OK - it's been more than a week since we have been home so I apologize. The minute we arrived we started prepping the motorhome to go back to the RV dealer in Pontiac, IL for all the bodywork. We moved straight from that to working on the property here at Lake of the Ozarks because of 3 months of neglect. Good thing we had lots of rain, because none of my new plants died; the problem was more of overgrown weeds.
HOME. A little word for such a safe, comforting haven. Even Molly, who really loves the motorhome, immediately adjusted to what was most comfortable. We seem to have left all of our bad weather on the road. Since we have been here, it has been high 70's - low 80's and no rain so we can catch up. We will be here until the last week in October when we go to Chicago. We'll head back to Texas for the winter - probably a week before Thanksgiving. As a result, we will conclude these weekly updates (life here at the lake isn't very exciting) and resume once our winter travels are underway. Thanks for following along!!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Still in Colorado
Well, we have a great wifi connection here in Loveland, and we have had a wonderful weekend up in the mountains, so we have to provide an update. On Thursday, we drove up to Estes Park and up into Rocky Mountain National Park, trying to beat a snow storm that threatened to close the pass. The trip on Hwy 34 is absolutely breathtaking so we'll show you a picture or two. It took us almost 3 hours, but that was because with every turn, we saw a new view that we just had to capture!
Once we got through the park and arrived at our friends' home at Lake Granby, it was cloudy and rainy, but there was promise of a better weekend. After Deb and Kent arrived, we drove back to Rocky Mtn National Park to watch for wildlife then later enjoyed a great halibut dinner (complements of Dean's fishing trip in Homer). On Saturday, the sun came out and we went for an early morning wildlife hunt and a late breakfast. After lunch, Deb and I hiked a four-mile trail around Monarch Lake in the Arapahoe National Forest. The weather was just gorgeous and views were undescribable. I'll attach a couple of pictures, although they hardly do the area justice. Saturday evening, we took one last trip to the park and finally captured a herd of moose crossing the road. We always see elk there, but moose are a bit more elusive, so it was better than winning the lottery.
As we prepared to leave this morning, we learned that the pass back through the park was closed due to 7-ft drifts of snow and a rock slide so we took the long way back home. We travelled south through Winter Park, then north on Hwy 6 (which was beautiful), through Boulder (where I lived in kindergarten) and then back to Loveland. Tomorrow, we are headed to Colorado Springs with one more stop to see friends in Monument tomorrow night before heading home. There is supposed to be sunshine, so we will bank on that! We plan to be home on Wednesday -
Once we got through the park and arrived at our friends' home at Lake Granby, it was cloudy and rainy, but there was promise of a better weekend. After Deb and Kent arrived, we drove back to Rocky Mtn National Park to watch for wildlife then later enjoyed a great halibut dinner (complements of Dean's fishing trip in Homer). On Saturday, the sun came out and we went for an early morning wildlife hunt and a late breakfast. After lunch, Deb and I hiked a four-mile trail around Monarch Lake in the Arapahoe National Forest. The weather was just gorgeous and views were undescribable. I'll attach a couple of pictures, although they hardly do the area justice. Saturday evening, we took one last trip to the park and finally captured a herd of moose crossing the road. We always see elk there, but moose are a bit more elusive, so it was better than winning the lottery.
As we prepared to leave this morning, we learned that the pass back through the park was closed due to 7-ft drifts of snow and a rock slide so we took the long way back home. We travelled south through Winter Park, then north on Hwy 6 (which was beautiful), through Boulder (where I lived in kindergarten) and then back to Loveland. Tomorrow, we are headed to Colorado Springs with one more stop to see friends in Monument tomorrow night before heading home. There is supposed to be sunshine, so we will bank on that! We plan to be home on Wednesday -
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
We are ALMOST home!
Wow - less than a week ago we were in northern Wyoming. After we left you in Yellowstone, we drove to Buffalo, WY via Cody and Sheridan, travelling on Hwy 14. Between Shell and Burgess Junction - it SNOWED! We knew our travel time was getting short as a couple of mornings waking up to 24 degrees was not our kind of summer! That evening we stayed at the Indian Campground which will get 5 stars from us and we ate at the Bozeman Trail House. Dinner was good, but the company was real cowboys - mud and boots and all.
From Buffalo, we drove to Hill City, South Dakota in the Black Hills. Oh my, this place is gorgeous! I don't care how old you are, put this on your bucket list. We stayed there for four days and could have spent double that time to see everything we wanted to see. From our pictures, you will see that we thoroughly enjoyed every minute, even when is was raining and cold (in the Badlands, which is desert)! Yesterday, we washed the motorhome (understand that this is at least a $30 investment) and the the tow car to only drive through driving rain storms in southern Wyoming today on our way to Loveland, CO. Oh well, that's what makes this a blog. If everything went as planned, it would be boring!
This weekend, we will leave the RV parked in Loveland and drive through Estes Park and Rocky Mountain Natl Park to stay with our friends, Deb and Kent, for the weekend. After that, we will stay in Colorado Springs (where Anna spent 9 years of her formative years) and visit friends, Pat and Delaina in Monument. We plan to leave Colorado Springs on Tuesday morning and drive 750 miles straight east toward home. We think that is two days, so this may be our last post until we reach home. Thanks so much for following us!
From Buffalo, we drove to Hill City, South Dakota in the Black Hills. Oh my, this place is gorgeous! I don't care how old you are, put this on your bucket list. We stayed there for four days and could have spent double that time to see everything we wanted to see. From our pictures, you will see that we thoroughly enjoyed every minute, even when is was raining and cold (in the Badlands, which is desert)! Yesterday, we washed the motorhome (understand that this is at least a $30 investment) and the the tow car to only drive through driving rain storms in southern Wyoming today on our way to Loveland, CO. Oh well, that's what makes this a blog. If everything went as planned, it would be boring!
This weekend, we will leave the RV parked in Loveland and drive through Estes Park and Rocky Mountain Natl Park to stay with our friends, Deb and Kent, for the weekend. After that, we will stay in Colorado Springs (where Anna spent 9 years of her formative years) and visit friends, Pat and Delaina in Monument. We plan to leave Colorado Springs on Tuesday morning and drive 750 miles straight east toward home. We think that is two days, so this may be our last post until we reach home. Thanks so much for following us!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Now we are in Buffalo, Wyoming!
It's been a little more than a week since our last post, thanks to US National Parks with no WIFI or cheap RV resorts that boast of WIFI, but don't really deliver. Oh well, we won't dwell on that.
Since we last left you in Banff and Lake Louise, we travelled south to our last Canadian stop - Waterton Lakes, which is the northern part of Glacier National Park in Montana. This is a small park, but with great "punch" and views which we only began to capture on this trip. We were only able to stay there one night but stayed close by at a place called the Great Canadian Barn Dance in Hill Spring. This was a wonderful place where they served us Alberta Beef (& Chicken) and we danced to an old-time country band as late as we could stand it. We also saw the Northern Lights that night, and more stars than we have seen since we were in West Texas last winter.
After entering the US in Glacier National Park we stopped at West Glacier then travelled south to Kalispell and stopped in Butte for the evening. We went to the World Musuem of Mining there, then took the underground mine tour. I thought I would never thaw out from that 2 hour adventure. I can't imagine working in a mine for a living!! Well, that night we got SNOW in the mountains! We woke up to 28 degree weather and thank goodness, no frozen pipes. The next day we were on to Virginia City MT on the way to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed there for 2 days, even though we have been there before (20 years ago), then today we travelled east to Cody and on to Buffalo, WY. Tommorrow we will get to the Badlands. Who knows when we will be able to post again, so Happy Trails (as the say in Cowboy Country!)!
Since we last left you in Banff and Lake Louise, we travelled south to our last Canadian stop - Waterton Lakes, which is the northern part of Glacier National Park in Montana. This is a small park, but with great "punch" and views which we only began to capture on this trip. We were only able to stay there one night but stayed close by at a place called the Great Canadian Barn Dance in Hill Spring. This was a wonderful place where they served us Alberta Beef (& Chicken) and we danced to an old-time country band as late as we could stand it. We also saw the Northern Lights that night, and more stars than we have seen since we were in West Texas last winter.
After entering the US in Glacier National Park we stopped at West Glacier then travelled south to Kalispell and stopped in Butte for the evening. We went to the World Musuem of Mining there, then took the underground mine tour. I thought I would never thaw out from that 2 hour adventure. I can't imagine working in a mine for a living!! Well, that night we got SNOW in the mountains! We woke up to 28 degree weather and thank goodness, no frozen pipes. The next day we were on to Virginia City MT on the way to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed there for 2 days, even though we have been there before (20 years ago), then today we travelled east to Cody and on to Buffalo, WY. Tommorrow we will get to the Badlands. Who knows when we will be able to post again, so Happy Trails (as the say in Cowboy Country!)!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Canadian Rockies are Beautiful
During the last week, we have stayed mostly at Canadian National parks which don't have email access, so I apologize that my last post was a week ago. Since then, we crossed British Columbia through Prince George then started heading south through Jasper National Park. We travelled with other tour members, but at that point, we all started heading separate ways. Immediately leaving Jasper National Park, you are in Banff National Park, go through Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore before exiting the mountains to Calgary, where we are now.
We have taken some amazing photos, but pictures just don't do this place justice. I'll attach a few to give you a flavor, but do put this on your bucket list and you won't regret it.
Tommorrow we head for Waterton Lakes which is the Canadian part of Glacier National Park. We could only stay at the town site for one night (I didn't know Labor Day was coming up so soon!) so we are staying at Hill Spring for the next two nights at a Canadian Barn Dance place. Should be fun! We will only be about 30 minutes from Waterton Lakes, so plan to spend the daytime exploring the sites there. We will reenter the US next Monday and will celebrate by getting a full tank of cheap gas! Yea, I said CHEAP compared to what we have been paying in Canada, but we promised not to talk about that.
