Linda and Gil's Travels

Trip to Marshall, Texas

2012-01-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful sunny and warm January day when Loretta and I drove to Marshall, TX, to visit the Marshall Pottery and attend a book signing for a new author friend, Patty Wiseman. Loretta and I left Camden at 8 am and headed south to Ruston where we took the I-20 West through Shreveport and into Texas. It was a little longer route than going through Hope and south on I-30 to Texarkana, then to Marshall, but because it was foggy when we left town, we thought the southern route was best.

It had been a long time since I have been to Shreveport but we drove through with no problems. It was fun to see how the city had grown and changed since Gil and I lived there in 1975-1978 when we moved from there to Italy. There is a new interstate highway now going south (I-59) and a lot of new businesses along I-20, East and West of the city. It was not a long drive after we crossed into Texas that we came to Marshall and took the exit that led us to the pottery in just a half a mile. I had been wanting to go to the pottery for many years, but just had not had the chance before now. Loretta had never been there either.

The pottery had lots of things on which people can spend their money like home decor, candles, furniture - even jewelry. Some of those things are rather expensive, and some are rather cheap - like the plastic pots made in Taiwan and China. My interest was strictly the original signature Marshall pottery made right there. I found many beautiful pieces but specifically wanted a spigget for the large beverage urn that I had found a few months ago in a ditch in Camden. The urn undoubtedly fell off someone's truck when moving and was left in the ditch unharmed or unmarred in any way. Also found in the ditch was a lovely bowl and pitcher without a scratch! So I found the spigget needed, and a lid for the urn and also bought a small milk pitcher to match the other pieces.

After we left the pottery, we had lunch in a Chinese restaurant. It was a good lunch and we lingered over it talking and havng a good visit. Then we headed to the Marshall Mall to find the book event. I had met Patty Wiseman on one of the author fadebook sites and she had graciously produced a trailer for my own book. We hope to attend some book events together in the future, either in Texas or Louisiana. Patty and several other area authors were having their event in the mall that day outside a nice book store. Loretta and I met some very nice people that day and learned about their books, several of which are e-books to be found on the Kindle or Nook. We drove home and got in about 7 pm. It was a good day.

Reconnecting with Classmates from BHS

2012-01-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

Reconnecting with many of my dear classmates from Bastrop High has been one of the highlights of 2011! We "Girls of 65" graduated together in May 1965, and get together as often as possible to catch up on what has happened with us since then. It has been a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing them again in the new year.

Goodbye to 2011 and Hello to 2012

2012-01-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that 2011 is gone and the new year is here. Gil and I received many blessings in the past year and are prepared to go forward to receive more in 2012 as we strive to improve our health, and follow God's will in 2012.

In 2011 we were able to add a beautiful addition to our home which we enjoy very much each day. The family room added almost 500 sf to the home which gives us a great place for watching TV, working on the computer, playing games and entertaining. The new entrance to the nice laundry room that was completely remodeled is wonderful. It also gives us lots of storage in the house.

The new year will bring a visit from our children and grandchildren who live in China. They too will face new challenges this year as they move to a new province in February. Both Ed and Deb will teach classes in a highschool in Quzhou, a town of 2 1/2 million people. This will be a much warmer climate for them, less work for Ed, more money for the family and more time to venture out into the Chinese provinces to explore and see the area. It also means Suzanne will be staying with us once they visit this summer. She will continue high school studies with us (on line) and begin some college courses asap. She plans to take Vet Tech courses so she can work in a Veterinary clinic because she loves animals and hopes to make that a career. She has grown to be a lovely young lady and we are very proud of her.

Destiny is growing up so fast, talking and learning some Chinese words. It will be so great for her to actually see us in person and learn more about us when the family stays with us for a while. We have not held her since she was five mo. old and she is now 2 1/2 years old and will be almost 3 years old when she visits. We have watched her via skype as she learned to roll over, sit up, walk, run and talk; but actually seeing her in person, holding her, hugging her and walking and talking with her will be wonderful.

Gil and I are so thankful for the healing of our son Dan's legs as he is now able to walk without aid of braces or crutches. He has come a long way from that wheelchair that confined him after the accident in the summer of 2010. His own hard work and God's healing hand was what has brought him and his family through the dark times and now they see a brighter future. Praise God.

2012 will bring us a new great-grandchild in the spring as Rachael and Nate will have a baby in March or April. Emma is now 7 years old and will enjoy having a little brother or sister in the home. I know she will be very helpful to her mom. We wish them every happiness and good health for them all in the new year. Pat and James visited at Thanksgiving and brought Emma with them. It was great to see them. We pray blessing for them in the new year and hope to see Mitch this coming year.

So, as I reflect on the past year and the coming year, I will repost a quote from today's newspaper: Yesterday is in the past and tomorrow is in the future, but today is a gift - that is why it is called the 'present.' So we will go forth now and enjoy the gift of today, not looking back on yesterday's mistakes or concerned with what tomorrow brings, but trusting God to help us live in the present and in His will.

Arts and Craft Festival, Bastrop, La

2011-12-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

Mama and I had a booth at the fall festival in Bastrop where we not only sold many books, but reconnected with many friends in the town where we had lived years ago and where I attended school 12 years. It was so much fun seeing everyone again. The festival was wonderful with many vendors and live entertainment by one of the locals who has made a real name for herself.

There was also a car show in the center of the building. At lunchtime about 35 of my BHS classmates met for lunch in a nearby building. We really did have a good time catching up with each other since our school days.

More Fall travels

2011-12-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

Last weekend in October I drove to Ruston, La, to the Louisiana Tech tailgate party prior to their 'Homecoming game' and to visit two classmates whom I had not seen since we graduated high school in 1965 at Bastrop High. Beverly Leachman Johnson lives in Ruston and met me at Starbucks prior to the tailgate party. We then drove to the campus and walked to the tailgate party to meet another classmate Susan Odom Pincus who lives in Florida.

It was a fun time at the tailgate party and catching up "somewhat" after so many years of not seeing each other. I also met her handsome husband, Howard and her son.

Trip to Bella Vista and into Kansa and Missouri

2011-11-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

After Colors rally, we headed north and spent one night in Bella Vista, AR, to visit my classmate Prissy Shoulders and her husband Dave. What a wonderful time I had reconnecting with Prissy. We had a delightful meal on her beautiful deck and Gil and I were delighted to get to know Dave. He too is retired USAF (pilot) and rides motorcycles so the guys had a lot in common. Prissy and I had a lovely talk catching up on the past 45 plus years. She is working on a book about her twin grandchildren's survival of a premature birth and illnesses afterwards. What a testimony to her faith and God's grace to bring these children and their family through some really rough times. I am eager to see the book published as it will be a help to other families who are going through a similar time of testing.

Then we had a delightful visit with Gil's family in Ft. Scott later that week. Glenda prepared a lovely dinner for us and Doug and Dianna, along with us and Bill had a special time of fellowship. Seeing Helen in good health after stints last spring was a delight and we had a good visit with her. Carol and Dan had us out for a meal too and we got to visit with them and their daughter Kim and her two delightful children. Helen joined in the family affair that evening as did Doug. We truly had a wonderful visit.

One day while in Kansas, we took the opportunity to drive into Independece, Mo., to visit our dear pastor friend Bro. Stewart Wine who had just lost his wife the previous week. We were unable to be at the celebration of Miss Norma's life but enjoyed so much the visit with Bro. Stew. He looked very well considering he was recovering from open heart surgery not long ago. He is getting physical therapy at the Golden Living Center due to a stroke he had recently suffered. Soon he will be entering his 57th year in the pastorate. What a testimony he has and what memories we have of serving with him at Friendship Baptist Church in Melton, England. He is now on facebook and there is a special fb page for FBC friends who attended that lovely church and were blessed under his pastorate. We love you Bro. Stew and will miss you greatly Miss Norma.

2011 CMA Colors Rally

2011-11-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our annual vacation to Mena/Hatfield to the CMA Colors Rally was just the respite we needed this year after a teribly hot summer in Arkansas. The weather was wonderful on Sunday for our trip there and our Monday ride across Wilhemena Mountain into Oklahoma. We rode with Todd over to Rune Stone State Park and had a picnic lunch before returning to Iron Mountain. The trees were just beginning to turn and it was a wonderful ride on a beautiful sunny day. Just what the doctor ordered!

Then on Tuesday we had much needed rain which allowed us to have a camp fire later that week. There had been a fire ban due to the excessive hot and dry summer. On Wed. our trike began to have a problem and we ended up on foot most of the rest of the week as it will need some repairs before next spring. We had a wonderful visit from our CMA buddy from McKinney, TX, who stopped by to see us. She let us borrow her truck to go to the annual lunch in Oden.

The church services were wonderful as usual and the gospel singing Friday night was really special. But the sad part of the rally was the loss of CMA's dear founder Herb Shreve. He had not been well after open heart surgery earlier this year but had been able to attend his birthday party earlier Sat. afternoon. I had a chance to speak to him briefly Sat. evening in the pavilion just prior to his going home before the evening service. He appeared very tired when we spoke. We found out later that evening that he went home to be with the Lord. Praise God for his obedience and his service to the Lord all these years. We will never forget him and his special ministry to bikers that begun in 1975 with him and his son and is now a ministry around the world in 26 countries with thousands of bikers "riding for the son."

Louisiana Art & Folk Festival, Columbia, LA

2011-10-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Mama and I attended our third book signing at the Schepis Museum in Columbia during the 2011 Art & Folk Festival there on Oct. 8th. Joining us this year was Janie Wilkins, former resident and native of Columbia. Janie signed and sold her books "Janie's Unblievable Journey" volumens 1 and 2 and was joned by her sister Mary French and son Eric Pierce.

