August 24: HOME AT LAST....

This the coolest???? Chris flew by these culverts so fast, that I didn't get a chance to take a picture. And never let it be said that he would turn around and go back for me to take a picture. Sooooo... Luckily, a friend of ours, whom we met in Haines, AK took these pictures and sent them to me.

Jim Wedlake is a professional photographer. Hence his pictures are so superior to mine. Many thanks to Jim for the above. Thinking back to our 10 days in Haines....we had such fun. Jim & Mary Ann Wedlake were a part of that.

I've already told you about the horrid smoke filled journey across Canada; this was wonderfully stopped at the U.S. border. Montana was beautiful. Cattle were grazing....and hay bales seemed to be sprouting everywhere...just like they were also grazing on the rolling hills. Tee hee

North Dakota had its own beauty, too.
But, Chris kept driving east....further and further. We spent the night with our other "Alaska friends" in St. Joe, MN, Ron & Rosanne Eiynck. Spent the evening there, talking about all of our adventures in Alaska this year. (They had camped at our campground for several days during June). If the truth be known, we were so "geared up" that we talked and sipped wine until the wee hours of the morning. Something totally unlike this old couple. We didn't even have to pop the top of our camper that night...just snuggled our weary bones into their luxurious bed.

After a huge and taste breakfast at Ron & Rosanne's home, we set our Garmen to Woodridge, Illinois....and Yvonne's house.

Charlie and Dawson were ready with the hugs. We were definitely grand-kid "hug-deprived" over this past 4 months. Then, after scrubbing British Columbia layers of mud from the boat and camper, and, after Yvonne made a wonderful cooking apron for Chris. ....and, looking back, I have not taken a picture of that. OK....something for a future blog entry.

Then, onward (hey, isn't that the name of my brother's boat????) to put another fill into our "hug-o-meter" from the Presidential Sweet: Madison, Lincoln, Reagan and Kennedy. What fun. Reagan snuggled up on PaPa's lap....and, as usual, is always ready for a picture.

Madison had to put on all of her new school uniform co-ordinates and model them for us. She is so excited about getting back to school.
Kennedy is just happy to be Kennedy. It's a trick to actually get the picture before she jumps up to look at her picture on my digital camera! Lincoln never sat down long enough for me to get a pic of him. But his "summer bleached" hair sure looked cute on him.

Continuing on our eastward trek, we arrived, full circle to where our 4 month adventure began.

14,700 miles later we arrived back where it all started....home. We were so very ready to be home. More hugs from Josiah and Jozie. That filled the "hug-o-meter" full to the top.

Then the not-so-fun part began....emptying and cleaning up the camper, putting away all the "stuff" from the trip. I don't know how all of it fit inside that little camper and truck. I won't put a picture of the mess on here....it's still growling and might "attack" me!

I'm going to post "the best of...." pictures when I have a chance to go through my many pictures from this trek.

Now for the clean up; then the dreaming of our next adventure!

Until we "connect" again....

August 20, 2010: BIG SKY COUNTRY

This is a bear that we saw on Ketchikan before we got on the ferry on the 17th. We sat on a hill at this hatchery just waiting for one of the black bears to show up....and he did.... We got off the ferry in Prince Rupert, British Columbia...spent the night in a campground and then headed east.

Chris spotted this BIG black bear off the side of the road. He just stuck out against the green grass. He was not far away.....and oh, so big....

Then we came upon this little pioneer church at Usk. It is the exact replica of a church that was washed away (along with a whole village) in a flood about 80 years ago....and is open by the road side for all the travelers.

And then the fun began on our trek across B.C. and Alberta. There were fires that we could see the red over the side of the mountains. Not a good picture, but was taken from a moving car.

Notice the lake in the picture....it is red from the red sky....from the fires....

Then all of our travel almost the rest of the way through Canada was driving through smoke....could not see a lot....just very smokey. Most of the time we were in the Rocky Mountains in Banff and Jasper National Parks and could not even see the mountains. Quite sad. But we had seen the beauty 2 years ago. I felt sorry for any folks who had breathing problems.

For a little while yesterday we could see the mountains. The haze cleared.....

More shots from Banff Nat'l Park.

A glacier in this mountain....

We camped last night at High River, south of Calgary, Alberta. It was a beautiful campground in the city. We could still smell the smoke. This morning the prevailing winds brought the smoke in and we drove through smoke for several hours until about 5 miles before we crossed the border to Sweet Grass, Montana. What a blessing to be out of that smoke that we had been in for 2 days.

We are almost home. Just a few more days and our adventure will be over....but the memories live on.

So, until we connect again.....

August 15, KETCHEKAN ON THE INSIDE PASSAGE

Good Monday morning to all.