We do plan to amend our trip a bit after getting in the US as we are anxious to go home. Stay tuned and we will keep you all updated!
We have taken some amazing photos, but pictures just don't do this place justice. I'll attach a few to give you a flavor, but do put this on your bucket list and you won't regret it.
Tommorrow we head for Waterton Lakes which is the Canadian part of Glacier National Park. We could only stay at the town site for one night (I didn't know Labor Day was coming up so soon!) so we are staying at Hill Spring for the next two nights at a Canadian Barn Dance place. Should be fun! We will only be about 30 minutes from Waterton Lakes, so plan to spend the daytime exploring the sites there. We will reenter the US next Monday and will celebrate by getting a full tank of cheap gas! Yea, I said CHEAP compared to what we have been paying in Canada, but we promised not to talk about that.
We do plan to amend our trip a bit after getting in the US as we are anxious to go home. Stay tuned and we will keep you all updated!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The end of the Tracks to Adventure trip
Last night, we said "good bye" to our friends with whom we have been travelling for the last 40 days. It was bittersweet, as we are tired and our motorhomes and trailers have taken a beating, but we hate to lose daily contact with our new family. Those who have been on previous Tracks tours and our wagonmasters have said that this group was unique; no complainers (despite the bad weather and numerous breakdowns), great drivers (and parkers, even in tight conditions), fabulous cooks or chefs (as we ate VERY well) and in general, a great group of people with whom we will maintain contact for a very long time.
At our final dinner last night, everyone got a chance to say a few words about the trip and our thoughts were consistent and most appreciative. Dean may have said it best quoting a well-know sailing saying "Attitude is the difference between an adventure and an ordeal". I think most of us would say that this was an adventure!
As we depart, most of us are heading south in some direction and many of us will stay together for a few days, depending on the urgency to head home. Dean and I will start the third part of our trip which will include another week or so in Canada, then going through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, back to Wyoming, Colorado and then directly east to Missouri. We invite you to stay with us and hope you will enjoy the travels as much as we are!
At our final dinner last night, everyone got a chance to say a few words about the trip and our thoughts were consistent and most appreciative. Dean may have said it best quoting a well-know sailing saying "Attitude is the difference between an adventure and an ordeal". I think most of us would say that this was an adventure!
As we depart, most of us are heading south in some direction and many of us will stay together for a few days, depending on the urgency to head home. Dean and I will start the third part of our trip which will include another week or so in Canada, then going through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, back to Wyoming, Colorado and then directly east to Missouri. We invite you to stay with us and hope you will enjoy the travels as much as we are!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
What a difference a day (or week) makes!
Well, after that sunny update we gave you from Valdez, the trip changed course drastically. The following day we drove to Tok and almost toward the end of the trip, an oncoming semitruck threw a good-sized rock at our windshield. It looks like a huge chip, but it blew shards of glass into the motorhome, covering Dean's clothes and the hallway all the way back through the living room, galley and to the bedroom in the far back. Amazingly, he was unhurt which was a miracle. The hit was just above his forehead and he wasn't wearing sunglasses or anything that would shield him. Needless to say, we spent the next hour carefully vacuuming up the glass. For a few days afterward, I would crawl around with packing tape picking up some tiny pieces that had escaped the clean up process. Molly was sitting behind me on the couch, so she didn't get hit either. We called in a guy to see if he could fix it but he simply sealed it with silicon and taped over the spider lines with clear packing tape. The windshield will have to be replaced, but we will wait until we get home.
The following day the road deteriorated even more. We only had about 100 miles to drive to Beaver Creek, Yukon but most of it was full of unmarked frostheaves, gravel patches and construction where we had to be escorted. Three rigs broke down that day. Two were fifth-wheel rigs; one had two broken springs and the other, the frame started coming apart. The third: you guessed it - US. Seems like the engine was stressing out from all the work and the problem we had in Rugby, ND started all over again. We thought we'd let the engine cool overnight, then take out directly to Whitehorse the next morning, but the plan failed. It did start ok, but about 3 miles down the road we knew we were in trouble. We quickly detached the toad (that's the towed car) and turned the rig around in the middle of the highway and headed back to the only mechanic shop in Beaver Creek. Long story sorta short, we were stuck there for two days while the wrecker made it's way to us. The closest place for both wreckers and mechanics who would work on it was Whitehorse - 301 miles from nowhere. Sooo, that poor motorhome got picked up at 6:00 pm on Wednesday night and towed (very slowly), arriving at about 3:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. After following the wrecker to Destruction Bay (I can't imagine why they call it that), we went ahead of them to the RV Park where our tour group was staying. When we arrived at 12:30 am, none of them were awake, and we couldn't find any hotels still open, so we slept in the car. YEP, we did that!
The prognosis wasn't good, the parts were ordered and we were headed into a 3-day weekend in Canada so we decided to drive our car to the next stop on our tour which was Skagway, Alaska, only about 2 hours away. Another couple insisted that we stay with them and fixed us a wonderful dinner that night after we arrived. Sleeping horizontally was a special treat that night, as we were exhausted. Even Molly didn't mind (too much) staying with her 115-lb new-found friend, the bull mastiff, Brenda.
On Friday, we took the White Pass and Yukon Railway trip and the clouds parted, the sun came out and the day was beautiful. I'll attach a couple of photos as proof. We said goodbye to all of our tour friends right after the trip (as we were certain that our repairs would not be made until after the 3-day holiday) and drove back to Whitehorse. The tour ends on Tuesday so we felt we had made the best of a bad situation and were resolved to leave a little early. When we got back to the motorhome, we had a typed note from the guy who owns NEW NORTH TRUCK & EQUIPMENT. He said we were fixed and ready to head south! They jerry-rigged and by-passed the air compressor with a shorter fan belt (I'm sure Dean will be glad to give you the real technical solution) but you get the idea! We spent the night in his shop yard (with electricity), settled up with him this morning and started to take out for Watson Lake to rejoin our group. Dean had to work on the automatic jacks and found out that all the transmission fluid had leaked out during the tow experience, but fixed all that so we were finally underway by noon.
I'm sure this is all more than you ever wanted to know, but it would be hard to boil it down to a paragraph or two. Wait . . . I did that, didn't I? Stay tuned as we wrap up the tour-part of the trip which is this Tuesday. As we start the next leg of our trip (a long way home), some of us have decided to stick together for a few days, so that will be fun. We will update as often as we can!
The following day the road deteriorated even more. We only had about 100 miles to drive to Beaver Creek, Yukon but most of it was full of unmarked frostheaves, gravel patches and construction where we had to be escorted. Three rigs broke down that day. Two were fifth-wheel rigs; one had two broken springs and the other, the frame started coming apart. The third: you guessed it - US. Seems like the engine was stressing out from all the work and the problem we had in Rugby, ND started all over again. We thought we'd let the engine cool overnight, then take out directly to Whitehorse the next morning, but the plan failed. It did start ok, but about 3 miles down the road we knew we were in trouble. We quickly detached the toad (that's the towed car) and turned the rig around in the middle of the highway and headed back to the only mechanic shop in Beaver Creek. Long story sorta short, we were stuck there for two days while the wrecker made it's way to us. The closest place for both wreckers and mechanics who would work on it was Whitehorse - 301 miles from nowhere. Sooo, that poor motorhome got picked up at 6:00 pm on Wednesday night and towed (very slowly), arriving at about 3:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. After following the wrecker to Destruction Bay (I can't imagine why they call it that), we went ahead of them to the RV Park where our tour group was staying. When we arrived at 12:30 am, none of them were awake, and we couldn't find any hotels still open, so we slept in the car. YEP, we did that!
The prognosis wasn't good, the parts were ordered and we were headed into a 3-day weekend in Canada so we decided to drive our car to the next stop on our tour which was Skagway, Alaska, only about 2 hours away. Another couple insisted that we stay with them and fixed us a wonderful dinner that night after we arrived. Sleeping horizontally was a special treat that night, as we were exhausted. Even Molly didn't mind (too much) staying with her 115-lb new-found friend, the bull mastiff, Brenda.
On Friday, we took the White Pass and Yukon Railway trip and the clouds parted, the sun came out and the day was beautiful. I'll attach a couple of photos as proof. We said goodbye to all of our tour friends right after the trip (as we were certain that our repairs would not be made until after the 3-day holiday) and drove back to Whitehorse. The tour ends on Tuesday so we felt we had made the best of a bad situation and were resolved to leave a little early. When we got back to the motorhome, we had a typed note from the guy who owns NEW NORTH TRUCK & EQUIPMENT. He said we were fixed and ready to head south! They jerry-rigged and by-passed the air compressor with a shorter fan belt (I'm sure Dean will be glad to give you the real technical solution) but you get the idea! We spent the night in his shop yard (with electricity), settled up with him this morning and started to take out for Watson Lake to rejoin our group. Dean had to work on the automatic jacks and found out that all the transmission fluid had leaked out during the tow experience, but fixed all that so we were finally underway by noon.
I'm sure this is all more than you ever wanted to know, but it would be hard to boil it down to a paragraph or two. Wait . . . I did that, didn't I? Stay tuned as we wrap up the tour-part of the trip which is this Tuesday. As we start the next leg of our trip (a long way home), some of us have decided to stick together for a few days, so that will be fun. We will update as often as we can!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
A little sun in Valdez, Alaska
We had a beautiful day today as we ventured out into Prince William Sound here in Valdez! It was cold (hence, you see our usual yellow foul-weather coats) but the sun was shining and we could see all kinds of fascinating sights. This is where the Alaskan Pipeline ends (so why is gas $5.93 a gallon?!?!?) so you could see the refinery and pumping stations on one side of the sound. There was a huge Womens' Salmon Fishing Derby here this weekend so they guys are enjoying the view. We went out on a Glacier and Wildlife cruise and saw more of the usual, but I will try to attach a couple of different creatures to this update. For Molly-watchers, you need to know that these artic waters don't phase her. She just loves to venture out into these bays and roll in the seedweed on the shore. Yay.
