Final Tally of the trip from WA to AK

Well, I thought I'd summarize the diriving and animal sightings between Tacoma and Homer:

Wednesday, shopped IKEA & left Tacoma, WA 300 miles
Thursday, visited in Osoyoos, B.C. with Ed & Gayle Landry (Baja Buddies)
Friday, 420 miles to Quesnel, BC
Saturday thru Tuesday 53 miles (and broken down, 4 days) to Prince George, BC
Wednesday, Laundry & Costco and 360 miles to a wide spot in the road 125 miles past Fort St. John
Thursday, 526 miles to Continental Divide RV Park
Friday, Tok, 536 miles
Saturday, Anchorage, 315 miles (another breakdown, 3 days)
Tuesday repairs & errands and 140 miles
Wednesday, 80 miles to Homer
(FYI: you can make this trip in 7 days at 400 miles a day if you DON"T break down, ha, ha)

Critter sightings for the trip:

bob cat 1
moose 9
eagles 2
hawks 2
bison 16+ 2 herds
stone sheep 2 + 2 flocks
caribou 6
deer 2
beaver dams 2
red fox 1
black bear 7
rabbit 1

I'm sure there were more animals but I wasn't actively looking, these were extremely obvious!

The last 80 miles to "Home"r, get it?

We were surprised by a few moose along the road near Anchor Point. Two ran out into the road in front of the motorhome and crossed the road. I was only quick enough to catch one on camera. They were HUGE.

Here is the view of the Homer Spit as we descend in town. Next we drove by the property to see that all was well so we visited the with the Tietjen's. (I think Paul wanted to check on Tugger and Lugger, which started right up and he's VERY happy.) Tomorrow he'll bring them home and remove the log so we can move the motorhome in to it's "home".

I'm ready for summer but the forecast is clouds and some showers, at least it's not hot.

Delayed in Anchorage, Memorial Day Weekend

We are waiting for the holiday weekend to end so they can replace our serpentine belt. We were driving along a narrow winding mountain road when it broke. We had to drive several miles to find a wide spot to pull off the pavement. Paul got the car out of the trailer and drove 7 miles to find a phone for a tow truck. While there he found 2 men with trucks that were willing to tow our trailer to Anchorage (77) miles for us (the tow truck can't tow both the motorhome and trailer on the Glenn Hwy, it's the law). There are good samaritan's everywhere! We are "camping" behind the Cummins repair shop with electricity so we're OK. Today I'm going shopping, stress relief threapy for me, ha,ha.

On the drive from Tok to Chickloon we did see another moose.

The weather is mostly cloudy and some drizzle with a peek of sunshine.

I've included another picture of a huge ram along the road. You can see the motorhome mirror on the edge of the picture. The animals aren't too threatened by moving vehicles. You have to honk or stop to make them move along.

We've arrived in Alaska

We are FINALLY in Alaska! We saw hundreds of critters on or near the road. stone mountain sheep, bison, bears, caribou, deer, moose, red fox, rabbit, eagles, hawks, ravens and probably others I can't remember.
the next is a picture of Kluane Lake in the Yukon, still completely frozen over. the next picture is of a lake breaking up with ice, It's amazing how cold it's been this spring, but BEAUTIFUL.
Gotta hit the bed and then the road. We still have 550 miles to go to Homer but we'll probably go to church in Anchorage Sunday. PS, I'm doing this blog post in a restaurant in Tok, AK., with their free internet, Ha, Ha.

welcome to Quesnel, Canada

No luck. the part was welded 2 times and it didn't work. The new one will arrive next Wednesday, 4 days away. I did find a church just 27 back in Quesnel and the meeting is at 9:30 am. All is well. there probably won't be much to say till then, there isn't much around here to explore.

A Brief, Unscheduled, Stop

Well, 420 miles today and we have a fuel leak. It's a metal fuel line that has a crack. Paul has the part off and headed in the car to the last town, Quesnel about 20 miles back. Bummer, but we're safe and in a FREE RV Park. Can you believe the Lord's blessings? I NEVER would have thought of finding a free park and not when you need one. We are dry camping but nice grass and tables. There is a little store and cafe so I think we'll buy something.We'll probably be back on the road tomorrow and spend the rest of the weekend in Prince George so we can attend church on Sunday.
Well, that's about all the excitement except seeing a couple eagles in flight.

They weren't happy about my taking this picture but I did it anyway.
We had a nice visit with Ed and Gayle and they showed us around town. Osoyoos is growing almost as fast as Las Vegas. They are taking out the fruit trees and planting grapes like crazy. In a few years there won't be any more fruit trees.
In the morning we make more progress in our northward journey.

