Hey! This is the FOTB finally getting around to his wrapup. Wow, what an amazing trip, if you haven't noticed by now, we are extremely grateful to be able to take a trip like this. What started out as a "what if ?" turned into a "why not?" and ended up a resounding "let's do it". I've read for years about the Al-Can highway, the Yukon and Alaska (too many Jack London books as a child I guess) and always saw it as a challenge. Albeit one that I never really thought I (we) would attempt.
There was never a day that I had the thought "Oh man, do I have to do another day on the road". It just never happened, day after day, mile after mile, it was always about the beauty of creation and the wonder of what was around, over or beyond the next hill or curve.
On the last day heading home, Gayle asked if I was looking forward to getting home, I replied that if someone called me and told me I couldn't go home for a couple of weeks, I would have said, "right or left, pick a direction" and kept right on going.
I did notice a few things, there were a lot of Harley's on the road all the way through central Canada, over 50% of the bikes. However, the farther northwest we went the fewer there were. By the time we hit the last stretch of road from Canada to Alaska the percentages were in the neighborhood of 50% BMW GS Adventure bikes, 30 % Harleys and the remainder were Goldwings and other assorted manufacturers.
As far a repairs, thankfully I did not have the need for any. However, the "gravel" they use during the road construction is really crushed granite or crushed shale. It is about the size of a cherry tomato and has lots of sharp points on it after it is crushed. This nice little sharp rock is just the right size for the Harley guys to run through the belt drive, which promptly punches a hole through it, runs another 100 miles and then shreds. We saw a lot of guys replacing drive belts on their Harley's and virtually every group of riders had at least one or not two spare belts with them.
People have asked me "Did you get bored? What about radio stations?" Well, on the first day out, we hit the Canadian border, I turned the radio off and never turned it on for the next 6000 plus miles. Truly, silence is golden, I never missed it for a minute.
The grand total, drum roll please, was 6799 miles, I should have driven around the block to make it 6800 even, but it is what it is. I did not keep track of every gallon of gas, it was just to darn much work with the liters and all, but the running average according to the bike trip meter was at 43.7 mpg for the trip. Not bad at all.
I met a lot of riders who were either on or had completed the "top of the world", Arctic Circle or other trips to the northern hinterlands. (Think Ice Road Truckers in the summer.) I have already warned Gayle, I AM doing this again, and this time I am heading "north". It will not be on a BMW K1200 LT full dresser, I would not want to attempt that trip on a bike this big. I don't know when, but it will be a few years.
Right now we are working on organizing/deleting the over 700 photos we took. Thankfully they are digital and easy to work with. Once completed, I'll throw them on a DVD etc. and you can look at them at your leisure.
For those of you who read this and get the "itch", call me, I'll give you all the pointers I can, but you better know that I will PUSH you to take this trip, using the mode of transportation of your choice. It is one you will never forget.
Again, thanks for your prayers, thoughts, concerns and encouragement. Also we thank you for "going along for the ride". It was enjoyable writing this and attempting to let you see with your imagination, what we were blessed enough to see with our eyes.
Til we talk in person, God Bless!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 11
What an absolutely perfect way to end such an incredible trip! Who could believe that you could drive through South Dakota in the middle of July at 80 degrees the whole way and no wind to complain about. Amazing! We left Spearfish, South Dakota, at 6:45 (LeMars time) and arrived in LeMars at 3:00 p.m. and got home at 3:30 p.m. - 480 miles. We were a little concerned around Rapid City because it was really windy there, but shortly drove out of that front and into absolutely gorgeous weather. Wow!
The only thing that seems comment worthy is that it is so green! Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and our little part of Iowa were all so green - pastures and grassland very green for this time of year. It made everything much more beautiful. The black hills were all lovely green rather than the dusty, worn-out looking hills they usually are at this time of year. Nice. The other thing that was really striking to us was the corn - when we left it was 6 inches tall and when we got home it was tassling. Unbelievable to us. Our garden also is completely changed from when we left it - we have peas, beans and cucumbers coming out of our ears. Funny, when we left they were just tiny little plants. Once again, God's creation is utterly amazing.
