Superior Lake Superior!

August 24th, 2014 Today we awoke to the sound of rain pouring down and thunder. We got a slower start than we would have liked, but the rains abated and we were on our way by 9:15 AM.

We made our way towards Duluth MN. We crossed the John A. Blatnik Bridge over the lower corner of Lake Superior connecting Minnesota to Wisconsin. This is a very scenic route and we are thinking about planning a return visit to this area some day. The road is in pretty good shape and traffic remains light. It is a Sunday and we hope to get close to if not cross the MacKinac Bridge separating Lake Michigan and Lake Huron by tonight or early morning tomorrow.

Ambitious for such a late start. The road is posted at 55 mph in Michigan, which we feel is reasonable. At the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore NP and area visitors center we had a lengthy stop. It was quite interesting and gave a great history of this area. I read up on the wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald which occurred just off shore in this region in 1974. Do you remember Gordon Lightfoot's song describing this tragic event? I especially enjoyed the wall murals. I think the young man hiking in the "present day" era portion is a striking resemblance to Paul! Also there were many other displays and a tower to climb (with an elevator) to view the surrounding area. I could see a lighthouse in the hazy distance. It was 82 degrees and you could feel a strong breeze off Lake Superior. About 25 miles north of here is Bayfield, Wisconsin where the NP office is situated. The temps dropped to 77 degrees for most of the afternoon, most likely due to those large lake breezes.

Continuing on Route 2 East we had to be careful with one detour when crossing into Michigan. The road was closed in that portion only the visitors center was open. Fortunately the detour was well marked. And then again further along we were surprised when we dipped back into Wisconsin for about 10 miles. Neither of us ever imagined we'd be traveling this far north in the Central Mid-West States. By 6:30 PM we crossed into our final time zone change back to Eastern! When the sun was getting low we missed a turn in Escanaba, MI. But is was a short diversion that led us to Squaw Point Lighthouse and Boathouse on the shores of Lake Michigan. We were back on track in short time. We finally stopped at 10:30 PM at the Lake Michigan campsite in the Hiawatha National Forest. That is about 30 miles from the MacKinac Bridge. We covered 500 miles and needed a good rest.

Shale Oil Fracking to Paul Bunyan and Babe!

August 23rd, 2014 We slept OK, except for 3-4 AM. The rain and wind were quite loud. Also a "local" diesel pickup with loud pipes seemed to be cruising the area. We got up at 7 AM. Bob went inside for coffee. One large cup and one medium was 75 cents! Total for both! The price stunned Bob but the cashier assured him it was correct. We finished breakfast and were off at 8 AM.

It was raining most of the morning. We had 50 more miles in Montana before crossing the N. Dakota line. For about the last 20 miles of MT and until Minot, ND we were in the oil shale fracking boom areas. About the only slowdown due to the building boom was in Williston. The entirety of Rte 2 in ND was divided Hwy.

The state coffers must love the boom. Many people have found a way to make money Bob is sure. Especially large property owners along the highway. The farm fields remained mostly Durham Wheat with a few corn, sunflowers or soy beans here and there. The recent rains were putting a hamper on harvesting. There were very tidy drilling/fracking operations of an acre or so interspersed along the fields.

R.V. Parks, Apartment houses and what may have been company provided "man camps" were plentiful. Some housing looked more like construction trailers. Others were like mini quanset huts. Bob supposed for locals and younger imports it would be a good place to work and save for a few years and move on when things slow down. Locals left out of the boom must not be too happy. Many must be earning more than they ever thought possible.

Our first surprise of the day was in Rugby, N.D. There was a monument in the town declaring it the "Center Point of North America." Who are we to argue. I got pictures For the most part N.D. was not very picturesque. Bob was happy to move into Minn. As soon as we crossed the border things seemed to get greener. The gentleman that Bob met in Polebridge who gave us the book on Key West was from Bemidji, MN. Route 2 passes right through town. He told us about the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues. We went there for pictures.

Richard G., Bob's old route 1 postal carrier had brought everyone back a key chain from there years ago as well. Our 2nd surprise was just down the road from the Paul Bunyon parking lot. We crossed a short bridge over a small river. It was the Mississippi at its beginning headwaters our of Lake Bemidji. We drove on to Grand Rapids for another free night at Camp Wal-Mart.

