhill Crane, Loon, Bighorn Sheep, Raven, Crow, Seagull, Swan, Canadian Geese, Puffins, Seal, Whale, Cow, Musk Ox, Mountain Goats, Antelope, Ibis, Dolphin, Osprey, Pelican, Iguana, Chicken, Manatee (okay, this one was in a zoo of sorts, but we did see their natural habitat in person!), Peacock, Snake, and so many more!

- Learned about things like geothermal energy first-hand (Chena Hot Springs, Yellowstone...). 

- Visited as many farmers markets as possible and tried many new regional foods (Square ice cream? Honeyberries? Pinon Nuts? Conch?).

- Got library cards and checked out books in each location we stayed (except Maine). 

- Crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge and drove through a tree.
- Taught the kids about politics while watching a very controversial presidential election.

- Saw a cattle drive.

- Stood in four states at once.

- Visited cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. 

- Saw a cactus forest.
- Visited an "energy vortex".

- Participated in The Festival of Lights. 

- Experienced snow in Arizona.

- Visited vast canyons, giant rock formations, giant waterfalls, and a giant meteor crater.

- Drove Historic Route 66.

- Took a left at Albuquerque.  

- Slept by a graveyard.

- Ate beignets and drank chicory café au lait at Café du Monde.

- Witnessed a NASA Atlas 5 rocket launch in person. 

- Had a nasty encounter with fire ants.

- Had season passes for Disney World.

- Ate Key Lime Pie in the Florida Keys.

- Discovered there's no such place as Kokomo. 

- Swam in the ocean.

- Saw real-life mermaids eating and drinking under water.

- Met an author and drove by Stephen King's house.
- Met an Olympian. 

- Visited lots of cheesy tourist attractions.

- Drove UNDER a body of water.

- Were chased by a snow storm.

- Ate a Boston Cream Donut at Dunkin' Donuts in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Had lunch at the original Wahlburgers location in Hingham, Massachusetts.

- Saw frozen lakes.

- Walked through a covered bridge.

- Watched the process of making both birch and maple syrups.

- Tasted the first candy to be commercially sold in America (No, not the ACTUAL candy!). 

- Visited lighthouses.

- Visited a working Shaker Village where the last two actual Shakers live.

- Visited Prince Edward Island and Green Gables. 

- Found Oak Island.

- Visited Civil War battlefields and stayed in a haunted(?) house.

- Toured America's Capitol. 

- Visited the Canadian capital during Canada's 150th Anniversary.

- Were detained at a border crossing.

- Watched a race at Churchill Downs.

- Explored the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

- Ate a Kentucky Hot Brown at the Brown Hotel.

- Ate Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky (It tasted the same).

- Found Col Sanders grave.

- Watched the making of a Louisville Slugger in person.
- Lost 1 credit card and a drivers license.

- Bought boots in Nashville. 

- Attended a show at the Grand Ole Opry (wearing said boots).

- Drove through Rocky Top, Tennessee while singing "Rocky Top Tennessee".
- Ran moonshine across state lines.

- Saw a life-size replica of Noah's Arc.

- Experienced a total solar eclipse.
- Said goodbye to a loved one and celebrated the graduation and wedding of two more. 

- Homeschooled all three of our children for a year....and survived!

- All five of us (plus two dogs) lived in a hotel room for one month...and survived!
- Reached over 30,000 hits on this blog, and saw it through to the end. <3

We'd like to thank to each and every one of you for following along on our Great Family Adventure. May life bring you many wonderful adventures of your own! Who knows? We may be reading about YOU one day!

With much gratitude, this is the Schmidt Family signing off!

This is the Schmidt Family in Alaska, Signing Off!

.....Well, not signing off completely. We still have year to go, after all! This is just our last blog post coming to you from the great state of Alaska. This time next week we'll be somewhere in central Canada heading to our next destination (cowboy country!). If we have internet access I'll try to post a little update to let you know we're all alive and well and made it back down the Alcan.

Leaving Alaska will be bittersweet for us. On one hand, we're ready to explore a new region and discover new things. On the other hand, we love Alaska. It's beautiful, the people are kind, and there's no shortage of things to learn about. I'm sure we could be here for the next ten years and still not satisfy our curiosity! For now we're happy to have had this experience and to have gained a better understanding of "the real Alaska." As we prepare to leave, my youngest son and I are scheduled to camp out this weekend with a local Cub Scout pack. It's a great way to spend my birthday and complete this leg of the trip, I think.