We are now in Ketchikan, Alaska, along the Inside Passage. We arrived about 1 a.m. Sunday morning. We just pulled off in the ferry parking lot and went back to sleep till a respectable hour. It was scathingly hot here yesterday....and you are all saying "it's about time that you experience a little bit of what the rest of the country has been going through!" It was almost 80 degrees and quite humid. AND nobody here has an air conditioner! cuz this is Alaska! It is most uncommon for it to be as hot as it was...


Lunch Falls is behind us in Suttler's Cove State Park on Ketchikan.

A Tlinkit Native clan house with totems inside and out. That is a very small entry door. Many families lived in these, when they were not out hunting and fishing.

These totems are in Totem Bight State Park (a "bight" is kind of a cove on the island....Tlinkits believed that a big animal took a bight out of the island).

Sunset along the passage from our view on the Taku ferry. Was so very pretty.

One of the most moving times on our trip was when the Ferry Taku was pulling into a small native Tlinkit village called Kake. There were many family members of these Tlinkits on the ferry. They were returning home to a "potlach" (party, ceremony, etc.) for a member of the clan who died a year ago. Family members met on the ferry ramp, playing their drums in welcome and chanting and singing in their Tlinkit language. Their family members on the ferry sang and played drums in response. It was so moving....almost brought tears to my eyes.

This young Tlinkit girl whom I had visited with on the ferry told me all about the potlach. She is here watching her relatives at the end of the auto ramp, welcoming their family home. Look hard...you can see the group at the end of the ramp.

Here's us enjoying another wonderful walk on Sitka. We're going backwards here....

Sunset on Sitka.

A beautiful view of a few of the many little islands that surround Sitka. So beautiful.

Here's two of the State Park rangers on Sitka who were so kind to us during our stay. Nick True, on the left, even allowed us to camp out in his yard in Old Sitka State Park.

A little island during high tide....

Same island....low tide.

These are the six pinks, or humpies, salmon that Chris caught in Sitka in about 1/2 hour of fishing. The fish are so plentiful that they are jumping out of the water continuously. The females are knocking their eggs loose before they go up the streams to spawn.

We are eating salmon every day! Really loving it with blackening seasoning.

Three bald eagles fighting over some salmon scraps. The eagle on the right is young; they don't get their white head and feet until they are about 5 years old.

The same eagles soaring away with salmon scraps...

Here's that young bald eagle that is not yet old enough to have the white head and feet.

Well folks....we've been in Alaska since May 5. It's been a long time, and we have been so enriched by the wonderful people we've met,the experiences we've had, and the breathless sights and wonders that God has blessed this part of our great Nation with. We are greatful for this opportunity we have had.

But, tomorrow morning we will be leaving Alaska on the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Matanuska, sailing to Prince Rupert, British Columbia...and be on our way home. It will be a short 8 hour trip.

Until we "connect" again....

Aug 9-11: GOOD BYE HAINES & HELLO SITKA ! ! !

At 9 p.m. Monday eve, this was our last view of Haines, Alaska as the Alaska Marine ferry, Columbia (the largest in the fleet) quietly slid out of the port. I always think of God as I see the sun through clouds like this. He's watching our sailing. It was a special time in Haines.

This is the Columbia as she came into the ferry dock from her round trip from Skagway. It was a 17 hour trip. We didn't have a cabin, so the night was a little rough. We had planned on "toughing" it out. Little did we know that it would be "tough"...not a comfortable place to be found. But once we had our coffee in the morning, things were better. The ferry is huge: dining room, cafeteria, forest service ranger giving talks on various subjects, movie theater (showed Avitar), a solerium, showers, etc. Beautiful ship.

Once debarking in Sitka, after the beautiful trip through the "inside passage", we looked for an Alaska State Parks campground (cuz we get to camp for free there since we were state parks volunteers this summer). We litterally bumped into the park rangers comming out of one of their offices close to the ferry terminal. They didn't have an actual campground but were so hospitable and offered us the parking lot outside of the ranger's "caretaker" cabin at "Old Sitka State Historical Site". What a place!

The salmon were jumping all over the place....and Chris couldn't stand it! He had to go and get his line wet. Didn't take long...and he got a pink (a "humpy").

The fish were jumping so continuously that they were even jumping right next to where he cast his line in the water....it was wierd and funny to watch. I got loads of pictures like this. We are told that they jump out of the water to knock their eggs loose before they start moving up the rivers and creeks. This is still ocean here.

We walked past the Indian River while touring the Raptor Center....and saw this sight of the huge pink salmon run there. There were thousands and thousands of these fish pooling there. This river is totally closed to any fishing so it gives a wonderful place to see the run.

We were sitting right in front of this huge big eagle. This raptor center is a raptor hospital, rehabilitation and education site. This eagle could never be released because about 10 years ago he flew into a power line and had lots of injuries. After recuperating he could never get any lift when he flew. Half of the entire population of bald eagles in north America are in Alaska.

