Saturday, July 17th

I will tell you about yesterday, July 16th, we left Omak, WA & saw some beautiful country, some of it kind of looked like MT & some of it like WY between Larmie & Cheyenne, it is interesting how some of this cournty looks alike. We stopped in Colfax, WA to see Darlene & Mike Kroll, Don worked for Darlene's dad drilling water wells when he was in seminary. It was really fun to see them, they have been friends for about 46 years.

We traveled on to White Bird, ID, which is on the beautiful Salmon River & all the way through WA & into ID it was beautiful, it was also very warm but we drank a lot of water & made it to Donna Gabica's in fine shape. She was in our Star church & we have known her for 32 years. She has a lovely home & it was really fun to stay with her. Her son Doug & a couple friends came from Ferdanand, ID for supper & we had a great time visiting. It was my birthday & Donna knew that & had a birthday dinner with cake & all, it was lovely. This morning she took us for a drive to the "top" to see where their cattle run, & OH MY it was beautiful up there. I hope Don's pictures does it justice. Donna is an excellent driver & I wasn' t even scared. :) We got back to her home abut noon & we left for home & she went to help a cowboy move some cattle.

We got home about 6:30, Joy, Paco & Javi were here with Elmer & Louella to welcome us & it is great to be home. Elmer & Louella are going to stay in our home while we go to OR next week for Yearly Meeting. God has blessed us with a wonderful family & friends & I say it again God IS good. We rode the motorcycle 7113 miles and drove Susie's car 945 so we travelled 8058 miles. Quite a trip.

Pictures: Railroad trestle heading south out of Lewiston, Gabica cattle, Donna Gabica's lovely house, Alfreda and outhouse in mountains, alfreda's 69th birthday party at Donna Gabica's.

Friday, July 16th

We are ready for a hot day today, water bottles are filled as we've been told it will be hot from here on home. This will be a pretty drive today too, the drive into WA is really pretty, orchards from this great valley that produces fruit they send every where. We plan to make it to Donna Gabica's home tonight, she lives by Grangeville. I don't think she has internet so will have to catch up tomorrow on the way home.

Don said last night when we came back from eating a bite that it was the first time he had drove in the dark in a month!! I liked all the light they have up north right now but I know I would NOT like all the dark that they will soon have. Idaho here we come.

Thurs. night July 15th

We have had another awesome day. We left Williams Lake & south to Spences Bridge, then went east to Merritt, then Princeton , & crossed in to the USA at Osoyoos. It was such a pretty drive across there, we saw high desert, sage brush, green hay fields, green pasture with cows & horses in them, high mountains, rivers, lakes. What a beautiful drive it was. It is very warm now, I'll not complain if I turn into a grease puddle. :) I think it will be hot all the way home now. We are in Omak, WA.

Pictures: Road on way from Spences Bridge, Okanagan valley and mining ruins ant Hedley. We could have taken a tour of the mines but decided to pass.

Williams Lake Wednesday night 7-14

We have had a wonderful day of very good scenery. We have seen a lot of the logging industry, saw & pulp mills, cattle & horses, the first since we went north. Some farming, haying I should say, it is so pretty to see the hay fields & then go right back into the forest. We are sure in civilization now going from one town to another with out too many miles between. Gas has come down in price, the cheapest we have had in a very long time & it was still 3.70 a gal. It has run into the 6-8 dollar a gallon. Anywhere from 1.o7 to 1.89 a liter and it takes 3.7 liters to make a gallon.We are in a camp ground right next to the rodeo grounds, so kind of glad there isn't a rodeo tonigth. :)

We called home & Joy had to have a root canal today so we are sure sorry about that. :( This will be our last night in Canada so home is getting closer. We went 386 miles today. A beautiful day & I didn't have to wear all the clothes I own to keep me warm.