As of Wednesday, school has officially started for the Schmidt kids. It's an adjustment for them, as the older two have been in the public school system their whole lives. It's been hard to see the pictures of their friends in line for the bus, knowing the timetable of how the school works and what everyone is probably doing at any given time. There's a feeling of "missing out" even while their friends are cheering them on and are telling them that they wish they were on this adventure too. We went through this last year when our youngest was homeschooled for the first time. It takes time to "deschool" but we'll all find our new learning rhythm eventually. They're all motivated to stay on top of their basic studies (math and languages), so that has made the transition easier so far. Most of what they'll be learning for science, history, geography, etc. will come naturally over our travels. We've been discussing what else they'd like to study this year. So far I have two votes for Spanish and one for French, and the older two want to learn about computer animation, which is all possible with our flexible schedule.

As for our explorations, last weekend we drove down the Kenai Peninsula to Homer and drove through Anchor Point, which is the westernmost point on the U.S. roads system. There are other roads in the western parts of Alaska but you have to fly or sail to get to them first. So that makes two checks on our "Must Visit Places" list-The northernmost and westernmost points. Hooray!

Here are some fun facts you might enjoy. Alaska is the most extreme state because:

1. It's the northernmost, westernmost and easternmost state because the last few islands in the Aleutian chain cross the International Date Line.
2. It boasts the highest elevation point- Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) at 20,320 feet.
3. The top ten tallest mountains in the U.S. are located here.
4. It's home to the most remote location in the U.S., Ipnavik River, which is located 120 miles from the nearest sign of civilization.
5. Alaska is home to the largest number of volcanoes in the U.S.
6. The biggest earthquake recorded in North America was the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 at a whopping magnitude 9.2 for four minutes. You can still see the effects of it today! It liquefied land, petrifying trees. They actually stand in the same place today where they stood then, like sticks in the ground.
7. The coldest winters have been recorded in Alaska because of it's proximity to the North Pole.
8. Alaska is home to the most glaciers in the inhabited world.
9. Alaska is the largest state.
10. Alaska has more coastline that any other state.

Pretty amazing, right?! Here's a glacial view from Homer that's also amazing.

When we arrived in Homer, we had a wonderful view of the Spit. It was smaller than I thought it would be, but then again I'd never seen a spit before so I don't know what I was expecting. You can find the definition of a spit here. This particular one is large enough that boardwalks have been built on it and you can visit stores and restaurants. There are even apartments at the end, although I don't know if I'd want to live there in the event of a Tsunami.... Regardless, the view of Kachemak Bay is fantastic!

This is a view of the spit. See that little line snaking out in the middle of the water?

Here's a view of some of the buildings on the spit as seen from the tide pools during low tide.

You access the majority of the buildings via boardwalk.

We made sure to stop and pay our respects at the Seafarer's Memorial.

If you're a fan of the show "Deadliest Catch," then you'll recognize the boat "Saga." It was docked at the marina while we were there. Elliot Neese, former captain, is from Homer.

Another TV family from Homer that you might recognize are the Kilcher's from "Alaska: The Last Frontier." Their daughter is singer, Jewel. We drove by their homestead too.

The view of Kachemak Bay and the glaciers over it are glorious! There's no guesswork why the homesteaders who settled there chose to stay!

We loved the drive and made sure to stop by Two Sisters Bakery for breakfast. Believe me, it was worth every calorie!

We had lunch at "Little Mermaid", a small mermaid-themed restaurant with delicious local fare. I had the beet salad and the kids loved their pizza. My husband ordered tuna poke and finished every bite. The Alaskan food scene is pretty fantastic if you know where to look. If you're ever in the 49th State, be sure to consult Edible Alaska.

And now our final blog farewell to Alaska: It was our privilege to share some time with you. Thank you for your generous hospitality and big personality! We'll never forget it.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week, or two if you don't hear from me before we get to our next destination!

- Jen

The End of the Pipeline

Last Friday we waited in that line I was telling you about for the Whittier Tunnel. You know, the one that both vehicles and trains use....one at a time. It's a very precise schedule, but we got in!

Then we drove onto the Ferry to Valdez. It was a six hour ride but the ferry has a cafeteria and showed "Inside Out" for the kids, so it was pretty peaceful. The rest of us looked out the windows hoping to see the scenery through the rain. The Alaska Marine Highway is one of the most gorgeous "commutes" in the world.