Well, this will probably be my last blog. Duane plans to blog another time or two (so be sure and check again), but I think I'll close is up for me. Wow - how do you put into words this trip? I kept thinking on the way home from Spearfish (remember, I have a lot of time to think on the BOTB), how do I answer the inevitable question, "How was your trip?" How do you put into words the experience we've had - all the amazing things we've seen, the wonderful things we've done, spending time with Jesse, meeting all the different people (who knew there were so many different personalities out there), seeing all the wildlife, and on and on. I still haven't figured out that answer - I better get going on that (I'm sure I'll be asked at work tomorrow). Words escape me, but suffice it to say it was incredible and I am honored to have been blessed to have the opportunity to take such a trip.
So, thanks for checking. Even more important, thank you all for your prayers - thanks to those who signed up as our friends, thanks to those of you who checked regularly and thanks to those of you who just had an interest once in a while. When you're out there on a bike in the middle of nowhere and not sure what may happen next (bike malfunction, wildlife problems, other people driving crazy, etc.), you realize once again the importance of prayer. So, thank you! Last, but the most important of all, I thank God for this opportunity. I know it is by His grace that we were given this blessing. So, thank you, God.....what more can I saw - thank you.
Gayle - BOTB
The only thing that seems comment worthy is that it is so green! Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and our little part of Iowa were all so green - pastures and grassland very green for this time of year. It made everything much more beautiful. The black hills were all lovely green rather than the dusty, worn-out looking hills they usually are at this time of year. Nice. The other thing that was really striking to us was the corn - when we left it was 6 inches tall and when we got home it was tassling. Unbelievable to us. Our garden also is completely changed from when we left it - we have peas, beans and cucumbers coming out of our ears. Funny, when we left they were just tiny little plants. Once again, God's creation is utterly amazing.
Well, this will probably be my last blog. Duane plans to blog another time or two (so be sure and check again), but I think I'll close is up for me. Wow - how do you put into words this trip? I kept thinking on the way home from Spearfish (remember, I have a lot of time to think on the BOTB), how do I answer the inevitable question, "How was your trip?" How do you put into words the experience we've had - all the amazing things we've seen, the wonderful things we've done, spending time with Jesse, meeting all the different people (who knew there were so many different personalities out there), seeing all the wildlife, and on and on. I still haven't figured out that answer - I better get going on that (I'm sure I'll be asked at work tomorrow). Words escape me, but suffice it to say it was incredible and I am honored to have been blessed to have the opportunity to take such a trip.
So, thanks for checking. Even more important, thank you all for your prayers - thanks to those who signed up as our friends, thanks to those of you who checked regularly and thanks to those of you who just had an interest once in a while. When you're out there on a bike in the middle of nowhere and not sure what may happen next (bike malfunction, wildlife problems, other people driving crazy, etc.), you realize once again the importance of prayer. So, thank you! Last, but the most important of all, I thank God for this opportunity. I know it is by His grace that we were given this blessing. So, thank you, God.....what more can I saw - thank you.
Gayle - BOTB
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Hi! News from the FOTB today, the BOTB says she is too tired to blog..................here's why. We left Missoula, MT at 0545 this morning and drove 360 miles to Billings and stopped for an hour and a half visiting Rod and Jan, my old boss from Sioux City. We had a great visit, we hadn't seen them in person in almost 8 years, but Rod and I talk on a frequent basis.
We left Missoula and then drove another 360 miles to Spearfish, SD, yep, that's a total of 720 miles today. It started out at 46 degrees for the first 140 miles and then slowly warmed up to 70 for the next hour or two. After Billings, it made it up to 96 degrees, and eventually we caught up with a thunderstorm and it cooled off to the upper 70's for the rest of the day.