Going-to-the-Sun Road!

August 22nd, 2014 A wonderful final full day in Montana. We were up around 7:30 am and headed over to the Merc for those wonderful bear claws and were not disappointed. Absolutely delicious. They will be missed.

Next we were off to "the Going-to-the-Sun Road". What a spectacular drive! Even with the clouds the scenery was spectacular. This is the most impressive drive we have ever taken through incredible mountains. We were totally in awe! The max width for vehicles is 8 feet and we are 7'10" so Bob had to be extra cautious, pulled in his mirror! Max length is 21 feet. We may have exceeded that. (The Alaska Marine Hwy man did measure us at that!)

Near the middle we looked down upon a colorful rainbow in the mist in the glacial valley below. The east end was nearly totally in the clouds. We descended to the East Glacier Visitor Center and made our lunch. One mile later we were off to Route 2 east. We will follow that cross-country highway if the road continues to be in excellent shape. As we began over the high hilltops we came upon Black Angus cattle grazing along the road. A sign had warned that they were free ranging. One was standing broadside at a blind curve in our lane. We had to remain on high alert. A short distance further we came up to a group of 7 or 8 horses that were crossing the road. One black stallion on the right decided to join the mares in front of us.

We continued on to Poplar, MT after driving 500+ miles for the day. We slept at a Cenex gas station along Route 2 in Indian Territory.

Rough ride to Polebridge

August 21st, 2014 We had breakfast in Camp Walmart, and sipped coffee while I caught up on our blog. We didn't have far to go today to Polebridge, so we took our time. We headed east and picked up the trail into Columbia Falls then detoured north on Nucleus Rd to what would become the North Fork Road. This would lead us up the west side of the river that borders Glacier NP. It is a gravel road and we had traveled it down from our stay in Polebridge in May. It was in pretty good shape though dusty then. I don't think they graded it since then! It had been raining almost daily now and no longer dusty but it was quite washboard.

By the time we reached the Northern Lights Saloon and restaurant the truck was caked in red road mud. We were just in time for our "happy hour". I had Missoula's Cold Smoke on tap and Bob had a Trout Slayer IPA. After an hour or so of visiting with John and Joyce, and a few friendly customers we each had the night's special. A split of zucchini filled with a meaty blend of beef and buffalo, local Flathead cherries and feta, mashed potatoes, sugar-snap peas with yellow squash medley and a fresh greens salad. The best part was dessert. Joyce makes wonderfully chocolaty brownies, this as a sundae with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and topped with fresh huckleberries. Conversations with two of the patrons were quite interesting. One fellow who enjoyed hiking in the area was originally from Pennsylvania, the other from Bemidji told us to watch for Paul Bunyon and Babe. He had also published a guide to Key West, FL and gave us a signed copy of it. That may prove helpful as we just made reservations there for our 35th anniversary in December.

About 7:30 pm we headed a mile north on the dirt road and camped along the river. (free for up to 3 days stay!) There were huckleberries in the low shrubs roadside. As they were dusty from the road, I didn't sample any until washed. They were quite tart and I suspect they needed about a week more to fully ripen. I will freeze these for now and cook them up with a little maple syrup at a later date. I'm sure they will be quite fine. We slept well dreaming of the huckleberry bear claws we would have with fresh coffee in the morning at the Polebridge Mercantile.

Through Idaho and on into Montana

August 20th, 2014 Just as you drive through Newport we picked up Route 2 East and crossed over the border into Idaho. We were wondering if we could find something to do in ID that we would remember. In Sandpoint, we saw a quick Lube that looked good for our much needed oil change. Bob got the oil changed in 45 minutes for $66. Not bad for 100% synthetic oil. We also switched both our propane tanks at the local Walmart. (best price in area under $19 plus tax).

Just out of Sandpoint is Ponderay. Apparently they have a microbrewery, (Laughing Dog) but we missed it in all the excitement of getting our gas/oil/propane supplies. Picture is Riley, Pam's laughing dog. Just past that is Schweitzer Mtn. Ski area where our nephew David K. worked. We missed that also.

