WHAT A RIDE !!

Our trip of a lifetime comes to a conclusion at the end of summer. We started out in late Spring before most of our flowers started blooming and we return as the trees begin to pop with their Autumn color. We’ve seen everything and done everything a body could possibly do in 103 days. Well, all these bodies could do anyway!

The wildlife has been phenomenal – up close and personal! The views and plant life like none we’ve ever seen before. We’ve traveled through 14 states the majority of time in Alaska and four provinces – the Yukon Territory being the most interesting to us, that brought with it 6 border crossings. We’ve put over 12,000 miles on the coach and close to 3000 on the car. The bikes got a fair workout with close to 100 miles and the hiking had to be over 50 miles. But those are all just numbers.

Sitting on the Midnight Dome in Dawson City and contemplating life, watching the glacier calf on the Kenai Fjords tour, the graceful movement of big grizzly bears, hiking through backwoods where there are waterfalls just around the bend, just the fresh air and life all around! That’s what this trip has been about. We live in a magnificent country and it’s out there for all to enjoy.

Even as we started home and squeezed in a few bonus side trips, the Redwoods in CA are AMAZING!! And I’ve never seen anything like the Badlands in SD. As we traveled through MN and into WI I was beginning to long for home. We came across the Upper Peninsula of MI and I started to think about all the beauty that we have right here. Traveling along US2 bordering Lake Michigan is so beautiful and tranquil, yeah, we stopped there for a couple of hours of walking the beach. Crossing the Mackinaw Bridge started making it feel like we were just on a 2 week vacation. Our final week we sat at a campground on the Rifle River and just relaxed. Our daughter and peanut joined us mid week – what a reunion. Our son and DIL were able to join us on Sunday when we got home (did you hear? Our son and DIL will be having their first baby in March 2009 another grandbaby to spoil.). It was nice to get to reunite while still on vacation mode. I missed them all terribly. Can’t wait to see the rest of my family and friends.

These are a few of the pictures that I wasn’t able to share with you over the summer.









In the later pictures Peanut is sporting a camping mishap. Things just happen when you’re camping.

I don’t want to miss the opportunity to thank everyone at work – the bosses who approved this leave of absence and all the coworkers that covered my job. Without you all this would not have been possible. There are no words to express my gratitude, so I’ll just say a big “THANK YOU”! This trip has truly been “A trip of a lifetime”.

Corn Palace, Mitchell SD

Sunday was a travel day, but we had lunch at our stop at the Corn Palace. The Corn Palace has been in Mitchell since 1892. It started small and has grown over the years. Todays Corn Palace was built in 1921 and is redecorated every year. They use native corn, grasses and grains of SD. The new theme is selected each year by the Corn Palace Committee along with the artist. They use 3,000 bushels of milo, rye, oat heads and sour dock tied into bundles and nailed to the building. The corn used is cut in half length wise and nailed to the patterned wall.




All of those murals are done with corn!! Can you see the individual cobs? The reason for the Corn Palace was back in 1805, when Lewis and Clark traveled through the northern plains, they wrote in their journals that the area was the Great American Desert suitable only for buffalo. Surely, they wrote, no man could ever make a living farming here. Wanting to prove Lewis and Clark wrong, as well as to entice settlers to the area, the Corn Belt Real Estate Association built the first Corn Palace to showcase all of the crops that could be grown in the rich Dakota soil. Of course, the festival each year celebrates the harvest with lots of entertainment and a carnival. Interesting, very interesting.

Primrose Campground in Chugach National Forest

Friday July 11 – Primrose campground was so nice that we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave. We had a true “camping day” today and just sat by the river and read books then did some hiking in the afternoon. It was nice to take a break from a moving vehicle.

Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

Okay, so I've figured out that 1400 miles is not your typical 1400 miles lol. This is going to take awhile. We travelled 282 miles today. Got a few cool pics. Had to do the corney lumber jack

Then we got a couple of good shots of the Rocky Mountains through the windshield lol.








And just when we were feeling lonely . . . .








When we got to Fort Nelson we noticed a lot of Rally cars. They are travelling from Panama to Alaska. Don't know how many, but there are lots. Here's the one like the James Bond car.




