Minnicks & Colaos go North! to Alaska

The Mountain and the Park

2006-11-23T04:37:00.000-08:00

It's Been A Long Time....

2006-11-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

Continuing the saga: Leaving Tok for Fairbanks

We left off at Chicken Alaska, on July 12. The next few entries will be mostly photos and a few captions for clarification.

The drive from Tok to Fairbanks - Mountains galore and a view of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline

July 14 Downtown Fairbanks

July 16th - the quest for McKinley
Nenana is a quaint town between Fairbanks and Denali National Park. The Nenana Ice Classic is a kind of contest where they sell raffle tickets (for a good cause of course!) to anyone interested in winning the pot. The challenge is guessing exactly what day and time the ice tower will tip from the melting ice. In the beginning of winter they roll this tower onto the ice in the river and it sits there all witner long until spring thaw. The guess is what day that thaw will be enough to tip the tower. And yes, we all bought raffles!
The fish wheel is sort of illegal in most places, but it's used to catch fish by the dozens at a time. It goes in the water and the current turns the wheel. The fish are swimming the opposite direction so they just get scooped up and flung on shore into a waiting bucket or something.

The ride toward Denali National Park had us on the road at the entrance well past the closing time. So we drove up and down the highway looking for a place to stop for the evening.

Hard to find a camper-friendly rest stop so close to the park!

JULY 17th in Denali National Park

Getting ready for the long winding bus ride through the park to a great vantage point for viewing Mt. McKinley. The mountain comes out of the cloud cover only 30 percent of the time, and we were actually lucky enough to get a glimpse....with some beautiful scenery and interesting sights along the way.

It was quite a ride through the rugged terrain, even with an experienced driver the view out the window was harrowing to say the least!!! Until we finally got to see "the mountain" peeking out from behind the clouds...

This mama moose stopped traffic for about 10 minutes while she took her time ogling the tourists and browsing the ground for something to snack on.

When she finally cleared our path, we continued on. Rounded the next bend and got yet another glimpse of the elusive McKinley.

This was truly the highlight of the bus ride. We found out later that day that the next bus trip after ours was not as lucky. They didn't see the mountain at all. We left at 5:30 in the morning and returned at 2 in the afternoon, and we didn't even take the bus the entire route! You can't drive inside the park past the first few miles. Only tour buses and limited campers can drive all the roads in the park. And even at that, the roads only cover a tiny fraction of the park - it's too big to see in a day and you have to be equipped for extremes if you want to hike and tent it on the trails.

After a much needed bathroom break, we continued on and got closer to the mountain...

Some of the wildlife, although abundant, is too far away to get good photos. Oftentimes we just got a look out the bus window.

We saw wolves, bears, sheep, hawks, ptarmigans, bald eagles, and so many others but from a distance mostly.

You probably can't see it but the next two photos actually have a bear and her cub wandering through the meadow. It's so far away it just looks like a white dot in the center of the photo. Hope you can all zoom in to see it!

This was the road that continued on to another spot in the park, but our trip was done and we were ready to turn around.

This is our best shot at seeing Mount McKinley. It is 20,320 feet high and is the highest mountain in North America. Even with this spectacular shot, we are still 10 miles away from the base.

It truly makes you realize how small we really are.

More to come on this trip to the park, but for now please have a very happy Thanksgiving and enjoy Black Friday!

Ahhh...... Home at Last!

2006-08-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, now that we're home and able to work on High Speed Internet, here is the continuation of our trip.

This is July 12, our ride from Tok to Chicken, Alaska. (It was supposed to be called Ptarmigan, the state bird, which looks a bit like a quail, but no one knew how to spell it) Chicken is a quaint little roadside town that is owned by only one person. The guys went panning for gold in the creek - the miners get the gold from the mountains in the area and haul some of the rocks down to the creek for the tourists to try their hand at gold panning. Gary actually got some...a few flakes in his pan...the gift shop workers take it out of the pan and put it in a vial for you for a dollar.

The ride to Chicken was a 66 mile trip on a road that was under repair for 90% of the way.

This is a milder version of the construction. Many of the roadside shoulders were steep dropoffs.

The post office...

The regular post office employee was off this day, so the employee's friend was filling in for a while. Guess they can do that in Chicken...

The bulletin board had the usual FBI's most wanted posters, but the interesting thing was the Sunday picnic food list. Seems the whole town gets together and brings dishes and the post office was the place to sign up and put your contribution on the list.

The best fun of the day was going to the restaurant/gift shop/saloon.

At the saloon they had a pool table and a bar. The main attraction to this bar was the cannon.

What's the big deal about the cannon, you say? Well, anyone who was so inclined could get free drinks just by handing their panties over to the bartender to be shot out of the cannon!

No, you won't find MY panties up there!

We drove past a forest fire while going to Chicken. It was interesting to learn that sometimes they don't rush to put the fires out. They watch them from a safe distance to make sure they don't threaten any homes or life, but for the most part they burn freely. One of the first plants to grow after a fire is a beautiful red/pink flower called fireweed. It grows abundantly here, and you really can see where fires were just by spotting these flowers.

