New Stuff

For those of you who enjoyed the travel log to Alaska, check out Laura's Thought Santuary, another blog on this site, where I give you my thoughts about a variety of issues and ask for your feedback and opinions as well. There's little I love better in life than a thoughtful discussion - aside from possibly a knock down, drag out fight if you don't see things my way. ;)

http://laurasthoughtsanctuary.blogspot.com

July 22 - HOME!

We made it back home and have planted our feet on our severely overgrown property for the first time in just over six weeks. The guy we contracted with to care for the lawn (John Scott Lawn Care) never showed up. Thanks to our next door neighbor, Rick, for cutting our grass a few times and saving us from condemnation by the city! It may take us a while to machete our way out again, so please be patient with us and we will get in touch with you personally very soon. Also, big thanks to Tony for caring for the house and moving all of our "treasures" off of the basement floor after a particularly hard rain!

We promise not to subject you to the 12 hours that it would take to go through all of the photos in one sitting, but will be burning copies of the best of the 1300+ that we took and would be happy to provide you with a copy.

Thank you - SO MUCH - to all of you who followed along, sent encouragement, and put up with our ramblings over the past 42 days. It was an adventure of a lifetime and we were thrilled to know that so many of you were coming along for the ride!

July 20 - Leaving Thunder Bay to Freelton, ON

Hi there! Remember us? We’ve been out of touch via phone and ‘net since our last post. Hope we didn’t worry you! I will send along the two posts I put together, even though I couldn’t send on time.
The weather here is still gray and crappy. Rain is doing it’s best to dampen our spirits, but we will prevail! Looks like we’ll only have a couple more posts before hitting home ground. Until then, L.

It’s Friday, July 18, and we have just finished our second “wet road day” of this trip. This time, however, the moisture wasn’t caused by rain (although it did sprinkle for a few minutes.) Today was Foggy (did you catch that capital “F”?) Not quite pea soup foggy, but at least onion consommé. We left Thunder Bay in sunshine, but hadn’t traveled an hour before the fog settled in. The windshield stayed translucent all day because of the mist and made driving less than fun.

However, it wasn’t a long day on the road – about 7 ½ hours including a couple of meal stops – and we are all settled in to a little campground in Wawa, Ontario (TELL me that that name doesn’t make you want to whine!) Jack is taking a well-deserved snooze as I write this and, in a while, I’ll wake him up to see if he wants to escort me and the laptop up to the office to try to connect with the ‘net. As usual, it isn’t as easy as just turning on and connecting. Between the fog and the trees and the lack of a “booster”, we don’t have reception on our particular site, so we have to stroll down and hang out in the little room near the pool (which will probably be empty considering the weather.) But, it’s a small sacrifice, all things considered.

Plans so far are to stay in or near Sudbury tomorrow and, if we can get a site, stay in a little place that’s supposed to be very nice outside of Toronto for a few days to decompress before coming home. A great deal depends on the weather forecast. We’ll keep you up to date as we make plans.

Love to all,
L


Continued… July 19 and 20. We are now outside of Toronto and have discovered, as Jack says, that this country should actually be called Cana-DUH. At breakfast this morning (another story all on it’s own…) we asked a middle-aged guy and two teenagers if they knew where there was a wireless Internet connection. They all looked at us rather blankly until the guy actually said, “Oh! That chat room thing, eh?” Seriously. There was a rumor that we might be able to hook up at the local library, but, wait! It’s Sunday. Cana-duh closes on Sunday. So, no luck. I am astonished that things are so incredibly backward just a half hour outside of Toronto!

The “resort” that we’re at borders on comical. The reception and “guest services” area is in one section of the building and the food counter (euphemistically called a restaurant) is located no more than fifty yards from there in another. One has no idea how the other operates. The food counter doesn’t take a credit card and the reception area is the only place to convert credit to cash. They don’t accept travelers’ checks and aren’t sure what the exchange rate is. The person at the desk, although she SEEMS to be speaking English, can’t communicate well enough to explain how to get around the grounds and has no idea where anything outside of the grounds is located. We actually asked her three different times where the bathrooms were located in the campground and never did get a straight answer. I’m tellin’ ya, I expect to run into Rod Serling in one of the hallways here. Biz-ARRE. They are less than welcoming – the first time we’ve experienced this in Canada. Too bad.

The other thing that we noticed as we drove closer and closer to what we recognize as “civilization” is the graffiti! Holy COW! There are few flat, vertical surfaces on any of the beautiful stones along Route 17 that aren’t covered with spray paint. It looks as though Ontario took a shot at covering some of it up with gray paint (on salmon colored stone), but gave up because of the sheer magnitude of the problem. Once we turned off of 17 it got better, but this province really ought to get with the program. The rest of the country seems to recognize the value of natural beauty and does it’s best to eliminate the paint and garbage when it accumulates.

We are not reluctant to be thinking about heading home, but, at the same time. hate to let go of this vacation. We’ll continue to try to think of a way to combine the two.
Love,
L

July 17 - Thunder Bay

As we'd hoped, Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day. Good thing, too, as we've spent the better part of it outside seein' the sights that Thunder Bay, Ontario has to offer.

This morning we set out for the Panorama Amethyst (yes, I had to look up the spelling) Mine and had a lovely couple of hours digging up some real beauties. There was a guide there who gave us WAAAAYYYY too much information about Canadian history when Jack asked him what the heck is pictured on the back of the Canadian $20 bill. (We thought the pic might have been a shot of the "Oh - AY - Oh. OHHHHhh Oh" [you have to sing it... low, high, low, hiiigghhh, low.] witch's guards from The Wizard of Oz. I guess not.)

We were warned that the black flies were pretty thick, so we sprayed ourselves down and headed out with our buckets and picks. My family visited what I believe is the same mine when I was a pre-teen and I remember it as being fun then. (I also remember my brother, then about 7 or 8, walking out of the mine with his pockets full of stones and bypassing the weigh-in! I think the stones were about $1 a pound then; they're $3 now.) It was fun this time, too. Jack found some beautiful stones and was so into his hunt that he roughed up the ends of his fingers pretty good. A little hand cream and they'll be good as new before hitting the road tomorrow, though.

After stones, we explored what little there is to see in downtown Thunder Bay. They have a pretty set of falls there and a section of pretty well-worn houses and small businesses around a shipping port. We then had lunch, found a grocery and a beer store and headed back to camp.

Something worthy of note, I think: When we were pulling out of The Beer Store (no, that capitalization is NOT incorrect) a guy honked at us as we tried to pull into the drive and out onto the street. Nothing that we'd think twice about, right? Jack mumbled something about the intelligence of the guy's posterior and we pulled out and stopped at the next light. A guy who had been behind us in The Beer Store lot, pulled up next to us in an SUV and said, "That wasn't me that honked at you back there. I'm sorry about that. Have a nice visit, eh?" Needless to say, we were pretty impressed. Who do you know that would take the time to apologize to a stranger for someone else's discourtesy? Wherever we've been here in Canada, people have been nothing by friendly and kind - what a nice change...

Tomorrow, we take off again. Although we'd like to end up in Sault Ste. Marie, I think it may be too far (I'm still recovering after the fun house ride we had yesterday.) We'll let you know where we land as soon as we get another hook-up (so to speak.)

Much love. Please write and let us know if you're all ok!

L

July 16 - to Thunder Bay

It had to happen sooner or later. After 39 days on the road, we had our first full day of rain. With very few breaks in the clouds, it rained all day today. From a mist to a downpour, we road all the way from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay in some degree of WET. On the positive side, at least it wasn’t cold; it was cool, and our liners helped a great deal. Another positive was that Jack’s driving, once again, proved to be exceptional. Vision was limited at times and the roads were challenging (although not terrible, as we’ve experienced lately) and he did a great job.

We left Winnipeg rather late – nearly noon – and it had already begun to rain. We made a stop for an early lunch, hoping the storm would push past, but it only delayed things a bit. Around 7:00, we stopped for dinner and discussed the pros and cons of stopping in Ignace for the night, or heading on to Thunder Bay, our anticipated destination for Thursday. Since we had only three hours to go and the rain had decreased somewhat, we opted to soldier on and hoped that any precip would pass over during the night and leave us with a pretty Wednesday in Thunder Bay.