Finally in Bonners Ferry we saw the Kootenai River Brewery. We stopped in and had a sampler of all 10 of their offerings. They had several that were quite good. Not a bad one in the bunch. We added to our growing growler stash with their huckleberry wheat. In the upper northwest this time of year it's all about the huckleberries! Bob and their brew master Joe had a nice chat.

In just a few more miles we entered Montana. Route 2 continues right into Kalispell. It was a beautiful scenic ride. Western Montana is pretty impressive. The speed limit on most of the highway is 70 mph, but we were much more comfortable around 60. It really is narrow and wavy. There are lots of white crosses along the route indicating accident sites that resulted in fatalities. Just 10 miles west of Kalispell the town highway stretch there is under complete reconstruction. We had set our Garmin on ScottiBelli's Italian restaurant in Kalispell and headed right in. The Dugas Boys had told Bob about it. A great meal for a reasonable price. I had Fettucini Asparagi with chicken, Bob had a wonderfully tender Veal Parmigiana. The kitchen had a "back-up" and the waitress

offered us both a salad (free) to minimize the wait. It was her second day on the job there and she was a hoot! After a wonderful dinner we headed just a mile or two back up the road to Camp Walmart for another free night in relative quite.

Newport, WA

August 19th, 2014 We spent the night at a road turnout expecting quiet but it had a fair amount of truck traffic from the border. I slept much better than Bob. It was uneventful, thankfully. We were on the road early for us, by 7 AM. Another 150 miles through Canada. The terrain stayed the same as the last 150 miles. Brown hills with very few trees. Also staying consistent was the very long almost continuous lake at the bottom of the valley. This allowed for extensive irrigation and a very green productive valley floor. Throughout this area there was a steady supply of fruit and vegetable stands. Also it has a very heavy concentration of vineyards and wineries. We stopped at a farmers market and picked up a couple of fresh peaches and 2 small native artists prints of birds that I loved. Then headed through the border with ease.

About 50 miles into Washington we took a left onto route 20 East. This route crosses the entire state. It mostly stays up in the mountains and is very scenic. As we headed toward Wauconda Pass at 4310 feet elevation, the hills became thick with evergreens. This was the scenery we had expected in WA. Route 20 passes right through Newport where Pam and Chris (Bob's niece and her husband) live with their newborn baby Peter. It was a beautiful ride.

One town that really took us by surprise was Republic. Well up in the mountains, away from everything, was a beautiful preserved gold mining town. It begged for a further exploration. If for no other reason than to try the local micro-brewery. Alas, this is one day we were on a schedule. We will have to make it back another year. Another place of note was Kettle Falls where we crossed the Columbia River. It was very wide and majestic at this point.

For the day we drove around 350 miles. We arrived at Pam's a little before 5 PM. Chris worked the evening shift and unfortunately didn't get to see him that night. Pam put together a great supper for us. We had a very nice visit.

As a result of our lack of sleep from the night before we headed out to the camper before 9 PM. Pam didn't have to worry about us keeping her up late. The next morning we awoke from a wonderful nights sleep. We had our coffee and cereal breakfast in the camper and went into Pam's as quietly as we could. (sorry Chris if we woke you!)

We both had nice showers and felt refreshed. I was able to visit more with Pam and little Peter. He is so cute and energetic. Especially early in the mornings. I tried to take more pictures but his arms and legs are in constant motion. You can see they are nearly invisible in my picture! But his smile is radiant! We topped off our water here as it is a nice safe supply. At this point Chris got up so we had a short visit with him before heading out at 9:45 AM.

Route 97 South.