I(Don) took along my camcorder and have been using it to take the pictures. It works better than my camera as it will zoom to 40X and take the pictures as fast as I can click the shutter so my regular camera has stayed in the trunk. Pictures: Williams Lake, we are camped in the valley beyond the building, water wheel at Quenel used to pump ground water from the mines, delicious lunch just before Prince george, Frazer river where the river boats could not go any further downstream because of the rapids and canyon, country side west of Prince George. Small hay fields and cattle.

It is taking some getting used to having the sun go down so early. It is 9:50 Pacific time and the sun is down. We are used to it not going down until midnight and rising at 3 in the morning.

July 14th, Wednesday

Boy, a person can almost loose track of what day it is but I do know today is Erik & Mandy's anniversary, so happy anniversary.

We are up & going, looks like a beautiful day for which we are thankful. So thankful for all the blessings our wonderful God gives to us in our journey of life. God IS good. Will report tonight if we have wifi, I have been amazed at how even far remote places has it.

Tuesday Night

We are in Smithers, BC we have had a really good riding day, the sun finally came out & it was really nice. I saw a black bear swimming in the river, we turned around & went back & he was looking at us so cute, but when we stopped, he ran in the trees like a scared bear & no chance for a picture.

We are in a motel tonight, day for allergy shots & glad that is over for another week. We ate at Boston Pizza, split a very good meal & then split a cho dessert & that was super good. Breakfast is served at 7 so we plan to be ready to eat then & get down the road. Even though we went 380 miles today, we are still a long way from home.

Took this picture of a billy goat statue in Smithers. This may be the closest we will get to one. The picture of the River is the Ness river. Sorry there are two of the same one. This is about 100 yards from where Alfreda saw the bear swimming across a pond. The picture of the mountains is looking toward Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska is. If we would have had more time we would have went the 45 miles west and saw the glaciers and the brown bears catching salmon. Maybe next time.

Tuesday July 13th

Hello from a little place way out here in no where but lo & behold they have wifi free, & no password. We left camp about 7 & thought we woud have to go 3 hrs till breakfast but we came upon this little cute place. They have 2 camps here, one drilling & one geology. I talked to a young looking kid & he said he was the pilot to helicopter, I thought OH MY then I found out that he is 22 & has a year experience. I thought right then that I wouldn't ride iwth him unless it was life or death. :) Don is ready to put some pictures on here. He says we have to make good time today. Seen this neat bike and sidecar and a stuffed moose. Have not seen one like this in the wild yet.

Monday night

We are at Dease Lake BC, have had a really good day &I think this was live animal day, we saw a black bear, rabbit, sheep & a moose. It has rained a little & has really been cool today, even Don put on his rain gear for warmth before it started to rain a little. I have wore all my clothes to keep me warm & SO glad I have them but can hardly move. We have gone 5426 miles so far on the bike + almost 1000 miles on Susie's car. We haven't eaten yet so will have balagoni again, Don told me that he really does like balagoni. :)

Pictures; Jade boulder weighing about 12 ton, Alfreda at our campsite at Dease Lake, and some bighorn sheep. BC is one of the largest supplier of Jade.

Monday, July 12th

Good Morning, we have had a good nights sleep, good breakfast & ready for this day. It is still cloudy & a slight breeze. I have on my electric pants & coat so will be ready to stay warm. I am certainly ready for a nice sunny day, Don thinks this weather is great for riding, he gets warmth from the engine that I don't get.

From Watson Lake we are leaving the Alaskan Hwy & going on the Cassia Hwy to Prince George. Have no idea if we will have wifi tonight or not.

Sunday night PM

We are at Teslin, Yukon in a motel tonight, first one we have had since we left Susie's. We are SO glad we went to Skagway, it was absolutely beautiful, almost breath taking. I was surprised that the passage for the ships to come in was so narrow, high mountains all around this little town. Really a fun day, we left about 5 & the drive here was pretty, not windy, some clouds but we could see the mountains. We are by Teslin Lake which goes on for miles. We had a bowl of soup at the restaurant & are calling it a day.

