2025 – The Pan American Highway
After my first real “overlanding” trip in 2010 with my two boys through southern Europe and around Morocco, I became inspired by this form of travel. I already loved off-roading, camping, hiking, and exploring and combining it with the international travel became an obsession. I cannot remember when I first heard about the Pan-American Highway, but the first blog I found in 2010 was authored by Dan Grec called “The Road Chose Me”. In 2009, Dan decided to drive the trek in a Jeep Wrangler and posted about his trip over 23 months. The Pan-American Highway made it to my bucket list along with Alaska and the Yukon, Australia, Africa, and Mongolia. One important note about bucket lists is that they will never become fulfilled unless we put a date and a commitment on a calendar. Life will get in the way and fine every blocker available to keep the list untouched. After my Alaska expedition in 2019 (I call it an expedition because term feels more accurate than “road trip” or “vacation”), my commitment solidified and 2025 was penned in to the calendar. And at this point, life began its roadblocks.
2019 Alaska and Canada Excursion – with Carl
Our excursion for 2019 was a 10,000 mile adventure from Colorado through Wyoming, Utah, Montana and finally into Canada. We traveled to some great National Parks to include Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, and Olympic. Canada’s Watertown, Banff, and Jasper National Parks were visited on our way to The Dempster Highway and finally the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyatuk. We plan to travel through Fairbanks and Anchorage and on to Denali and the Kenai Peninsula to Homer and hopefully a ferry ride to Kodak Island.
We will be documenting the animals we see, the natural beauty we pass through, and the people we meet. The longest excursion I have been on, not counting Iraq or Afghanistan, was 17 days from Germany to Gibraltar and on through Morocco. The Alaska/Canada excursion will be three times in length and 2 times the distance. My travel companion had completed one much longer, last year, with a 2400 mile backpacking trip from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. It will be an adventure.
Carl and I will be traveling in a 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser that has been transformed into our mobile home. It contains a kitchen adaptation, a roof top tent, and every nook and crannie has been utilized to manage our gear, food, and comfort. We will be camping 5-6 days per week with maybe a day a week at a local establishment to manage the necessities of life. I am bringing my mountain bike to allow me to visit some of the great trails in Canada and Alaska. Carl is sharpening his hiking poles and will explore the trails we come across.
This passion for exploring and adventure travel has been long in the making and this new chapter in my life will be crafted to enable these excursions and will provide an opportunity to bring others along for the adventure. Baja Mexico, the Mojave trail, trans-Colorado trail, remote Arizona and New Mexico will be the focus in the next two years.
Next Steps…
Join us on the journey. Contact us. Let us plan something for you in the coming year.