Annabel and Pat Summer 2009

Back in the Lower 48

2009-10-15T15:06:00.002-08:00

We camped 1 night at Glacier National Park, MT. Saw a black bear a couple of times. Drove as far as allowed on the Going To The Sun Road. To Avalanche from West Glacier. We were surprised to find the town of West Glacier virtually closed down. The only restaurant & service station place open was scheduled to close in a few days.
More snow. Spent a night at West Yellowstone at the Brandin' Iron Motel & RV in the snow. The roads at Yellowstone Park were only open from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful Lodge. All the rest of the roads were closed due to fires, construction, or snow.
Farther south we go. To the Grand Canyon! We spent several nights at Yavapai Lodge (with Mollie, poor girl, sleeping alone in the camper). Enjoyed it a lot. Vegeterian chili and Wi-Fi at the Canyon Cafe at Yavapai and also at Maswick Lodge. Special treat of breakfast at El Tovar, an afternoon of blogging and then sunset at the canyon. Annabel and Mollie went on a long hike along the canyon rim. We saw lots of animals at the Grand Canyon, including our favorite elk Clyde along with 4 of his lady elk, a bunch of deer, and a coyote.

Not home yet...

From Fairbanks, south on the Alaska Highway and through Canada

2009-10-15T14:53:00.004-08:00

Saw quite a bit of snow in Alaska and Yukon. Loved driving the Alaska HighwaySaw Buffalo, stone sheep, elk, swans. Enjoyed stopping by the few restaurants and service stations that were open, some with Wi-Fi. Pat's personal favorite stops are Destruction Bay and Toad River Lodge. Buffalo at Liard Hot Springs. Stone Sheep at Muncho Lake. The resident elk herd at Toad River. Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep walked right down the road past us at Radium Hot Springs, BC. Saw and heard the bugling of elk at Jasper Park Lodge. The night temperature at Lake Louise was predicted to be -15C, so we fled south!

North toward home ?????

2009-10-15T14:37:00.003-08:00

We spent some time in Anchorage (at Creekside) washing clothes and resting up before heading north again for one last visit of the season at Denali. Stayed at Rainbow RV several days. Took the last Tundra Wilderness Tour bus of the season into the park. More fall scenery, more animals! Enjoyed more vegetarian chili at the park's Morino Grill. Drove into the park several times. This was the moose rutting season, so there were lots of them around. You could also hear them bugling off in the woods. Supported the local economy be participating in the end of season sales. While we had seen lots of snow earlier in the mountains inside the park, we were thrilled to wake up to snow on Mount Healy right outside the Village. The locals refer to the first snow of winter as 'termination dust.'
On to Fairbanks for several days to prepare for the Alaska Highway and the long trip home. Both of us had colds off & on through late summer and needed to rest a bit more. We did go on the Discovery River Boat tour, which we really enjoyed. Spent time with books and lattes at Barnes & Noble. Ate several times at AW Family Restaurant (Airport Way), lots of comfort food. It turned cold and snowed while we were in Fairbanks. Overnight low around 23 one night before we left.

On to Homer with John

2009-10-15T14:28:00.002-08:00

After we returned from Katmai, we immediately hit the road south toward Homer, one of our favorite places. John stayed at Land's End Hotel, which is aptly named, since it's ai the end of the Homer Spit, which sticks out 5 miles into Kachemac Bay. We stayed next door at Homer Spit Campground. Couple of nice meals at Homer. At Lands Inn, then at Sourdough. We went moose-looking outside of town, and saw a bear! We were able to see lots of the glaciers around the bay. Then we drove back to Anchorage, where we had a good Chinese dinner and John stayed at the HIExpress and left for home the next morning.

It's all about the BEARS...

