Our Journey to Alaska - The Decision

I promised I would do it, so here it is.  I am a woman of my word, well....most of the time....when it counts ;). Anyway, a blog to share our family's experiences moving from California to Alaska. Shocking, I know. Seems extreme, I know. It's flipping cold up there, I know! But people, we have one lifetime (debatable by some, agreed) to see and experience all that this amazing planet has to offer and we cannot do that staying put in one place. But you have kids, a high schooler and a middle schooler....I know. It is more for them than anyone. To teach them that change is good, to be adventurous, to learn and see new things, to meet new people, taste different foods, to face their fears......live, not just exist.

And so the decision was made, the die cast.....we're doin' this thing. Everyone's on board. Joe went back to work for Carlile Transportation based out of Fairbanks, Alaska in October 2014, driving truck on the Dalton Highway, aka "The Haul Road". Not for the faint of heart, this 360 mile ice road is the main supply route for the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. It's scary dangerous, straight up. Period. I try very hard not to think about it.  

Here's some pics from Joe's trip up in October. As you can see, he took the Howard family jewels up with him. 

Joe loaded and ready to head out.

Wrangell - Saint Elias National Park

And here's some of Joe's pics from the haul road. Frozen beauty.

The boys and I stayed in Coarsegold making arrangements for the move and starting the packing process. In November I flew up to Fairbanks to meet Joe, find a place to live, check out schools for the boys, and see Alaska for the first time.  We decided on a little house in a small town about 20 minutes south of Fairbanks called North Pole.  Yes, I said North Pole.  Yes, Santa lives there. We visited his house, here is a pic of it.

In addition to visiting Santa's house, I also got to see the Aurora Borealis my last night there.  There is truly no way to describe how amazing the Northern Lights are, but I am here to tell you that every one of you needs to see them before you die.  It is one of this planet's most amazing natural phenomenons. Go. Just do it.  

When Joe arrived home on December 19th, five days before the move, it became very apparent that not enough packing had occurred. Yikes, people. What an ordeal. Moving is tough under any circumstances, but this was different. Most of our stuff was being put in storage. We were only taking what we could fit in a 5 foot by 10 foot trailer. So with each and every item we had to decide.....chuck it, store it, sell it, take it for sure, or take it if there's room. Eleven years we had been in that house....eleven years of stuff. Sigh......it was ugly. I will not go into detail for the sake of our reputations.  I must however acknowledge three people who were life-saving help to us.....Sarah Campbell, Phil Thearle, and Linda Clay.   We could not have done it without their help and are truly grateful for their friendship.  

Four long days of ugly and three storage units later, we were out of there. Whew, glad that's over!!  Two adults, two kids and two cats headed to Sonora to spend Christmas Eve with family. Christmas morning we would start our journey to Alaska!