OK. time for a wildlife checkup (if I don't get this in here, the BOTB will not be happy, this stuff is the highlight of her day!) A herd of elk near Butte, MT, I darn near ran over a momma duck and her chicks, who were trying to cross the road, I think momma duck needed lessons on how to check both ways for traffic before crossing. Don't worry I didn't hit'em. Also, a HUGE mule deer, 3 eagles and over 100 antelope between Sheridan and Gillette, WY.
Last night in Missoula, MT ,I took my blackberry apart, it has not worked in over three weeks. I took the battery out so it would "reset"itself. Needless to say, when I put it back in, it rebooted and then proceeded to vibrate (with incoming messages and e-mails) for the next three minutes, it was HILARIOUS! Needless to say, the e-mail count is up over 150 (not bad actually, much lower than I figured) but I am wondering if my mailbox is full and the rest are just hanging in cyberspace. Oh well, I'll check them next week when I get back.
For the bike guys, I think the BMW is just getting broke in, the gas mileage has steadily improved during the trip. The last two days, running 75 to 80 miles on hour on the open stretches, but slower in the mountains, I have run anywhere from 43 to 49.7 mpg. Not bad!!!!
Ok, that's it, tomorrow we do the final 480 miles home, after the last couple of days it shouldn't be too bad! The best news is, with the limited "one to wear, one to wash" the laundry will not be great once we get home!
Thanks for checking on us, and we promise to sort out the 700 pictures we took, before we bore anyone to death seeing them! Thanks and God Bless!
We left Missoula and then drove another 360 miles to Spearfish, SD, yep, that's a total of 720 miles today. It started out at 46 degrees for the first 140 miles and then slowly warmed up to 70 for the next hour or two. After Billings, it made it up to 96 degrees, and eventually we caught up with a thunderstorm and it cooled off to the upper 70's for the rest of the day.
OK. time for a wildlife checkup (if I don't get this in here, the BOTB will not be happy, this stuff is the highlight of her day!) A herd of elk near Butte, MT, I darn near ran over a momma duck and her chicks, who were trying to cross the road, I think momma duck needed lessons on how to check both ways for traffic before crossing. Don't worry I didn't hit'em. Also, a HUGE mule deer, 3 eagles and over 100 antelope between Sheridan and Gillette, WY.
Last night in Missoula, MT ,I took my blackberry apart, it has not worked in over three weeks. I took the battery out so it would "reset"itself. Needless to say, when I put it back in, it rebooted and then proceeded to vibrate (with incoming messages and e-mails) for the next three minutes, it was HILARIOUS! Needless to say, the e-mail count is up over 150 (not bad actually, much lower than I figured) but I am wondering if my mailbox is full and the rest are just hanging in cyberspace. Oh well, I'll check them next week when I get back.
For the bike guys, I think the BMW is just getting broke in, the gas mileage has steadily improved during the trip. The last two days, running 75 to 80 miles on hour on the open stretches, but slower in the mountains, I have run anywhere from 43 to 49.7 mpg. Not bad!!!!
Ok, that's it, tomorrow we do the final 480 miles home, after the last couple of days it shouldn't be too bad! The best news is, with the limited "one to wear, one to wash" the laundry will not be great once we get home!
Thanks for checking on us, and we promise to sort out the 700 pictures we took, before we bore anyone to death seeing them! Thanks and God Bless!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday, July 9
Ah, yes, the adventure continues. Somehow I thought I liked Washington State. Wrong! What they don't tell you about Washington state (or I forgot) is that between the two beautiful border mountains (east and west) is a whole pile of nothing - I would call it high desert. Oh, they do grow some stuff there like vegetables, corn and lots of alfalfa, but it's all because they irrigate the crap out of it. So, that section of the country was 98 degrees today. I can't say it was windy - kind of gusty, but it did start to remind me of a furnace and brought back bad memories (you remember my Wyoming experience). We spent the day on the bike from 92-98 degrees. Hot. Anyway, I have now decided that I have seen Washington. Been there. Done that. Don't need to do that again.
