Moves # 3, 4 & 5

Move number 3 is basically a repeat of move #1, except that it was a few years later and the employer would have been the local college there in TX. They were in the process of starting up a flight program, to compliment their aviation maintenance program. So we packed up again, this time we were able to unload the house. We back to Texas. Again, there were delays in getting the flight program up and running, and we again were running out of money to live on with our meager jobs that we had (just in case you were wondering, I was basically slave labor...)

We finally had enough and moved back to Utah, where I was able to get my old job back. A was able to get a position at the airport, but again, it was a ground job... When life conspired against him and he lost that job, he finally got off his butt and applied for a job in Alaska, which is what he had been wanting to do for some time. He was offered a position almost immediately after applying and they wanted him to go to Juneau in less than a week. So, he packed up what he needed in his airplane (at the time, it was the Cessna 175) and headed up. That was the first of many holidays we didn't get to spend together (Thanksgiving/Christmas).

Due to the cost of moving and getting out of our lease for our apartment, I wasn't able to go until the following January. So I loaded up everything else I could (and Shindig, the cat) in the car and drove there. In case you don't know, Juneau is on the main continent, but due to the terrain around it, you can only get here by plane or boat; there are no roads here (although there is a movement to build one to Skagway, which connects to the "Al-Can") It was the middle of winter, so weather & road conditions could be scary. I could have driven to Bellingham, WA to take the Alaska State Ferry from there to Juneau, but it cost about $800 more to do that than to take it from Prince Rupert, BC (in Canada). Even driving through Canada, and counting hotels, I still saved about $500 going through Canada.

I planned almost a week getting there, to give me enough time due to weather and such. Weather was perfect the whole way, except for some rain as I approached the coast. It took me 4 days, driving from Salt Lake City to Prince Rupert. I stopped in Butte, MT (where I have some family); Calgary, Alberta; Jasper, Alberta (also a National Park); and Terrace, BC (where I stopped because it was dark and raining heavily). It was a short drive from Terrace to Prince Rupert. I stayed in the hotel for 2.5 days while I waited for the ferry. It was quite the adventure I went on. And I didn't traumatize Shindig too much. I think she liked being free in the car to crawl and hide wherever she wanted.

One of these days, I want to repeat my trip through Canada, taking more time to "stop and smell the roses" with A.