July 31; Friday, Last Night on the Road

Well, all good things must come to an end; thus, our dream vacation must do the same. We spent two nights in Ft. Scott, Kansas, visiting Gil's Dad, step-mom and his sisters and brother. This morning Dad and Helen left for Wichita, and Gil's sister Glenda and her husband Bill were to join them there tonight and then they all would drive out west to Dodge City to see Glenda and Bill's son and his wife and their children. They have a lovely new home there where one is a dentist (the son), and the other a pediatricain.(dau.-in-law). They have six children at last count.

Gil and I had a nice meal last night at Carol and Dan's house with Bill and Glenda. After supper Doug and Diana came out and we all looked at the trip pictures on the laptop computer (as slide shows). We left Ft. Scott this morning and stopped by Pittsburg, Ks, to see Gil's daughter for a while. She was helping her mom out at the Yarn Barn downtown. Then we headed east into Missouri, then south into Arkansas. We had a very pleasent drive through the Boston Mountains, and then stopped in Conway just 130 miles from home. We love this Corp of Engineer park here named Toad Suck on the Arkansas River. We will be home by noon tomorrow.

Wednesday in Kansas

This morning we took our RV into Olathe Ford & RV Service Center to get the electrical problem fixed. To kill time, we drove back into Kansas City to see the Steamboat Arabia Museum. It was one of the most interesting museums I have ever seen! The Arabia was a steamboat built in 1853 but it sank in the Missouri River, near Kansas City in 1856. All the 132 passengers survived but it lay, not at the bottom of the river, under 40 ft. of dirt and water until in 1988 five businessmen from the area decided to locate the boat. It was no longer at the bottom of the river due to the change in course of the Missouri River over the many years and was located in a corn field on property owned by an area Judge. His forefathers who knew about the sinking of the boat had passed down stories through the years to the family. The way in which they found the ruins and dug up the parts of the boat which lay beneath the ground is fascinating. The preservation of the artifacts found on the boat is an on-going project and what we saw in the museum today was amazing....hundreds of pieces of dishes, pots and pans, cutlery, thousands of buttons and shoes and even some canned food that remained good during the years! The food that was still good included canned coffee beans, and canned pickles. One of the brothers who helped recover all those artifacts spoke to our group today after we viewed a brief videio about the recovery of the steamboat. He had some fascinting stories to tell about the unearthing and preservation of those things found with the boat. It took over a four-month time-frame to dig it all up. I also met his mother (in the elevator of the museum) who helps preserve some of the clothing. They all had to learn how to preserve these artifacts for future generations. If you are interested in this piece of history, just google the Steamboat Arabia, Kansas City, KS. I will put a few pictures here on the blog.

We were able to pick up our RV (problems fixed) and head south out of town toward Ft. Scott, Gil's hometown, and visit with his father and step-mother this evening. Doug came by a while to visit as well.

Monday and Tuesday in Shawnee, KS

On Monday after we moved to the Kansas side of Kansas City, we parked in the Walnut Grove RV park near Gil's friend from grammar school and college - Larry Elliott. Larry is off for the summer because he is a teacher and they just returned Sunday night from a short trip to Hermann, MO. We visited with Larry Monday afternoon in his lovely home and he fixed dinner for us and his wife (who had been at work) that night. We had a lovely meal and talked a lot about their trip to Italy last year on a cruise ship. It was a fun time for us all. It has been many years since we had seen the Elliotts.

Tuesday morning we went back to Larry's house and he and Gil took Suzanne to the KC zoo. It was cool when they left this morning and it began to rain before they left the zoo. Suzanne took lots of pictures some of which I will put on the blog. After lunch we came back to the camp. It is now after 6 pm and the sun is finally coming out for the first time today.

Quiet Sunday in Independence, Missouri

Having quiet Sunday in Missouri today. We enjoyed hearing Bro. Stew teach SS and preach this morning. We had lunch with him and Norma and some church friends. Took nap this afternoon and will be going back to Beverly Hills Baptist Church again tonight. They are having an ice cream social and Gil has been asked to sing. Will take pictures tonight and post them asap.

Later: Ooops, I forgot to take the camera tonight so no pictures. But I did get to talk to a dear ole friend from our church in England - Lynn Reichley, who lives in Utah. Hi Lynn. Hope you enjoy the blog of our trip.