Most of the ground here is on "permafrost". The dominant tree that grows there is black spruce. You can tell where the permafrost is by spotting spruce bogs, where the ground seems to be blackened by fire. It's actually just wet, thawed and frozen over and over again. These trees are very hardy and have survived the weather for hundreds of years. The soil layer that the roots take hold in is only a few inches deep. Even though the trees may look small and scraggly they could actually be over a hundred years old!

Joe and Gary decided to see just what this permafrost is all about. They walked through a bog and got a very short distance before their feet started sloshing in the muck. The top layer is very spongy and wet...and yes it is very cold.

...So...

That was our day in Chicken, Alaska.

SO...

2006-08-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Here we are, in a rest area outside Albany, New York, just a mere 5 hours from home. So...

So I didn't get to put up the whole trip on the blog site. Well, there's high speed internet waiting for me in Riverhead New York where I can sit at my leisure, in my PJ's, and upload tons of pictures and continue this story.

Many of you who know us have already heard most of our adventures in person. It was great to see everyone at the Adirondack Adventures II Rally in Saranac Lake, NY over the weekend. We got to laugh together once again as we relived our many escapades through stories around the campfire. Those stories will be up here, soon.

JUST KEEP ON CHECKING FOR MORE UPDATES!!

More of the Border Crossing

2006-08-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

The boundary between Alaska and Canada is actually cut out of the landscape all the way through! Hard to see in this photo, but the cleared path goes on over the ridge in the distance and on and on from there.

FINALLY!! July 11, 2006: Welcome to Alaska!!

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Fox and Breakfast

2006-08-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Around Kluane Lake

2006-08-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

This is Kluane Lake, in Kluane National park, Yukon Territory. Kluane is the largest lake in the Yukon. Its color, like most lakes up here, comes from light reflecting off the glacial sediment suspended in the water. Some of the lakes are so brilliantly turquoise, others are bright aqua and sea green. Many are hundreds of feet deep.

Jade City

2006-08-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

More Signs

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Watson Lake

2006-08-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

The Signpost Forest...

Nothing could describe this place. This was started by a guy who was homesick while working on the Alaska highway. He posted a sign pointing to his home town and it grew from there....there are now about 80,000 signs and the townspeople keep up the maintenance of the place and add new signposts when the old ones get filled up. We will post our own sign on our return trip, after we're through with Alaska and are on our way back home.

One more thing about the Cassiar Highway...

2006-08-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Forgot to mention that some veteran drivers of the Cassiar Highway insisted the road would ruin the car and trailer. Insisted we wrap up the entire trailer with plastic and bubble wrap. Well, we didn't go that far, but we did decide to wrap the grille of the Tahoe. The Airstream has rock guards already so any damage done to it would have been done to the guards. We did wrap the front with bubble wrap, just enough so that the lights could still be seen if needed, (Remember it's always light out so who needed lights??) and over that we placed a layer of screening. Taped it all on with packing tape. Turned out to be a good thing, because the gravel that pops up from passing vehicles was enough to ruin the windshield. And, the mud was terrible! The entire trailer and bottom half of the truck were covered in a thick layer of mud. Took over an hour to wash it off!

And I also forgot our tript to Jade City and the Cassiar jade shops. The mines there produce about 75 percent of the world's jade products, believe it or not! Picked up a few trinkets and went on our way.

More of the Same?

2006-08-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

The Cassiar Highway...

What a mess! Dust was everywhere. The road is constantly being repaired and resurfaced because in that area the ground is usually frozen all year long - they call it "permafrost". The top layer of frozen stuff melts and makes the ground all soggy but underneath it stays frozen. So then they pave the road with gravel and tar it over and think it's done. But -- when the ground thaws more than they expect it to, it causes the roadbed to shift, and it breaks away and leaves giant potholes and dropoffs to nowhere. They call that "frost heaves". Most of the road stays just gravel, I guess because it's easier to repave with rocks than it is with tar.

...that's 50 KM...about 30 mph

Along the way, of course, the scenery was just spectacular...

From time to time you might notice something that looks like a tennis racket in the photos...well...that thing turns out to be the answer to pest control...the electronic mosquito zapper! It is an essential tool for living up in the North Country...the mosquitoes are abundant and relentless! It's a button that you push on the handle of the racket that delivers current to the metal mesh. Just touch it to a mosquito and -- ZAP! it just disintegrates. We wound up having three of those zappers to accompany us along the way.

So...at the last 25 percent of the Cassiar Highway, guess what? They pave it! It was just smooth as anything that last quarter length. And - the end of the Cassiar brought us to the Alaska Highway. Next stop - Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, and the Famous Signpost Forest.

2006-08-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

Almost Alaska!

2006-08-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

So we took this side trip off the Cassiar Highway to go to Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska.

The Cassiar highway...About 60 percent of it is now paved. The gravel parts of it are horrible...dips, potholes, no guard rails, road breaking off in chunks around the tightest of bends, washboard, one of the worst roads you could imagine...

