We have taken an extra day here in Buffalo to catch up on cleaning, laundry, and some maintenance issues with the coach. Yesterday concluded three days of driving, nearly 1,000 miles and we were both exhausted. Tomorrow, July 26th we are back on the road for another three days and another 1,000 miles arriving in Kansas City mid week. Our plan is to visit with Paetra and her family then "on the road again"
Our neighbors were kind enough to check out our house, and disarm the alarm system. We were getting almost daily calls about a hall alarm going off. Everything appears to be okay, a load off our minds.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Glacier National Park
We are really happy we stopped, missed Glacier last year due to weather.
We stayed at Johnsons campground near the park entrance. As we were unhooking our "toad" Barbara screamed as a brown bear came over the ridge running full out towards us. Fortunately it was after something else, and headed down the hill to the lake.
When we reached the top of the entrance to the campground Was able to navigate the entire "road to the sun" a 50 mile trek through the valleys and mountains. Our campground was on a hill across from the park giving us a panoramic view of the mountains and St Rose lake.
Glacier National Park is located in the U.S. state of Montana, bordering the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia to the North and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to the East. Glacier National Park contains two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), which are sometimes referred to as the southern extension of the Canadian Rockies. The park encompasses over 1 million acres, with 300 lakes.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road was completed in 1932 and is a spectacular 52 mile, paved two-lane highway that bisects the park east and west. It spans the width of Glacier, crossing the Continental Divide at 6,646-foot-high Logan Pass. It passes through almost every type of terrain in the park, from large glacial lakes and cedar forests in the lower valleys to windswept alpine tundra atop the pass. Scenic viewpoints and pullouts line the road, so motorists can stop for extended views and photo opportunities. The road is well worth traveling in either direction, as the view from one side of the road is much different than from the other. In 1983 Going-To-The-Sun Road was included in the National Register of Historic Places and in 1985 was made a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
We stayed at Johnsons campground near the park entrance. As we were unhooking our "toad" Barbara screamed as a brown bear came over the ridge running full out towards us. Fortunately it was after something else, and headed down the hill to the lake.
When we reached the top of the entrance to the campground Was able to navigate the entire "road to the sun" a 50 mile trek through the valleys and mountains. Our campground was on a hill across from the park giving us a panoramic view of the mountains and St Rose lake.
Glacier National Park is located in the U.S. state of Montana, bordering the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia to the North and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to the East. Glacier National Park contains two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), which are sometimes referred to as the southern extension of the Canadian Rockies. The park encompasses over 1 million acres, with 300 lakes.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road was completed in 1932 and is a spectacular 52 mile, paved two-lane highway that bisects the park east and west. It spans the width of Glacier, crossing the Continental Divide at 6,646-foot-high Logan Pass. It passes through almost every type of terrain in the park, from large glacial lakes and cedar forests in the lower valleys to windswept alpine tundra atop the pass. Scenic viewpoints and pullouts line the road, so motorists can stop for extended views and photo opportunities. The road is well worth traveling in either direction, as the view from one side of the road is much different than from the other. In 1983 Going-To-The-Sun Road was included in the National Register of Historic Places and in 1985 was made a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Jasper National Park
The Canadian Rockies have two major national parks joined by the Iceland's Parkway (rte 93). On the way up to Alaska we stopped in Banff, and we stopped in Jasper on the way home. We spent a couple of days there, then on to Calgary for one night stay and back in the US to see Glacier National park.
One evening we took a "dusk" ride through part of Jasper, stopping at a the largest of the glacier lakes in the park system to see the wildlife.
Friday, July 17, 2009
We write some good-by prose for caravan staff
It was close to the end of the trip, our last group dinner and ice cream social. I decided we needed to “roast” our trip hosts and began to compose prose for that purpose. 2We “recruited” our fellow caravanners to help with the composition and decided we would perform the prose using “Frosty the Snow Man” cadence.
That night we collected the “singers” together as I read the words and they “sang” the chorus.
Goodbye to our Fantasy Team
TERRY The Tail gunner
Is a jolly happy guy
With a Thumping stick
And Tools up to the sky
When we get in trouble
Terry is there on the double
Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Look at Fantasy go
Thumpety thump thump
Thumpety thump thump
Over the frost heaves we go
Down to the campground
with thumper stick each day
drumming each tire
As Chuck says” let’s get on our way”
As we leave the park we have no fear
Cause Terry always brings up the rear
Chorus
In the morning Pat sends us on our way
With a cheerful reminder turn on your lights and set your odometer, and be sure to have a safe day
Her crafts are works of art, which she shares with a smile
Worn proudly by the caravaners mile after mile
Chorus
Chuck the Wagon Master
Is a jolly happy guy
Like the pied piper he leads the way
With 16 campers at his back hoping for no delay
Chorus
He promises we will see wildlife along the way
We search and search, but to our dismay
But the promised wildlife are rarely on display
He anxiously waits for us at the next park
Hopeful that all get in before dark.
Chorus
At end of day he calls us to meet
Knowing that we are all just beat
Giving us our next days map
Looking for tweety to end up in someone’s lap
With fishing gear ready, he is off to catch fish
And rarely ends up with an empty hook and dish
Chorus
Over the frost heaves we go
Thank goodness Chuck told us to go slow
With Sally at her computer helping plan our route
We can travel down the road without any doubts
She knows where all the best shopping bargains are to be seen
Making her the shopping queen
The dogs are thankful for Terry and Chuck
While the parents are grateful cause they don’t have to put out big bucks
Chorus
With heavy hearts we now go our separate ways
Thankful for the 41 happy days
Our Alaska adventure is soon in the past
We are joyful for the memories that will certainly last
Last tour stop Hyder Alaska
The caravan trip ended July 15th, with the last stop Stewart / Hyder. Stewart is in British Columbia, but Hyder is in Alaska. The border kinds of meanders. Hyder is the "last frontier town" Once a thriving logging and mining town, it now has only 40 residents, no law enforcement, no paved roads, and no zoning rules. During the Korean war and, to some degree, the Vietnam war it became a refuge for folks who wanted to avoid the draft. Even though it is part of the United States.
It is now officially a ghost town, dependent on tourist trade, but that is drying up as well. You can get to Hyder without going through US customs, but to return to Stewart you have to have "papers".
We got Hyderized, I can't share the secret, but it involves some 150 proof liquor.
We trekked up to Bear Creek to watch the salmon run, but no bears were feeding. It was a little early for spawning and feeding.
We had our farewell dinner. A group of us composed a poem to "roast" the caravan leaders, sung to the tune of Frosty the Snowman. 
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