The museum next to our campground has some of the equipment to build the original highway to Alaska.
Having trouble downloading pics.
But, I have the perfect ending to the perfect day. I got an email from a friend at work and they've found my replacement. I think she'll do a great job!

I just wish I could be there to help train her. Thanks to all those at the office that gave her a hug for me.

Dawson Creek BC

Wednesday, around 1 we left Betty and Al's and travelled another 276 miles to Fox Creek on Hwy 43. It was a really nice campground about 1km off the highway. Thursday we woke up early and decided to get going. It was only 173 miles to Dawson Creek BC. We did make a couple of stops along the way. One at the Grande Prairie Information Visitor center that had an interesting museum with the area history. Lots of the history was about 10-20 years before my grandparents made their trip to SK so I found it quite interesting to see what they might have gone through. Our second stop was to get a cheesie shot of this huge beaver in Beaverlodge. It is 15 feet high and is perched on a 19 foot log.

We arrived in Dawson Creek quite early with the time change (we are now 3 hours earlier than at home - 7:00 here 10:00 home). We set up camp and then took the car in for a much needed wash and to get some more touristy photos lol. There were three signs that I saw that said the beginning of the Alaskan Highway and I didn't want to miss the right one so we took one of each.



Notice anything different about my Maintenance Man? He's becoming my Mountain Man hehehe.
We also got a shot of this grain elevator. There was a gift shop inside.

We've gotten a few questions from friends that I thought I'd answer here. The temperatures that we've been having are around 40 overnight and in the 70's for the daytime. Most of the time it's quite sunny and nice. We haven't had rain since...oh yeah, yesterday on the way to Fox Creek... oh well, we're on our way now to start a new record. No rain at all today!! We did see a glimpse of the Rockies today.

The fuel prices have ranged from $1.31/liter to $1.44/liter.

I was thinking that since we were at Dawson Creek that we were almost to Alaska. No way!!! The Alaskan Highway is 1400 miles!!! We aren't even near Alaska. Doing 500 miles a day would get us there in 3 days. Five hundred a day is a lot in this get up. Good thing we aren't in a hurry.

I'll try to update again as things happen and when wireless is available. Keep posted.

Visit with Second Cousins

Had a great visit with my second cousins Betty and John and their families. They both have farms near Camrose AL. Betty and her husband Al are raising sheep and some of the most adorable children you’ll ever see. He has his diesel repair business right there on the farm so he doesn't waste any time commuting. Betty is absolutely amazing with her love and care of children (she also makes the most delicious bread). We took lots of family photos that I’ll share when I get home, but I’ll continue here with adult/baby pictures. They had lots of sheep.

And how about this one of man and son. Too cute. Joey had been holding a lamb and when he got tired Daddy was carrying it back to the pen.

Oh yeah, Tuesday night (6/17) we brought them a pretty wild storm too. We’re thinking about hiring out as rainmakers lol.

John and Dorothy have a farm about 3 km from Betty and Al. They live in a home built in 1913 I think. I love all the old design and architecture. Their barn used to house barn dances and the piano would be put up in the hay loft.

They farm pigs, chickens, all organic, and they have a huge turkey named “Easter”. They said Easter weighed about 50 pounds!



They had a few black faced lambs too.

Isn't their farm just the greatest play yard?

Dorothy & John have created a lot of interesting garden spots around the property that I just fell in love with. I felt like we were on the same adventure as the story book “The City Mouse visits the Country Mouse” lol I’m sure that’s not the title, but it was something like that. We again felt so welcomed and like we’ve known each other for a long time. We’re both very glad that we made the time to visit our Canadian family.

Canada here we come

Monday June 16th We got up early Sunday morning and drove from Minot ND to Turtleford Saskatchewan making it in 12 hours!! That was 552 miles! Because we were driving west we entered another time zone and were now 2 hours different from Michigan. We only made 3 stops. The first was customs with no problems at all whew, the second stop was for fuel and then refuel ourselves with a sandwich. The rest pulloff had a LOT of what I think are prairie dogs. They are bigger than a chipmunk, but smaller than a groundhog. They were fun to watch as they ran in and out of their holes and started wrestling with each other as puppies or kittens do.

