ISSUES

Is anyone else having problems uploading photos? I have a very strong signal, but can't post a photo. Is it blogger?

4117 MILES

We made it! All 4117 miles of bumpy road later, and a 17 mile ferry ride across the bay, and we are here. I am so glad to be finished with that bumpy, bouncy, bone rattling, teeth chattering road! This is the third time we've driven up, and the roads were the worst this time. But it's beginning to be a faint memory now, as we've settled into the park, hooked up the generator, and visited with our son at his cabin. So was it worth it? You betcha!

We arrived in Anchorage on Sunday night and had dinner and a great visit with Ernie's brother Gary and his wife Gail. That was a lot of fun! Since we were last here Gail has successfully fought breast cancer, so it was an extra tight hug that I gave her when I first saw her. She looks great and is winning the battle! Gary is retiring at the end of next week, and they are taking off for Minnesota! But they'll be back before we leave, so we will see them again.

Monday morning we left our camp spot and headed for an RV dealer to get a fix for the shower head. Accomplished that within just a few minutes, and we headed to Fred Meyer for grocery shopping. I found great prices, good selection, and because I had a $30 off coupon if I spent $150, I saved some considerable bucks! Yay me! Then we headed to Homer. Arrived there and found a spot right on the Spit, within feet of the water. I had a wonderful walk and a good night's sleep.

Bright and early yesterday morning we went to the Alaska Ferry Terminal and bought the tickets for the last leg of our trip. We loaded about ten and took off about noon, for a 1:30 arrival in Seldovia. I have some pictures that I'll put in the next post.

It's been one year since my mom died. It's been a rough year at times. I still miss her daily, but I would not wish her back. There is no doubt that she is enjoying eternity with our Lord, and I will see here again when it's my time. I thank you for your support and comforting words when I was really struggling. You friends are the best!

GREETINGS FROM THE YUKON!

Bet you thought I fell off the face of a mountain! Well, we drove on mountains, over mountains, and around mountains, we slept on mountains, ate on mountains, and generally lived on mountains for the past week, but we did not fall off one! However, if you know anything about mountains, you know that they don't allow cell phone signals or internet access. At least not in the remote areas that we traveled.

Last Sunday we moved to Many Glacier, our favorite campground in Glacier National Park. We spent the day reading, enjoying the scenery, and scoping the mountainside for game. We found it! Ernie found a griz, and while we were watching it we saw two more bears, looked like a sow and cub. On Monday we moved a short distance up the road to Waterton Lakes National Park, which is Canada's portion of the whole Glacier/Waterton area. We walked through the quaint little village in the rain, and attended a ranger show that night. On Tuesday we took off to the north and hit the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Lake Louise, and headed northwest to Jasper where we spent the night, again in the rain. Wednesday we drove west on the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16) to the tiny native village of Morice where we spent the night with a smidgen of wireless internet signal for a few minutes. Not long enough to write anything. And then yesterday, Thursday, we headed North to Alaska for real, up the Cassiar Highway, (Hwy 37). What a day! I have pictures in my camera to show you, but just be warned that they aren't pretty.....road construction, bumps, frost heaves, busted up highway, gravel, rain, and two ruined bikes. Apparently they shifted off the carrier when we flew over one of those bumps, and the handle bars and seats are totally shredded. I haven't even really checked them out to see if they can be fixed because I was so upset. But they are probably history.

Today we drove a short distance, about 260 miles, which felt really great after the 500 dreadful miles yesterday. Our stay last night was at the intersection of the Cassiar Highway and the Alaska Highway, so today we are on the real Alaska Highway. And the road has been in good condition so far. However, we are only in Whitehorse. We know the road gets worse after this, so we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that it's not as bad as the Cassiar.

And our campground tonight will be a bit noisy. You see, rv'ers on the highway to Alaska are allowed to stay in the WalMart parking lot and this parking lot is right off the highway. Fun, uh? I'll take pictures to show you the unique campground.

I have a lot of pictures to post, but this signal at the library doesn't seem to want to let me post them. I'll keep trying, but I mainly wanted to let you know that we are fine, just no signals. I've missed you all!

