Breakfast on the Run

Up at 5:00 after fitful sleep by all at a camp site beside the Mackinaw Bridge. Rain pounding on the metal roof at 3:30 didn’t help any. Sleeping in the same bed with Thomas (something we haven’t experienced for 25 years) was not as bad as expected. Both of us were too paranoid to even roll over. He has his own sleeping bag, and I’ve got my own sheets and blankets. Have a feeling we’ll keep it that way.

We’ll be making fine-tuning adjustments as we go. Have to figure out a way to get some oxygen circulating while we sleep. Refrigerator is giving us some challenges; game on. We’ll get it figured out.

Truck is running like a top. Anna appears to handle the beast as well as Thomas or I! We’re impressed.

Anna says no more Double Shot Starbucks after 12:00 noon for her. She couldn’t fall asleep.

We stopped for “toiletries” as this quaint little spot half-way through the Upper Peninsula, found out they had wi-fi, so thought we’d shoot out a quick hello.

We’re working on the video cam. Are taking shots as we go. Watch for posts in the near future on this blog.

Alarm went off at 5:00. We were on the road by 6:15. Am getting snide comments from our “trackers” on our “spot GPS” calling us wusses for not taking the “top of Lake Superior” route. Our polite response – deal with it!

Today we have a 12.5 hour drive. Will be staying with the Knutsons (Anna’s in-laws) in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Then it is off to Yellowstone where we have reservations for Friday night, Spokane with my sister Rosemary Saturday night, my sister-in-law Rachel in Portland on Sunday. And so it goes.

So far little time for music or radio! Sporadic conversation, subtle humor, snide comments – all in all a great time. Will post in the next day or two the actual reason, and purpose for this trip.

Later!

Stopping over in the UP

Well, after a nearly sleepless night (for Thomas and me), we hit the ground running at 6 am. I was just starting to sleep soundly when I looked up and Dad was making coffee 1 foot away from me. Let's just say there's not an abundance of space in our camper. That was at 5 am, and an hour later we were on the road. While I complain more, I think Thomas got even less sleep than I did.

Yesterday was a long day, and we pulled into Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground right around dusk. The campground was situated at a picturesque spot on Lake Huron, which, unfortunately we couldn't see since the sun was already down. Thomas and I turned into robo-chefs, cooking up pasta and corn on the cob at an unprecedented pace. Dad took care of his "precious", AKA the camper and truck. He's not content unless the windshield is completely spotless. We ate around 8:30, and after taking care of dishes, it was time for bed.

Today we are all sleep-deprived zombies, and the gray skies and drizzle have not been waking us up. Currently we are eating pasties (pronounced with short "a" sound, like in "cat") - a northern Michigan, Wisconsin, & Minnesotan specialty that consists of shredded carrots, potatoes, and ground beef encased in a pastry shell (think pie crust). Thomas wanted an authentic eating experience, so here we are. Being from Ohio, we didn't realize we were ordering a lunch food for breakfast, but we're too sleep deprived to care.

Next stop: East Grand Forks, Minnesota. If we stay on track, we hope to be there by dinner time (6:30 or 7, not 8:30). Looking forward to seeing John and Sue and borrowing a vacuum to clean out our already-dirty camper.

Backseat Driving

Reclining in the back seat with three pillows while the youngings keep everything humming smoothly! Will be crossing Mackinaw bridge at 8.27. Will then "pitch tent" for the first night.

Getting all kinds of honks and waves due to graphics on the truck. Friends are messaging me informing me of our exact location.

We currently do not want the trip to end. Let's see how long that lasts.

Departure Eve

It is the evening of the night before. There is an eerie stillness in the air. I’m a little on edge, concerned about something we’ll leave behind that we cannot replace while on the road – such as passport!

Or, knowing Thomas, who does not have a license for a concealed carry, whether or not he stowed a flat-shooting rifle in one of the wheel wells so assure a venison feast once north of the 49th parallel.

Otherwise, everything is fine, although I’m staying away from coffee for the evening.

Thomas spent the day fine tuning what took me a month to cobble together. Anna and our youngest daughter Mary went grocery shopping, after which the three of them found the appropriate places throughout the camper for food, cooking supplies, toiletries, laptops, charging cell phone devices and sundry activities.

