Has it really been two months?

It is quite hard to believe: summer is almost over and we have been traveling for two months now. We have been in Alaska for about a month and loved every minute of it. We thought it would be a good time again to reflect and share some thoughts about the trip so far.

The generosity of Alaskans

If we were to look at the same numbers as we did after our first month, here is where we stand today:
- 64 days into the trip
- 8,400 miles (13.000 Km) ridden on our bikes
- 2 countries visited
- 13 states and 3 provinces crossed
- Salmon donations: 1 whole pink salmon, 1 silver salmon fillet, salmon caviar, 8 silver salmon bellies, smoked salmon
Yes, we decided to add this last piece of statistics given our experience in the 49th state. People here are so nice and friendly, it has been really amazing. We have made it a habit to talk with locals and just spend time chatting about their lives here. As an unexpected result, we were donated quite a fair amount of salmon in its various forms. We could hardly believe their generosity and also how good these different variations of salmon were. We've really come to appreciate and learn about this fish, its habitat, reproduction cycle, the different kinds they are and how you can eat it. We were big fans before but it has taken a whole new level here. As some Alaskans say, it is easy to become salmon snobs after spending some time here. We also were fortunate enough to be hosted by quite a few locals, being so good and trusting with us, opening their house and sharing their food. Our trip story makes it a little easier to connect with poeple but it is still really suprising to us how well we are welcomed.

Living with little or no "stuff"

Over the last month especially, we have spent most of our days camping. Alaska, in the summer of course, is the perfect place to spent as much time as possible outdoors, including your nights. It is funny actually to write about Alaskan nights since the first 2 weeks here, we hardly saw any night. The sun would never really set as we were still early in the summer and in the interior, closer to the Arctic Circle.
Our motorcycles are our only “real” homes and the 6 saddle bags we own contain all the belongings we have for the trip. While we were nervous when we left about that whole concept, it does work. You really don't need that much stuff to live, at least on the road and without kids, and as long as you can avoid winter with its load of ice and snow, you make it through almost anything on the bikes. Good and compact camping gear also makes things much easier and unless it rains a lot, the experience is quite pleasant, even for an extended period of time.
Having very little change of clothes, only comfy shoes, not having to put make-up on or shave your face actually works for the two of us. We are not turning into Hippies but got easily used to living outside and with little means and possessions. With all the beauty we see daily, it is easy to forget about materialistic things that we thought necessary in our life in DC. Not sure it means that we are changing but it means that we have adapted to a different way of living. We do not really miss our office chairs and can hardly remember the sound of an alarm clock as we live now on our own time.

As we explore more and mote of Alaska, the wild and rugged interior, the bountiful rivers and creeks, the south peninsula with rich wildlife and the coast, the following quote from Marcel Proust really echos what our hearts feel right now: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking landscapes but in having new eyes.”