Saturday; Nothing much to report

We slept late; bought some groceries. Mitch's mom and step-Dad picked him up at campground. Had leftovers for lunch; Gil took nap; we washed clothes. Gil and Suzanne went to Royals baseball game with Gil's brother Doug. I am having quiet evening at "home" watching some TV (strange! not seen much tv this summer). Will go to church tomorrow at Bro. Stew's church. No pictures today. Check back later for more exciting news on this blog.

Visit with Bro. Stew and Norma Wine

Our visit today with Bro. Stew and Norma Wine was another highlight of our trip. We have seen them a couple of times in the past 22 years after we left Friendship Baptist, but it has been a number of years now. Bro. Stew and Norma have a church in Independence, MO, where they have lived now for a number of years since leaving Europe. We had lunch with them and a lovely visit into the afternoon, then we went to their church tonight for a gosepl concert which was wonderful. The first guest was a couple named Amassadors of Grace, a husband and wife who really have a wonderful ministry. The next guest singer was a young medical student, Cameron Smith, who comes from Baxter Springs, KS, but who is doing his internship here in the Kansas City area. What a great voice he has, due to training in the opera style. I'd like to have a singing doctor! We will see the Wines again tomorrow and Sunday. Gil and Suzanne will go to a Royal's ballgame with Bro. Stew so they are excited about that. Mitch will be picked up tomorrow morning by his mother because they have plans for something special here in KC. Oh, and Gil's brother will drive up from Ft. Scott to join them for the ballgame. Suzanne has promised to get some pictures at the ballpark.

Tuesday and Wed. July 21 and 22, 2009 - Dan's house

We spent two days visiting Dan, Gil's son, and his family in Muscatine, Iowa. Dan and Mandy and their two children were in Kansas a few years ago at a family reunion but we had not seen them since. Dan's step-dau. Katelynn is 14, and his son Jacob is 7. Unfortunately, Dan had been laid off his job a few weeks ago which gave us time to visit with him and the kids in their home along with a nephew who stays with them during the day while his mother works. Fortunately, Dan had a job interview on Monday before we arrived and received word while we were there that he has a new job beginning next week. We stayed in the campground (while it rained) Tuesday morning because we thought he had orientation at his new job and then went into their house in town for lunch (we took hamburgers and hotdogs to fix on the grill). It was still raining that afternoon so Dan and Gil grilled in the garage. We had a nice visit and returned on Wed. for another visit and I cooked chili for the gang. Everyone loved the meal and had a good visit and looked at pics of the trip to Alaska and Canada. We left town this morning, Thursday, and drove through the Iowa countryside and into Missouri. We are camped tonight and the next three nights at Campus RV Park in Independence, MO, not far from Bro. Stew Wine and Norma. We have not seen them in a long time so we look forward to a nice visit with them Friday - Sunday. We have an appt. on Wed. here in KC to have our RV checked over to see if they can fix the electric problem as well as a leak around our slide. So, Monday - Wed. we plan to visit with Gil's grammar school and college friend, Larry Elliott and his wife Karen. Watch here for pictures of the two visits.

Monday, July 20, in Iowa

We enjoyed driving from Minneapolis to Iowa today and saw more wheat fields, more windmill farms, some cattle farms and a lot of small towns along the interstate. We stopped in Cedar Rapids to do some grocery shopping at the Walmart Supercenter, then washed clothes, ate supper out and headed south out of town. We drove just a little ways and reached the area of the Amana Colonies. Gil and I had been here in 1992 and remembered how lovely the area was. We found a campground just a mile north of the first colony. It has about 200 campsites and is booked solid next weekend for some type of rally. The streets are laid out in rectangles with nice grassy areas for each RV and gravel roads and little trees that are only about 6 ft. tall. It is probably a new campground, but will be very nice some day when the trees mature. We will drive on to Muscatine tomorrow which is not far and visit with Dan, Amanda, Kaitlynn and Jacob Niemeir, Gil's son and family.

It is Sunday, so we must be in Minnesota, July 19

We found out today that Minnesota, at least the SW corner is not much different from N. Dakota, except a few more hills. I did not take many pictures because there was not really any good subject. I did capture a field, a log house (model), a windmill, a lake and the city of Minneapolis.

