The adventure blog has been pretty quiet the last couple years, not due to lack of fun stuff but in the last couple years I have embarked on a different kind of set of adventures through life. And I've been a little lazy documenting it, that and I haven't taken cool pictures of cool places as much. Whatever my excuse, its time to fire it back up and show off the new and improved typing skills and share the travels I am about to experience.
Since my last entry (Thailand) I have continued my work as a groundman extraordinaire and have taken a few smaller climbing trips to the states but I must say most of the action as taken place in the last year. Within the last year my parents after 27 years in Alaska finally had enough of the long cold winters, (dad got a motorcycle, apparently not a winter one) and mom got tired of the bugs and they moved to Wisconsin. I wasn't sure when I was going to see them again, that oddly enough is not on one of my adventure/climbing short lists. Or long lists. No mountains, no rock and if I wanted that kind of humidity it should come with a beach and scantly clad ladies somewhere foreign, like Thailand. But alas, the opportunity has come that takes me into the vicinity of Wisconsin, actually this one takes me encircling the world, so I guess Wisconsin was near there somewhere. I for the last year, stopped being a groundman extraordinaire and started being a corporate stooge, picked myself up a corporate job in Anchorage where I was no longer able to wear the same pants for the entire week and the sweet smell of spruce eventually faded and the dirty spots of sap on my skin washed completely away. It was a entry level position for a Native health care corporation that sat me in front of a computer clocking in and out and accruing leave that they would determine when for how long it could be use, they didn't have much to work with. I saw this as my opportunity to use the college degree and noggin to earn my coin instead of just my body, in my thirties now, got to pace myself. Well, after a solid year experiencing things where I never thought I'd find myself I can safely say, I don't care for it. At all. While most definitely there, I'm not sure where would work out really. Not sure my plans for when I return but thats something future josh can worry about.
Also within the last year, actually within the last two months, I have married an absolutely wonderful person. It came as quite a bit of a surprise to most, if not all. The date of the deed was the 31st of January. I now have a Christina Hendrickson in (as) my life (wife). This was a friend I met 4 years previously and maintained contact with here and there, our lives were on far different tracks and at the time destinations and methods of getting there also differed. Thats how it seemed looking back at it anyway but thankfully my ability to predict the future pales in comparison to ability to accept something awesome placed in front of me. The opportunity arose in where all the variables of life (beyond the usual place, time, availability, and desire) aligned with the stars and we started exploring the friendship that quickly became our relationship. And it was good. Really good. With enough experience in life to not be too naive about the whole situation but enough to recognize something this good we quickly took the leap after about four months. It took most everyone by surprise, we agreed it was about us and only us so telling everyone after the fact to us made sense. Everyone who knows us were very happy for us, though the parents were shocked but happy for us nonetheless. The marriage was done by a good friend of ours and the very brief ceremony was with a handful of friends on the coastal trail downtown Anchorage. This summer upon our return we are planning a bit more of a wedding party during solstice with more friends and family. And music and beer. Hopefully the word has a chance to get out and the shock wear off. I will inform all of the details later. So, with the new wife is how I'm going to Wisconsin, I figured the parents and apparently the family, should meet her. This of course is only part of the trip.
We have opted to drive down to the states in my truck, assuming the old girl makes it, I'll break 260k before crossing into Canada... Our first place of fun and recreation (climbing) will be Bend Oregon for a week or so of climbing at Smith Rock. After a week there we will continue eastward to Idaho for some climbing at City of Rocks, never been there but figured I should check it out. After not quite a week there and hopefully meeting up with some friends we will do the long haul to Belcourt ND to introduce the wife to the family on the reservation. Only a few days to spare but should be plenty we continue on to Wisconsin to meet the parents and the other side of the family. This will be where we regroup for a week. From there we will leave the truck (assuming she makes it) and the dog and fly out of the twin cities to Helsinki Finland. From this point the method of travel will be by train. A fast train will get us started to St Petersburg, and there we board the Trans Siberian Railway with stops along the way including Mongolia and after nearly 3 weeks we end up in Beijing. A few days there and a flight across the other ocean back to Wisconsin. And then a quick drive north so we can finish up planning and make our own party.
I'm sure I missed something in there, but this was the first entry which we hopefully be many, with pictures along the way, of our travels.
