When Sparks Fly

witt

Adventurer
Hello!

Our family of three (my wife and I and our four year old son) have finally embarked on our adventure! We're driving a 4x4 camper van that we're calling the "Sparksmobile." You can read about the van and the build process on the build thread.

After cramming all of the worldly possessions that we thought we wanted to keep into a storage locker, we left our home in Denver, CO on June 28. We're currently in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Our plan, roughly, will take us up through the Canadian Rockies, then up the Dempster Highway, then to Alaska and down through Washington, Oregon, and California.

We're hoping to enter Mexico in the fall (late September?) and start through Mexico via the Baja Peninsula.

Thus far we've been keeping friends and family up to date through our blog. I will try to remember to post a link here whenever something interesting happens, or with photos more interesting than cute pictures of our kid. :)

Witt, Jen, and Quinn

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Lewis River in Yellowstone National Park
 

krazytoy

Adventurer
What are you doing in IF? Hit me up if you want to know so nice areas around or maybe get out for a weekend or even just a cold one.
 

witt

Adventurer
Hi Krazytoy! I obviously need to check this more frequently; it would have been great to get together. Sorry we missed you!

Just finished our tour of Banff and Jasper national parks; getting ready to head to Grand Prairie and points north.

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Lake Louise

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Moraine Lake

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I was sort of embarrassed when our guide told us that the tires on the ice bus were the most photographed thing on the trip onto a glacier below the columbia icefield. But hey, when do you see tire sizes that start with "1000"?

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23 of 24 of these all-terrain busses are at the Columbia icefield. The other one is in service at McMurdo Bay in Antarctica.

Read more...
 

witt

Adventurer
Thanks xCSx!

"It’s not much fun contemplating leaving your wife and four year old son stranded in a broken down van in the middle of nowhere in near-freezing temperatures..."

We made it to Inuvik! Read the rest of the story...

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witt

Adventurer
After a week in Inuvik doing some volunteer work with the local youth center, we headed back south on the Dempster. We were fortunate that the fall colors had started to appear. We also saw two grizzlies, a mink, and a lynx!

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We're now back in Dawson City preparing to go across the Top of the World Highway on our way to fairbanks.
 

witt

Adventurer
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

We're currently in Denver getting some repairs made to the van in preparation for heading to Mexico. On the way to Denver from Seattle, I (my wife and son flew back to Philadelphia to see family while I did the drive to Denver) had the opportunity to visit the remote Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Northern Nevada.

I entered Nevada at McDermmit on US 95 then turned off onto Indian Creek Canyon Road toward the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest 15 miles south of town. It was nearly 5pm when I turned off onto the dirt road so I needed to find a place to camp sooner rather than later. The first few likely spots I found were occupied by parties of hunters, then the road switchbacked up over a mountain pass and it wasn't until I got to the other side that I was able to find a level spot to pull off the road. The road was slow going but generally in good shape, although you could tell that things would get interesting in the wet.

The next morning I went for a short hike back up to the ridge line I had driven over the night before. The views out over the valleys to the east and west were beautiful.

I followed the main road south through the park enjoying the amazing fall scenery. It took me about 3 hours go up and over Hinkey Summit and descend out of the national forest to the town of Paradise Valley. With more time and preparation (GPS maps and extra fuel) it would have been fun to head due east from Paradise Valley and take the dirt roads across the Owyhee Desert and intersect Highway 225.

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This is actually leaving the national park, but I was in a hurry to find a campsite when I entered the night before

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The town of Paradise Valley
 

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witt

Adventurer
We're only two months behind schedule - although it was never more than a loose schedule at best. :)

We're finally about to enter Mexico on the next leg of our trip. We're planning to cross at Tecate today and stop at some of the wineries on our way south to Ensanda. Hope to meet up with Expo'ers on our way south for a taco and a beer!
 

Scurvy

Member
Have a great trip, reading your updates, its freezing here, on Friday its supposed to be down to -2 F, enjoy the heat!!
 

witt

Adventurer
Making our way south through Baja. We stopped for a couple of nights in Bahia de Los Angeles where we met several other long term travelers. It's good to be meeting other travelers!

More...

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