It took us 35 minutes to get through Minneapolis but we knew we wanted to camp on the south side so we would not have to get into the city on Monday morning when everyone was going to work. Well, almost everyone must have been coming into town with us this afternoon from someplace because the traffic was thick as fleas on a dog's back. Guess they had all been to the lake or someplace nice. It was not so hot today, so stops were not so bad. I fed the passengers of the Niemeir MN, only about 75 miles or less from the Iowa border. There is a pool, so the kids will probably take another swim after supper. They are eating now, but I needed to get out of the kitchen because three burners had warmed it up a lot. I will eat as soon as I get the pictures on the blog. Catch this same spot tomorrow night with pictures of Iowa.

North Dakota, July 18th

We reached the N. Dakota line pretty quickly this morning and because the highway (I-94) is very straight and has few hills, we made very good time. We almost crossed the entire state today, but camped just about 30 or so miles short of the Minnesota line. For one thing we lost an hour when we crossed into N. Dakota so when it got to be 6:00 Gil was ready to stop for the night. It was not as hot today as it was yesterday, but was about 83 degrees at lunch, and about 73 when we stopped for camping...which is much nicer! We found a lovely spot under a shade tree in a very small town near the interstate to break for lunch. Most of the day found us looking at miles and miles of wheat fields and hay fields. The hay that was baled was in those large round bales, and we found that some of the wheat had been harvested but much of it has not. I know Americans eat a lot of bread and buns, and now I know where a lot of that comes from. One exception to the flat fields was a park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the canyon was spectacular! I can only imagine what the folks on the wagon trains must have thought when they saw that canyon! We have a campsite tonight that is part of an Inn - fast WiFi, full hookups, indoor waterslide and cable TV which is not working right now. We have eaten so Gil and the kids are going into the indoor waterslide. It is the first time they have had a chance to go swimming so I know they are looking forward to that. Catch you in Minnesota next.

Eastern Montana on July 17th

Today we started east across the I-90 toward Billings and ended up stopping there to buy another new tire for the dolly which hauls the car. We replaced the one we bought in Colorado. Then as we started out of town I spotted a sign which said there were caves in the area....turned out to be Pictograph Cave State Park just a few miles away. We arrived just as a ceremony was ending that opened the new visitors' center at the park and found out any tours today are free. How nice! So we had a personal guide into one of the three caves in the area. This area and its caves, or rock overhangs, once were the living quarters of prehistoric hunters and gatherers. The guide explained that the caves had been inhabited over 2500 years ago, and up until about 200 years ago. The land area was once part of the Crow Indian Reservation, but earlier people who camped here may not have been of that tribe. The pictographs found here are one of the most significant archaeological excavations ever undertaken in Montana. The area was excavated in the late 30s and early 40s by WPA crews. Over 30,000 significant objects, or artifacts, were discovered in the sifted deposits. We all walked up the hillside to one of the caves with our guide but the heat and climb to one was enough for me and Gil. Mitch and Suzanne continued up the trail to the other two caves and took some pictures of the caves and our RV down in the parking lot.

We really were stunned by the heat, as were most people in Montana today...in the mid 90s! We turned on the generator and A/C in the RV in the parking lot and ate our lunch and then started on our way. The drive this afternoon took us into various types of landscape: huge wheat fields, mesa type (buttes) hills, rocks, then back into flat areas of wheatfields or horse ranches. Gil was tired by 5:00 so when we saw a sign for an RV park advertising cable tv and free WiFi, we turned into Terry, Montana. We are camped here under a shade tree on the edge of town and have already had supper. The man across the street from the park has a lovely garden, but I don't recognize any of the plants from here. The wind is blowing and it is finally cooling down. Tomorrow will take us into North Dakota, and hopefully some cooler temperatures.

Heading across southern Montana

We said our goodbyes to Don and Phyliss, then headed south toward I-90, then east toward Butte, Bozeman and Billings. We stopped this morning in Deerlodge so Gil and the kids could tour an antique car museum. Gil and Ed had toured this same museum when we came this way 27 years ago, but Gil said the museum had many new cars on display. They also toured an old prison from the 1930s. The museum was attached to the old prison buildings.

I stayed in the RV trying to get on the internet to update the blog and do some banking and check email, but was unable to get on line with my ATT connect card. When they completed their tour of the 120 antique cars, we headed down the road to Bozeman for lunch (in the RV). We also went to Walmart for supplies (that never-ending list of supplies!) This afternoon we did not stop to camp until 6:00 but the wait was worth it. The campground is near Big Timber, down on a beautiful creek where many people come to fish for trout. We have a beautiful shady spot (IT WAS HOT TODAY) which we appreciated very much, especially since the awning can not be used since the damage. We ate a very easy supper and then sat out near the creek and just listened to the peace! It is now dark so I must stop and get before-bedtime chores done.

