Our Alaskan Road Trip in Less than a Minute

Hey Y'all,

We finally had time to sort through our ginormous amount of videos and photos.  It's been a long time coming... We cut the following spot out of the footage we shot.  Also, big thanks to Josh Condon who composed the music and is one of our Kickstarter backers!  Hope you enjoy!

A general update:

Kelly and I are currently doing independent adventures.  Kelly just became a raft guide in Vail, CO and I'm interning at the Creative Health Institute in Michigan.  I'm writing about my experience at CHI and transitioning to a 100% raw living foods diet HERE.

We'd also like to thank our Kickstarter backers who supported us to make this happen.  We'll keep ya updated as the adventures continue!

Dianna Stano 

Martin Stano 

Cara + Karl Rosaen 

Lynn Malinoff 

Natalie + Josh Condon 

Jon Sandison 

Mike Berlucchi 

Peter Stano 

The Alpert Family 

Halle Doenitz 

Donna, Rich and Lauren Bryden 

Margaret Barton 

Andy "Windattack" Windak 

Joey Ostrander 

Howard, KaTina and Samuel Blanchard 

Kathleen and Dan Gallagher 

Christine Grysban 

Ryan Gallagher 

Tiffany Alexander 

Scott Gallagher 

Sean Addison Bennett, ESQ 

William Gray 

Aaron Lebovic 

Nicole Hoppe 

Marybeth Manarchy 

Sam Lemberg 

Diane Gallagher 

Alison Kendall 

Shoshana Hurand 

Linsey Bowers 

Jan and Tom McGraw 

Jim & Terri McCurry 

Reese 

Don & Lois McCurry 

John and Natalie Rhaesa 

Will Brick 

Emma Nolan-Abrahamian 

Steve Sholtes 

Judith Brake 

Rob Stano 

Molly Manarchy 

Erica Calderon 

Jenny McGraw 

Emily Schleicher 

Jeff Urbanowicz 

Erin Davis 

Brittney Scarlett 

Cory Cosgrove 

Jamie Shenk 

Heathyr 

Christine Monte 

Katie Blackmer 

Carly Dodge 

Jeffrey Adams 

Geoff George 

Marilyn George 

Rachel Enoch 

Carly Hanna 

Katchen Schibilsky 

Jenna 

Marlee Grace Cook-parrott 

Ali Hodges 

Debashis Mazumder 

Eric Palmer 

Adam Wilmers 

Daniela Kelley 

Diane 

Jesse Pagtulingan 

Kathryn Bawden 

Amy Young 

Johnny Sullivan 

Abbey Morris 

Matt Hornback 

Bernie J. Michael 

Drew Dawson 

Blaise Morrison 

Sean Dwyer 

Charlotte M Tisdale

How Much Gas to Alaska? Our Gas Log

Here's our gas log for our first Alaskan road trip:  Ann Arbor, MI to Alaska and back.  [Click on images to enlarge.]

For long road trips, the gas log is a helpful resource to keep track of your miles, money spent, cost of gas, and prepare for the future or the returning route of your journey.  It helps you plan, especially if you might need to make additional money on the road.

Here are some estimated stats from our gas log:

$1555.19 total spent on gas 

$626.77 spent on gas from Ann Arbor, MI to Alaska border

+13,000 miles traveled over 3 months

30 mi/gal average in 2006 Chevy Aveo FULLY loaded with gear and 2 people

$5.36 / gal - Dawson City, Yukon - Most expensive gas.  Gas is more expensive in Canada and as you travel further north

0 flat tires.  The majority of roads are pretty good!

If you're thinking of an Alaskan road trip, we hope this helps!

Do it!

Alaskan Farmers' Markets + Fresh International Gardens

Although the Alaskan growing season is shorter, the long days of summer sunlight (maybe not this season with a record breaking amount of rain…) allow for some intense crop production. This intensity is displayed every year at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer where world records for giant produce are broken. One of the most notable competing crops is the giant cabbage. Steve Hubacek from Wasilla broke the world record in 2009 with a 127 lb cabbage! He took 1st again this year in the Giant Cabbage Weigh Off with his cabbage weighing in at 105.6 lbs to bring home the $2000 prize.

If you go to one of many Alaskan farmers’ markets, most of which are concentrated in the south central region of the Matanuska Valley and the Kenai Peninsula, don’t expect to see 100 lb + cabbages for sale at $2000. The giant vegetables are mainly a novelty for agricultural hobbyists. However, you can expect to see a bounty of fresh, great tasting local produce. You can also expect to see the “Alaska GROWN” slogan and logo everywhere. The slogan is represented with great pride throughout the communities. We’ve spent few days traveling in Alaska where we haven’t seen someone sporting the “Alaska GROWN” sweatshirt.

After perusing around some of the markets, we tried a rhubarb lemonade, which was a delicious local treat!

But what really caught our attention was the “Fresh International Gardens” stand. It wasn’t their produce that stood out, although they had great produce, but the organization itself.

“Fresh International Gardens” is part of the Refugee Farmers’ Market Program, which was developed in 2007 by the Catholic Social Services Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services (RAIS) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. This program helps refugees resettle in Alaska by working on a community garden where they can sell their produce at the farmer’s market. It allows refugees to learn business skills, practice English, and earn a supplemental income while gaining a sense of community. It’s a great transition for the refugees as a majority have a long cultural history of agriculture. The program is funded by donations and volunteers so all proceeds go directly to the gardeners.

This year refugees are from Bhutan and Nepal. At the market, we met 2 Nepalese gentleman and Kelly Ingram who was part of Americorps VISTA and was managing the garden. After talking with them a bit and picking up some potatoes, we exchanged emails so we could volunteer at the garden to see more of the project in action.

Kelly and I showed up to the 8,000 sq. ft plot on a Friday afternoon. There were about 10+ refugees working on controlling the weeds at the time. Some others we’re planting lettuces. Kelly Ingram greeted us and gave us some gloves to get to work. We pulled some weeds and harvested some potatoes for a few hours until it began to rain… Before leaving, the refugees worked out their schedules for the upcoming week with Ingram and we said our goodbyes.