2009-10-15T14:14:00.001-08:00

Katmai National Park. You only get there by plane or boat. We flew into King Salmon on a commercial small jet, then floatplane on to Katmai. We all three shared a cabin there for 3 nights. We saw lots and lots of bears. Annabel and John had a pretty close encounter with a bear that didn't know they were supposed to be 50 feet away... The bears there are extremely well fed because of the salmon streams. There's so much food, that the bears even tolerate other bears and also humans nearby. We watched lots of bears fishing, swimming, and just walking around. We also went on a bus tour to the Valley of the 10,000 Smokes, a valley buried in volcanic ash about 100 feet deep in places. This is from an eruption in the early 1900's. Annabel was brave enough to hike down into the valley. Long hike, several miles, but over 800 feet change in elevation. Like the steps of an 80 story building. She said it was twice as far coming back up! Float plane back to the Angler's Paradise Lodge, and more bears, where we caught a small private plane back to ANC.

On to Fairbanks and Barrow

2009-10-15T13:50:00.005-08:00

Drove farther north on the Parks Highway, stopping for breakfast at Nanana. Also stopped at John's all-time favorite stop, Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn. Fits in with his sense of humor. On to Chena Hot Springs, about an hour north of Fairbanks. John and Annabel soaked in the hot springs and visited the Ice Museum. John enjoyed his stay at the Holiday Inn Express, where there is a pool and morning cinnamon buns. We all enjoyed a visit to Barnes & Noble. We flew up to Barrow, on the Arctic Ocean. The plane stopped on the way at Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay. Point Barrow is the northernmost point on the continent. Lots of native folks here - Inupiaq. They live a subsistance life, hunting whale, caribou, ducks, seals, and drying meat on outdoor racks. Stayed 1 night at Top of the World Hotel. Ate at Pepe's, the northernmost Mexican restaurant. Saw snowy owls, tundra swans, and other geese & ducks. Barrow is probably on of the most unususl places we visited. We saw native dancers, and even Coast Guard guys jump into the Arctic Ocean to qualify for the Polar Club. John and Annabel walked around town in freezing rain and snow. They ended up having a nice Chinese dinner.

Enjoying Denali with Brother John

2009-10-15T13:41:00.004-08:00

We picked up John at the airport in Anchorage on Aug 26 - dinner at our favorite ANC restaurant (Alladin's). Next morning, a short shopping trip at the weekend ANC Market, then we headed north for Denali. John spent 2 nites at the Princess and we camped at the Rainbow RV across the street. We rode in on the bus twice. (The 95 mile road, remember, is accessible only by bus.) Saw lots of animals, and great fall scenery. The plants were gold and red all around the park. We even had a 3-dog night at the park (saw wolves, foxes & a coyote on the same day). Watched a young moose struggle to navigate the road and steep embankments.

Seward, AK

2009-10-15T11:00:00.004-08:00

After we left Denali, we had a few days before Brother John came, so we drove thru Talkeetna and on down to Seward. Nice restaurants there, good public library, and the Big Bunny Bonanza for Mollie. Actually, there are just a lot of houses around town that have huge bunnies living in the yards and nearby. Mollie loved it! We camped at Resurrection Campground, right on the bay.

Denali Camping-5 days at Teklanika

2009-10-15T10:56:00.010-08:00

After Bill left us, we spent 5 days camping as far into the part as you can take a camper. That's mile 29, Teklanika. Camping right near the braided Teklanika River. We went on into the park by bus almost every day. Grand scenery and more animals! The landscape is different every time, with changes in the light, clouds, fog or rain. What a treat!

... With Bill at Denali Park

2009-08-23T16:48:00.006-08:00

At Denali Park, we stayed at the Grizzly Bear Lodge & RV Park.