Back in the good ole USA - Montana this week

Tuesday was not as fruitful as we had hoped because we could not find an RV dealer in Great Falls who could help us with our awning that got ripped in the wind/rain storm nor did they have anyone available to fix the levelers and camera. Everyone is booked for at least two weeks. So, we washed clothes, bought groceries and then drove west to Lincoln to meet up with cousin Don Niemeir and wife Phyliss. We stayed in our camper in their front yard two nights and had a wonderful time.

Bro. Don has been a Baptist minister for over 40 years. He and his lovely wife have lived in many places serving the Lord, but have lived in Montana at least twice and a great portion of their service the last 10 years or so. They built a lovely log home near Ovando, just outside Lincoln in western Montana. They have wind mills and solar panels which give them electricity, propane for hot water and cooking in the summer and a beautiful wood stove to cook on in the winter as well as a free standing wood heater. The cabin is full of Phyliss' beautiful oil paintings of mountains, wildlife and rivers. Don hunts game for their table as well as raises chickens and pigs and goats. They have mule deer in their back yard regularly and must fence EVERYTHING to keep the deer from eating it up. Phyliss has a green house for plants and vegetables and cans everything possible. She put up 21 quarts of cherries on Wednesday between picking fresh greens from the garden and fixing a delicious evening meal for us. She raises a half dozen types of berries plus everything for a garden salad; and potatoes and onions and more. I am sure I forgot several things.

They are both very busy in the summer months but state they love this lifestyle and love their home, as well as their church and their cowboy friends and neighbors. One of their daughters lives just down the road from them and she and her husband have a business building log homes. They have another daughter and three sons. Don Jr. lives and works in Redding, CA, but I can't remember where the other boys live. See pictures we took while there visiting them.

Monday, our trip from the parks to Montana

Well, the weatherman hit it on the nail today! We awoke to rain on the RV roof but it did subside enough by 7:00 for Gil and Mitch to break camp and load the car for our drive out of the park. We were on the road to Calgary by 8:00 but the rain continued for a while this morning. We were getting closer and closer to the US border when about 1:30 this afternoon we ran into a rain and wind storm and the wind picked up the RV awning and it became unfurled and began to beat across the top of the RV. We were able to stop and ascertain what had happened and then slowly pull off into a side road. When the wind and rain slowed down a bit, Gil and Mitch were able to roll up the awning again even though it is damaged. We crossed the US border about 4 pm and found a nice camp site for the night in Shelby, Montana. The wind continues to blow and there are now more dark clouds to the west. We will be going into Great Falls tomorrow to see about getting the awning replaced and see if there is a good RV mechanic there who can ascertain our problem with the levelers. We also hope to contact another cousin of Gil's in this area for a visit while in Montana.

Jasper and Banff National Parks on Saturady and Sunday

We spent Saturday and Sunday driving through the lovely national parks of Jasper and Banff. Our drive through Jasper led us along a lovely river, some pastures of elk and mule deer. We saw some glaciers and some lakes and then arrived in the town of Jasper where we rode the Tramway up the mountain to the level of over 6,000 feet. In spite of the clouds at the beginning of the ride, the clouds parted after a while and we were able to see mountains in the distance and down to the town of Jasper. The kids really enjoyed this ride as much as we did the time we took it 27 years ago. We saw small chipmunks at the top and got a nice picture of one. The town of Jasper and the entire area have changed and grown so much that we did not recognize it.

After our tram ride, we drove up another mountain toward a campground and lake and saw a herd of mule deer. This was an amazing sight because we had never seen more than one or two at a time. Then we drove south toward Lake Louise, a small town in Banff National Park that we had visited in 1982 when Gil and I brought Ed to this area and we camped in a tent. The Althabasca Glacier was one that we had actually walked on in 1982, but it has receded so much and has become so unstable that tourists can no longer walk on it without an escort, which we passed up. Then we reached the town of Lake Louise and wanted to show the kids the glacier and chalet' that we had seen 27 years ago. Again, the area had changed so much that we did not recognize the town (had exploded with hotels, inns, and camp grounds) but finally found the parking lot closest to the lake and walked down to see the glacier. The glacier has receded many hundreds of yards and the area near the lake has become so crowded with tourists this time of year that you could hardly walk for people! We did get some nice pictures and I will add them to the blog.

