Macgellan.com -- The Voyage of Macgellan

Welcome to The Voyage of Macgellan!

Macgellan Update: Back On The Road... Literally!

Those of you who followed the SP Kennel Dog Log know that I had a fantastic -- amazing! -- time in Alaska. Living through the cold, dark and sometimes brutal winter conditions, bonding with a large pack of truly extraordinary sled dogs and working with exceptional people were all very powerful and highly rewarding experiences for me. From the moment I arrived until the end of the racing season, it was non-stop, fast-paced and intense. I loved it.

When we returned to the Kennel from our Post-Iditarod mushing adventure in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I was astonished at the transformation. What had been a vast landscape of white, hard-packed snow only a few days before had suddenly become an expanse of boggy ground and muddy roads. The dogs were quite happy to be laying out in the sun on top of their houses, but for us humans it was a struggle to just walk around and downright treacherous to drive. Nature had once again given me a very clear signal: My "winter expedition" was over and it was time to move on.

I spent a few days wrapping up odds and ends, packing up my gear, closing up my cozy cabin and saying goodbye to all my human friends in Two Rivers. I had intended to go through the dog yard and give each of my canine friends a farewell hug, but by the time I had visited with Teddy, ChaCha, Stella and Happy... Well, I was a mess and could barely manage a wave at the rest of them before getting in my car and driving to the airport. If you've every had trouble saying good-bye to a dog, try to imagine parting with sixty of them. Ugh.

I flew straight to Seattle and hit the ground running with all of the stuff I usually do when I check in there: Catch up with old friends, meet with long-time clients and take care of personal business. Mostly, though, I spent time thinking about, planning and putting into action my next expedition.

Over the winter I had received a number of really wonderful invitations from friends all around the world to visit them this summer and beyond. Because I had such a great experience circumnavigating the surface of the earth on The Voyage, I was strongly tempted to send out affirmative RSVPs and do it again. I realized, however, that I just wasn't in the right "space" to do so.

You may recall that right on the heels of completing The Voyage, I spent last summer helping my parents move off their farm. This was a necessary and successful endeavor, but it was also hard on me both physically and emotionally. My winter in Alaska was also highly rewarding, but it too was physically demanding and emotionally draining. I just didn't feel like I was ready to head back out into the world at large and deal with the challenges of long-term, international travel. I know I sometimes make it look easy, but you have to know that it's not.

So, I set the parameters for my next expedition to be a little less demanding and a little smaller in geographic scope. As you all know, these are "interesting" times with lots of things are in flux: economically, politically and socially. As a scientist I am intrigued by systems under pressure. As a philosopher I am inspired by stimulus and response. As an explorer I am compelled to go take a look for myself.

As a result, I have decided to hit the road... Literally! I have put together the "road rig" you see here and set out on a new expedition. My plan -- insofar as I have one -- is to explore the cultural topography of North America. My premise is that "interesting" times of flux provoke vastly different stimulus and response among a large population across a vast land mass. With this rig I have assembled the capability to pursue my premise wherever it leads me.

As a first step, I've headed east on US Highway 2, starting right at its very beginning just north of Seattle. US-2 is the northernmost highway in the country and -- except for an interruption at the Great Lakes -- it continues clear across the continent to New Brunswick, Canada. US-2 is also known as "The Hi-Line" and you may recall that my friend Greg joined me for a few days as we drove just a small part of it during the early days of The Voyage. I was intrigued by it then, and am confident now that traveling its length will be a good first leg of my expedition.

I do not know what I will find, how long it will take or what I will do along the way. I do not know whether I will actually travel the highway's entire length, nor what route I will take whenever I leave it. In the true spirit of exploration, I don't know anything about what lies ahead. I don't even know what I don't know.

Something else I don't know is whether or not I will publish any kind of website for this expedition. Producing content and maintaining a website requires a lot of time and effort, often to the detriment of the exploration itself. My experience with this website has been that in exchange for all I have put into it, I have received very, very little in return. I'm not going to rant about this, but out of the tens of thousands of people who have consumed the content on this site -- many of whom have returned repeatedly -- fewer than a dozen have ever sent me as much as a couple of bucks to buy myself a cup of coffee or a sandwich. The internet is a classic "free-rider problem" about which I already know enough and am not inspired to repeat the experiment.

