What a whirlwind couple of months since we returned home mid-October!  Besides all of the activities you will see below – within a 10 day period during this time we listed and sold our townhouse, signed a contract on a “condo” in a Sr. Living Community (Vi Silverstone), sold both cars and bought 1 new Lexus (new Home has only 1 parking spot), sold BIG Magic and bought a new MiniMagic AND MOVED!!  Whew!  By January 1, 2019 – WE WERE EXHAUSTED;-)!!

In between signing contracts and packing boxes, there were holidays to celebrate and typical AZ activities to take in.  This year’s Electric Light show at the Desert Botanical Gardens was one of those events – –

An awesome light show! There until Spring – Don’t miss it.

Next thing we knew, a birthday presented itself followed quickly by Thanksgiving – –

Thanksgiving season with surprises for Demi from Grandma Dorthy;-)

A Great Thanksgiving Dinner at Barb & Andrew’s with cousins Walt & Jan.

A nice afternoon to laze and soak up the sun;-)

Next up – our usual trip to Beaver Creek for the World Cup ski races.  On the way, we decided it was time to check another item off the ‘Bucket List’ and headed to Page and Antelope Canyon on a photography tour.

Checked out Horseshoe Bend just outside of Page before heading to Antelope Canyon.

And now – the main attraction!!  Two cameras and two iPhones were firing away and don’t begin to do justice to the scenery  – –

Here we go – –

Awe inspiring images. We will let the pictures do most of the talking.

The Heart of the Canyon;-)

Sandfall.

Monument Valley?!?!

The ‘Portrait Studio’.

After all the wonder and beauty, it was time to move on to Beaver Creek and the ski races.  Once again, we watched and cheered for our favorite US skier – Ted.

You want what?!?! …

…OK – take my race bib.

The next two weeks were spent madly packing/unpacking boxes and carting them up Scottsdale Road to our new “Home”.  Monday was the move date and by Friday we were joining our new neighbors on a hike at Brown’s Ranch – –

Exercise in the out-of-doors was just what was needed;-)

And – with the snap of the fingers it was Christmas.  Time to open pressies!!

Christmas morning at the beautifully remodeled Biaett – Santorios home.

The Girls;-)

But wait – there was more Christmas.  We were off the afternoon of the 25th to Ridgecrest, CA to see – and celebrate with – the Shoe Crew.  There were LOTS of games played in a very short period of time;-)

Christmas with Heather, Christian, Olivia, Haley and Kira.

Since we were at the entry point to Death Valley NP (and had a couple of days to investigate), we decided to check another item off the Bucket List – another NP.

The trip there was quite exciting!!!  With less than 1,000 miles on the new MiniMagic – we had a blowout in the middle of NOWHERE with NO cell service.  Gary learned very quickly where the spare was, where the tools were and how to change these tires.  We did have a little help from a VERY good samaritan – David – who we are very grateful for.

 Only took three hours to be back on our way.

Next stop – our Oasis in the Desert.  Literally!!

The recently renovated Inn at Death Valley (originally built in 1927).

Located in the heart of the Mojave Desert, Death Valley NP has the dubious distinction of being the lowest, driest, and hottest spot in the US.  And yet, it is surrounded by dramatic hills and mountains, such as 11,000-foot Telescope Peak.  More than 10,000 years ago a vast fresh water lake once filled Death Valley to a depth of 600′.  Today, after thousands of years of dry, hot weather, only crusty salt flats remain.  The landscape is very desolate – but with beautiful colors at sunrise and sunset.

We made it to the sand dunes just before sundown.

Badwater Basin – at 282′ below sea level – is the lowest point in North America.  Today the lake that once existed here is long gone leaving a layer of salt.  Adjacent to the Basin is the Devil’s Golf Course!!  Here, gnarled crystalline salt spires dot the landscape and look like a coral reef run amok.  Devil’s Golf Course be damned!  We had to give it a shot – –

Never did find a decent lie.

Decided maybe it would be better to try the real thing.  We HAD to do it – it is the lowest golf course in the US;-)

Just to say we DID.

Next up – Artists Palette Loop at sunset.  The mineral deposits here have caused swathes of red, pink, orange, purple and green to color the hills – and it all lights up at sunset.

