ALASKA 2012 - DAY 5

This was a long day.  Really long.  We drove only 476 miles, but it seemed like 876.  I am totally worn out.  Might be because I haven't slept well at all so far.  But then, what's new?  I never do.  So, I am going to put up some photos of the totally different types of scenery we saw today between Bellingham, WA and Prince George, BC, and not say much.  But I wanted to show you what I saw, and marveled at, and totally enjoyed today.

Leaving Bellingham, we drove through a quiet little agricultural community.  The sun was having a hard time shining through, but it was beautiful nonetheless. 

Soon we came to the Canadian border, and I am happy to report that I had my passport.  Thank goodness!

It remained cloudy and foggy

but still very beautiful.

Right after we hit Hwy 1, the sun came out and the scenery changed.

The mountains were not as rugged, and were covered in evergreen trees.

As the sky turned a beautiful blue, the hills became bare.

The shadows of the clouds, and the different colors of fields, made for a lovely picture.

There were a lot of grass lands, some cattle, hay fields, a few orchards, vegetable gardens, and even some corn.

And we arrived in Prince George in the rain.  The motel is fine....kind of a mom and pop, but fairly modern, and clean.  It has a microwave, so we made a carton of potato soup and added some cubed ham.  Now I am going to watch a little of the convention, check the weather channel for news on the hurricane, and then hit the sack.

Hope to come to you from Hyder, Alaska tomorrow night.  Sleep well.  I wish I would!

ALASKA 2012 - DAY 4

WARNING:  HEAVY PHOTO POST AHEAD.  SORRY.  YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

We left Fairchild AFB in Spokane at 6:42 am, and drove directly across the road and down the street one block to the base Starbucks. 

I was completely blown away by the scenery of the first half of our trip today.  As we headed west and then south, to Yakima, I was totally surprised by the desert appearance of the area.  I had always pictured the whole state of Washington as one big evergreen forest.  After all, isn't the motto the evergreen state? 

As we neared Yakima, we found orchards.  Apples.  Peaches.  Grapes. 

The whole area would be brown desert, and then on a little hillside would be a lovely green oasis.  An orchard of apples or grapes. 

I also found another place I could probably afford to buy, but it would be too far from my great granddaughter!

Way off in the distance, about 100 miles, is the mountain.  Mt. Rainier.  We never got a better shot of the mountain, I'm sorry to say.  I was looking forward to seeing her from another angle, but it was not to be.

As we got closer to Yakima, we began to see these fields of strange climbing plants.  It finally dawned on me.  Hops!  So with the many thousands of acres of hops gardens, hops orchards, hops fields, or what ever you want to call them, and the equally thousands of acres of grape orchards, or vineyards, I think our supply of beer and wine is secure. 

 

And now for a little family history.  This is the grave of Ernie's uncle, Milo Fore.  He is buried in a Yakima cemetery called Terrace Heights.

In this shot, his grave is close to the tiny pink dot of flowers in the center of the photo.

Also in this cemetery is an aunt, Agnus, called Peggy.

This is Anniebelle, Ernie's grandmother, and mother to the others mentioned in this post. 

There is a canal that runs through the cemetery, and Agnus is buried on one side, the grave right in the middle of the upper half, and her mother, Anniebelle, is buried in the grave on the other side of the canal,  right next to Ernie's leg on this photo.

Then over to the east side of the cemetery is the military section. 

In the first row, right below this flag, is the grave of James, another uncle.

We were really impressed with this cemetery.  It is very well kept, very organized, and absolutely beautiful.

We then drove across the city to this cemetery.

The area around it wasn't the best, but once we entered, it was also very beautiful.

And in the veterans section we found the grave of Roy Fore, another uncle.

His grave is the third one to the right from the corner of the memorial.

The staff at both of these places were very helpful.  With all the records on computer, it was a simple task for them to look things up and mark them on maps for us, and we had no problems finding the graves.

We left Yakima about noon, and after we had found our highway and climbed a little hill, we had lunch at a rest stop that had signs warning about the rattlesnakes.  I was nervous, as anyone who knows me well will understand.  I hate snakes.

A bit further on was another viewpoint, and we stopped for photos.  Notice that the air is still a bit hazy.