Travels with Bill Henderson in Alaska

2009-08-23T16:23:00.004-08:00

What a great time we had visiting with Bill when he flew up to Alaska! He flew into Anchorage and toured around for a day or 2 until we arrived. Saturday morning, we all went to the Anchorage Market. It's a street market with food and goods including lots of Alaska made items. And of course, tshirts etc. We had our favorite salmon quesadillas, Bill added reindeer to his. And did a bit of shopping. Then we were off to Homer. We spent a couple of days at Homer, good eating at some of our favorite places, Cap'n Patty's and also the Sourdough Bakery & Deli. And for adventure, we took a small "ferry" boat, the Danny J, across Kachemak Bay to Halibut Cove. Mostly we just ate lunch & looked around a bit at this small isolated community. But the excitement started on the way back. Most seating is outside and unfortunately we were sitting on the bow. And the weather and wind changed. We were swamped with sea water spray over and over again! At least they had plastic panchos for us! This was unexpected, but we all seemed to make it through with perseverance & good humor.
Another thing we enjoyed doing at Homer was driving around in the evening moose-looking. We saw several, including a mom & baby. When we left Homer, we turned at Anchor Point and went to a small community out in the back country of Russian folks. A community of "True Believers." Looked around. Had an unexpected traditional Russian lunch at Nina's Samovar Cafe. On the road later, we were able to see some of the volcanos along the Alaska chain, Iliama, and Redoubt. We drove on to Palmer, where we spent the night.
Next morning, we went to the Matanuska Glacier area, where we had really good views of the glacier as it comes for miles down out of the mountains, and you can see for miles where it goes back up into the mountains. Also, we stopped at Sheep Mountain Lodge, but were not able to see sheep this time. We went on to Wasilla, where we went by the Iritarod Headquarters, where the race really starts in Feb.
And then to Talkeetna for a couple of days. We enjoyed the food and the atmosphere at the Roadhouse. Poked around a bit. Went on a JetBoat trip on three of the braided rivere that come out of the glaciers nearby. Talkeetna, Susitna, and Chulitna Rivers.
And on to Denali National Park...

More Mollie, anyone?

2009-08-08T02:57:00.003-08:00

She's enjoying the trip!

Alaska Car Tags

2009-08-08T02:09:00.003-08:00

There are several style tags in use - here are some...

Anchorage, our Alaska home-base

2009-08-07T23:46:00.001-08:00

Fred Meyer, Title Wave Books, Creekwood RV Park, moose out by the airport

Alaska Highway, Valdez to Anchorage

2009-08-07T23:44:00.002-08:00

2 swans along the way. beautiful views of Worthington Glacier.

Valdez, AK

2009-08-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

deep harbor, surrounded by mountains and glaciers

Alaska Highway, Skagway to Valdez

2009-08-07T23:40:00.002-08:00

high point: 2 bears and a moose (which all appeared right after Annabel said you just can't go by where the guide book says the animals will be...)

Skagway

2009-08-07T23:36:00.003-08:00

dinner at the upscale Stowaway, lunch at You Say Tomato (which serves not only vegan but raw vegan, no cooking...ok...)

Becky's Lemon Bars

2009-07-27T22:35:00.003-08:00

Just because you never know what you'll find here!

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour
pinch salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together first 4 ingredients and pack into an 8x8 pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine remaining ingredients and pour mixture over crust just out of the oven. Return to oven & bake 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar and cut into bars while still warm.

in memory of Blair Awbrey...

Haines, AK

2009-07-27T22:23:00.007-08:00

Alaska Marine Highway to Haines on the Lynn Canal, where we stayed at both the Haines Hitch-up and Oceanside RV Park. We toured around a lot, visiting the state parks on either end of Haines. Went to the Hammer Museum. We saw a grizzly fishing at Chilkat State Park, and then saw him off in the bushes right next to the car. Mollie bravely barked him away. We saw a whole flock of hundreds of Surf Scoters that were fishing and diving cooperatively in the bay. (Funny fisher ducks. They would start moving away from the group in a line of 30 or 40, and when the first duck in line got to a school of fish, he would dive; then the next birds in line would dive at the same spot; the rest would keep following til they got to the same spot where the school of fish was and they would dive too. So we watched one after another of them dive, one or 2 at a time, while the rest of the line kept on coming, each bird diving in its turn. Looked like they did that because if they all dived in at the same time in a melee, the fish would scatter and none would get fish. Whew. Hard to describe that operation, but it sure was interesting!) We promoted the economy at The Babbling Book bookstore on Main Street. When we were on the way to see glaciers at Chilkoot State Park, we saw a moose eating dinner. We ate at the Chilcat Bakery & Cafe. We got a couple of much-needed haircuts. We ate lunch at a Manna-type cafe called Mountain Market. And lattes at The Top Frog. (Customer parking only, all others will be toad...)