Nevertheless, my personal mission is "to explore the world, live by my wits and report my findings." Thus, although I strongly doubt you're going to get any kind of "daily grind" logbook from my current expedition, it is inevitable that I will create some kind of content along the way and post it somewhere. Perhaps here, perhaps on my YouTube channel, or perhaps on some small, simple new website. So, if you are interested, make sure your links and feeds are up to date and stay tuned!

From somewhere on US Highway 2 heading east...

Macgellan

Macgellan Update: With Sled Dogs In Alaska!

Greetings to all my friends and followers around the world!

After completing The Voyage back in May, I went to the east coast of the US where I spent most of the summer helping my parents move off their farm and into a much more manageable townhome. With that adventure behind me, I took a couple of weeks to make an old fashioned "road trip" out of crossing the US back out to Seattle. After that I had a one week stint to Hawaii with some friends to celebrate their wedding anniversary, then made my way back to Seattle one more time.

So, while I certainly haven't been standing still, I haven't had much exploration in my life for a few months either. I am delighted to report that condition has now completely changed!

I am writing to you from Two Rivers, Alaska, about 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks in the heart of the Alaskan Interior. I have come up here to explore Alaska in the winter, and to really immerse myself in the world of sled dogs that I love so much. I have been very fortunate to renew my acquaintance with Aliy Zirkle and her husband Allen Moore -- both professional dog mushers and Iditarod racers -- who run SP Kennel here in Two Rivers. They have very graciously helped me arrange nearby accommodations and are including me in every aspect of kennel operations, from running dogs to cleaning the dog yard. You all know how much I love dogs, so you can imagine how happy I am to be amidst 60 fabulous sled dogs on a daily basis!

In brief, Interior Alaska in winter is cold and dark! Temperatures have been -10 to -20 degrees F since I arrived last week, and promise to go as low as -40 degrees F in the near future. It doesn't start getting light until about 9am and the sun never gets more than 15 degrees above the horizon before setting again at about 4pm. This, too, promises to get "worse" as the days shorten even more over the next month.

I have decided not to maintain this website as my primary means of "reporting my findings", but instead to reach an even broader audience by contributing heavily to the kennel's website. I invite you to look for my postings there at www.SPKDogLog.com  Please be sure to bookmark the page and feel free to leave comments, ask questions, make suggestions for videos, etc.

If I generate content that is of a more personal, non-kennel nature, I may post it here. So, please make sure your bookmarks and RSS feed links are up to date. I look forward to having you follow me on this part of my life voyage!

Best regards,

Macgellan

Logbook: The End Of The Voyage

I woke up on the train this morning and looked out the window to see the beautiful and familiar sight of the Cascade Mountains. After coffee and breakfast onboard, I watched the scenery go by for a couple of hours as we reached the coast and headed south. We arrived in Seattle a few minutes after 10am and I was delighted to be met by Greg, my good friend and frequent Co-Voyager. His first comment to me as we shook hands really said it all, "What a momentous occasion!" In lieu of finding and taking the city bus, I happily accepted his offer of a ride and we set out for the short drive to the north side of the city.

A few minutes later -- at precisely 10:33am -- I stood at the corner of Greenwood Avenue and North 85th Street in Seattle. As I touched the very same bus stop sign where I began my circumnavigation of the surface of the earth 658 days ago, The Voyage of Macgellan officially came to an end.

To say that The Voyage has been extraordinary is an understatement of epic proportion. The places I've been, the things I've seen and the experiences I've had simply boggle the mind, but they pale in comparison to the people with whom I have had the pleasure and privilege of sharing The Voyage. For your participation, fellowship, kindness, assistance, enthusiasm and support, I offer each and every one of you my profound thanks. The world is an amazing place, but it is the people who make it truly special. Thank you.

What's next for me? I don't know. While I have a lot of ideas for things I'd like to do in the future, I don't have plans for any of them at this moment. Frankly, I expect it will take some time for me to "catch up with myself" and that's what I am focused on now. After that, I honestly don't know.

What I do know is that The Voyage is over. I know that I have completed my "mission" to explore the world, live by my wits and report my findings. I also know that making my life "public" is behind me and that I am ready to be a "private" person again. Thus, although I plan to leave this website up for a while, I do not expect to add anything more to it.

So, in closing, let me share with you what has been my most profound learning from The Voyage:

"I once believed we each make two journeys in life, a journey outward and a journey inward. I was wrong. They are the same journey."

