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00:00Expedition Overland's Pan-American series is presented by General Tire. Anywhere is possible.
00:14Perspective.
00:16It's the makeup to how we see the world.
00:23It's a fundamental element to our lives.
00:29Sometimes the right perspective becomes lost.
00:33It happens every day.
00:38Getting back to one's values, redefining priorities, and stepping back to look at the big picture
00:44can change your perspectives and give you a new bearing.
00:51A bearing that can change everything.
00:53An adjustment that can take on fear and restore your benchmark of purpose.
01:28Allium...
01:42I've been looking for a job change, a chance to start doing really what inspires me rather
01:54than just sitting behind a desk, collecting a paycheck, doing what I'm good at.
02:01I needed to follow my heart and do something that I love.
02:05It was go on a trip and quit my job or keep working and doing what I've been doing for
02:16the last 13 years.
02:18So to make this leap is, I don't know.
02:29When we were dating, Scott was a guide for expeditions.
02:34He led junior high and senior high youth groups on water rafting trips and rock climbing.
02:40That was the guy I met.
02:42And we thought we were going to wait five years, be skew bums, and then talk about our
02:48careers later.
02:49And it ended up, you know, you have a baby, you stay where you have a job, where you have
02:54insurance.
02:56It's just when I saw a piece of him kind of die.
03:01And not once in the last 13 years that he's been working to provide for me and our kiddos,
03:08has he ever complained?
03:10Has he ever done it with like a chip on his shoulder or any air of bitterness?
03:16He just did it because he loves me.
03:26I remember it.
03:32It's just that it, I said he did it.
03:33It's just...
03:33It's already a car, but it's very awful.
03:34I was able to put in a car.
03:35It's like the car.
03:35I don't put that in a car.
03:35It's like the car.
03:35There you go.
03:39I just had a nice little nap.
03:42We've crashed for almost 2 hours.
03:46I was able to take it.
03:49and it's a bunch of needed because we're tired.
04:00What's the plan?
04:03Get on a helicopter?
04:05What?
04:06Let's go.
04:07Play.
04:08Hey.
04:09Hey.
04:15Hmm.
04:16Hey, buddy.
04:17Here you go.
04:18Hi.
04:20What are you doing?
04:22What's going on?
04:23We're looking at the ocean, eh?
04:25Huh?
04:26So we'll go in, we'll go to Valdez and check out the harbor, looking at where we need to
04:31go in the morning.
04:32Yeah.
04:34Is that where everybody else is now?
04:36Yeah, we're off the ocean.
04:39Longer.
04:40Oh, hey.
04:44To the docks we head, feeling the desire to not take anything serious.
05:09So what'd you do?
05:10So I went up to the guy and I said, hey, how much do you want for that boat?
05:14Yeah.
05:14And he was accused on his last lake.
05:16He said, you know, I'll give you that boat for 50 bucks.
05:22And I was like, 50 dollars for this ship?
05:25Wow.
05:25This sea-worthy ship?
05:2890 miles per gallon is hard.
05:30That's right.
05:35That's right.
05:39Yeah.
05:39They say, bur, bur, bur, bur, bang.
05:41We call it bur, bang.
05:45Valdez is captivating.
05:47We arrive at low tide as the light settles into magic hour.
05:51The mountains reflect a punch of sunset, glorifying their majestic presence over Valdez.
06:03There's a way of life here that seems very distant to ours.
06:08Ropes hang at the ready.
06:10Chains are tarnished by the sea's air.
06:12Nets are being mended for tomorrow's opening day.
06:19The people are bright and hearty.
06:26We're at the ocean.
06:34I've never seen anything like it in my life. It's just like, kind of awestruck.
06:40It's beautiful.
06:56To be a kid again.
06:58It's so awesome.
07:00If it was 100 degrees outside, I might think about it.
07:03I would...
07:04Nope.
07:05I'd watch her do it.
07:06If I was hot, I would do it.
07:08That was awesome.
07:11Our morning boat trip, scheduled just a few days ago by Allen in Kokona Junction, awaits.
07:16Now I'm here in Valdez.
07:18I'm ready for my tour.
07:20I'm going on a tour.
07:22Gracias.
07:25The Stan Stevens Company started with just a small boat 30-some years ago.
07:29Now they are a thriving company, giving people the best tour in town.
07:35Its owners and crews are revered among the locals.
07:39We might catch up with you later tonight.
07:40Sounds great.
07:41They now have a fleet of ships, including the Valdez Spirit, custom made for them from
07:47a boat maker in Australia.
07:51Our Captain Randy is seasoned, with over 200 voyages into Prince William Sound in regards
07:57to this tour alone.
07:59So out here, there's going to be otters.
08:01Over here, after we have passed the Narrows, I mean we never know where they're going to
08:05be, but out here, somewhere between here and here, we're probably going to find whales or
08:13orcas or whatever we can find.
08:16We can't guarantee anything, but yesterday there was one right here, right up there.
08:20It just looked like.
08:21Oh boy.
08:22Yep, yep.
08:23I'm actually going to college for acting.
