Friends and family members have asked how they can support my trip. I am not accepting cash donations, however there are some easy ways you can help me earn some revenue using this website. Thanks to Amazon.com’s affiliate program, you can support my trip by purchasing books on Amazon.

If you buy books based on my recommendation, I will receive a portion of the profits. The previous post included a list a some of my favorite books. Each of the book titles are linked to Amazon. If you are thinking about purchasing one of these books, why not help out a friend while you’re at it?

All you have to do is click on the book title, and make your purchase. Pretty simple. There are some other easy ways to help, which I will write about in the future. Thanks for visiting!

A reader named Heather, from Portland Oregon, recently sent me a MySpace message, in which she asked, “What is your favorite book you have ever read?”

Oh man, my favorite book?... Auugh… gosh, mmmrr…. oh, it’s such a hard decision… Man!! Okay, the best I can do is give you a list of about seven books, separated into fiction and non-fiction catagories:

Non-Fiction:
• The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs
• The World Is Flat, by Thomas Friedman
• Healing ADD, by Daniel Amen
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki
• The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas Stanley

Fiction:
• Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
• Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
• High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foers

Okay, I guess that was ten books. I am currently reading a non-fiction book, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” which is about the genocide of the Native Americans during the late 1800s. I’m pretty sure it will be one of my favorites as well. The book of John, in the New Testament, also deserves a place on the list, although I can’t decide if it should be catagorized as fiction or non-fiction.

Additionally, I have some favorite children’s books, which are “Where the Wild Things Are,” by Maurice Sendak (of course) and “Love You Forever,” by Robert Munsch. Warning: if you are sentimental, the book “Love You Forever” is guaranteed to make you cry.

Things I Am Thankful About:

•That I didn’t die when I crashed my 4Runner in August
•That the Castle Inn has affordable rooms and wireless internet

•That I’ve been able to make some friends in Rapid City

•That my new friend, Rachel, invited me to Thanksgiving dinner with her family

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•That the candied yams, which I made from a family recipe, turned out yummy
•That Rachel’s brother, Joe, invited me to go work on the ranch with him
•That I was able to learn so much about cows at the ranch on Friday
•That I am able to be alive at this important moment in the history of mankind
•That I decided to stay in Rapid City for a while to work on my photos and videos
•That you visited my site!

I stayed up late working on my blog the night before I left Hyder. I woke up early in the morning and went on a walk with my Uncle Mims. It was on this walk that I encountered the enormous slug, pictured in a previous post.

I got some caffeine in my system and left town by way of Stewart.

Before I visited the Hyder/Stewart area, I didn’t realize it was home to some of the world’s most incredible scenery.

This is the highway leaving Stewart.

This is another shot I took on my way out of town. This is my favorite photo from the Hyder area, and I recommend clicking on it to see the bigger version.

On the way back to the main highway, I passed another glacier. I was behind schedule, but I couldn’t resist. I stopped and took some photos.

If you’ve read my recent posts, you know how I feel about glaciers.

After taking some photos I got back in the car and worked my way back to the main highway.

Then I headed north up the infamous Cassiar Highway, which is one of the most dangerous highways in all of North America.

I had only slept a few hours, so I wasn’t completely focused. I really should not have been driving. I should have waited an extra day to get back on the road. But I had to reach Anchorage by the end of August, so I pressed on.

I wasn’t sleepy, but I was having a hard time concentrating on the road. So I pulled over at a rest stop and took a half hour nap.

Then I drove a little further, and stopped at a place to buy some Goldfish Crackers. It was this big lodge resort, which also had a filling station and a convenience store. And it had an RV Park as well.

It also had a helicopter pad, with choppers coming and going all day long. Notice the rainy weather.

After I left the lodge I drove over this bridge.

And then I drove over this embankment.

That’s when my American journey took on a life of its own.

If you’re new to the site, or if you just want to review the dramatic details of my car accident, here’s a link to the post where I announced that I had crashed.

And here’s a link to the video of the memorial service we held for my dearly departed 4Runner.

Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, British Columbia are within a mile of each other. Following are the key features of each community.

Stewart, British Columbia (Canada):
• Beautiful scenery everywhere
• Cold winters
• Socialized Health Care (the governemnt pays for it)
• Moderately high taxes
• Alcohol is expensive due to taxes

Hyder, Alaksa (USA):
• Beautiful scenery everywhere
• Cold winters
• No property taxes
• No state income tax
• No state sales tax
• The Government writes you a check for $1,500 or so every year, just for living in Alaska
• No police
• No customs inspections
• Alcohol is inexpensive
• Health Care? Just have a drink!