The 5,000 Mile Saga (moving company, truck, expensive, storage)

[MeganAK]

For some reason, after all the hemming and hawing I have done on this forum, I wanted to post a sort of memoir of our travels from there to here.


Our journey began on June 2nd, when we flew ourselves, the dog, and all of our belongings from Nome to Anchorage. It was 539 air miles, and although it didn't seem like it at the time, this was the easiest leg of the trip by far! Here is a photo of the pallets before they shipped out:


We had a two-week stopover in Anchorage while we readied the horse trailer that was bought sight unseen from Nome. We also ended up buying a new truck as the old one was not going to make it. All in all, we spent two weeks couch surfing with friends, working on the trailer, and feeling like we might never get out. We spent too much money, and too much time.


When we finally got on the road, June 16th, we didn't even leave until 5pm! We just needed to go, to feel like we were getting somewhere. The first few nights, we stayed in campgrounds, had fires, and tried to feel like we weren't afraid, but we were. Leaving Alaska is like leaving your mom for the first time to go out on your own! We felt excited, but scared, not sure if we were doing the right thing, but too far gone to turn back. It took us so long to get even into Canada. The roads were bad, the trailer was a heavy load, our boxes were getting beat up, and we were already feeling the wear and tear of the road. When we got to Watson Lake, we left a sign at the signpost forest, and somehow, we felt like what we were doing was okay (the moving across country part!).


Our first night in a hotel was outside of Edmonton. It was so wonderful! A shower, a real dinner, and Internet. I don't even remember what we did, but the bed was so soft! It is funny how vivid everything seemed, and how blurry it already is only two months later. Sometimes I think our minds protect us by filtering the memories so it doesn't seem so hard later!

We pulled up to the US border at Day Seven. We were scared. Not because we had anything exciting in our trailer, but because of the sheer AMOUNT of stuff we had in our trailer, and the terrifying thought of having to pull it all out box by box. I cannot even describe the panic we felt as we were directed into the 'garage' and escorted into the little white room. After what seemed like an eternity, we got back in the car and rode away, no worse for the wear.

Day Eight we got to my brother's house in Minnesota. We stayed for three days! It seemed unbearably hot after Alaska, and we were not really feeling like getting back in the car again. At this point, we still felt like we were on vacation, and enjoyed doing absolutely nothing.

We drove one day from there to my parent's house in Kansas. Can I just say that air conditioning is a wonderful thing! We stayed for a week, arranging interviews, looking for campgrounds, and just enjoying our time. It still had not sunk in yet that we were in a sense homeless, jobless, and had done it by choice!

When we headed out to West Virginia, we felt ready, prepared. It took two days to get there, and when we did, we liked what we saw! We stopped in Clarksburg to leave our belongings in a storage facility and spent some time trying to make the horse trailer a home. Then we headed on into the mountains. It was right after we got into the mountains that the Odometer passed 5,000 miles.


And just like that, we suddenly lived in a horse trailer! That was On July 7th. Almost one month after leaving Nome, we arrived at our new 'home'. Now some 40 days later, here we are, still living in a horse trailer, trying to pretend that our life is normal while we wait to close on our first home. We have done a little bit of exploring, but for the most part, we just sit and wait for time to go by. Camping is much more fun when you get to go home at the end of the weekend!




Our adventure is still not quite over, but we are slowly beginning to feel like this is home. I often imagine how people felt in the old days, expanding in to the West for the first time. It amazes me how we can just uproot ourselves like this, and still manage to thrive. We spent so much money, and have been gone from 'home' for so long, and yet, neither one of us is sorry. All the worrying we did, all the planning, all the wondering about the economy, and if we should move or not. This is probably the most challenging move I have ever made- more than moving TO Alaska, or to Nome- and I have this peaceful sense that this is where we were meant to be. Will we ever go back? To visit, probably, to live, not likely. I feel content here, and I don't know if that is just where I am at in my life, or if it is this place, but I guess it doesn't really matter. What we have gone through to be here makes me just appreciate the fact that soon, we will be home. And I truly believe that home IS where the heart is.

If you are wondering whether to move, or where to move, or if you can do it- I will tell you- I really think that you have to listen to your instinct, and GO. Sure, things can go wrong. Sure, people will tell you that you are stupid. Sure, you might tell yourself that! But I really believe that at the end of the day- we are better off for having followed our dreams and taken risks, because that is what life is about! Even if we had gotten here and hated it, if we had not tried, we would have always wondered if we should have.

[sweetana3]

You had a lot more to move than we did when we moved from Anchorage to Indiana in 1977. We had what we could fit in a Buick Estate Wagon plus 2 cats and husband and 300 pounds of shipped freight. Me, my suitcase and cat flew to meet him.

Then we moved in 1998 and it took the biggest semi tractor trailer the moving company had and a bigger one when we moved back to Indiana in 2001. No more moving.

[MeganAK]

I second that!

[Alaskapat528]

Megan, you chose the perfect forum to post this. I loved reading it and I knew exactly how you were feeling since those were the same exact feelings we had last year when we left AK. Thanks for posting, that was great!!

P.S. Waiting to see how things go economy wise and all, and we may very well be doing the same thing over again next year.

[Wicked Felina]

"If you are wondering whether to move, or where to move, or if you can do it- I will tell you- I really think that you have to listen to your instinct, and GO. Sure, things can go wrong. Sure, people will tell you that you are stupid. Sure, you might tell yourself that! But I really believe that at the end of the day- we are better off for having followed our dreams and taken risks, because that is what life is about! Even if we had gotten here and hated it, if we had not tried, we would have always wondered if we should have. " Very good attitude!

Thank you for sharing part of your journey, Megan. WVA looks so beautiful. Why did you pick that area and had you been there before? You sound like you are truly at home, horse-trailer or not! It doesn't really matter if you are happy and content, does it? Congratulations for having the courage to make the move!

[Granny Sue]

Megan...I just love reading these stories. You have the perfect attitude for this!!

Keep us posted!

[MeganAK]

Thanks for your input, everyone! SeeBee- You asked why we picked this area and if we had ever been here before. No! We originally looked at Maine because of some of the similarities to Alaska, but it was still so far from family. West Virginia happened upon us one day when I was searching around on the Internet. We realized it had mountains, snow in the winter, four seasons, affordable living, and we were sold! We moved here sight unseen, which was incredibly scary, but it just wasn't feasible to visit from Nome- it would have been so expensive. We figured we knew we wanted to get out of Alaska, so we would just come, and if we didn't like it, then we would go somewhere else. I still feel a little bit scared when I think of buying a house and jumping in, but I think I would feel that anywhere. We are just so happy to be getting settled.

[Wicked Felina]

Nice to hear I'm not the only one who's considering moving to a place sight unseen! WTH - It is a scary thought, indeed, but it's wonderful to read your story. Good luck to you folks

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by SeeBee

Nice to hear I'm not the only one who's considering moving to a place sight unseen! WTH - It is a scary thought, indeed, but it's wonderful to read your story. Good luck to you folks

Where are you planning to move to? Yes it is a scary thing moving, even when you know the place you're going to. . Best of luck to you.

[MeganAK]

Hey SeeBee,
Just don't plan on camping when you move. We are SO over it......