We were unable to camp at Lake Louise as planned because they have only one campground there and it was full by 3:00 pm so we went farther south to the village of Banff and found a lovely spot at Tunnel Mountain Campground so we paid for Sat. and Sunday nights. On Sunday we went back to the villages of Lake Louise and Banff to drive around and later in the afternoon did some shopping at the local Safeway. We found groceries very expensive there, so we kept our list to a minimun....essentials only. We really enjoyed those nights at the campground which had over 660 sites.
It was actually beautiful weather for our weekend, but rain was forcast for Monday.

Friday in Alberta, Canada

This morning we left Grande Prairie, went through Grande Cache and on down to Hinton, near Jasper National Park. We saw almost a dozen deers on the roadside, but they are so fast that I got only one picture of one and he was too far away to see good in the picture. Then we did see one moose as he ran into the woods as we passed. The countryside was pretty, rolling hills, and some pretty high mountains to climb as we got farther south toward Hinton. The rain began about noon, not hard, but continuous. This was enough to make the driving harder on Gil and he was very tired by the time we reached Hinton. Hinton is called the "Gateway to the Rockies" here in Canada. It has only one campground with hookups, so we will stay there tonight, then go into the Jasper National Park in the morning. We are hoping and praying for the rain and clouds to lift so we have a nice view of the glaciers and mountains tomorrow. There is a tram that we can ride up into the mountain side to see the glaciers and views, but rain and/or clouds will make that tram ride very unsuccessful (not to mention a waste of about $100 for us four). There is a charge to get into the park, $19 per day, and also camping fees on top of that. When Gil and I were here 27 years ago (in a tent with Ed) there was no charge to go into the park, and camping was very reasonable. Things sure have changed since that time. The views have not changed, even if some of the glaciers have receded. Pictures of Lake Louise (south in Banff National Park) show that the glacier there has receded a lot because we remember that glacier well. We will go from Jasper Park right into Banff Park to see the towns of Banff and Lake Louise. So, until we get free WiFi again, this is all. This is such a nice library here at Hinton, and while I update the blog and check e-mail, Suzanne is reading a book she found and Mitch is off some place playing one of his Ipod games. I know Gil is enjoying his nap in the RV in the parking lot!

Thursday, July 9th - last day in BC

Thursday was our last day in British Columbia. We stopped in at Dawson Creek where the Alcan Hwy begins at Mile Zero. The visitor's center had some interesting displays of stuffed animals. We had found an RV dealer that morning who fixed our refrigerator, but the camera and levelors were still not working. We went to another RV dealer to see if he could fix our electrical problem, but he was too busy and told us to try the dealers in Grande Prairie, so we headed on down the road. The fields of yellow reminded us so much of the area in England where we lived. We knew the fields were probably mustard, but one lady told us they are sometimes canola. Either one sure makes the fields pretty!

In Grande Prairie, the dealer there sent out two technicians who worked on our motorhome for about 2 hours. They tried every thing they knew to locate our problem, but were unsuccessful. We were prepared to pay a bill for 2 hours labor, but they said "no charge" and sent us on our way. That truly was a blessing to us. We thanked them and drove away after 6:00. We had entered another time zone when we got into Alberta and realized it was very late. We camped at the Wal-Mart shopping center, ate supper and then headed out to do errands. Gil dropped Suzanne and me at the coin laundry only a few blocks away and he and Mitch went back to Wal-mart to grocery shop. It took $9.00 to wash two loads! I had purchased a roll of Canadian quarters at the nearby Mr. Sub shop so it was almost gone. After the men finished the shopping, they picked us up. We went back to the RV, put away the clothes and sat there and watched 13 more campers come in to stay there for the night. It is a popular campsite in the larger towns. Folks are looking to save money any way they can; as are we. Camping every other night that way along the road or in a parking lot saves us from $25-$35 each time. That helps buy this gas at almost $4 per gallon.

