Step One

The first leg of the journey on our summer vacation was the toughest. We decided, once again, to drive into Nome. This time we drove in along the Nome - Teller Highway with our 4-wheeler. To get to Teller we first drove across the ocean ice from Brevig to Teller. We started by driving over the crack in the ice where the ice is pulling away from the shore. It looked a lot scarier than it actually was. The 4-wheeler went right on over like nothing.

Kenny was kind enough to escort us across the ice with his snow machine in case we had troubles. Harold drove across with Kenny and Andrea and got to do a little water skipping.

The drive from Teller to Nome was miserable to be honest. It was cold, rainy, snowy, wet, muddy and windy. Yuck, yuck, yuck! But, in the name of saving money on airline tickets, we pushed through. Due to spring flooding the road was washed out at one of the rivers. It was a little scary crossing at one point but we made it without getting wet.

At last, we made it Nome, ran errands, enjoyed some pizza and visited with the Adcox family. They're fun to spend time with because they have the coolest toys.

Sleeping in the northern latitudes can be difficult in the summer. The sunshine just goes on and on, makes you crazy and not feel like sleeping. For the night, we camped out in James & Amy's living room with the sun just shining away with no regard for our need to sleep. To block out the light, I slept with an eye mask, C.O. closed his eyes and here's what we did for Harold. He's under that red blanket tent and had a good night's sleep.

Next stop . . . Juneau, Alaska.

--AnnMarie