With the time change and all we got to my cousin Joan and her husband Ralph’s house in time for supper. We stayed up til the wee hours of the morning (our time) visiting with her family, there was her son Steven and his wife Paula and their two sons, Mark and Konrad. Evelyn, Joan’s daughter was also there. I have only met Joan and Ralph once and have never met their kids. It’s really funny how families have the same sense of humor and just click together as if we’ve always known each other.
Steven took us on a tour of the farm in the truck. On their 1000+ acres they raise beef cattle and have some Clydesdale horses. I don’t know how we didn’t get lost – there were no road signs lol. I love the pictures of the mama’s and babies.


Monday morning we were treated to a lesson on tractor tire repair. Those tire are huge and of course it had to be an inside tire. MM got a shot of the supervisory staff.

Once the tire is off and Fred repaired the inner tube he found the culprit in the tire.

Putting the outside tire back on was no easy task.

Removing the last of the blocks and jacks after a job well supervised.

We spent much of the day with Paula and Steven. In the evening we went to Evelyn’s home and met her husband Glenn and son Jeff (earlier in the day we met their daughter Cary). Glenn raises registered Angus bulls.
I felt I had a special bond with Evelyn in a lot of ways. I found we had a mutual interest in gardening and even had many of the same plants around our yards.
All three couples were very gracious and welcoming. Canada is such a beautiful country. There are so many wide open spaces and the sky is mammouth. The vistas that my family enjoy daily are breathtaking.
We had another late night and wanted to get an early start for Betty and Al’s place in Alberta.

Getting Through ND

Sat June 14th Lots of what they call "cone zones"

Approaching Bismarck ND

While I was doing the post at the Washburn Rest Area MM was outside taking pictures. It was a Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. There were several buffalo siloettes,

and the sculptures of Lewis, Clark & Sakakawea.

It was a great rest area as you can see. After leaving there we drove a little farther to Minot ND and filled up again to get us up to Saskatchewan. Just as we were leaving the filling station the weather monitor and radio both announced at the same time there was a severe storm coming to this area. From the looks of it we were headed straight into it. I asked MM if he had checked the storage bays lately. He looked at me quizzically and I just said “I’m sure Duffy has to be in one of them. We have never had this kind of weather on a trip.” Her trips always include tornados and hail.
Just as they were talking about 70 mph winds and hail the size of quarters we saw a sign for a campground. I took this as a sign and said pull over lol. We were barely in the site for 5 minutes before the winds picked up and a horrific storm went through. We wanted to be in Canada by morning, but 70 mph winds is a bit much even for us. We plan on getting an early start (yeah, I’ve said that before) and seeing if we can’t make up some ground. I keep saying we’re not in any hurry, but I want to get to Alaska!

LOTS TO CELEBRATE

Thurs 6-12-08
Lots to Celebrate
We have lots to celebrate today. Today is our 37th anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us! Today is our son in laws birthday. Happy Birthday Andy! And we survived last nights weather and got out of the flooded campground. Yes, lots to celebrate.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day (after the rains stopped). We did what we do – visit and relax and generally have fun. As we were walking to dinner we were commenting on how beautiful the day had turned out. We had a great dinner (the caterers were excellent) and then were entertained by the Rivoli Revue again. They do a great job. After dinner there was a request to help tear down the tables and chairs. MM helped the men and I stood around and visited with the women. As we were finishing up a State Trooper came in to say that they were going to all the local campgrounds to warn everyone of the possibilities of severe weather. There were tornado sitings west of us (we learned that it hit a boy scout camp and there were lives lost) and they told us to watch the weather and head for shelter if necessary (5 minutes away by car). That put a quick damper on things. Actually, several coaches that were going north or east left earlier in the day because they heard of road closings and they wanted to get out while they could. As we walked back to the coach we said how it was hard to believe that bad weather was that close when it was such a beautiful evening. It was still about 72, there was a slight breeze and there were a plethora of stars in the sky. The perfect evening. When we got back to the coach we put a few things away and pulled in the slides, then took a walk around the campground. Several people were out talking about their plans. When we watched the local news they weren’t really talking about a storm, just about the severe flooding everywhere.
We (maybe more me) decided to get a bag packed with important stuff in case we had to make a fast getaway. Then it was off to bed to try to get some sleep. I knew there wasn’t any sleep coming my way anytime soon, I’m much too much a worrier. I must have dozed off around 1:30 a.m. The rains woke me up at 3:30. Nothing bad, but my mind was prepared for the worst. Long story short, it pretty much rained from then on. Fortunately, the winds weren’t nearly as bad as they had been. We did our morning rituals as usual and watched as the coaches started pulling out. About 8 a.m. central time we decided it wasn’t going to get any better and we’d better get going. MM had to walk in ankle deep water to unhook the coach. We were able to pull to a little higher ground to hook up the tow. Most of the internal roads of the park were flooded.

