For over a year, our daughter Hadley has been living in Alaska. Just days after her high school graduation, she jumped on a flight to Anchorage and spent the summer traveling all over wild places working at our church summer camps. As August approached, she accepted a student missionary position with our church school in Palmer as a teacher's aide and pushed off college for a year. This was maybe the coolest gap year idea, though it took mom and dad a little bit to come around to it.
In short, Hadley thrived in Alaska. She packed the last twelve months with as many experiences that she could while working on her private pilot's license, helping kick off the Iditarod, flew up to Nome for the end of the race to see the finishers, learned to drive stick and how to drive in the snow, ran the Exit Glacier 10K in Seward, dodged moose on her runs and trips to town, did train trips, house sit to make extra money, backpack and camping trips, learned to drive snowmachines and four-wheelers, day hikes, and so much more.
As Hadley's school year was winding down, she wanted to wrap up her last month in Alaska with more exploring, hiking, camping, fishing, and whatever else could happen. My wife flew up to spend a week with Hadley and I flew up the following week to spend almost a week and a half with her.
We made a big circle from Anchorage to Homer to Seward and back to Palmer over the trip. The last day in Palmer was spent packing up her life in Alaska to fly home to following day. We maxed out two Patagonia duffels and a Fishpond waterproof duffel that we checked along with a 45 pound fish box, and then carried on four heavy pieces of luggage on the plane. Getting a year's worth of living back, along with my own gear for the trip, was no easy task but we did it somehow without incurring any extra baggage costs.
This was my first (and not my last) trip to Alaska and it far surpassed what I thought it would be. There are a lot of stories to tell in the coming days but first, we have to unpack.
In short, Hadley thrived in Alaska. She packed the last twelve months with as many experiences that she could while working on her private pilot's license, helping kick off the Iditarod, flew up to Nome for the end of the race to see the finishers, learned to drive stick and how to drive in the snow, ran the Exit Glacier 10K in Seward, dodged moose on her runs and trips to town, did train trips, house sit to make extra money, backpack and camping trips, learned to drive snowmachines and four-wheelers, day hikes, and so much more.
As Hadley's school year was winding down, she wanted to wrap up her last month in Alaska with more exploring, hiking, camping, fishing, and whatever else could happen. My wife flew up to spend a week with Hadley and I flew up the following week to spend almost a week and a half with her.
We made a big circle from Anchorage to Homer to Seward and back to Palmer over the trip. The last day in Palmer was spent packing up her life in Alaska to fly home to following day. We maxed out two Patagonia duffels and a Fishpond waterproof duffel that we checked along with a 45 pound fish box, and then carried on four heavy pieces of luggage on the plane. Getting a year's worth of living back, along with my own gear for the trip, was no easy task but we did it somehow without incurring any extra baggage costs.
This was my first (and not my last) trip to Alaska and it far surpassed what I thought it would be. There are a lot of stories to tell in the coming days but first, we have to unpack.
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