3rd Party Agent

 

3rd Party Agent
Friday, July 31, 2026 by Brave Knight Writers

 

 https://braveknightwriters.com/blog/1089-A-Dynamic-Creation

These Brave Knight Writers are on a three month sojourn into the northern wilds. Our friends and relatives comment on how amazing it is that we planned such a trip. A trip of a lifetime.

We see it as living our lives with little adjustment in our approach. The trip unfolds one day at a time, one hour at a time, and one minute at a time. It’s the same as any other time, the only difference is location, and the familiarity with people or logistics.

Life is always an adventure with obstacles to overcome. Many rely on third-party agents to plan out-of-the-ordinary excursions,  but we believe part of the fun and the most memorable events happen unplanned.

We rely on our own peace and calm when things go wrong, and prayer. Our third-party Agent is God. When things go wrong—and they will—He is the one we call upon to seek answers. We knew going into this adventure unexpected challenges would unfold, and they have.

So, where are we? We write to you from a log cabin on a dirt road twenty miles outside Fairbanks, Alaska. I am writing this a little early since our next ten days will be in remote locations without Wi-Fi or phone.

Mount McKinley, Denali is our next stop, three days in a dry cabin accessible by hiking or four-wheel drive. Our host has graciously offered to provide us with transport in and out. We look forward to the challenges of those days, and to be immersed in creation without the amenities of modern life. Stripped of common comforts is the way to get in touch with one’s true self, away from the noise of man’s creation.

After Denali we will spend a week in a cabin at Moose Pass, on the Seward Peninsula. At this point I am only in anticipation of what lies ahead (and we’ll still be adventuring this time next month) but I will share with you what we have already encountered.

We take responsibility for the things gone wrong, since it came from our lack of due diligence in planning or having misplaced our faith in our fellow man. In the end, nothing is gained by placing blame or expecting others to right things. Our approach is to accept responsibility, weigh our options, and define a new path—placing our faith in God’s guidance. Never get upset or panic, even in life and death situations, this only adds fuel to the fire.

A fine example is our experience in Banff, we went to our scheduled hotel only to find out we didn’t have a reservation. To put this into perspective, summer reservations in Banff are made months in advance, even up to a year, and the prices are quite outrageous. No one should expect to find an available room on the fly. When the clerk informed us of our situation we didn’t panic. The clerk offered us a different accommodation at triple the original price, we turned the offer down. Placing our faith in a third-party booking company resulted in the error, but we had not been diligent in documenting a confirmation. We also had issues with accessing our email prior to our arrival. So we settled in the lobby with our laptop, said a prayer, did a search,  and to our amazement found accommodations at a better resort which even provided indoor parking. Our new location was within walking distance to restaurants and shopping.

Our adventure involves bicycling, we had identified bicycle trails all along our route with plans to ride most days. Unfortunately in Glacier National Park one of the bikes became damaged, a bent derailleur caused shifting problems and chain jumps.

In Calgary as we rode a city trail we asked a woman if she knew of a bicycle shop, she told us to try Bowness Cycles, she said they are world famous. We pedaled city streets to reach the shop, it is the largest bicycle shop I have ever been in. We walked in the door where a young fellow stood at bicycle workstation and asked if he could help us. Without hesitation he stepped outside to examine our bike, took it inside and fixed it. He also identified a loose front axle and tightened it, he said there was no charge for the services. We thanked him but felt guilty, we should have tipped him or at least offered. We did spend money on bike gloves while there. We returned to the shop after we got back to our car and gave him copies of two of our books along with a financial gift. Blessings should always be shared.

We spent a couple of days in Calgary and Edmonton, we even ventured into the West Edmonton Mall which proved to be an over-the-top indulgence experience in what must be the world’s largest indoor shopping space complete with a wave pool, ice skating, and other amusement rides.

In contrast, our journey soon found us on the Alaskan “highway” which drops from four lane to two with unpaved gravel patches, blinding dust, potholes, broken asphalt, and rolling dips. All these combined to loosen the front axle of one of our bikes secured in the rack behind our vehicle. At some point the axle fell out, detaching the front wheel from the bike. The front wheel happens to be one of the major points of securement to the rack. As a result, we could have very easily lost the bike since it rested on the outer fringe of the rack. In foresight, I had used additional bindings on the bikes, not expecting any specific issue like a lost axle, but just as a general what-if. The lost axle left us unable to ride in several areas we passed through. In Fairbanks we located a bike shop, Bankstown Bikes who just happened to have one used axle (another prayer answered).

It’s an adventure, no different than a daily routine, if you expand your comfort zone and view challenges as something to overcome with guidance and strength provided by God.

Soon we will be in the backcountry of Denali. What is in store for us? We’ll be traveling light, bare essentials, but for sure we are packing prayers and will be in contact with our Agent.  braveknightwriters.com