Welcome to Canada

We made it this far! We had one last errand in Washington yesterday. We stopped at the new IKEA store, outside Seattle, and picked up the table and chairs for the cabin. Whew, done at last. We drove over 300 miles but it took longer than usual because it was over the mountains. It was a pretty drive along the Wenatchee, Columbia and Okanogan Rivers. We arrived at Ed and Gayle Landry's house about 7pm. We had a fun visit, sharing stories until we collapsed into bed.
I'll see if I can get a picture of the Landry's to post with the next installment.

We had Lunch with Kristi, Rochelle, Shaela, and Alyssa last week while in Portland. What a surprise.

Kristi brought Earl and charlie
Shaela brought her little girl and boy with the brand new 1 week old baby boy.
The girls looked good and it was fun to catch up on the familys.

The last picture is of me with the corsage that my daughters bought for me for Mother's day. Can you believe it lasted 2 weeks and I wore it to church today? (The picture isn't good because I took it myself, close-up. That's all the longer my arms are and it's too close!)


We drove to Tacoma Washington Saturday night and will be here for 2 or 3 days. We'll visit a sister-in-law and Baja buddies, Bob and Patty. We have a little shopping to do before the last 2600 miles to Homer.

Portland and Hillsboro

Hi from Oregon.

Paul and I have been here for a week and the weather has been fantastic. It's supposed to rain tomorrow but we're leaving just in time.

We have had a nice time visiting Kristi and the kids off and on. We ate out and one night I made enchiladas tres pisos for the family. Even the kids liked it, I'm pleased because the kids didn't eat tacos for Kristi a couple days earlier. I drove Kristi to the doc for her lasik surgery on her eyes. she's very pleased with the results, 20/15 vision, wow.

We have also visited with Norm and Jerri Pawson (Baja Buddies) a couple times. Karen and Jerri went bike riding on the riverfront for an hour/ might have done 3 miles. It was breezy and sunny, awesome opportunity. We liked it so much that Paul bought me a recumbent bike so I can start exercising. There's less pressure and stress on my knees and since I can't so Curves any more, I need to find some physical exercise.

I got a surprise call from Bob's cousin, Trish. She said that 3 of her daughters were about 30 miles away in Washington and wanted to visit. We got together at a restaurant and talked and shared the little kids. Shaela had a 1 week old baby, and Rochelle and Alyssa had come up to visit. Ain't family great? I love getting together and visiting and catching up.

Well, tomorrow we will head to Tacoma and visit Bob and Patty Custer (more Baja Buddies) and do some last minute shopping before the drive thru Canada. (I found a table and 4 chairs at IKEA for $119, a killer deal for the cabin)

I want to make a special wish for a Happy Mother's Day to all my beautiful daughters and daughter's-in-law and thank them for my wonderful 24++ grandchildren, I couldn't be more blessed!

2 weeks, Las Vegas to Paradise

Well, it's been about 2 weeks since I wrote. We spent 9 days in Las Vegas (actually at the Boulder City ELKS Lodge) taking care of family business and trying to visit Paul's kids. Paul didn't feel up to par so we didn't see any shows or visit friends like we planned.
We left there Monday, April 23rd, 2007 and drove the 409 miles to Fresno CA. We were able to park right in front of Candy's house. We had a nice visit with her and the 6 kids. While there she had a stalled project of building a wall to separate a den from the living room. The 2x4 framing was done but only half the sheet rock. Paul said "Candy, I can do that!" and she jumped up and got the tools. While getting the tools she had to nearly dump a 2' x 4' x 18" tool box on the floor. She was discouraged that there was no workbench for storage of tools and working. I saw a couple 4' x 4' posts in the corner of the garage and I said "Candy, we can build one with pegboard on the wall to hang most of the small tools".
The rest is history. Candy and Rob are now the PROUD owners of a new work bench and tool wall. We had finished our work and left in two days.

We arrived in Paradise late Wednesday night and spent the night at the Paradise ELKS Lodge. Thursday morning we moved up to my Dad's house in Magalia. This week we have tried to get in visits with many friends and family but time is short as we much be in Portland by Friday night. (Paul is flying out to Houston Saturday morning for the weekend with Lyn and her family.)
4 of my daughters took my step mom and I to have manicures and pedicures for Mother's Day (since I won't be here that long). We had so much fun, talking and being pampered. Can you believe it, 6 people having that all at the same time?
On Sunday 3 of the girls and their families came up to Dad's for dinner (enchiladas tres pisos, at Dad's special request). It is so good to watch the grand kids play with their cousins and great-grandfather. We had a VERY nice visit, I look foreward to reunions when we can get them.

Today we are driving the motor home down the hill to Paradise because it's supposed to start raining and I don't want to slide down the wet muddy driveway. We will leave by Thursday morning and head for Portland (Hillsboro, etc) and see Kristi on the way to Alaska.