It was a fantastic day for us all, visiting our hometown once again and taking photos of our favorite places, one of which was the First United Methodist Church, Circa 1910. Mama and I drove by my grandmother's house on Lakeside St., up to the family plot at the cemetery and down Pearl Street where we lived when I was a little girl.

The festival was very well attended this year and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Janie and Mama and I had friends greet us at the Museum. We had a great day for sales and a super visit with friends. Thanks to Janie, Mary and Eric for joining us on this special day.

Canton's First Monday Trade Days Book Event

2011-10-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

Two other Tate Publishing authors joined me for a book event Sept. 29 and 30th at the world's largest flea market in Canton, Tx. Grace Lundmark from the Tyler, TX, area and Cara Coffey from the Austin, TX, area brought their books to the Trade Days and we set up book tables in the food court. What fun we had getting to know one another and talking about our books and the experiences we have had writing the books.

Grace's book, Chloe May Daughter of the Dust Bowl is based on her mother's family as they experienced the dust bowl of Oklahoma during the Great Depression. I really enjoyed reading her book prior to the book event and then getting to visit with her during those days in Canton.

Cara's book, Uncovered No More, tells her experiences of her childhood and early married life as she searched from one denomination to another finding God's will for her life. She was attacked by depression just about the time she began writing of her experiences and tells in the book how God saved her from that terrible illness. Cara's husband and eight of their ten children joined her in Canton that week. They camped at a nearby state park and made a vacation of the time there. What lovely children she and Curtis are rearing.

Aunt Margie also joined me at the book event two of the three days. She kept me company and releived me from the "sitting" chore. We both enjoyed roaming the Marketplace visiting other booths and meeting other vendors. It really was a lot of fun and I had such a good time staying with Aunt Margie in her home in Fruitvale. The weather was wonderful, rather cool in the morning and mostly sunny. As much as I enjoyed the time in Texas, it was good to get home.

Gil will be going later this week to Mena/Hatfield, AR, to camp on Iron Mountain to help clean up the CMA campground in preparation for the annual Colors Rally mid-Oct. and I will also be leaving town once again to join Mama and another Tate author in Columbia, La. for a book event at the Schepis Museum. Janie Wilkins, a sister to my Dad's best friend in school in the 40s will fly in from Florida to join us in Louisiana for that event on Oct. 8th. I look forward to seeing Janie and showing her around our hometown of Columbia this weekend.

Book Event scheduled Canton, Texas

2011-09-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Two other Tate authors will join me at a book event in Canton, TX, for the First Monday Trade Days Sept. 29-Oct. 2nd in the Marketplace food court. This is the world's largest flea market so we are excited about the opportunities to meet and visit with new friends during this time. Grace Lundmark will share a table with me and she will sign and sell her book Chloe May Daughter of the Dustbowl. Also joining us will be Cara Coffey who will have her book there to sign and sell, Undercovered No More. Her son Patrick will also join us those days to sell his CDs. Please join us if you are in the area. We look forward to seeing you there.

My Aunt Margie Buffington will be helping me at my table with the book Mama and I wrote about her life growing up on cotton farms as a sharecropper's daughter. Margie is the middle sharecropper's daughter and will be quite an asset to our table. This will be a fun book event and I really look forward to this special time with the other authors and spending several days with Aunt Margie who lives near Canton. See you there!

September 2011, Camping

2011-09-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

After a long, very hot summer, some cooler weather has finally come to Arkansas. Gil and I took the RV out to White Oak Lake for a couple of days. We were not prepared for the low water level at the lake. This was not due just to the very dry conditions and no rain to speak of recently, but also to the fact that there has been a leak in the gate at the dam at the lake. It was sad to see no water around the boat dock near the camp sites at the park.

On the other hand, it was a surprise to see how many campers were at the state park. There was a group Good Sam's campers there as well as some local people and a few folks just passing through. One motorhome parked near us one night housed a very young couple with a small child. I walked over to meet them and speak to the child who was a 9 mo. old little girl with beautiful blue eyes and a lovely smile and laugh. It turns out the couple is from Switzerland and had borrowed the RV to travel from Florida and up into the Smokey Mountains before they returned home. This was not their first trip to the USA as they told me they have already seen the Rocky Mountains. It seemed odd to me that they would leave such a beautiful country as Switzerland to see our country but they stated they wanted to see something different and they enjoy America and the sights here.

It was not long before Gil and I returned to our normal routine at home and Gil prepared for one of his prison ministry trips with the CMA group. I have busied myself with reading, posting reviews of the latest good book authored by another "Tater" (fellow authors of Tate Publishing, & Ent.) and catching up on facebook friends. Friday night will bring another evening of dominoes and fellowship with friends, Loretta and Terry.

In just two weeks I will be co-hosting a book table at First Monday, Canton's Trade Days in Texas with fellow authors Grace Lundmark and Cara Coffey and her son Patrick. I will be staying in Fruitvale with Aunt Margie who will help me at my booth those 3-4 days. I look forward to meeting Grace and Cara and Patrick and pray God's blessings on our efforts at his book event. There are 100 acres of vendors at this flea market, the world's largest. I know we will have a wonderful time.

Hot summer in south Arkansas!

2011-08-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

Gil and I have not traveled much this summer because of the drought and heat in our state and across most of the southern USA. Texas especilly has suffered this year and still is in drought conditions. We had 10 min. of rain July 4th and then about an inch in early August but the ground is so dry that we need much more. The temperature has been in triple digits much of July and August. Lord knows we need the rain and He will send it in His timing.

I attended a funeral in July in Haynesville, La., for the father of a dear high school classmate. Debbie Swartz Burge' father passed away and several classmates attended his funeral. I had not seen Debbie since we finished school 46 years ago. It was a pleasure to see her and her sister and their children and grandchildren.

Gil went to the watermelon festival in Hope this month and had a good time. He road over with CMA friends. He also attended Teen Challenge in Hot Springs this month. Gil did have one prison ministry in July as well. Other than that he has only ridden his motorycle around town some this summer due to the heat. I attend water arobics most weekday mornings and Gil walks each day early before it gets hot. We have a nice church parking lot near our home that makes a good place to walk.

June was a special month

2011-07-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

So many of our family members have birthdays in June. My son starts off the birthdays on the 12th (he was 44). Then Gil was next, on the 17th. Mama's birthday is the 22nd so we took our motorhome to Bastrop and camped at the City RV Park for four days so we could visit with her and my sister.

Some ladies from my high school graduation class decided to have lunch with me while I was in town. The lunch group grew quickly to 11 of us. What fun we had that day trying to catch up on each other and our families. We hope to get together more often and invite others in the area to join us. Thanks to Jeanette for setting up this first gathering of the "Girls of 65" for us BHS graduates from 1965.

Daddy is birthday was June 26th and he would have been 88 had Alzheimers not taken him from us in 2004. I know he probably does not celebrate birthdays in heaven, but we think of him often on this planet and the loss we had when he left. Mama, Judy and I visited the cemetery there in Bastrop where he, my sharecropping grandparents, my dear aunt and uncle as well as my brother-in-law were laid to rest.

Then after we returned home, I had my own birthday on the 28th (I was born on Grandpa Clarence's birthday) but it was a rather quiet day for me. I am just very grateful for family and friends

May travels

2011-05-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

Gil and I just spent five days on Iron Mountain, CMA campground, just south of Mena. We helped fold and pack hundreds of t-shirts in the workshop/warehouse of CMA. Workers there told us they had already printed over 22,000 shirts this year - half of which were for mailing out to Run for the Son participants this year in the annual fundraiser. The rest are for various rallies and to be sold in the Goodie Store. We had such a good time meeting some folks from Texas and other CMA chapters who were also doing volunteer work that week. It was also good to get back home.

On Sunday before Memorial day we rode our trike to Benton, AR, to attend the wedding of Sammie and John Cleveland. Gil has known them for years as they are part of teh CMA prison ministry. The ride there was great, the fellowship and food at the wedding was wonderful and the ride home was hot. All in all, it really was nice.

After we got home we made a skype call to our granddaughters in China and had a good visit with them. DJ is talking more and more, using her hands to emphasize what she is saying....problem is, we don't have a clue what she is trying to tell us. One of these days, it will all be clear to us.

Spring 2011

2011-05-17T14:06:00.001-07:00

We have had some very unusually cool temperatures this month in our area. It has been unusually windy as well. Gil and I have been on one short camping trip recently to White Oak Lake State Park and plan another one to Iron Mountain, near Mena, AR, soon. We will be helping fold t-shirts for the Run for the Son annual fundraiser. All Run for the Son participants receive one.

Our little garden has produced lettuce abundantly and the tomatoes and peppers are blooming. We have squash on all six plants but they are growing slowly due to the cool weather.

Gil has been to one prison ministry this month but has also spent some time getting our deck restained. He has refinished an old gun cabinet for our family room as well. We had the CMA Charity Riders at our house for our May meeting. We cooked out on the deck and enjoyed the fellowship.

Last month several of my Sunday School members and I went to Hot Springs to see the traveling Tabernacle. This was a fantastic experience. Then the class came to my house for our May meeting/fellowship. We enjoyed various salads made by us all. What fun we had.

Our church has had several fellowships this month. The Ristaurante Italiano was a lot of fun. The fish fry for the senior adults was also a great tme for all. The church-wide tailgate cookout was really nice, especially since the weather was so nice and cool.

Ooops, I see a pattern in our meetings/fellowships....most of which include eating. Guess we all better get busy walking, swimming or pushing back those plates!