Sitka by the sea

2009-07-27T22:22:00.008-08:00

From Juneau, we went on the Alaska Marine Highway fast ferry, M/V Fairweather, with Mollie & the camper to Sitka. On the way there & back to Juneau, we saw whales from the ferry. At Sitka, we spent 3 nights at Sealing Cove Marina & RV Park. It's on Japonski Island. Sitka has interesting weather. It is on the Pacific Ocean, not the Inside Passage. So it does get some bad storms. But has barrier islands to calm things a bit. Lots of clouds, fog, rain. Moderate Japan current. Summer temps up to 70-ish, winter temps down to 20-ish. Boats and islands everywhere. Mountains on lots of the islands, some snowy. And even an extinct volcano across the bay. Mt. Edgecumbe.
Alaska Pioneers Home for old codgers in the middle of the downtown area. Beautifully kept. Menu in the daily paper. Cruise ships stand off in the harbor and bring folks in by ship's tenders. Beautiful cable suspension bridge connecting Baranoff Island where Sitka is, and Japonski Island where the airport, hospital etc, are located.
We went on an Allen Marine wildlife tour; saw whales, sea otters, eagles, seals; went to a bird rookery at St Lazarius Island (puffins, cormorants, murres, nesting peregrine falcons). Saw a fledgling in an eagles' nest.
Had a good meal at Larkspur Cafe, and another at the very local Victoria Restaurant, next door to Vicroria's Pour House.
Went to the movies to see The Proposal, which is supposedly set in Sitka (but was probably filmed in Maine). They are civilized enough to have hot chocolate & cappucino in addition to popcorn at the movie.
There is a series of mysteries set in Sitka by John Straley. If you haven't read them, you've missed a good series.
Speaking of books, we went to Harbor Books, a favorite independent bookstore, where we made major efforts to boost the local economy (see above).
As usual, we drove around looking for bears, and didn't find any. Except at Fortress of the Bear, a relatively new facility whose mission is to rescue orphaned cubs and help transition them to zoos. Once a cub's mother is dead, the cub's chances of survival are about zero. There's no way to get them back in the wild, but at least this way some of them survive; which is better than just shooting them, which seems to be the Forest Service norm. They currently have 2 brothers, which seem healthy & well adjusted, looked after by staff including a professional zoo keeper specializing in bears.

Glacier Bay Nat'l Park at Gustavus, AK

2009-07-27T22:21:00.005-08:00

We spent 3 nights at Glacier Bay National Park Lodge, outside of Gustavus, AK. Tiny town landlocked by glaciers. Flew there & back with Wings of Alaska. We went on 2 really nice tours. The first was a whale watching trip, and watch whales we did!!! Near Point Adolphus, we came across a pod of about 8 humpback whales that were bubble feeding collectively. At times it was almost like watching a ballet. We even saw a couple of whales breach out of the water. Lots of backs, tails and flukes out of the water. Pairs of whales swimming in unison... all coming back to the surface together to feed. What's happening under the water is that they are blowing bubbles in sort of a net around a school of the tiny fish that they eat, and while the fish are stunned, they swoop through and get a mouthful on their way to the surface. There are sea lions that hang around them to take advantage of the stunned fish, too. There were even a few kayakers in the neighborhood, too. Really close to the whales. We were able to hear the whales, their breathing, and their vocalizing; groans, growls, clicks, just amazing sounds. We were told that when they come up for air and 'blow', that their exhalation comes out at 300 miles per hour. That ought to be enough to stun a fish.
Our second trip was up-bay to the glaciers. We spent all day on the boat covering a large part of Glacier Bay, seeing more whales, seals, sea otters, and sea lions. And glaciers. One of which is even advancing instead of retreating. This is because the ice that feeds it comes from ice fields in mountains at about 10,000 feet, rather that the neighbors whose ice fields are from 5 to 6 thousand feet. And also because the glacier is at a steeper angle than its neighbors, which lets it advance easier.
Annabel went on a 3-mile hike along the river through the rain forest, hoping to see bears. No bears, but good exercise. And good food at the lodge. We spent pleasant time in front of a roaring fire (did I mention how cool it was? Long sleeved shirts, jackets, blankets on the bed...)