More apple orchards.  This is a fairly newly planted field.  They weren't picking apples yet, but things were being readied.  We saw thousands of boxes piled near the orchards, ready for the fruit to be packed in them and shipped to the far corners of the world.

Now we began to see the scenery that I associate with Washington. 

The mountains are completely covered with evergreen trees.

This is what I came to see!

And I got a chuckle out of this milk truck that we passed.  The sign reads:  drinkamugamilkameal.

And this is what I have been waiting for.  The highway sign that says North!  We finally turned north, and will continue going north until junction 37 at the end of the Cassier Highway where we join the Alaska Highway just west of Watson Lake.  We then turn west again to head to Tok Alaska.

It was another long day.  We drove 433 miles, and got 51.5 mpg.  We filled up with gas last night, and haven't bought any since.  All we spent for the day, until we arrived at our motel in Bellingham (I know....we changed the itinerary a bit) was $5.25 for 3 cups of coffee.  Two were mine.  Yes they were. 

ALASKA 2012 - DAY 3

As we were pulling out of Butte, Montana this morning, we noticed the temperature was lower than we've experienced in many months.  37 degrees.  It actually felt good to me, but then I am a cool weather gal.

The first rays of the sun were pale pink and soft white.

But it didn't take long until the pink turned to orange and the white to gold.  It was a beautiful sunrise over the hills in the east.

The closer we got to Idaho, the more green we saw.  Green trees, green lawns, and green pastures for the sheep, many of them being watered in the early morning fresh air.

And soon we were in Idaho. another very beautiful state. 

The mountains are so lush looking.

And the flowers on every light pole lining the main street of Coeur d' Alene, and decorating almost every shop front and building, were absolutely beautiful.

This area down by the lake near the sightseeing boats, was ablaze with red geraniums.  I don't know if I've ever seen so many geraniums used in a mass decorating project.  This spot above is maybe a fifth of the flowers in this public touristy area.  Brilliant color!

And we had our regular lunch of a sandwich along the lake, next to a very popular bike/walking/running trail.  The traffic was constant along the trail.  Must be some in shape people in this city.

We are now at our evening resting place on Fairchild AFB, west of Spokane.  This was the first base that Ernie was sent to after his technical schools.  He arrived here in 1962, 50 years ago.  We took a drive around the base, and he recognized only a couple of roads and a few of the buildings.  Everything looks very new and modern compared to what he was familiar with in the old days.

Speaking of new and modern compared to the old days:  The Prius did herself proud today.  We drove 350 miles and she gave us 56 miles per gallon.  Really!  And we were in the mountains, so there was a lot of up and down.  However, it was cool, so we did not run the air conditioning.  That makes a big difference.  So far expenses are running well below expected.  Yay for us!  Or just call us cheap.

See you tomorrow as we journey west to Tacoma.  We have never visited that area before, so we are looking forward to seeing new and exciting things.  Oh, and visiting a couple of family graves in the Yakima area. 

ALASKA 2012 - DAY 2

Our day began in Rapid City and breakfast with Joe, Kevin and Molly's oldest son, who is attending the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.  He is already back on campus for classes that begin next Tuesday, and he was available for breakfast with his grandparents.  We had a nice visit. 

Then it was off again.  In just a short time we came to Wyoming.  Love Wyoming.  I could live there.

In fact I found a nice ranch but Ernie wouldn't buy it for me.

There must be a lot of crazy women in Wyoming.  This one is a creek, we've stayed at a campground with that name, I saw a road with that name.....

And then we safely made it through Sheridan.  A year ago my dear sister-in-law had a heart attack in Sheridan as they were traveling through this area.  We were safe today.  Hope you're feeling okay, Karen!

Lunch today was by a gate on a gravel road that said: "State land.  Do not enter."  So we didn't.

See the little white spot right below and right of center?  That is the monument at the Little Big Horn Battlefield, site of Custer's last stand.  We've been there on an earlier trip, and just happened to notice it up on the hill as we drove by today.

The Yellowstone River.  A pretty river.  There were a lot of folks fishing on it today.

Montana.  Love Montana.  I could live there, too!

The sky was very hazy all day, and especially as we approached the Butte area, which is where we are spending the night.  After a 611 mile day.  I'm tired.  Ernie is already sleeping.

See you tomorrow.