Visit to Columbia

2011-04-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

While Aunt Margie was visiting us, Mama and I drove to Columbia and revisited the area where Mama and Daddy met in 1945, where they married in 1946 and I was born in 1947. We also visited the Duff family cemetery plots there and drove around the town to see how it had changed. The United Methodist Church there (circa 1878) has been recently repainted to celebrate the centenial of that building being built in 1911.

We also visited the Martin Homeplace near Columbia and enjoyed seeing the old buildings on the farm and many old farm implements used there many years ago. We really did have a lot of fun that day reminiscing "old times.'

Mangham Book Event

2011-04-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Mama,Aunt Margie, Aunt Sue and I spoke to the Mangham Jr. High and Sr. High recently about our book. There was a lot of interest by the students and we all had such a wonderful time. Mama attended Mangham High from 1938 until graduation in 1944. Aunt Margie attended there from 1942 until 1951 and Aunt Sue from 1944 until 1952. We read from the book, then answered questions the students had. Aunt Margie told the students about some memories she had of attending school there. She also led a cheer for them against their arch rival, Rayville Hornets. What cheers and claps and whistles she received from the Mangham Dragons!

Rayville Book Event April 2, 2011

2011-04-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

Mama and I were invited to have a book signing at Rayville recently at the first Antique Day. What fun we had that day meeting the people of that very nice little town in Northern Louisiana. We sold lots of books and enjoyed the quilt show and art display. The local people are very talented and very friendly. This town is very near the area where Mama grew up and talked about in our book.

Mama displayed two quilts and two of her lovely oil paintings. There were antique cars, a bike show and political speeches outside of the Civic Center. The weather was perfect and we had such a good time. Hope to make it again next year.

Spring 2011 get-away

2011-03-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

After the new room was completed, we unpacked most of the boxes in storage and then took a break at the near-by lake to "drown a few worms." The fish were not biting, but we had a good time relaxing at the state park. The park was full because it was spring break in our area.

Construction at our house

2011-03-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

We have added about 500 sf to our home in Camden and decided not to move to Mena. We also had doors put on Gil's shop and had an RV cover built in the back yard next to the shop. Now our motorhome does not sit out in the weather. Gil really likes this. I really like the new family room on the back of the house. We still have the deck out past the family room and I now have a laundry room that I can enter from the new room in the house instead of going out in the carport to wash. NICE!

So here are some pictures of the construction which was done from 14 Feb. to 21 March. It really has added a lot of appeal to our home and we are enjoying it very much.

Camden's Snow of Jan. 2011

2011-01-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

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Christmas, 2010

2010-12-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

As our year comes to an end, we are grateful for all of God's blessings in our lives. It has been a very different Christmas this year, and very quiet. With Ed, Deb, Suzanne and DJ in China we have not had much company or family with which to share the holiday; but we are so blessed to have many dear friends at Hillside Baptist Church and Charity Riders CMA chapter. We are so very glad our children are safe and healthy.

Pat and James, Emma and Rachael are in Wichita and Mitchel is living in Iowa at this time. Dan, Mandy, Katelynn and Jacob live in Iowa so we were not able to see them at Christmas. But Pat was here for Thanksgiving and we had visited Dan and family in Iowa back in October. Mama stayed in Louisiana this year and my sister Judy went to Kentucky to help her two younger daughters move back to Louisiana.

Katherine, Judy's oldest, did come to spend a couple of days with us the week of Christmas. We had a good visit and some fun times playing dominoes. Come again soon Katherine as we enjoyed your visit very much.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-22T21:56:00.001-08:00

Gil and I were so happy to host Thanksgiving this year at our house for Pat and James, Gil's daughter and her husband who live in Wichita, Ks. They drove down and brought Emma, Gil's great-granddaughter with them. Emma's mom Rachel was not able to come this year because of her work schedule. However, Pat's mom Lorene also drove down from Pittsburg, Ks, to join the celebration.

We had fun visiting and just hanging out. Emma enjoyed playing with Lucky, and Lucky really enjoyed the company. It was very hot on Thanksgiving day, but a cold front came in that afternoon making the temperature drop considerably in a short time. I cooked a traditional meal and Gil took some food to three friends with whom we always share holiday meals. James took Pat and Emma shopping at Walmart at 3:30 am on black Friday and found many bargains for Christmas.

It really was a fun time for all. We are so glad they were able to join us for this holiday and we are so thankful for our family and friends.

Fall Colors 2010

2010-11-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

Considering what a dry summer we had this year in South Central Arkansas and all over the state for that matter, we have had some beautiful fall color this November. I think we are at our color peak this week prior to Thanksgiving. I am sharing some of the pictures I have taken. Some are flowers in our yard, trees in our yard and trees in the neighborhood - all of which are a reminder of God's handiwork when he made our planet and His blessings to us each day.

Gil and I look forward to Mama and Judy coming Sunday prior to the holiday next week and possibly Aunt Sue as well. Then on Wednesday we will see Pat, James and Emma come to our house for Thanksgiving this year and stay several days with us.

Gil just returned from his last prison ministry for 2010 from the Benton Work Release Unit. I am also including a picture of him on his motorcycle.

Visit with Dan Niemeir and Family

2010-11-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

After the Colors Rally, we headed to Muscatine, Iowa, to visit Dan Niemeir and his family. We had a lovely drive there, about 14 hours on the road over 2 days. The fall colors were pretty and the weather nice for the most part. We did have a scare one night in E. St. Louis as we were awaken at 4 am by the tornado warning siren but God spared the area where we camped.

Our visit with son Dan and his wife Mandy and their children was a very nice one indeed. Dan is progressing nicely as God heals his body after a motorcycle accident in July this year. He will be going into the hospital first part of November to be fitted with leg braces so he can continue physical therapy on his feet and begin walking again. We pray for and expect a full recovery for him in God's timing.

We enjoyed visiting with the grandchildren, Katelynn age 15 and Jacob age 8. Grandson Mitchel visited us there as well. He lives nearby with his father. We were truly blessed by this visit and wish Dan continued success with healing for his entire body, mind and spirit. Praise God!

CMA Colors Rally 2010

2010-11-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

The Christian Motorcyclists Association celebrated their 35th anniversary in Oct. 2010 on Iron Mountain, Hatfield, AR. Gil and I camped in our RV spot that we sponsored six years ago and enjoyed the church services and seeing friends that we meet there annually. We also looked at many homes for sale in the area in anticipation of moving to the Mena area once our home sells in Camden.

The Iron Mountain campground was filled to capacity as was the worship center which covers an acre of land inside the building. There were over 3480 bikers at this event. We have outgrown every facility at this point but CMA does not use credit to further the ministry. Donations only support the local Iron Mountain facilities and will be expanded only as God adds to the financial support. The only fundraiser by CMA is the annual Run for the Son project held every May.

It was wonderful to hear once again the testimony of fellow CMAers around the world as they attended the International Rally in conjunction with the Colors Rally. We also enjoyed the sermon my Herb Shreve, CMA founder, who is now 77 years young. He inspires us all as he preaches God's word and encourages us to continue to change the world "one heart at a time." Praise God!

Poker Run for Women's Crisis Center Fundraiser

2010-10-14T03:01:00.000-07:00

Gil and I recently participated in the poker run in Camden to raise funds for the local Women's Crisis Center. The ride started at Sandy Beach on the Ouachita River just on the edge of town. There were 15 other motorcycles riding that day. That morning was a beautiful, cool fall day. We rode out of town through Holly Springs to Smackover and then on to Arkadelphia, then to Gurdon and Prescott and back to Camden through Chidester. We stopped in Chidester long enough to greet friends at the Fall Festival there and partake of home cooking for our lunch. The ride ended at Coleman Stadium about noon. The sun was hot by then and the temperature was about 91 degrees. It was a nice morning for a trike ride and a good afternoon for a nap. Retirement is wonderful!

48th Annual Tate Barn Sale in Camden, AR

2010-09-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

Mama and I had a booth at the barn sale this year. She had over a dozen of her lovely quilts and afghans to sell and we took books as well. The crowd was not as large as usual due to the rain. It rained most of the morning and some in the afternoon. The officials closed the sale about 3:30 because of the mud and the area began to clear out. We did meet some very nice people who came out in spite of the weather. The man in the booth next to us sold quite a bit of honey. His family has been in the honey business for over a hundred years. He said they have about 38 hives near Benton, AR, and he delivers honey to a number of customers in central and south Arkansas.

Trip to Bastrop September 2010

2010-09-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Gil and I camped at Chemin-A-Haut State Park near Bastrop over Labor Day weekend so we could visit mama and Judy. It was a perfect weekend for camping because the temperatures turned off cool at night and were very pleasent during the day. The campground there is very nice with tall shade trees at all camp sites. There is a pool and a huge picnic area for day visitors. We also took our trike behind the motorhome so we had several nice rides into town.

While in Bastrop we also visited Grandma Virginia and Grandpa Billy Kitchens one afternoon. It was nice to see them and catch up on family talk. I took them several pictures of Suzanne and Destiny. We also visited my cousin Sharon and her husband Troy Wayne. They live just off Old Bonita Road which is not very far from the park. We had several meals with mama and Judy and Katherine, then one night they came out to the campground to eat with us in the motorhome. It was a very nice camping trip and family get-together!

CMA Fun Ride Aug 21, 2010

2010-08-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Our Charity Riders CMA chapter from South Arkansas includes El Dorado, Magnolia and Camden. We had a fun ride to Lake Claiborne in north Louisiana near Homer. It was about a 2 hr ride there and was rather hot on Sat. afteroon, temperature hitting 102 degrees. The restaurant was right on the lake and had excellent catfish dinners. There were about 20 bikers, several on trikes and a couple in a truck. We had a cooler ride home and a lot of fun.