3 Visits to Juneau

2009-07-27T22:19:00.003-08:00

Stayed at Auke Bay RV Park and went on 2 trips from here. First, flew to to Glacier Bay Park Lodge, where we could not take Mollie; then to Sitka and back on the ferry. Mollie spent 3 nights at the plush Pet Nanny's Place, doggie camp, where they sang campfire songs and even took her on a shopping expedition! Made our 4th visit to Gold Creek Salmon Bake, where we had great food, AYCE, and good entertainment. We shopped for T-shirts at Alaska Shirt Company and packed them up & sent them home to be there when we get back. And poor Annabel checked every grocery in town for diet teas for Pat. With success! We ate a good lunch at Silver Bow Cafe and Bakery, a hippie beer & coffeeshop place downtown. Drove to Mendenhall Glacier, checked out the glacier and the icebergs in the Mendenhall River. Juneau has the distinction of being the only town with a glacier in the city limits. The ferry actually comes & goes from Auke Bay, a small town north of Juneau. Every day that we came downtown, there were 4 cruise ships docked there.

Petersburg, the Norway of Alaska

2009-07-27T22:18:00.004-08:00

To Petersburg on the ferry M/V Matanuska. We spent 2 nights at Petersburg, at Twin Creek RV Park, outside of town. Petersburg is called the Norway of Alaska. Where other towns have Elk and Moose Lodges, Petersburg also has the Sons of Norway. Lots of Norwegian influence here, in buildings, food, crafts. Beautiful little town, glacier right across Fredrick Sound, where they often see whales. Snowy mountains all around. Petroglyphs at an old native fishing area. Sing Lee Alley Bookstore. Internet at the Public Library. Slow fast food at Tina's kitchen, fish tacos and salmon burgers to eat while we waited for the ferry. Good lunch at the wharf overlooking the water. Annabel went on a long walk, saw 2 black bears fishing. We also saw several deer while we were driving around. And eagles at Eagle Roost Park.

Wrangell, AK & Anan Bear Observatory

2009-07-27T22:16:00.004-08:00

We spent 4 nights at Wrangell at Alaska Waters RV Park. And went on 2 tours with them. The first was to the Anan Bear Observatory. Neat place. Decks etc set up at small rapids in a salmon creek, where you can watch the bears, eagles and salmon work things out. We saw lots of black bears up pretty close, one that climbed a tree next to the deck was only about 10 feet away. (We had to stay out from under the tree to keep from getting peed on!) The rest of the bears were 20 or more feet away. Saw lots of salmon. Both mature (black & white) and juvenile (mottled brown & gray) bald eagles. Bald eagles don't get their characteristic white head until 3-5 years old. We spent hours there watching the bears and eagles fish; we loved it.
The other trip was a jet boat trip up the Stikine River. Beautiful wilderness area. At one point the channel was completely blocked with icebergs from a nearby glacier. We also saw river otters.
We had fun hanging our at the Stikine Inn, where we had a good meal or two, checked email, and had good lattes. We also ate at a local cafe where we were the only tourists. Annabel and Mollie enjoyed going on walkabouts, and pretty much covered the whole town!

Prince of Wales Island, AK

2009-07-27T22:13:00.005-08:00

Took the Inter Island Ferry, M/V Stikine, to nearby Prince of Wales Island, about 3 hours away from Ketchikan. Spent 4 nights on POW Island. We stayed the first night at JS True-Value Hardware, Lumber & RV Park at Craig, AK. Then Thorne Bay Municipal Campground, and Oceanview RV Park, at Coffman Cove. And ocean view it was! We even watched humpback whales there from our camper while we were eating dinner. We saw 10 of the small black-tailed Sitka deer, including a mom with 2 new babies. No bears. We visited the Haida native town of Hydaburg and the Tglinket town of Klawock, where we enjoyed visits to the Black Bear Grocery! The totem poles of each are very different styles. At Craig we had a good lunch and checked email at Annie Betty's Cafe. Had a delicious dinner at Ruth Ann's, also at Craig (which had the only restaurants on the island). POW Island is truly off the beaten path. Speaking of which, this is where Pat discovered that the bugs here LOVE her and she's allergic. Dr visit ensued.

