We, the 59in59, in Order to form a more perfect Natural Union, establish environmental justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense of our country's beauty, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves, and our Posterity do ordain and establish this 59in59 trip to celebrate the National Parks of the United States of America.
Today is September 17th and it is a very important day. It was on this day in 1787 that the U.S. Constitution was signed in Philadelphia. It is only fitting that #59in59 is also doing something epic on this day. Today is the day that we leave Alaska and start our 4-day drive through Canada for the lower 48 and the 46 National Parks that we still have yet to visit.
When we started this trip we knew that Alaska was going to be a bear. 8 National Parks and you can only really drive to 3 or 4 of them. The other ones require either a bush plane or a boat. It's the most expensive and expansive in terms of visiting. The Alaska National Parks occupy an area of 40,156,392 acres. If just the National Parks in Alaska were a country they would be the 93rd largest country in the world. Combined, they are slightly smaller than Suriname, which is the smallest country in South America.
With that we want to give a little tribute to Alaska. It is only makes sense that we use the song 'One Day More' from Les Misérables to do this. As you know the French were integral in supporting us again the English in the Revolutionary War. 'One Day More' starts out like this:
One day more!
Another day, another destiny.
Our last day in Alaska and the beginning of the rest of our 59in59 destiny. We crossed the Arctic Circle and jumped into the Arctic Ocean. We were less than 10 yards from bears and saw the site of the largest volcanic eruption in the 20th century. We saw Mount McKinley before its name was appropriately changed back to Denali. We stood on a glacier and walked through a mine that was financed by JP Morgan and Guggenheim. We experienced the vistas that Ansel Adams shot was when he was on a Guggenheim Fellowship to photograph the National Parks. All of that and we only scratched the surface.
We survived a close call with a bear and got our first taste of snow. We have been driving through fall for 2 weeks. We drove in to bright green aspens and dark green spruces, we drove out to yellows, oranges, and reds. We have had a glorious time, but we also know what George R.R. Martin has been trying to tell us in The Game of Thrones.
If you don't have bitmoji on your phone...download it now. It's amazing!
If the 35 degree weather in Prudhoe Bay wasn't a hint we are now aware that 'Winter is Coming' and it is time for us to return to the south. We will be diligently editing photos and writing entries to regale you with the stories of our time in the north, but before we hit the road we want to leave you with the ending of 'One Day More'.
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!
One more dawn
One more day
One day more!
To tomorrow's dawn! We look forward to our continued adventures and having you join us!