Sunday we had a Biker's Sunday at Temple Baptist in Camden. More CMA chapters showed up for the service....from Fordyce, Arkadelphia, Crossett, and Hope as well as our Charity Riders chapter. It was a wonderful service of singing, testimony and preaching with a potluck dinner for all. These are special services where CMA enjoys sharing with local churches the work that we do around the world in USA and 27 other countries.

Trip to Iowa in July 2010

2010-08-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

Gil and I did not plan a trip to Iowa this summer, but when we got word that his son Dan had been in a motorcycle wreck and had broken his neck and back, we headed out to Davenport to be near him. He was with a group of other bikers, it seems, and came around a curve to find some of the other bikers in the road so he and the 3 bikers with him had to hit the ditch. Dan was hospitalized but could move his arms and legs when we got there. We stayed about a week then after we left he had back surgery and is now in physical therapy. He does not have movement in his legs at this time, but we pray he will soon. We took pictures of the grandkids while we spent time with them in our motel. We played dominoes and took them swimming in the pool. Katelynn is 15, and Jacob is 8. Their cousin, Jordan, who is 11 was with us.

Then after we got home, I spent the first week of August with my mama in Louisiana. We had two book events that week, one in Monroe and one in Mangham. We had a good visit and a lot of fun meeting new friends at the book events.

June 2010 Vacation

2010-07-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Gil and I went to the National Rally for CMA on Iron Mountain near Hatfield, AR, and had such a good time meeting with dear friends there. The preaching services each morning and evening were so inspirational that we did indeed come away from the mountain top refreshed in body, mind and spirit. CMA's Got Talent show one night was a lot of fun. Gil sang "Long Black Train" and the judges said he reminded them of Johnny Cash because of his deep bass voice. Everyone enjoyed the show!

We also took the opportunity before the rally began to once again look for a house to suit our needs if we get to move there. After touring dozens of houses with a local realtor, we decided that one we had seen in April was still the best one for us. It has a large garage/shop in the back yard that is big enough for our motorhome, both motorcycles and one car. The home itself is large and located on the main highway that goes through Mena so we would be near the hospital if needed, and best of all IT HAS A MOUNTAIN VIEW. Now we pray God will bring to us the perfect family to purchase our home in Camden.

When the rally ended, we headed for Kansas to visit Gil's family in Ft. Scott and attend his 45th high school reunion. What fun Gil had seeing his classmates, some of whom he had not seen in many years; some of whom he had not seen since grammar school at Hammond Elementary School. Our daughter Pat drove down from Wichita and was able to stay several days for a visit.

Book authors interviews

2010-05-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have recently connected with another Tate author, Elaine Littau, who has a blog and website where she features interviews of other Tate authors. This website highlights those authors and connects them with each other and information about our books. My interview (via email) with her will be highlighted there this summer.

Just today I also connected with Mike Huckabee's blog on line where a link to the blog to yours truly may be posted as well. I am trying to connect with as many possible resources as I can to promote the book Mama and I wrote several years ago. Unfortunately we have not had but one book event in the past 12 months. We found out by trial and error that the book does not sell well unless we have book events and meet people and talk about the book. Tate Publishing and Enterprises has done its job of getting the book on many websites such as Borders, Books A Million and Amazon.com but that alone does not sell books.

Sharecropping in North Louisiana is so interesting because it not only gives history from a real family's perspective, but because it tells the true story of a family's struggle through the Great Depression and World War II. So many people have told us how exciting it was to read about those hard times during the 20s, 30s and 40s and that they too lived through that era of history. They all stated how important it is that we keep history alive in the minds and hearts of Americans so those lessons taught by the people who lived during the era are not lost. If you are interested in learning more about the book, go to my website at www.niemeir-duff.com or to the website of Tate Publishing and Enterprises (just google the name). Good reading until next time.

Spring Vacation to Texas

2010-04-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Gil and I love vacations in April because the weather is so nice - not too cool and not too hot! We reently went to Mena, AR, in our motorhome to look at houses there in anticipation of moving there if/when our house sells in Camden. After spending two nights at Iron Mountain, just south of Mena, at the CMA campgroud and looking at about a dozen houses, we headed south to Texarkana, then west to my Aunt Margie's for a visit. We also visited Jeff and Patty Fletcher, my cousin, and their daughter and grandson.

We camped in Canton for three nights, then headed to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to see dear friends, Sylvia and Lucio Bustamante, whom I have known since 1968 when they and I lived in Germany. It was a wonderful visit with them and we tried to catch up on news of children and grandchildren and the past 40 years of not seeing each other.

After a wonderful time with the Bustamantes, we headed to McKinney, TX, just north of Dallas to visit my cousin, Charlie Haddox, his wife Judy and their 16-year-old daughter Sarah. Charlie and Judy showed us around the area of lovely homes, downtown McKinney, and their beautiful church, First Bapitst of McKinney. We dined out a couple of times and then Judy fixed a lovely evening meal for us our last night with them. Charlie and Sarah also entertained us with songs - some of Charlie's many ballads, and a couple of Sarah's lovely songs she has sung for school or choir groups. It really was nice to visit them and catch up on their lives, and catch them up on ours.

Garvan Gardens in April

2010-04-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Gil and I took a field trip today to Hot Springs to see the lovely gardens there. It is past "peek tulip time" but we were able to see some lovely flowers in the garden, and a few tulips. It was an absoutley lovely day, perfect temperature and the picnic lunch was so good on the deck under the shade trees just inside the gardens. We knew there would be a lot of walking in order to see the entire garden, so we took advantage of the carts and a driver. One other couple rode with us through the trail of flowers, ponds and waterfalls. The Gardens are near Lake Hamilton on the outskirts of the city and only a 2 1/2 hr. dirve from our home.

The tulips will be dug up in May, bagged up and sold to individuals at a very cheap price. Then in the fall, another 130,000 bulbs will be planted for the new crop in the following spring. Enjoy the pictures and plan your own field trip to see Garvan Gardens. They are also open during the winter with millions of Christmas lights.

Smilebox Memories

2010-04-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

Personalize a scrapbook design

March trip to Little Rock

2010-03-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

Gil and I had a lovely camp trip to Little Rock this spring, staying 3 nights at the Maumelle RV Campground on the Arkansas River. We had some business to attend to and also spent some time with friends while there. Carl and Darlene Kitchens took us to lunch one day at the Olive Garden and we had a nice visit with them there. One day the RV was in the shop to have some routine maintenance and then on Friday Gil had his checkup with his heart doctor for his annual stress test. He passed again this year.

To the right are a few pictures we took at the campground.

Mid March 2010

2010-03-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung in Camden and the 17th Annual Daffodil Festival was a huge success and attendance was largest in history. Many of the daffodils in my yard and the little field on the other side of the house where mama used to live were picked and used in the local businesses during the festival.

The kids are settled in China and Ed has started his 3rd week on the job of teaching English to the Chinese students both in Ivy English (private) School and several public schools. It is still cold and snowy there. DJ is growing with leaps and bounds and talks "baby jabber" to us on the skype webcam calls.

Gil and I have almost completed painting the 3 bedrooms and 3 baths in our home and it will be ready to put on the market first week of April. We have a business trip to Little Rock next week and we have company coming for the weekend we get back. Then I plan to visit my sister and mama in Louisiana before Easter.

Kitchens Family in China

2010-03-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

I have not been posting anything lately because we have been so busy at my house painting the bedrooms and bathrooms getting ready to put our house on the market in April. We hope to move to Mena, AR, so Gil will be closer to the Christian Motorcycle Association Headquarters at Hatfield so he can do volunteer work there.

To update anyone interested, my son and his family are now settled in an apartment in Jaimasui, China, and he is teaching English at a private school as well as going into public schools there also teaching English. The school provides them with a furnished apartment including a babybed for little Destiny who is now six months old. Suzanne, who is 12 yrs. old, is being home schooled. Right now the weather is rather cold, getting to below zero at night and barely above freezing in the daytime. They have snow on the ground and seems like it will stay for a while. I have included some pictures they sent from their trip.

On their way to new adventure in China

2010-02-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

My son and his family are now at the Houston airport this morning (it is 5 am CDT on Feb. 9) awaiting their flight to Beijing. I spoke to Suzanne a short time ago and she said she was still anxious about her first airplane ride. They were at the airport waiting at the gate to be checked in and I could hear little Destiny in the background talking up a storm and chewing on her fingers. They will leave Houston at 6 am (in about an hour) and have a two hour flight to Newark, NJ, and have about a 2 hr. layover before going on to Beijing. Spot will join them in NJ for the long flight today. This picture was taken just before they left my house in Arkansas.

Grandchildren moving to China Feb. 8th

2010-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

My son and his wife are moving to China to teach English in a school there and the two granddaughters are going with them, along with granddog Spot. It is Friday night Feb. 5th as I write this and they are staying with us over the weekend until they drive to Houston in a rental car and drop Spot at the airport on Feb. 8th. They are supposed to leave the next day on a flight going to Newark, NJ, and then on a non-stop flight from there to Beijing. I pray the big snow storm on the east coast does not delay their flight out. They will be in Beijing a week while Spot is in quarrantine, then take a train or bus to the town north of Beijing where they will live. The school has arranged an apartment for them, furnished even with a baby bed for DJ.

I will keep posting updates on their trip as I receive email or phone calls on skype from them.

