Sides of the summit

Within one hour of being exactly 31 days, rolled the rig to a stop in our driveway, hit the eject button and exited the driver's seat after...

10,843.2 miles

When we learned that there were a bunch of tourists on their way to Tuk because the road had opened, we briefly considered sticking to the back country, fishing and hunting, and blowing off the crowds. But, we'd come too far to not achieve the objective and were glad we did.
The fact the road was closed upon return and we were forced to camp several days and gather local provisions was more fun, and frankly more memorable, than standing at the Arctic Ocean. Didn't just verify that we were well prepared or that all things happen for a reason...
Robert Pirsig waxed eloquently about how mountain tops were simply points in space, meaningless without the sides traveled to reach the summit, the furthest you could go...
Once the explorer embraces that the sides define the summit, the journey is the destination, then there are infinite possibilities.
Traveling to a point in space and sharing a picture of "arriving" tells little of the story.
We learned many things along the way, too many details to convey... but a few general areas merit discussion.
Like compatibility - how many people do you know with whom you could spend 4 weeks contained in about 160 cubic feet without killing each other, much less managing to have fun?
Or preparation - we spent 18 months planning, adding items then deleting, trying to consider every possible contingency and then provisioning for the unexpected. Not sad the tire chains went unused, but...
And, as much as we tended to fuss about them, the people met along the way were an important aspect of adventure. At least the local folks were.
Now we're back in the real world, unpacked, wading into the piles.
Will we "Go Back?" Well, there's still those 200 clicks of Yukon highway we haven't explored; some nice grayling streams; the ptarmigan and the beer.
But, we also know there's no repeats. Can't step into the same river twice, eat the same meal again, see the same sunrise or vast and epic scenery.
Next quest will likely be new roads ... if we can find them.

Turned on truck audio system just south of Dallas for the first time in weeks and one of Canada's best exports, Rush, was in the CD player. Perfect conclusion...

Time stand still,
I'm not looking back but I want to look around me now.
Time stand still,
See more of the people and the places that surround me now.

Because we can...