With best wishes for fair winds and following seas as you continue the journey of your own life...

Macgellan

Logbook: Closing The Loop

My niece Jennifer and her friend Amanda met me in Chicago on Thursday afternoon. We went straight to the theater to see the new Indiana Jones movie, and followed it with dinner at a popular local restaurant. Although I can only give the film a modest review -- good, fun entertainment but a not so great movie -- and the dinner only slightly higher marks -- decent food but not so great service and ambiance -- my time with Jennifer and Amanda was just fantastic. If there's anything more fun than spending time with bright young people I don't know what it is, and I thank them both for a really great evening! I slept in a bit yesterday and enjoyed a leisurely morning of coffee and a crossword puzzle, then packed up and made my way to Union Station where I boarded Amtrak's "Empire Builder" train to Seattle.

I don't really have much to say about the two day train trip except that it has been a comfortable, easy and relaxing way to cross the country. I've ridden a lot of trains on The Voyage, and although Amtrak isn't the best service in the world I do renew my encouragement that folks give it a try as an alternative to air travel or driving. With airport hassles and gas prices being what they are, traveling by train makes more sense than ever. In my case, the slow but steady progress across the "Hi-Line" has given me time to reflect on The Voyage and to process all that I have seen and done, as well as to try to prepare myself for completing my circumnavigation of the surface of the earth tomorrow morning. I haven't been able to think of a "sound bite" to summarize my experience on The Voyage -- and I honestly doubt that I ever will -- but as I "close the loop" I am profoundly aware that I have accomplished everything I intended to do, and much, much more.

Logbook: Re-Entry

We left Savannah early Last Monday morning and enjoyed a beautiful day, with the Atlantic Ocean treating us to calm seas and brisk following winds. We all swapped stories of our brief time on shore and there was a great deal of goodwill among passengers, officers and crew. In anticipation of disembarking in Philadelphia, I did some laundry, packed my gear and spent time with my various friends. The seas and winds started picking up during the evening and became quite heavy overnight. I was up early on Tuesday due to the rough ride and spent much of the morning on the bridge, at times quite in awe of the massive exchange of energy that occurs when a 38,000 ton ship pitches into a 20 foot high wall of water! The Captain had us throttled back to about 50% power, but even at that greatly reduced speed the sudden fore/aft decelerations from what really amounts to a collisions with waves was a bit unnerving -- much, much different from normal rolling and pitching on sea swells. The seas calmed a bit late in the afternoon and we were able to resume most of our normal speed to approach Philadelphia. We picked up the pilot around 9pm and were about half-way along the 7 hour river approach to the port when I hit the rack for my last night of sleep on board ship.

I woke up when the ship docked in Philadelphia on Wednesday, despite the fact that it was still dark and only about 4 o'clock in the morning. I didn't even try to go back to sleep, opting instead to get coffee and spend some final time with my friends on the night shift. I finished packing my gear and stayed on board just long enough to have breakfast and say my farewells before heading down the gangway and out of the port. I had decided that unexpectedly finding myself in Philadelphia -- only a short distance from where my folks live -- was too good an opportunity for fun to pass up, so I made an easy cab-train-cab ride to Dillsburg and walked up their driveway. I honked the horn on my Mom's car which got the attention of her dog Sasha, whose barking prompted my Dad to come outside and take a look. After chatting with him for a few moments there was still no sign of my Mom, so I went into the house then down the stairs to where she was playing solitaire on her computer and said, "Hey! What time is lunch?" As you might imagine, this surprise visit was pretty much a "10" on the Mom scale and well worth the effort. I spent a nice weekend hanging out with them on the farm, making a few trips to the local internet cafe and enjoying some really good doggie time with Sasha. Everything was exactly the same as it was when I was last there almost two years ago -- which was a bit of a surprise for me in light of where all and what all I have done in the meantime -- but my visit there made for a good "re-entry."

Yesterday afternoon I took a train from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh where I had a few hours to walk around, stretch my legs and get something decent to eat before connecting on an overnight train to Chicago. My niece Jennifer goes to school here and she came into the city after her classes were finished and we had a fantastic afternoon. We had a late lunch then walked all around over the place, saw the sights, took a ride on the famous Ferris Wheel and even had a boat ride, all the while enjoying the same kind of lively, non-stop conversation that is the hallmark of our time and travels together. By the time we finished dinner it was well into the evening and we were both pretty worn out, so we made plans to meet up again tomorrow afternoon -- when we hope to see the new Indiana Jones movie! -- then hang out, dine and talk well into the evening. On Friday I will board the two day train to Seattle and complete the last leg of my mission, the circumnavigation of the surface of the earth that has been The Voyage of Macgellan!