Ketchikan for July 4th

2009-07-10T20:05:00.007-08:00

At Ketchikan, we stayed at Clover Pass Marina, where we had Wi-fi! Annabel and Mollie enjoyed sitting outside behind the camper in the evening reading and watching the sunset. This is the first place where we've seen a lot of eagles. We went on a couple of good tours. The Allen Marine Misty Fjord Tour, and the Coastal Wildlife Viewing trip (we were able to get really close to a couple of bears, and saw sea otters and lots of seals). We had a great meal at Alaska Steamship Company Steamers Restaurant at the dock where the big cruise ships dock. And salmon dip from a street vendor. Fish tacos, Salmon chowder, salmon burgers. And enjoyed lunch at Annabel's, a restaurant downtown at an old hotel. Lots of good shopping at Parnassus Books on Cripple Creek. And of course, touristy shopping!

Prince Rupert & Alaska Marine Highway System

2009-07-10T19:29:00.005-08:00

From Hyder, we stopped for the night at Port Edward, where we did laundry and email late into the night. Back on the Yellowhead Highway, we went on to Prince Rupert, and the Prince Rupert RV Campground, close to the ferry. We enjoyed a good seafood dinner at Smiles, and luscious desserts at Cow Bay Cafe. We were at the ferry at 5:30 am to catch the M/V Taku to Ketchikan.

Finally, for all of Mollie's fans...

2009-07-05T23:11:00.003-08:00

That's right! Mollie, Mollie, and more Mollie!

We interrupt Canada for Hyder, Alaska

2009-07-05T00:27:00.001-08:00

On the Yellowhead Highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert, BC, Canada, there's a turn off for a side trip that takes you to a tiny piece of Alaska. It's the only town in the southern part of the Inside Passage that is accessible by road. All other towns are accessible only by plane or ferry.
So we took the 6 hour detour and visited Hyder, Alaska. Beautiful drive through snow-covered mountains, past Bear Glacier, which you see the end of from the road. We saw several black bears along the way. Hyder: totally isolated, population 100, unpaved streets, with about 3 resident bears that live in town. Canada on one side and the Misty Fjord National Monument Wilderness on the other. Law enforcement officers have to come from Ketchikan and can take hours or days to arrive. This is not particularly a place you end up by accident. We had a good meal at The Bus, one of the 2 places in town to eat. We also saw a bear having lunch at the dump. There's also a Bear Observation place here where you can see bears fish for salmon in late July.

Heading for Canada

2009-07-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

We drove to Canada late in the evening, crossing the border south of Vancouver, BC. We spent the night at Vancouver and headed for Whistler the next morning. Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, will be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. We camped at Seton Lake, then drove on through the mountains to Prince George, on our way to the ferry.

Olympic Game Farm

2009-07-04T23:57:00.000-08:00

Near Port Angeles is a private animal preserve. We were able to drive through with the windows open so Mollie could hang out with the animals. She went into overload pretty quick, particularly when the buffalo stuck its head in the window for me to feed him.

Olympic National Park, Washington

2009-07-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

From Montana, we headed farther west to the coast. At Tacoma, we found a great Jamaican vegan restaurant, Quickie Too. And we saw Mount Rainier overshadowing the area. Out on the peninsula, we even saw whales from the camper in the Juan de Fuca Strait. We were able to camp right on the ocean at South Beach Recreation area. We drove around the peninsula, including Port Angeles and Port Townsend. We saw deer, huge Roosevelt elk, and whales.