When I was a kid the only reference I had for "Valdez" (pronounced val-deez) was the oil spill. I pictured industrial factories, dirty streets, and rivers with a fine rainbow sheen on them. After being in Valdez, I can confidently say that nothing is further from the truth. In fact, of all the places we've seen in Alaska to date, the Valdez area is the area where I sat on the edge of my seat most to absorb every detail. It was gorgeous!

Valdez, itself, is a small fishing village surrounded by glaciers and waterfalls. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline may end there, but you can't see it like you can on the route to Deadhorse.  In fact, this is the only visible evidence we saw of the pipeline in town.

The rest of Valdez is mostly small town and waterfront.  

It takes less than five minutes to reach the end of town from the boat launch. Just outside town you'll see a tunnel that was started during the railroad era, but never finished due to a disagreement that ended in a gun fight. "The Iron Trail" by Rex Beach describes it, according to a nearby sign. I haven't read the book yet, so can't recommend it one way or the other. If you've read it, let me know if it's any good!

The road after that is all waterfalls, mountains and glaciers. It's breathtaking! Some people snooze on road trips. You wouldn't on this one! You'd probably look more like a kid on their first trip to Disneyland! It's that fantastic. I mean, just look at our road views!

We were there for a few days, so we decided to spend one of the days going to McCarthy, which is famous for the Kennecott Copper Mine,  the native Athabascan people....and a few other things. We spent some time at the Copper River, where the worlds most delicious salmon spawn. We even saw a few fish wheels being used by native Alaskans. I think it's silver salmon (Coho) season right now.

The road to McCarthy ended up being more treacherous than the Dalton, and a few of the kids weren't feeling well, so we decided to stop and turn around. We had a delicious lunch at the historic Gilpatricks Hotel in Chitina (pronounced chit-nuh). I ordered the reindeer sausage, which is served on a roll with sauerkraut and mustard, German style (makes my mouth water even now!). Then we headed down the road to the Kenny Lake Fair.

Kenny Lake is a very small farming community. Once a year they all get together on someones property and have an old fashioned fair where people bring animals, homemade items, and produce to be judged. They offer freshly made goodies, like buttery crusted blueberry pie and ice cream. They also beckon to you to play games for prizes and have booths set up to sell items they've made throughout the year, like dream catchers. Needless to say, I was in Heaven. Everyone knew everyone. Kids and adults danced with each other next to the stage where the local band played, and kids walked around asking if anyone wanted to buy their Alaska-grown peas or play a game for the local high school fundraiser.

When our trip to the Valdez area ended, we drove home in order to see a different route and get a stamp on our National Parks Passport at Wrangell Elias National Park. There we learned about the Athabascan people, animals and vegetation in the area, and were able to touch actual animal pelts. I think my favorite was the beaver pelt. It was a lot softer and thicker than I thought it would be. This is a very large national park, filled with all kinds of amazing things. I recommend visiting it if you're in the area.

We had lunch in Glennallen and then stumbled across the most unbelievable part of our trip. We had planned to stop to take pictures at Matanuska Glacier, since we are living in the MatSu Borough, but when we got to it we found out that you can actually pay a fee and go in to WALK ON THE GLACIER!! You can touch it, stand on it, listen to it crack and creek, and see the effects of global warming up close and personal. Of course, we signed our lives away on the waiver and went in!

This was definitely a bucket-list item for me. We all had fun. The kids especially liked throwing caution to the wind, jumping over fissures in the ice. Walking in, it was surprising how fast we went from mud to ice without even realizing it. It's not often you get the opportunity to see the view from the glacier point of view. It was the very definition of awesome.

The only thing that was disappointing was seeing a cigarette butt that someone had dropped and left on the glacier. So disrespectful and disgusting! Do us all a favor and leave every place you visit cleaner than you found it.

After all that activity, this week has been pretty calm. I met with a local quilt group and they were all very welcoming and friendly. Not to mention talented! It was nice to work on my state flowers quilt with them. I also finished the Ahtna Athabascan Beading project. As you can see here, I restarted and collaborated with the kids (and their beads). Hooray for completion!

The trees have started to turn colors, so I guess that means Autumn starts in August here. I'm curious to see what the weather will be like when we leave in the middle of September. Until then, I'm savoring every moment.

Have a great week!

- Jen

Glaciers and Borscht

Once again, the look of the blog has changed and I think it's pretty close to done at this point (unless you are a super awesome web developer and want to help me overhaul it into something unbelievable for free... ;-))

This post is a day early because tomorrow morning we leave for Valdez (pronounced val-deez) and wifi will be spotty at best. Valdez is located in Prince William Sound and is home to all kinds of wildlife, glaciers, and so much more. You'll just have to check back next week to see how it went.