When we got to the end of our road at the edge of the park we noticed some cows that were up to their bellies in water. My guess is that park will be totally underwater by the end of the day. When we got to the exit area there was a small lake that had developed and we were wondering if we should try to traverse it. After sitting there for a few seconds a truck pulled up to us and the driver said to follow him. He took us over to another internal road that lead to higher ground. There he unlocked a gate for us to get out onto a main road which was not flooded.
Once we were on the main roads there was only one spot on Hwy 151 that was being compromised. There were DOT trucks on both sides so we could only go through one car at a time.

After that it was pretty smooth sailing (make that driving). Approaching Des Moines there was a lot of flooding right up to I-80. We passed a little league ball field that was totally under water. The water was half way up the building that houses the concessions and rest rooms. I guess anywhere there is a river nearby there is flooding. Our roads should all be good from here on, but we left a lot of sadness behind us.
We travelled from 8:30 to 4:30 today and covered about 300 miles (that doesn’t mean we were going 40 something mph – we made a few stops). We landed in Stone State Park near Sioux City Iowa. Pretty little park with about 20 campsites. We were the only ones there for awhile, but then a biker came in. He’s peddling from DC to Oregon following the Lewis & Clark Trail and then back to DC. He just finished changing his second flat tire for the day. Bet he’s tired because I know we are lol.
Another bicycler came in shortly thereafter so we invited both of them to dinner.

The first guy, Ludlow, is 62 and kind of bicycling across country. He stays in motels a lot, this is only his second time in a tent. He’s making a lot of side trips on trains or renting a car. The younger guy, Jeremy, is 29 and traveling from Jacksonville FL heading to Montana. He would like to work in Montana on a ranch for a year then take another look at his options.
After dinner we went for a walk then came back and headed to town for ice cream. Came across a pretty overlook. You could see for miles.

Friday 6/13/08 Happy Birthday Harmony! We had a good travelling day today, about 350 miles. Left Stone State Park in Sioux City IA around 10 a.m. central and just drove. It was a very windy day which made it kind of tiring for MM. The slide awing on the front was unrolling a little due to the west winds. We noticed a few convoys of National Guard heading south carrying boats, probably heading for where we came from. Going through SD there are miles of prairie with lots of cattle ranches. The wind blowing across the prairie grasses was beautiful. I took one picture of a ranch, but there were several that were just as picturesque.

There was one construction zone (they call them cone zones) that was 12 miles long with 2 way traffic. The big trucks going the opposite direction along with the cross winds were nearly blowing us off the road. I was watching the steering wheel. When a truck past us (going in the opposite direction) the cross bar was straight across. As soon as the truck was by it was back to 8 and 2 (if you know what I mean). Like MM likes to say it’s like flying a kite with a steering wheel.
We tried to stop at a motel/campground in Fargo ND (it had wifi), but it ended up being a gravel pit with campers on top of each other, just totally unappealing. We decided to just keep looking and just down I94 at Tower City there was a similar camp outside a motel only this one had grass and was farther off the highway. We ended up stopping at this one.
Once set up I quickly fixed dinner and then we went for a walk around the city park that was close by. When we got back there was a couple our age setting up a tent. We talked with them briefly. They left Saskatoon this morning and are headed for IL and MI looking at boats. After talking with them we noticed a few of the locals sitting at a picnic table and joined them. It was actually the motel owners and two guys (James and Ronnie) who are in town working on a pipeline that is coming from Canada and going to Oklahoma and splitting off from there. We tried to help them solve all of the world problems, but it started sprinkling which was our cue to head back and do dishes.
Saturday 6/14/08
We are currently sitting in a rest area in Washburn ND. Stopped for lunch and noticed (with the cool sentry from Scooter and Co) that they had wifi. We're hoping to make the Canadian border sometime late today or tomorrow. We'll try to keep you all posted. Til then.