Anyway, Stewart was a cute little place with a "grand" hotel, laundromat and 2 grocery stores. The campground was pretty nice...called "Rainey Creek"...the trees were hundreds of feet high (or so it seemed...) and this place was the first location that we really got the feeling of being up north, when 10 PM came and it was still light out! The side trip to Hyder, Alaska was just a quick day trip...Hyder's population was under 100 people so not much to do there...but we took the "salmon glacier" road and had a nice trip up the mountain, stopping along the way to look for bears in Fish Creek.
They go there to pull out the salmon that swims up the stream by the thousands...however, we were about 3 weeks too early for them so we didn't see any.

More blue water...

The ride up the mountain to Salmon Glacier was to say the least...harrowing! It started getting cold and rainy, misty and foggy and we thought it was going to start snowing any moment! And the turns were tight, the dropoffs steep.

The stay in Stewart included doing the laundry...on the way out of town we stopped along Portland Canal at Bear Glacier to take some pictures of the glacier - it's too bad we can't post sounds (or at least I don't know how to do that yet...) you can hear the meltwater rushing out under the glacier into the Bear River.

The next post will have some photos of the trip through Hyder and Bear glacier...

Driving through British Columbia

2006-08-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

The next two days were spent mainly just driving through Canada. The scenery was spectacular and interetsting. It was a very long ride, though, before we got to stop somewhere and unhitch for a couple of days.

Some scenery through Canada...

The road was often shared, sometimes we picked up passengers....

Sometimes we just stopped and let the other travelers pass.

Stopped this night in Stewart, British Columbia, and stayed for a couple of days.

having fun in the mountains

2006-07-31T02:01:00.000-07:00

Photos from the mountain

2006-07-31T01:52:00.000-07:00

More photos from Mt Rainier...

The trash bins are made to be bear proof...

...quite an exhausting day, I must say!

We Welcome Comments!

2006-07-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

A quick note to all our friends and family...Please feel free to post a comment whenever you'd like...just click on the links below any post.

Washington to Canada

2006-07-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Onward we go through Washington State and into Canada. The trip through Canada would wind up taking us about a week, going through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. You don't realize how big the continent is until you have to drive the whole thing! I would guess the entire mileage through Canada would be about 1500 miles, about the same length as a trip from New York to Florida. But even though you'd think you can drive that far in a couple of days...maybe 3 if you push it...You have to take into consideration the condition of the road and the terrain as well. Hence the week-long drive. For about 95 percent of the trip through Canada, there wasn't even any cell phone or internet service, which really slowed down the process of posting to the blog!! Easy to get behind when you can't even log on!

Well anyway,
The fourth of July fireworks were really nothing more than watching a few kids with stuff they lit up from the trunk of their cars. In Washington fireworks are legal, so it was not hard to find a burst of color anywhere in the evening sky. So there we sat with our folding chairs and side tables sipping cocktails (again!) and enjoying the show!

OK, now we're going to Mt. Rainier National Park, home of the highest peak in the lower 48 states. The weather started out warm but up in the mountains it turned chilly, even with the sunshine. But we had a great time up there anyway!

Taking a stretch break at the entrance

Getting to the top was a ride, but it was worth it to see this giant.

Of course, the camera man (Gary) was at it all afternoon...

Even when we weren't looking at the camera he was snapping away...now Joe gets his camera going too...boy, these guys never quit!

We girls finally decided enough was enough! Toss him over the side!!

Hmm...maybe we should just leave him there...

OK...so it was a good joke...we had a good time with it and it kept us laughing all afternoon!

But Joan's best time was laughing at ME when I was doing the bee - fly twitch!

The guys finally found something to keep them entertained...

The view from the top was just awesome.

Back to the old games again...here's Gary taking a photo of his own foot! As if we really needed to see this! (Good thing odors don't permeate the internet...!)

There's lots of snow up in these mountains, even in June and July. Sometimes the roads don't even get cleared out.

The weather board says it all...look at the snow just a couple of weeks before we got there!

OK, on we go...This is Seattle at Rush Hour...

And here is our first glimpse of the road to Canada.

While Waiting...

2006-07-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Since I had no idea how this internet cafe thing would work, I only brought with me one day's worth of photos...they loaded so fast...so I have no more with me to post. To give a short synopsis of Alaska...

It is beautiful! (Short enough?) Really, the scenery is so magnificent that words and photos do not do it justice. The only way to understand Alaska is to be here. The state is one fifth the size of the entire lower 48 states. If you fit it inside the lower 48, the Aleutian Islands will go from the Mississippi River to California and more; the eastern panhandle, where Juneau is, stretches from the Mississippi to Florida. It is huge. Traveling from one spot to another actually requires a trip plan, as if you were taking a road trip from home to 3 states away. As we thought about returning home, (boo-hoo) we realized that the trip on the Alaska Highway alone is over 1500 miles! And we are at this moment about 450 miles from the Highway! The Alaska Highway goes from Delta Junction, AK to Dawson Creek in British Columbia. We didn't go that way on the way here but we are taking that way back. Everyone who travels by road to Alaska has to go to Dawson Creek, mile zero. There are then about 1500 miles through Canada to get to where we enter the states again.