THE GOING TO THE SUN ROAD

Today we did the Going to the Sun Road, the most beautiful and most amazing road project I have ever seen. The road is fifty miles long, and is billed as one of the world's most spectacular highways. We have driven it a half dozen times or more, but this time we took the bus and left the driving to them! The park is using shuttles which has greatly reduced the traffic on the road, which at times is bumper to bumper on a narrow, wet highway. We took a shuttle from St Mary, where we are camped, to Logan Pass, which sits at the continental divide. Then another shuttle from Logan to Avalanche Creek, and then another to Apgar Village, on the west side of the park. We had lunch there, and then repeated the trip, back over the pass to St. Mary Campground again. These pictures are in no particular order.

MacDonald Lake on the west side of the park, in Apgar Village. Lovely lake, clear and cold.

Some flowers in a planter in Apgar Village. There are flowers everywhere, and you know me! I had to shoot them all!

Taken through the bus window up towards Logan Pass on the west side of the divide.

The flags of America and Canada, flying proudly at Logan Pass. This park is located in both nations.........we share it! I think that is so neat. Two countries are friendly and share a great attraction. We will head to Many Glacier Campground tomorrow, just for the day and night, and then up to Waterton Lakes, the Canadian portion of the park, on Monday. Then it will really feel like we are on the way to Alaska!

Happy Fourth, and God Bless America!

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

We are here. This is the road going right by our camper, and yes, we can see the mountains from here. It was a long day from Williston ND to St. Mary's Campground in Glacier National Park. We did see some beautiful scenery along the way, but the cell phone connection is very weak tonight, so I'll be glad if just this one photo publishes! Nothing like a primitive campground........with a generator for power and a cell phone for an internet connection. Boy some people are getting soft, aren't they. Well, yes, I am!

Montana has big beautiful blue skies. It has lovely green wheat fields. It also has those little white crosses along side the road to show where people have been killed in traffic accidents. I don't like them. In one little stretch of a mile, we saw nine crosses. It was the first mile leading out of town and the bars. And in one spot there were six crosses all attached together. They make me sad and I don't like them.

Tomorrow is the Fourth. We plan to lock up the camper and truck, and hike back to the Visitor's Entrance and catch the free van to take us on the Going to the Sun Road. They are trying to lessen the traffic on the road, so are now offering the shuttles. It should be a full day if we get off at a few of our favorite spots, go all the way to West Glacier, and then catch a shuttle back. I hope to take lots of pictures as this is one of the most scenic spots in the USA, but I'm not sure how many I can post with the cell phone connection. I can post them later when I get a stronger WIFI connection.

Until then, have a fun but safe Fourth of July. And God Bless America!

AND UP FROM THE GROUND CAME A-BUBBLING CRUDE..........

................oil, that is. Texas tea. Black gold.

This is a new sight in Western North Dakota. There are many new oil wells lining the highway and standing proudly in the once green wheat fields. The farmers have found a new crop....oil.

We used to see miles and miles of these green fields, stretching as far as the eye can see. Now often they are sharing the space with an oil pump and huge tanks.

I think the green fields are much prettier.

Oh, you still see thousands of acres of grain fields, and many grain bins, but you do see more and more of the oil rigs.
Rolling hills and green pastures are another beautiful sight in North Dakota.

Tonight we are living in a campground in Williston, close to the Montana border. Tomorrow we start across the huge state of Montana, heading for Glacier National Park. I know. It's the Fourth of July weekend coming up. I don't know where we'll rest our weary heads tomorrow night, but we're heading that way anyhow.

It was a beautiful sunshiny day. I think it hit 80, and it was very pleasant driving. We only made a couple of stops. Once for lunch in a Slumberland parking lot where we dined on cheese or peanut butter sandwiches, and twice to feed the truck some diesel fuel. We are both tired tonight and after a shower, I am heading to bed whether the sun has set or not!

AS PROMISED......

....here I am, live and in living color, coming to you via my cell phone and my little Acer. It hooked up just as it was supposed to, on the first try! So I was able to check my email and read a couple of blogs. You know. The important things.

We are here in East Grand Forks, camping by the river in a campground that was under water just a few weeks ago. I waved as I passed your city, Lena, and was amazed at how far behind your crops are! Our corn is waist high and more, and here it is about 6 inches. Not a good year.

We had our son, Lenny, his wife, Connie, and their son, Sammy over for a few hours, and had a nice visit and a kid friendly meal at Mac and Don's. On our way back through in September we hope to stay a few days and spend more time with them. Right now we're kind of pushing to get west towards Glacier so we can find a spot before the Fourth.

