The Last Frontier

 

And we're off!    We left yesterday morning heading towards Alaska.   The 4 of us were beyond excited.   We played the ABC game, marked off over half of the states in the license plate game, and sang until we were hoarse.   We drove from home, Augusta, GA, and our first stop was to be the "Largest Cedar Bucket" in the world    However, when we arrived the fence was locked at Cannonsburg Village which was established in 1776.   It looked like a really neat place, and we walked around a bit seeing if we could locate it from outside the fence, but it was a bust.   Next stop:   Nashville

Each state I chose some food that the state was known for and then we all decide what we want to try.  Last night's fare:  Prince's Chicken so we could eat Nashville Hot Chicken.   We tried that a few years ago on our "Yellowstone adventure."   Half of us enjoyed the food, and the other half thought even the mild was too spicy.   

Only place left to go was our campsite for the night.  I saved A LOT of money by joining Harvest Hosts.   You pay for a yearly membership, and as long as you can boondock you can stay at thousands of places across the US & Canada for free.  Our first stop: Broken Point Farm.  We arrived in a beautiful area in Clarksville, TN with farm lands and gorgeous homes.   Our directions were to call the owners when we arrived at their driveway which I did.   The owner met us and had us follow him up to a clearing where he allows campers to stay at his farm.   We set up camp, and realize we are going to need the generator to be able t o sleep because it was 88 inside & humid.     Our only dilemma was my generator came with instruction not to get wet because it would run the electronics and there was a 50% chance of rain.   So, I'm up typing this at 5 in the morning because we set an alarm for 3:30 to unhook the generator and another at 430 (rain was to arrive at 5) to load the cooled off generator back into my truck.  And so we did, and the kiddos are back sleeping soundly.  I'll be getting up the sleepers around 7 to get ready to head to our next destination.   We plan to go to church along the way finding a church that's on the route to our next destination.

That's a wrap for day one, except to remind myself I didn't do my self any favors watching "Missing 411", and  hundreds of episodes of mystery & crime shows over the years or horror movies or books as a youth,   As we pulled up to our "camp" next to an old empty barn with no other person in sight, my first thought was "I just followed a stranger down a long dirt road with 3 other people I'm responsible for and set up camp next to a huge old barn in the woods."   I had to remind the kiddos because they were already thinking "what in the world did she sign us up for" that these are safe places checked out by the Harvest Hosts business and secretly preached that to my overactive imagination until I could relax, enjoy the star filled night, and plan the next day.   Besides that, we bought two quarts of the biggest blackberries I've seen in years that are so delicious from the owners.  That was quite the bonus!  So day one at our first Harvest Homes stop was a win.  Until tomorrow, Michelle

P.S.  Check out our vlog here for pics and videos of day 1.   We should have it up by noon.    

A quick, but not the best picture of night one

Four More Days - Last minute things

We are wrapping up loose ends prepping for our big trip.  To say we are ecstatic is an understatement!    I've been working extra hours at work to make sure I'm leaving things all caught up although I plan to work evenings when I can so I don't return to an overwhelming amount of work.   I really enjoy what I do, so I don't really mind winding down that way in the evenings.    I've checked all my lists, and checked them twice.    This last week I had things we had to check off like the following:

      *  Practice run with the generator

      *  Test run with the tire gauge/pump

      * Got the bit in for my impact driver to test run on the scissor jacks

      * Bear training:   What do if we encounter black bears, brown bears, etc.   

And tomorrow, I want to practice one more time how to do the gray & black water necessaries.

Emily & Praise took my sketches this week and designed my logo for our travel itineraries.   I love it and am so pleased with how it turned out.   After years of friends and family asking me to sell them, I finally began listing them on Etsy.  You can find them here by week's end.  

The picture you'll find on etsy
 for our Great American Road Trip

It's nearly midnight and I still haven't done my duolingo (can't lose the streak, lol)!   So goodnight to all and I'm so excited you guys are going to join us on our travels.  I especially appreciate all that have said they'd pray for our safety.      Bon nuit, Michelle

Our Next Adventure: Alaska!

I haven't written in a very long time.   I've thought of a gazillion subjects to write about while "gone" from the blogosphere but couldn't find or make the time to actually sit and write.   However, after many requests from family and friends, I'm back!   Many have asked for me to begin journaling our adventures.   It seemed selfish at first, but if it gives somebody else the itch to go and see the wonders of creation it will be totally worth it.   

From last camping trip 

What I want to share most with my friends and family is to tell of the goodness of our Lord Jesus.   I want to tell you that He has been so very faithful to me since Rusty passed.    How I was concerned about being alone and found the following to be so true:  We are never alone in Christ.  He is faithful and true.   It's not just a sappy saying to make somebody feel good.   It's His true nature, and it's real!!   And in the grief of no longer walking with Rusty this side of heaven, I've still been able to walk in joy, laugh with my friends and children, dream big dreams, and dare to go on adventures to discover the beautiful creation around the world.  It's also fun to meet folks along the way and hear a bit of their stories.

Hiking the Augusta Canal

And the next adventure will begin in 5 days!   It's one of my biggest undertakings yet.  We will be traveling from Georgia to Alaska and back.  We are wrapping up the few states we are missing besides Hawaii.   My crazy adventures began two years after Rusty passed, and I spend lots of time evenings and weekends planning and dreaming of what we will see and do.   After months of planning, I feel like this is one of my best planned trips yet.   

So please, come along with us.   I'd like to share how I come up with our crazy ideas, how we travel fairly cheap, what we eat and the list of dishes we are going to try in each state, where we hike, what animals we see, and so much more.  Until tomorrow, Michelle

“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.”

― St. Augustine of Hippo