August 18, 2014 We were up at 7:30 AM after a terrific nights sleep! Bob walked over to McDonald's for 2 coffees to go with our cereal. After breakfast we did a quick trip through Safeway for a few items. Prices seemed high so we figured we would get most of what we needed at Walmart in Prince George. We headed out about 9:00 AM For most of the day, through late afternoon we were mostly traveling along rolling hills. Traffic was light. Just before we reached the outskirts of Fraser Lake I spotted a large black bear coming out of the forest into a well manicured residence. It was sniffing about and determining if it was safe to proceed. Unfortunately I was not able to get it's photo. The air was clear here but on the other side of Vanderhoof for about 200 miles we were traveling through a smokey area. Apparently there was a fairly large fire nearby. No sign of the fire except the smoke. On the radio there were announcements that the evacuation notice (in the area we were traveling) was just canceled. Hopefully the light rains during the night helped reduce the fire area. We stopped in Prince George at Walmart to stretch our legs and get supplies and lunch. We continued on hoping to reach Kamloops before stopping again. But hunger kicked in and there was a large sign, "HUNGRY ?" in Cache Creek, about 30 miles before Kamloops. We stopped there at Herbie's Hungry Diner for supper. A burger for Bob and an Alaskan Cod sandwich for me! Great fries and we shared a chocolate shake. We gassed up and were back on the road around 8:15 AM. (We changed time zones when we reached shore in Prince Rupert.)

The terrain had changed considerably. We dropped into a very dry valley. It looked like we could have been in Texas. By 8:30 PM the temperature was up to 82 degrees F. Hadn't seen that since we left Texas.

Kamloops turned out to be a large city. We found our route OK but missed the Provincial Campground. We pulled into a turnout about 20 miles south of Kamloops. We had traveled about 550 miles for the day. Getting to the US Border tomorrow should be no problem.

Prince Rupert, BC to Smithers, BC

Sunday, August 17th, 2014 We managed to get some decent sleep last night aboard the Taku. I did better than Bob, as I had the better pillows for cushions. It pays to plan ahead!

It was a long day to Prince Rupert. We arrived at 3:15 pm. For part of the day we were in heavy fog and very low visibility. Fortunately they backed into this dock thus unloading cars from the back first. This put us near the front of the line to get off. Just after 4:00 PM we had cleared customs and were on our way.

We spotted the Columbia in dock in Prince Rupert. We had traveled on that vessel to Sitka from Haines. It is larger than the Taku and had a formal dining room on board as well as a cafeteria. They both gave a comfortable ride at sea.

We headed out Rt 16 East, making it all the way to Smithers. That was about a 250 mile drive. The road was smooth, traffic was light and the mountains and river valley was beautiful. It was a very relaxing drive. It felt good being on the road again after Haines, Sitka and a very long ferry ride. I was amazed at the high rocky peaks of the mountains swinging around New Hazelton, BC. The sky was not quite right to get a good picture of that, but it was inspiring.

We pulled into a Safeway Parking lot around 9:15 PM. There were a few other campers in the lot as well. We were looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Leaving Sitka, the Ferry steams onward...

August 15th, 2014 Today would be our last day in Sitka. We did not have big plans but there was another hike at the opposite end of town we thought we would try. As we got up it looked like another rainy day in Sitka. We scrapped the hike. That left a walk to the Junk Trunk. That is a 2nd hand store Fran has used extensively to furnish his trailer. It was a damp walk to the store only to find it closed due to a family illness. Back at the trailer we settled in for an afternoon of watching old movies. Around 4:00 Fran started making another dinner. Bob thinks I could get used to this! Tonight was meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes. another fine meal by Fran.

We called it an early night at 9:00 pm. Bob and I had to be up at 5:00 AM to make the ferry. Saturday, August 16th dawned one of the prettiest mornings we've seen yet, and we're sure it is even rarer in Sitka. The sky was clear and the few wisps of clouds were a bright pink. There was still a half moon overhead. We encouraged Fran to come out and see this glorious site. While Bob and I washed our hair, Fran made us fried egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches that would hold us well through the morning. We said our goodbyes at 6:00 AM and off we went to the ferry terminal. The road is under improvement that 7 mile stretch and we were amazed at the progress they had made in our 4 days in Sitka. There was no traffic at all at this hour. And a relatively small group boarding the ferry so it went quickly. by 7:30 AM we were securing our spot on the solarium deck. This was the beginning of the trip south from here so only our group was on the boat. No problem with crowding and finding a comfortable spot this trip! We were on our way by 8 AM.

Our first stop was Kake at 3:45 pm. This is a very small town. (Petersburg is pictured as it has more structures.) We went down to the truck and had our happy hour, a beer and salsa. We also took extra pillows for additional comfort. We continue to enjoy the deeply forested islands and fjords along the route.