We left the ferry parking lot at 8:45 a.m. and arrived here in Missoula, Montana at 6:15, but with an hour time change it was 7:15 p.m. In between the yucky part of Washington we had mountains (I guess I should call them foothills), the dry stuff and then more foothills (to a girl from Minnesota/Iowa they look like mountains to me). The foothills were very pretty. When you get by Coure 'd Alene, Idaho, it's beautiful. I'm sure you've all heard about that area. No more needs to be said - it was lovely. When you get to Montana (I have decided I like Montana), it gets really beautiful. It's forest and foothills (more like mountains to me), but with huge, lovely meadows/pastures that are filled with ranches. Also, the trees are absolutely huge. I would say gigantic, but I leave than for the giant redwoods in California, so huge will have to suffice. The thing I noticed that's different from Alaska is that the forest here is just huge trees - no bushes or brush and it's only evergreen or cedar trees. In Alaska, it's all kinds of trees with tons of brush and stuff stuck inbetween the trees. Very different, yet both beautiful. The thought I came up with is Montana is beautiful and rugged. Alaska is beautiful, wild, majestic and fierce. I can just see the settlers coming up to the foothills/mountains in Montana and going, "Oh, poop, how are we going to cross them?" Then, those settlers coming up to the mountains in Alaska say, "OK, let's go back now." (Yes, I have a lot of time to daydream on the back of the bike.) Anyway, I hope you get the difference. I reiterate, both beautiful.
So, we put in almost 600 miles today - from Bellingham, Washington, to Missoula, Montana. We have another big day tomorrow. Deciding right now how far we need to get.
Back to the ferry - yesterday (Thursday) we a great day on the ferry. It was gorgeous weather (even the captain said unusually amazing). So, we spent time on the decks, enjoyed the great scenery, read some great books and saw humpback whales, orca whales, sea lions and eagles. It was a great day. By the way, they allow you to take your pets on the ferry; however, you must keep them locked in your vehicle (like in the dungeon under the decks) and you get to take your dog out of the vehicle to relieve himself three times a day for a total of 15 minutes each time. Not nice, but a lot of people did it.
I have a few "did you know" type things on my mind......In upper Canada (like the Yukon and northern British Columbia), the restaurants have an open can of evaporated milk for you to use in your coffee rather than cream. There are tons of flowers in Alaska - along the roadway and it's like the people are obsessed with them at their homes. They plant lots and lots of flowers. In most of Canada and Alaska, when you order a bratwurst (they call it a sausage), they cut it in half length-wise to cook it and serve it that way on the bun. We met a lady who travels to Alaska every year for the last 30 years, and she said the road (the bad one I told you about) is the worst it has been in 30 days. She said she personally saw a huge RV with a car behind hit those bumps and the car came unhooked from the RV. Yikes. We spoke with one couple and, unknown to them, the window of their pull-behind RV popped open on the bad road and their RV got full of dust when they went over the construction (the signs even say "Beware of Dust" in construction zones). They spent two days at a campground cleaning things out. One guy on the ferry hit a bump in the roller coaster part of the road and bent the rim on his motorcycle (about the size of a baseball). He kept driving. The last one is Duane and I saw an over-sized pop-up camper (only saw 4 total pop-ups) that was braced underneath with a metal brace. The guy driving didn't know it, but his brace was all bent to crap and his pop-up was almost touching the ground. Yup, the road was bad!
Well, that's enough for now. Tomorrow we have Wyoming?!?!?!? Thanks for checking and thank you for your continued prayers.