The way back we're going into some national parks in Canada and then entering through Glacier national park in Montana. Going the North way back through the Great Lakes then into New York and Saranac Lake the end of August.

We have been in constant cool temperatures except for Fairbanks. The temperature now is in the high 50's (we actually got some sunshine today!) but the last few days it has been overcast, rainy and cool. We have to put the heat on at night, and we're wearing sweaters during the day. There is snow on many of the peaks (which are by the way awesome) and the weather can change from beautiful sun at sea level to cold and snowing just a few thousand feet up. Fairbanks, however, is in the interior where the summer temps can go into the 70's, but in the winter the temps are much more extreme, dropping well below zero most days.

Talk about days - they never end! The sun sets now, at the end of July, around 10:50 PM at this latitude. It rises again at about 4:45 AM. Joe and Joan went up to the Arctic Circle (they'll tell you about that trip!) where the sun set out their left windows and an hour or so later rose out their right windows. It's very hard to sleep with the daylight...it doesn't really get dark at all! When the sun sets it's like twilight all night until it rises again. We've had many fun evenings going out to the local pub and coming out at 11 PM and it's still light out...we get back to the trailer and bang the car doors closed, yell our good nights to each other - then wonder why no one is out, why is it quiet? DUH...because everyone is SLEEPING...!! Hard to get used to. But I can tell you it will be harder to get used to being dark at 7 PM when we get home!

More photos to come soon...my posts will pick up on July 5 and our trip to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.

After we left Salem

2006-07-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

The next bunch of photos are being uploaded from a computer at a tech center in Homer, Alaska. There is no order to them and no captions. It is a high speed connection so this is a good way to catch up with the photos. Text and explanations will follow later on, which can be done easily on the home base computer at the trailer.

Most of the pics are of our drive from Salem OR to Mt. St. Helen's in Washington.

More Mt. St. Helens

2006-07-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

More of the trip to Mt. St. Helen's. The view was spectacular once we got to the top and the viewing center. The tree trunks were blown down by the blast, and some up on the mountain you can see where they were blown straight down, and now they are sticking out of the land that has overgrown. The "what to do in the event of ash fall" poster I've dubbed "Panic" because the first line says "do not panic!" Hmm...Let me see...Volcano...Ash Fall...Devastation coming...Do not panic??!! Ha.

The last photo (of the mountain and the valley) shows how much of the landscape was scarred by the eruption.

After we left there, we found a nice quiet Wal-Mart parking lot to cozy up and watch Fourth of July Fireworks. (It was a bit chilly...)

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The Rally at Salem, Oregon June 26 - July 4, 2006

2006-07-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

The 49th International WBCCI Rally took place in Salem Oregon. It was about 103 degrees by the time we got there. They line you up in what's called a "bull pen" until they're ready to park you. You have to be escorted to your parking spot. We just happened to get there around lunchtime. So there we were, in the 103 degree heat, in the middle of a big dry dusty field, waiting. And waiting. For over an hour. It was hot! We found some refuge inside the trailer while waiting...turned on the fans and broke open a cold bottle of water and conversed with others in line with us. The escorts finally got us going into our spot, and by about 1:30 Oregon time (we got there at Noon...) we were able to settle in and unhitch. In 103 degree heat. (Did I mention it was HOT there???) I never welcomed an icy cold cocktail more than at that moment...Oh, except for when Joan rescued me in Rapid City...!! :)

Anyway, we settled in and went to the registration building to register and get our stuff that you get at rallies...badge ribbon, activity book, Salem welcome package, Salem pin, etc etc...then went back to the trailer and sat under the awning drinking cocktails and sweating profusely.

One highlight of the rally was the opening ceremony. That's when all the regions and units parade into the stadium and present their flags to the international officials. Usually pretty mundane and we fall asleep while watching. Or at least I do...
Took a photo of our unit president Barbara Landman carrying the New York State flag and that was it for the excitement that night.

We chatted with the Landmans (Barbara and Ray) for a while then headed back to the trailer for the evening. That was June 27 in a nutshell.

While we were driving here, I was working on a baby gift for a friend of mine who was going to be a grandmother for the first time.

That took up the bulk of June 28 since there was nothing exciting going on at the rally. (Let me clarify that statement...these blog posts are coming from me only, so this is only my opinion of the day. The others may have found excitement in the daily activities but so far I didn't.)

June 29 was a down day...did laundry and browsed through town. Nothing else happened that was worth writing home about.

June 30 I created a donation to give to the organization that collected items for the disadvantaged people in Salem. They were collecting food, hats and coats. I made a hat to donate.

That evening was the highlight of the rally as far as entertainment went...they had the Lettermen performing their old hits. They were pretty good...even for a youngster like me!

Saturday July 1st we had the Region 2 Luncheon at the Elks Lodge in Salem. Was a good time to get together with our Canadian neighbors. Had a nice meal and lots of good conversation with our table mates.

We took one day to go downtown and see the waterfront park. They have this globe called the Eco Ball which used to be used in the paper making process by the local paper mill. It was a "pressure vessel" made of asphalt and steel but the local community claimed it and refinished it to make it more people-friendly. Now it's a big draw to the riverfront park.