Little did we know at the time that the stretch of road between Ignace and Thunder Bay is infamous for its moose population. We hadn’t been out of Ignace a full hour before we saw a huge, beautiful bull moose with an enormous rack standing at the edge of the road. It’s the first that Jack and I have seen on this trip, despite seeing a dozen or more females in AK and YT. We kept looking, and before our trip to Thunder Bay was through, we’d spotted at least eight large males and two females close enough to the road to worry us that one would step out.

In addition to the rain, the terrible visibility, and the moose, we had night-driving semis and a light fog to deal with. Keeping close behind the trucks in front of us (as blockers against the wildlife) and keeping ahead of the ones behind going 70 around fairly fast corners was a little more stress than I’d like to deal with anytime in the near future, thank you very much. I’m sure my fingers left imprints in the armrests on the bike! I don’t even recall taking a breath for a stretch of about two miles at one point. This is not an evening I’ll soon forget.

Anyway, we’ve once again lived to talk about the experience and have set up camp at a KOA in Thunder Bay. The rain let up long enough for us to set up at midnight in dry conditions and has only now, at 1:30 a.m., started up a bit again. In our little camper it is warm and dry and we are turning in. I will try to post this tomorrow if the Internet is up and running. (It seems that we have another “It works sometimes…” situation.)
Hope all’s well. We love you,
L

July, 15 to Winnipeg, MB

Before we can talk about today's journey to Winnipeg, I have to quickly mention yesterday's change of route back to the US for drugs. Well, actually it was a trip to North Dakota to find a CVS to get a prescription filled (this time for me). I jokingly said that we would get there and it would be closed for remodeling. As it turned out, the one we found was under construction but there was another one at a mall that we did go to. Getting to Minot, ND, late, proved to make finding a campground nearly impossible. The KOA we were heading for seemed not to exist (the GPS couldn't find it either). We ended up in a, seemingly, closed little scrap of a campground behind a convenience store that was also centrally located between an airport, railroad tracks, and a truck route. We did tap into their electricity for the electric blanket but had no other "facilities" open to us. On top of that, we got the first rain while in the camper just before we got up but it stopped and the pack-up was dry.

After the morning trip to CVS, we had breakfast at a most unique little period diner with framed pictures and magazine covers from about the times we were born and into some of our earliest memories. In fact, the jukebox that was silent for the first 20 minutes we were there suddenly began playing, "I Want To Hold Your Hand", from a Beatles 45. The picture, above somewhat captures my glee at this magical happening. Of all songs, that was the first big one for me back in the 6th grade. There were other touches that made this place such a ND gem, like the 6 retirees chatting away in the next booth with their "Fargo-esque" accents. They were classic.

Upon leaving, the sky started to look threatening again but not in the direction we were headed - back to Canada (this time to Manitoba), so we outran the storm and found sunshine and heat across the border. By the way, if you ever want to smuggle anything across the border, go on a motorcycle with a trailer (which of course would increase your payload) as the border people are so interested in the rig and our travels that they never seem interested in taking any time checking anything. Once in Manitoba, the scenery got greener for a while but the theme of the day became the sighting of weird things like Tommy the (giant) Turtle, another large turtle made entirely of auto wheels, a huge camel - yes CAMEL, and we stumbled upon the geographical center of North America (really!). (The past couple of days have provided looks at the world's largest tee-pee in Medicine Hat, SK and a huge, fake moose) From there, getting to Winnipeg was mostly boring except for the beauty and contrast of the bright yellow canola and liquid blue flax fields. Of course the pictures will not do them justice. You have to see them ,and the huge expanses of them, to really appreciate it.

Winnipeg is a pretty large and confusing town to negotiate as a first time visitor. Doing it on a bike w/trailer made it even more of a "thrill". The roads are crappy, to put it politely. After checking into our downtown hotel, we hoofed it to "The Forks", which is a tourist destination at the confluence of two rivers. There is a marketplace there similar to Seattle's and we ate at Muddy Waters' BBQ. We thought we'd take a cab back to avoid repeating the 10 or so block walk back but the first cabs we saw were about a block from our hotel. Tomorrow, we hope to take in a bit more of the capital city and then head out toward Ontario on our way to Thunder Bay for some gem hunting. We hope to make it halfway there tomorrow.

As always, thanks to all who have made comments - keep them coming!

J

July 13-14 to Maple Creek, SK

It’s Sunday, July 13, and Jack and I find ourselves in Saskatchewan. We buzzed right through Alberta today (which was no great loss as it is nearly as flat as a pancake and almost as interesting) and are now on the western-most edge of SK. The plains here are untreed and, save for a few lazy hills, flat ranch land. As luck would have it, we found a very cool little campground that is not only populated with mature deciduous greenery, but appointed with a laundry facility, a small store, a lovely reception area, and something that they euphemistically call a “pool” (a dirt hole filled with water.) We are under the shade of one of these ash-like beauties near a clean and private bathroom and far enough from the freeway to feel unthreatened every time we hear a semi approach. Life is good.

Tomorrow, we head further eastward. We haven’t discussed our plan for the exact route yet, but will begin along Route 1. We may dip down into the U.S. somewhere along the line in the next day or so, but haven’t decided for sure.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the slide shows. I realize yesterday’s was a bit of an epic, but we had to whittle what we included from the nearly 700 that we took, so choosing only 50 was a task. There wasn’t much to speak of in the way of scenery today, although I will include a slide show (hopefully) tomorrow when we have a strong I’net connection. We need to venture into “town” to find one tonight as the camp’s has been “sent out for repair.” (What the HECK does THAT mean?) Anyway, we will be in touch soon – you do the same.

July 14 – 9:30 a.m. Well, the travelers’ aide place had less than wonderful Internet last night and the battery went dead on my computer, so I just figured I’d make this post this morning. Between that time and right now, we managed to have another little adventure.

We met a terrific family who live in Brooks, SK and were invited to join them at their campfire last night. We’d gotten about an hour and a half into our visit when a rather spectacular light show began in the sky – lightning like CRAZY. That kept up for about a half hour before the wind started. Les, the father of this family we were with, is a farmer and was able to read this weather pretty well. He got up to get some water to douse the campfire and, before he could get back, the sparks started flying and the wind got strong enough to start blowing things off the table. We got back to our site, picked up some of the things that had blown around and secured ourselves in the camper. The canvass billowed and blew and puffed in hard, but held up WONDERFULLY. We were legitimately concerned for a while there – the manager of the camp came around to warn us to take cover if things got bad as Weather Channel predictions were calling for 60 mph winds, but we never had to resort to that. We climbed in under the electric blanket, snuggled up, and held on. Yee-HAA!

We are aiming southeast this morning, final destination to be determined by when our energy runs out J I’ll try to blog from there.

Much love,
L

July 12 to Sparwood, BC from Radium Hot Springs, BC

Well, hey there. How's things? Hope all is well with everybody and that your weather is half as pretty as ours was today. We finally, on July 12, five weeks into this trip, got to ride without our leathers on! It was blue-skied sunshine all day and the temps must have been in the low 80's. Just wonderful.

We slept in today, only the second or third time that we have so far, and stopped at the Radium Hot Springs just a mile or so up the road from where we spent the night last night. Another natural spring like the ones we'd visited in Liard, YT, but these had been updated several times over the years and now have the appearance of a community swim park. The pool water is carefully monitored and balanced, although the source is still the natural hot spring. Temps in the hottest pool were about 107, in the largest pool, about 100, and in the "coolest" around 95. Very comfy. The benefit to these pools over Liard's is that the hottest here had jets. Excellent for Jack's sore back.

After a hot dog and slushy on the deck, we took off and drove to Sparwood where we are staying tonight. Pretty basic campground, but well-treed, which is something that we haven't been used to seeing lately. The camps, so far, have been nearly treeless! You'd think they'd dig a couple up from the forests they're located near and plant them between sites! (I know, I know...not very ecology-minded of me, but I'm used to the beautiful Michigan state park campgrounds -the ones like Clear Lake, Mom.) Every camp we've stayed at -including this one - has been located right next to the roadway, so noise has been a factor, but by the time our heads hit the pillows, it hasn't made a difference! I had this vision in my head of sitting around campfires, staring up at the stars, enjoying the sounds of nature. However, since it never gets dark in most of the places that we've been so far, there have been no stars and since it's been 10 degrees at night, we haven't been hangin' around a campfire. As far as the sounds of nature are concerned, what we have tonight are the sounds of coal-haulers coming from the local mines. I will do my best to revise my vision :)

Tomorrow will take us to a place called Maple Creek in Saskatchewan, east of Medicine Hat. It's supposed to be in the mid-80's and sunny again, so we are going to be lovin' every minute of the ride.