We are parked on the edge of the causeway to the harbor so I had to include a picture of our front-row seat. Tomorrow, we are off to Tok, AK and will be traveling back on a bumpy road we traveled down to get here. We figure the 260 mile trip will take us about 7-8 hours due to frost-heaves that have created a real roller coaster ride. Today, Dean had to replace some screws that are holding the dash together, as the rough roads are shaking it pretty hard. I guess duct tape may be the next solution!
We are parked on the edge of the causeway to the harbor so I had to include a picture of our front-row seat. Tomorrow, we are off to Tok, AK and will be traveling back on a bumpy road we traveled down to get here. We figure the 260 mile trip will take us about 7-8 hours due to frost-heaves that have created a real roller coaster ride. Today, Dean had to replace some screws that are holding the dash together, as the rough roads are shaking it pretty hard. I guess duct tape may be the next solution!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
It's Raining Again! Now in Palmer, Alaska
It seems like weeks ago since we were in Homer where the sun was shining. After that, we travelled to Seward and camped in the city campground which is right on the edge of Resurrection Bay. As soon as we got there, a bus picked us up and took us to Exit Glacier, where you can hike up about 3/4 of a mile to get to the base. That evening, it started closing in and raining and didn't let up until we left to go back up the Turnagain Arm towards Anchorage.
While in Seward, we took the Kenai Fjiords National Park tour which lasted about 8 hours and included a salmon dinner. You have to take that trip if you are ever in this area, as the boat captains do everything in their power to find wildlife for you to view. We saw all kinds of birds, including puffins and bald eagles, sea otters, sea lions, dolphins and humpback whales. We also went right up to a glacier but didn't get a chance to watch it calving like on previous trips. Still, it is an awesome sight! The third day we were in Seward we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center which showed many of the wildlife we had seen the day before, but up front and personal. You could also "pet" some animals like anemones and starfish. They have done a wonderful job of education and rehabilitation of many of the animals. Wouldn't you know that as we went to dinner that night and returned to the campground that the clouds parted, the sun came out and it was a beautiful evening! We left that next morning.
That next day, we had about a 3-hour trip to Palmer, but encountered a terrible wreck on the two-lane Seward Highway, just south of Anchorage. By the time the police decided that it would take hours for the wreck to get cleared off the highway, everyone was turning around and taking a detour through a residential section of town. It was quite a job to get the rigs turned around on that narrow highway (with steep shoulders); most of us had to unhook our "toads (our towed cars) and travel separately until we got through the messy traffic. It was comforting to know we were in good company however. The Holland America and Princess buses were having to turn around too! That 3-hour trip turned into about a 7-hour trip but it was sunny and pleasant when we arrived in Palmer.
Today we went on a tour of Palmer, to a reindeer farm and a muskox farm as it began to start raining again. Of course, we have a coverdish dinner this evening and as usual, we will enjoy ourselves no matter what the weather provides! Tomorrow, we are off to Valdez!
While in Seward, we took the Kenai Fjiords National Park tour which lasted about 8 hours and included a salmon dinner. You have to take that trip if you are ever in this area, as the boat captains do everything in their power to find wildlife for you to view. We saw all kinds of birds, including puffins and bald eagles, sea otters, sea lions, dolphins and humpback whales. We also went right up to a glacier but didn't get a chance to watch it calving like on previous trips. Still, it is an awesome sight! The third day we were in Seward we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center which showed many of the wildlife we had seen the day before, but up front and personal. You could also "pet" some animals like anemones and starfish. They have done a wonderful job of education and rehabilitation of many of the animals. Wouldn't you know that as we went to dinner that night and returned to the campground that the clouds parted, the sun came out and it was a beautiful evening! We left that next morning.
That next day, we had about a 3-hour trip to Palmer, but encountered a terrible wreck on the two-lane Seward Highway, just south of Anchorage. By the time the police decided that it would take hours for the wreck to get cleared off the highway, everyone was turning around and taking a detour through a residential section of town. It was quite a job to get the rigs turned around on that narrow highway (with steep shoulders); most of us had to unhook our "toads (our towed cars) and travel separately until we got through the messy traffic. It was comforting to know we were in good company however. The Holland America and Princess buses were having to turn around too! That 3-hour trip turned into about a 7-hour trip but it was sunny and pleasant when we arrived in Palmer.
Today we went on a tour of Palmer, to a reindeer farm and a muskox farm as it began to start raining again. Of course, we have a coverdish dinner this evening and as usual, we will enjoy ourselves no matter what the weather provides! Tomorrow, we are off to Valdez!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sunshine in Homer, Alaska!
Since we last posted, we spent 3 days in Anchorage and are on our second day in Homer. Once we got to Anchorage, the clouds parted, the sun came out and the temperature got up to the mid-60's. We are half way through the trip we chartered (20th day) and have only had sunshine for the a total of 3 days. We are so fortunate to see the Cook Inlet and Homer with the gorgeous mountains (still with snow as it has been too cold for it to melt). The first picture I'm attaching is of Molly standing on an edge of a cliff over the beach where are RV is parked. She is having a ball running off the leash, trying to catch the birds and jumping in mud puddles acting like a dog!
Today, Dean and 9 others from our caravan went halibut fishing. Being the cost analyst he is, he kept calculating how much this fish would cost him, knowing that he could buy frozen halibut at home for about $19 a pound. Finally, he decided to enjoy himself and managed to catch two halibut that weighed a little less than 30 pounds each. That is medium-sized for halibut, but he had even bought a "derby ticket" which is like a lottery ticket if you snag a big one that has been tagged. A tagged halibut could net you as much as $30,000. I'm attaching a picture of the catch of the charter he took. His two fish are the second and third ones from the right. Not bad, huh?
A third picture is of a glacier that is in clear view from both our RV Park here on the hill and from all points in Homer and Homer Spit. The scenery here is just breath-taking and makes up for all the rain and clouds in central Alaska. We know we have at least one more day of sunshine before we head to Seward, so we intend to enjoy every minute of it!
Today, Dean and 9 others from our caravan went halibut fishing. Being the cost analyst he is, he kept calculating how much this fish would cost him, knowing that he could buy frozen halibut at home for about $19 a pound. Finally, he decided to enjoy himself and managed to catch two halibut that weighed a little less than 30 pounds each. That is medium-sized for halibut, but he had even bought a "derby ticket" which is like a lottery ticket if you snag a big one that has been tagged. A tagged halibut could net you as much as $30,000. I'm attaching a picture of the catch of the charter he took. His two fish are the second and third ones from the right. Not bad, huh?
A third picture is of a glacier that is in clear view from both our RV Park here on the hill and from all points in Homer and Homer Spit. The scenery here is just breath-taking and makes up for all the rain and clouds in central Alaska. We know we have at least one more day of sunshine before we head to Seward, so we intend to enjoy every minute of it!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Denali National Park in Alaska
We've been in Denali for two days now and yesterday took an 8 1/2 hour bus tour, which is the only way you can get into the park. Even though it is rainy and cold here (max about 52 degrees), it was a great day to watch for wildlife because they love the cold. I'm attaching a picture of a grizzly sow and her two spring cubs; they are called spring cubs if they were born this year. These three actually walked ahead of us on the road which our guide said happens rarely in the park. We also have a grizzly in the RV Park where we are staying and I'll attach a copy of him. Even though he is smaller, my theory is that he is looking for furry 4-legged species around 17 pounds in the form of domesticated dogs. Whenever we go for a walk, I keep Molly close and away from bushes and trees, as we don't want her to appear as an appetizer!
We also got a great picture of a caribou; although we can't tell if this one is male or female, as they both grow antlers. We did learn that they try to be very still, as they attract less bugs and mosquitos that way.
One last picture I actually took last week. I'm intrigued by the fauna and flora of the region and wanted to show you a typical pinecone. Because the growing season for spruce trees is so short, the root system is shallow because of the permafrost. As a result, the pinecones are tiny and very delicate. I've collected a whole bag full for my granddaughters, as they might want to use them in holiday decorations this winter.
Today, many folks in our group are going whitewater rafting but we passed on that! They were complaining about the rain so I had to remind them that it is a "water sport" - much like we had to remind ourselves about sailing during those great summers on Lake Michigan. We are going back to the Denali Visitors Center and to take pictures of the beautiful scenery - yes, even though it is raining!!
We also got a great picture of a caribou; although we can't tell if this one is male or female, as they both grow antlers. We did learn that they try to be very still, as they attract less bugs and mosquitos that way.
One last picture I actually took last week. I'm intrigued by the fauna and flora of the region and wanted to show you a typical pinecone. Because the growing season for spruce trees is so short, the root system is shallow because of the permafrost. As a result, the pinecones are tiny and very delicate. I've collected a whole bag full for my granddaughters, as they might want to use them in holiday decorations this winter.
Today, many folks in our group are going whitewater rafting but we passed on that! They were complaining about the rain so I had to remind them that it is a "water sport" - much like we had to remind ourselves about sailing during those great summers on Lake Michigan. We are going back to the Denali Visitors Center and to take pictures of the beautiful scenery - yes, even though it is raining!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Now in Fairbanks
Yesterday we drove from Delta Junction to Fairbanks where about 25 miles were under construction. The right side of the two-lane highway was all torn up so we traveled in the left lane until we would see an oncoming vehicle, then we would move over. It was pretty uneventful until we got almost to Fairbanks and the highway was passing through Eilson Air Force Base and I saw a moose with two calves on the shoulder of the road. As we have so many times, we stopped quickly, pulled over and I jumped out to get an "up close" picture. Before we knew it, other vehicles had stopped behind us and oncoming vehicles came speeding up to us; lights were flashing and machine guns were drawn! You guessed it: they don't want you stopping on a military base for ANY reason! But I showed them - I got the picture anyway, which is attached. We also stopped at the North Pole which is a must-see tourist spot. Santa was most accomodating when we issued a special request, which you will notice in the picture.
