Back home safe and sound after 39 days and 11,738 miles. We traveled through nine states (NM, CO, WY, MT, WA, OR, CA, NV and AZ) and three provinces (BC, YK, and NWT). We crossed the Atlantic/Pacific Continental Divide three times and the Pacific/Arctic Continental Divide at least four times. After seeing literally hundreds of small towns and several cities, Sandi and I both agreed, there’s no place better for us than our own small farm in Las Palomas Canyon, NM. We are very lucky.
Don’t get me wrong, we had a wonderful trip and enjoyed almost every minute of it. We set out to see the most remote corners of North America we could reach, and we managed to explore some of the truly isolated communities of Canada and Alaska. On the scale of these grand expanses of real estate, there is no such thing as an isolated community in the lower 48; no place where the nearest gas station 150 miles away; no place (that I know of) where groceries and other necessities must be flown in for much of the year; no place where the locals live almost entirely on subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering.
It seemed to us that the farther from cities we went, the more “kindred spirits” we encountered. Although Sandi and I were certainly strangers in these strange lands, we found that meeting locals was no problem in places like Dawson City, Mayo, Inuvik, Tok, Seward, Watson Lake, etc. Many appreciated our curiosity about their lives and locale. Others anticipated the dollars we would spread in their communities, which rely on tourism for much of their sustenance. But, we also felt like we had some things more intimately in common with these isolated peoples, coming from one of the most sparsely populated counties in the lower 48 states (Sierra County NM has a density of 3.2 people per square mile), and trying to make at least part of our livelihood from the land. Just like in Sierra County, these people of the North work three or more “jobs” to make ends meet, often including the sale of goods they found, made, grew, shot or caught themselves. They have learned to use native or recycled materials combined with local talent, knowledge and ingenuity to build their tools, furniture, fences, homes and businesses. They love the land and appreciate that they can live in such beautiful places. I like to think Sandi and I are learning some of those same ways and definitely the same awe and appreciation for the lands we each live on. These similarities made for easy conversation.
Just as we had moved from Chicago to remote New Mexico , many (if not most) of the residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Alaska came originally from someplace else (For example, only 38% of Alaska’s population was born there). They chose to move from the crowds and comforts of larger cities to the wilderness, seeking a simpler, more independent life, where knowledge of nature is more valuable than knowledge of street grids. And, just as it was for us in our own Sierra County, these newcomers were readily accepted into their new communities, so long as they appreciated their surroundings and did their part to support the community. So, as it turned out, we have much in common with the remote residents we met.
One such kindred spirit turned out to be my own cousin, Patti (Trish) Duncan. As Sandi has reported, Trish lives near Haines, Alaska in the beautiful log home her boyfriend, Mike Gaedes (sp?), built himself. Trish “chucked it all in” a couple years ago, left her corporate job and took off on a long traveling tour of the US and Canada. She discovered the beauty of Haines, and stayed on, and took a job with the local ferry/sightseeing company. Soon after, she badgered Mike into a date while he was a captive audience ferrying from Haines to Skagway, where he worked as a glacier guide. Although we were not able to meet Mike, we hope he and Trish will come down to visit us in New Mexico this fall or winter. We think they will like our farm almost as much as we enjoyed their beautiful home and surroundings in Haines.
Any discussion of meeting people and kindred spirits has to include our dog, Molli. Dozens of times folks would stop us to meet her, many with children or their own dogs in tow. Of course, dog owners will meet and talk anywhere, but Molli deserves special mention for attracting children with her sparkly demeanor, playfulness and soft fur. She was a delightful companion and opened many doors for us.
Most travelers seemed to have much smaller dogs than Mollie – the type that live on their owners’ laps, in their arms, or in the new special carrying bags, slung over a shoulder. In those secure spots, these animals seemed like cute stuffed toys. But, left in the car alone or on a leash where being crushed by a passing foot is a real possibility, these little dogs turn into what we called “Yappers.” They barked insistently and consistently at anything and everything that came within range. Unlike Molli, Yappers are generally avoided by others, and seem to prevent rather than augment meeting new people for their owners. We’ll keep Molli, thank you very much.
Note from Sandi: We enjoyed meeting and talking with so many people during our travels, we hope to be as friendly and open as people come to New Mexico to visit as well!
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