Oh! By the way - did Jack tell you in his blog the other day that we missed a blizzard in Jasper by ONE DAY? If we hadn't spent the extra day in Whitehorse when we did, we would have driven right into it and missed the beauty in Jasper, Banff, and Kootenay completely. A fellow traveler told us that it was snowing so hard, they literally couldn't see the other side of the street, much less the mountains. What a BUMMER! We are SO LUCKY. It was some of the most beautiful scenery on our trip.

Anyway, I will sign off for now as I'd like to post a FEW pictures to a slide show. Please continue your comments; we just love reading them at the end of a long day's ride.

Love to all,

L

July 11 Hinton, AB to Radium Springs, BC

Though it was cold and the skies were mostly cloudy when we awoke, it cleared up today to be a photographer’s dream all day as we rode through Jasper, Banff and Kootenay national parks. All are connected and, though similar with astounding mountain views, each had a slightly different look. Jasper knocked us out with the massiveness of the mountains, most with some snow, mostly in streaks along the breaks in the surfaces. The bright sun and deep blue sky really set them off. The town of Jasper appeared to be a pretty nice, upscale tourist spot. Too bad the gift shops bought into the imported from China “genuine” Canadian mountain fare. Banff seemed a bit more raw and rugged. The angular rock striations were especially impressive. Both Jasper and Banff parks contained many glaciers of various shapes and sizes. Columbia glacier right at the edge of both parks was large, though shrinking like many glaciers are these days. It seemed that here, as in so many places, the dollar rules as there are huge busses that will drive right onto the glaciers for tours while we always hear about how delicate the glaciers are and how even walking on them can harm them. The visitor’s center there is where you can take the bus or walking tours onto the glacier. We chose to snack and rest a bit and, of course, take some pictures with the alternate camera from the raised deck across from the glacier. After what seemed like an endless line of fantastic mountains and breathtaking views we arrived at Lake Louise which is in Banff national park. We have heard so many great things about it that we just had to stop in to take a look. It was beautiful but, like so many things that get a big build up, it seemed a little less than expected. The guy playing “Amazing Grace” on a big long horn (don’t know what it is called – someone help us out here) was a unique touch. The water was a beautiful aqua color but then so is most of the water all throughout both parks. The beginning part of Kootenay showed us the devastating effect of wildfires with mile after mile and mountain after mountain of burned pine trees. It was eerie seeing all those tall brown, grey and black sticks covering the landscape. Before we left the park, though, the green returned and the wildlife began to appear. Today it was mostly deer, which we hadn’t seen too much of previously, though a large moose attracted much attention just grazing right at the edge of the road. He seemed oblivious to all the cars that stopped right next to him to get a better look. Laura’s vertigo kicked in pretty good as we ascended and descended the slopes and we were lucky to be able to find a cute, though aging, little motel in Radium Springs, BC, where we are tonight. Somehow, we keep coming back into British Columbia. There is a hot spring pool about a kilometer from here that we plan to visit in the morning before leaving the area. It has been another of those long days on the bike with many photo stops along the way. As usual we will include only a fraction of the good shots on the blog (tomorrow). Tomorrow is going to be a shorter riding day so we can recoup and get to the pics for thinning and selecting for the slideshow. Stay tuned!

July 10 Hinton/Jasper, AB

Hey all! Here we are in Hinton/Jasper, Alberta. We left Grande Prairie this morning under fairly decent skies which quickly degenerated to gray, dark clouds, and eventually threatened SNOW. Yep, July 10th and it's snowing in Jasper. I realize the elevation here is extreme, but I didn't expect to be facing our first snow driving during this trip. I figured the snow would be on parts of the mountain too high for people to drive. But, noooo.... Rumor has it that we are supposed to get snow again tomorrow, but we're choosing not to believe it. By the time the sun went down tonight, it was almost totally clear. From what we've seen so far, Jasper will be stunning. The mountains are massive and rugged and the drive is supposed to be one of the top 10 in the world. We're looking forward to the trip between Jasper and Banff as Lake Louise is included and photos that we’ve seen are unbelievable. We may take the tram into the mountains as well depending on weather and, as always, budget. The Icefields Parkway runs through the Canadian Rockies and will carry us down to our eastward journey home. We start on that route in the morning. I’m sorry that I can’t post a slide show tonight, but we’re operating on satellite here and it’s slow and unreliable. I did post one photo that’s the view from our current campground taken around 8:30 or 9:00 tonight. It actually gets dark here now and this was taken shortly before the sun set.

Cool highlights of today: #1: We saw a WOLF standing no further than six feet from us on the side of the road. Jack wisely chose not to stop to allow me to get his picture. You’ll just have to take our words for it. #2: Seeing the snow approach over the mountain peaks, watching it fall thickly into the bowl where they joined, and anticipating the challenge of the ride ahead and, #3: We paid less than $7.00 a gallon for gas for the first time in about three weeks!

More tomorrow with, I’m sure, more photos than you’ll even have the time or patience to wade through.
Love,
L

July 9 - To Grande Prairie, AB

I am writing this quickly as I'm not sure how long my Internet connection will last. As seems to be the case in the entire country of Canada so far (with the possible exception of the Yukon), an Internet connection is carried to various sites on buffalo back and is, therefore, somewhat unreliable. We will try to be understanding and convert the natives to our more sophisticated ways...

Anyway - we are here in Grande Prairie, or as Jack likes to call it, "The Big Windy" - north of Jasper by about 4 hours. We plan to be there tomorrow if we can manage to keep the bike from being blown off the road entirely. We will be traveling down "Highway" 40, rumored to be filled with wildlife, and, according to one intoxicated gentleman outside of a local liquor store, wild Indians. We tend to believe the wild animals stories. (See the slide show to the right - July 8 - Ft. St. John.) We will spend one night in Jasper and the next in Banff. If we simply fall in love with it, we may squeak in an extra day in one or the other, but that is our plan so far.

Our adventure since my last blog has taken us to a place called Liard Hot Springs - which was WONDERFUL after a long day on the bike. The pools are hot, hotter, and hottest and very soothing. Crystal clear water with well cared-for boardwalks to guide you. The steam alone is relaxing. The springs are connected to a provincial park of the same name, but Jack and I chose to stay directly across the street so we'd have an electrical connection (which the PP doesn't have) for our heater. After all, the warmth of summer has yet to make it this far north.

After the night at Liard, we drove to Fort St. John, the "city" from which I wrote last night. No one there, apparently, eats after 10:00 at night, but, after driving through most of the town, we managed to find a McDonald's open until 11:00. That McDonald's and a strip club were all that were open. Jack lobbied for the strip joint, but I thought I'd seem a little out of place sitting there with the computer on my lap while everyone else in the place had a dancer on theirs, so McDonald's won out.

This morning, we headed out for Grande Cache, about two hours south of here, but decided to stop early after realizing the time change and a rather shaky promise of a 'Net connection there. Grande Prairie is actually a very nice place. The Alberta Welcome Center treated us to a barbecue tonight (bison sausage, salads, and Oreos) and plenty of information about our trek to Jasper. We met a French couple there who had their BMW bike shipped over from Paris and are making their way to Fairbanks and then down to ARGENTINA. We feel like such wimps. We just can't picture ourselves venturing into foreign lands ALONE, where we don't speak the language very well, and trying to navigate our way around. (I would need to learn to ask for pie in at least four different languages!) At the Hot Springs Monday, we met a gentleman who was originally from England (we think, although he was somewhat vague. I believe he was a spy...) who now lives in Austin, TX. He flew to Washington state in April and has been riding his BICYCLE all over the place ever since. He put more than 130 miles on his bike the day we spoke to him on the same roads we were bitchin' about. THE GUY IS OVER 80!! I have such admiration for these folks!