Gayle- BOTB
We left the ferry parking lot at 8:45 a.m. and arrived here in Missoula, Montana at 6:15, but with an hour time change it was 7:15 p.m. In between the yucky part of Washington we had mountains (I guess I should call them foothills), the dry stuff and then more foothills (to a girl from Minnesota/Iowa they look like mountains to me). The foothills were very pretty. When you get by Coure 'd Alene, Idaho, it's beautiful. I'm sure you've all heard about that area. No more needs to be said - it was lovely. When you get to Montana (I have decided I like Montana), it gets really beautiful. It's forest and foothills (more like mountains to me), but with huge, lovely meadows/pastures that are filled with ranches. Also, the trees are absolutely huge. I would say gigantic, but I leave than for the giant redwoods in California, so huge will have to suffice. The thing I noticed that's different from Alaska is that the forest here is just huge trees - no bushes or brush and it's only evergreen or cedar trees. In Alaska, it's all kinds of trees with tons of brush and stuff stuck inbetween the trees. Very different, yet both beautiful. The thought I came up with is Montana is beautiful and rugged. Alaska is beautiful, wild, majestic and fierce. I can just see the settlers coming up to the foothills/mountains in Montana and going, "Oh, poop, how are we going to cross them?" Then, those settlers coming up to the mountains in Alaska say, "OK, let's go back now." (Yes, I have a lot of time to daydream on the back of the bike.) Anyway, I hope you get the difference. I reiterate, both beautiful.
So, we put in almost 600 miles today - from Bellingham, Washington, to Missoula, Montana. We have another big day tomorrow. Deciding right now how far we need to get.
Back to the ferry - yesterday (Thursday) we a great day on the ferry. It was gorgeous weather (even the captain said unusually amazing). So, we spent time on the decks, enjoyed the great scenery, read some great books and saw humpback whales, orca whales, sea lions and eagles. It was a great day. By the way, they allow you to take your pets on the ferry; however, you must keep them locked in your vehicle (like in the dungeon under the decks) and you get to take your dog out of the vehicle to relieve himself three times a day for a total of 15 minutes each time. Not nice, but a lot of people did it.
I have a few "did you know" type things on my mind......In upper Canada (like the Yukon and northern British Columbia), the restaurants have an open can of evaporated milk for you to use in your coffee rather than cream. There are tons of flowers in Alaska - along the roadway and it's like the people are obsessed with them at their homes. They plant lots and lots of flowers. In most of Canada and Alaska, when you order a bratwurst (they call it a sausage), they cut it in half length-wise to cook it and serve it that way on the bun. We met a lady who travels to Alaska every year for the last 30 years, and she said the road (the bad one I told you about) is the worst it has been in 30 days. She said she personally saw a huge RV with a car behind hit those bumps and the car came unhooked from the RV. Yikes. We spoke with one couple and, unknown to them, the window of their pull-behind RV popped open on the bad road and their RV got full of dust when they went over the construction (the signs even say "Beware of Dust" in construction zones). They spent two days at a campground cleaning things out. One guy on the ferry hit a bump in the roller coaster part of the road and bent the rim on his motorcycle (about the size of a baseball). He kept driving. The last one is Duane and I saw an over-sized pop-up camper (only saw 4 total pop-ups) that was braced underneath with a metal brace. The guy driving didn't know it, but his brace was all bent to crap and his pop-up was almost touching the ground. Yup, the road was bad!
Well, that's enough for now. Tomorrow we have Wyoming?!?!?!? Thanks for checking and thank you for your continued prayers.
Gayle- BOTB
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Wednesday, July 7
We have reached civilization!!!! I saw a police officer this morning from the ferry. Another shocking discovery - there is such a thing as sunshine! I saw it this morning and it's still out (at least that's what I think that bright thing in the sky is).
The ferry is anchored all day today in Ketchikan - so we left the ferry at 8:30 a.m. and are doing the tourist thing in this town. This is actually a town and not a village. Their brochure actually also wasn't a complete lie - they have stuff here to do - mostly shopping (more jewelry stores than I've ever seen), but also some bigger money items like fishing charters, zip-lining, flight scene tours, etc. So, we headed downtown to shop, but first of all, to find a place to blog. We are in a bar that offers free wi-fi service (hey, you do what you have to do).
So, we'll be doing the tourist thing today. Tomorrow we are on the ferry all day with no stops and no internet or cell phone service. We disembark Friday morning at 8-9 a.m. in Bellingham, Washington, and then start the motorcycle trip home immediately after we get off the ship. So, you won't hear from us until Friday night at the earliest.
