This which I am about to post will be a nearly identical reproduction of Facebook notes that I've been posting since May 23, 2007.  It's an impromptu but thoughtful account of what I like to call "Trip Taco." I'll post it in three parts correlating with the three general areas that the hand of Trip Taco has touched: "Roadtrippin North America", "Sudamerica de Bus", and "Europa!"

  My story goes as follows...

Trip Taco:  Part I                        "Roadtrippin North America"

May 23 2007                        Cananada, Eh?

Hooh-kay,

So here's my first note. And although I've already informed a number of people about my trip, I'm going to regurgitate the information right here as well, just in case the info didn't reach some folks who might be the slightest bit interested.

So here's the scoop, I've finally cut all my ties to Alaska, and am soaring free.

I'm travelling with a small crew: my sister (miriah), her boyfriend, (joe), a small cotton tree, and me.

We're roadtrippin from Fairbanks to Texas in a little red Kia with three bikes bungee'd to the roof. We plan to be taking a long route, spanning about a month's worth of time. Passing through Canada (where I am right now), Washington, California, Utah, Colorado... yada yada, we'll figure out when we get there.

In Texas, we shall say goodbye to joe, and fly over to Ecuador to visit my wild-child mother who's building her house at the foot of an active volcano called "Mama Tungurahua". We will explore South America beyond Ecuador some, and then move along. Nothing is really planned after that, but bicycling in Europe or maybe visiting S/E Asia could occur. We're leaving the door to the future wiiiide open for now.

Alright, it's time to hit the road again. We haven't gotten breakfast yet, and still plan to drive out to Liard hotsprings by this evening. Should be nice, eh?

aleta and out-

May 27 2007                        Origin of Starbucks

Yesterday we stepped out of our small red Kia, strapped with bicycles and swathed with dead bugs from the Alcan highway, reeking of campfires and body odor wearing the same clothes that we had lived in for the past few days. With oily hair and dirty feet, we sneered at Whistler. Its expensive shops, waiting lines, food aromas, and clean-cut people disgusted me. 

For the past week we had been camping on side roads and passing through small hick towns that had never heard of Hawaiian shave ice or wireless Internet access. We went through Whistler, a small ski town overpopulated by seasonal locals and tourist attractions. It didn't take long before we were outta there, and on the road again...

Today we're in a big city finally-- Seattle! We considered searching for the original Starbucks, but figured that we'd be lost before long.. First off, we went striaght to Pikes Market to be overwhelmed by huge fruit and vegetable stands... By then it was afternoon, and I hadn't eaten anything since last night. The freshly baked breads and various international foods made my stomach grumble, but I kept holding off to see what else was around the corner. Eventually we hit the end of the market, and I was still foodless.

Now I'm scrambling to type this in a cute little internet cafe, a couple blocks away from the Space Needle--where there is a supposed music/international film festival going on. I've been walking around the city, lagging my computer around my shoulder, searching for wifi and outlets.

Last night we camped out behind a bank, hidden by some bushes, hoping it was one of those banks that didn't open on Sundays. Fortunately we made it through the night without being kicked out, and I woke up early to the sound of rain. I packed up my things, woke up my traveling duo, and wiped the slugs off of my sandals. And off we went to Seattle.

June 1 2007                        Fern Gully Experience

So!

I'm in San Francisco... even though I don't think I'm spelling the city correctly--too darned bad. Last night we crashed at Joe's gma's house after driving around on the windiest road along the California coast for hours. At the house, I spent my second night in a real bed, took my second real shower, and washed my first load of laundry in the past two week. --That's right, it's been almost two full weeks since I left my little cave of a home in Anchorage to conquer the road.

My last update was in Seattle, a really fun city where we explored the great big market and folklife festival. I felt an immense amount of energy pulsating around that community.