Our second stop was Petersburg at 8:15 PM. This was a pretty looking town of perhaps 1500-2000 people. I managed to complete 2 blogs in the 45 minutes we were docked and maintained internet coverage. One exciting moment while we were gliding through a fog bank a small rufus humingbird found it's way inside our solarium. (one end of which is wide open to the rear of the vessel) It had gotten confused in our walls and ceiling of windows. A rather tall fellow patiently coaxed it down onto the rim of his ball cap for a "ferry ride" of his own to its freedom.

The boat is still relatively empty so we were optimistic that we would sleep fairly well tonight. We had one more stop at 12:15 AM in Wrangell, for 45 minutes. (Sunday morning) The only other stop is Ketchikan at 7-8:15 AM. We enjoyed the smooth passage on calm waters and several glimpses of whales. I could only determine the humpbacks. there were some at a good distance in a large pod but we could not guess what type. Final destination is Port Rupert at 3:45 PM Sunday afternoon.

Big Bears! Oh my!

August 14th, 2014 Today after breakfast we headed to the Fortress of the Bear. They take in orphaned young bears that would otherwise be euthanized. They had 3 large enclosures. One habitat held 2 Brown Bears, (brothers). Another held 3 Brown Bears again all males, and the last had 3 second year black bears, one of which was a female. Fran and I both enjoyed taking pictures. At the end my battery exhausted and I was unable to take more later at the hike. Unfortunately his camper chip wouldn't share with my computer.

Once we were finished at the Fortress the weather was beginning to look up. It was getting a little brighter and the drizzles ended. We decided to do our planned hike on the Herring Cove Trail. This trail is 1.3 miles out to a very nice lake. It is rated moderate. The trail was very well maintained with large stone steps in the steepest parts. About half way to the lake you walk past an impressive waterfall coming off the steep mountain face. This was a very beautiful spot.

Along the trail everything was covered in moss. This part of the coastline is very "tropical" with lots of rain, temperature are quite moderate for Alaska. There is lots of rain (September gets over 8 inches!) The evergreens were huge old growth trees. Bob and I had not seen such impressive trees outside of Yosemite.

Next we were off to the Baranof Brewery. They had a nice tasting room. Bob tried a sampler of six. None were particularly impressive but all were quite drinkable. He settled on the IPA for his full glass. I settled on the Root Beer! Back at the trailer we supplied Fran with the Black Sea bass. Fran made his milk cracker topping and baked potato pie. We all enjoyed an excellent feast.

Seeing the sights in Sitka

August 13th, 2014 Well we were up early today. Fran gets up very early. Usually between 3:30 AM to 4 AM. Bob told him to expect us around 9 AM, and thought we knocked at his door at 9, when in actuality we were knocking at 7 AM! Not to Worry, Fran was up and put on a pot of coffee. He made wonderful pancakes for breakfast as well. After a couple of cups of coffee we headed out. First it was downtown for cash at the Wells Fargo. Across the street was the Old Russian Orthodox Church.

Next it was off to the Sheldon Jackson Museum. This museum features artifacts from all six major native groups in Alaska. 80% of the artifacts were collected by Sheldon Jackson between 1888 and 1900. Very Interesting.

After that we headed over to the Indian River and the Totem Trail. It was very bizarre at the river. Thousands of salmon were lined up like a giant traffic jam on a super highway. The salmon were not moving forward. They seemed to be holding their positions except for a few dominant ones who would jump to another nearby location. Fran thought they may be adjusting to fresh water as they had just left the salty ocean.

We walked the forested trail to the Sitka National Historical Park visitor center. (Another stamp.) The paths led us through old virgin grown rainforest, with ancient Sitka Spruce trees several feet thick, as well as large Western Hemlocks and Red Cedars. (the main wood used in this area for totem poles is the red cedar.)

We saw several totems that were moved to this special site. Beautiful works of art, with various meaning. Some represented historical story telling, some were mortuary poles that held the cremated remains of a family or individuals of a clan, Others were memorials honoring specific groups and such.

After that we were off to lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant. Good food at a reasonable price. Back at Fran's place we had a beer and relaxed while I made one of my vegetable/miso soups for supper. A nice quiet evening full of story telling and reminiscing.