No travels in January 2010

2010-01-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that we are more than half way into January of the new year...and ten years now into the 21st Century. It has been cold in Arkansas this January and we are looking forward to spring this year. Gil was able to take a motorcycle ride this afternoon on his bike because the temperature was up to over 60 degrees. He said it was a nice rice. I will be glad when it is warm enough for us to take the trike out for a ride, but that may be a while.

In the meantime we mostly stay indoors and go out only when we need to for groceries and to church. I have new pictures of little DJ who is now almost 15 lbs. and growing like weeds in my yard! She is a sweet baby and enjoys sitting and watching TV with her sister or listening to country music.

Sad new year beginning

2010-01-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

Gil's Dad passed away Jan 2nd and we drove to Kansas for his funeral. Even though Dad had been ill for a long time, it is still a shock to lose a loved one. Gil's stepmother Helen was surrounded by family and friends during the visitation time and the funeral service but undoubtedly the loss will be felt by her and the family for a long time. Mr. Niemeir had many friends and relatives whose life had been touched by his kindness, his wisdom and his loving generosity. He left behind not only a dear sweet wife but also four sisters, four children, ten grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. His suffering and pain from the illness he fought for the past many years is over and he is now with our Lord and Saviour. The angels in heaven rejoice at his homecoming as does Gil's mother, Dad's parents, his five siblings and many dear friends who went before him. We shall see him again some day!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

We have had a blessed Christmas day with Ed, Deb, and the girls. Gil called his Dad and Helen to check on them. He also talked with both his sisters in Ft. Scott. They had snow there. When he talked to his son Dan in Iowa he found out they had snow as well. Gil's daughter Pat called from Kansas and they were having a nice Christmas at her mom's house with snow as well. Emma, Gil's 5 year old great grand daughter got new boots for Christmas and was begging to go out and play in the snow.....but it was very cold there and grandma would not let her go out.

News from Tate publishing this week let us in on a new advertising on TV. Our book will have a trailer made and the 30-second ad will air on four major newtworks which will give us some good publicity all over the nation. It will air on Fox News, Lifetime, History Channel and American Movie Classics. I should see some activity on the website soon afterwards.

I am publishing a new picture of DJ, our 4 mo. old granddaughter. She sure is filling out and growing! I am eager to hear how much she weighs at her check up next week.

December 2009

2009-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my blog followers! Gil and I are taking Ed, Deb and the girls to Hot Springs tonight to the Garven Gardens to see the millions of Christmas lights. We will have a nice dinner in Hot Springs beforehand and return after the sightseeing tour of the lights. I will get some pictures to post here.

Visiting in Kansas with Niemeirs

2009-12-06T14:40:00.001-08:00

Gil and I traveled to Ft. Scott, Kansas, last week to see his Dad and step-mother, Glen and Helen. We stayed with Gil's sister, Carol and her husband, Dan. Carol had a brand new grandson, Noah, born Nov. 30th. We spent time each day with Dad and Helen, then visited Gil's sisters and brother in the evenings after work. We had only 2 days to stay, but had a very good visit. We wanted to visit early in the month because sometimes if we wait until Christmas, the weather is very cold and sometimes icy. We had lovely weather for traveling there and home. Suzanne went with us as she always enjoys visiting the Niemeirs in Kansas. I am attaching a couple of pictures taken there.

Celebration in Shreveport, Louisiana

2009-11-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

The Louisiana Arts Council for several Louisiana districts held a Celebration of the 80th Anniversay of the Great Depression at the Artspace Center, Shreveport, Louisiana. Mother and I were honored to be invited to be speakers at this celebration on Nov. 14th. Mama was unable to attend, but Aunt Sue and Suzanne went with me to Shreveport that beautiful sunny Saturday. We did some shopping on the way and got into Shreveport about 1:00 but had a little trouble finding the Artspace Center. As it turned out we had been passing it by on Texas Street several times in our search but the building was not marked well enough to see the name on the front of the building.

When we got our table set up with books ready to sell, we joined the group of authors and speakers there for the program. It was very interesting to hear about other people's books and their lives or the subjects about which they wrote, many including people or times during the Great Depression. After I gave a review of our book "Sharecropping in North Louisiana: A Family's Struggle Through the Great Depression," Aunt Sue read the chapter about the Flood of 1927 and shared with the group mama's oil painting of the syrup mill. A fun time was had by all.

November book events attended

2009-11-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

This week has been a busy one for me and Mama as we traveled to book events in Louisiana and Arkansas. Wednesday morning we drove to Minden, LA, and met with the library staff there and talked about our book and signed them afterwards.

That afternoon we drove to Jonesboro, LA, where we had a room full of ladies who listened to us read from the book and then asked questions of us about mama's growing-up years. It was a wonderful time had by all...refreshments included. Thank you to the ladies at both libraries who hosted those events.

Friday, Nov. 6th, we drove to Magnolia, AR, to the Columbia County Library and spoke to a room full of students from the area schools. There were 4th graders, 5th graders and 6th graders in attendance as well as a number of adults. The room was full and the questions were wonderful. The students listened to us read from the book, then questioned us about the way mama and her family lived during the 20s, 30s and 40s. We sure had a nice time there. Thank you Laura, Dana and Dennis. You were perfect host and hostesses.

CMA Colors Rally in Hatfield, AR

2009-10-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Changing of Colors Rally with the Christian Motorcyclists Association was wonderful this year in spite of rain several days. The 3,000 plus bikers enjoyed the church services morning and evening along with seminars each day. We had a special treat this year with Herb Shreve preaching on Saturday night. Herb is the founder of CMA which was started in 1975. He had a truly inspiring message for us all. All the preaching was great and Miss Becky Ogden sang a wonderful song this year. Go Becky! Stand up for Jesus!

When we left the rally on Sunday we took our RV and trike to Eureka Springs and stayed two nights at Beaver Lake. The fall color was spectacular until the rains came again. Still, we are glad we went. We spent our last night on the road in Toad Suck RV park near Conway on the Arkansas River. That is a beautiful park.

November book events scheduled

2009-10-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Nov. 4th will find us at the Webster Parish Library in Minden, La. from 10:30 - noon. Then we will be at the Jackson Parish Library in Jonesboro, La. that afternoon from 2-3 pm. We are excited about these two events and hope that some of the area people will come see us.

Then on Friday, Nov. 6th we will go to the Columbia County Library in Magnolia, AR from 9:00 - 11:30. Area schools will bus in about sixty 5th graders for our book review that morning. That will be a fun time reading some of the book to those students and hopefully some adults in the area will come to meet us and buy books.

Meeting old friends at book events in October

2009-10-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Bastrop book events were wonderful. The Snyder Museum was the perfect backdrop for us. A number of people came to see us and buy books. It was a surprise for me to see three of my classmates that day. Thanks Sandra, Dianne and Cherie for dropping by that day. I hope you enjoy reading the book. The Morehouse Parish Library was our afternoon event. Not a lot of people came to see us, but thanks to those who did. Ellen, thank you for inviting us.

We had a fun time at the Lake Providence book events. The Louisiana Cotton Museum is very interesting. We did not sell many books that morning but it was a beautiful sunny and cool fall day. I guess most people were out on the lake or enjoying the sunny day. The rain had really fallen in that part of the state and some of the cotton was still in the fields. Harriet Bridges was a wonderful hostess for us.

That afternoon we did meet some ladies at the library who bought books. The librarian there turned out to be a niece of Lillian's sixth grade techer. What a small world it is. Thanks Renee for your hospitality.

Our last October book event was at the Schepis Museum in Columbia. We stopped by The Martin Home Place that morning on our way to the Schepis. The hostess there was so glad to meet us. She was new in the gift shop and said five of our books had sold and she was glad to have more there to sell. What a unique old home place there in Columbia that has been preserved. We had many visitors at the Schepis, one of whom is a granddaughter to one of my grandparents' friends down on Beouff River named in the book. Mama and I enjoyed meeting her and talking about her family who knew our family many years ago. She is from Rayville and did not know we would be at the Schepis that day so it was a great surprise for us all. She had read and enjoyed the book. Another visitor that day was Mr. Buster Shipp who remembered mama when they were children. Buster knew and remembered mama's grandfather Judy who lived on Buster's fathers land at one time as described in our book. He had read the book which had been checked out of the Columbia library. He wanted his own signed copy. We are so glad those folks came by to see us.

Now it is time for the November book events.

October Book Events Scheduled

2009-09-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

Our first of three book events in October will be held in Lake Providence, La, at the Louisiana State Cotton Museum on Friday, Oct. 2nd from 10:00 until Noon. Mama and I will be interviewed live on KWCL Radio out of Oak Grove, La, that morning at 8:05.

That same day we will have another book review/signing at the East Carroll Parish Public Library in Lake Providence from 2:00-3:30 pm. We hope to have some local school children attend one or both of these events in Lake Providence.

Then on Saturday, Oct. 10, we will again be at the Schepis Museum, Columbia, La., from 10:00 - 3 pm during the local Arts Festival. We had a lovely time last year at this event on Main St. there in Columbia where we met some old friends and made some new friends.

DJ is now 2 weeks old

2009-09-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Our little DJ is now two weeks old and doing fine. She is not sleeping all night yet, but is sleeping longer periods of time between feedings. Daddy is still home on family leave, but will be going back to work in 10 days. Mama is feeling fine and has recovered from surgery very well. Sister Suzanne is being home-schooled by Daddy at this point and helps some with the baby and home chores. DJ is a little wiggle worm when I hold her and she grunts sometimes in her sleep. She is a real cutie and we all adore her. See picture to the right of Grandma and Grandpa with our newest granddaughter.