08:25Oh!
08:27But I have a bad old age yet.
08:28All right, instant go.
08:30I need a monologue now.
08:31Would you like a wildlife guide?
08:33Oh, thank you.
08:36Welcome aboard the Valdez Spirit today.
08:39We will be seeing tons of things, and yep.
08:45Even if things get really exciting and you need to get...
08:47The crew performs their final preps and the Valdez Spirit pushes from the dock.
09:00Good morning and welcome on board the Valdez Spirit as we get started on our trip here to
09:05Prince William Sound.
09:06This portion of Prince William Sound is infamously known due to the tanker Exxon Valdez running
09:12aground in 1989.
09:14It was the largest oil spill at the time with as much as 750,000 gallons of crude oil rupturing
09:21into the water.
09:23Affected directly by it, the Stan Stevens vessels were the first to carry response observers to
09:29the spill site.
09:29Now, an immediate response ship stands at the ready with daily training events and 24-7
09:35response capability.
09:38Ensuring that the past won't happen again.
09:43Not long into our trip, wildlife became abundant.
09:52It's like me and my rooftop tent at night.
09:58My feet just have fallen off the side.
10:02It's true, I can vouch for that.
10:06As a team, we've been trying to look at each other's characteristics, their personality,
10:12and call out an animal that they most remind us of.
10:15And now that I'm seeing the sea otters, I definitely think that's Scott.
10:21Look at him!
10:24On the subject of power animals, every person has a power animal.
10:32This is Cora who you are.
10:34And everyone is now a sea otter.
10:37I'm not.
10:38You're not?
10:38No.
10:39What are you?
10:39I'm a meerkat.
10:40Oh, she's a meerkat still.
10:42But everybody else wants now to be a sea otter.
10:44It's just not fair.
10:45You don't pick your power animal.
10:46You can't pick your power animal.
10:48You can't pick your power animal.
10:49Why don't you tell them why my inner power animal is the meerkat?
10:54Okay, so mild ADD, always looking at things.
10:59Squirrel!
11:02Meerkat.
11:04And I don't have a power animal.
11:06We didn't pick one for you?
11:07No.
11:08I'm animal-less.
11:11Oh.
11:14I want to be a sea otter now.
11:16No.
11:17Alright, fine.
11:18You can't dub your own.
11:19I know, I know.
11:19But listen, everyone else started it.
11:21I didn't.
11:22I stuck.
11:23We're only 10 days in.
11:23Despite everybody here's longing to be the sea otter, Scott is a sea otter.
11:28Yeah.
11:29Why is this?
11:30For the most part, they like to just lay on their backs, float on the water, and go with
11:34the tide.
11:37That's Scott.
11:37There they are.
11:39They take the path of least resistance as much as possible.
11:43They have no natural predators because they're mostly fat and fur.
11:47That sounds right.
11:47You can see the large vessel off the right hand side here.
11:51It's called the controller bay.
11:55There wasn't long until we realized that this trip was going to be one of the best things
11:58we will do.
11:59There really isn't a better way to see this area.
12:04Being a group that tries to stay away from touristy things, this trip altered that mindset
12:09became an exception to the rule.
12:11It's a must if you visit here.
12:16The blue in this ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, it's compressed, and becomes
12:21part of a glacier that winds its way down toward a body of water.
12:25Air bubbles that are trapped in the ice are squeezed out, and the size of the ice crystals
12:30increases, making it clear and seven times more dense than your everyday ice cube.
12:36I'm a little speechless, to be honest with you.
12:40This is just fascinating to me.
12:43I kind of feel like I'm in my element, too.
12:45Like, I love being out on the water, seeing stuff like this in places I've never been.
12:51This is great.
12:55Just a few years ago, Jeff was bound for a career in Alaska on a fishing vessel,
13:00when a drunk driver hit him on his bicycle one night in Montana.
13:05He was drug under the vehicle for 150 feet, crushing ribs, his spine, tearing his flesh.
13:11He was nearly murdered before a good Samaritan stopped the drunk,
13:15who had dragged him behind the vehicle with intentions to back over him.
13:20Jeff's sister and I spent the evening in the ER picking embedded gravel from his face and arms.
13:26Two years of therapy and a die-hard attitude has brought him back to health,
13:30and this trip finally to Alaska.
13:36The Valdez spirit rounded the bend to reveal the humongous Mears Glacier.
13:41The Mears Glacier is six miles long and a mile wide at its base.
13:46It's named after the 18th century British naval captain, John Mears.
13:52Calving was at its peak, and we anxiously anticipated the chance to witness such a spectacular act of nature.
14:00So here we are today, at this massive glacier, waiting for large pieces of ice to drop.
14:10This is a massive, massive one. Here it comes.
14:14We're about to get a nice little wave here.
14:16Huge chunk of ice.
14:18This whole half of the wall just fell off. We missed it because we got permission to come up on
14:22the roof.
14:23How tall do you think that was?
14:25That's a hundred feet high.
14:27Yeah.
14:28A hundred feet, probably two, I don't know.
14:30The glacier?
14:31No, the slab.