The best part of our trip has, by FAR, been the characters that we've met. We will bore you with the stories when we get home. The second best part - at least in my opinion - has been our wild animal sightings. Driving, LITERALLY, through a herd of wild bison was a RUSH. They were just standing there, looking at us with total disinterest, and barely moved out of the way as we passed. There was another group of at least 30, laying in a small open patch at the side of the road. None of them even glanced up as we drove slowly by, so Jack stopped the bike to let me take pictures. As I was clicking away, Jack tried to convince me that they were all just laying there, lulling us into believing that they were no big threat, and all of a sudden, one would yell, "GO!" and they'd charge us. I love it when he tries to put me at ease... In the same stretch of road, we encountered black and brown bear, mountain goats, big horned sheep, deer, and a moose. Jack was a little wild himself, but I'm not counting him.

The camper has worked out so well we can't even believe it and the bike, as always, is performing like a champ. We're a little concerned about what appears to be a bend in the hitch (probably from the lovely Cassiar/Stewart Hwy.), but will need to wait until we get home to check it out as long as everything holds up well in the meantime. I will do my best to write tomorrow. We're staying at a KOA, so I'm hoping they've got an I'net connection. Hold a positive thought.

Love to all,

L

OH - BY THE WAY - to those of you who have written responses to the blog - thank you! I try to respond on that same day's posting, so be sure to go back and check it out. As Ken Varee would say, "Peace."

July 8 - Fort St. John, BC

Hi there - We are fine, despite the lack of a post last night. We stayed in a little campground across from the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park. They had electricity but no 'Net, so we couldn't post. Sorry all! Tonight we are in what appears to be a black hole in the universe - there are no restaurants, pubs, or even coffee shops open after 10:00 that have WIFI and no one seems to know why we might even need it. Our campground has WIFI - sometimes - and tonight isn't one of those times. So, as I type this, Jack and I are sitting in the lobby of a Quality Inn in bustling downtown Fort St. John where a wonderful check-in clerk slipped me the password for their guest WIFI and allowed us to hang for a few minutes in the lobby.

We will write an extended entry tomorrow with pictures galore (we went through the coolest place with tons of wildlife yesterday!). "Talk" to you then.
Our love,
J and L

July 6th Layover in Whitehorse, YT

Today has been a good break from the rough road that they call a highway in these parts. The rain was pretty continuous through the first part of the day and we were glad to be inside and dry. It has cleared up considerably and the sun has reappeared for most of the afternoon and evening. Of course, up here it looks like afternoon all night so it is hard to keep the actual time in mind. We were able to finally get some prescriptions filled at a pharmacy here in Whitehorse after going to a clinic to see a Dr. While there, Laura saw a Dr. who prescribed some medication for her vertigo and it is apparently working to some degree. That should make the continuation of the journey more tolerable for her. I know the feeling after experiencing similar symptoms a few years ago after driving through the mountains near San Jose, CA. I can't imagine enjoying being on the back of a motorcycle feeling like that. The bonus of hanging out here is that we got a better chance to see what Whitehorse is like and believe it to be a good example of the Yukon and its ties to the past.

We ate at a charming little place with an interesting history. It is the oldest continuing business establishment here that, at one time, was called Klondike Airways and was intended to provide air mail service back in the old days. The guys who started it never did get any airplanes though, but did ship mail, etc. north from here via sleds and wagons. However, you had to wait 'til sometime in May to get the mail once winter set in. (And we think our mail is slow!) The food was fantastic and, as the picture of Laura will show, their Bumbleberry pie has taken over as the #1 pie so far.

Tomorrow we hit the road (hopefully not literally) en route to Watson Lake, where the zillion signs are. After we leave there, we will once again be riding where we have never been before. We hear the road gets better after Watson Lake - sounds good to me. The pharmacist informed us that there will be PLENTY of wildlife on that stretch so Laura will be armed and ready with the camera. Hopefully, most will be shots from the moving bike as we hear that the animals often just amble up onto the road and hang out, sometimes changing their mind and recrossing your path. Hopefully, only nice friendly beasts will be the ones to actually cross our path. Did we mention the grizzly bear we saw just off the edge of the road yesterday??? Wish us luck and good pics. Just a side note to the Detroiters...we get Detroit' s channel 56 and 4 on the TV up here. Pretty weird, eh? Though it looks like early evening, it is time to call it a night and get to bed so we can get an early start for tomorrow's long ride on the Alcan.

As always, comments on are welcomed and encouraged.

J & L

July 5 - From Tok to Whitehorse

There have been some major changes to "The Plan" so, for those of you following along on the program, please note: Most of the stops that we previously had planned are a little more "up in the air" than they were before today.

I have had a vicious case of vertigo for the past couple of days (which has made for some rather "uncomfortable" motorcycling) and, now that we've landed here in Whitehorse, we are going to take a "recuperation day" and hang out here until Monday. The upshot is that we won't be going back to Watson Lake until the 7th, Ft. Nelson on Tuesday the 8th, Dawson Creek on Wednesday and then Jasper and Banff on Thursday and Friday. "But wait," you say. "What about Calgary and The Stampede? Weren't you going THERE on Friday?" Well, yes, but we're going to skip it. I know, I know, but we took a look at everything that's important to us on this trip and that excursion didn't make the cut. So, after Banff, we're pretty much going to wing it. There are a million campgrounds just desperate for customers, so I don't think we'll have a tough time finding a place. Jack is being wonderfully flexible and we've done some online checking for alternative routes, etc. and are happier with this adjustment.

Today pretty much did us in. The AlCan "Highway" (and I use that phrase as loosely as I've ever used one) is a pit. It has areas of deep gravel and dirt (ask any biker how much they like THAT) and rides like a washboard most of the way. In addition, we got hit with our first real rain since we left Michigan and it was treacherous. Jack actually had to stand on the pegs as he drove in order to see the grooves in the road well enough to keep us upright. He deserves an award. Anyway, it was a helluva long twelve hour day in those conditions and we don't intend to push ourselves to the point that this isn't fun anymore. Hence, the layover.

I am attaching a photo of the sky that turned a nearby mountain into a volcano look-alike. This was the condition of the sky most of the day. We've been watching the weather and it looks like our extra day will also put us on the sunny side of the passing storms, so that's another point in favor of this change. Leaving tomorrow as planned would have meant traveling along with the rain for at least the next three or four days. Ewww...

We have heard about a place called the Laird Hot Springs between Watson Lake and Ft. Nelson and plan to stop there on our route. It's supposed to be a lovely place and will help to take the place of all of the days Jackson has missed in the hot tub :) It's part of a provincial park up here, but falls too early in the day for us to spend the night there, so we will just be visiting to take a dip before hitting the road again.

I promise to do a better job getting a slide show posted tomorrow. Since we're redoing part of the route right now, there aren't many new photos that would "wow" ya. I will combine two or three days and post them tomorrow evening.

Love you all. Write when you can.

L

July 4, Valdez to Tok - Happy Birthday, America!

Today, we're back in Tok, Alaska. We're staying at a wonderful little place, called Burnt Paw Cabins in the "Wolf " Cabin (Hoooowwwwlllll...) Each cabin is themed and they are VERY nice. Of course, any place with a private shower is looking good to us at this point. (just kidding.) We drove up from Valdez, back through the Keystone Canyon (my very favorite view in the world at this point) and Thompson Pass which is about 2,700 ft. alt. and contains a glacier field north of Valdez. It was sunny and actually WARM today. Tomorrow's forecast is shaky (as the road will be) so we're holding a positive thought for DRY conditions at the very least. The AlCan was treacherous enough on the way west - we don't need any additional "challenges" - thank you, very much.

It will be a long driving day tomorrow and, if we are lucky, we will be able to connect to the Net again as we are staying at the same campground as we did on the way out. We are currently sitting in "Fast Eddie's" restaurant, using their WIFI as the connection at Burnt Paw was knocked out during the last storm (and, of course, hasn't been repaired, as repairs on ANYTHING -except our bike- here in AK seem to take a long, long time.)

We paid over $5.00 per gallon for gas yesterday. Today it is back in the high $4's so we've had a brief respite before hitting Canada tomorrow.

Hey! Here's a little nugget of info for you about Alaska: Did you know that Alaska is our furthest North, West, AND East state in the US? Figure that one out! AND if you cut Alaska in half, it would make Texas the THIRD largest state. AK, AK, THEN Texas! We be gettin' really smarted up on this trip.

