We left Portland on Sunday morning and got to Big Bear Monday night. The smoke from the fires made the skies in Mojave dark as night. It is great to be home. The house sems gigantic after being in the camper for 3 1/2 months. We headed to USC Thursday for all the tests and the quarterly check-up. Great news! I got the all clear. No problems, cancer free. I do not go back until next year (4 months). I knew I felt too good and was so much stronger for there to be any more problems. What a relief! Dr. [View Full Entry]

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We had plans to spend a couple of days in the Okanagan Valley, but due to the recent fires in the area, the smoke was too thick. We pushed on and arrived in Portland a day early. Patrick joined us there, so we had everyone there in time for my Birthday. What a great day! Dana and I canned peaches and Pears in the morning. We spent the afternoon wine tasting. Oregon is known for it's Pinot Noir. It was a beautiful day and the wineries are so nicely done. We headed to the Dundee Bistro for dinner. We sat at [View Full Entry]

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We spent 2 days in Jasper and 3 days in Banff National Parks. More beautiful scenery. Sometimes you almost get scensory overload. Both areas are very touristy. Banff had a bus system that ran right to the park, so it was very easy to get into town. Canada does a great job with thier campgrounds and parks. While we were in Jasper we rode out to Magiline Canyon , Medicine Lake and Magiline Canyon. We took a nice little boat tour. I always love being on the water! Beautiful Glaciers, mountains and even a moose by the lake. In Banff we [View Full Entry]

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We spent 2 nights in Laird Hot Springs, a wonderful provencial park. This is defineately one of the best Campgrounds we have stayed in. The hot springs were very enjoyable after days of bumpy roads. We were able to soak our tired muscles. The hot springs cause a unique climate for the plants. There is a tropical garden surrounding the pools. [View Full Entry]

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Only 7188 miles later, we are back in Watson Lake (6/4 - 8/14) and back to the Alaska Highway. It si so nice to be back on good paved roads. There were so many animals in about a 3 hour stretch, I am devoting this blog to them. The Bison would walk straight down the side of the road. The Stone Sheep stood in the middle of the road (licking the minerals). But the Caribou were the craziest! Once yyou got next to them, if you moved, they'd run along side you, if you stopped, they stopped. It was very hard [View Full Entry]

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We had to the Campbell Highway to our trip. I think Ed's goal was to drive every highway that was listed in the Milepost. Another dirt road! It was 362 miles that was only 40% paved, maybe less due to road construction. And to say it was paved is an overstatement. Total wilderness! We only passed 7 vehicles going the other way in 5 hours. You had better hope that you don't break anything out here. The scenery was beautiful, but no animals. The last 10 miles was the worst road construction you have ever seen. Ed got yelled at by [View Full Entry]

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We left Anchorage and headed to Tok, AK. I thought we were done with dirt roads until someone told Ed about a route that he couldn't resist. We drove the Top of the World Highway, again. The Milepost says... allow plenty of time for this drive. This is a narrow road with some steep grades and few gaurdrails. The weather was better this time (3rd times a charm) The Top of the World is gravel on the US side and gets a little better on the Canada side. I have included a photo of an Inukshuk. I believe these scuptures are [View Full Entry]

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You Wailer's out there will recognize Noel and Sue, they haven't changed much. We headed back to Anchorage, one last time. We regrouped and reorganized, shopped and cleaned. But mostly we squeezed every last moment we could with Noel and Sue ( and Mitch too). It was so great for Ed to spend time with old friends, and I really enjoyed making new friends. The Janda's have a beautiful home and we are so grateful for their hospitality. We even got to meet thier daughter Lindsey, what a beautiful young girl. She was home for a few days, visiting from college. [View Full Entry]

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Hey! I caught Salmon! The first one was a real experience. I got up early on Saturday morning and headed to the bank of the Kenai River. I had on hip waders and my new fly rod. I landed a Sockeye Salmon (Red Salmon). First, my reel fell off the rod. So I pulled the line in by hand. Then, as I was fighting to get the fish in the net, my pole snapped in two. I had the fishing line wrapped around me, trying to hold on to the reel, and a 7 # sockeye in the net. I didn't [View Full Entry]

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We spent almost a week in Soldotna. The weather turned ugly in Homer, so we went on to visit a new friend, JB. We camped at the River Bend Campground, right on the Kenai River. The Kenai is famous for it's fishing. We stopped at the local hardware store ( the best sports shop in ALaska) and bought a new fly rod for me and everything that I would need for Salmon Fishing. On Thursday of last week, Ed and I went out on a Halibut Charter. It was an afternoon charter, so we had the day to sight see before [View Full Entry]

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