For dinner last night we went to an all-you-can-eat Salmon Bake that also served prime rib, halibut and cod - all of which were wonderful. Afterward, there was a show at the Palace Theatre which was a great historical and funny recap of Fairbanks' history. Today, we arose bright and early to get to a stern-wheeler riverboat called Discovery II. It sits on the Chena River. On the way, you get to go ashore to view a replica of a Chena Athabascan Indian Village of the early 1900's. It was very interesting and was hosted by some girls from that tribe. We then went to lunch at the Pump Grill, which was another all-you-can-eat senior's event. Our bus driver was quite the Fairbanks hostess and took us to a farmers market and to the Aleyeska Pipeline viewing spot, where the pipeline runs above ground. By the time we got back to the RV park, we were exhausted and needed naps. Tomorrow is a "free" day which means clothes washing, grocery shopping, rig maintenance and preparing to go to Denali for the next three days. Our biggest wish is that the rain will let up. Ever since we met up with the tour group, there has only been one day without rain and the temperature stays in the mid-50's. Oh well, we are having fun in spite of it all!
For dinner last night we went to an all-you-can-eat Salmon Bake that also served prime rib, halibut and cod - all of which were wonderful. Afterward, there was a show at the Palace Theatre which was a great historical and funny recap of Fairbanks' history. Today, we arose bright and early to get to a stern-wheeler riverboat called Discovery II. It sits on the Chena River. On the way, you get to go ashore to view a replica of a Chena Athabascan Indian Village of the early 1900's. It was very interesting and was hosted by some girls from that tribe. We then went to lunch at the Pump Grill, which was another all-you-can-eat senior's event. Our bus driver was quite the Fairbanks hostess and took us to a farmers market and to the Aleyeska Pipeline viewing spot, where the pipeline runs above ground. By the time we got back to the RV park, we were exhausted and needed naps. Tomorrow is a "free" day which means clothes washing, grocery shopping, rig maintenance and preparing to go to Denali for the next three days. Our biggest wish is that the rain will let up. Ever since we met up with the tour group, there has only been one day without rain and the temperature stays in the mid-50's. Oh well, we are having fun in spite of it all!
Monday, July 21, 2008
We are finally in Alaska!
I'd love to tell you that our arrival in Alaska has been exceptional, but you'll only hear me recount our entry in terms of disbelief. We travelled 111 miles yesterday driving from Dawson City, Yukon to Chicken, Alaska. The road on the Canadian side wasn't half bad; alternating between paved roads and black gravel. When we arrived on the Alaska side, the road deteriorated to red mud which covered our vehicles. About the time we all got settled, the clouds parted and the sun came out - of course! Today, we traveled from Chicken to Delta Junction and were absolutely relieved when we picked up the Alaskan Highway again. It was delightful!!!
So four pictures for you today. You have to see the Top of the World Highway on the American side - Second, you have to see the shape of our vehicles as a result of the drive. Third, a trip of the convoy all lined up in Chicken. Finally, a wonderful shot of a moose and her two calves, hanging out near where we were camped. You have to look at the bright side of every event!
So four pictures for you today. You have to see the Top of the World Highway on the American side - Second, you have to see the shape of our vehicles as a result of the drive. Third, a trip of the convoy all lined up in Chicken. Finally, a wonderful shot of a moose and her two calves, hanging out near where we were camped. You have to look at the bright side of every event!
Friday, July 18, 2008
The crisis is over!
We are now in Dawson City, Yukon and we have an excellent wifi connection, so I will attach many pictures to make up for lost time over the next couple of days. On Sunday, we leave the Yukon (finally) for the town of Chicken, Alaska (population - 21). Meanwhile it is rainy and dismal in Dawson City and the streets are like they were during the gold rush. Muddy, with wood walkways - which I will show you in photos. Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Having trouble sending pictures
During our 2-day stay in Whitehorse, Yukon, I have tried repeatedly to update the photo section of this blog, to no avail. I'm not sure how I actually got the one with bluebonnets attached, but at least you have one. Today, we head for even more sparse signals in Minto, and then on to Dawson City and Chicken, Alaska where only 37 people live. Needless to say, it may be awhile before we get access again. Please continue to check the blog and we promise to send pics as soon as we can!
Meanwhile, we leave you with a little ditty that must have been written when the road was much worse (but still describes the path it takes!).
"The Alaska Highway winding in and winding out
leaves a lot of serious doubt
if the lout who built this route
was going to hell or coming out . . ."
Author Unknown
Meanwhile, we leave you with a little ditty that must have been written when the road was much worse (but still describes the path it takes!).
"The Alaska Highway winding in and winding out
leaves a lot of serious doubt
if the lout who built this route
was going to hell or coming out . . ."
Author Unknown
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
We are now in the Yukon Territory
Howdy! It is Tuesday, July 15th and we left on Saturday; travelling through the Northern Rockies in British Columbia and now arriving in the Yukon. Our cell phones are turned off as they can't even find the right time zone but we can get WIFI. Go figure!
So far, we have travelled about 900 miles on the Alaskan Highway. We will leave the highway on Thursday to travel up the Klondike Highway to Dawson City, YT and Chicken, Alaska before going to Delta Junction where the highway ends. We'll circle back here during the final days of the trip, so we will be able to actually travel the entire highway. So the challenge is to figure out what to share with you because we have taken a ton of photos and every curve in the road offers a new adventure. First, I should tell you that the Alaskan Highway is a very good road. In most places it is two lanes with wide, paved shoulders and the traffic is not heavy so those who need to pass us have no problem doing so. You do have to plan where to get fuel, as you could go for as long as 250 miles without any services.
So far, we have seen buffalo, black bear, caribou, fallow deer and moose. On Monday, we even had to wait for the caribou to move off the highway but then today, we didn't see one animal but we have seen beautiful scenery. We have really enjoyed getting to know the other "trackers" and have had a lot of fun as there is a lot of kidding and joking that takes place.
The biggest adjustment is that we have on average, about 19 hours of daylight every day. I would argue that it doesn't get dark at all; thank goodness for blackout shades. We somehow manage to stay up until 11 or 12 every night and usually get up about 6 or 6:30 to get moving by 8. Molly is really confused, but has started to understand "Too early! Go back to bed" and climbs back in without much fuss.
Speaking of late, it is about 10:20 pm here and I need to close for now. I'll attach a couple of fun photos to give you an idea what we are seeing. Stay tuned!
So far, we have travelled about 900 miles on the Alaskan Highway. We will leave the highway on Thursday to travel up the Klondike Highway to Dawson City, YT and Chicken, Alaska before going to Delta Junction where the highway ends. We'll circle back here during the final days of the trip, so we will be able to actually travel the entire highway. So the challenge is to figure out what to share with you because we have taken a ton of photos and every curve in the road offers a new adventure. First, I should tell you that the Alaskan Highway is a very good road. In most places it is two lanes with wide, paved shoulders and the traffic is not heavy so those who need to pass us have no problem doing so. You do have to plan where to get fuel, as you could go for as long as 250 miles without any services.
So far, we have seen buffalo, black bear, caribou, fallow deer and moose. On Monday, we even had to wait for the caribou to move off the highway but then today, we didn't see one animal but we have seen beautiful scenery. We have really enjoyed getting to know the other "trackers" and have had a lot of fun as there is a lot of kidding and joking that takes place.
The biggest adjustment is that we have on average, about 19 hours of daylight every day. I would argue that it doesn't get dark at all; thank goodness for blackout shades. We somehow manage to stay up until 11 or 12 every night and usually get up about 6 or 6:30 to get moving by 8. Molly is really confused, but has started to understand "Too early! Go back to bed" and climbs back in without much fuss.
Speaking of late, it is about 10:20 pm here and I need to close for now. I'll attach a couple of fun photos to give you an idea what we are seeing. Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Now starting the second phase of our trip
Welcome to the end of our first of three phases of this Alaskan trip! We have spent about a month traveling from Lake of the Ozarks to Dawson Creek, British Columbia where we are beginning to meet our TRACKS tour group. The tour group is comprised of 19 rigs (motorhomes and fifth-wheels), mostly occupied by couples (and one very brave lady traveling alone) and nine furry children. The dogs range from chihauhas to one very large bull mastiff so Molly will have lots of company. That part of the trip will last for 40 days and will travel north on the Alaskan Highway, make a huge loop in Alaska and finally disband on August 19 in Stewart, British Columbia.
The third phase will take us down the Rocky Mountains, spending another couple of weeks in Canada then going through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Wyoming (again), Colorado, Kansas and ultimately back to Missouri. We don't have any deadlines for that part of the trip, and we are planning it so that we can meet up with some friends in Colorado when timing is best for them. That part of the trip could take 4-6 weeks, but we will keep you posted.
So, just a quick history lesson. Dawson Creek is where the Alaskan Highway starts at "Mile Zero" and goes for 1,528 miles. It was built in 1942 in only 8 months right after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It cost $140MM to build and took a total of 27,000 Canadians and Americans (mostly military) to get it built. Just imagine how this could be accomplished in this day?!?!
I'm attaching two pictures; the first of which was taken at the Mile 0 marker and the second is of the Kiskatiwan River. The current highway now bypasses an old curved wooden bridge, around 600 ft long, which is now on the "Old Alaskan Highway". On second thought, I'll also attach pictures of the bridge although you may just have to imagine how magnificient a structure it really is.
We leave on this part of the trip on Saturday, July 12 and we promise to update the blog as often as possible. We know that some of this trip is very remote and that even our cell phones won't work while we are in the Yukon Territory. As soon as we can get reliable WIFI access, we'll provide a post. We will also send out an invitation to view the log when we finish the 40 days as it takes a couple of days to get all the invitations out. Yahoo thinks I'm spamming you so I have to send it in small mailings. Meanwhile, keep this link as a bookmark and check in regularly if you want to follow along. Wish us well and keep your fingers crossed that the motorhome holds no surprises for us!
