Traveling in the Midwest with a short excerpt from the Alaska tour...

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The summer started off with a big bang with Molly, Aqua and Scott arriving within a few days of each other. We then piled all the kids in the car and headed to Seward to stay for a couple of nights. One of the highlights was the  cruise on Resurrection Bay and seeing the small pod of humpback whales.

After Seward we piled into two cars and headed to Gulkana for one night of camping and a tour of the HAARP facility before heading to Fairbanks via Delta Junction. We all stayed with Kathy and Jim at UAF and saw the sights and enjoyed the hot weather. Well, at least I enjoyed the hot weather!

Aqua and Scott had to return to Wisconsin unfortunately but it was not so bad as we were heading there in a few short weeks to continue our summer travel. Molly stayed on with us another week for fun and excitement. Happily Elan comes around a lot and we enjoy his company more regularly. 

Fast forward to mid-July and we are off to Chicago! Leave Anchorage at midnight, arrive in Chicago in the morning. Our first stop? Binny's liquor store for Israel Sabra which Wendy said I could purchase there in Skokie and it was not too far off the highway on our way to Milwaukee. We also found some delicious Armenian brandy to sample. 

With a busy few days we did not linger Chicago but we did think to remember to stop at State Farm to check on insurance for the rental car for us to take it into Canada. That was a small adventure in itself as the office had relocated and then due to time differences and a severe storm we only got information but had to do the rest through phone calls and email later in the trip. 

Milwaukee! While Mark took care of a few things, I wandered around rather aimlessly trying to stay awake till we met up again. That evening we went to visit Mark's cousins who were very welcoming and enjoyable even though we were both fading fast from jet lag. Back to our B&B for the night. The B&B was lovely, a very, very old home being fixed up but the neighborhood was a bit too loud for a truly restful sleep. The next day it was back to the mall for me to wander while Mark finished up his errands. Great Bruegger's bagels and good coffee for breakfast. we had planned on taking advantage of our restaurant.com certificate to a restaurant that afternoon but was informed by email that the said restaurant was not participating any longer... On our way out of town we stopped to visit our friends in Germantown. It was a nice way to end our stay in Milwaukee before going on to Stevens Point for a short visit with Mark's Mother. 

Besides visiting with her we also wanted to get her out of the house for a bit. As she enjoys the casino we took her there. Hmmmm...I did not know that casinos allowed smoking inside and so while Mark and his Mom won money, I sat outside enjoying the heat! The night before we went to a lovely restaurant for a traditional Wisconsin fish fry, my first. While the fish was tasty it was very similar to fish and chips that one can eat most anywhere. The walleye fish was good though! After the casino we ate at Culver's, fast food but better than any other fast food place. The next day we left to head even farther north to Aqua and Scott's home in Ashland.

We stayed in a lodge and casino near Ashland. One short venture in the casino and I really have no wish to go in any again. We spent a lovely day at Lake Superior playing with Jalisco and Jasper, swimming and relaxing. After printing out our various proofs of insurance and car rental agreement we were ready...oh yeah... We forgot our Circque du Soleil tickets at home but Elan mailed them to us...so with all our documents finally in place we went to bed and the next morning took off ro Ely. MN and the International Wolf Center. 

Two years ago when Mark and I drove from Minneapolis to Anchorage, we stopped at Ely. Back then the wolf pack was six wolves, two of which were one year olds. Yesterday on the two young ones, now three years old were in the enclosure. One wolf had died of old age and the other three were retired and live in a different place. Still it was an absolute pleasure to be back. Both the wolves came out for a short time and allowed us to admire them before heading back into the woods and shade. 

We drove to International Falls and stayed overnight. International Falls is home to a 26 foot replica of Smokey the Bear. Of course we stopped there and took numerous pictures while I sang the Smokey the Bear song! That night we learned to play a great card game called "Crowns". In the morning we drove into Canada without any difficulty. The weather is rather grey and overcast with drizzly rain and a few lightening bolts. It is fun to try to pronounce the different First Nation names, I expect we are butchering the accent terribly. For the most part, so far, Canada looks exactly like northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, even Alaska for that matter.

We are headed to Winnipeg and Cirque do Soleil tonight! With two nights in Winnipeg we plan to have a wonderful time. 

Snack stop in Kenora, Manitoba at Norman Beach. Warm lake to walk in. Crawfish and little fish were fun to watch and we picked up and threw back in the water a number of exoskeletons. Back on the road we stopped once again just as we crossed the boundary into Manitoba at the visitor centre. Got our bearings and after Aqua and Mark tried unsuccessfully to help a little mouse that had gotten into the garbage can, we drove on towards Winnipeg.

Seeing a big production like Cirque du Soleil tonight was wonderful. I've not seen too many shows that big. The acrobatics and music and dance and theatre all combined to take one away. Tomorrow we will explore Winnipeg a bit before heading back south to Ashland. 

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