One evening while we were in Salem we went to see Al Gore's movie "Inconvenient Truth". There were other activities going on at the rally grounds and we really did go to some of them but for the most part we spent much time hanging out at the trailer or visiting other trailers' cocktail hours. Gary and I went to a seminar on caravanning and running a national caravan and that's where I got the idea to create this blog - the presentation on communications by Max Joseph - he mentioned it once and that's all I needed and the ideas were swimming in my head before we even left the building!

July 3 was another down day as far as activities and/or chores...just hung around the trailer reading the paper and sipping drinks under the awning. Those of you reading this blog who know me, know how much I drink. A bottle of Captain Morgan will usually last me 6 months or so...but on this trip, I'm into the second bottle already...I think I've had more cocktails in the last 3 weeks than I had in the entire past 2 years! Guess there are some advantages to "really" being on vacation!

Fourth of July - Independence Day! The day we've been waiting for...at least as far as traveling goes...we would have been out of here 3 days ago if it weren't for the WBCCI Flea Market that takes place on the last day of every international rally. The boys were more excited than kids in a toy store! Anyway, we browsed the flea market and stayed till around Noon when we met this guy named Leo who came by and bought almost everything we had left. Actually, he didn't really buy it...we gave him the antenna (which he proceeded to carry over his shoulder and pretty near knock over everyone within a 10 foot radius while he talked and turned and turned around again, the antenna swinging wildly...) and then Gary was just handing him gadgets and pieces and parts until he had the last little basket of nuts and bolts and we walked out of the flea market with no products and no profits. But it wasn't for the money, it was just fun.

That was it for me as far as the rally went. It was long, we were there for 8 days, and we finally got on the road again around 1 PM July 4th. Headed toward Mt. St. Helens in Washington, which we got to later that afternoon. That story will continue later. I've been trying for the last hour to upload more photos but the connection is failing...so when the connection will cooperate I'll post more photos.

It's Hard to Play Catch Up!!

2006-07-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here it is almost the last week in July and I still haven't had a minute to post any more of our story! Guess that's what happens when you're having such a great time! There are so many things to see and do in Alaska that we stop at the end of the day totally exhausted and who wants to take time to sit and write it all down??

We have been to all the major attractions of the state, including Tok, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Mt. McKinley National park, and so many other places that it's tough keeping it all organized in my mind. Thank goodness I have tons of pictures to help me remember everything we did.

Right now this post will just send well wishes and thanks to everyone who has complimented us on our story. We will hopefully find time some day soon to sit long enough to put more of the trip up here.

We are in Seward right now, a beautiful seashore town on Prince William Sound and the campground is right on the waterfront. It's pretty cool...just pick a spot and pay via an envelope you pick up at the entrance and drop in a safe tube. First come, first serve, and we got the last two spots here last night. The large ferry vessels and cruise ships dock here so our view is spectacular with the mountains right on the other side of the sound dropping directly into the water. The glacier views are out of this world! Today it's pretty rainy so the clouds and fog are blocking the mountains. This is the first bout of real rain we've had on the entire trip. They say in Alaska in summer it rains just about every other day and they weren't kidding! We haven't really seen a clear sunny day in quite a while. Just enough sun to view the mountains in the distance and that's about it. Many of the highest mountains are almost always covered in clouds and fog so it's a rare moment to see Mt. McKinley at all...we were lucky enough to see it not only on our Denali park trip but also while driving down the highway...the sun popped out just long enough to see the peak (20,320 feet high the highest mt. in North America) and get a snapshot.

Hello to all our friends and family who are waiting anxiously for another posting...it will come soon, I promise! Today is not a good day for sightseeing so we will probably end early and stay close to home for the afternoon. Surely by the end of July there will be more to read!

Love to all and see you in September!!

Romping on the Oregon Coast, June 25 & 26

2006-07-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Oregon June 24th, 2006

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Crater Lake was the big attraction on the way to the rally in Salem. What a beautiful sight! The photos are a disservice to the real beauty. We had a good time with the snow...it snows there all the time, and the roads were cleared only halfway around the lake. The snow was about 4 feet high along some of the road higher up.

When we left the lake we continued on toward Salem and the 49th International WBCCI Rally. We were having so much fun doing all this sightseeing, it was almost sad to be stopping it all to go to Salem. But...That's only a week out of the touring schedule...we'll live!

A quiet relaxing evening after a great day of sightseeing...on to the Pacific Coast tomorrow.

Just random postings...

2006-07-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

Posting some pictures to help fill in the gaps. We took so many pictures that there's no way to intersperse them into the story...so here is a pictorial of the drive through Idaho.

Stopped for lunch at a place called “Pickle’s Place” in Arco, Idaho. Arco. What’s in a name?? Ar Co. Strange, but this town’s claim to fame is being the first nuclear powered city in the US…Arco. Of ARCO Oil? Hmm….Anyway…the lunch was quite tasty…Gary had an “atomic” burger…I had a salad. Figured they couldn’t do too much to a head of lettuce…

City shots are of Boise, Idaho. Oregon still awaits...

