7,818 Miles

We’re home!  We can hardly fathom that we covered 7,818 miles in only 5 weeks.  British Columbia, The Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Alaska are VERY big places!  We totaled more miles than if we’d driven from Seattle to the Florida Keys and back. Quite a few more.  As we’ve written more than once, we have a new appreciation for what the word “vast” means.

A trip such as the one we’ve just completed is well worth taking.  Other than our 2008 trip to Africa in which we went on safari, we’ve never seen such an amazing collection of wildlife.  It simply doesn’t exist anymore in the lower 48, Europe and other places we’ve traveled.  Seeing animals in their natural habitat is a very moving experience, nothing like seeing them in photos or a zoo.

Additionally, experiencing a chunk of the planet in its much more natural state further heightens our appreciation for the environment, and our concern for the abuse we people are heaping upon it. Trees, glaciers and animals are all in serious jeopardy.  Why we humans think we can continue to survive if everything else on the planet continues to decline completely eludes us.  We’re not oblivious to the irony in noting that we burned 600 gallons of fuel, and that each gallon burned produces 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, to make this trip. Bob is feeling guilty enough that he’s researching ways to buy carbon offsets.

So, to our family and friends: we hope to see you soon! To our fellow travelers and blog readers we’ve never met: we hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with us through this blog, and we hope we may enjoy reading your blog, or even meeting you somewhere along the road.  Happy travels!