Mom - Thank you so much for your post through Joey. Joe: Thanks for being the go-between!! We are both doing well, Mom. We're having a wonderful time and are so excited about sharing our adventures with you - especially now that we can relate to all of the adventures that YOU'VE had in the past! xoxo

As always, comments from y'all are welcome and appreciated.
Much love,
L and J

July 2-3 Valdez

Today finds us in Valdez. We drove much further than we expected yesterday - all the way from Homer to Valdez with a stop in Palmer for an oil change at the great place where we had our brakes done last week. The trip took us from 8:15 am until 11:00 pm, but with it staying so light so late and taking frequent stops, it didn't feel that long.

However, today we're tired and have just sort of taking it easy. It's gray and threatening to rain, so we haven't gone anywhere far. We checked out the harbor area and took another drive through the "Keystone Canyon" that leads into Valdez.

There is no way to adequately describe this place. I know how cliche that sounds, but it's true. The best attempt I can make is this - If you've been in an IMAX movie where you're supposed to feel like you're flying, you'll be able to relate: The plane is flying along a little bit above a big ol' field of wheat and suddenly, the ground drops away and the plane dips into a valley where it's surrounded on all sides by green trees and rushing rivers. You seem blanketed by the whole environment. You feel your stomach dip a little bit and you sort of lose your breath. That's what this Canyon is like. We came around a corner last night and saw this panoramic view and I literally felt like I was losing my balance. It was SO BIG, so green and blue and beautiful. THIS is what heaven looks like.

Tomorrow we head back to Tok and begin our journey home. It will take us another 3 1/2 weeks to make it back. I'm hoping you'll all still follow along with us and drop us a note when you can. I promise to try to stay on top of this blog. Hope you think it's worth it.

Much love to all of you.

L

July 2

Just to let you know...we didn't disappear. We just arrived in 'Valdez (very late) and are going to bed. However, I'll post some pics and an update in the morning. 'Nite!
L

July 1 - Homer

I'll keep the blog short and sweet today as it's already quarter to midnight and we have a fairly long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow.

We spent the day driving around through the mountains above Homer today and checked out all of the little shops on "the spit." It was just wonderful - sunny, but cool. We finally had what I expected in the way of wildlife encounters today - a moose in the morning, a bear in the afternoon, and some eagles and whales later in the day. Holy cow! (Oh. No...we didn't see any cows.)

Tomorrow we leave for Palmer (just north of Anchorage) where we had our brakes done on the bike on the way here. We're going to stop for an oil change and we'll spend the night there before heading for Valdez on Thursday. It's quite a long drive between here and Valdez and we're trying to limit our driving to less than 350 miles per day. Tomorrow may be closer to 400 if we take a side trip to Seward, so we're going to get an early start.

More tomorrow...

L

June 30 - To Homer, AK

Cold. Did I mention it’s cold? I mean an “I’m wearing a thermal shirt, long-sleeved T, heated liner, jeans, lined chaps, polar-fleece hood, fur-lined leather gloves, leather jacket, socks-n-boots and I’m STILL cold” cold! I realize part of this may be psychological: we’ve been looking at snow-covered mountains all day. However, MOST of it is undeniably physical. The temp on the bank digi-screen here in Homer just read 49 when we went to dinner and that was without the wind kickin’ in off of the Bay or doing 50 on the bike. I nearly had Jack convinced to beat a fellow patron to death when she walked into the restaurant and left the door open earlier. Of course, Jack thinks I’m being melodramatic (Who? Me?) but he’ll think again when my icy little feet find the small of his back tonight… ;) Just kidding.

Anyway – we’re in Homer, halibut capital of the world! For those of you as geographically challenged as myself, Homer is located at the bottom of one of the peninsular drips off of the south-central edge of mainland Alaska. It’s between the Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay (Yeah, that meant nothing to me either before I got here…) Check it out on Mapquest if you’re interested enough. It was one helluva long drive from Talkeetna, but worth every minute – especially once the clouds blew out and the sky turned blue. The scenery is the prettiest we’ve seen and we’ve seen some amazingly pretty scenery. The Kenai Mountains are spectacular – the stuff you see in P.R. shots of Alaska. You just can’t get your camera to click fast enough to get in everything you want to take a picture of. Of course, none of the photos ever do the real thing justice (except, possibly, my Uncle Marshall’s. His are awesome!) I will include a slide show of some of the prettiest shots we took. (You’d probably be ready to shoot yourself in the head if I included the 200 or so that we took today alone!)

We went to dinner tonight on “The Homer Spit”, an odd little twist of land that juts out from Homer into the Inlet. It appears to be fairly well covered with fishing charter offices (and the trucks of the people out on those charters), gift shops, and little seafood places, but looks interesting enough to explore tomorrow. The chowder at the place we ate tonight was top-notch and there’s a place called “The Salty Dog” that’s been recommended to us for tomorrow. There are wide strips of beach on both sides of The Spit that are (to my TOTAL shock and disbelief) generously populated with campers – even campers in TENTS. Yes, the view is breathtaking, and yes, the sunsets and sunrises are, I am sure, something you’d never forget. BUT, I would be as frozen as a Mrs. Paul’s fish stick by midnight out there! The beaches are public land and there is no charge to park your camper or tent out there, but there are no electrical hook-ups (hence, no place to plug in an industrial-sized heater) and no shelter from the wind.

No. No, no, no.

Our rig continues to be the center of attention everywhere we go. Everybody wants to take a peek inside – they can’t believe it really has a king-sized bed and a nice-sized sitting area. A guy started talking to Jack about it this morning while I was getting dressed and I was momentarily panicked that they would walk in on me bare-assed. That would have been a tour the guy wouldn’t have forgotten! I personally think we should call the camper manufacturer when we get home and tell them that we’d be happy to retire from our current jobs and travel all over the country this way selling their trailer! (Jack, however, may have a slightly more secure retirement plan in mind.)

Gas is expensive here – about $4.80 a gallon in AK and closer to $6.50 or so in Canada, but we are grateful that the bike is still getting wonderful mileage. We just talked to a guy in a big ol’ motor home getting 7 mpg. I can’t even imagine that! It would cost more than $7,000 in gas alone to drive that thing here from Michigan! Geesh!

We both remain in fairly good shape physically. Jack’s wrists are taking a beating from maneuvering around some of the bad roads and his shins are aching from a little sprint he ran yesterday. My shoulder is still pretty bad (aggravated by that windy stint through Minnesota and North Dakota) but Dr. Feelgood gave me an RX of pain meds before we left which should pull be through until we’re home. As long as we keep being as careful as we have been, we should make it home in one piece (well, two pieces actually, since there are two of us…)

I suppose I’ve rambled on enough for one evening. Please write and let us know how you are. We love the feedback!
XOX
L

June 29 - Talkeetna

We've heard it. We bought into it. We really wanted to believe it - "Talkeetna is the cutest place!" "You're just going to love Talkeetna!" "Talkeetna is the most laid back, wonderfully quirky place in Alaska."

Nope.

Talkeetna is an exceptionally small village consisting of "fly-in fishing/visit Mt. McKinley" tour operations, three or four pub/ice cream shop/cinnamon bun eateries, and a very few (five or six) "historic" (read: semi-dilapidated) houses turned into gift shops which sell the same items at substantially increased prices that you can find in downtown Anchorage. We are not amused.

I think we've both heard so much about this place that we had painted different pictures in our heads before getting here. We expected an authentic little village that was unique and charming. What is actually here is a parade of enormous motor homes, buses, cruise ship tours, and gift shop vendors who are disinterested in the tourists' presence at best.

Tomorrow, we have faith, will be better. We head out for two days in Homer in the morning. Hopefully the sky will clear up by then as we understand that the drive down, in large part through a wildlife preserve, is supposed to be lovely.

Saturday - June 28 - Anchorage

Despite the calendar, we are still stuck in an early spring weather pattern here in Anchorage. We didn't quite reach the forecast high of 60 and skies were cloudy most of the day. Despite the chill, however, we ventured out to the downtown area to participate in the 50th anniversary of Alaska's admittance to the Union. There were singers, dancers, jugglers, craftspeople, and a firefighters' competition in the middle of the downtown strip. Lots of things to see and do. I was impressed with how authentic most of the shops are here. There were actually very few of the "Mackinaw Island" types of shops, where everything is stamped with the Michigan mitten, but is made in China; most of the items offered for sale around here are actually made by locals.