Thomas took particular care to mount his racing bicycle on the ladder on the rear end of the camper. He is optimistic enough to believe that we will all be on the road early enough each morning to insure that we arrive at our campsites an hour or two before dark so he can cycle in the last thirty miles while Anna and I set up camp.

We thought better of mounting the spare propane tank on a compartment mounted to the rear bumper and transferred it to the roof, where it will be strapped down with a ratchet tie-down, and then locked. There are certain friends we are visiting that we don’t entirely trust. Now we won’t have to worry about blowing up the camper by an 18-wheeler rear-ending us, or a moose mistaking us for a cow, but we will have to watch for low-slung bridges.

I’ve been told that on occasion I snore, so will be bringing along multiple sets of earplugs for those that complain.

I noticed Anna bought some exotic air-freshener and placed it by the sink. That’s like carrying a peashooter to drop an elephant.

The interior has been vacuumed, memory-foam mattresses added, interior windows cleaned, grey-water tank filled, exotic tablets dropped down the toilet (it reminds me of those reverse flushing airplane toilets that have ruined at least one flight), “camper only” toilet paper well stocked, additional towel hooks installed – I’d say we are good to go.

Will top off the tank in the morning, and then we are off!

Ohiopyle Excursion = Camping Dry Run

This might not be the best timing to realize that, try as I might, I don't really enjoy camping. At least not camping of the tent variety. The Dunn family took a camping trip to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, this past weekend: the scenery was gorgeous, the weather perfect, the company above average, and the activities abundant. The only thing that my weekend was missing was a comfortable bed - and boy, did I miss it!




Lest you think I'm a complete homebody, I'll give you some context: Joe and I did quite a few camping trips the first few years of our marriage (when we were in our 20s). Ever since we moved to Ohio, we've talked about getting out the camping gear and going up to Cuyahoga National Park - it just hasn't happened. Camping in Ohio just doesn't have the same appeal as camping in the Pacific Northwest.

So, we've fallen out of practice with camping, which might explain why we forgot to bring padding other than our sleeping bags on which to sleep (a crucial mistake). We've also aged 5 years since our last camping trip, and I've gone through chemotherapy, radiation, and some bone deterioration in my hip. These factors formed the crucial trifecta for me to wake up at 3 am and be too uncomfortable to fall back asleep. I remember thinking during this time of near-hallucinogenic insomnia (I swear the trees were talking to each other) that either the forces of gravity had gotten much stronger over the past 5 years or the earth had gotten much harder. It took awhile before it dawned on me that my own physical and mental fallibility were to blame.

Accepting responsibility can be hard - especially responsibility for your own discomfort! But somehow, I think this was probably a good lesson to learn before going on the Alaska trip. The up side of all this, though, was that after my sleepless night in the tent, I got to snuggle up with my niece in the camper bed the second night. I can report that after testing out my future sleeping quarters, they are MUCH more comfortable than sleeping on gravel.

Anticipation Trumps Reality

Being a "little" OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) has it's upsides, my friends! If one is going to be on a road trip for thirty days, 5,000 miles from home, in a truck camper with two of your children, and you are hard-wired to be a boot-strapper with a fierce streak of Scots-Irish independence, then you attempt to anticipate every conceivable mechanical dysfunction (non-mechanical ones I wash my hands of). For example, what if we accidentally lock ourselves out of the truck somewhere up in Nome, and it’s 20 degrees below zero! I’ve got FIVE key back-ups. Each of us carry one in our wallet, and I’ve got two concealed on the exterior of the truck, that with a hefty stone that is capable of breaking things, will expose two more.

The anticipation is ramping to the point that I’m up at 2:00 a.m. frying eggs, hoping they will act as a soporific. I have a daily check list that I go through. Every time I eliminate one item, I replace it with two more. For example, the weight on the rear-end of our 2500 Dodge 5.9 litre Cummings 2007 truck with 103,000 miles is such that I’m concerned my headlights on low beam will be the equivalent to headlights on high beam. To address this, as road conditions may vary, I purchased a Tork 20 wrench (never heard of that before) which enables us to make our own adjustments on the fly. I had never been in a Napa Auto parts store before. In the last two weeks I’ve been in countless times for spare bulbs, tire-repair kit (we have a 12 volt air compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter), and other odd-ball items. Now Joe, (Anna’s husband) suggested I get a “bra” for the front of the truck. A big diesel macho truck with a bra?! Yea, right!