MiniMagic had a prime viewpoint across the valley.

Artist Point provided a colorful Artists Palette at sundown.

One more sunrise and one more spot to watch it from.  Zabriskie Point provides a stunning panoramic view of golden-brown mudstone hills riddled with rills and gullies from the occasional, but intense, times when water rushes down these bone-dry, yet soft slopes.  It is a desolate, unearthly landscape – —

Sunrise at Zabriskie Point.

Home again and one more day of 2018.  Then it was time to welcome in 2019 with many new adventures to come – –

Made it back to our new home in time to enjoy the New Year’s Eve party.

We wish you all a Happy and Very Healthy New Year with all the wonderful adventures and excursions that you might desire.  Keep checking off those “Bucket List” items and generate lots of fabulous memories.  Thank you to all our family and friends that join us along the way, invite us in and make us laugh;-)  We are grateful for all of you!

Much Love from Elizabeth & Gary  xoxoxoxox

One more stop before home – Heather and family in Ridgecrest, CA, and the best RV Park in Ridgecrest – right in their back yard;-)!!

Magic LOVES this spot;-)

Prime time with the granddaughters –

Kira put on a gymnastics show on the trampoline.

Time to show off the rabbits. Grandaughter Heather, friend Noni, and GD’s Kira and Olivia.

Remember that Space X rocket launch from Vandenberg?  Well – we had front row seats for an awesome sight!!

The dark desert sky provided great views of the rocket launch. Photos don’t do it justice.

Then we memorialized the passing of Keith with a balloon launch to let him know we were thinking of him on the day we lost him – –

 Hard to believe it has been 18 years since we lost our beloved son, brother and uncle.

Again – the time passed all too quickly and there was one more travel day until – HOME!!

Back home. Great trip. We were exhausted.

Another fabulous summer.  By the numbers – 140 days, 10,150 miles, 215 hours of driving time and hours and hours of fabulous visits, adventures and memories!!!

Elizabeth & Gary – home again with VERY full hearts;-)!!

AZ is now in site – at least on the calendar. Just a few more stops – all GREAT favorites;-)  The first was Sisters/Bend, OR and the Sisters Garden RV Park.  The grounds are beautiful, peaceful and relaxing.  Magic always has a good spot here and E & G took advantage of the week to catch up on ‘everything’!  A quick trip back to Scottsdale for E while G cleaned every nook and cranny of Magic to get rid of all the AlCan dirt!!

A great spot to get ‘chores’ done;-)

Pleasant view from Magic’s spot.

A couple of rounds of golf were also squeezed in while in Bend – especially one round with friends Rheta and Tom.  But – again – it was time to move on as future tee times were waiting;-)  So, a brief stop in Eugene allowed us to visit a new campground (which was very nice) and another University Campus – Oregon.

A pleasant surprise awaited at Deerwood RV Park in Eugene, Oregon. 

Duck hunting at the OU Campus in Eugene;-)

First day of classes – everyone finding their way around this beautiful campus including us.

Now for REAL golf – 3 days at Bandon Dunes with friends Rheta and Tom.  The first two days were unbelievable.  We have NEVER had such wonderful weather here and we all enjoyed every minute;-)

The course was just waking up on our first morning at Bandon Dunes without a cloud in the sky;-)

Day One at Pacific Dunes.

Great views all around the course – and jackets shed!!

E celebrating her birdie.

Day Two – The Preserve, a 13 hole par 3 course.  FUN!!

The deer at the back of the green found humor in G’s shot that landed in the tall junk behind the trap on the right.

Not all of our shots landed in the fairway or on the green.  There were a few mishaps along the way;-(

E had a little trouble with a couple of sand traps.  She DID get this out!!

AGAIN?!?!  A good “out” from this one, too.

G had his own trap troubles. This “fried egg” was so deep it took two attempts to get out.

What a difference 24 hours can make here.  The third day was all the first two were not – cloudy, windy, damp and cold.  Bragged way tooooo much about the first two days;-(  Still fun though – –

This old snag is host to a colorful vine which has grown all the way around and to the top.

Day Three on the Bandon Dunes course – where is the hole??? 