Wednesday in British Columbia headed for Alberta

We were on the road early this morning and began to see wildlife right away. We lost count of the bears, buffalos, sheep and elk. It really was exciting to see them because we did not see much wildlife in Alaska. Even when we did not see wildlife today, we had a lot of pretty rivers to cross and lakes and mountains to see. We were on the road for almost 12 hours today because we had a hard time finding a campsite with hookups and we needed electricity tonight since we dry-camped last night. We are camped in a nice park just outside Ft. St. John which is a very large city. We hope to find an RV dealer who services campers to see if they can find out why our refrigerator is not working as we go down the road. We are also having some minor problems with the jacks that level the RV at night. Gil and Mitch thought it might be a fuse, and they worked before supper to find out if it was. They did not find a problem there. We have had a lot of wind this afternoon and a light rain about the time we ate supper. The rain is gone now, but the wind has continued and it is very cool. We are happy to be on electricity tonight because if it gets really cold we can hook up the electric heater. We used the gas heat some early this morning before we got on the road. The generator is a life saver when you are dry camping (that is with no water and electricity) but we can't run the microwave on the generator. We can use the toaster and coffee pot so that is the most important appliances in the morning. I am going to close now and hope to find free WiFi again in Canada to update the blog. We will be crossing into Alberta soon and going into the icefields to see more glaciers. The kids are looking forward to that for sure.

Our first day to see lots of wildlife

The day we went through Watkins Lake, YU, was a fun day. We went through the sign post forest and then when we left, we saw lots of wildlife. The bears were young ones as best we could tell and we think they were black bears from what we could see. They were eating green grass and wild strawberries along the roadside. As we travelled farther we began to see buffalo along the road as well and we counted a total of 13 before the day was over. It was amazing to see them on the roads and see vehicles have to go around them. That night we stayed along the road at a rest area and met a young couple who were on a mission. They were going into parks, meeting tourists and giving out Bibles and ministering to them when the Lord opened a door. Eric is in Bible school at this time and they plan to become missionaries when he is finished with school. Andrea, his wife, was excited to see our CMA emplems on the car when they drove into the rest area. They were stopping only for a while to make an evening meal for their three children, ages 3, 2, and 10 mo. We invited them into the camper to eat because the mosquitoes were out in force. We visited while they ate (we had already eaten) and then they went on their way. They had very little money and were on their way to Alaska. There was a buffalo in the ditch across the road from where we stopped for the night, and later we saw a mountain lion in the edge of the woods on the same side of the road. The lion never approached the buffalo, but watched him for a long time. The buffalo was not disturbed in the least at the lion's presence.
It was quite warm at bedtime, but we turned on the generator and a/c for a while that night. By early morning it was very cool. We continued on our way before 7 am.

Monday, July 6, more of the Yukon

As we drove back through this area, the same area we had seen two weeks ago, we decided to stop in Whitehorse again. We bought groceries there when we came through before, but this time we wanted to see some local sights. Whitehorse is the largest town in the Yukon, with about 25,000 residents who stay year-round. It is right on the Yukon River and has many interesting buildings, a museum, and a river boat. Today we parked the RV at the visitors' center and walked down several streets to find the "log skyscraper" which is a 4-story apartment building built from logs. We could tell people lived in the building and were told it is four seperate apartments, but each one is very small. We also went inside an old log church that has been in Whitehorse since 1900. It is a small building holding a museum of history of the church and the bishops who came to this area over a hundred years ago. It was very interesting.

Only a couple of hours down the road we found ourselves at Johnson's Crossing RV Park just as it was time to stop for the night. This is where we stayed before and the kids found the foxes. They have not seen them yet today. Gil and Mitch have washed the car and RV this afternoon. It was much needed because the last time the RV was washed was here over two weeks ago. The car did get a washing in Alaska at one of the air bases. The dust from the Kluane Wilderness early this morning really took a tole on both vehicles. I fixed supper and then downloaded the pictures from yesterday, editing some of them, and now finished the blog. Goodnight to all...and if we have free WiFi again while in Canada, I will email. Otherwise, I will call once we get into Montana.

Sunday, July 5th, leaving Alaska

We tried to go to church on Sunday at the local Baptist church in Tok after checking out of the Sourdough RV park. It seems the church is not having services at this time because we could not find anyone there and there were no posted service times. We sadly drove out of town knowing Alaska was behind us, probably forever. We doubt we ever get to come this way again. After we drove about an hour or so, we crossed into the Canadian province of the Yukon once again and then went through customs about an hour after that. We had no problem, but for the first time they asked us about a pet. We showed Sylvia's papers and went on through. We knew the drive ahead of us was not very pretty because it was the same way we had entered Alaska just two weeks earlier.