The third phase will take us down the Rocky Mountains, spending another couple of weeks in Canada then going through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Wyoming (again), Colorado, Kansas and ultimately back to Missouri. We don't have any deadlines for that part of the trip, and we are planning it so that we can meet up with some friends in Colorado when timing is best for them. That part of the trip could take 4-6 weeks, but we will keep you posted.
So, just a quick history lesson. Dawson Creek is where the Alaskan Highway starts at "Mile Zero" and goes for 1,528 miles. It was built in 1942 in only 8 months right after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It cost $140MM to build and took a total of 27,000 Canadians and Americans (mostly military) to get it built. Just imagine how this could be accomplished in this day?!?!
I'm attaching two pictures; the first of which was taken at the Mile 0 marker and the second is of the Kiskatiwan River. The current highway now bypasses an old curved wooden bridge, around 600 ft long, which is now on the "Old Alaskan Highway". On second thought, I'll also attach pictures of the bridge although you may just have to imagine how magnificient a structure it really is.
We leave on this part of the trip on Saturday, July 12 and we promise to update the blog as often as possible. We know that some of this trip is very remote and that even our cell phones won't work while we are in the Yukon Territory. As soon as we can get reliable WIFI access, we'll provide a post. We will also send out an invitation to view the log when we finish the 40 days as it takes a couple of days to get all the invitations out. Yahoo thinks I'm spamming you so I have to send it in small mailings. Meanwhile, keep this link as a bookmark and check in regularly if you want to follow along. Wish us well and keep your fingers crossed that the motorhome holds no surprises for us!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Now in Edmonton, Alberta
Well, it has been a little more than a week since our last post, and we have to apologize. Getting reliable WIFI access is problematic, and as we chat, I am sitting in a scrungy used-to-be-a-cafe place at the worst RV park we have encountered since last winter in New Mexico. But that's okay; it just means we have been spending our time in all the fun places.
During the past week, we have traveled across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and now Alberta and will meet up with our Alaskan tour group next week. We have made it a point to check out some touristy places, but have also taken a couple of detours worth writing about. One of our favorite drives is the Qu'Appelle Valley, just south of Yorkton, SK. We had parked the motorhome so were driving a 3-hour detour to this wonderful little valley on a two-lane road. Dean remembered crossing through it on his way to see his grandparents when he was young, but had never had the chance to drive the length of it which we did. We've also enjoyed these bright yellow fields which have covered all the provinces we have been through so far. Turns out, it is Canola. That's right - Canada + oil is where the name comes from. They've had a lot of rain up here and things are either bright green or bright yellow. I'll try to attach a picture that aptly represents what we are seeing.
Other stops have included lovely provincial parks and a couple of musuems that were very interesting. We have tons of pictures but they would require way too much explanation. The one stop here in Edmonton that you HAVE to see is the "West Ed" or the West Edmonton Mall. It is the largest mall in the world and it has the largest waterpark in the world located inside of it. It has tons of kid-friendly play areas and attractions, let alone hundreds of stores. We walked for about 4 hours; only spent a fistful of bucks and had lunch there but seems like we probably missed a lot. It would be a destination for a week if you have kids. Even if you don't have kids; ya gotta go. It is just amazing.
We will close for now and hope you guys had a great 4th of July. We celebrated Canada Day with our friends up here, but it is just not quite the same. Talk to you next week!
During the past week, we have traveled across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and now Alberta and will meet up with our Alaskan tour group next week. We have made it a point to check out some touristy places, but have also taken a couple of detours worth writing about. One of our favorite drives is the Qu'Appelle Valley, just south of Yorkton, SK. We had parked the motorhome so were driving a 3-hour detour to this wonderful little valley on a two-lane road. Dean remembered crossing through it on his way to see his grandparents when he was young, but had never had the chance to drive the length of it which we did. We've also enjoyed these bright yellow fields which have covered all the provinces we have been through so far. Turns out, it is Canola. That's right - Canada + oil is where the name comes from. They've had a lot of rain up here and things are either bright green or bright yellow. I'll try to attach a picture that aptly represents what we are seeing.
Other stops have included lovely provincial parks and a couple of musuems that were very interesting. We have tons of pictures but they would require way too much explanation. The one stop here in Edmonton that you HAVE to see is the "West Ed" or the West Edmonton Mall. It is the largest mall in the world and it has the largest waterpark in the world located inside of it. It has tons of kid-friendly play areas and attractions, let alone hundreds of stores. We walked for about 4 hours; only spent a fistful of bucks and had lunch there but seems like we probably missed a lot. It would be a destination for a week if you have kids. Even if you don't have kids; ya gotta go. It is just amazing.
We will close for now and hope you guys had a great 4th of July. We celebrated Canada Day with our friends up here, but it is just not quite the same. Talk to you next week!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Greetings from Canada
As we wrap up our second week of our trip to Alaska, we've had some challenges but more fun to offset it!
After we left the SPAM musuem, we went to Minneapolis and played tourist for two days. Our favorite site there was Minnehaha Falls Park and we also toured the James J Hill home (look him up; he was a personal friend of JP Morgan!) and went to the Mall of America. After we left there, we ventured to Gonvick MN, where Dean's grandad was buried. We toured Mrs. Olson's Lefse Factory which is in an old schoolhouse and we emerged with a small case of the stuff (which is delicious!).
Our challenge set in as we reached Rugby, MN which is the "Geographic Center of North America." GREAT. We were getting our last slug of cheap gas (at $3.97) in the US, when the motorhome started smoking and stopped dead in its tracks. We lost a fan belt, and after a call for assistance, figured out that the compressor locked up and had to be replaced. This guy manhandled the motorhome into the Chevy dealership (it had lost the power steering) and started looking for parts. We finally decided the parts could only come from the Workhorse folks and they had to come overnight to the closest authorized dealer, which was in Minot. We volunteered to drive our little Honda to Minot to pick up the parts the next morning, so we slept in the parking lot of the dealer that night. Sure enough, the mechanic got to work as soon as we got the parts back and had us on our way (minus air conditioning) by 3:00 p.m. Ya gotta love people in small towns! So, I took this picture of the "geographic center" with Dean and Molly in the foreground and the motorhome stranded in the Chevy lot in the background.
Skip to today; which made up for the challenge. We were riding through Riding Mountain National Park and we happened upon a mama Black Bear with two cubs munching on the side of the road! That makes it all worth it. As we type, we are in Yorkton, SK and well on our way to meeting up with our tour group in a little more than a week.
Stay tuned and be safe!
After we left the SPAM musuem, we went to Minneapolis and played tourist for two days. Our favorite site there was Minnehaha Falls Park and we also toured the James J Hill home (look him up; he was a personal friend of JP Morgan!) and went to the Mall of America. After we left there, we ventured to Gonvick MN, where Dean's grandad was buried. We toured Mrs. Olson's Lefse Factory which is in an old schoolhouse and we emerged with a small case of the stuff (which is delicious!).
Our challenge set in as we reached Rugby, MN which is the "Geographic Center of North America." GREAT. We were getting our last slug of cheap gas (at $3.97) in the US, when the motorhome started smoking and stopped dead in its tracks. We lost a fan belt, and after a call for assistance, figured out that the compressor locked up and had to be replaced. This guy manhandled the motorhome into the Chevy dealership (it had lost the power steering) and started looking for parts. We finally decided the parts could only come from the Workhorse folks and they had to come overnight to the closest authorized dealer, which was in Minot. We volunteered to drive our little Honda to Minot to pick up the parts the next morning, so we slept in the parking lot of the dealer that night. Sure enough, the mechanic got to work as soon as we got the parts back and had us on our way (minus air conditioning) by 3:00 p.m. Ya gotta love people in small towns! So, I took this picture of the "geographic center" with Dean and Molly in the foreground and the motorhome stranded in the Chevy lot in the background.
Skip to today; which made up for the challenge. We were riding through Riding Mountain National Park and we happened upon a mama Black Bear with two cubs munching on the side of the road! That makes it all worth it. As we type, we are in Yorkton, SK and well on our way to meeting up with our tour group in a little more than a week.
Stay tuned and be safe!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
First Week of the Alaska Adventure
Well we have managed to travel a little over 700 miles this week and have seen some awesome places! As we left Lake of the Ozarks, we out ran a major thunderstorm (and of course, we had just finished washing the motorhome) and made it to Columbia, MO for an oil change the next morning. We traveled north to Iowa and visiting some of the flood-damaged areas we mentioned in the last post. We also went to West Branch, IA and visited the Herber Hoover Presidential Library which was very interesting. This is the second one we have visited and we come back with a greater appreciation of what was happening during those times. From Iowa we traveled north and saw the Little Brown Church in the Vale and took a tour of the Winnebago plant (we have a Fleetwood Pace Arrow but were interested in how they are constructed). From there we travelled on to Minnesota, stopping in Albert Lea at the Myre State Park where we met an interesting couple and their daughter who winters in Bandera, TX and occasionally plays in a band at Arky Blues. How small is this world, anyway???
So yesterday, we visited the SPAM Musuem in Austin, MN. Ok, don't laugh. It was a lot of fun and very informational. We ended up with some very specialized products that are only sold at the musuem, so if we invite you to dinner sometime - don't complain! We travelled on to the Minneapolis area and are staying here for two nights. Today, we visited the Minnehaha Falls Park, which is just beautiful, the James J Hill House (the Empire Builder who was good friends with JP Morgan) and went to the Mall of America.
So we will close with a SPAM recipe that we already tested that is VERY GOOD. I call it "Ham Salad with a KICK".
So yesterday, we visited the SPAM Musuem in Austin, MN. Ok, don't laugh. It was a lot of fun and very informational. We ended up with some very specialized products that are only sold at the musuem, so if we invite you to dinner sometime - don't complain! We travelled on to the Minneapolis area and are staying here for two nights. Today, we visited the Minnehaha Falls Park, which is just beautiful, the James J Hill House (the Empire Builder who was good friends with JP Morgan) and went to the Mall of America.
