Up until August 2nd, my facial fortress was almost untouched in 2024. A few trims and plucks were needed but the base of thy beard was to be left alone, like the bears of Alaska. Admire from a distance, do not approach.
In January, my eldest daughter instructed me to let my beard grow wild and free. Destination Alaska was planned for late July. The best version of her father in The Last Frontier should be a barbarian of the brush. I accepted her nomination, joyous over my daughter not being a teenager yet and these are the types of decisions we are making together. As much as I wanted my beard to blossom, I was perfectly fine with pumping the breaks on household puberty. Just stay 9-years-old, dear child. Of course, I turned 40 in April so reflections such as these have become standard operating procedure. The "life goes fast" sentimental stage.
Spring turned to summer and the heat was on and the beard was hot. My wife and daughters were counting down our biggest trip to date while gazing into the ungroomed. And now, we are back home and I look like a school boy. As many vacation hungry humans can attest to, from planning to conquering, it is a whirlwind. My beard will grow back much easier and faster than us returning to Alaska, a truly amazing place.
Alaska is the 45th state I have visited and without question, it was the most epic of our country's lands. I am currently working on a memoir centered on the adventure, an adventure that went well beyond our family of four. I hope to get it written before the calendar year is over. As I write this sentence, I am surrounded by slurping, coughing, and questioning. If you think this writer smokes a pipe in a private nook, you are mistaken.
So, my blog entries might be few and far between as I recapture "Our Alaska" as I am calling it. So many people from the Johnstown area were characters in the adventure. Grit and gratitude will be referenced often. When traveling anywhere, packing and unpacking can be a gauntlet, but you never unpack grit and gratitude. Carry those on and off, each and every day.
I am grateful for my Alaskan adventurers. Grateful for all the people from all over the world that I met in The 49th State. I can't wait to write about them while my youngest daughter asks me, "Do you like my shoes?" and my oldest sings the same refrain 27 times in a row.
I look forward to telling more tales and using beard oil once more. I imagine time will go by fast as summer turns to fall. Make sure you take time to laugh, say thank you, and plan the next adventure.
Montana 2025?
Sounds like a place for a beard.
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