How to Comment on a Post

Had a few questions on how to comment on a post. I'm going to try to do some cut and paste on how to comment. At the bottom on any post you will see something like this
North Liberty Iowa Library
blah blah What a great idea. We need to pass this on and let the idea spread.
"Posted by siteseer at 6.6.08 0 comments "
Labels: vacation; Alaska trip

Just click on the "comment".
That will take you to something like this
Ok, so that didn't work. I could cut and paste to a word document, but not to here. Anyway, once you click on the comment it takes you to another screen where you just start typing your comment and you can see the other comments as well. Once you've typed your comment you must put in the squiggle letters that you see (this is to prevent spammers from leaving comments). Then you can either put your email and password (I don't see these) and hit publish or hit anonymous and hit publish. Either way the comment then goes to my email for moderation before being published. If you do anonymous it would be helpful to us if you left you name in the comment, but you don't have to.

North Liberty Iowa Library

Just had to make a comment on the North Liberty Iowa Library. That was the library that we visited today (6/5/08). It is attached to the community center that has a cool pool and a water slide among other things, but what caught my attention and I think other libraries should utilize is - Character Cake Pans. Yes, they had several rows of cake pans standing on the top of the bookcases. I asked the librarian and she said that they were on loan just as the books were only you took them out for only a week. I know I have a few Wilton cake pans – Big Bird, a cross, mini car, train, bear and doll – there might be others, but I can’t remember , but they are too costly to use and then store. What a great idea to just borrow them and return them. The pans were sort of catorigized too, they had several Halloween ones together and Christmas, Easter and a lot of just childrens characters. What a great idea. We need to pass this on and let the idea spread.

Still in Iowa

We’ve had a fun couple of days. We’ve hiked a little more on some of the local trails. We just love all of the smells and sights and sounds. Walking along you smell earthy smells then pass some real floral fragrances then pass by the fresh smell of a lake and back into an earthy musky area. Just the use of all of your senses is great.

The Coral Ridge Mall is quite unique. Don’t know if it’s any larger than any of ours in Michigan, but this one had a Children’s Museum and an indoor ice arena. Something that most of us wouldn’t notice, but my daughter brought to my attention recently was what do you do with a small child when you have to use the bathroom? The restroom that I went into at the mall had a small jump seat (like in an airplane) attached to the wall in the stall that you can strap the child into leaving you free to do – whatever. Not something that we all need, but you can see how it would come in handy.
We had hiked in the Devonian Fossil Gorge area a few times, but today we sat through the movie at the visitor center. Very interesting. The dam was completed in 1958 on the Iowa River upstream from Iowa City, this structure was built primarily for flood reduction. The outlet below the dam is designed for a maximum release of 20,000 cubic feet (150,000 gallons) or water per second.
During the summer of 1993, a record flood brought 41,000 cubic feet per second of water into Coralville Lake. The Emergency Spillway just west of the Dam released the excess flow. The overflow lasted 28 days and reached 17,000 cubic feet per second as the Lake level rose 5 feet above the top of the Spillway. The road and campground at the base of the Spillway were washed away together with as much as 17 feet of soil, exposing the Devonian age seafloor beneath.
This left a unique opportunity to explore a 375 million year old seafloor and discover fossil remains of the sea life that once inhabited this tropical marine environment.
This is the top of the dam that was compromised.

The water spilled over this wall and washed away the campground and 17 feet of soil. Leaving this gorge.

In this photo you can see that nature is starting to rebuild – placing soil in spots and then more vegetation is starting to take over.

The fossil images left in the limestone.

The weather in this area is nice then very stormy. The days have been pleasant, but watching the water levels rise when you’re not used to it can be disconcerting. The local news is now starting to compare this summer to the summer of 1993. For their sake I hope not. I’m just passing through, but people live here and this can be devastation.