Afterward, Jack and I got together with Ken, Julie, and others in yesterday's wedding party and went to a very cool little theater where you order your meal and its served to you as you watch a film. **Note to Joey: This is exactly what downtown Dearborn needs. The place was packed.

We pack up in the morning and head up north a little way to Talkeetna where we'll camp tomorrow night. Although we won't be taking the Mt. McKinley sightseeing flight, we do plan to see as much of the area as possible. We'll send photos!

Hope all's well. Drop us a line or two.

xoxo

L

The Wedding Day

For those of you who don't know Ken Varee, this post probably won't be much more than some pictures of a pretty wedding. For those of you who do, you realize that these are photos of hell freezing over. OK...that's an exaggeration. But not by much - even Ken's best man joked about Ken's somewhat...how shall I say this delicately?... selective tastes in women. All joking aside, Ken has found himself a beautiful wife in Julie and their wedding was reflective of their simple, natural, spiritual sides. Music was provided by the Samoan choir of the St. Anthony's Catholic Church that both Ken and Julie attend. Father Fred (from the parish) and the Archbishop of Anchorage conducted the ceremony, which included family members from both sides as well as close friends as attendants (see photos in slide show at the right.)

Ken and Julie had their reception at the Bayshore Club House here in Anchorage and enjoyed a day that turned out both sunnier and warmer than the forecasts. Also celebrating the pretty day was a fairly large moose who strolled across the reception hall grounds, apparently just checking out the neighborhood. It seems that this wasn't a particularly unusual occurrence as only we "outsiders" jumped up and made a big deal out of it. The "natives" hardly noticed the moose was even there! (Jack and I have finally figured it out - all of the wildlife that we've been missing in the woods are hangin' out at hoppin' parties in the cities! Hence the name, "wildlife"...)

We hope to get together with Ken and Julie tomorrow after they return from an overnight getaway to the Kenai Peninsula. Since they have several family members and friends from out of town, they've opted to put off a longer honeymoon for a later date. (Besides, I think they're afraid that we'd follow them.)

Tomorrow, Jack and I plan to explore downtown Anchorage a little more. It's Alaska's 50th anniversary of becoming a state and they're planning some pretty cool doin's down there.

More tomorrow!!

L

June 26 - Anchorage

Jack and I are beginning to believe we have a guardian angel riding around with us. We left Tok around 8:00 this morning in bright sunshine and only ran into a 20 minute delay on the AlCan due to construction. Not bad, comparatively. Then, we made our way into Palmer and to Hartley Motors where we met Jeff Pendergrass, the most wonderful motorcycle service guy I've ever met. After the horrible guy I dealt with on the phone at Anchorage Motorsports yesterday, Jeff was a blessing! We got there around 2:30, he took us in immediately, rooted around to find brake pads for our 8 year old bike, made us comfortable in his employee break room, brought us bottled water because he thought we looked thirsty, fixed our bike in less than an hour, and then topped it all off by insisting on washing the road dirt off the 'Wing for us. Unbelievable! He was so kind and attentive and incredibly considerate. We made an appointment to stop by his shop on the way back for an oil change. I intend to write to Honda and sing his praises. How lucky could we get?? We could have spent the next week or so changing our plans, driving around in a rental car, and dealing with obnoxious, expensive "service" people. Whew!

We are now in Anchorage and plan to attend Ken and Julie's wedding tomorrow at 2:00. The weather is looking drizzly for the next three days or so, but should be pretty again by the time we head up to Telkeetna on Sunday. I will post photos tomorrow night after the wedding.

I hope all is well at home. Tony - if you get a chance, please email and let us know how things are at the house and kids, drop us a line and let us know that you're alive and well! :) We love you!!
L

June 25 - ALASKA!!

We made it!

Man! I don't even know where to begin! It was an incredibly tough day. The 9 1/2 hour drive from Whitehorse to Tok was actually 12 hours and took us along the wonderful (did you hear the sarcasm?) AlCan Highway - 400 miles of horrible road, construction delays, and dirt, dirt, and more dirt. How these people could have built this entire road in 4 months and left it in such awful condition for the next 50 years is beyond me. We met plenty of people along the road to commiserate with, but it was not a trip I want to take again - yet we HAVE to. Since this is the ONLY road in to and out of Alaska, we get to do this again in about a week.

It was certainly a day of "good news/bad news." Good News: We got to enjoy even more beautiful scenery and the day itself was just beautiful - sunny skies ALL day long with temperatures that even allowed us to shed the heated liners and chaps by late afternoon.

Bad News: Still no wildlife. The people just ahead of and just behind us on the road saw grizzlies and black bear, but we were in the wrong places at the wrong times - again.

Good News: All of a sudden, the bike has started getting more than 40 mpg!! We don't know why it's happened, but it has. This last 5.5 gallon tank of gas lasted more than 220 miles. Until today, we've been getting between 30 and 32 mpg and now - BOOM! We're thrilled!

Bad News: No sooner do I say that we haven't had any mechanical problems with the bike than, squeak, squeak, squeak...brakes. Yep. We need a brake job. Now. So...we talked to one smart ass in Anchorage who says he's the only guy in town who will work on a Gold Wing and that our odds are 50/50 that he'll even look at it by Saturday night. Then, if we need parts, we might have to wait 7 to 10 business days to get them shipped in. He doesn't think he'll be able to "work us in"; we'd just have to take our chances. After resisting the urge to throw the nice stranger's cell phone across the room (since Jack's doesn't get service here), I called another place that's about an hour this side of Anchorage and they are willing to look at the bike tomorrow. We'll still have to wait if they need to order parts, but at least the guy sounded like he understood our dilemma and was a decent person. We'll see what happens! The very worst that will happen is that we'll have to leave the bike for repair, rent a car, and travel through the rest of our Alaska stops on four wheels instead of two. We're hoping, however, that we'll simply take the bike in, they'll have the parts we need, repair the brakes, change our oil, and send us on our way. I'll let you know tomorrow how it worked out!

Another concern is that we've been told that the road ahead is also under construction. Since crossing into Alaska, it hasn't been nearly as bad as it was in the Yukon, but the delays could mean a problem getting to the repair shop on time. It's about 300 miles and with the brakes being weak, we've got another real "adventure" tomorrow. Jack is using downshifting and the front brake on the bike to get through all of this and he is doing a WONDERFUL job, but he's exhausted by the end of the day and we'd like this to be a little more fun and a little less work.

We fully expect to make it to Anchorage by late tomorrow (which will be a good thing since the wedding is Friday!) and I will post again then. Take care of each other and WRITE. Let us know what's going on there - we miss you!

L

June 24 - Whitehorse, YT

We left Watson Lake this morning and are now here in Whitehorse. It was a fairly easy drive today, although still quite cold and, despite the sunny forecast, rainy or cloudy most of the day. The road was good, though, so we aren't complaining! After the epic battle with the blacktop (or lack of it!) yesterday, it was nice to be able to coast along fairly smoothly today.

We visited the Signpost Forest this mornin. It was amazing what people posted there! Those of you from Dearborn should note 1/2 of our hometown sign in one of the pictures in the slide show. The other half was in a different part of the forest, but we managed to find that, too!

Since we had to leave early this morning and didn't get in until too late last evening, we're going to catch the Northern Lights presentation on our way back through Watson Lake on the 6th of July. They only present in the late afternoons or early evenings. It should be interesting, though, and I'm hoping we can fit it in.

Tomorrow, we head for Tok, AK. It's about a 9 1/2 hour drive from here down a road that has been described by motorhomers as "not so great." I'm a little nervous. Hold a positive thought for us!

Anyway...We will try to update the blog from the Tok Motel tomorrow. If that doesn't work out, I'm sure we'll be able to hook up in Anchorage on Thursday night.

Love to all!!

L

June 22 and 23 - To the Yukon!