Pictures are v.....e.........r.........y slow through this connection, however, so I won't be posting many until I get a WIFI connection. But I am excited that it works! Yay for me, and thank you Clayton!

SOFT BABY FLANNELS

Is there anything softer than baby flannels for blankets and quilts? I love to run my fingers over the fabric, envisioning a sweet little baby bundled inside. I decided to cut 8 inch squares from my stash of flannel, getting them all ready to start stitching together for a couple of simple baby quilts. In addition to the flannel, I have the pieces cut out for three other quilts, and the fabric for another all packed under the bed in the trailer. We are almost ready to go. Early tomorrow morning we'll head out, so ta-ta for now, and I'll hopefully blog tomorrow night from Grand Forks via my phone and little Acer! See you then!

MY HEART IS BUSTED..........

...........it has totally burst with pride! Have you ever been so proud of one of your kids that your heart has totally burst out of your chest? Well, that is the diagnosis of my health condition this morning. Bursting with pride. This is our youngest son, Lance. He has been working so hard to become a part time police officer in his little town just south of us. He has worked his regular job, but still found time for school and training to become a part time policeman. School was never Lance's strong point. He struggled, to put it mildly. But when he found something that he really wanted to do, he worked hard and has accomplished it. And I am so proud. Lance, you are loved beyond measure. I know you will do a great job! And much credit must go to his lovely wife, Tya, who has loved and supported him unconditionally. Thank you, Tya. We love you and the girls so much! Tya sent me this photo by email, and try as I might, I can't get it to enlarge. Sorry about that! When I see Lance in person in uniform, you can believe I'll take more pictures.

THE PRINCESS OF EVERYTHING............

.........or so she thinks!

Daughter, Kari , asked me to take a couple of pictures for her to submit with a magazine article she was to write. I took a couple of her and Ben, and then went to shoot a few of Her Majesty, errr, Anna, pointing to her chore chart. She insisted on one being taken with her tiara on.......which is not the one that will be submitted with the article! Miss Anna loves her crown almost as much as she loves posing for pictures!

BILLY GOAT

The name of this musical group is Billy Goat. The handsome guy on the right playing the guitar is our son Chris. He is our kid who lives in Alaska, giving us a place to go on our vacation! The motto of the little village is "Just Another Day in Paradise" and that is exactly what Seldovia is, a little piece of paradise on earth. Billy Goat is pictured here playing at the recent Solstice Music Festival. They will also play at the fourth of July celebration. And I am sure hoping that they will put on a concert in the RV park where we are going to be staying. (RV park is a misnomer. The campground is actually not much more than a spot cleared out in the forest. No services, just a gravel spot where the devil's club and alders have been chopped down!)

The countdown has begun. We are in the last stages of rounding up our gear and lining up the supplies, and we are more than ready to get on the road. We are obligated to stay through Tuesday as hubby has a dental appointment to remove the stitches from his recent gum surgeries. Wednesday morning we will be on the road! Wahoo!

THE WEEK PAST

The week started out on Father's Day with this banquet at daughter Kari's house. We did start out on their lovely patio, but it began to rain just before we were going to eat so we ran into the house.

The picture below is of our son Lance, his wonderful wife Tya, and their oldest daughter, Jaden. The littlest one, Madison, was off playing with Kari's daughter, Anna. Aren't they a beautiful looking family?

And later in the afternoon the sirens blared and the clouds rolled, and the rain came down in buckets. Just south of here received almost five inches in about an hour. There were numerous funnel clouds sighted in the area, but we received no damage, just rain.

On Wednesday I had lunch with two of my favorite people in the world, my dear friends Charlie and Audrey. I think they called each other to pick out the shirt color for the day! I had on white.

Last night it was off to the ballfield to watch grandson Nicolas play ball. Doesn't he have the most beautiful red hair you have ever seen? He belongs to son Chuck and his lovely wife, Thea.

Look at that footwork as the pitch was heading right towards him!

He took a pretty hefty swing at this one! What fun to watch the next generation of kids playing sports. I certainly sat on enough bleachers watching our kids. Soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, football, wrestling, diving.............

SALMON

I forgot to mention in my last post that we bought a pressure canner and dozens of canning jars. This photo from 2006 shows why! This is hubby and son with the catch of the day! And was it ever good.