So we will close with a SPAM recipe that we already tested that is VERY GOOD. I call it "Ham Salad with a KICK".
SPAM SPEEDY DIP
1 12-oz can SPAM Classic
1 onion
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
4 TBLSP mayonnaise or salad dressing
In a bowl or food processor, blend together the SPAM, onion and peppers until smooth. Stir in the mayo. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Serve with crackers or on a sandwich.
ENJOY!!!!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The floods are receeding in Iowa . . .
Well it hasn't been a week since we left and we said that we would avoid flood-ravaged Southeast Iowa but once we got to Oskaloosa we started getting the "local" news which sounded a bit more positive than the national news. Yesterday, a quick call to the Amana Colonies RV Park revealed they were okay and welcomed us to the park. We simply had to avoid one short highway and slow down where part of the detoured road had been washed away. The moral of the story is that this is the MIDWEST. People here take it on the chin, pick themselves up and help each other recover.
We arrived on Tuesday and are parked in a facility that houses on average, about 200 campers; there may be only about 20 motorhomes as we record this. A quick trip into Amana proved that all the shops were open and we were welcomed with open arms. Only a handful of people were visiting the shops so we probably spent a little more than we would normally would have.
One more piece of heartwarming evidence that this is a hard-working community: There is a Whirlpool Refrigeration Plant (used to be Amana) in Middle Amana on the Iowa River that now looks like it is surrounded by a moat (which used to be for employee parking). The employees work in three shifts and are parked on the road bordering the RV Park. Each shift has a specific parking area so that school buses know where to go pick up the next shift of workers. I took pictures of both the Whirlpool Plant and the parking situation. If you look closely, you can see the almost empty RV park in the background. It may not look like much, but we were so relieved to find happy people who weren't expecting to be pitied; just working hard to recover!
We had another interesting event today - in West Branch, Iowa, but we will save that for another post. Have a good rest of the week!
We arrived on Tuesday and are parked in a facility that houses on average, about 200 campers; there may be only about 20 motorhomes as we record this. A quick trip into Amana proved that all the shops were open and we were welcomed with open arms. Only a handful of people were visiting the shops so we probably spent a little more than we would normally would have.
One more piece of heartwarming evidence that this is a hard-working community: There is a Whirlpool Refrigeration Plant (used to be Amana) in Middle Amana on the Iowa River that now looks like it is surrounded by a moat (which used to be for employee parking). The employees work in three shifts and are parked on the road bordering the RV Park. Each shift has a specific parking area so that school buses know where to go pick up the next shift of workers. I took pictures of both the Whirlpool Plant and the parking situation. If you look closely, you can see the almost empty RV park in the background. It may not look like much, but we were so relieved to find happy people who weren't expecting to be pitied; just working hard to recover!
We had another interesting event today - in West Branch, Iowa, but we will save that for another post. Have a good rest of the week!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
We are OFF to ALASKA!
Greetings from Dean and Anna as we prepare to leave for our trip to Alaska. To refresh your memory, we are joining a TRACKS Tour of 19 motor homes commencing on July 11 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The tour will last for 40 days and it will take us about a month to get from Laurie, MO to Dawson Creek and about a month to get back home.
Meanwhile, we plan to take our time and visit some noteworthy sites along the way. Our original plans included heading directly to the Amana Colonies in southeast Iowa but with the flooding on the Iowa River and in Cedar Rapids (which was on our itinerary as well) we will have to pass for now. The first week we will focus on heading North to Columbia, MO then on to Minneapolis/St Paul to spend a few days. Dean's mother was from northwestern Minnesota so we plan a slight detour to visit Gonvick then we are off to Bemidji, MN, Devils Lake, ND and will enter Canada via the International Peace Garden in Manitoba. We plan to stay a while in Riding Mountain National Park, a town called Chelan in Saskatchewan (where Dean's mom's family homsteaded) then on through Edmonton, Alberta ultimately ending up in Dawson Creek, BC.
After the tour is over and we return to British Colombia, we will spend some time in the Banff and Lake Louise area, then enter the US via Montana. We will travel down the Rocky Mountains to Yellowstone and over to South Dakota to visit the Badlands then on through Wyoming to visit friends in Colorado. From Colorado, we will head east back to Missouri. Our tentative itinerary has us getting back to Lake of the Ozarks late in September.
Molly has been monitoring our activities and remembers that the motorhome is one of her favorite places to be. She has been very patient with us these last few months as we caulked and painted the garage, worked on building out the basement, power washed the decks, replaced and cleaned windows on the house, tackled the landscaping and generally ignored her as we raced around trying to get all this work done. She will be very happy once we are on the road again!
We were hoping that the rainy Spring weather would have abated by the time we left, but it doesn't look like we will be that lucky. Let's just hope the stormy activity calms down a bit and that our trip is uneventful (at least weather-wise!). We will be posting at least weekly updates and adding pictures as we did last winter, so feel free to follow along and send us comments or suggestions on places we should see. Just remember that we can talk about anything except the price of GAS! Happy Summer . . .
Meanwhile, we plan to take our time and visit some noteworthy sites along the way. Our original plans included heading directly to the Amana Colonies in southeast Iowa but with the flooding on the Iowa River and in Cedar Rapids (which was on our itinerary as well) we will have to pass for now. The first week we will focus on heading North to Columbia, MO then on to Minneapolis/St Paul to spend a few days. Dean's mother was from northwestern Minnesota so we plan a slight detour to visit Gonvick then we are off to Bemidji, MN, Devils Lake, ND and will enter Canada via the International Peace Garden in Manitoba. We plan to stay a while in Riding Mountain National Park, a town called Chelan in Saskatchewan (where Dean's mom's family homsteaded) then on through Edmonton, Alberta ultimately ending up in Dawson Creek, BC.
After the tour is over and we return to British Colombia, we will spend some time in the Banff and Lake Louise area, then enter the US via Montana. We will travel down the Rocky Mountains to Yellowstone and over to South Dakota to visit the Badlands then on through Wyoming to visit friends in Colorado. From Colorado, we will head east back to Missouri. Our tentative itinerary has us getting back to Lake of the Ozarks late in September.
Molly has been monitoring our activities and remembers that the motorhome is one of her favorite places to be. She has been very patient with us these last few months as we caulked and painted the garage, worked on building out the basement, power washed the decks, replaced and cleaned windows on the house, tackled the landscaping and generally ignored her as we raced around trying to get all this work done. She will be very happy once we are on the road again!
We were hoping that the rainy Spring weather would have abated by the time we left, but it doesn't look like we will be that lucky. Let's just hope the stormy activity calms down a bit and that our trip is uneventful (at least weather-wise!). We will be posting at least weekly updates and adding pictures as we did last winter, so feel free to follow along and send us comments or suggestions on places we should see. Just remember that we can talk about anything except the price of GAS! Happy Summer . . .
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Last Post - WE ARE HOME!
This will be our last post for this trip so we wanted to close by thanking you all for your hospitality and friendship during the last three months. We had a great time, saw a lot of wonderful places, reconnected with many friends and family and are awfully glad to be back at Lake of the Ozarks. Some of you have asked for pictures of our place here, so we will close by attaching some pictures we took today, even though winter pictures don't show our home at it's best. Maybe this will encourage you to come visit - imagine how beautiful it looks with trees and flowers!
Our next trip will be to Alaska. While we are meeting a caravan of motorhomers for that 40-day trip in Dawson Creek, BC on July 11, we have to travel 2,400 miles just to get there. We try not to travel more than about 200 miles a day, so we will leave mid-June and probably return about the end of September. We will send out an invitation to follow us right before we leave.
Meanwhile, we would love to hear from you! Have a beautiful spring -
Anna and Dean
Our next trip will be to Alaska. While we are meeting a caravan of motorhomers for that 40-day trip in Dawson Creek, BC on July 11, we have to travel 2,400 miles just to get there. We try not to travel more than about 200 miles a day, so we will leave mid-June and probably return about the end of September. We will send out an invitation to follow us right before we leave.
Meanwhile, we would love to hear from you! Have a beautiful spring -
Anna and Dean
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Winter in Missouri
For those of you who have accused us of bringing bad weather to you, be glad you don't live in Springfield, MO. We are trying to get back to our home at Lake of the Ozarks and stopped for a couple of days in Springfield. Yesterday it was rainy and cold and last night, we got 8 inches of snow!! You may remember that last time we were traveling through here, we were in the midst of a horrible ice storm. Molly doesn't know how to do her business when snow is up to her shoulders so she waited until about 9 this morning, only after Dean had trampled down an area for her. After all, in Chicago she had that wonderful area under Lakeshore Drive where she was sheltered from the really bad weather.
Since our last post, we were in Arlington and spent a lot of time visiting potential neighborhoods in North and Central Texas to see if we might want to live there. There are a couple of very nice "active senior" communities (not independent living or nursing homes) and we could see ourselves living in one. Robson Ranch near Denton and Sun City in Georgetown both have a lot to offer people our age and older. We also went to a development in Terrell, just east of Dallas and to Granbury, southwest of Fort Worth where there are some beautiful homes and mature neighborhoods.
We also spent time with many of our friends in the area and even acted like tourists one day in Fort Worth. If you haven't been to the Cowgirl Museum there, it is worth the visit. The day wouldn't have been complete without lunch at Angelo's - an old barbecue restaurant that is legendary. We even went dancing at the Stagecoach Ballroom on Friday night which is one of the oldest ballrooms in Texas. It was a little more low-key than the dancing done in the clubs in College Station where the young Aggies go to dance (thank goodness)!
Now we are anxious to get home to start spring cleaning and catching up on the many projects that are overdue there. That part of our lives won't be very interesting, so we will take a break on this blog and resume once our travels start again. As many of you know, we are planning a trip to Alaska this summer and will now plan on leaving in mid-June. I'll send out an invitation to follow us on that journey, which may take as long as 3 months. Meanwhile, have a beautiful Spring and fun Summer until we meet again!