We did find a nice place to spend the night near a river bed. Four other campers stayed there with us so we felt safe. Before bedtime I wandered out to the viewing platform near the river to read about the area on the signs posted there. Then a man drove up and stood there with his binoculars and said he was a bird watcher. I could tell he was native to the area and asked him if he lived nearby. He said he does, that he had lived here most of his life and used the land to support himself in various ways - trapping, hunting, etc. He said he is now retired and just enjoying his "peoples' land". It was nice to talk to him about the area wildlife because he knew that most of the animals were decreasing each year in numbers except the swans. He said for some reason they are encreasing in numbers. We talked with several other couples who stopped by the viewing spot and also met an interesting couple from New Jersey. This is their third trip to Alaska and they thoroughly enjoy coming this way. Bob proudly showed us the RV he made from an old city bus from the 60s. He took out the seats, put in a fridge, stove and lovely cabinets. He and his wife enjoy their RV so much even though it does not have a slide. It is just right for them with a bedroom in back, a toilet area (but no shower), lots of cubbords and cabinets for storage and a couch and two chairs. It really is nice and the cabinet work is beautiful! It is a deisel engine and Bob says he was a deisel mechanic so he has no problem keeping it running. It has a nice murial on the back window - a picture of the back of his RV, with a window with a picture of the back of the RV. Very cute!

Misplaced Pictures from July 3rd Afternoon

Well, I really goofed and failed to post pictures of the afternoon of July 3rd as we drove from Valdez back to Glennallen. The kids had just asked me if they were going to get to climb a glacier today...and I said not until we get to Alberta, Canada. Then around the curve we see a sign that says "Worthington Glacier" and we could see it from the road. I don't know how we missed it the day before, but we drove into the parking lot and spoke to the attendant. She said we could walk up to the glacier from a viewing platform. She told us it has receded over 40 ft. each year and that the glacier used to be almost to the road when she first came to Alaska. She also said the glacier is growing in thickness every year at the rate of 28 more feet due to the snowfall build-up. It is over 6 miles long. I stayed at the viewing platform while Gil and Suzanne and Mitch took the trail up to the glacier. It took them about an hour to get there, and about a half hour to get down. It was exciting for the kids to see a glacier up close and touch the ice. We should get another chance to do that in Alberta next week. Sorry these are out of sequence. You can see July 4th pics next.

4th of July in Alaska

Our Friday night, 3 July ended with a lovely campsite near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the USA. We stopped at a rest area on the side of the road for the night and were joined by five other campers doing the same thing. Gil had decided that we'd stay there when we had passed it on our way to Valdez the day before. When we camp this way it saves us money (instead of paying $26-$35 for a campground spot). We met a very nice couple from Shreveport and I told her about the book mother and I wrote. She took it to her camper and looked at it and read some before bedtime. She seemed to really enjoy it. Gil met another nice couple from Canada while I cooked supper. I had planned chili with some of the venison Barbara gave us because I thought it would be cold, but the weather was very warm; in fact, unusually warm for this area this early in July. I am not really complaining you understand, because it was not in the 100s, maybe 80 degrees.

The next morning we were just 10 miles from the park so we stopped in at the visitor's center. This park is a preserve of the wilderness and wildlife in the 13 million acres it covers. There are no tour buses, and the only way to see the park except for two short drives into two areas is to hike, ski, camp in the wilderness or rent a plane. Well, we are not into any of those sports and can't afford a plane ride (don't ask, we didn't!). We did see a very nice movie which showed us views of the park from a plane so that was special (and free). We took the car off the dolly and left the RV in the parking lot and drove about 20 miles inside the park hoping to see wildlife. We did see a ground squirrel, an eagle many miles above us and one moose who was going fast into the forest. The views of the mountains were not very good either because the trees covered the views except for a 3-mile stretch which did afford us a view of Mt. Sanford and Mt. Wrangell, two of the highest peaks in the park.