The front of the bike says he'll update one of these days when we're in service. We both ask for your prayers on this next phase of the adventure. To be blunt - I am not looking forward to going through Wyoming on motorcycle. I did that once before in my life - it was 103 degrees and 35 mph winds and I literally got heat exhaustion. So, we now know that we have to stop more, drink more water and I'm not sure what else; but, we'll try to do it better this time.
Once more, thanks for checking and thank you for your prayers.
Gayle - BOTB
The ferry is anchored all day today in Ketchikan - so we left the ferry at 8:30 a.m. and are doing the tourist thing in this town. This is actually a town and not a village. Their brochure actually also wasn't a complete lie - they have stuff here to do - mostly shopping (more jewelry stores than I've ever seen), but also some bigger money items like fishing charters, zip-lining, flight scene tours, etc. So, we headed downtown to shop, but first of all, to find a place to blog. We are in a bar that offers free wi-fi service (hey, you do what you have to do).
So, we'll be doing the tourist thing today. Tomorrow we are on the ferry all day with no stops and no internet or cell phone service. We disembark Friday morning at 8-9 a.m. in Bellingham, Washington, and then start the motorcycle trip home immediately after we get off the ship. So, you won't hear from us until Friday night at the earliest.
The front of the bike says he'll update one of these days when we're in service. We both ask for your prayers on this next phase of the adventure. To be blunt - I am not looking forward to going through Wyoming on motorcycle. I did that once before in my life - it was 103 degrees and 35 mph winds and I literally got heat exhaustion. So, we now know that we have to stop more, drink more water and I'm not sure what else; but, we'll try to do it better this time.
Once more, thanks for checking and thank you for your prayers.
Gayle - BOTB
Tuesday, July 6
I'll tell you about this ferry that we're on. It's not a cruise ship and not nearly as big as one either, although it kind of looks like a little one and has a few of the amenities of a cruise ship. We have a cabin on the ship with bunk beds and bedding and towels and soap, etc. We also have our own bathroom with stool and shower (the shower is even bigger than a cruise ship shower). They offer meals, but you have to pay for them (on a cruise ship the food is free). They do have a little lounge which is really very pretty, but it's expensive. You can also opt not to have a cabin - then you take your chances and either sleep in a chair (a plastic deck chair, lounge chair in the theater room, plain chair on the observation deck) or you may pitch a tent on the back of the boat. With this option, they offer public bathrooms and showers. Yikes! Once we boarded, we were very glad we had a cabin. I'm a little too old for that kind of roughing it (Duane claims I would have done it 20 years ago - glad I don't have to decide).
The ferry holds 399 people, 66 crew and 160 vehicles. There were about 20 motorcycles on the ship - you have to secure or tie down your own motorcycle. There was even a semi who had to back up the whole loading dock to get into the ship to leave the trailer on the ferry. It's 485 feet long, has two 6200 horsepower engines and uses 400 gallons of fuel an hour. That should pretty much give you a picture of the ferry.
So, there's not much to do on the ferry. We took books and the fish and wildlife service dude talks to you once in a while about what you might see, etc. (he's not very interesting). The great thing is the scenery and the wildlife. There were times that we were within literally 30 yards from shore. We saw orca (killer) whales, humpback whales, bunches of bald eages, set otters, sea lions and a bunch of sitka black tail deer (tiny - only about 60 to 80 pounds). It was great!
I'm enjoying it, but you know Duane and not having much to do....... He's trying!
Thanks for checking and thank you for your prayers.
Gayle - BOTB
The ferry holds 399 people, 66 crew and 160 vehicles. There were about 20 motorcycles on the ship - you have to secure or tie down your own motorcycle. There was even a semi who had to back up the whole loading dock to get into the ship to leave the trailer on the ferry. It's 485 feet long, has two 6200 horsepower engines and uses 400 gallons of fuel an hour. That should pretty much give you a picture of the ferry.
So, there's not much to do on the ferry. We took books and the fish and wildlife service dude talks to you once in a while about what you might see, etc. (he's not very interesting). The great thing is the scenery and the wildlife. There were times that we were within literally 30 yards from shore. We saw orca (killer) whales, humpback whales, bunches of bald eages, set otters, sea lions and a bunch of sitka black tail deer (tiny - only about 60 to 80 pounds). It was great!