This is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Sitka. The cornerstone was laid in 1844. It is smack in the center of Sitka. Totally awesome. I could talk and talk about this place....won't bore you, though.

This picture does not do justice to the grandeur of the cathedral. There is gold overlay on most of the icons.

At the Sitka Nat'l Historical Site there are 18 totem poles. These are displayed throughout a sitka spruce rain forest trail, the site of a battle between the Russians and the Tlingit Indians (pronounced "clink it") in 1804. They are not of Tlingit origins, but of some other native groups in south east Alaska. This area and the totems are considered sacred by the Native community.

This morning we arose at our Oceanfront B & B rested and seeing sun and blue sky! I may get a chance to get some awesome pictures of the beautiful harbor and surrounding mountains. This city on Baranov Island is positively beautiful and we will be here until Friday night when we again board the Alaska ferry...for a 24 hour sail. Lots more to see. May not get internet until Sunday sometime....who knows....

So, until we "connect" again....

August 8: CRABS & BEARS! WHAT A DAY!

What a day Saturday was. On our third attempt to find some dungenous crabs to buy, we had success! Terry the Crab Man was in port with a fresh supply. The last time we contacted him he had to send all he had to Skagway on the ferry to a restaurant there. This time we succeeded! We found out about this guy from Ron & Rosanne (from Minnesota) who were through here last week....so we were looking for him. A crab....about to meet his Maker....
Terry the Crab Man on his boat in Haines harbor.
With our precious "catch" we headed north 5 miles to get our fill of fresh water-fall water; then pulled off the road, popped up the camper, cooked our crabs and had our feast! Wonderful stuff!
We cooked them with the help of a big spagetti pot loaned to us by the owner of the laundromat in town. Jan is a very nice lady.
Then, on the way back to camp, we were greeted with Clueless and her cubs having dinner in the middle of the road outside of the campground, just next to the Chilkoot River. Those cubs were making such a ruckuss over those fish! They sounded like big bears fighting!!!

Aren't they cute?

As soon as they headed back down to the river, the campground host (there on "bear patrol") told us to scoot past in our truck....but mom snatched another salmon in a split second and was headed up with her cubs to eat it. They headed on up the hill on the other side of the road.
What fun watching these guys....I just kept snapping pics because they were right in front of us.

Last Sunday, after church we met Jim and Marianne. They were originally from near Detroit, and now they winter in Arizona. That's Toby in front...the four legged one. There was room in our campground so they pulled there trailer out here and spent the week right next to us. Evenings were such fun: playing dominoes, Uno...a different type, talking and comparing pictures. Of course mine didn't compare to Jim's pics because he is a professional photographer. We had such fun. They pulled out this morning heading up to Whitehorse. What a week next to these folks. We even got to dog-sit Toby while they took the fast ferry to Juneau on Thursday. Nice folks. Hope we hear more from them on their journey....

Tomorrow we pack up and break camp....catch the ferry to Sitka in the evening. Can't wait.

Until we "connect" again.....

August 5, 2010: ...AND THE ANIMALS CAME TWO BY TWO...

Chris caught this sunrise at the Chilkoot State Park campground yesterday. We had an awesome time at the Kroschel Wildlife Park about 27 miles north of Haines. The two guys who run this place have an amazing group of animals and they are professional photographers and have often used these animals in movies. Most of them are rescued for one reason or another. We spent several hours at wildlife park in the blazing heat of 70 degrees. Ya wouldn’t believe it, but in the sun it’s really hot! Here’s the pictures! (most of these animals are “imprinted” and love their caregivers.)

The wolf.

The arctic fox

Caribou

Cross fox

Two year old grizzley

Mom killed; came here as a cub.

Lemming

"your visit is in the magic of time.

Right now is a gift.

That's why it's called the present."

A lynx

How tall can a lynx stretch?

Moose

Only a mother could love this face.

Moose kiss

Pine Martin

Porcupine

Red tailed hawk

Wolverine
named Jasper (Banff didn't come out)

She-bear of the north? She liked to show her teeth.....
Like all the pictures?

We were told that the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) were going to be visible last night between 2-3 am. (and also for 6 more nights) We and our neighbors got up to see them, but RATS ! it was overcast. No luck; perhaps we’ll try again tonight…and perhaps not…depends on how sleepy we are. People around here are picking their cherry trees which are just loaded with red tart cherries.
Chris & I finished our walking tour of Haines this morning. Also looked for someone selling dungenous crabs. No luck. Terry the “crab man” just sent all of his on the ferry to Skagway (emergency order from a restaurant there….) bummer. The other “crabber” doesn’t fish until tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get some crabs yet. Chris can go fishing now, because we have eaten all the salmon he caught nderful the other day. Had his wonderful chowder last night.
That’s all for now…you’ve had lots of animal pictures this time. Until we “connect” again…