Juneau Jaunts

August 16, 2011 Juneau Arrival

8/16/11-8/17/11

Yes it was cool and yes it was rainy, but nothing can diminish the thrill of seeing wildlife or the beauty of sailing through the narrow passages and straights on the route to Juneau.

We stayed at Grandma’s Feather Bed and there was actually a feather bed in our room as well as a Jacuzzi. Both were greatly appreciated after walking through town, souvenir shopping and a tram ride up Mt. Roberts in the rain.

"At Last" (sing it Etta) ALASKA

August 13, 2011 Departure date for our Alaskan Adventure

My sisters, their husbands and my niece came to the Alaska Ferry terminal to give us a great “Bon Voyage”. The ferry set sail at 6 pm on a wonderful sunny evening. The purser assigned us to a very nice berth with a bathroom (top priority) and a window. It felt first class to us. We scurried on deck to wave and watch for wildlife on the way out of Bellingham Bay and through the San Juan Juan Islands. Eagles, harbor seals and Orcas were spotted that evening. Almost immediately, we began to interact and connect with fellow passengers. With only 200 or so people, it wasn’t hard. Most were Alaskans heading to their homes around SE Alaska or tourists who preferred to bypass the big cruise ships (thus, a common bond). I found several people who, like myself, were interested in using GPS and the ship’s monitors to track our course. Just Old Salts at heart.

The relative calm of the inside passage made for a wonderful night’s sleep.

8/14-8/16/2011

There was a definite change in the weather when we awoke. Rain, duh. I dusted off my rain gear and spent a lot of time on deck. Chris found plenty to keep himself busy: socializing, reading and pub crawling. There was even small theater that occasionally showed nature films and movies. Even though we packed enough food for an army, the restaurant's breakfast menu was too much to resist. We rationalized that we were still economizing because we shared our meal.

We arrived in Ketchikan early on the morning of the 15^th. Chris had met a retired Alaska Ferry Chief Boatswain, Stephen Mason who offered to show us around town during our 4 hour layover. Steve graduated from Lake Washington High School (around 1960), has a home near Thorp WA and a cabin on Duke Island, AK. A very nice guy who gave us the opportunity to see Fairbanks and its 2 Totem Park’s which otherwise, would not have been possible.

Steve travels on his own "ferry" from Ketchikan to Duke Island (see above). Such a good looking first mate there...

Friends, Family and Fun

Jerry McNeight

Mike Cooper

Jerry, Larry, Ike

Sue, Mike and Joan

Linda and Rosemary

"improved" (sic) format and I'm still trying to figure it out. So again, you get to guess who, where and when....

7/19/11 to 7/21/11

Friends

Impulsively, (so what is new) we stopped in Gig Harbor to look up a friend from a lifetime ago. Time has not changed Judy Kohler and I would have known her anywhere. Even with several decades between visits, we started where we left off, as if it were yesterday, and talked the hours away.  We reminisced for quite some time about her parents, Jayne and Jim Evans, both now deceased. I have so many fond memories of Jim and Jayne. They were like parents to me from my senior year in high school and through nursing school. Over the years, I visited with them several times at their home on Whidbey Island and Jayne always had her wonderful raspberry pie waiting for me. Judy said I was welcome to visit the property anytime and I think that will be a good place for me to bid her parents “adieu”. Judy joined Chris and I for lunch at the Tides Tavern. We enjoyed a good meal with wonderful company and a fantastic view. We’ve promised to meet again, soon.

7/21-7/24/11

Away to the Tropics and Dash Point

RHS class of ’65 is very special. Last year I was unable to attend my 45^th reunion but was kept updated on the event by many good friends and classmates. A promise was made that we would have a “mini reunion” when I finally made it back to the great northwest and indeed we did! We met at Dino’s in Renton and I think we had a great turn out. A special thanks to Linda West, Jerry and Linda Mullin, Gail Hazelett and so many more for making it possible.

My niece, Courtney Shamek’s wedding was 7/22/11. She and Brandon Veach were married in an outdoor ceremony, along the water in Lakewood.  A tropical theme was carried out through the entire event, with blue cocktails at the tiki bar, leis for the groomsmen, palm leaf fans and shell necklaces for the guests and tropical isle named tables at dinner. It was a truly a beautiful wedding! Her parents, (Vicki and Jim), grandmother, aunts, uncles, and many others put in countless hours and the results were  spectacular.

Chris and I camped at Dash Point State Park that weekend. Although this park is in the middle of a metropolitan area you’d never know it. The camp sites are wooded and the sounds of the city do not penetrate the forest.  Vicki, Jim and granddaughter Aspen, came by one night for a campfire, s’mores and few scary fireside stories.

 

7/24/11

More Friends

A trip through the Seattle area would not be complete without a stop in Medina to see my best friends, the Kirsch’s. We had a fun poolside visit and cookout with Betsy, Rod, daughter Jessica and her family (husband James and children Allie and Jack). 

7/25/11-8/12/11

Family

Finally arrived in Ferndale/Bellingham. Moby went to the RV spa for small makeover (refrigerator repair) and we stayed with Patti (sister) and husband John. When Moby was in shipshape we parked her in Judi (sister) and Mike’s back yard for the duration. We had gatherings with family, cookouts and plenty of chatter time. We visited Mike at work (a Nooksack casino) for a great buffet and a little “financial foolishness”.

I took a couple of one day trips. One to Whidbey Island, with my sister, Patti to pay homage to Jim and Jayne Evans. Their son Ken and his wife were there for the weekend and we had a great time reminiscing and laughing about having gone to "Renton". 