We managed to survive Bandon Dunes – enjoying the golf and our time with Rheta and Tom.  But – Oregon Shakespeare Festival tickets were calling.  So, we made the 4 hour drive to Emigrant Lake (just outside of Ashland) to our favorite spot and prepared for three days of plays and a day at the SaltMarsh Ranch with friends Priscilla and Steve.  We always enjoy our day at the ranch catching up with each other’s lives and getting updates on all the animals – –

Alfie, one of five Anatolian Shepherds that provide protection for the Soay sheep on the Ranch. He weighs in at around 170 pounds!

Some of Alfie’s charges.

All too soon – it is time to hit the road once again.  So – it’s good-bye to Emigrant Lake, Ashland, OR and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for another year.

The view from our spot on Emigrant Lake;-)

The time in Oregon is always a happy time;-)  The golf and visits with friends make us love the time here.  Just one more week of adventures – don’t miss them.

E & G – happy and sad at the prospect of being ‘home’

WOW!  What a place this is.  The best welcome ever back to the ‘lower 48’.  This area had been on our radar screen since we travelled through the northern part of the North Cascades NP several years ago, but didn’t have time to swing south then.  The North Cascades NP is quite diverse ranging from the glacier covered mountains to the ‘way’ north to the more ‘high desert’ look to the south.  Included is the beautiful Lake Chelan and the village of Stehekin in the southeast corner.  Our first introduction to the area was the beautiful county Lakeshore RV Park and Marina, which became Magic’s parking spot and our home for the next couple of days;-)

A beautiful home for a couple of days on the edge of Lake Chelan.

Not knowing exactly what would be found at the other end, we boarded the Lady of the Lake to take us to the village at the northern tip of the lake – Stehekin, a word based on the Salishan word meaning “the way through”.  Appropriate, as the Stehekin Valley has long served as a passageway for travelers linking Washington’s interior wilderness to the rugged Cascade Mountains.  As we travelled up lake, the landscape changed from desert to forest before our eyes.

Lots of stunning views during our boat ride to the north end of the lake.

Our destination.

The North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin.

The plan for the stay – have a quick lunch at the Lodge and ‘take a hike’ until our return trip (3 hours to explore).  Life at Stehekin is a little slower, which was quite welcome and enjoyed.  The only access to the village is by boat, plane or hiking.  In fact – it was learned on the boat that Stehekin is a major resupply stop for those hiking the Pacific Coast Trail AND the Bakery in town was quite famous with the hikers.  You can guess what that meant to us?!?!  You guessed it.  Eat a very quick lunch and ‘hike’ the 2 miles to the Bakery to see what it was all about.  Along the way there were great sights to see – –

Couldn’t you live in this fairy tale spot??

Enjoyed the contrast of the old and the new.

And, then – there it was.  The best little Bakery in the middle of nowhere;-)  The front picnic tables were full of the PCT hikers sorting their resupply boxes and repacking their backpacks.  They were telling stories of the trail and their experiences as people like us were enjoying their tales and asking dozens of questions.  Living vicariously through them.  The inside was full of the ‘daily boat trippers’ and hikers alike.  The hikers were taking advantage of REAL food instead of the pre-packaged trail meals they had been eating for months (it takes about 4-5 months to do the entire trail from Mexico to Canada!) and WE were enjoying one of the greatest peanut butter pies ever;-)!!!

The Stehekin Pastry Co. 

All of a sudden it was time to reboard for the return trip, so we hitched a ride back to the dock so we didn’t miss the boat – literally!

Many views to enjoy like this one.

There are a few places as we travel around that we just hate to leave.  This was one of those.  E could sit at that Bakery and listen to tales for hours (and eat peanut butter pie!). But – it was time to move on once again, saving more of Lake Chelan and Stehekin for another visit.

On another recommendation, Leavenworth, WA was added to the schedule for a quick look.

Our spot in Leavenworth, WA provided this scene out Magic’s front window.

A Bavarian themed town.  Ah, the unusual places you find wandering North America.

If you are ever in northeast Washington state – check out Lake Chelan and take the trip to Stehekin.  In fact – stay a couple of days in Stehekin to hike the Lake and check out the Bakery.  You will LOVE it!!