In Oregon we went hiking up to the top of a mongus (short for humongous) waterfall, called Meltenoma Falls. It was quite touristy, so all the fun stuff was roped off, and we couldn't just play in the water. Afterwards we went back into the city and visited a gorgeous Rose Garden. Apparently it's used as a test center for different breeds of roses, but it was absolutely stunning how many terraces and fields were perfectly pruned and glowing with bright colors.

That night we had another difficult time finding a decent/affordable camping spot, and ended up driving all the way in to California.

We hit the Redwood Forest and spent the next day doing some crazy-g-nuts mountain biking through some root-studded trails. My fingers were constantly gripping the breaks as we went downhill, and then we had to carry our bikes overhead over many gigantic fallen trees! It totally felt like a Fern Gully experience, going through the enormous forest, and seeing slugs, birds, and various plants everywhere. It was amazing!

So, now we'll stay in Cali for a couple more days, then to Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas in some order.

June 10 2007                        Time's -a- Passing

Shasta National Park for rock climbing,

Salt Lake City to visit the grandparents,

Moab to see the Arches National Park (get fried in the sun and climb around).

Slick Rock to bike across some extreme rocks.

In Colorado now to visit aunt's ranch, and while it might seem unfathomable, I used someone else's id to get into a 21+ concert.. and I drank something with about 1% alcohol level... gettin pretty wild these days! 

-adios

June 15 2007                        Miskokee, Oklahoma

Currently we're visiting some of Joe's relatives in good ol Oklahoma. They have an irresistibly cute kitty, and even though I'm normally allergic I can't help but play with the little fur ball that's no bigger than my foot. Here they have thunder, lightening, and rain storms a few times a day. It's kind of wild.

We spent the past few days at a cabin at their lake nearby.. we were forewarned of all sorts of creatures unheard of in Alaska: ticks, chiggers, water moccasins, tarantulas, crawdads, turtles... Miriah and I were extremely paranoid upon arriving at the mildewing cabin, but we had a grand time once we forgot about the frightening critters. We went swimming in the lake, learned how to water-ski, and roasted good ol American hot dogs over a campfire. Somehow, we managed to survive without any ticks or chiggers.. we never quite figured out what a chigger is, but the name scared us enough.

Miriah just came in dripping wet with a big smile, telling me that "you gotta come outside". I can hear heavy rain and thunder from an open door somewhere in the house. So... I gotta go.

We'll be in Texas in a few days!!! Joe's picked up a c'boy hat and we've all been practicing our best suthern accents.

-Yeehaw!

June 20 2007                        The Other "H-Town"

Houston. The second fattest city in the nation.

So we made it to Texas... and the adventures had slowed down a bit. It is too hot for adventures. No more hospitality and free meals. But it's nice to have a free days to do whatever we want, with a nice home to return to at the end of the day.

Joe's new apartment complex has about four different buildings that connect to surround a private courtyard in the center. This is where their beautiful outdoor pool is set. It has about three connecting sections, shaped something like a water molecule.

The pool is fancy, like the rest of the apartments, clean and pleasant. But what I’ve come to realize is that this magnificent pool is no luxury here, it is a necessity. Every night so far, we’ve visited the pool, mainly to cool down and to wash off all the grime accumulated from daily activities.

So far, the two main things we've done in Houston are shop and swim. Joe just moved down to Texas, so we're staying in his new apartment, which was completely empty when we moved in. For the past few days, we've visited numerous stores and bought all the things a new Texan could need: food, furniture, appliances, electronics, road bike, pool toys (we were really confused when he bought them, but soon learned that they are quite fun to play with)... We've spent hours drudging through giant superstores, driving in the suffocatingly-humid traffic, carrying things up his three flights of stairs, and assembling things to fill up the apartment.

We've surpassed 7,000 miles so far on this trip. Over four weeks we've been on the road, and now we're taking a short break before Part II of this trip. Our road trip has ended, and by next monday (approximately) we will be taking a plane to South America! Ole! I can't wait for remote beaches, cheap living, spanish-speaking locals.