Leavetakings in Anchorage

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We set out for Alaska four days ago. Last night, we finally arrived at our Aunt and Uncle’s house in Eagle River, AK, just outside of Anchorage. They have been great to us – each of us have our own bed, we have plenty of room to work on our bikes in their garage (away from the rain, too), and the food has been delicious (spaghetti dinner tonight!).

Before leaving home, we had a media-filled morning – family photos in the morning, video interview with WDAZ, and an interview with the Grand Forks Herald all made for an eventful morning (follow the links for the full stories). Here’s an excerpt from the Herald story:

“The thing we’re looking forward to, too, is not only Argentina, but to be able to come back home and be able to start a build project with Habitat, with money we raised, and be able to work on that house and maybe see that completed,” Isaiah said.

“That would be a really cool vision for this trip — to come full circle, from starting the first day of biking to all the way when that house is completed. That’s the dream, so we hope that it can come true.”

We’re thankful for all the support from back home and for arriving here safely. It was a drive full of interesting Canadian citizens, both human and not.  We also met up with 350South, a pair of cyclists who have mutually (and jokingly) agreed to become the nemeses of Bound South.  We look forward to slashing their tires and spreading false propaganda about them on the way to Argentina.  In all seriousness, we look forward to meeting up with them later along our journey.

We spent the earlier portion of today working on bikes and connecting with friends and family. Now, we’re onto some shopping in Anchorage.  REI, here we come.