The second trip was to Black Diamond to visit my former neighbor and lifetime friend Katherine McNeight. She has "celebrated" 91 years and still is amazingly bright and mobile.  We had a wonderful day talking, going out to lunch and visiting places from out of the past. She is a newlywed and I met her husband Tom for the first time. He's a real character with a great sense of humor.


Much to my regret, I spent so much of my time talking that I forgot to take pictures....

Dungeness Spit 7/18/11

Down from snowy Hurricane Ridge to sandy Dungeness Spit. We hiked down to the spit like we had done over 15 years ago. It was a "breathless" experience and a pretty one too.

Hurricane Ridge 7/18/11

Hurricane ridge is one of our favorite places to hike. It didn't happen this year because summer decided to make a late entrance. The trails were closed and still covered with snow. Wild life mingled with people near the parking lot, however someone couldn't see the "forest(deer) for the trees".

Canoe Journey 7/17/11

We rounded Olympic National Park and headed for the Port Angeles area. It was pure luck that we drove into town one afternoon in time to see canoes from several coastal tribes arrive on one leg of the Canoe Journey 2011.

In the last 20 years, the Coast Salish peoples have engaged in a cultural rejuvenation, culminating in the Annual Tribal Canoe Journey. Each summer, Tribal Canoes travel from their home territories to a common destination within the Coast Salish territory. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will host the end of journey events in 2011. (www.swinomish.org)

One canoe from the Lower Elwa tribe is crewed by "The Pink Paddles" for breast cancer awareness.

Interesting website:http://paddletoswinomish.com/history/

Time to See the Sea 7/9/11-7/14/11

Seal Rock State Park

The next part of the adventure took us "out to the sea". We crossed Oregon, through Bend to Newport on the coast. We camped at South Beach State Park and went agate hunting at Seal Rock.

Next, we continued up the coast to Long Beach and then to Kalaloch. The weather verified that we were definitely in a rain forest. The campground looked like a tarp city with mostly tent campers trying to stay dry. On the third day, we heard cheering throughout the park. The occasion? The sun came out! True, it was out for only a few minutes, but revered none the less. Shortly thereafter, I walked down to the beach and was shocked to find it crowded with people and pets. It looked more like Myrtle Beach during spring break. There were beachcombers, frisbee catching dogs, guys playing football, children exploring tide pools and people playing in the surf. Go figure!

Fly Me to the Moon

7/5-7/8/11

We left Lake City for our next destination, Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. It took a couple of long, hot days of driving with brief overnights before we arrived in Arco, Idaho.

Arco: America's first nuclear powered city and site of the first nuclear power plant. Yippee! Chris toured the now idle plant, but with warning signs of possible radiation and asbestos exposure, I opted out. Duh. I'm probably still glowing from all of the breast cancer scans last year. The monument covers a vast area of volcanic aftermath. Quite impressive. Much like areas of Mt. St. Helen's.

Arco also has an interesting feature. Every highschool class since 1920 has painted their year of graduation on the hills above town. Can you find yours?

It's About Time

...and all about time.

Where does the time go? It does go quickly and the last month on the road has really flown by.

I will try to get this caught up date:

June 30-July 5th

We spent the Fourth of July weekend in the wonderful Woodlake RV park (Lake City, Colorado). We reconnected with old friends and made many new friends. Our time was filled with activities such as a covered dish, campfire/cookout at Deer Lake and parade/fair in town on the 4th. We were fortunate enough to be visited by 2 moose on our Deer Lake cookout.

Ellie and Sally, 2 sweet new friends, hosted along with their "people" Kathryn and Cecil Childers, an evening campfire. Campfire tales included the story of the South Texas Christmas Miracle (snow: see www.texassnowbook.com) and The Mystery of the "Dropped Drawers" (don't ask).

And the Journey Continues

It has been many months and mucho miles since my last post, which is actually a really good thing.

I spent much of the winter and spring enjoying my grandsons, Liam, Declan, Quinn and Colin whenever possible. The kitchen project was completed in April and it is beautiful!

Every month, I feel a bit closer to “normal” and this month I again became a “Gypsy Rover”. Chris and I headed out in Moby (our camper) on June 2^nd and have been wandering across the US since then. We felt like “Dante” captives for the first three weeks as we crossed Alabama, Mississippi and Texas in record heat. We stopped by the Casita factory, in Rice Texas, for a "Moby Makeover" and a new awning. The drought, low humidity and temperatures near 100 convinced me that I’m will never be a desert person. We left Texas’ inferno for cooler temperatures but found infernos of another kind. We camped above Santa Fe NM at one of our favorite places, Black Canyon Campground near Hyde State Park. Still lovely and cool but it turned out to be only about 5 miles from the Pacheco Wildfire. We could see the smoke and occasionally smell it, but it stayed to our north. We left Santa Fe on June 26^th and drove to Heron Lake State Park in northern NM. You guessed it, right past Los Alamos and the Las Conchas fire. We woke around midnight on day 2 to the strong smell of smoke and noticeable ash in the air. Colorado here we come!

Arrived yesterday (6/28) at Mesa Verde National Park. NO smoke, NO drought, NO inferno!!! We met several interesting people and camped next to a great couple from Kansas. Visiting the land of the ancients is always interesting.

6/30 Moved on to Lake City, Colorado. We've stayed here before (2009) at WoodLake campground and hoped to see friends from our last stay. WoodLake has a great community of people who stay for extended periods of time every summer. We're in luck, Reece and Don Carter from Kentucky have arrived and we have had a fun time catching up.

I'm adding a few pictures and if I can't remember how to label them, you'll be on your own for figuring them out!

PS: Snakes scare the "begeezus"out of me!!!

Helen