July 11 Sunday night

July 11 Sunday

Well here we are in Skagway. It is beautiful but cold, cloudy and windy today. Have not got to see much yet but we are going to walk around and take in the sights and then head out. Took a picture of the steamship going up the Yukon at the rapids and one of Alfreda here at the courtyard in Skagway.

Alfreda here, this could be the prettiest part of our trip, even in the clouds & we could only half see. We are headed to Canada again so don't know if we will have wifi tonight or not. It is just as Don said, cold, windy & rainy. We are a long way from home & plan to be there on Sat. the 17th.

July 10th PM #2

We left Dawson City abut 10 & made our way back to Whitehorse. I could have cried this morning when I got up, cloudy almost cool & rainy, we had that to contend with today & it didn't warm up until we almost got to Whitehorse. We looked for a bear & 2 cubs but didn't see them, the construction wasn't as bad today as yesterday, like Don said he doesn't know how it can change from day to day. I will let Don put todays pictures on, he had trouble last night, tried 3 times & never did get them on. The first picture is of the rapids on the Yukon river that gave them trouble navagating, the second is the overlook info and the third is of a fire that was burning at Minto and planes were dropping retardant on it.

July 10th PM

I (Don) tried to put on some pictures of Dawson City last night but don't think it worked so will try again tonight before we tell about today's trip. Ferry across Yukon River and cemetery, very old.

July 9th PM

We left Whitehorse as planned & it is 327 miles, we both believe it is worth the trip :) We didn't see any wild life but a grouse. We had a little road construction & some of it was kind of scary, we are both very glad we decided not to go on the Top Of The World road, one gal said it really wasn't worth it except to say you had been on it, 80 miles or so of gravel did NOT sound like fun to us.



There waa s a bad accident on the construction part of the road late last night, said someone was going about 90 mph & missed a curve in the gravel, killed one, one in jail & don't know about the other 2, anyhow they just close the road & it wasn't open till about 1 but it was open by the time we got there. Too bad.



We got to Dawson City about 6, ate dinner, have eaten a lot of fish on this trip, it is SO good, walked around, took some pictures & now we are ready for a shower. It was in the low 80's today, too hot for Daddy Don but I'm loving it, finally took off my coat. :)



This cty is like we thought it would be, an old mining town with some things redone, its a fun place. The Yukon River runs to the side of it. (Don's comments) The first thing we did was take the ferry across the Yukon River to a campground. No showers so we came back across and got one with showers. With this hot weather we both need a shower, I know that I (Don) do. Walked around town and went in the gambling place where they had a floor show but decided it was not worth our time seeing it so we left. It is 11 o'clock and we are sitting at a picnic table on the computer.

We stopped at a little store called Braeburn lodge and got a cinnamon roll. They were huge but nothing like the Rev's.



The country north and west from Whitehorse to Dawson is a lot like our Stanley Salmon area. Lots of grass covered mountains. One thing they really lack is a place to stop and take pictures. They do not have many view points or places of interest so could not really get any good pictures on our way up.

Friday

We are in Whitehorse, Yukon, we left Tok, AK yesterday & the road is still under construction but with it not raining it wasn't bad at all. The sun is shining today, for which we are very thankful. We are going to Dawson City today, there is SO much to see that we may have to come back :) We saw 1 moose, Don saw it first, I thought it was a stump in the lake as it had its head under water, I had NO idea they could keep their head under water for so long.

The country is SO beautiful & SO much of it, it is hard to describe, all who are reading this will need to plan a vacation up here.

Don is going to put some pictures on. We are doing fine, no close calls (that we know about) good weather, nice people. The beauty of God's creation is breath taking & some believe this happened with a big bang?????

In order from top to bottom: Wild flowers, Kuane Lake, grassland and timber west of Whitehorse that is home to large elk herd, discarded ambulance from building of Alaskan Highway, and Alfreda at computer.