We actually spent last Saturday in Prince William Sound too. Being the hybrid of local tourists that we are, we wanted to ride the rails and take a glacier cruise. Those are just basic must-do's when you're in Alaska. Especially if you're like us and love trains. So, we booked our trip with the Alaska Railroad and Major Marine Tours and headed to Anchorage to board the train to Whittier.

The train ride alone was beautiful. We've driven through Anchorage, along Turnagain Arm, and down the Kenai Peninsula several times since we've been here, but it's an entirely different experience taking the train. The rails go along paths where cars just can't go and you pass a lot more scenery that you wouldn't normally see, especially if you're the one driving. You're also able to hear some of the history about areas you're moving through from one of the high school student interns who make up part of the crew. They're a part of the tourism program at their schools and really have a unique local perspective on the area. Plus they are friendly and enthusiastic, and that really makes all the difference.

Whittier is one of the main hubs for marine traffic in Alaska but it is very secluded. Yes, some people live there, but not many. In fact, most of the people who go to Whittier never even leave the docks before they're whisked away by either train or ship. The ones who live there live in one of two buildings and really have to pull together for the months where food is scarce and the snow is high.

There's only one single lane tunnel, for both inbound and outbound traffic that is shared by both automobiles and trains. It's only open for fifteen minutes at the top of the hour for one direction, and fifteen minutes at the bottom of the hour for the other direction.

Once we arrived, we boarded the boat for our tour of Blackstone Bay.

A Chugach National Forest Ranger was there to greet us and promptly enrolled the younger two in the Junior Ranger Program. All along our ride, the ranger told us about the area we were in, what we were seeing, and the history surrounding the areas. She also had books about the wildlife and people could look through binoculars to see things like this Bald Eagle.

We took a cruise through the Inside Passage for our tenth anniversary and had seen Glacier Bay, so that was the experience I was expecting. Just being about to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Boy was I mistaken! Because this boat was much smaller than the cruise ship we were on in 2009, we were able to get a lot closer to the glaciers. It was so cool! Amazing and freezing at the same time. It was raining, so that's why the pictures are a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.

This one's for scale. See that boat in the water? These glaciers are massive!

At one point, one of the crew threw out a net and snagged a couple of floating chunks of glacier ice that had broken off and were floating nearby. One chunk was for pictures and close examination, and the other was for breaking apart for drinks! They offered alcoholic and non alcoholic options, so our whole family tried a drink with glacier ice in it. I ordered the non-alcoholic drink, which was a mixture of pineapple juice and something else (guava?). It was delicious! The glacier ice tasted just like regular ice, but was crystal clear, a little bit colder, and a little bit harder (more dense). Just the experience of drinking glacial ice while steering next to glaciers was an experience of a lifetime.

The captain of the boat was very skilled and when we were passing next to a glacial waterfall, he steered us up right next to it- like splashing on the boat close! Our youngest had a great time reaching out to touch that icy water from the deck. The water below us was that milky turquoise blue.

After our waterfall experience, the boat was turned around and we headed back to Whittier. Our kids finished the requirements in the Junior Ranger booklet and helped the ranger pass around animal pelts and a small vial with an ice worm in it. Then she lined up all the kids who were participating and officially swore them in as Junior Rangers. Each one received their own badge.

It was a great experience, and one I would recommend. You can even opt to purchase an all you can eat salmon and steak lunch, complete with dessert, which was wonderful and very tender.

The rest of the week has been spent doing the everyday things that we all need to do, like laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping. My daughter and I went to the local junk store (as we like to call it) yesterday and had fun checking out the offerings. After that, we walked the strip mall next to it and found an Eastern European market and deli. If you know me, then you know I love all kinds of food. Especially Mediterranean and Eastern European. This little shop didn't disappoint. We bought some hot borscht with warm, freshly baked, bread for lunch, along with pierogi and sour cream for dinner. Some gingerbread cookies and a few other sweets may, or may not, have made it into the basket as well....

Visiting this little store was part of a history lesson in itself. Alaska was once a Russian territory (and before you ask, no. You can't see Russia from Wasilla ;-)). This is a fact we knew from growing up in the lower 48, but being up here brings a whole new perspective and curiosity that we never had before. We have been learning about the history of relations between the Russians and the native people, the Russian communities that still exist up here, and the traditions and art that the descendants of these people practice today. It's really interesting and something I would encourage you to research for yourself.

Hope you all have a great weekend! As for me, on to packing!

- Jen