Images part 2

2006-07-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

earlier in the trip...

South Dakota

2006-07-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Images of the roadtrip part one

Old Faithful Continued

2006-07-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

OK...back to the park...(had a great sleep and ready to continue...)

Left off at Old Faithful, waiting for the big show...

OK…1:50…1:55…2:00…It’s a bit late, huh? Well, someone said the last eruption was about 1:20 but it was due around 12:50. OK. So maybe we’ll wait a while.

2:05…2:10…more waiting…2:20…A bit disappointing…the smaller ones in the distance are going off now, maybe that’s a sign…??

OK…wait a bit more…then…
Two Fifty PM, almost an hour after they said it would go off….It erupted.

But…that was it?? What happened to the 300 foot geyser?? That did not happen. It hasn’t been that high in a long time, so we were told by a visitor who saw it last year. No more giant sprays…

Quite anti-climactic, if you ask me!!

OK. Move on. Into the vehicles and on to the Tetons, which are just south of Yellowstone. What impressive peaks these are…

Crossed the Continental Divide while going through the park,

and drove over Teton Pass and headed toward camp.

Random Shots from June 19 - 20, 2006

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Some Random Photos

2006-07-12T01:08:00.000-07:00

No story, just pictures.

The Story Continues

2006-07-11T23:25:00.000-07:00

YAY!! Back to civilization! Been out of touch for 5 days...no phone...no email...no internet. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing... :)

I'll continue on with our saga, but first let me tell you that we are all OK, we're having a blast and seeing so many new things. Right now we're in Tok, Alaska, where I'm sitting at 11:00 pm (that's NIGHT TIME...) and it's still light out. Hard to get used to having so much daylight...we drive until 9PM, have dinner at 10:30...but so what, we're on vacation!

Here's the story, picking up where we left off...

Monday June 19

Happy Birthday Brian Lupo! 28 years old today. It’s rainy. Good day to just move the trailer. Packed up after a breakfast of cereal and banana, on the road again by 9:30 am. Headed toward the other side of the park where we’ll exit and go to the Idaho campground. On the way there we encountered bison walking across the roadway – two adults were blocking the road for the calves to cross safely. The adults began butting heads and looked like they were going to fight, but they also crossed to the other side of the road and continued on their way.

Then so did we.

We stopped at some geyser basins where steam vents were actively spewing out steam and hot water.

Stopped along the roadside to take pictures of some elk sitting quietly by the riverside.

As we approached the western side of the park, the higher mountains began coming into view. We could see the snow on them and at every turn they got bigger and higher. Everywhere we went there were bison in the road or alongside the road.

Evening – pulled in to the campground at Island Park, Idaho. Very friendly people, nice place. We’re here for three days, leaving June 22.

Tuesday June 20

Let’s take a day trip!! Or so we thought…

Morning – went back to Yellowstone through the Western entrance, headed to Old Faithful. That was just about the only thing we had left to see, and on the way to it we passed several active geysers and some beautiful waterfalls. We ran next to the river most of the morning.

Came upon these things called Fountain Paint Pots. They are pools of hot water/acid that just bubble up and create pools of colored liquid and steam everywhere.

One geyser, Excelsior Geyser, had been dormant until 1985 when it came to life again and created many colorful pools which flowed down a “hill” into the river. Of course, none of the water here is drinkable.

Finally by afternoon, 1:45 to be exact, we got to Old Faithful. Saw the time clock predicting the next eruption, it was about to go off in 5 minutes! So off we ran to the observation benches…Found they were pretty empty so we grabbed a front row seat.

OK...it's now 12 Midnight (Today Wednesday July 12) and still as light as it was at 11:00!! As much as I'd like to keep going, I've got to try to sleep...SOOOO........

This story will be continued....

2006-07-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Just a pretty picture

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Joe and Joan at the lake

June 18: The Road to Yellowstone

2006-07-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 18

Happy Father’s Day! Joe and Gary got calls from their kids to wish them a happy day. We got a campground inside Yellowstone for tonight and will move to another place tomorrow. We didn’t have reservations so it took a while to find a plae that had two sites vacant. But we did, and we unhitched and headed out to see some of the park.
Yellowstone is HUGE!! Two million acres of protected forest. It’s about 75 miles across from one side to another. So today we explored the west side, close to oru campsite. Saw beautiful snow-capped mountains, lake Yellowstone, which is also huge, and bubbling pools of sulphuric acid from volcanoes that erupted years ago and are still festering. Beautiful running rapids, waterfalls and the “Grand Canyon” of Yellowstone. Yesterday someone went over the edge and fell to her death off the side of one of the cliffs. Anyway, it was a beautiful day. Also saw lots of wildlife – Bison, pelicans (!!) elk, deer, and a crowd of people were watching a grizzly bear along the river. Stopped at an ice cream shoppe before heading back to the camp. Had a headache so took a nap, Gary cooked soup and we all went our separate ways. Moving tomorrow to a site outside the park near Ashton, Idaho for 3 days. Will come back to explore the rest of the park, including Old Faithful. Tomorrow.