We left the park about 2 pm and drove into Tok which is the first town we came to when we entered Alaska almost two weeks ago. We have completed the big circle we planned to take. We are camping at the Sourdough RV park which is wonderful. There are almost 200 sites and ours is a pull-through with full hookups. We did get a discount for being in the Good Sam Club and we did have a free sample of salmon tonight before the pancake toss. We enjoyed eating with the other campers and meeting them. We all took side dishes (kids wanted mac and cheese and green beans). The camp hosts also provided free samples of reindeer chili. It was good, but a little spicy for me. We met a family from East Germany who were having a wonderful time. They told me they will be here for three weeks. Gil won a free breakfast in the morning of sourdough pancakes and reindeer sausage. He said he'd pay for my breakfast in the morning and the kids agreed to stay in the RV and have their usual cereal. How nice of them to let us have a breakfast out. We hope to find a church to attend in the morning. We may stay in Tok Sunday night as well because there is an RV repair place here and Gil thinks our refridgerator needs to be checked again to make sure it is staying cold enough. When we are not hooked up to electricty the fridge should be on gas automatically but it may not be working well and we don't want food to spoil on those nights we camp along the roadside. Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!

second day in Valdez

We got up early this morning to go around the bay to the fish hatchery. We were told that sometimes the bears come out of the nearby forest to catch fish there. It was only a short drive and we were very blessed to find a young bear fishing in the creek there near the hatchery. It was fun to sit on a bench and watch the bear catch his fish then eat it and have the sea gulls clean up his leftovers. We had hoped to get a tour of the pipeline terminal, but they must not give those tours anymore. It was a nice morning. We have eaten lunch and will break camp and head back north.

On the road again this morning, Thursday, July 2

Early this morning we left Glennallen and headed south toward Valdez. As we turned south, we saw the trans-Alaska pipeline along the road, first on one side then another. Then as we reached the mountains, the sights we so pretty we could not decide which was the best. We saw several glaciers, many waterfalls and lots of pretty countryside. It was only 117 miles to Valdez, but it took us about 3 hours due to stopping to take pictures at the waterfalls. The clouds were hanging low and then we were in the clouds going through Thompson pass. It was hard to see more than 15 ft infront of the RV but we finally went low enough into the valley to get out of the clouds.

Valdez is a port on the Prince William Sound nestled among the mountains and the bay. We drove around a while to get our bearings, then settled on an RV park right on the bay...Sea Otter RV park. After we set up camp, we took the car back into the middle of town to find the museum. We really enjoyed the museum and I have posted a couple of pictures from it. After the museum we went to lunch and had halibut, shrimp, prawns and crab cakes. Suzanne had never had any of those and she found out she likes them all. After lunch we stopped in at a local exhibit about the tsunami that happened after the 1964 earthquake. The 9.2 quake did a lot of damage (biggest quake in USA history) but the tsunami wave destroyed this town and it had to be relocated 4 miles away. Unfortunately 32 people died that day on the docks.

We drove to the sight of the original town and then took a side trip to the Valdez glacier which is nothing more at this time than large ice cubes in a pool of cold water. If there is more to the glacier, we could not see it. We were all tired by then so Gil and I took a nap. Well, Suzanne has found some friends down the road and she is visiting with three girls from Fairbanks. Mitch took a long walk along the bay and said he could see seals (sea otters) down by the bridge. Everyone is hungry, so I must close now.

July 1st on the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to Glennallen

Our Niemeir-Express left Elmendorf AFB today about noon, heading out on Hwy 1, the Glenn Highway to Glennallen. The drive was one of the most beautiful to date! The road was in great shape except for a few bumpy spots and we were delayed one time for about 15 min. by the highway dept. working on the road. There were not as many people on this road as the others we have travelled, but the folks who did not come this way missed a treat for sure. The trip today was only 189 miles and we have now camped in a parking lot of the Caribou Motel in Glennallen. The view out our front RV window is Mt. Drum, covered in snow and very majestic looking. There are two more mountains out our window, one on the left is Mt. Sanford, 16,237 ft., and the one on the right is Mt. Wrangell, 14, 163 ft. All three mountains are in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, largest in America covering over 13 million acres. Denali park, seen earlier this week covered only 6 million acres. We will turn south in the morning, going down to Prince William Sound to the port of Valdez. The trans-Alaska pipeline is just one mile down the road from us now and we will be following it all the way to Valdez. This is the 800-mile pipeline that carries the oil from Prudhoe to Valdez where it is then put on ships and taken to the refineries in the lower 48, usually Texas and Louisiana. We will come back up this way later this week to see what we can see of the National Park but it is very wild, and has only one or two short roads into the park for visitors. Naturally it is full of wildlife and undesturbed land. Watch here for pictures from our next adventure.