E & G still basking in the light of Lake Chelan & Stehekin;-)

Turning right off the Al-Can, Canada 97 would take us south back to the ‘lower 48’.  It was a mad dash, as we were ready to be back to unlimited cell connections, internet, satellite TV and not having to multiply the KPH and mileage signs by .6 in order to determine the speed limit and distance to the next destination.  The 30% discount on all purchases due to the very favorable currency exchange rate will be missed, however;-)

At Dawson Creek we did take a break from our long consecutive travel days and stayed two nights in order to learn about the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark and visit Kinuseo Falls.  In 2000 two local boys fell off their inner tube while going down the rapids in the Tumbler Ridge area.  Walking back upstream on bedrock, they thought they saw a dinosaur trackway.  Imaginations of young boys can be wild – but showing their parents it was determined that a paleontologist should be contacted.  Canada’s leading expert on dinosaur tracks confirmed the findings.  Since then additional tracks have been found as have bone-beds.  A wonderful Dinosaur Discovery Gallery also opened in 2007 to tell the story of the dinosaur discoveries with fabulous full-scale exhibits.

A UNESCO Global Geopark also includes areas of other geological interest, including waterfalls, rock formations, caves and the dinosaur trackways.  We saw them all.

Loooong gravel road to Kinuseo Falls.

There were a lot of coal mining operations along the way – with VERY modern facilities.

Kinuseo Falls were not quite up to the Camber of Commerce sales pitch-but beautiful.

Hard to see the S-shaped fold of the rock in the cliff – but it was impressive in person.

This beauty soared over the falls for quite awhile.

Enough of the ‘education’ stuff and back to GOLF!!  At the recommendation of friends, we took a beautiful drive heading just south of Kamloops to the Okanagan Lake area and stayed in the wonderful town of Kelowna.  Very fitting we should wind up this portion of the trip here – as Kelowna is the Indian name for Grizzly Bear!!  Here we played the suggested Predator Ridge GC and hiked on Knox Mt. along Okanagan Lake.  The weather finally cooperated again – and we had beautiful days – AND beautiful scenery.

Doesn’t this fog bank look like like a huge tidal wave crashing on the road up ahead??

Great views from Predator Ridge GC with Okanagon Lake in the background.

A stunning couple;-)

A view of the Kelowna Marina area from Knox Mountain.

A drone’s eye view of Okanagon Lake looking north.

E looking for ‘heart’ rocks next to the crystal clear lake waters.

Tomorrow – after 2 months – Magic will carry us back to the ‘lower 48’!!  It is good-bye to Alaska, the Al-Can highway and Canada.  Its been fun!

Look out Washington state – E & G are on their way;-)!!!!!

Still with the ‘hang over glow’ of the Brooks River bear adventure, it was time to head for the lower 48.  Never doing anything ‘normal’, we would attack the Alaska – Canada Highway (the Al-Can) backwards to Mile 0!

Before leaving Alaska – there was one last glacier.  The Matanuska Glacier is between Anchorage and Glennallen and is the largest glacier accessible by car, as well as the oldest.  It measures 13,000 feet high and 27 miles long and provided an ‘awe’ moment on this long day – –

One can hike to the base of the Matanuska – it is HUGE!

After a good night’s sleep, we broke the rules and drove almost 450 miles the next day.  More beautiful views made the day go quickly – especially seeing lots of blue sky after many days of rain.  At Kluane Lake the views were so awesome, it seemed like a good time to get that drone out again – –

Kluane Lake was glassy as we passed by – so couldn’t resist;-)

Ahhh, very calming.

Now well along the Al-Can, another 370 miles took us to Watson Lake at mile 635 – AND the sign post forrest.  In 1942 a homesick GI working on the Alaska Highway erected a sign stating the mileage to his home town.  This one sign grew to a ‘forrest’ and we wanted to be a part of it;-)

The Magic Caboose’s (our tow car) old license plate, 32 KBUS, joined the thousands of other plates and signs.

With E’s fascination for bridges, this one had to be included in a blog about the Al-Can –

The last remaining suspension bridge on the Alaska Highway – crossing the Liard River.

One particular day we seemed to hit the ‘animal sightings jackpot’ – –

Bear!