New granddaughter born Aug. 28, 2009

2009-09-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

We have welcomed a new beautiful baby to the family, Destiny Jubilee Kitchens, who was born to Carl and Debora on Friday, Aug. 28th. Destiny will be called DJ by the family, and even though she is still in hospital at this writing, we hope to have her home soon. She was born by C-secion and had pneumonia at birth. The El Dorado Hospital is taking good care of her at this time. I am posting several pictures of her and her sister, Suzanne.

We pray blessings for them as a family and look forward to getting to hold DJ and spending lots of time with her as soon as possible. DJ is so beautiful and her grandfather and I wish nothing but the best for her future. See you home soon DJ.

Book Events for September

2009-08-18T09:02:00.001-07:00

Our first book events for the fall are now scheduled in Bastrop for Sept. 24th at the Snyder Museum from 1-3 pm and at the Morehouse Parish Library on Sat. the 26th from 10:00 until noon. Thank you Ellen for inviting us to the library. It was great fun seeing and talking to you the day I visited. We have so many good memories from our high school days. I can't believe it has been so long since we graduated from BHS! I am looking forward to our book events there in Bastrop.

The Snyder Museum is going to be a wonderful place for another book event, and I have personally invited the Family History Club of Bastrop to come to one of our events that weekend. Thank you also to the ladies at the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Center in Bastrop for displaying our book at their businesses so people will know about this book written by a local author. Mama is so happy to be back in Bastrop after living in Arkansas many years. I enjoy going back there to visit her and my sister and seeing school friends.

I am now working on October book events and will post them as dates are confirmed.

Going to Bastrop for a few days to see Mama

2009-08-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

Now that we have been home for a while, it is time for me to go to Bastrop to see mama and my sister Judy. I know Judy will be going back to work soon, driving a schoolbus. This is the best time to visit them because Gil will be leaving on Friday morning for one of his prison ministries here in Arkansas. He got the trike out of the shop so he has wheels for his trip. One of us needs to be home with Sylvia because she has epilepsy and needs meds morning and night to prevent seizures. I will be back Thursday. It is also time to order more books and get back into scheduling some book events. I know Columbia wants us to come back in October, so I need to call the school there and see when we can set up that book event for the school kids.

It is good to be home.

2009-08-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

We have been home almost a week now. It took several days to unload the RV, wash the clothes and get settled in. Gil has cleaned the inside and outside of the motorhome along with the outside compartments that had dust and dirt from a few gravel roads on the trip. He has turned his attention now to getting his trike fixed (which happened today) and the bike is also being worked on. Now at least he has one set of wheels for the prison ministry next week.

I will be going to Bastrop soon to visit mama and my sister. It has been hot here this week, in the 90s all week, some days in the high 90s. The humidity has been very high so that makes the heat index higher. We have a new date for our granddaughter's entrance into this world - Sept. 2nd so that is not very far away. Deb and Ed have everything they need at this time, but we do need to find a babybed for her once she outgrows the bassinet. They have decided to home-school Suzanne this year so there will be lots of changes at their house.

July 31; Friday, Last Night on the Road

2009-07-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-23T15:22:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-10T14:39:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

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.

Day trip south to town of Seward on the coast

2009-06-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely day for a drive and a picnic. We chose to drive south from Anchorage down the Seward Highway to the coastal town of Seward. We took the car, leaving the RV at camp. This saved on gas. It was about a three-hour drive but was worth the effort and time. The breathtaking views around each curve kept us intrigued! We saw seven glaciers at one point, but it seemed they were everywhere. The town of Seward was covered up with tourists, most of whom seemed to be in RVs. There were dozens of RV parks on every street and especially on the coastal road. There were places to buy tickets for boat and plane tours, and shops of every kind in which to spend money.

We chose to have our picnic lunch at a spot on the seacoast where we could see boats go by. The temperature was very cool, possibly high 50s at noon, warming up to low 60s in the afternoon. The tourists from ships and from RVs and even locals were out walking, jogging or taking a stroll along the seacoast. We saw many bicycles, and even one man peddling a buggy type taxi with a couple in the buggy seat. Gil said he saw these in Thailand.

After lunch we drove around just a bit more in the town, then headed back north to Anchorage. The views were somewhat different from this angle, but just as breath-taking, if not more so. We got back to base about 4 pm and Gil and the kids took the car for a wash. Now it is time for me to start supper. Tomorrow we head out toward Valdez. I will have more pictures then.

Monday on Elmendorf Base

2009-06-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

There is nothing exciting to report today from Alaska, except a beautiful sunny day with temps in the mid-high 60s. Shorlty after 8 am this morning Gil took Suzanne and the RV into Anchorage to have the oil changed. This chore ended up taking the entire morning because he did not have an appoitment, but had to be worked into their schedule. At the same time, Mitchel and I took the laundry down to one of the camp laundromats and it took us 3 hrs. to get that chore done. Then the rest of the morning for us was spent at the commissary picking up some groceries.

Luckily our FamCamp here is just inside the gate of the base, so the place where Gil took the RV was very close outside the base gate and the commissary was just a few blocks away for us to shop. After lunch Gil and I got in a nap (we seldom get this luxury anymore) while the kids watched a DVD on the computer. Gil and I then went to the base hospital (which again is very close to the FamCamp, right across the road) and attempted to get our prescriptions filled. It took several hours waiting on them and then we found out they could not fill two of them for us. One can be filled off base at a pharmacy and the other will possibly be in stock in a few days.

We once again returned to camp, fixed the kids some hotdogs then went to the NCO club for a meal (late birthday for me). Turns out that bases have changed a lot since we retired from USAF, so the NCO club was not operating their dining rooms but had a snack bar only during the week. We ended up with a fish plate (catfish for Gil and Alaskan snapper for me). It was still early so we ended up just off base at Lowe's for a part Gil needed for the RV. So, now it is 7:15 and our day is winding down. Suzanne is so tired she has gone to bed. The sun is still high in the sky, so Mitch went out for a walk. I have only 3 pictures from today; one taken inside the hospital which is a huge complex and very modern. They are adding to it and it will soon be a joint hospital for VA, AFB and Army personnel in the area. The other two pictures were taken on base as we drove back from the NCO club. We are told none of the clubs (NCO, or Officer) open on weeknights, but only on weekends. I guess with other places on base to eat like Burger King and food courts at the BX and Commissary Base Maul along with those fast food places off base, the base does not see the need for the clubs to be open all week. Naturally there are still the dining facilities for the base personel (what we used to call chow halls).

So, there you are....a boring day with the Niemeir-Express. We intend to go into Anchorage tomorrow with the car to stop at the Welcome Center to find out what we might do in this area. We have plans to go to Seward for a couple of nights, and also to Valdez before we leave Alaska. Stay tuned for more details, and hopefully a more interesting day.

Saturday night near Denali Park; Sunday in Anchorage

2009-06-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Gil took a picture outside the camper at 10:30 at night to show how dark it is NOT...then again at 1 am on Sunday morning to show the twilight hour. We left our campsite Sunday morning a little late because we knew we didn't have far to drive today to get to Elmendorf AFB near Anchorage. It was nice to sleep late - about 7:00. When we finally got on the road we really enjoyed the drive. We could see mountains on both sides of the highway and at one point we realized we could see Mt. McKinley in the distance and it was so tall and majestic it took our breath away. What a wonderful birthday present I had! It was shortly after that, Aunt Margie, that I lost signal on my phone. Sorry. I will call again soon.

We continued down the highway toward Anchorage and just enjoyed the beauty of God's handmaking. About 135 miles out of Anchorage we came upon a rest area and a wonderful view of the Denali Park from the south. We enjoyed this rest stop for our lunch break then continued on to Wasilla where we got a little sprinkling of rain. We got gas there ($2.93) and got back on the road. We got to the AFB just on the outskirts of Anchorage about 4 pm. It really is nice. Each campsite has shade because the camp is in a wooded area. It was in the low 60s by that time so setting up camp was so pleasant. I intended to do a big wash, but the laundry was very busy so I decided to put that off until in the morning while Gil takes the RV into town for its oil change (2nd one on the trip). We will plan some fun activity then for the afternoon. The host here at the camp lives here all summer, then flies back to Arkansas for the winter months. He owns property in Bismarck near DeGray Lake. We meet nice people everywhere we go.

I fixed supper for the passengers of the Niemeir-Express so they cleaned up the kitchen for me so I could check email. They did a great job. Gil and Suzanne have gone for a walk around the camp. We warned the kids they can't go off the road or ramble in the woods because the signs posted say there are bears in this area. I would love to see one from a distance again (saw two in Canada) but not up close and personal!

Will close for now and catch you up another night. God Bless you all.

Our afternoon tour in Denali National Park, Alaska

2009-06-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

We left our camp at Eielson AFB early so we could drive to Denali National Park in time to take the six-hour tour into the wilderness of Denali. We had high hopes to see Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America at 30,320 feet high. The park covers 6 million acres and was first established in 1917 with only 2 million acres, but President Carter signed legislation to add the other 4 million acres. We also wanted to see wildlife that the brochures mentioned - caribou, grizzly bears, moose, and smaller wildlife like foxes, and wolves.