Since our last post, we were in Arlington and spent a lot of time visiting potential neighborhoods in North and Central Texas to see if we might want to live there. There are a couple of very nice "active senior" communities (not independent living or nursing homes) and we could see ourselves living in one. Robson Ranch near Denton and Sun City in Georgetown both have a lot to offer people our age and older. We also went to a development in Terrell, just east of Dallas and to Granbury, southwest of Fort Worth where there are some beautiful homes and mature neighborhoods.
We also spent time with many of our friends in the area and even acted like tourists one day in Fort Worth. If you haven't been to the Cowgirl Museum there, it is worth the visit. The day wouldn't have been complete without lunch at Angelo's - an old barbecue restaurant that is legendary. We even went dancing at the Stagecoach Ballroom on Friday night which is one of the oldest ballrooms in Texas. It was a little more low-key than the dancing done in the clubs in College Station where the young Aggies go to dance (thank goodness)!
Now we are anxious to get home to start spring cleaning and catching up on the many projects that are overdue there. That part of our lives won't be very interesting, so we will take a break on this blog and resume once our travels start again. As many of you know, we are planning a trip to Alaska this summer and will now plan on leaving in mid-June. I'll send out an invitation to follow us on that journey, which may take as long as 3 months. Meanwhile, have a beautiful Spring and fun Summer until we meet again!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Waiting for the North to warm up!
Hi folks, this will be short, as we haven't done too much in the way of exciting travels this week. We are still in Arlington (in Treetops Village for those of you who want to drop by) and playing tourist in an area we have lived in (off and on) for about 20 years. This has been a great chance to catch up with our friends from church, the singles church group where we met, work friends (and friendly competitors) and just wonderful folks who have visited us in Chicago or at the lake.
We have also used this time to investigate potential winter home neighborhoods in the area. We have made two trips to Granbury, which is about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth. This area has one of those beautiful courthouses, and a lively square surrounding it, a bit of culture (Grandbury Opera House) and enough civilization to keep me from going crazy. Having a Walmart Supercenter means excellent fresh groceries - is that too much to ask? Dean will be pleased that there is a Home Depot and Lowes, across the street from each other, of course. Anyway, there are many potential neighborhoods, many of which are on the Brazos River, Lake Granbury or various feeder canals that make you feel like you are on the water. Today we are going to check out Robson Ranch, which is a little south of Denton.
We are potentially planning on leaving for Missouri on Thursday next week, but will check the weather and see if it makes sense for us to stay here where it is still warm! Our trip to Alaska has been postponed for about a month, so we are in less of a hurry to get back at this point. For all of our friends in the Midwest and the Northeast, we want you to know we have been sending warm thoughts your way. You deserve an early Spring given the rough winter!
We have also used this time to investigate potential winter home neighborhoods in the area. We have made two trips to Granbury, which is about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth. This area has one of those beautiful courthouses, and a lively square surrounding it, a bit of culture (Grandbury Opera House) and enough civilization to keep me from going crazy. Having a Walmart Supercenter means excellent fresh groceries - is that too much to ask? Dean will be pleased that there is a Home Depot and Lowes, across the street from each other, of course. Anyway, there are many potential neighborhoods, many of which are on the Brazos River, Lake Granbury or various feeder canals that make you feel like you are on the water. Today we are going to check out Robson Ranch, which is a little south of Denton.
We are potentially planning on leaving for Missouri on Thursday next week, but will check the weather and see if it makes sense for us to stay here where it is still warm! Our trip to Alaska has been postponed for about a month, so we are in less of a hurry to get back at this point. For all of our friends in the Midwest and the Northeast, we want you to know we have been sending warm thoughts your way. You deserve an early Spring given the rough winter!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Now in Arlington, Texas for a couple of weeks
After a brief stop in Purtis Creek State Park and a visit with Dennis and Shirley Baade in Gun Barrel City, we have returned to Treetops Village in Arlington. We will be spending quite a bit of time with old friends here as well as with our grandkids, Sterling and Savannah.
Wednesday was Savannah's 4th birthday and we went to a place called International Pizza in Euless. Besides the buffet, there is a whole lot of games and rides, so eating is the least favorite event there. I've attached a picture of Sterling and her dad participating in a race; while it is a bit blurry, you get the idea. On Saturday, we attended a "tea" for Savannah and her friends which was really cute.
The rest of the week will be spent capturing time with more friends and acting like a tourist in Fort Worth and Dallas. More updates and pictures later!
Wednesday was Savannah's 4th birthday and we went to a place called International Pizza in Euless. Besides the buffet, there is a whole lot of games and rides, so eating is the least favorite event there. I've attached a picture of Sterling and her dad participating in a race; while it is a bit blurry, you get the idea. On Saturday, we attended a "tea" for Savannah and her friends which was really cute.
The rest of the week will be spent capturing time with more friends and acting like a tourist in Fort Worth and Dallas. More updates and pictures later!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Back in Central Texas
OK - I'm reminded that I'm about one week late with this post but we have been on the move since returning from Quincy and Chicago. We got back to the Rio Grande Valley on January 30 and stayed there until Sunday, February 3rd. The weather was great (I even went swimming on Saturday!) and we worked in two great side trips. If you are ever in this area, you have to go to the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge. I'm not wild about birds, but the ones in this refuge are beautiful. We were particularly enamored with the Green Jay which I have attempted to photograph and will attach here. The area was covered with a mix of tropical greens and moss hanging from wonderful old trees. All of this is set against a backdrop of flat farm land from which you get oranges, grapefruits, cabbage, carrots and your basic salad bowl ingredients (hence, it is called "the valley"). One more note on birds. Every morning and every evening while we were in Donna, we were visited by a flock of wild parrots. They are beautiful and all fly in perfect synchronization to various parts of the park. I could never get a good picture; I'll need to upgrade to a more powerful camera for that!
The other side trip was to Progreso, Mexico. You park on the US side and walk across the bridge over the Rio Grande and literally, are in a whole other country. The people are very poor, but very focused on the senior population upon whom they depend to live. You can get dental work done for a fraction of the price you pay in the US and prescription drugs are available on every corner; of course, without a prescription. We didn't spend much there because you have to haul it back across a bridge and we wanted to keep a light load. Lunch was almost an American affair as we ate at a place billed as a "Canada restaurant". The margaritas were killers, however. They were very small but extremely potent so one was enough! After all, it was only lunch!!
So we bid farewell to our friends and family in Magnolia Park and promised to return for a longer visit next year. We drove to Mustang Island State Park which is just north of Padre Island. We learned that Molly loves the beach during this visit. She chases everything from waves to birds and just loves to get covered in sand. She's not wild about the post-swim clean up but tolerates it for the sake of the event. The next night we stayed in Lake Texana State Park which is near Edna. This park was a nice surprise and probably the quietest night of our whole trip. Deer were everywhere and I even got a picture of an armadillo. The signs warning of alligators prohibited Molly from getting even close to the water, however. We were afraid she might be too much like dinner.
Next stop was in Galveston Island where it was cold, foggy and windy the first day but Molly could care less. She was back on the beach and I even let her run off the leash for awhile. She was good about returning to me when I called her, so we may let her do that a little more often. The second day was beautiful and we went on a couple of tours in town. On Thursday, we drove to College Station where we are now parked in Fred and Deb's driveway, where he conveniently installed hookups for us when he was building the house. I'll try to get a picture of that as well. Be careful what you ask for!
Now we will be off to North Texas spending a couple of days in Tyler, then about two weeks in Arlington. We should be there from 2/13 through 2/27. We would love to catch up with all our old friends when we are there. I promise to provide more frequent updates while we are there. Take care for now!
The other side trip was to Progreso, Mexico. You park on the US side and walk across the bridge over the Rio Grande and literally, are in a whole other country. The people are very poor, but very focused on the senior population upon whom they depend to live. You can get dental work done for a fraction of the price you pay in the US and prescription drugs are available on every corner; of course, without a prescription. We didn't spend much there because you have to haul it back across a bridge and we wanted to keep a light load. Lunch was almost an American affair as we ate at a place billed as a "Canada restaurant". The margaritas were killers, however. They were very small but extremely potent so one was enough! After all, it was only lunch!!
So we bid farewell to our friends and family in Magnolia Park and promised to return for a longer visit next year. We drove to Mustang Island State Park which is just north of Padre Island. We learned that Molly loves the beach during this visit. She chases everything from waves to birds and just loves to get covered in sand. She's not wild about the post-swim clean up but tolerates it for the sake of the event. The next night we stayed in Lake Texana State Park which is near Edna. This park was a nice surprise and probably the quietest night of our whole trip. Deer were everywhere and I even got a picture of an armadillo. The signs warning of alligators prohibited Molly from getting even close to the water, however. We were afraid she might be too much like dinner.
Next stop was in Galveston Island where it was cold, foggy and windy the first day but Molly could care less. She was back on the beach and I even let her run off the leash for awhile. She was good about returning to me when I called her, so we may let her do that a little more often. The second day was beautiful and we went on a couple of tours in town. On Thursday, we drove to College Station where we are now parked in Fred and Deb's driveway, where he conveniently installed hookups for us when he was building the house. I'll try to get a picture of that as well. Be careful what you ask for!
Now we will be off to North Texas spending a couple of days in Tyler, then about two weeks in Arlington. We should be there from 2/13 through 2/27. We would love to catch up with all our old friends when we are there. I promise to provide more frequent updates while we are there. Take care for now!
Friday, January 25, 2008
A Little Detour This Week
My update this week won't be nearly as exciting as our previous adventures and those of you who are family know why. Last Saturday afternoon, Dean's dad, Leon "Stretch" Lowary passed away in Quincy, IL at the Illinois Veterans Home. He was 91 years old and had suffered a major stroke Christmas Day, 2006. During the last year he fought hard but continued to suffer small strokes and heart attacks until he just couldn't take it any more. Dean and his brother Tom are doing okay as they work on wrapping up his affairs while we are in Quincy.
