Amen to that.

The old man used to get several cords delivered each fall, UN-SPLIT!! I had a beautiful hard wood stump/chopping block. A 6lb maul/splitter. A 10 lb sledge. Various steel wedges. Bare hands since I was 17.
The old man wouldn't let my buddies hang out while I was working just because of that.

All those skills paid off- at the carnival/county/state fairs I'm the guy ringing the bell at will, at that game where you hit the see/saw and the weight goes up hits the bell....BFD!! I'd a rather been chasing skirts with my buddies!!
Did get fed well!!

Around here, southern California, it is very densely populated. All there are jammed up miles of really bad drivers. We have people without licenses driving here - it is the epicenter of blind bats and distracted drivers. AT ANY MOMENT - you'll see women putting on makeup - 65+mph...???WTF??? texting??? dudes shaving looking in the mirror??? USED to be they were just messing with the radio... How about watching TV?!?
Then we have those channeled surfaced roads here - just to make sure we're on our toes!
Just to get to a road that doesn't have a traffic light for more that a couple miles I have to travel 30 miles, all of it, you guessed it freeway.
The up side to living out here is a motorcycle share the road law- where we get to split lanes with the cars. So we're not stuck in traffic at a stand still. But that gets nerve racking when the car drivers see you coming and block... jealous d-bags - most are women. I've been lucky/cursed enough to have ridden/driven/lived back east and then out here. Both places are tough.

Growing up we had 3 wood stoves going at the same time in the winter and had to drag the wood out of the 38 acre forrest and cut and chop it by hand. I couldn't move out fast enough,lol. And when I bought my house up here it had a wood stove...I yanked it out and put in a nice vermont casting propane insert with remote control and blower that still works even w/out electricity. Wood is nice if you have the time. GReat heat, smells great but is extremely labor intensive.

Being snug as a bug up here in the great Northeast we're insulated until its time to go elsewhere. No matter which way you go its major urban compact to get out. Even thru Canada one has to travel thru Montreal and that is pretty much like NYC with multiple interstate routes over lapping each other then speiling out left,right or straight at most inappropriate times.

I-95 by motorcycle is taking your life in your hands in my opinion. Heck is crazy in a car. I-95 between Springfield MAss and south of DC is nutz,people are crazy. Luckily there are alternative routes which take a little more time but are scenic and less hazardous. I-81 has been a Godsend for us when heading out.

I catch heavy traffic on my commute to work. I live in Spring Tx and have to commute to the east side of Houston. It's better than it used to be, but it still sucks arse. It used to stress me out, but now I just roll with the flow.

I have done some touring, but not near to the level you have. It would be awesome to go to Alaska on a bike. I wanted to compete in the first Hoka Hey that went to Homer Alaska, but it was bad timing for me.

The splitting, chopping, and stacking wood part f the trip sounds fun but the ride on multiple interstates
to get there, not so much. Todays drivers are in such a hurry, distracted, and angry.
When I was younger traveling on the interstate didn't bother me, now that I'm 47 I can't stand it.
I wish the gov. would pass a law that say's if you catch someone texting, reading, putting on makeup or eating while steering with there knee
you can follow them and when they get out of there car kick them in the crotch

Sounds like fun??? You only get to say that if you did it as a kid because you'd catch hell if you didn't do it... AND you still really - really - love it... because I can tell you - there are probably several hundred other things I consider fun way way way before dealing with slippery wet cold muddy ground, cantankerous chain saws that don't want to start, sharp edges, back aches, cut up hands, sweating when its freezing out and only wearing a flannel shirt...

Give me a cold beer - my hot babe - some good tunes - or maybe just tooling around on my roadking...

NOW-
As for the kicking those drivers in the crotch - THAT SOUNDS LIKE A BLAST!! I'M IN 100%

We get the same thing here.At certain points in the day the freeways are still bumper to bumper out here and the freeway will start moving 65-70 mph. I try not to be on the freeway on my bike at though time. If I have to I stay in the slow lane, the one closest to the exits.

TEXTING
It can happen at any moment....