97, 98, 99, 100, 101

No, I'm not practicing my counting. Those are the numbers I saw displayed on the time and temperature digital readouts on the marquees of banks and the mall last night. And the last two numbers are the two that my truck thermometer had calculated and posted. This was at 6:30 last night, folks! That is entirely too hot for me. Add to this the humidity of about those same numbers and it makes for a totally miserable day temperature wise. UGH! Give me 50's and 60's.............maybe an occasional 70. But you can keep anything above that.

It is for this reason exactly that I am leaving for Alaska next Wednesday. And I can't wait!

I think we have purchased all the supplies we wanted to bring along. The piles in the corner of the dining room are growing larger and the wallet is getting thinner. I have stacks of fabric on the ironing board to pack into my traveling plastic sewing tub to give me some projects to work on during rainy days. And we are starting to use up the contents of the frig and freezer so we can turn them off for a couple of months.

Time to get out of town!

WEEKEND CAMPING TRIP

Thought I'd post some random photos from the past weekend's camping trip.

Is there anything better than sitting around a campfire with a cup of coffee?

Saw this neat looking mushroom along the roadway in the campground.

Son-in-law, Mike, was sound asleep at the picnic table, while daughter,

Kari, snoozed in the comfy chair.

Anna and Bed took turns on the hammock that Mike had hung between two trees on their campsite.

This was our supper. Potatoes, onions, carrots, and polish sausage, with lots of butter, wrapped in foil and cooked over the coals. To die for!

After supper, Bart and Claudia and about eight of their children came out to join us for Kari's apple pie, and Bart's blueberry cobbler. Be still my heart! Both were wonderful!

And of course we had to make a magic fire.

As the colors died down and the evening came to a close, Miss Anna wanted me to take her picture and she willingly posed for me.

ONE YEAR AGO

Glioblastoma Multiforme - stage 4 brain cancer. One year ago today those are the words that we heard from the doctor after he reviewed the results of mom's biopsy. Little did we know as we moved her to the nursing home two days later, that she would only live one more month. I did visit her at least once almost every day during that month, but I so wish I could have done more. I wish I could have had her around longer. I wasn't done learning from my mom, I wasn't done loving her, I wasn't prepared to live without her.

I do not wish her back because I know she is with Jesus. She had a very strong faith, so there is no doubt about where she is spending eternity. But I miss her. I miss her so much. I don't think anything prepares you for the death of a mother. Every night as I fall asleep, I am thinking back to last year. I am reliving the high points, and the low points. I am reliving the quiet moments of prayer, and the moments when I totally desolved in loud sobs. And it hurts just as much this time as it did the first time. And I feel so alone.

I miss my mom.

PILES IN THE CORNER

Do you have a pile of groceries in the corner of your dining room? I do! Yesterday I began the task of filling the camper with groceries for our two month journey which begins in just a couple of weeks. I figured I might as well start getting supplies each time I visit the grocery stores. So yesterday as I cruised the aisles of Sam's Club and HyVee, I loaded the cart with stuff for the trip. I think I may be half way done! I have coffee, TP, rice, coffee, beans, salad dressing, coffee, paper towels, oatmeal and coffee. Yes, there are grocery stores along the way; we're not heading into the wild, but things are so expensive when you get off the beaten path, and my grocery budget is not that healthy. I figure the more basic stuff I can haul along, the more money I'll have for the fresh fruits and veggies. I'm not worrying about meat as I plan to eat salmon and halibut for every meal!

The reason I piled the supplies in the corner instead of right into the camper, is that we're going camping this weekend. We decided to take our bikes and my sister, Lois, and head out to a local park that sits right on the bike trail that runs more than forty miles through rich Minnesota farm land and remnants of the forests that used to cover this area. Daughter Kari and her gang plan to join us. I haven't planned any fancy meals for the weekend, but knowing my daughter, I'm sure she'll have some recipe she wants to try out in the big black pots that we love to cook in over a big campfire. I think the weather is supposed to be nice, so we should have a good weekend.

So, I am off to bake a loaf or two of bread, wash some clothes, and pack up a few things for our mini camping trip which will begin tomorrow at noon when my sister gets off work. I haven't been out with the camera very much lately, but I should have a good opportunity to do some shooting this weekend.