14:32Oh, the slab, yeah.
14:34That whole massive chunk of that hole, that big bull, just dropped.
14:41It's like missing the bull elk of your life.
14:43Yeah.
14:43That just happened.
14:44That just happened.
14:47Come on.
14:48Just drop it.
14:59This is so spectacular.
15:02It's probably one of the coolest things I've ever done.
15:09I could sit here for hours.
15:12Come on, girl.
15:16Come on, it's okay.
15:18You can do this.
15:20Believe me.
15:21It's alright.
15:22Just let it go.
15:23Let it go.
15:25Come on.
15:37Ooh, big, big, big.
15:39Look at that.
15:57It's majestic release was thunderous and powerful, sending wakes past the vessel.
16:04Rhonda handled the moment differently.
16:08Hey, boy.
16:09That's good.
16:12Aah!
16:14Really?
16:15Did you get it?
16:19I made it magical for you.
16:22You could just watch this all day.
16:24It doesn't get old.
16:27The trip back to the docks let ourselves take a beat on the day.
16:32perspectives renewed on just how small we are.
16:36I'd have to say that today does not suck.
16:39It's pretty awesome.
16:42Our eyes had been opened to a bigger world.
16:45You see it on Discovery Channel, you see it on all these shows,
16:48National Geographic, whatever, and you're like, oh, that's pretty cool.
16:50But when you see it in real life, it's like, something changed in me.
16:54I think I was glowing today.
16:57I saw more stuff today than I ever thought I would, you know,
16:59and things that I've never seen in my life.
17:01I saw a whale today, caught it in slow motion.
17:04It was just like, oh my gosh.
17:17I was looking through binoculars like out in the open sea,
17:20like looking at porpoises going everywhere and like sea lions and stuff.
17:26And I was just like, this feels like I'm in a movie.
17:28It feels like I'm living, living a dream.
17:32I'm taking some birds.
17:35They're coming right up to us.
17:37They were playing with seagulls a minute ago, like trying to bite them.
17:41So cool.
17:45The captain invited us to the wheelhouse.
17:48He filled us in on the courageous corporate buyback by company owner Stan Stevens
17:52after initially selling the company to enter retirement.
17:56I believe it was in 2002, just before Christmas.
18:02The president of Siri flew his private jet in Valdez and told them they were changing the locks on the
18:10door the first year.
18:12He shut the company down and took all the boats and moved them to Seward.
18:17So Stan, you know, being such a part of the community, came out of retirement and bought the Glacier Spirit
18:26back.
18:27And started the company over basically.
18:31Wow.
18:32Yeah.
18:32I mean, Stan's an important feature of the community.
18:35And we just felt that he owed it to the community to bring this company back to life.
18:42Because there's a lot of businesses in Valdez that depend on the people that come here.
18:48Come here to do this.
18:49To do these trips.
18:50Yeah.
18:51Well, do you think you'll work for years to come?
18:55You know, that's a good question.
18:58I've been debating that, you know, all the last couple of years.
19:02I wonder what you might do.
19:05Well, I believe it or not, I do commercial photography or corporate photography at a time.
19:11Oh, right on.
19:12Yeah.
19:12Yeah, I travel.
19:14So, you know, I think it's going to come a time sooner than later that I'm going to just venture
19:23off into another career.
19:24See, we're overlanders, so we like to explore the world by vehicle.
19:28Okay.
19:28But this is a whole other world that runs in the same vein because you want to explore the world
19:34by your vessel as a boat.
19:38So, if you could tour the world, where would you go?
19:42Honestly, the first place I think I'd go is to Australia.
19:46That's one place I want to go by land and I'd love to go there by sea.
19:50Oh, there you go.
19:51Yeah, and that would cover a lot of area.
19:53Yeah, you'd get a lot in between too.
19:55Yeah.
19:55So, would you sail or yacht?
19:58I'd prefer to sail.
20:00Oh, to sail.
20:01One common lesson learned amongst travelers is that people are people.
20:05We all have dreams and aspirations.
20:07We all have things that we long to do.
20:10The antagonist is all too often that perceived obligation or a bond that seemingly won't let us be free.
20:16It doesn't have to be that way.
20:20It boils down to having an understanding of the cost either way.
20:24At the end of the day, your perspective on life is what will grade the quality of it.
20:30It's a very tight window.
20:32I've seen every part of him that died come back to life.
20:36I feel like, you know, it's time to do what you love and supplement if you need to instead of
20:41doing what you hate and barely having time to do what you love.
20:47I'm okay if we have another year of hot dogs and macaroni just to get by.
20:53I don't want to go back.
20:55It's not easy, but it's worth it.
21:02Amen.
21:06We're just having a lot of fun and encouraging each other and enjoying life.
21:11And you get to a place, you know, after you get to know everyone and you settle in and you're
21:18comfortable.
21:19Like, this is what life should be about.
21:21This is an experience I'm just so glad I didn't pass up and I was privileged enough to be healthy
21:28enough to be here.
21:32The End of the Day
21:33The End of the Day
21:38The End of the Day
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