Answers

I probably should fill in the blanks that I left out of the first post.  First and foremost.. Why is Ted Nugent heading up to Alaska with me? Well The Nuge himself is not, however his wise words and witty satire will be. To further dig into why I even own this book we will have to go back a few weeks to my journey down to Salt Lake. Whilst visiting SLC, my good friend Brian hosted an epic bromance reunion complete with MAN BREAKFAST, about every cut of meat from a pig that's edible and a gentleman's drink of High West to wash it all down with.  Brian lives tucked back in a side canyon up out of the valley that requires the grace of God for me to get to. His driveway is long and steep and in the winter is shaded from the sun just enough to allow a consistent layer of ice to cover it. America cannot make it up there because there is not enough room for me to turn her around once I reach his house, and I am alright with that. The one time I did make it up there I had to reverse the whole way down in 4 low. By the way there is a cliff on your left and a steep wall on your right, so there is no room for error.  At night though when all his neighbors have come home and the road is clear, we shoot down in the manor of a solo bob sledder practicing for the Olympics, crashing into snow walls that are just high enough for this purpose but not for stopping a out of control vehicle.  Anyways one evening after skiing we were all milling around his cabin waiting for dinner to finish cooking. Waylon Jennings was spinning at 45 rpms attempting to make a few extra bucks rerecording an already horrible song.  Now Waylon in my opinion has put out some solid gold tracks in the past, but when he started singing about leaving a cake out in the rain and not being able to bake it again because he lost the recipe, I lost a bit of respect. I couldn't take one more minute of this and in the process of heading over to change the record, I noticed a book in Brian's library protruding just enough from the others to catch my eye. It was as if the Nuge himself was reaching out to hand me this very book. It was as if I had just pulled the sword out of the stone and Excalibur was now in my hands.  Brian instantly looked up from his methodical rib rub down of exotic spices and stared at me with a worried yet joyous look. I think he sensed the disturbance in the Nugeforce. With out me even asking he said  "Go ahead, take it back up to Montana with you". He knew what had to be done. He knew it had to be passed on.  This is the story of why the Nuge is heading up to Alaska with me. 

     As for why I am heading up to AK in the first place, I got a job working for the Parks service out of Fairbanks starting April 9th. I was going to take the ferry out of Bellingham but there isn't one running around the time I need to be up there. So I will be driving the 3000 miles alone. One man and his two brothers on the open road to the unknown. 

    For those of you who know me you are probably asking yourself "Why that heck does Sam have a blog ? I he becoming a hipster ?" Negatory is the answer. I have a blog because I believe this will be an epic adventure and I would love to share it with those interested. All the pristine wilderness and unforgettable scenery will be posted here frequently once I start this journey. So check back periodically for pictures of breath taking landscape and my thoughts on life as I start this new chapter in my life.  

Stranglehold

I received an email the other day that I believe will radically alter my life in a positive way. No, it wasn't from The Nuge inviting me to his spread for a weekend of redneckery, but rather from the National parks servise stating that " You are reading this memo because you have been offered a position with the National Park Service." I read this joyfull piece of news for the first time while sitting inside the summit house at Whitefish ski resort. I had just sat down to eat my brown bag lunch consisting of an almond butter/nutella sandwich and one of the many Hammer bars that I took from the Hammer booth on demo day here on the mountain. Your basically a sponsored skier if when the rep leaves you stuff your pockets to the brim with the free bars he is passing out. It's only considered stealing if you take the whole box, so I left one. Anyways... There I was mauing down on my sandi when I read this. I gave big fist pump and a hoop then met up with Rob and made some turns in the smooth like butter snow we have been blessed with. Besides being overwhelmed with the feeling of skiing fresh pow the rest of the afternoon I was extatic dreaming of the great Alaking adventure that would soon begin.
     It dosent have anything to do with this post but I figured why not compliment this first awesome entry with equally great song. So without further ado I give you The Nuge performing his finest... Stranglehold