The Inspiration

This is a dream that’s been 35 years in the making. A dream that was set aside numerous times for the fulfillment of many, many others.

In June of 1984 I set out from Scottsdale Arizona with a good friend, Rick, on a coming-of-age trip to travel around the United States in a battered 1971 Volkswagen Westfalia bus. 

When we bought the old bus it had an exhaust "pop" which the used car dealer told us was a bad muffler.  Out of money for repairs, we hit the road anyway, and, upon our return, learned the "pop" was a fried exhaust valve in the engine.  We only had power from three of the four cylinders.  Undaunted, the old bus got us around the western states, up and down mountain passes, albeit slow, and took us to the trout fishing meccas of California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  We traveled approximately 10,000 miles throughout the western and midwest states. It truly opened my eyes to the possibility that other worlds existed outside of my own, and especially the one that others expected of me.

After returning to Scottsdale Arizona in August I determined life would be about living dreams. Upon hearing the sage advice of ‘do what you love and a living will follow’, I had no intention of "working" for a living. I took a job in a tiny, one man fishing store in Scottsdale that paid $160 per week. Aside from immediately disappointing my parents, taking that job became a pivotal point in life: I met numerous friends and contacts through that world that took me fishing all over the southwest United States and eventually to Alaska, where the past 31 years have been dedicated to building the dream of Crystal Creek Lodge; a dream fulfilled along with many, many others. There is a thick book to be written vs. a short blog post and there are many people to thank. If you are reading this odds are you have contributed support to one or more of these dreams. You know who you are and you have my deepest gratitude.

- Dan Michels

That is my short story behind the motivation that drove this Patagonian road trip to become real.  From here on it will be about us.

Lynnette and I met in 2010 and since we have had an incredible adventure together. We married in 2016 and consolidated our lives. Lynnette sacrificed a lot by closing her life in Arizona and moving to Alaska but, as I’ll tell anybody, she’s a confident person who’s up for anything. Our home is in Alaska and our second home is a 22-foot Roadtrek 210 class B motorhome that we bought three years ago. 

We have put over 30,000 miles upon the Roadtrek traveling throughout the United States. We’ve come within sight of both Canada and Mexico, but we’ve never crossed the border.

Lynnette and I did travel to Argentina in 2017 to travel the northern Ruta Vino (wine road) near Salta then go trout fishing at Patagonia River Guides (PRG) near Esquel.  My 13th trip to Argentina and her first.  While at PRG the guides packed us into custom-outfitted Toyota Hilux pickup trucks each day and whisked us in all directions.  

We ran the highways and back roads hundreds of kilometers to fish a number of fantastic rivers and streams; everything from small spring creeks on the windy plains to majestic rivers ensconced within thick forests deep in the Andes.  While driving 20-55 minutes each day we observed many things: quaint rural hamlets, gauchos on horseback driving cattle, stunning vistas of the Andes and foothills, herds of Guanacos, soaring condors and flocks of rheas. After a couple days we noticed one other thing:  the roads were near empty of traffic save the occasional freight truck, passenger bus interspersed by a few cars.  Hmmm.

My brother, an avid motorsports guy, had suggested the year before I buy a motorcycle, learn to ride then he and I would have something to do together.  Upon return I immediately purchased a BMW GS1200 bike and declared the intention of riding the length of the Argentine Andes via the famous Ruta 40 by bike for my 60th birthday.  Lynnette said hell no, write a will and do your best to come home.  I invited my brother.  He said he'd think about it.  I was smitten by the idea, going and thus resolved to learn.   Since I had not ridden a street bike since the age of 18 there was much lost-time to regain and many skills to renew.  I bought the best protective gear possible, re-took a motorcycle safety class, took a hands-on skills course, bought a trailer for the bike and hauled it 200 miles west of Phoenix, AZ to learn how to ride & gain experience by watching youtube videos and riding the desert bi-ways. Little did I realize using the GS1200 as a learning platform is like learning to fly in a Gulfstream jet.  After the first five days I'd ridden 500 miles.  I also dumped the bike three times, got blown across the oncoming lane into the ditch at 70 mph and almost got taken-out twice by drivers texting.  I sold the bike and trailer at a loss, gave away the $2,500 of helmet, suit and other accessories and called it good.  Glad I did it.  I'd always have wondered and the cost of the education was relatively cheap. 

I brought the idea to Lynnette of and extended road trip by overland truck throughout South America.  She said “ Sure, Dan. Whatever you want.” Yep, she’s up for anything. Lynnette, when asked what the purpose of this trip should be, she suggested immediately: “Fishing!”.

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