This spotting GPS unit (click the link on this blog) that plots our every move is a little intimidating for those of us that are slightly paranoid. I’m having a business lunch with a couple of friends two days ago when I get interrupted by my son Paul with an e-mail wanting to know what I’m doing at a Bob Evans in Wadsworth, Ohio in the middle of the day!

One of the coolest things our people came up with is a QR Code. Don’t feel bad if you don’t have a clue what that is. I didn't know either. I would describe it as a bar-code on steroids. It is square, rather than rectangular. With your smart phone (only works with smart people) you can download an app that allows you to take a scan of the code which then opens up the website connected to the code. Restaurants are starting to use it on their menus. In Japan they are putting them on tombstones. Now Mary (my graphic designer) wants me to get a tattoo for my China trade show in October that will enable customers to scan my forehead, and open up a link straight to PGD! The QR Code will be mounted on the back, and each side of the truck, along with the URL of our blog. Whip out your smart phone, scan us, and you’ll get these updates! (or type in the URL if you’re old school).

The foregoing are things I can prepare for. What I'm incapable of prepping for are the dynamics of two alpha males, and one alpha female cooped up in this pickup truck for a month! Do stay tuned. If there are no misadventures, we will all be disappointed. It is the unexpected things that go wrong, and how we respond to them, that will make the memories of this trip indelible.

Detailed Itinerary

Here is a more detailed itinerary, which is also subject to change.

8/30: Dalton, OH - Saulte St. Marie, MI
8/30: Sault St. Marie - Thunder Bay, Ontario
9/1: Thunder Bay - EGF, MN
9/2: EGF - Yellowstone NP
9/3: Yellowstone NP - Spokane
9/4: Spokane, WA - Portland, OR
9/5: Portland, OR - Vancouver, BC
9/6: Vancouver - Prince George
9/7: Prince George - Somewhere in BC enroute to Watson
9/8: Watson, Yukon Territory
9/9: Watson - Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
9/10: Whitehorse - Tok, AK
9/11: Tok - Anchorage, AK
9/12: Anchorage - Homer, AK


View Alaska Itinerary in a larger map

Dad's Latest Obsession

Well we haven't left the homestead yet, but I have to say that everything in, on, around, above, below, and beneath the camper/trailer has been meta-analyzed in every way possible, down to the number of pounds we are carrying (9 thousand and something). My inbox is full and overflowing with so many e-mails about this trip that I'm counting down the days we leave, just so I don't have to reply to any more e-mails about tracking devices, sleeping arrangements, bike mounting, miners lights, food, cooking, itineraries, blogs, gray water, grills, lawn chairs, tables, and - oh yes - arranging to meet to talk face-to-face to discuss all this and MORE!

I imagine that Franklin Geiser will bow down and offer a sacrifice to the gods of the road when our camper finally departs Wayne county and he won't be required to make any more technical/mechanical adjustments. In fact, I think P. Graham Dunn's labor will go way up in productivity, since it won't be spent on our camping trip any longer!

I know that taking a roadtrip to Alaska is a great privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am grateful for this opportunity, and especially to my dad for making it possible. I'm even alright with my younger brother tagging along, just as long as he remembers his place (bottom of the food chain). I'm just a little bit skeptical about how well we will all get along when we're trapped together for 80 hours on the road. Hopefully we all come back alive. At least we're not planning to try to do anything stupid like go Into the Wild. That said, I'm sure there's plenty of unplanned stupidity that will happen. Make sure to check in here so you find out what it is.

We have not put too much energy into creating a trip itinerary. Peter has done substantial work to preparing the truck and truck cap camper that will be our home for the month. For better or worse, that is about the extent of our planning. We have a copy of The MilePost which contains a detailed description of all the routes to and in Alaska. We also have a copy of Woodall's camping directory.

Here is our itinerary right now.

• August 26-28. The entire Dunn family will be spending a weekend in a cabin in PA as this will be the last time Peter, Anna & Thomas can spend time with Mary before she heads back to Peru
• August 29. Load up the truck and camper
• August 30. Depart Dalton, Ohio
• October 1. Return to Dalton Ohio

Stay posted for more details! We'll keep you up to date whenever we have internet access.

-td