Some of the road was a bit rough...there were spots where there was no guardrail and a very steep drop-off. It was a challenge trying to look at and photograph the scenery while holding on with all your might going along these narrow roads...!

Sometimes, we just snapped pictures because there was something pretty to look at...

...and sometimes we snapped photos of the wildlife sharing the road!

They're pretty scary looking, huh?

Look closely at this photo...those are pelicans in the air!

This is Dragon Mouth Springs where we got a glimpse of what was to come the rest of the days we were in Yellowstone. Hot geysers are everywhere and it's really dangerous to walk near the water - it's extremely hot and some is highly acidic.

But...we did get to spend some time relaxing by the water. This is Joe and Joan (above) and Gary and me (below) at Yellowstone Lake, with the Grand Tetons Mountain Range in the background.

Minnicks & Colaos go North! to Alaska

2006-07-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

The record for climbing the 865 ft. Devils Tower (AKA Bear Lodge) is 18 minutes held by a speed climber (These types of climbers use no gear to climb the mountain but they have no way back down once they reach the top and have to be air lifted down). Climbing is open to all - give it a try if you dare.
Gary

2006-07-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Friday June 16

Checking out. Hitched up and on the road by 9:30 am. Now we’re headed toward Wyoming where we’ll stop at Devil’s Tower and then Yellowstone. Stopped at this cute little town called Aladdin, Wyoming - population 15.

Got to Devil’s Tower in the afternoon. It is a giant granite formation that juts out into the sky from the base of a mountain. It rises 865 feet straight up. Legend has it that a giant bear was chasing an Indian princess up the mountain but it couldn’t keep its grip, hence the straight up and down “lines” in the formation. Actually, the composition of the rock allows it to form and brek down in hexagonal-shaped columns. The columns break off and crumble to the ground leaving what looks like the bear claw marks.

After Devil’s Tower, just found a Wal-mart to park in for the night. Joe not feeling well, so we had to stop for a day. He slept most of

Saturday June 17

And we didn’t get too far. Found another Wal-Mart and stayed over again, in Cody, WY. Just 55 more miles to Yellowstone Park.

Here's Rt. 14 on the way to Cody. And me working on the BLOG!

June 14 and 15

2006-07-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 14

Mt. Rushmore today. Gary’s driving. Nice to have a view out the back window other than a trailer! Spent most of the day just relaxing, regrouping and reorganizing our messes. Mt. Rushmore program has a lighting ceremony at 9:00 pm every night so we went there late in the afternoon. The monument was impressive – what a sight to see as you’re driving along the highway – around a curve and over a rise and there they are – the four faces that make up the monument. It really was breathtaking. In fact, it was more impressive to me to see them from the highway than seeing them up close in the park. Either way it was an unforgettable evening.

Thursday June 15

Took a side trip north to Deadwood and Sturgis, SD. Sturgis is a nothing little town except for one week each year – then it comes alive with one of the biggest harley rallies in the country! This year it’s in August so when we went through town it was dead. A long drive to find not much of anything. On to Deadwood. Deadwood is an old gold mining town that still has a couple of working mines. Most of the town is replicas of the 1800’s and a tour bus took us through the most historic parts of it.

The cemetery, Mt. Moriah Cemetery, has in it some of the most notorious characters in western history, including Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane.

It was an interesting tour and the guide was very entertaining. Deadwood got its name from all the dead wood on the mountainsides…there was a big problem with beetles which bored through all the pines and killed them, leaving acres and acres of dead pine trees everywhere. Some of the forest was burned to try to get rid of the beetles, but it looks like even today they are eating their way through everything.
Went to a diner for lunch, and I lost $1.00 in the penny slot machine while waiting for the food. Gambling is very legal in South Dakota, and casinos are everywhere – there are even slot machines in the gas stations!

After Deadwood we went back down south toward the campground, and took another ride toward Rushmore, but this time we went to the Crazy Horse memorial. Crazy Horse was a Lakota Indian whose monument represents a tribute to all Native Americans. The visitor center is a national Native American museum. When the monument is finished, it will be larger than Mt. Rushmore. It has been in progress since 1948 and there is no completion date in sight.

2006-07-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

2006-07-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

2006-07-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

"Not All Who Wander Are Lost" - JRR Tolkien

June 11 through june 13

2006-07-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 11

Woke up 5:15 with a massive headache…took some Excedrin and decided to change the pillows…had some coffee, called the hospital – Yesenia still sedated but she will be OK after a few days.…so…Onward we go!
9:00 am – Breakfast at Flying J in PA…quick trip north of Cleveland OH to drive along Lake Erie. Lakefront homes must go for 1 – 2 million or more!! Passed by a fixer-upper for “only” 475,000!
On to I-90 through Ohio – 2-hour nap for Gary at a rest area at mile marker 100. While writing this page, we drove through a swarm of bees! No less than 100 “splats!” on the windshield. Good thing I’m not driving!
4:30 pm – Driving through Indiana – passing by some things Gary called “cattle-ometers” – Sensors detecting animals in the area warn motorists with flashing lights. Found a Wal-Mart Supercenter to pull in…Gary cooked, I shopped for “provisions…water, food, etc. Settled in for a good sleep before heading out.