Oh, and I'm going to take this opportunity to see if I can figure out how to hook up my teeny tiny Acer netbook to my cell phone so I can have internet access out in the wild! Wish me luck!

SUZY HOMEMAKER

Now I have been married for many years. Most of my life, it seems. But I have never made Alfredo sauce. Never. So yesterday I got brave and invited my sister, who loves chicken fettuccine Alfredo, out for supper and decided to cook it for her. I looked up many recipes and it didn't look too tough, so figured I could handle it.

Then I decided if I was making Alfredo sauce, I should also make home made fettuccine noodles. Okay, that's only egg and flour according to P-Dub's site, so I'll bet I can do that, too.

Well, if I was in a cooking mood, I might as well bake bread too!

So I made a loaf of bread with fresh chives, another Pioneer Woman recipe. And I mixed up the eggs and flour and readied the counter to roll and cut the noodles. I started the chicken and got the water/broth mixture ready to cook the noodles. Then I worked on the Alfredo sauce. I decided that the recipe was just too rich and full of calories, so I used skim milk instead of cream. I figured the stick of butter, 8 ounce package of cream cheese, and cup of parmigiana cheese was rich enough! But don't tell PW I used skim milk instead of cream!

My sister, Lois, proclaimed the meal a success. And it was good. A mess to clean up, but good. And I will make home made noodles again. They were fun and good. Probably won't make the Alfredo sauce very often though. I figure it had about 4,972 calories in it!

WHERE'S THE BEEF?

We are starting to begin to start thinking that we should start planning to begin to think about our upcoming road trip! July 1 is our target date to leave for Alaska. We want to take along a lot of groceries and supplies because the tiny town where our son lives has limited choices and high prices. Three years ago the milk was seven bucks a gallon!

So, we have decided to switch to soy milk which I will purchase here at the health food section of my grocery store. It doesn't have to be refrigerated until it's opened, and it will be about half the price. I'll buy it by the case and will receive a ten per cent discount per case. Yay! I'll buy a case of black, red and maybe garbanzo beans. I'll buy rice and some kind of pasta in bulk. I have already purchased fifteen pounds of oatmeal, and have made one batch of granola. I'll make a couple more batches, and then just leave the rest of the oatmeal as is. I'll get some canned tomatoes and pack up the spices, some olive oil, flour and cornmeal, and my kitchen will be stocked.

Where's the beef, you ask? Well, I am not going to worry about meat. If things go as they did three years ago, we will be feasting on salmon and halibut most days. And if you've ever eaten salmon and halibut cooked on the grill in a small campsite in Seldovia Alaska, with the ocean almost surrounding you and mountains where the ocean isn't, you know what a treat I am anticipating! My mouth is watering!

Our plan is to have to purchase almost nothing there other than fresh veggies and fruits. Our son did plant a garden so maybe I can sneak over there at night and raid his garden patch. Oh, I forgot. It never gets completely dark in the summer so I'd probably get caught. Guess I'd best stick to buying at the little grocery store in town!

The main concern is coffee. I will need to have many pounds of beans along to survive two months without buying them! I do have one whole shelf in the little pantry set aside for coffee and starting next week, I will begin to fill it up.

I can't wait to get on the road. There will be no end to the pictures and blog posts once we take off. Wish I could take you all with me!

PINK CORAL BELLS

I know the old campfire song says "white coral bells" but as you can see, these are pink. Can you sing the song about pink coral bells, I wonder?
Pink coral bells, upon a slender stalk.
Lilies of the valley deck my garden walk.
Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
That will happen only when the fairies sing.

This mama duck led her eight ducklings along the far shore of the pond. I nicknamed her Octo-mom.

I love the beautiful straight or curved lines of a corn field. I can't imagine how the farmers can keep their tractors lined up so perfectly as they go back and forth planting in the spring. But as the corn sprouts and begins to grow, the rows are always perfect it seems!

We thought this goose family had two baby goslings, but there was only one on the pond tonight, always staying between mom and dad as they swam across the pond.

Flowers on my little patio area right outside our front door.

I'm standing in the doorway taking this photo. It's a small area, but big enough for my bench and two chairs and a few pots of flowers. It's on the northeast side so it stays pretty shaded. I have several colors of coleus plants, a few begonias, petunias, and the light orangy pink flower in the previous picture.