I am definitely starting this blog a little bit late since I got to Alaska about 3 weeks ago. But I am going to start from the beginning of my trip and go through all of the highlights that I can remember.
The Drive Up:
The trip started out in Oneill Nebraska fitting 5 people into a van with all the stuff that we would need for the summer. Everything was going well for the first few hours and then going up a large hill in South Dakota the van stopped accelerating normally. We decided to try to make it to the next town with a mechanics shop and we went about 20 below the speed limit and having to restart the car at multiple times. After chugging our way along in this way for over an hour we finally got to the town of Kadoka, South Dakota. There we learned that an engine piston was probably melted and that we would no longer be able to drive the van. So we looked at all of our options and I didnt really think that it was looking to good. So we spent a full day taking in all there is in a small town in South Dakota. The mechanic that we met there was very hospitable and we found out later that he was a strong Christian. We went to a concert with the mechanic and his wife that night and basically did whatever we could find. Spending the day in some random city was quite an unexpected adventure. So the answer to our prayers came in the form of Tompkins parents purchasing a suburban that night and getting it all ready to go by noon the day after our car broke down. It was amazing to see how everything came through to help get the group up to Alaska.
So once we got back on the road again it was pretty much just intense driving from then on. We drove for the next 36 hours with short breaks for gas and restroom. We made it through Canada in about a day and a half. Then we had to stop on a road up a mountain for about 4-5 hours because of blizzarding snow and fog and then drove for the 12 hours to finish up the drive.
We arrived at Haines the night before our ferry left. Our ferry took a couple hours to get from Haines to Juneau. Then we arrived in Juneau a couple days before project began.
Overall the trip was pretty enjoyable and it made for some good bonding moments, especially the stop in Kadoka,SD. One negative thing about the drive was that I definitely have trouble sleeping in cars so there was a couple day period with only a couple days of sleep. The trip was a good experience and turned out to be quite an adventure.
The Drive Up:
The trip started out in Oneill Nebraska fitting 5 people into a van with all the stuff that we would need for the summer. Everything was going well for the first few hours and then going up a large hill in South Dakota the van stopped accelerating normally. We decided to try to make it to the next town with a mechanics shop and we went about 20 below the speed limit and having to restart the car at multiple times. After chugging our way along in this way for over an hour we finally got to the town of Kadoka, South Dakota. There we learned that an engine piston was probably melted and that we would no longer be able to drive the van. So we looked at all of our options and I didnt really think that it was looking to good. So we spent a full day taking in all there is in a small town in South Dakota. The mechanic that we met there was very hospitable and we found out later that he was a strong Christian. We went to a concert with the mechanic and his wife that night and basically did whatever we could find. Spending the day in some random city was quite an unexpected adventure. So the answer to our prayers came in the form of Tompkins parents purchasing a suburban that night and getting it all ready to go by noon the day after our car broke down. It was amazing to see how everything came through to help get the group up to Alaska.
So once we got back on the road again it was pretty much just intense driving from then on. We drove for the next 36 hours with short breaks for gas and restroom. We made it through Canada in about a day and a half. Then we had to stop on a road up a mountain for about 4-5 hours because of blizzarding snow and fog and then drove for the 12 hours to finish up the drive.
We arrived at Haines the night before our ferry left. Our ferry took a couple hours to get from Haines to Juneau. Then we arrived in Juneau a couple days before project began.
Overall the trip was pretty enjoyable and it made for some good bonding moments, especially the stop in Kadoka,SD. One negative thing about the drive was that I definitely have trouble sleeping in cars so there was a couple day period with only a couple days of sleep. The trip was a good experience and turned out to be quite an adventure.
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