Hey all! We drove up Canadian Route 37 today and lived to talk about it. Holy CRAP - what an experience! The road is a challenge for everyone we've talked to and for our bike, pulling the trailer, it was even more so. Jack managed to keep the rubber side down all day, but we are both exhausted and feel like we've won a heavy weight title. From smooth, beautiful blacktop, to huge potholes, jarring dips, and bumpy packed "gravelline", to loose gravel and mud that lasted for miles, we tackled it all. The only thing that would have made it worse driving would have been rain - and that's what our fellow travelers had to deal with yesterday. As it has been since we left, we missed the most awful weather by a single day, and this time, it made all the difference. Rain, on top of the gravel and mud, made for a slippery, dangerous mess yesterday. Today, at least we had dry conditions.

After spending the night on Sunday at a very neat little place (the Java Lodge in Prince Rupert), we took off up toward Watson Lake (where we are currently.) The day began rainy and cold, but cleared up after a while and the scenery was lovely. The road was fairly good and we drove until the fuel tank was registering empty and the indicator light was glowing pretty brightly. We'd filled our spare gas can with 5 gallons shortly after leaving Prince Rupert, so we weren't panicked, but we were happy to see a place to fill up, regardless. We had originally planned to stay in a provincial park near Iskut, which is about 1/2 way between Prince Rupert and Watson Lake, but drifted into a GREAT place called Bell 2, about 90 minutes south of our original goal. The resort is a "heliskiing" resort - they helicopter skiers to mountaintops and they ski down from there - and offers a nice coffee shop, restaurant, lodging, and rv/tenting sites. The place has a hot tub, sauna, massage services (during the winter season) and a gift shop, too. We set up camp and were disappointed to find out that their electrical service to the rv sites wasn't strong enough to support our little heater. Luckily we brought along our electric blanket and it kept us warm enough to deal with the 32 degree night.

We met the most wonderful people during our stay! Those of us spending the night last night included an international bunch of motorcyclists, all traveling separately, but all sharing the great experience of "the road." One couple had air-shipped their bike from the UK to Anchorage and were bound southward to LA. A single guy from Brazil was on day #59 from his home to Prudhoe, AK and back. Another guy, from Taiwan, had flown into Vegas with plans to visit the four corners of North America (LA, Key West, Newfoundland, and Prudhoe) and then there was us!! The UK guy, in 2005, had traveled with a group of 13 from Anchorage to Patagonia (southern tip of South America) on a motorcycle! By the time we got done talking to all of them, we felt like motorcycle wimps! :)

This has been the most outstanding feature of this trip so far - the people we've met! There is something about the culture of motorcycling in general, but driving the Gold Wing specifically, that seems to attract new friends. People are so open and friendly and generous with information and assistance. Everyone is anxious to share their stories and it's SO interesting. We've just loved it so far and can't wait to see what's still to come.

Well, just when we finished complaining about the lack of wildlife we'd seen, we had a close encounter with a moose! We had pulled off the side of the road, gotten out our chairs and little table and some sandwiches that we had in the cooler. We hadn't even finished the first 1/2 of our sandwiches when I looked up toward the side of the drop off at the edge of the rest stop and here comes this big ol' female moose! She was no more than 20 feet from us. Scared the crap out of me! I could only manage to say, "Jack! Moose! Big moose!" It only took him a second to turn around, but by that time, the moose had caught a glimpse of us and had taken off back over the ridge. We packed everything back into the trailer - quickly! - and looked back over our shoulders to see the moose in the road behind us. I've included a photo of her in the slide show at the right (Yes, I realize it's small and it's difficult to see her, but I was shaking and trying to finish getting ready to get the heck out of there!) MAN, those moose are BIG.

We are planning to visit the "signpost forest" here in Watson Lake tomorrow (I'll send photos) and then head over to Whitehorse, a comparatively easy 5 hours from here. I'm not sure if there is an Internet connection at that campground. If not, I'll post on Wednesay. Otherwise, "talk" to you all tomorrow night!

MUAH! - L

June 21 - Port Hardy to Prince Rupert

Well, we lost our Internet connection last night before I could post from Port Hardy, so now we're in Prince Rupert, BC. All's well. Don't worry, Tony. We didn't fall off of a cliff. :)

The ferry was...long. 15 hours from Port Hardy in fog that hovered about 100 feet from the ground in most places. It was VERY gray and the fog obscured most of what was probably a pretty view. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see most of it. The ship's announcer pointed out that there was a whale off one side of the ferry whose spout Jack caught a glimpse of and a tiny slice of the back of another, but the oceanic wildlife proved to be as sparse as that on land. Both Jack and I are convinced the rumors of abundant animal life are total fabrications. We've seen what we think were a few antelope on ranches in South Dakota, a fairly large moose rambling off the road and into the woods in Idaho and a coyote in Washington state. Other than that, it's been cows, horses, and a goat that was walking into a construction trailer in Chicago. Seriously.


Anyway...We are staying at a place called The Java Lodge tonight, a small bed and breakfast above a coffee shop here in Prince Rupert. We head north to Watson Lake in the morning, praying that the weather clears and warms up. It was brutally cold on the ferry today - to the point that no one ventured outside except to take quick snapshots of a rare landmark that was visible through the mist. I fully expected to see the rain turn to sleet, but the weather sort of leveled out as we got closer to port. It's supposed to be EIGHT degrees Celsius tonight (what is that in HUMAN degrees??) and drizzly in the morning. However, it is also supposed to clear up a little later in the day and get somewhat warmer as we head further inland. Let's hold a positive thought as tomorrow will also be the night that we camp - most likely without electricity. Warmer weather would be very welcome!

That having been said, we will be without an Internet connection until we arrive in Watson Lake late in the day on Monday (I THINK that lodge has wireless), so we will be incommunicado until then.

Say a prayer to the weather gods for us and know that we are thinking about all of you.

Much love,

L

June 19 - Vancouver, BC

We spent the day just sort of puttzin' around Vancouver today. It's a cool city with some pieces of interesting architecture and some VERY unique people. Unlike Seattle, the people here seem to possess a strong sense of individual style and have a sort of zest that their Washington counterparts lack. There are some very upscale areas in the city itself as well as the 'burbs, and some horribly run-down, skid row areas as well. As a matter of fact, we mentioned to a waitress that we had been down on a particular street and she was stunned. "You WALKED down there?" We told her that we had only driven through and she seemed relieved! :) Seriously. It's not the kind of place you'd want to be after dark. However, the main parts of the downtown area are well-kept and very active in the evening. We sat and people watched on the patio of a restaurant down the street from where we're staying and found out that Snoop Dogg was in concert at The Orpheum across the street. Fo' Shizzle! (heh...)

Tomorrow, we head out of here around 5:00 am to catch a 7:00 ferry to Swartz Bay, Vancouver Island. We'll drive to Port Hardy at the northern tip by evening and I will update you again from there.

Hope all's well. Much love - L.

June 18 - Seattle, WA

We spent the day in Seattle, doin' the tourist thing. Pike Place Market, which was wonderful, Saludi's Restaurant, which was more hype than substance, and the Space Needle, which, in addition to a fine view of the city, also offers beer and - so surprisingly - Starbucks coffee at the top. Here's a quick breakdown of our oh-so-humble observations of the city:

#1. Far too expensive for just about everything you can think of.

#2. Working way too hard to make the impression of being a sophisticated city while housing an inordinate number of desperate appearing people. I know the "grunge" thing got its genesis in Seattle, but I don't think the people living out of bags are trying to make a statement...

#3. Lots and lots of tiny, pretentious restaurants but no real places to just get a great meal.

#4. Wear great walking shoes and prepare for your trip here by working up to a 5K on steep inclines.

#5. Well advertised "free bus zone" with few free buses available.

#6. Incredibly long traffic lights and people who aren't "brave" enough to walk against the "Don't Walk" signs - even when there is no oncoming traffic in sight. (One native described the pedestrians - even the citizens in general - as sheep. That assessment, actually, seems pretty accurate to us.)

#7. When on a motorcycle, all hill are uphills, all lights are too long, and when turning, there will be at least 3 people crawling across (OK, OK...slowing walking across) the street in front of you.

#8. When you ask for directions, expect the person directing you to refer to the compass direction of where things are: "Oh, it's north of here," or "Just go six blocks east." Well, if you don't know the city well and there doesn't happen to be any sun, "Left" and "Right" might prove more practical.