I'm enjoying it, but you know Duane and not having much to do....... He's trying!
Thanks for checking and thank you for your prayers.
Gayle - BOTB
Monday, July 5
I'm back! I'm sure you figured out that I'm posting this way past July 5 - and, yes, we were totally out of internet service for a few days. Even the cell phone service hasn't been much. So, back to July 5...
We left Haines Junction at 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Haines, Alaska at 9:15 a.m. (there was a time change in there somewhere - I have no idea which way it went at this point). I tried to update my blog in Haines Junction - the Alcan Hotel we stayed at said that if I sit in their laundromat and hold the laptop just right I might be able to connect. I tried - didn't work.
So, we went through a mountain pass to get to Haines - WOW! Breathtaking, inspiring, magnificent, majestic, exciting - yup, all those things! It was 42 degrees for 60 miles. We were above the tree line and snow line. The landscape went from trees to stone face mountains, huge monster trees, raging rivers, northern rain forest - wow! It was amazing. We tried to take pictures - we can only hope they will give you some small idea of the beauty of majesty of God's creation. I kept hearing the song, "Majesty, worship his majesty....." Truth!
We saw a black bear, eagles and two grizzly bears - one was absolutely huge and right next to the road (I mean right next - he had one paw on the road). Of course, Duane wanted to stop - I said no way and I won that time. I also didn't get a picture of him. Panic can do funny things to a person.
We arrived in Haines and thought we'd take in the place. In all of these small Alaskan villages, you see these wonderful brochures describing "all" they have to offer. When you get there, you realize they are all liars (and trying to make a living) - because they have absolutely nothing to offer except a couple of shacks and, if you're lucky, a grocery store with some locals and natives and maybe a black banana or two. Haines was definitely in that criteria - wonderful brochure and then absolutely nothing! So, we boarded the ferry (Alaska Marine Highway System) at 2 p.m. and it departed at 5 p.m. We immediately saw glaciers, lovely mountains, gorgeous landscapes and some sea lions. A good start.
Well, I have more days to do - so, thanks for checking. Thanks for the prayers.
Gayle - BOTB
We left Haines Junction at 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Haines, Alaska at 9:15 a.m. (there was a time change in there somewhere - I have no idea which way it went at this point). I tried to update my blog in Haines Junction - the Alcan Hotel we stayed at said that if I sit in their laundromat and hold the laptop just right I might be able to connect. I tried - didn't work.
So, we went through a mountain pass to get to Haines - WOW! Breathtaking, inspiring, magnificent, majestic, exciting - yup, all those things! It was 42 degrees for 60 miles. We were above the tree line and snow line. The landscape went from trees to stone face mountains, huge monster trees, raging rivers, northern rain forest - wow! It was amazing. We tried to take pictures - we can only hope they will give you some small idea of the beauty of majesty of God's creation. I kept hearing the song, "Majesty, worship his majesty....." Truth!
We saw a black bear, eagles and two grizzly bears - one was absolutely huge and right next to the road (I mean right next - he had one paw on the road). Of course, Duane wanted to stop - I said no way and I won that time. I also didn't get a picture of him. Panic can do funny things to a person.
We arrived in Haines and thought we'd take in the place. In all of these small Alaskan villages, you see these wonderful brochures describing "all" they have to offer. When you get there, you realize they are all liars (and trying to make a living) - because they have absolutely nothing to offer except a couple of shacks and, if you're lucky, a grocery store with some locals and natives and maybe a black banana or two. Haines was definitely in that criteria - wonderful brochure and then absolutely nothing! So, we boarded the ferry (Alaska Marine Highway System) at 2 p.m. and it departed at 5 p.m. We immediately saw glaciers, lovely mountains, gorgeous landscapes and some sea lions. A good start.
Well, I have more days to do - so, thanks for checking. Thanks for the prayers.
Gayle - BOTB
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