Day 12

We spent the night at a gas station in Meadow, Utah. Up at 4 a.m. No bathrooms open. Let the dogs out to go potty. Then drove to the next truck stop. Not only were they open, but they had a great breakfast to go. A MOAB. Mother of all burritos. Yummy. With wam food in our belly, some coffee and a cappuccino we started our day. Heading to Salt Lake City. 

Goodbye Iowa

Day One

Here we are, off on another adventure. We packed up all of our wordly possessions and we are heading out of the state of Iowa. 

The last few weeks have been busy preparing to leave, getting passports and Veterinarian appointments; shots for dogs and cats and health certificates. Contacting the Canadian Border Police for travel restrictions. Traveling through Canada with the remaining household in a 6 X 12 trailer, everything must be inventoried. And we added AAA membership for United States and Canada. Another requirement is a "Canadian Insurance Identification card."

Packing, sorting and selling items on Facebook and Craigslist was also a very stressful ordeal. Facebook is an amazing tool, and became my 14 hour a day task, and Scott and Lizzy doing the shipping and packaging. But we were able to rehome our sheep, sell the chickens, except for the three remaining roosters; two were butchered, and one escapee got a reprieve at a sweet chicken ladies farm. It's rather ironic that the rooster that was the low man on the roost is now the king of his castle with 30 hens. Rather fitting in my opinion. 

We also sold all our farm supplies and chicken coop and purchased a conversion van for our travels. And we sold our truck and jeep, along with most household items. Two garage sales later, a Salvation army pick up, and a few trips to the dump, we were free of all the leftovers.

There is something to be said about the whole downsizing experience. "It is freeing, but incredibly difficult",  deciding what is important, and functional vs. necessities. 

It took us nearly two days to clean the house and finish up all the details. With a trailer stuffed to the gills, and a van busting out the seams......that brings us to this point.

Moving to Alaska!

We had to say goodbye to some dear friends we have made in our 4.5 year stay in Iowa. Some we weren't able to say goodbye to. And for that we apologize. Trying to get everything accomplished in 30 days was a monumental, if not crazy goal. But we did it. With the help of our son Jon, our friends and our traveling caravan: My husband Scott, daughter Lizzy and myself. As we leave Iowa, we can't help reflecting on all the friendships, love and fond moments we have shared. We will miss you all and hold you dear in our hearts. We love you all!

We have few stops to make along the way, and before it's all over, we will be on the road for over two weeks. We will blog daily and post pictures. Join us on this Epic journey.