Looking Back

Keeping a blog for thirty-three days has been interesting.  We know that some may think, "How arrogant and self-indulgent!"  Maybe that's true.  Sometimes we have cursed at it when we couldn't find the right words or pictures, but it always helped clarify the day's events.  Instead of, at the end of the day, plopping onto the bed and watching TV, we turned on the computer and went to work.  Even though we are veteran experience collectors, our desire to make the blog interesting encouraged us to seek out more off-beat places and go for pictures we might not ordinarily have taken the time to shoot.

We found Alaska and Western Canada clean and breathtakingly beautiful and the people exceptionally friendly and helpful. 

Thanks to the fellow "independent travellers" we met along the way--for moral support, good conversation, and the comparing of notes and tips.  We would especially like to mention: Larry and Marsha, from Southern California; Les and Alice, from South Dakota; and Roberta and Harold, from Texas.  We wish you many more happy travels.

Amid all the beauty of the places we saw, we often-remembered the words of a hymn we sing each Sunday at church:  "Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place''--indeed! 

One often hears people from various parts of the country proclaim that their state is "God's Country."  Alaska is truly one of His finest creations.



Final scoreboard:   States visited  15
                             Canadian provinces visited  2
                             Canadian territories visited  1
                             State license places seen  41
                             Total miles 10,830



Thank for bearing with us. 

You otter make the trek and see for yourself.

Not 70 Again!

The last leg of our trip was a familiar one.  Halfway through, St. Louis provided some visual stimulation.

Otherwise, farmland.  Arrived safely home around 7 p.m.

As you can see, our careful organization and precise packing remained intact to journey's end.

Goin' To Kansas City

(July 8)

Wanted to make sure we got to see our friends Bob and Ann in Kansas City.

No time to dilly-dally--that meant no Oz Museum, no Swedish town of Lindsburg, no Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library.  We'll save those for another trip.  What we did see were fields of corn and soybeans...

oil wells...

and land, land and more land.

Maybe not spectacular, but certainly Middle America at its best.

Pouring It On

(July 7)

Once again, we had to put the miles in today.  Despite that, we couldn't resist popping in to see Craters of the Moon National Monument (after all, we were in the neighborhood).  The Peaks to Craters Scenic By-way was (well, we're running out of adjectives) lovely.

The monument's eight mile loop showed the results of many volcanic eruptions, the most recent now estimated to have been 2000 years ago.

It is said to be "The strangest 75 square miles in North America."  Jan saw a lava hill, and Bob climbed it.

Our allotted thirty minutes turned into two hours--oops!

Then it was time to make tracks.  Hello Utah; good-bye Utah. 

After changing our route several times, enduring downpours and road work...

we dragged ourselves into a motel in Cheyenne, WY, at 10:15 p.m. (total for the day, 798 miles).

Homeward Bound

Time to make up some miles.  By the end of the day, we hoped to be in Mountain Home, ID, a distance of some 630 miles.  (We made it.)  Along the way, we saw Mount Rainier,

and Mount Adams and seem to have climbed and descended about a hundred other mountains.

The scenery changed from scrub

to fir trees,

and back again--even saw an aerie on top of a telephone pole with an eagle in it.

It struck us how lucky we are to live in a country of such diverse and awe-inspiring beauty.

Taking a Break

[Had some computer glitches that prevented us from posting this earlier.]

Yesterday we found our friends Linda and Michael waiting for us on the balcony of the hotel.

Linda had been a close friend and neighbor in California over thirty years ago.  Michael, strictly speaking, wasn't our friend (yet), as we were meeting him for the first time.  As it is with old friends, we picked up with the conversation where we had left it ten years earlier.  Hard to believe it had been ten years ago, because Linda has changed very little!  Spent the evening on the balcony with wine and cheese and terrific company. 

Our hotel was located in Fairhaven, the historic section of Bellingham, WA.  Settled in the 1850s, it had been wild, with saloons, bordellos, opium dens, shootouts, and crooked law enforcement.  These days, however, this friendly community lures people in with restaurants, shops, and galleries. 

No car for us today.  It was all shopping, eating, and napping.

Bob and Michael took advantage of the nearby trail to explore the harbor.

We really enjoyed getting to know Michael.

Note to Linda:  We think he's a keeper!

Back in the Lower 48

Last day in Canada, and just in case Bob never sees another beautiful mountain, he shot 500 more.

At one turn-off, after Bob snapped a picture of a train chugging through the valley below and waved, the engineer gave Bob a special salute:  toot-toot!

After a deli lunch in Hope, the chainsaw carving capital of the world...

we made our way to the border.  (Caught a glimpse of Mount Baker on the way.)

Whizzed through Customs.  We were so excited to meet up with our Seattle friends Linda and Michael in Bellingham.  It has been a  low key but very pleasant 4th of July.

Getting From There to Here

Small towns in Alaska and Canada amaze us.  Each one is unique--no exception with Smithers, B.C.  Stayed the night and checked it out this morning.

The Coastal Mountains surround the city, known for year-round skiing, thanks to 8700 ft. Hudson Bay Mountain.


Main Street sports a Bavarian theme.

Over the course of the day, our landscape changed from mountains to lush green hillsides (with rain off and on) and finally to near-desert, requiring irrigation.

In the town of 100 Mile House, we happened on the unofficial record holder for world's longest pair of cross-country skis.  (The Guiness Book of World Records rejected this entry--the 100 Mile House city fathers were miffed!)

We have seen many bald eagles, but never an aerie--until today!  We think this one contains a fledgling.

Cache Creek, B.C., tonight.  Lower 48 tomorrow!

Always Something Interesting Around the Next Curve

We woke up in the charming town of Prince Rupert, after our last ferry ride.  This time we slept in what the Alaska Marine Highway calls a "stateroom."  Actually, for the seven hours we had it, it was perfect--neat and clean, bunk beds (already made), one chair, a desk that wouldn't open, a bathroom, and a window.  In spite of the weather, the sailing was smooth.

If there is a Tim Hortons and a McDonald's in the same city, baby, you are back to "civilization."  Prince Rupert helped make the transition bearable by providing some whimsy and old time touches.  Keeping with tradition, First Nations artwork adorns many public places.

Cow Bay, a trendy section of the city, got its name from the dairy established there in 1906.  Today it features restaurants and shops.

The clouds were amazing today, putting on a show with the mountains and the water.

Ran out of energy and stopped early in Smithers, B.C.

Hello, Dolly!

It rained cats and dogs all day.  One cruise ship was unable to dock because of the wind--a bad day for the Ketchikan economy.  As for us--our last day in Alaska (NO!  We don't want to go home!)--there was shopping to be done.  An area called Creek Street beckoned us.

It had been the red light district of Ketchikan from 1903 to 1953, when the city outlawed prostitution.  More than thirty bawdy houses lined the street--one run by the most famous of the madames, Dolly Arthur.  Today her house is a museum, preserved just as she left it.  Did we pay $10 to see it?  Heck, yes!

We have become intrigued by totem poles.  Ketchikan has more than anywhere else in Alaska.  We spent some time at Saxman Native Village, home to 28 Tlingit poles.

This tunnel caught our attention.  It is said to be the only one in the world that can be driven through, around, and over (a street with houses on it). 

Story continues tomorrow from Canada.