Glacier National Park

2009-07-04T23:05:00.001-08:00

After Yellowstone, we went to Glacier N. P. in Montana up at the Canada border. The Going To The Sun Road was still closed for several miles in the middle because of major avalanche problems during the winter that wiped out part of the road. We spent 3 days on the east side, staying at St. Mary's Campground and Rising Sun Campground, both in the park. We saw lots of bears, including one following two guys who had been fishing & had their catch in a bag. We also saw lots of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep and some mountain goats grazing up on the mountains. On the west side, it's like a different park. Warmed. Wetter. The mountains are high and the weather on the west is more influenced by the Pacific. On the east, it's more like the high mountain plains.

Yellowstone National Park

2009-07-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

After the Grand Canyon, Bill continued his Southwest Tour. Annabel, Pat & Mollie headed for Yellowstone. We entered the park from West Yellowstone, where we saw films on Bears, Yellowstone, and Alaska at the IMAX. We drove the entire figure eight road system in the park, some of it many times. We especially enjoyed Fishing Bridge Campground, Hayden Valley, Lamar Valley, and the Cody entry road. We saw lots of buffalo, a coyote or two, bears, lots of elk, deer, and even pronghorns. The baby buffalo and pronghorn and elk were especially cute. We also saw one moose, who happened to wander down the mountainside right into our parking lot. We followed it out of the lot until it went over the guard rail and straight down the mountain. One of the bears was really close up - just off the road in a field. Ain't proximity wonderful. We love Yellowstone.

Grand Canyon, AZ

2009-07-04T02:47:00.000-08:00

Bill, Annabel, Pat & Mollie spent 3 nights at the Grand Canyon. Special events included: IMAX showing of Grand Canyon movie (and an elk in the parking lot), sunset tour of the Kaibab National Forest (and seeing a very pregnant elk) ending at the Grand Canyon, trip to Hermit's Rest, trip into Flagstaff including lunch at Macy's, lots of good food and fellowship with Bill.

Dinosaur Tracks at Tuba City, AZ

2009-07-04T02:38:00.000-08:00

- When we left Chinle, we stopped by to see Dinosaur Tracks in the rocks near Tuba City on the Navajo Reservation. The informal setup for a tour was closed, but neighbors James and JB were there to help us out. So we had a short but entertaining tour while we enjoyed the moonrise.

Canyon de Chelly, Chinle, AZ

2009-07-04T02:22:00.001-08:00

From Meteor Crater, we continued on to Canyon de Chelly, where Bill stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge. There are Anasazi ruins here that you can get really close to. There is a photo of old pictographs and also ruins. We had a Navajo guide who took us into the canyon in his Jeep. He still lives in the canyon with his extended family. He seemed to enjoy sharing stories and history of the area with us. We certainly enjoyed his company.

Meteor Crater, AZ

2009-07-04T02:17:00.000-08:00

We picked up Bill Henderson in Flagstaff. He joined us for several wonderful days in Arizona. We started at Meteor Crater.

Navajo Territory, Window Rock

2009-07-04T02:10:00.000-08:00

Our trip started out west on I-40, and a bit of old route 66. You know you've arrived out west when you get to Tucumcari, New Mexico! We visited Navajo land, including Window Rock (see photo), Shiprock (see photo), Farmington, Tuba City, and Four Corners and trading posts along the way.

Pic from our last visit to AK

2009-05-31T00:17:00.000-08:00

ocean kayaking out of Juneau in 2007

The Plan

2009-05-16T20:47:00.000-08:00

Outline for the trip: Route 66. Navajo reservation. Hopi reservation. Bill Henderson. Canyon de Chelly. Meteor Crater. Grand Canyon. Yellowstone. Glacier. Olympic National Park in Washington. Vancouver. Whistler. Prince Rupert. Alaska Marine Highway System - ferries. Ketchikan. Prince of Wales Island. Wrangell. Petersburg. Juneau. Glacier National Park. Sitka. Skagway. Haines. Tok. Valdez. Anchorage. Homer. Seward. Katmai with John. Talkeetna. Denali. Fairbanks. Chena Hot Springs. maybe Northern Lights. Alaska Highway. Kluane. Whitehorse. Watson Lake and signpost village. Fort Nelson. Dawson Creek. Jasper. Banff. Edmonton. Glacier & Waterton.