Bison!

Caribou shedding its velvet.

Mountain goat – didn’t care that Magic wanted to proceed.

Two more nights and a little over 600 miles and we were at MILE 0!!  Many people today think of this as ‘just the road to travel to get to Alaska’.  And – that is true today.  But, the idea to build this road was conceived in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The American and Canadian governments needed a secure supply route to haul military goods and materials from the lower states to Alaska and they needed it NOW!  In the spring of 1942, the peaceful agricultural town of Dawson Creek went from 600 to 10,000 in a matter of weeks as US troops and Canadian civilians began arriving with equipment and supplies.  1500 miles of Canada’s most untamed wilderness (as it STILL remains!!) would be punched through in EIGHT months and the Al-Can Highway was created!!

Made it to Mile Marker 0 on the Alaska Highway;-)

You might think we are done.  BUT, not so fast.  There is another month to go.

E & G – Completed the Al-Can and are now headed south

Welcome to Katmai NP and Preserve;-)  Originally established in 1918 as a National Monument to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding Mount Katmai and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (more on this later).  Then – man found this to be an excellent fishing area, as salmon returned here annually to spawn.  This resulted in the first ‘fly in’ fishing lodges – including Brooks Lodge, which was the 2nd such facility.  But, the salmon fishing here was also known to the grizzly;-)  And soon man discovered the grizzly fishing here at Brooks Falls AND a bear cam was installed as well as a few prominent photographers marketed some astonishing pictures of the grizzly catching fish literally jumping out of the water into their mouths!  That’s all it took.  Now there is a lottery to get to Brooks Falls in July, when the salmon are running the heaviest. That’s why we were here in September – when the second ‘batch’ of salmon head this way.   Today this area is a NP and Preserve protecting 9,000 years of human history as well as an important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears;-)!!

To set the stage – the only way into Brooks Lodge/Falls is by float plane.  There are NO roads, cell coverage, internet or TV;-)

One of two small planes to get us to our destination.

Away we go.

Upon landing at Brooks Camp one is immediately taken to “Bear Orientation”.   All who come here are in a preserve for the bears – it is THEIR home and THEIR territory and they have first rights.  Instructions are that one stays 100 yards from the bears at all times.  If a bear comes out of the trees around you while you are walking on the paths around the camp (thus closer than 100 yards) – ‘YOU back off the path, face the bear and tell it in a calm voice that you are making way for it to pass!  You then wait for it to pass.’ More on this shortly;-)

We were literally at camp!  After the ‘bear orientation’ next stop was the small check-in cabin and a ‘tour’ of the ‘dining hall’ (which included a bar, seating area around a fireplace and long picnic tables for eating breakfast, lunch and dinner and playing games later in the evening) – then off to our assigned room.  This was approximately 10×10 with two sets of bunk beds (one on each side of the door) and across the back of the room a shower, sink and toilet.  Good news is – the mattress and pillow were excellent AND we had heat and running HOT water IN the room.  There was a sign over the toilet, however, that suggested you not flush in the middle of the night as there was no insulation or sound proofing;-(

Our 10 x 10 bunk bedded room – YEP, this was the whole room!

OK – checked in and backpacks unpacked – we were off to the main event.  There was a path from our rooms, past the dining hall and check-in cabin to the bridge crossing the river.  All about 1/4 mile.  On the other side of the bridge was a viewing stand and another 1.5 miles to the viewing stand at the Falls.  It seems that there were three BFF bears that really liked hanging out, playing, wrestling and fishing around the bridge and along the path from the dining hall to the bridge.  Remembering that there is to be a 100 yard ‘buffer zone’ – if any of these three BFF’s were around the walking path or the bridge – IT WAS CLOSED until they moved away.  No matter if you were on the other side and couldn’t get to dinner or couldn’t get to your plane.  The standard line was “they know and will wait for you”!!

The bridge to the lower viewing platform and the path to the Falls.

“Bear Jam”. Two of the three BFF’s who blocked our way to the viewing platform at least once every day – as they liked our path you can see to the right.

One, two, three .. your down.

That wore me out – I need a nap.