The tour bus we were on was driven by a very nice lady who originally came from Delaware. She moved to Alaksa about 18 months ago after driving a tour bus here for two summers. She said she knew right away she wanted to live here. She now lives in Anchorage during the winter, driving a school bus there, then coming to Denali for the summer months to drive a tour bus. She gave us lots of information about the park which most tour bus drivers do not give. We saw several herds of caribou which she says stay close to the snow because the flies that like to live on the caribou will not bother them as much near the snow. We also saw a fox who insisted crossing the road in front of our bus, then ran down the road in front of us before he finally disappered into the brush. The bears were not out where we could see them today, nor were the moose. We did see several artic ground squirrels which were so cute and they like posing for our cameras! One was sitting on a rock and staring right at all of the passengers on the bus, but we were not able to get a photo of him. Another one was standing on his hind legs and putting on quite a show; but again, we were unable to get a picture because the bus was moving too fast. A little pica (small gerbel-like animal) was so cute as he ran along the rocks, in and out, trying to get to the top of the hill. We tried to get a picture, but he was too fast for us.

Beth stopped for us to take photos when she could, but she was unable to stop in some spots of the road. The road was narrow, just wide enough in most cases for two buses to pass; and it was very curvy most of the 58 miles we drove into the park. Private cars can go only 13 miles into the park, so we had a more extensive look at the park on the bus. There were 37 passengers, most Americans. The young couple in the seats in front of me and Suzanne was from Switzerland. The young couple in the seats across the isle were from The Netherlands. Both ladies spoke English, one more easily than the other; but the men did not speak much English. Again, I used a little German speaking to the couple from Switzerland and that pleased them.

Most of the pictures here to the right were taken from the bus, but a couple were taken at rest stops. We had a stop at a restroom area about every 1 1/2 hours. The weather was cool when we left the wilderness access center, but as we drove farther into the park, and higher in altitude, the temperatures were cooler and cooler. The clouds prevented us from seeing Mt. McKinley today. Everyone was disappointed. We all had on winter coats and were glad when we left the bus for the rest areas. Beth, our driver, said it was a very slow day for wildlife because usually the passengers see more. She loves spotting the wildlife herself and seems to really enjoy her summer job. We spotted several flocks of dall sheep very high upon the side of the mountains, but not close enough to get a picture.

We made it back to our car at the carpark by 6:30 and were just 10 minutes from our RV park for the night. I fixed supper, and Gil cleaned up the dishes. Mitch took out the trash, and took a walk. Suzanne set up the computer, checked her face book then let me load the pictures of the day and update the blog. They are watching TV now. I am almost ready for bed. We will sleep later than usual in the morning because we have only 5 hours to Anchorge. We hope to find a camp spot on the base there. We really need to do laundry tomorrow night-- not what I envisioned for my birthday, but then the other days of the week make up for that.

Friday, A slow day in Alaska

2009-06-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a lazy day for us. We slept late, had breakfast then went to the base clinic to get some prescriptions. They do not have everything we need, so they suggested we wait and get them at the base near Anchorage next week. We did a little shopping at the BX, ate lunch then Gil took the kids bowling. I did some emailing, then took a nap. We will leave early in the morning for Denali National Park to take a tour that we have set up. It begins at noon and will be six hours. We have reservations at a campground near there, so we will stay one night then head into Anchorage Sunday morning. Gil is taking his shower now, and as soon as I get mine we will get to bed early. Watch here Saturday night for pics of Mt. McKinley and the Denali Park. We did not take any pics today.

Another trip into Fairbanks, June 25th

2009-06-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

We went back into Fairbanks again today, Thursday, and had an early morning walk through the Georgeson Bontanical Gardens near the University of Alaska. The gardens were beautiful with flowers and trees as well as many vegetables that are grown for experimental purposes. There were places to sit and enjoy the surroundings and a serene waterfall in one corner.

Later we went back to the theater which has a free movie each morning at 10:00 for the kids who are just recently out of school. This theater has 16 screens with very comfortable chairs. We ate lunch at Taco Bell (our first meal out in a long time!) and then walked through Pioneer Park which is a theme park showing what Fairbanks must have looked like during the gold rush years. Many of the log shops and homes there were moved into the park from surrounding areas and are very old. We enjoyed the museum in the paddle boat on the grounds, and Suzanne and I took a train ride around the park. Gil and Mitch toured a car/plane museum which had many old antique cars and planes.

It was a lovely sunny day here with temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s. We returned to the campsite in time to rest a bit and fix supper. Suzanne and Mitch spent some time near the lake and around the camp. Mitch met a young man fishing so they made friends right away. Tomorrow we have some errands on the base to run but plan some fun things as well, then leave Sat. morning for Denali National Park to see the wildlife and Mt. McKinley (if the clear weather holds). The park is on the way to Anchorage so we will spend one night near the park, then drive into Anchorage on Sunday.

Wednesday night back at camp

2009-06-24T22:29:00.001-07:00

We stopped at the North Pole (small town between Fairbanks and the airbase) to visit Santa. The Santa Claus House caters to tourists and locals alike and many people drop lots of money there. The decorated trees were lovely and the gifts are endless. Post cards can be mailed there and postmarked "North Pole" so that is a fun thing to do. We sent several and bought very small souveniers. Once we got back to camp, we ate supper and then played dominoes until after 8 pm. I have been unable to attach pics to email or the blog tonight...not sure why. The internet is very slow here tonight. We are very glad to see that the sun has come out and the rain has stopped. We hope to see Mt. McKinley before the week is out, and tour Danali Park. The glass in our window will keep out the cold, or rain so we are happy it was fixed today. Catch you again soon when I can.

June 24th in Alaska

2009-06-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

We are in Fairbanks today, waiting for RV window to be repaired. It is rainy and 38 degrees today, but does not feel very cold to us. We needed to find ways to entertain ourselves while we wait for the RV, so we went to a movie theater for the matinee shows. As it turned out, it was free this morning and we all watched Everyone's Hero which is a very good movie! We asked what the price would have been had it not been free. It is $7.50 per person for matinee; then $10 per person at night! Wow, what a blessing we received. Then we went to the PO to get our mail Ed sent for our vehicle tags which expire next week...another blessing. Thanks Ed! We found the public library so the kids could go on internet or read to entertain themselves. I had my laptop with me so it was nice to have free fast internet to update my blog and check email. We sometimes don't get it at the campsites, even with my ATT card. Well, I will close now and get you more updates when I can. Hope the pictures are not boring you.

Yes, we are in Alaska!

2009-06-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we left the campground a little late because Gil's phone (which he used to check the time before we went to bed, and set the alarm) was on Alaska time because we had visited Skagway and the phone automatically set to Alaska time and did not change back when we came back into Canada. So it was 9:00 when we left, but we thought it was 8:00 am. We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area, then drove all afternoon through some strange countryside. We went around Kluane Lake which had dust storms all around it and the mountainsides were very bare looking. Many areas of the road were gravel and we averaged about 35 mph much of the day. When Gil got tired we had planned to stop at a particular RV park we saw in the book we were given when we entered the Yukon, but it was closed and so was the next one listed in the book. We ended up staying in a rest area with 4 other RVs and the views were spectacular! We had a good night's sleep and got on the road early this morning (Monday). After about an hour and five minutes on the road, we crossed the border into Alaska and the tme changed again. We got into Alaska only five minutes after we left camp....LOL. Today we had some rough road with loose gravel for part of the way but as we got to the Richardson Hwy and turned north toward Fairbanks, the road was great...straight, and level and nice enough Gil could use the cruise control which was helpful on his legs and knees. Just after we got going good, Gil looked down the road and saw a "bicyclist" and said to me he hoped the rider would soon move to the side of the highway. I was taking a picture about that time and looked up and we both realized it was no bicyclist, but a mama moose and her calf. When the mama turned to look at us and saw such a large vehicle headed for her and her calf, they both started running toward the woods. It was a great experience, and I caught it on my camera. Gil said the mama weighed at least 800 lbs and the baby possibly 150 lbs.

We reached the AFB at Eileson about 3:00 and had a short drive to the Fam Camp. We were so happy to find plenty of camping spaces, and ours is near a lovely lake. It is only $18 per night so this saves us money compared to the ones off base. Just in case you wondered, the gas in Canada was almost $4 per gallon (well $1.09 - $1.19 per liter, which exchanges into about $4 per gallon). On base it is $3.05, which is still more than we paid in most places in the States. It took over $1,000 in gas but only about $100 in camping fees to cross Canada to get here. We have driven a total of 5,603 miles from Camden (took the long way via California). Today we did have a little incident on the road when we discovered one of our bedroom windows was broken by a flying rock at some point. Well, since this is the land of the midnight sun, and it never really gets dark on this longest day of the year, I'd better get to bed.

Visiting Skagway, Alaska, on Saturday

2009-06-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today we drove about 100 miles southwest of our campsite to visit Skagway, Alaska. This is the only way to get to that town except by ship from the sea. We had no problem getting through customs once we showed them our passport cards and the paperwork we had from the gr. children's parents to prove we had the kids with their permission. The drive there was lovely and the town is quaint. We drove around a while, then took pictures of the cruise ships at the dock. We also watched a very interesting movie at the Visitor's Center about the gold rush through this area in the late 1800s. Over 30,000 people made it up to the gold fields either through Skagway, a neighboring town which is no longer there, or through the river route up north of here. Many lost their lives and the winters were terrible for them. Some got rich, but most did not. Skagway is very small but has many stores and restaurants in which tourists can spend their money. We did eat lunch at a pizza place and enjoyed it even thought it was "pricy". Then we headed back and took the wrong turn so ended up taking the long, scenic route back to camp. The man at the gas station at Jake's Corner said we "went around the block" as they say here.

When we returned to camp, it was sprinkling and the kids had some supper and headed back outside to find the fox den. They did not get close, but saw the male at a distance and are enjoying exploring the area. Most of our neighbors from last night are gone, and we are getting new ones as I write this as it is after 7 pm now. Gil is taking a nap, as he is exhausted from the drive. I did drive some, but we were both tired because we got up so early. Our little four legged alarm clock (Sylvia, the cat) always wakes us up about 5:45 or 6:00 and demands her breakfast.

