Welcome from the Hood River area of the Columbia River Gorge. We have covered many miles since our last entry. Let me bring you up to date. We spent a day in Sacramento visiting family and friends and biking. There are 50+ miles of bicycle trails along the rivers in Sacramento. Great trails and nice views. We biked for about 2 hours and enjoyed it thoroughly. Also had the opportunity to visit with friends and family. We were very impressed with the Sacramento area. We left Sacramento and headed north through the agricultural area of California. Agriculture is very evident as you go north on I-5. Followed the Sacramento Valley north to Redding and then west to the coast. Crossed a mountain range which we thought would never end - and it didn't until we were ... read more

We are just 2 days away from leaving for our summer travels. We are planning a trip to Yosemite National Park and from there will go to the coast and then follow the Pacific Coast to the Portland, OR area. We will then head east along the Columbia River Gorge with a stop in the Tri-Cities area. We will then head to Lewiston, ID for a short stop and then on to Montana where we plan to spend 4-5 weeks visiting the state. Although Barb grew up in "Big Sky Country" there is a lot neither of us have seen. We plan to visit family along the way, visit familiar and unfamiliar sites, and do some bicycling and kayaking as well. If you haven't been on our blog before, we will post messages and pictures regularly ... read more

Haven't sent a message since we were in Ontario. We have now crossed Manitoba, Saskatchewan, part of Alberta and are now back in the USA in Great Falls, Montana. Had a 4 day stop in Winnipeg to visit David's cousin Karen and her family. Had a great visit. Got to experience some of their annual Fringe Festival, play Canadian 5-pin bowling, eat great food, do a little kayaking and talk a lot. We are already looking forward to their visit to Las Vegas and our next visit to Winnipeg. We arrived in Great Falls on Wednesday, July 25, after 2 long days of driving from Winnipeg across the great plains of Canada. The land in western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan is so flat that a prairie dog mound would stand out as a hill. Unbelievable farmland. ... read more

We have had a stretch of no internet access. Let me try to bring you up to date on our travels. We finished our stay in the Maritimes (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) in Shediac. Shediac is a small town on the southwestern coast of NB not far from Moncton. The area is heavily French and many of the people in the campground we were in were French speaking. We spent two days there with great weather - mid-70's and sunny. Went on the “Lobster Tales” cruise the first day. They take you out into the harbor, pull in lobster traps, tell you everything you ever wanted to know about lobster fishing and lobsters in general. The guide then shows you the way to efficiently eat a lobster and get every scrap ... read more

Now that we have internet access again I feel like I need to use it so a short odds and ends message. We have had clam chowder, fish chowder and seafood chowder in several places along the way from Maine on into Canada. All have been delicious and fun to taste different ones. All of the chowders we have had have been of a broth soup consistency, much thinner than traditional New England chowder, but very good. We both feel we have had a 2 year supply of coleslaw and french fries. It seems like most fish meals you order come with those 2 items. You know you have had too many fries when you start comparing them among restaurants as you would with steak or a glass of wine. We have been expecting more "traditional" ... read more