Monday June 12

4:00 am – Woke up to a sound that sounded like a garbage truck. Very loud. Very annoying. Couldn’t go back to sleep. Eventually drifted off again…woke up again to the sound of garbage trucks rolling around…only this time we looked out the window to see why they were making so much noise – to find we are surrounded by orange cones!! The garbage trucks are not garbage trucks but a work detail. Ok…gotta move…jumped out of bed, Gary got dressed and started the car…I fumbled for something to wear, decided to wear my PJ’s since we’re only gonna stop somewhere else to sleep some more…opened the door…down the step…tried but failed at putting the step up with one hand…when…ring ring ring! OK. What nut is calling my cell phone at 4:00 in the morning??!! So I put down my purse and keys and stood there fumbling with the step in one hand and the phone in the other. I should have known. It’s him. We’re not leaving, just moving to another quieter part of the parking lot. All that fumbling in my pajamas for nothing. So….we moved to another spot where it was quiet again. Slept another hour and woke again to the sound of garbage trucks… This time we moved to the extreme end of the parking lot and went back to sleep. After a short while – guess what! - this time we decided to leave, after we got surrounded again by orange cones but this time we got beeped at from the truck driver who was waiting outside the camper for us to move. Got greeted by a nice friendly cone-carrier who bid us good morning as we rode off into the sunrise…
Daytime – Lots of driving. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. (♪♪♪Nothing to say, nothing to see, nothing to do. ) Couldn’t decide if we wanted to continue westward, stop for the night, or just go home. It truly was a very long day.

Iowa is a very long and boring state. Seems like it took forever to cross it. Scenery doesn’t change much, it’s all corn and grassland. Roads are straight and long. We did start seeing lrge scale wind turbines in large groups to the South and there is a movement here to produce bio-fuels in a big way – both methanol and Bio-Diesel are growing and processing plants are starting up all over. Our first major right turn to the north happened when we crossed the state and got to the Missouri river. Traveled along I-29 along the river until we got to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we turned left onto I-90…again! Same old boring landscape, same old straight-arrow roads… just a few more exits and we can stop…but exits were miles apart and it was getting dark and we’re getting cranky…300+ miles (more like 400 or 500) in one day…time for a break.

Tuesday June 13

Woke up outside Mitchell, South Dakota. Very grumpy. Another headache. The bright spot in the day will come when we pull into the campground and unhitch. Seems like years away!! South Dakota roads are straighter and more boring than Iowa! Thankfully only 192 miles to drive today. (Oh Joy.) Meeting Joe and Joan at the campground in Keystone, SD, just south of Rapid City. On our way there we stopped and drove through the “Badlands”.

What a spectacular place to see!! Mountains of sandstone that have eroded away over the years have left eerie formations and strange shapes in the landscape. It was a 43-mile loop off the main highway but well worth every second. The formations seemed to appear out of nowhere and then they were all around us. Vegetation was scarce, some small brush here and there and a few wildflowers. Left there with lots of pictures.

Late Afternoon - Arrived at the campground. I was never happier to see a cocktail than I was at that moment the trailer rolled into our spot and we shut the truck off…Finally we can chill!!! Thanks to Joan for even having my Capt. Morgan & Diet ready and waiting as soon as we pulled in!! Thanks Joan!!! Ahhh, to relax and not have to go anywhere for 3 days!! Checking out of her on Thursday 6/15. Tomorrow we will actually start our vacation by going to MT Rushmore.
Dinner with Joe and Joan was very relaxing, especially since they had everything already cooked when we got there! Called it a night and got the first real solid uninterrupted sleep since we left home. As we were driving in, there was a storm following us:

Breaktime

2006-07-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 10

2006-06-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

Left Riverhead at 7:30 am. Gary’s first nap came at the New Jersey rest stop about 9:00 am. Gary’s first one-hour nap at 12:30 pm at a rest stop near the Delaware Water Gap. Found a Subway and had lunch before heading out again. **Mile 180 on I-80 – Highest elevation on I-80 east of the Mississippi River. Pulled into a Flying J in Brookville, PA where we cooked some chicken cutlets, peas and homemade soup. Great meal for a camper!
Got a phone call from Jessica – Yesenia in the hospital with RSV – Respiratory System Virus. She’s intubated and sedated to aid in her recovery…Jessica was worried she wouldn’t make it through but she wasn't getting complete information. My conversation with the nurse put our fears at ease…she will be OK after a few days of rest and sedation.

Welcome to Gary's & Sue's & Joe's & Joan's Excellent Adventure!

2006-06-30T17:53:00.001-07:00

Beginning on June 10, 2006, we, Gary and Sue, left home in Riverhead NY with our 34 foot Airstream and took off for Alaska. Here is the story, as much of it as we can publish, day by day and with photos on occasion. Follow us on our journey as we meet up with Joe and Joan Colao in South Dakota and continue onward toward our ultimate vacation destination - Alaska!