Tomorrow will be a long drive but we will not make it to Fairbanks until Monday, I am sure. The roads are curvy, and up and down mountains so some hours we average only 35-40 mph; but the road is much better now that we are on the Alcan Hwy #1. I will check in again on the blog on Monday night. It was great talking to you Mama today from Skagway. Since we were in the US, the phone could be used with no long-distance, only weekend minutes. Nice talking to you too, Deb. Take care.

Camping Friday, June 19th at Johnson's Crossing

2009-06-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

We left Dease River Crossing RV Camp with reluctance this morning because of the scenery from every window of our RV. It did not get dark that we know of.....but we slept very well and headed out for the Yukon about 8:30. We had more gravel road and many pot holes for a short distance. The cold weather makes the roads freeze, then thaws, then freezes again, expanding and contracts, making the pavement buckle. The views of the glassy smoothe lakes, waterfalls and mountains make the journey worth every pothole we hit! Then we entered the Yukon and ate lunch at Junction 37 where the hwy we had been on met the Alcan Hwy which goes to Alaska. This highway proved much better, and Gil was even able to use the cruise control most of the afternoon which made his driving chore less stressful. The antique cars on their way to a rally in Vancouver made the afternoon pass quickly for us. We learned at our campground tonight they had all left Anchorage.

Our campground tonight is lovely, among the trees, but very close with our neighbors...about six feet apart. We did 3 loads of laundry (very expensive, about $10 to wash) and Gil washed the RV, the car and the dolly. We were fortunate to have free wi-fi tonight so I could send email and catch up on the blog. The kids are anxious to get online for a while before bedtime. They were very helpful with the wash. I met a very nice Canadian man in the washroom and we had a nice chat about his travels and ours. The foxes in the nearby woods were so hungry they came up to our camper, within 3-4 feet to eat the bread and catfood we gave them. All in all, it has been another amazing day. In the morning we will drive down to Skagway to sightsee (Alaska) then come back to the camp and head west toward Whitehorse, then on to Fairbanks. Skagway has no road into other towns of Alaska, so we have to backtrack. They say it will be worth the drive.

Many miles from home

2009-06-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

June 18, Day 28 on the road...

As we left our camp in Mesiadin at 7:40 Thursday morning, we saw the mountains come closer and get larger and the snow seemed very close. We saw a moose and her calf in a creek but I was not able to get a picture of them. Some of the road today was gravel and we did have a little bit of rain, only sprinkles. We had many curves and a new vista around each curve. Words can not explain the views, only pictures.

At the end of the day our total mileage from Camden was 4,928 miles (after 4 full weeks on the road).....

Middle British Columbia

2009-06-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

June 17, 2009, Wed. - Gil's birthday

We started out on the road this morning early and drove through more rolling green hills, farms and small towns. There were lots of trees, and lovely purple montains in the distance. We took some pictures at Frazier Lake which was very beautiful, and which was very cool - air conditioned! After a while a very lean, quick, brown fox crossed the road in front of us but I was not quick enough to get the picture of the fox (he was quicker!) We saw several lovely lakes, one of which was over 2756 feet above sea level. When we reached the town of Houston, we began to see snow topped mountains, and then the rain started. It was hard rain only for a short time, but rained sporadically most of the afternoon. We stopped for lunch in Smithers (one of the larger towns) and began to see ski slopes on the mountain sides. There were more cattle ranches, more snow capped mountains and then at New Hazelton we stopped for a while to stretch our legs. At the nearby picnic table we met four tourists from Germany. I was able to speak to them in their native tongue and take a picture before we bid farewell. They were going a different way than us and taking the inner passage to Alaska. We finally found this lovely campground at Lake Meziaden, and were fortunate enough to have wi-fi so I could catch up on the blog and email relatives and friends. We will continue north to the BC border tomorrow and hope to get into the Yukon, possibly in late afternoon.

Headed North through British Columbia

2009-06-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday; June 16, 2009

Before we left our camping spot last night in Kamloops, we bought a map of British Columbia so we could make sure of our route today. We decided to take the western loop of the highways in BC to get to the Yukon and into Alaska. We may take a different route out of Alaska and into Alberta Province and down to Montana but we are not sure at this point. The drive through BC and the Yukon is a very long one and the gas prices are very high compared to US prices right now. We have paid 102.5 and 106.9 for gas and that is Canadian dollars for a liter NOT a gallon. So that means the gas we use in Canada is about $3.80 per gallon or more. (our best in conversion not knowing the bank rates) We have been told the US dollar is $1.05 to the Canadian dollar. When we were in Canada 27 years ago we got a much better rate. I thought it was better than that because I noted not long ago on the internet that my book sells for $26 Canadian, but $13 in the US. Go figure that.

Our drive this morning took us into the high dessert, much like Oregon near Barbara’s house with rounded mountains with very few trees and just scrubby brush most of the time. The trees we did see were dried and many had died. By lunch time near Williams Lake (a large town) we began to see more green, and rolling hills with cattle ranches, log homes and lakes. Then by late afternoon as we began to look for a campsite, we noticed more mountains (some steep grades up and down) and small towns.

We are camped at Brookside RV park north of Prince George (town of our destination for today) which turned out to be not as pretty as the name indicated. The kids have spent some time outside walking around the campground and down near the brook. They report many mosquitoes (spray helped some) and as they come in and out we find mosquitoes in theRV which we intend to kill before bedtime.

We have full hookups tonight which means electricity so we can plug in the computer for me to write my daily blog (just can’t email and get on line to send it or update the blog). Gil has a cd player plugged in so we can listen to music and we plan to listen to some of my audio book tonight. Gil has never heard the book, nor had time to read it. He just retired two weeks before we left for our trip. It is only 6:45 so we have plenty of time to do that, listen to some music and maybe play a game before bedtime. The kids are enjoying Upwords. We can bathe with the water hookup and dump sewer in the morning. We needed that since we dry camped last night in a parking lot. Catch you tomorrow evening.

We finally reached Canada

2009-06-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2009

Monday morning: We filled up the gas tank at the base for $2.82 per gallon, the most expensive gas yet. The drive from McChord AFB to the border was only about 3 ½ hours. The cities of Tacoma and Seattle were very interesting. We drove right through the middle of them on Interstate 5; infact going under some of the buildings in Seattle. The traffic was pretty steady and not so bad except one place. It took us about an hour to get through the two cities going about 60 mph. We chose to cross the border at Lynden, a small border town that would allow us to get into Canada without going into Vancouver, Canada. We figured the traffic there would make a delay crossing, and it was really out of our way by about an hour because the interstate went west into Vancouver, then out east again toward the highway we wanted. After crossing, we noticed a change in scenery right away. The trees were more hardwoods, unlike Washington where almost all the trees were evergreens. We went through only a couple small towns, a couple of larger towns, and then stopped in Kamloops for the night. We found that the gas was definitely higher in Canada when we filled up at days end. Now we bought gas by the liter instead of the gallon and paid $1.04 per liter, which was Canadian dollars (exchange is $1.00 US to $1.05 Canadian). So the fill-up cost $187 Canadian, about $170 US (which we will not know for sure until we get the VISA bill. We chose to camp in the parking lot of the COSTCO grocery store parking lot to save money tonight. We fixed hot dogs for supper and then Suzanne and Gil took a walk down the street to find a map of Western Canada for tomorrow’s trip. There is a slight breeze blowing in the windows which is nice. We did have a little sprinkle of rain just as we got into town, but now the skies are clear. I will sign off for now and write more tomorrow night. I have saved some pictures from today and put them on the computer so I can email them and put them on the blog after we get into Alaska which we think will be Saturday sometime.

Visit with Hudson family in Toledo, Washington

2009-06-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

When we left Oregon on Friday it was only about 2 1/2 hours to get to Toledo, WA where we are now visiting my dear friend Joyce Hudson and her husband Gary. They have a lovely home near the Cowlitz River not far into Washnington and near Mt. St. Helens. They took us up to see the mountain on Saturday but the fog and mist prevented us from seeing the famous mountain that blew it's top in May 1980. We were able to go into the visitor's center and see photos and videos of the volcano's eruption and the damage and devastation it caused. Now the mountain is very green and has recovered from that fateful day.

On Saturday afternoon Joyce's daughter Sheri and four of her children and Greg and his wife and son came over for a cook-out. It was so much fun to see them grown because the last time I saw them when I left Germany Greg was about 3 years old and Sheri was 10 mo. old. Joyce came back to the states the next year and had another son Eric who was unable to come to the cookout. We had a wonderful time talking about those long-ago days and telling stories about our life then and the children when they were small. Ed was only 2 when we came stateside.

Joyce and Gary have been the perfect hostess and host but we must move on today and drive north to the Fam Camp at McCord AFB near Seattle. We will go into Canada tomorrow as soon as possible and will not be able to use our cell phones and ATT internet connection until we get into Alaska. Those calls or internet use would be overseas calls and be very expensive. You will hear from us again once we get to Alaska. So be patinet, and watch for more on this blog as soon as possible.

Toledo, Washington

2009-06-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon it did not take us long to get to our destination in Washington where we are visitng friends, Joyce and Gary Hudson. I knew Joyce in Germany when our children were very small. She lost her husband, Dick, a number of years ago to cancer and she remarried. Gary has built a lovely house on the banks of the Cowlitz River. They will take us to see Mt. St. Helens today which is only a short drive from here. Watch for pictures tomorrow.