What is epic? It is defined in www.dictionary.com below:
epic
[ ep-ik ]
adjective
heroic; majestic; impressively great:
the epic events of the war.
of unusually great size or extent:
a crime wave of epic proportions.
Slang. very impressive; spectacular; awesome:
Their burgers and fries are epic!
What is adventure? Wikipedia defines it as:
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky.[1] Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sports.
Combine the two words together, and what do you have? In the words of the late Ed Sullivan, you have “a really big show”.
This little jaunt of ours was every bit of a really big show. We decided that we would call this trip “The BEAUTY and the Beasts Tour”. We saw incredible beauty all along the way, but we also had some very beastly moments.
BEAUTY:
Where does one start to describe all the beauty we witnessed? Everywhere we went, it was present — even on the Dempster Highway.
I brought crafts to work on in the truck, but between rough roads, incredible scenery, and the beasts we encountered along the way, I barely touched any of it.
If we had to choose our favorite experiences of the trip, we would most assuredly choose Glacier National Park, the bear excursion at Katmai National Park, our meal at Captain Patty’s on the Homer Spit, the Arctic Ocean, and visiting Jade and Adem. For me, I would also have to include photographing the eagle right on the beach.
Driving the Going to the Sun Road through Glacier was an experience like no other we have ever encountered. The beauty literally takes one’s breath away. To us, it was akin to having a spiritual experience — it was that beautiful.
The bears. OMG the bears! That excursion to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park was a spur-of-the-moment choice, and we will forever be happy we chose to spend the money on such an amazing experience.
We chose Bald Mountain Air out of Homer, Alaska. They are located on the Homer Spit. Yep. It was a lot of money, but it was so very worth it to be able to see and photograph so many bears in their natural environment. I highly recommend this excursion if you ever find yourself in Homer, Alaska.
We had quite a few disappointing and even some questionable food experiences. We had two outstanding meals — one in Seward at Fifth Avenue Bar & Bistro and one at Captain Patty’s on the Homer Spit. Of the two, Captain Patty’s was absolutely phenomenal. We will more than likely be unable to enjoy salmon and halibut anywhere as much as we did at Captain Patty’s. It’s the real deal for freshly-caught seafood.
And then we come to the Arctic Ocean. This was huge for us — not so much because it was any more beautiful than any other ocean we have ever seen, but because WE MADE IT! We overcame so much to get to the Arctic Ocean, and it was an event in and of itself when we did. We only personally know two other people who have been to the Arctic Ocean. That’s pretty cool, huh?!
Also amongst the BEAUTY was reconnecting with our granddaughter and spending time with her and her boyfriend on the way home. It was balm for our shaken spirits. It had been way too long coming, and we all so badly needed it.
THE BEASTS:
We had so many “beasts” attacking our trip. I am not one to dwell on the negative, so I won’t bring them all up in this post. Many of the beasts were covered in the blog posts while we were traveling; some of them were not. One by one, we persevered and slayed every single one of them, continuing on with our journey.
Of all the beasts, two by far were the hardest to handle. Being so far away in another country when my son and daughter had to remove life support from their father after an unrecoverable cardiac event was so hard.
Receiving the call that my son-in-law had died tragically two and a half weeks later was beyond any words I have found yet to fully describe it.
The return trip instantly became all about getting home as quickly and as safely as possible so we could begin figuring out how to mend the shattered hearts of our family, including ours. It will not be easy — the work that is before us. We have no answers for much of it, and stress is at an all-time high.
We have experienced so much loss over the past six years. I will be honest in saying that the weight has been a bit much, and the stress has been compounding.
The losses and resulting fall-out while we were so far away on this trip began to make me feel as though I couldn’t fully breathe. My heart has been tight and heavy. The tragic loss of my son-in-law and the circumstances my son is dealing with are situations that make me feel as though I am perilously close to breaking at times. But I am working my way through it as best I can. We all are.
I am also reaching out for the professional help needed in order to better navigate it all. There is no shame in reaching out for help when it is needed.
I have a phenomenal friends-and-family support team who have been helping me stay grounded when the winds blow me around as though I am a torn piece of paper that has been haphazardly ripped out of a notebook and tossed into the air. I am fortunate in that regard, and I am so thankful for my tribe.
Was the trip what we expected? In some ways, it was; in some ways, it was not. If we had it to do again, we would do some things much differently for sure. But overall, we are so glad we did it, and it will forevermore remain our epic road trip — beasts and all!
I don’t know what the immediate future holds for us, but I do know that it is going to entail a lot of unknowns and change. We will meet it all to the best of our abilities, crossing the bridges as we get to them.
I am not sure what will happen with the blog. At some point, I will more than likely begin posting on it again. The email notifications you received will stop after this one, because many of you were following along for the trip and may not be interested in whatever I am writing about in its aftermath. It is no longer password protected, as I only did that while we were on the road.
We extend a huge thank you to our family and friends for indulging us in this crazy pursuit. We know it made many of you very nervous. We tried our very best to keep you all informed so as to eliminate some of your concern.
We thank all of you for “traveling” with us and being interested in our crazy, epic adventure. It’s been something, hasn’t it?