The Journey

The Pan-American is the longest, drivable road in the world. It stretches from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia Argentina, and if you plug that into Google Maps it will tell “Sorry, we could not calculate driving distances….”. The culprit is the Darien Gap, a 60 mile gap in the road between Panama and Colombia that has been deliberately left unbuilt due to the immensity of the jungle, cartels, rebels and other miscellaneous problems. Minus the gap, the road is 30,000 km long, crosses 16 countries and the equator, 16,000 ft mountain passes, and the driest desert in the world. The only other living thing that makes a journey that long is the Arctic Tern, which migrates north to south every year, chasing the sun along the curve of the earth.

Our plan is to travel the Pan American overland. We will be traveling in our 2005 GMC Sierra, topped with a 1999 Lance Camper. We completed the first leg of the journey (Vancouver to Alaska) in 2018. Our original plan was to complete the southern leg (Vancouver to Ushuaia) the following year. 3 months from departure, with bags packed we watched as the world closed it's doors on itself and our dream. Now, 51 months years later we are trying for round two. There continue to be many uncertainties around this trip, and much has changed in the world, but a journey isn't a journey until you leave. So, February 1, 2022, we are leaving. If all goes well we will complete our route in 12 months and then fly back from Argentina. Our vehicle will either be reluctantly sold down south, or will be shipped back via cargo ship.