Logbook: Panama To Savannah

Following Marius' suggestion, I hit the rack late last Tuesday night and got few hours sleep before my alarm woke me at 3:30 when I could find out whether or not we'd made it in time to meet our convoy's deadline for transiting the Panama Canal. When I glanced onto the bridge and saw that the Panamanian pilots were on board I knew we had made it, so I got coffee and spent the next hour or so setting up my camera and experimenting for the Report you see below. It was a busy, long and very hot day of transiting the Canal, and I was completely wasted by the time evening rolled around. I tried to hit the rack early, but we proceeded straight to the port of Manzanillo and conducted cargo operations throughout the night, the noise of which made getting good sleep impossible. By the time we headed out to sea early Thursday morning, everybody was showing signs of real fatigue and it was a very quiet "recovery" day aboard ship. Unfortunately, the heat and humidity remained really oppressive as we steamed across the Caribbean and the ship's air conditioning could barely make an impact on it, so that continued to wear us down and interfered again with getting decent sleep Thursday night.

We turned the corner south of Cuba on Friday and headed toward the Bahamas on smooth seas with moderate winds. It cooled down a bit in the evening so I was finally able to get a good night's sleep, and I awoke Saturday morning greatly refreshed. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the seas were perfectly calm, so we had a delightful day of sailing and capped it off with a nice BBQ on F-Deck. Another highlight of Saturday was final confirmation of my point of disembarkation in the US. You may recall that when I booked this cruise my destination was uncertain and Hamish could only assure me that the ship would be making port "somewhere on the east coast." Shortly after I got on board in Napier, the Captain informed me that we would be making port in Savannah and I started thinking about how I might get back across the country to Seattle from there. Last week the Captain told me we the ship would also be stopping in Philadelphia and -- since that offers a much easier rail-route to Seattle -- I immediately requested that destination instead. After some back and forth with the home office, the Captain was finally able to confirm my extended passage and I ended Saturday with the first real sense of destination I've had in quite a while!

We approached the coast near Savannah in pretty heavy weather on Sunday morning and I was up on the bridge listening to a local weather forecast for high winds, thunderstorms and possible tornados when I caught the first glimpse of US land that I've had in almost two years. Thankfully, the weather started lifting as we continued our approach and by the time we had made the slow, two-hour river journey to the city of Savannah it was bright and sunny. The actual Port of Savannah is up-river from the city, and the view during final approach through the heart of town was very attractive. Standing on deck, I replied in kind as various people on shore waved at our large ship passing by them in the narrow river channel and enjoyed a real sense of "returning from sea" with my fellow passengers and crew. As soon as berthing was complete, the US customs and immigration agent came aboard and conducted the formalities. Although still far from my ultimate ending point on The Voyage, I was "back in the USA" and I took a nice moment to reflect on all that I have experienced since I crossed the border into Mexico such a long time ago.

At the BBQ party on Saturday, Marius had told me that he needed to go ashore in Savannah to get some things for himself and the other officers, then asked if I would be willing to go along with him to act as "translator" and "guide" on his quest. With so much personal experience of how hard it can be to navigate and negotiate in strange lands, I immediately said I would be delighted to. Although I knew nothing about shopping in Savannah, I was pretty confident that I could be of some help to him and I was honored to have been asked. So, when the other passengers went ashore and into town for an evening of sightseeing, I arranged transportation to a local mall where Marius and I hustled around to many different stores. We eventually got everything on his shopping list -- everything from underwear to computer hard drives -- including the most important item, a new suitcase for him to use when he finishes his contract and goes home to Romania in a few weeks! We'd had a hilarious time together and returned to the ship in triumph, distributing the goods, telling stories and hanging out with the other officers well into the evening.

Thus, what I would call my "technical" re-entry into the US was really just like a port call anywhere else in the world. Even though I was back on US soil, the time was so short and hectic that it didn't really feel like a "true" re-entry. That experience, I believe, will happen in a couple of days when I reach Philadelphia!