#9. The Renier cherries at Pike's Place were at least $1 per pound more expensive than they were at home at Kroger.

#10. Many people here have a very strong anti-Bush sentiment. So, they can't be all bad!! :)

Left Seattle around 5:00 and arrived in Vancouver at about 9:30 after stopping for dinner. Looks like an interesting place. We have plans to cruise around, camper-free, for a few hours tomorrow and to pick up a few of the things we will need pretty quickly (100% DEET, Bug-B-Gone, for around the grounds near our camper, an extra couple of pairs of long johns, ear buds for Jack's I-Pod...) and check out some the neat looking pubs. I will post more at the end of our day tomorrow (Remember, we're 3 hours behind you...)

Miss you!

L

Blog Comment Instructions

Some of you may still be having a hard time figuring out how to respond to these posts. Here's the skinny:

This is how you post a response to a blog entry: Set up your account by creating a user name and password. Just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the entry. It might say "4 comments" or "0 comments" or whatever, but click there. You'll be taken to a comment post page. BEFORE YOU TYPE YOUR COMMENT, go to the bottom of that page and set up your user name and password if you don't already have one.(You only have to do this on your frist entry. After that, you'll use the one you've created everytime you enter a comment.) It's simple to do- enter your existing email address and make up a password - period. Then, (or if you already have a user name and password) type your comment, then enter the verification "word" in the blank beneath your entry. Once that's done, you enter your existing (or newly created) user name and password and you're finished. Note: If you already have an existing Goggle account (you may have a Google email address or something) you can use that here also. DON'T FORGET: IF YOU HAVEN'T SET UP YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD YET, DO THAT FIRST (BEFORE TYPING YOUR POST) OTHERWISE, YOU'LL LOSE WHAT YOU'VE TYPED IN YOUR COMMENT AND HAVE TO START ALL OVER. If you have any other questions, just let me know! L.

June 17 - From Worley ID to Seattle, WA

What a day of contrasts! Eastern Washington is FLAT and BROWN. Very dull territory to get through - but what a payoff!! The Cascade Mountains are beautiful. Green and thick with pines, waterfalls and roadside streams. There is also (at least this year) SNOW. It was really cold by the time we made it to nearly 4,000 feet. Jack thawed out by the time we were back near sea level. We took way too many pictures (thank God for digital!) and I'm including 16 of them in the slide show to the right. The clouds topping off the mountains were awesome. The pics just don't do them justice.

We were tired by the time we arrived here is Seattle, but ventured out about a block from our hotel to a nice little restaurant called, The Palace. The waitress suggested Pike's Place Market, a new sculpture exhibit, and a little deli owned by Mario Batali's father for things to do while we're here since we only have one day. For my fellow "foodies", you know Batali from "Malto Mario" on The Food Network. For those of you who couldn't care less, suffice it to say that this place is supposed to have the best sandwiches in Seattle. WE'LL be the judge of that! :)

Gas prices have risen steadily since we crossed the Washington border and are now hovering right around $4.45 a gallon. From what we understand, that will seem like a bargain once we cross into Canada tomorrow.

Speaking of which, we plan to get to Vancouver tomorrow early evening. I'll write more then. Please keep up the great responses. We look forward to opening the blog every day and seeing your messages to us.

June 16, the sequel...

Remember how I said that today was so lovely that Jack and I spent the whole day in the sun? Well...come tomorrow getting on and off that bike will be a REAL adventure. My skin feels two sizes too small! At least the chills have stopped and I'm trying to console my burned body with the idea that this will turn into a beautiful tan in three or four months! :) Jack fared somewhat better and will look bronzed and wonderful by morning, but I will remain Laura, the red-faced Michigander for a while, I'm afraid. I will do my best to stay out of Ken's wedding pictures!

We spent part of our evening with the owners of this resort and think we've sold them on the motorcycle rally idea. Those of you with bikes, how does a road trip to Idaho sound in a couple of years?
L

June 16 Sun Meadow Resort - Worley, Idaho

The bad news is that I have no pictures to post today. The good news is that it's because it was SO sunny and warm and beautiful that we spent the entire day hangin' out around the pool and I didn't mess with the camera. This is such a nice place. It's halfway between Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID and is under new management. The people are knocking themselves out to make a good impression and they're doing a fine job! The outdoor pool is still far too cool to spend much time in (understandable since it snowed here just a week ago) but the sun is hot and the scenery is great. However, if we feel the need to swim, they have an indoor pool that is a cross (temperature-wise) between a swimming pool and a hot-tub. We'll be sorry to leave in the morning, but are looking forward to Seattle by tomorrow night.

Please keep up the great replies - I've gotten some via email, but post here if possible as everyone enjoys reading your responses.

L

June 15 - Worley, Idaho

Happy Father's Day to all of our dad-pals!! It was another day of extremes for Jack and I. Freezin' cold this morning (lower than 40 when we woke up) to 84 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho at about 5:00 this afternoon.

Speaking of when we woke up...we were fairly lucky that we did! We used the propane heater last night and thought we'd vented the camper canvas well enough, but both of us had a very difficult time breathing during the night. We decided to use the propane heater only for short-term emergencies from now on and spent the better part of three hours this afternoon hunting around Coeur d'Alene for an electric heater to use for the rest of the trip! Finally found one and it's doing a great job at the moment fending off the brisk 42 degrees outside of our camper.

The mountains here are gorgeous - snow-capped and majestic, but not inviting enough to coax us up to those slippery roads. We're enjoying the view from below :)

Pie alert: Split a slice of french silk with Jack at a cafe called Millie's in Thompson Falls. It was obviously not french and more like fudge than silk. If I'm generous, a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The resort we're at is really nice; barely anything lacking! - Tony and O'Connors - you guys would love it. Great place for bikers ;) We met a guy and his wife who live on some kind of huge sandbar in Alaska - he's a principal and she's a teacher. They had some great stories and some helpful (as well as fairly frightening) information for us. I now know how to frighten off a black bear, how to avoid swallowing mouthfuls of mosquitoes, how to catch salmon using a wheel, and how to become employed as a teacher in Alaska making about double what I'm earning now! I'm not sure I'll ever actually need to use any of that information, but all of it was, at the very least, intriguing.

Thanks for the responses to the last post, guys! We've only been gone a week, but I'm already getting homesick. Little notes from y'alls make me feel all warm and cozy :) If you're not sure how to post, send me an email and I'll drop you a set of instructions.

xoxo

L

Missoula, Montana - Comin' into the Rockies

So...everybody SAYS it's not usual for the Rockies to be COVERED with snow. NOoooo...not until WE get here. Seriously, check out the photos in the slideshow. The snow is still quite deep near Glacier National Park - so deep that we decided to reroute ourselves in a more southerly direction to get to Idaho tomorrow. The views are spectacular and the roads on the east side of the range have been great. Today was a nearly ideal ride. Tomorrow, we may enter a little more chilly weather with more of a chance to run into the white stuff as that's the area hit with the foot of snow last Monday. However, we will push onward, bundled up and keeping cozy with plenty of leather and winter wear.

For those of you interested, I had my first pie of the trip today and a little dive of a diner on Rte. 200 near a place called Stevensville, or Stevensford, or something like that. Coconut cream. Mmm. Other than the typical "been-on-the-counter-uncovered-thickened-custard on top, it was delicious. Flaky crust, not too much coconut...I should have gotten another piece for the road :)

We found, strictly by accident, the most wonderful little campgroud. Jim and Mary's off I-90 outside of Missoula. Jim and Mary are terrific folks who run a neat, clean, well-landscaped, amazingly well appointed park complete with restrooms that Jack and I swear are cleaner than ours at home! There are awesome laundry facilities and a meeting room with t.v. and game table for more social activities, and the people have been awesome. Everyone stops by on their walks to chat about the camper and the trip and to share where they're going or where they've been. We're so lucky to have stumbled into this place. It's too bad we can only stay one night...

But tomorrow, it's off to Worley, Idaho - over the Rockies and into what promises to be another sunny and HOPEFULLY warm day.

By the way...This blog was intended to be interactive! We hope you'll have some comment to leave or piece of encouragement to offer as we go along. We miss you guys and want to know what's up with you, too!! Drop us a line!

More tomorrow -

L.