Friday

We are in Whitehorse, Yukon. We left Tok, AK yesterday & the terrible road that was under construction, wasn't nearly as bad with it being a nice sunny day.

July 7th

We left our camp this AM & after breakfast we went to the Univeersity of
Alaska's large animal experimental station to look at the muskox, which was interesting, from there we went to the North Pole to see Santa & he even knew where Caldwell was & he couldn't think of Hopkins Christmas tree farm but I could help him out there so we had a little visit.

We got on the road for Tok & a few hours later arrived. The country is SO pretty & it goes on for as far as you can see in any direction. We decided to spend the night at Tok, have a nice camping space, the sun is way up in the air, the wind isn't blowing, it hasn't rained today, a most wonderful day. Don is going to put some pictures on. Wild flowers beside the road, Tanana river in flood stage, Musk Ox, Moose and Alfreda at the North Pole.

July 6th PM

We left Susie's, she actually suggested (strongly) that we leave the bike & fly home, next summer fly back up & get it, as tempting as it sounded, we decided we needed to go home on our pretty red bike :) We went to Denali Park, Susie also suggested we ride the bus tomorrow, but finding out that it is a long ride, 6,8,12 or 13 hr ride & I get car sick we decided that we would drive as far as we could, we only saw one caribou but he was big & had such a nice rack. We then decided to come on to Fairbanks & we got here about 8:30, have a nice camp place, good dinner & it is 10:46 & still light enough for me to see to do this. We could not see Mt. McKinley as it was clouded over and we could not make it out.

I will have to tell you that this is the best day of sunlight we have had & OH MY is this country ever beautiful & it goes on for ever & ever. We will see if Don can put pictures on here, we are in the tent trailer, isn't this modern tech wonderful?? From top to bottom: Scene looking south of Fairbanks, some of the tunda at Denali and a caribou at the turn around point for us in Denali.

July 6th

Susie has gone to work & we are out of here as soon as we can get loaded up. We are going to Denali today &Susie says we should take the bus in the park even if it is cloudy. The sun is trying to shine but it is still very overcast, so don't know. As long as it doesn't rain, that is a real +. More later when we can check in.

July 5th PM

This has been a fabulious day, we went to Independance Mine & over the top to Hatcher Pass, it was absolutely beautiful. Don will put some pictures on. When we got home from there we went to Leo & Frances Johansson's for a delicious salmon dinner, OH MY it was so good. We have had a wonderful time with Susie, tomorrow we start for home seeing as much as we can along the way. Pictures are of Independence Mine, Pat, Alfreda and Susie, Susie's dogs.

July 5th

Today is a holiday & Susie doesn't work so she is taking us to Hatcher Pass & maybe Independance Mine. I did see the sun for a few minutes but it is very over cast & I'm hoping that we see the sun again today so we can see this beautiful state.

Yesterday at the Potluck a funny thing happened, I went & got dessert, a little bit of a yummy chocolate pudding, a ittle bit of rhubarb crisp & some of Susie's cake, Don went a little bit later & would you believe that he got the very same thing that I got??

Last night we went to a Bar-B-Q at some of Susie's musher friends, the food was so good & we had a really good time. We got home at midnight & all of us were very tired. These friends have 30 Siberian dogs & they are really a sight to see. Susie has a puppy over there.
We will report tonight.

July 4th

We have had a wonderful day in Alaska, this morning we went to church with Susie to the Big Lake Baptist Church, wonderful service, good sermon, a potluck to die for, what a good day. Came back to Susie's & Don & Susie took a nap & I caught up on a few things. Don changed the oil in the bike, getting ready for our departure trip home. We plan to start on that adventure on Tues. A.M.

Susie is deciding what is the best option for tomorrow, I'm thinking it will depend on what kind of a day it is when we wake up. Today has been over cast & raining some. Pictures of Seward street, car-train tunnel, harbor at Whittier and Cruise ship at Whittier