Today’s Alaskan Show and Tell:

We took a jeep ride up Stampede Trail this morning.

It’s the trail some know-it-all 24-year-old kid named Chris McCandless, decided to take into the backwoods because he wanted to practice his survival techniques.. He lasted four months before poisoning himself due to lack of plant knowledge. It’s supposed to be a great movie and a great book, but every time someone tells the story, all I can think is, “Dumbass  kid broke his mother’s heart.”  I think the book should have been named  “I should NOT have walked into the wild” instead of  Into The Wild. The locals agree.

The off-road  Jeep ride was fun. Cole was too young to drive, but nobody said he couldn’t steer so I put the pedal to the metal and Cole took the wheel. My dad sat quietly in the back seat … very quietly.  I think he was eager to exit the jeep when we reached the end of the outbound trail.

At the end of the trail (outbound) we arrived at Alaskan Man’s camp site. He lives in this spot from April to September. The Alaskan Man has all his teeth, speaks well, and loves animals. A bear (Ruth) has a crush on him and shows up about every fourth night.

Alaskan Man made the best Alaskan fry bread! Cole ate at least five pieces covered in honey. I ate a dainty three drowning in honey. My dad only ate two. He was inhaling coffee and still shaking a little from the ride.

Following the fry bread we were treated to beef stew, steamy and delicious. We dined while Mr. Alaskan Man patiently answered all our questions. Aside from the fact that he chooses to live at the end of almost nowhere for five months out of the year with only a bear he calls Ruth and three daily tour groups of about 10 people each day, he seems very normal, in an Odd sort of way.

After we ate the fry bread and steamy beef stew, and my dad recovered, it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Alaskan Man.  Ladies, if you are interested, just go to Alaska and follow Stampede Trail until you reach his camp.  I do advise watching out for “Ruth, The Bear,” who feels she has dibs on him.  There is always a catch. One polite tip might be to let others go first.  Really.

Following an afternoon of rest and a “little laundry,” Cole and I headed out to pick up our Rhino (AVT) and travel along coal mine trails to view Mt. Healy on the Northern Flanks of the Alaskan Range. We then headed down to play in a creek bed.

Day is done.  I ‘m taking myself dusty, tired, wind burned, sore self to bed….IT’S  BEEN A GREAT DAY!!! God Bless all my family, all my friends, all my pets…and God Bless the makers of ADVIL!!

Glad you were in my Odd neighborhood. Feel free to drop by any time. Odd Loves Company and odd loves you and you and you!! I would love to hear from you in the comment section of this blog, or on Facebook or Twitter!

Katybeth