This little trip north has reminded us why we are wintering in Texas. BRRRR. Yesterday we awoke to a real temp of 4 below and a wind chill of 13 below. I drove Dean's daughter, Deana back to St. Louis to catch her plane. As we were preparing to leave, the rental car clearly shuttered in the cold as well. It is supposed to warm up this weekend when Dean and I will take a quick trip to Chicago to visit old friends while we are "in the neighborhood."
We'll head back to San Antonio on Tuesday to pick up Molly, then will continue back to the Rio Grande Valley. We will rework our itineray when we get there and let you folks know where we will be during the rest of February. Meanwhile, we appreciate all the thoughts and condolences so many of you have passed on to us.
This little trip north has reminded us why we are wintering in Texas. BRRRR. Yesterday we awoke to a real temp of 4 below and a wind chill of 13 below. I drove Dean's daughter, Deana back to St. Louis to catch her plane. As we were preparing to leave, the rental car clearly shuttered in the cold as well. It is supposed to warm up this weekend when Dean and I will take a quick trip to Chicago to visit old friends while we are "in the neighborhood."
We'll head back to San Antonio on Tuesday to pick up Molly, then will continue back to the Rio Grande Valley. We will rework our itineray when we get there and let you folks know where we will be during the rest of February. Meanwhile, we appreciate all the thoughts and condolences so many of you have passed on to us.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Life as a "Winter Texan"
We have been in the Rio Grande Valley now for about a week and are enjoying the lives of "Winter Texans". We have always known they existed, but were not really aware of how big this community is getting to be nor how "the VALLEY" depends on them to stimulate the economy. I won't bore you with all of the daily trips, scheduled events, dining adventures etc. that encompasses these "seniors-at-play" - just note that we may very well work this into our future trips during the winter.
I do want to share one event with you - as most of you know that this is WAY out of my comfort zone! The die-hard shoppers down here love to go spend time at one of the many "Ropa Usada" stores here. I was intrigued by the description and comforted by the fact that we would only spend a couple of hours there, but I now can brag that I've done it (once) and am not especially looking forward to a second trip. Ropa usada means "used clothing" in Spanish and basically what you do is dig into big piles of clothes heaped up on the floor to look for treasures that are priced by the pound; like $.20 a pound in this case. For about $5.75 I unearthed a waterproof coat, a beautiful lined silk dress, a great jacket for wearing with jeans, a white blouse, a pair of jeans, two shirts for Dean, a rug for Molly, a cashmere sweater and a baby blanket for charity. All items have been washed or sent to the cleaners and appear like they are brand new. I've attached a picture of me in the store hanging on to my purchases. Like I said, this may be a one-time event!
I do want to share one event with you - as most of you know that this is WAY out of my comfort zone! The die-hard shoppers down here love to go spend time at one of the many "Ropa Usada" stores here. I was intrigued by the description and comforted by the fact that we would only spend a couple of hours there, but I now can brag that I've done it (once) and am not especially looking forward to a second trip. Ropa usada means "used clothing" in Spanish and basically what you do is dig into big piles of clothes heaped up on the floor to look for treasures that are priced by the pound; like $.20 a pound in this case. For about $5.75 I unearthed a waterproof coat, a beautiful lined silk dress, a great jacket for wearing with jeans, a white blouse, a pair of jeans, two shirts for Dean, a rug for Molly, a cashmere sweater and a baby blanket for charity. All items have been washed or sent to the cleaners and appear like they are brand new. I've attached a picture of me in the store hanging on to my purchases. Like I said, this may be a one-time event!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Tales of West Texas
We have continued to wander about West Texas and are heading southeast to the Rio Grande Valley later today. When we last reported in, we were heading for Fort Davis State Park which is a wonderful campground in a little valley in the Davis Mountains. The wildlife is abundant there and even though you are not supposed to feed them, you can tell they are very used to mooching from campers. Molly has been around deer before, but she got several close-up views as you can see from the attached picture. There are also dog-eating javelinas (wild pigs for you non-Texans) who happened to be hanging around waiting for dinner. Imagine my surprise when we stepped down from the motorhome and saw four of them licking their chops as I started to take Molly for a walk that evening. Needless to say, we quickly retreated and waited for them to move on.
Next stop was in New Mexico at Carlsbad Caverns. I was there as a child but remembered very little of it. We did the walk-in route (instead of the elevator) so took about a 3 1/2 mile hike. It is absolutely amazing and we highly recommend you go out of your way to take in this National Park. We also recommend that you stay at a reputable place in Carlsbad, which we did not. We were taken in by a brochure advertising "Whites City" which is just outside the park entrance. This place was really neglected; most of the hook-ups were out of order; there was standing water (remember this is the middle of the desert, so you can only imagine the source of that water) and there were stickly-burrs which just jump into Molly's fur. It took us 2 days to get all the grass and burrs vacuumed out of the motorhome.
The best part was that we were able to spend time and dinners with some new friends we had met in Alpine at a New Years Eve party. Jo and Kevin were moving from Omaha back home to the San Francisco Bay area. Jo even made a berry pie from SCRATCH one evening! She also gave me motivation to get my galley a little more organized. We were able to enjoy their company for about 5 days as they moved on toward El Paso when we headed back to Alpine.
So we are off again. First stop is the Seminole Canyon State Park, then Brackettville (where the Alamo was filmed), Laredo, Falcon State Park and then finally arriving in Donna on Saturday to stay there about two weeks. For those of you who have worried about how much it costs for gas for this adventure now have something new to worry about. It has been chilly on this trip and the heat is generated by propane. We are spending about $50 a week on propane - who would have thought?? Let's hope South Texas provides a break in the weather!
Next stop was in New Mexico at Carlsbad Caverns. I was there as a child but remembered very little of it. We did the walk-in route (instead of the elevator) so took about a 3 1/2 mile hike. It is absolutely amazing and we highly recommend you go out of your way to take in this National Park. We also recommend that you stay at a reputable place in Carlsbad, which we did not. We were taken in by a brochure advertising "Whites City" which is just outside the park entrance. This place was really neglected; most of the hook-ups were out of order; there was standing water (remember this is the middle of the desert, so you can only imagine the source of that water) and there were stickly-burrs which just jump into Molly's fur. It took us 2 days to get all the grass and burrs vacuumed out of the motorhome.
The best part was that we were able to spend time and dinners with some new friends we had met in Alpine at a New Years Eve party. Jo and Kevin were moving from Omaha back home to the San Francisco Bay area. Jo even made a berry pie from SCRATCH one evening! She also gave me motivation to get my galley a little more organized. We were able to enjoy their company for about 5 days as they moved on toward El Paso when we headed back to Alpine.
So we are off again. First stop is the Seminole Canyon State Park, then Brackettville (where the Alamo was filmed), Laredo, Falcon State Park and then finally arriving in Donna on Saturday to stay there about two weeks. For those of you who have worried about how much it costs for gas for this adventure now have something new to worry about. It has been chilly on this trip and the heat is generated by propane. We are spending about $50 a week on propane - who would have thought?? Let's hope South Texas provides a break in the weather!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year from Alpine, TX
We have been staying in Alpine since Wednesday, 12/26 and are now able to say that we have fully explored West Texas. As the terrain started changing from hill country to desert during our trip, one of the first signs that we should change our priorities was a sign in a rest stop. I've attached a picture so you can draw your own conclusions.
On Thursday, my brother, Bob and his wife, Cindy joined us and made sure that we received the proper introduction to the area. Bob leads survey crews who lay out these great Texas highways so he knows the area well. We went to the McDonald Observatory and to Fort Davis (both the state park and national historic site). It was chilly but sunny for most of the day as you can tell by the picture I have attached of Bob and Cindy.
The next day, we went to the Marfa lights viewing area, but we are not sure we saw the phenomenom that is described there. I can tell you that the stars here are absolutely amazing. I thought we could see a lot of them at our place at the lake, but there is no comparison to what you can see here with a pitch dark sky! We also visited Big Bend National Park but were just a little disappointed that you could walk across the Rio Grande at that point; after all, I was expecting a roaring river! The Chili Capital is in Terlingua and we returned to Alpine via this little desert town.
Tomorrow, we will go back to Fort Davis State Park for one night so that we can attend the "Star Party" at the Observatory tomorrow evening. After that, we are headed to Carlsbad Caverns for a couple of days, then to the Guadalupe National Park. From there we will head south, staying one night each in Alpine, Seminole Canyon SP, Bracketville, Laredo, Falcon SP and finally stopping in Donna. We plan to stay there for two weeks to visit with Dean's brother, Tom and his wife Judy. So, we'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year and the best of health!
On Thursday, my brother, Bob and his wife, Cindy joined us and made sure that we received the proper introduction to the area. Bob leads survey crews who lay out these great Texas highways so he knows the area well. We went to the McDonald Observatory and to Fort Davis (both the state park and national historic site). It was chilly but sunny for most of the day as you can tell by the picture I have attached of Bob and Cindy.
The next day, we went to the Marfa lights viewing area, but we are not sure we saw the phenomenom that is described there. I can tell you that the stars here are absolutely amazing. I thought we could see a lot of them at our place at the lake, but there is no comparison to what you can see here with a pitch dark sky! We also visited Big Bend National Park but were just a little disappointed that you could walk across the Rio Grande at that point; after all, I was expecting a roaring river! The Chili Capital is in Terlingua and we returned to Alpine via this little desert town.
Tomorrow, we will go back to Fort Davis State Park for one night so that we can attend the "Star Party" at the Observatory tomorrow evening. After that, we are headed to Carlsbad Caverns for a couple of days, then to the Guadalupe National Park. From there we will head south, staying one night each in Alpine, Seminole Canyon SP, Bracketville, Laredo, Falcon SP and finally stopping in Donna. We plan to stay there for two weeks to visit with Dean's brother, Tom and his wife Judy. So, we'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year and the best of health!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
