Departing Calgary was a predictable scenario as again the time had come to say farewell to friends. This goodbye however was a little different and mixed with emotions as we had established ourselves in Calgary for several months and the friends we had woven into our lives were profoundly more intimate than travellers we had befriended on the road. But our destiny is set, to move forward and continue our journey - the Zigzag way! Karl and Benny accompanied us to...

Wheeling further into Wilderness 21/06/2010I had arranged to reacquaint with Pete back in Anchorage and finalise the details of our trip south to Seward. Leaving the following day and running well behind schedule we spent the entire afternoon in preparation. With bike selection still our top priority, we tried and tested several until both Adam and I were satisfied with a mountain and trail hybrid. Some minor maintenance and fine tuning was also needed, along wi...

'We're up here because we're not all there' 14/06/2010 With the car fully loaded, and heading north on Hwy 1 through Chugach State Park along the picturesque Sustina River, we passed by the smaller villages of Eklutria, Kashwitna and Wasilla until we reached our first stop in Talkeetna. Arriving in town filled us with relief as we had only a few moments earlier avoided hitting a 300kg plus Bull Moose crossing the Hwy in our 1.6 litre hatchback. We later establi...

An Alaskan Odyssey 10/06/2010I waited in anticipation for my flight from London, wondering if I also was to be affected from the Icelandic volcano that was turning the transportation industry upside down. It became daily routine to check the news, radio announcements, and constantly question work colleagues, family, and friends if they had heard the latest updates. With a destined stopover in Reykjavik, I was confident the drifting ash was sure to threaten my ...

Like the table coverings you find in a greasy spoon cafe, the plastic coated, non-reclining seats were the most discreet feature of our bus for the long trip over to Sam Neua. The driver allowed people to pile in until four ladies were seated in the aisle on small plastic stools, between sacks of rice. Laos music played for the whole trip, and it was basically a sit back and endure event, as the bus crawled up and around the mountainous ridges. After a couple of ...