Hiatus

After reaching a significant milestone at work, as well as experiencing burnout at a couple of crazy startups over the last four years, I decided it was time to quit my job and take the summer off. It was time to correct a work life imbalance that’s been building and building and has recently become very severe. Not a great time to quit without a new job lined up with all the tech layoffs over the last few months, but that didn’t deter me, I was determined. So, I decided to do a little traveling, so that meant taking a hiatus from the RV-10 build as well.

So far, I’ve been on three incredible trips, and I’m almost ready to resume the build and go back to work!

• Quick trip to Hawaii
• Road trip to Alberta, Canada to see some family
• Epic exploratory road trip to the Yukon, Alaska, and the Arctic Circle (again in the Yukon).

I’m not going to post much personal information or pictures about these trips, but there was some epic scenery that I just have to share.

Hawaii Trip

Interestingly, almost half the team I was working on quit within a month of each other once the major milestone was met. So I know it wasn’t just me! Anyway, one of my colleagues and I had been wanting to take a little adventure trip to Honolulu but had continually been having to put it off due to work obligations. No more! We both quit and did it!

British Columbia/Yukon/Alaska Trip

I had always wanted to drive the Alaska Highway, between Dawson Creek, BC and Delta Junction, AK and so I did! I actually decided to take the extremely scenic Stewart-Cassiar highway on the way up and join the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake, YT then the full Alaska Highway proper on the way back. Absolutely incredible scenery. Mind blowing. And this is my impression having been to the Canadian Rockies dozens of times. Just as gorgeous as Jasper or Banff, but without the crowds…and the ability to boondock in amazingly scenic spots.

All the scenery in these photos are either in British Columbia or the Yukon! There are some great views on the Alaska side, but on this highway, the road diverges from the mountain ranges. And frankly, the Fairbanks area just isn’t super photogenic. Because I wanted to make this a ~3 week trip instead of a ~6 week trip, I kept the Alaska scope to just driving the Alaska Highway (and going on to Fairbanks). Alaska deserves a dedicated trip and it’s easy enough to fly to Anchorage, rent a car, and explore the coastal ranges, glaciers, and water. I’ll give it the time it needs on a future adventure!

Since my vehicle was up to the task (two full-sized spares, on board air compressor, refrigerator and ample auxiliary battery power, plus inside sleeping provisions in addition to a tent, and more…) it was time to tackle the Dempster Highway which goes from Dawson City, Yukon (not to be confused with Dawson Creek, BC)…. and goes all the way to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories (NWT), with even a relatively new all-season connector highway to Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk) at the Arctic Ocean.

Well, during the drive and a fuel stop at Eagle Plains, I was informed the highway had just closed at the Yukon/NWT border that day due to wildfire/smoke visibility. Dang. I asked how far up, he said “just right there.” I decided to continue on until I was forced to turn back. This allowed me at least to make it a few more miles up the road to reach the Arctic Circle! It was experiencing a heat wave when we were there, with temperature at our arrival of 82°F or 28°C. I was able to set up my Starlink, have a beer, and communicate with the outside world!

Here are a bunch of unorganized photos from the trip!