Simple, Comfortable, Self-Reliant

Testing our camping setup for AK. and getting excited about it. 

(Also sharing some pics from prior years, just because) 

T and I love being out in nature, whether fishing, kayaking, diving, fishing, hiking, hunting, fishing. taking pictures of; moose, bears, wolves, eagles, buzzards, starfield, rivers, waterfalls, the northern lights, glaciers and mushers with their pups.  and occasionally just sitting down and not doing a damn thing.

We really enjoy camping, sleeping under the stars, and enjoying a campfire. Those are the things we love. there is always some effort required to do these things, some level of comfort you have to give up, but we really like easy, we enjoy being comfortable. We are not fans being too hot, wet, cold, hungry or having to spend hours setting up and lugging tons of stuff, that all kinda sucks. 

A couple of bull moose T caught playing in Denali NP.. 

Every year, before the Alaska State Fair opens, T and I tramp around the state, boondocking and fishing, seeing friends and enjoying the absolutely amazing beauty that is our 49th. We have been traveling together for the last 30 years, (we have seen 48 states, 19 countries and 4 continents) and we have learned a few things, what we like, and what we don't. We have had the good fortune to travel with some seriously seasoned adventurers, and we have learned from some of the best. The last couple of years we have traveled with Avner Ofer & Kate Krezel  (you might want to check out his website, he is amazing) Kate and Avner are exceptional travelers, and we have been to Alaska with them twice and the Galapagos and traveled the wilds of Washington D.C.  

going somewhere fun with Kate, Avner, and T.... 

As much as we love being out and having fun, we aren't going out trying to be Bear Grylls, but we do like to get a good pic of a bear, and then have a nice dinner and comfortable bed afterwards.  

T got this shot a couple of years ago.. still my favorite bear pic ever. 

The last couple of years we have been able to rent a u-haul van for our camping vehicle. We have our system pretty well nailed, and with a trip to Costco and a few things from Fred-Meyer, we have figured out how to turn a bare cargo van into a luxury motorcoach for under $300 (it's even cheaper now that we have a place to keep our gear up there and don't have to start from scratch anymore) 

This year, we aren't able to rent said van, but T did score a pickup truck we can use for the journey. SO... slight revamp of our plans and procedures, but I think we are good to go. 

Last night we did a short overnight down to Lake Whitney, the Perseids are getting fired up, and we thought we would try out our 2021 camping plan. Simple.. just a futon in the back of the truck with some nice sheets and good pillows, a stowaway cover. 

No setup time at all, just park, open up and go to bed.

This year, we are forgoing the ice chest and our camp stove, leaving behind most of our cooking equipment and just taking some home-made freeze dried food and our little Jetboils. Will reduce the weight and hassle of making meals. 

 Simple and Easy.  

Extremely comfortable, just a futon, some folding chairs and some basics.  Don't need much more than that. All that stuff we actually have up there already. (except the bed cover, working on that now.)  

The cooking situation has been extremely simplified.  Pre-made meals, mostly from home-grown stuff here. This has been the biggest improvement we have made to our setup this year.  So easy, so good. 

I didn't take any pics of last nights little trip, we just enjoyed the show and the peace and quiet. Probably will go find some dark skies again on the 11th when it should be in full swing. 

 Packing extremely light this year, but do have to test out a few things, and get some good product photography (this is a lot of why we go, better scenery and it is too warm right now to wear my 1/4 zip. We have only 300 lbs of allocated weight between us, and we devote as much of that as possible to outhe products we bring to sell at the fair. 

although we are taking some food with us, this is the goal.

Fresh salmon smoked over an open fire... a few capers and some lemon, might just be the best meal in the world. 

Getting excited here... only one more week before we leave!

Did I mention we might stand in a river somewhere?

this isn't our first rodeo... and it just keeps getting better.