Infinite Adventures

Believe it or not, I did travel in 2012.  I even had some small adventures.  Sadly, I got behind right from the start and never did get any of them written about.  Oops.  But I'm back to tell you about the amazing adventure I had in Alaska with Infinite Adventures.  The plan to go on this trip actually started last Fall when my friend David Patrick told me that he was starting a company with his partner Natalie Morawietz.  I had to be good all year to pull this trip off, but the travel withdrawal was worth it.

I have known David since I was in second grade and he was in fourth grade.  We used to carpool to our Catholic elementary school.  As a kid I thought he was cool and used to follow him and his friends around like an annoying little sister.  I'm not sure why, but he put up with me, at least I don't have any memories of him telling me to scram.  We overlapped again in High School for a couple of years and I still thought of him like a big brother.  Over the years we have caught up with each other when we could.  I knew that he had been a trip leader for different travel companies on and off during that time.  I was always interested, but never seemed to pull it off to go on one of the trips.  More recently David and Natalie had both worked leading trips for Dragoman in Africa and South America, which is how they met.  Reading about those trips I definitely wanted to make something work so I could go.  Before I pulled the resources together they were back in America and starting their own company with the things they had learned.  As soon as I heard the news, I told David that I would sign up for one of the trips.  I knew before my birthday last October that I was going to find a way to make this work.  Some of my birthday presents were things that would help me prepare for camping in Alaska.  Once I got those gifts there was no turning back, not that I wanted to.

David and I at his High School Graduation.  (Earliest photo I could find.) 

Infinite Adventures will have trips in the western part of the lower 48 states, but started with 17 day trips in Alaska this summer.  Ever since my first trip to Alaska in 2008 I've been dying to visit again.  This was the ideal way for me to go back, see more and experience things I had missed on a solo trip.  The first time I went I spent time in Anchorage, Denali National Park and Seward.  I would see those places again on this adventure, but I would also get to visit MacLaren River Lodge on the Denali Highway, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in McCarthy, Valdez, Homer, Kasitsna Bay (near Seldovia) and Hope.  I studied the dates that were offered and compared them to my work schedule, finally deciding that the August 2nd trip was going to be the one that fit.  David was great about letting me make payments on the trip.  The minute I sent in the last payment I started working on saving up for the Kitty.  (You can find more information about the trip price and the kitty at www.infiniteadv.com)  Thankfully during those months of travel withdrawal David and Natalie were posting progress reports on the truck we would be traveling in, photos of the tents and showing us the beauty of Alaska that we would be experiencing.  It helped.  It also helped that David put up with all my questions and Facebook chats over those months.

On the way North, David and Natalie stopped in Salt Lake City to visit with David's cousin Chris, who also grew up in Bloomington.  Until their stop I had never met Chris, since he went to the other high school in town.  I was lucky enough to join the three of them for dinner.  It was nice to meet Chris and know there are other Indiana University fans in Salt Lake.  (It's amazing the # of Bloomington people who end up out here in Utah.)  I also got a chance to get a sneak peak at the truck I'd be riding in for 17 days.  David and Natalie took a school bus and transformed it into a fabulous way to travel.  They took out the benches and put in comfortable seats.  They also put lockers overhead so that we could keep some of our personal items on the bus with us.  There is a section of seats that face each other with a table in between.  Perfect for a group of 8 to eat together when the weather is less than desirable.  It had been a handicap accessible bus, so the back was sectioned off and made into a storage locker for our tents, gear and luggage.  On the sides of the bus underneath there are compartments for storing things like the plates, cook stoves, food, etc.  The back has a place for firewood and a ladder that allows you to climb up to the top where they added a viewing platform.  It's a great place to safely see wildlife or to just get that higher perspective.  The official countdown to August 2nd started with that first glimpse of how I'd be traveling.

Me and David this summer on his way North to Alaska.

Eventually being good about saving my time off was rewarded.  I headed to Alaska and the many amazing adventures that awaited me.  Watch for more posts as I tell you the stories of all the things David talked me into trying or convinced me I could do.  I fully admit there might have been some internal cussing at times, but all of it was worth it.  And I'm happy that I tried everything.  This was seriously the best adventure ever.  Hopefully after reading about my travels with Infinite Adventures you will want to join them next summer for your own.