OK – first Bear Jam over and on our way to the Falls platform.  After about 1.5 miles (with bear encounters along the way!!!) this walkway, which becomes elevated over the bears’ habitat, is entered.  There are many gates and doors to go through ensuring the bears do not also enter – –

This lengthy raised walkway brings us out to….

..the upper viewing platform, which then presents us with…

…this amazing scene. We spent a lot of time in this spot for three awesome days!!

This is what we came for AND we were not disappointed.  The pictures speak for themselves – and as you can imagine – these are only a sample of the approximately 3,000 taken;-)

The big guy on the right took on all comers. He clearly had seniority!!

Fattening up for hibernation.

His belly almost scraped the ground as he walked.

Hey, he grabbed a salmon, we better get busy.

Seagulls were ever present, waiting to grab the leftovers..

This bear liked the bottom of the falls catching the salmon that didn’t quite make it up the falls.

Aaahh, life is good.

Lots of movement, jockeying for position.

I had been itching to capture this sequence for years.  It didn’t happen for me but E managed to get these great shots.

More turf battles.

Hmmm, shall I get back out there again?

Not once, but twice. Way to go E.

Here fishy, fishy.

Gotcha!

Okay, let’s take a break.

Hey Seagull – don’t be stupid.

Waving at the cameras? Nope, just finishing up a ear scratch.

This big guy was taking a nap just off the trail.

As mentioned at the beginning of this posting, this area was originally designated a National Monument to protect the area of volcano devastation – The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.  Three years after the volcano, Robert F. Griggs was investigating the area for its geology and saw the ‘smoking vents’ – remnants of the eruption.  Thinking this area might be similar to Yellowstone with its geysers, he set out to get the area protected as a National Monument/Park.  It was made a National Monument in 1918 (the 100 year anniversary this year), but the activity was not geyser like.  The smoke that was seen was steam coming from the glacier streams mixing with the heated volcanic ash.  A volcanic ash that was up to 700′ deep!!  This particular morning we were off to see the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes for ourselves – – – AFTER a Bear Jam holdup!!  (It was OK, though, as our bus driver was on the same side of the bridge as us during the Jam.)

Beautiful morning for a hike.

Headed for our bus – – another bear jam.

Our coach awaits.

Ranger Bob guided our visit to the Land of 10,000 smokes. He stopped here to show us what the valley looked like before the eruption.

We had a few rivers to cross!

All of the brown surface is volcanic ash from the 1912 eruption.

The river reasserted itself and re-opened its route.

Time to hike down and check it out. The fireweed had turned to bright red.

The views down in the canyon were awesome, both of the river…

..and the canyon walls.  These were 70′ tall – those at the base of the eruption are 700′ tall.

Like all of our adventures, this one also had to come to an end;-(  We DID have one last Bear Jam the morning of our flight, though – we were caught on the other side of the bridge while two of the BFF’s took a nap on the path just over the bridge.  When they did wake up – they decided to fish around the bridge.  No problem – since we were the only 4 on the plane – it waited;-)

At last we had to leave the preserve and return to the big city – this was the airport!!

Great views along the way.

Including a view of Denali – 300 miles away.

There are not enough superlatives to describe this experience!  If you ever want to ‘walk with the grizzlies’ and watch them fish and play in their natural environment – in their home – visit Brooks Lodge on Katmai.  You can get a flavor of their activities by watching via the bear cam at – https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls.   This is not anywhere close to being there, however.  We are so grateful to have had this opportunity!!

E & G – Totally blown away

Leaving the rainy coast we headed to the rain forests around Girdwood – and more visits with MORE of the Stinson’s.  The whole Alaska gang (Chris, Joslin, Passage & Lane – also Linda and Jim) had us for dinner our first night in Girdwood and then came to Magic for appetizers one afternoon.   It was really fun to spend a little time with the crew – –

Of course, Linda and Jim wouldn’t let us sit on our laurels – so we were off early on the Winner Trial Hike so we could be back to the resort for lunch!  Surprises were in store –

Hand Tram??  What’s this about??

Instructions: Graphic wisdom – as in Hiker beware!

Suddenly the meaning of ‘Hand Tram’ was apparent.  You want over the gorge?  You use the Hand Tram – –

Whose friggin’ idea was this??

Pull, pull, pull, pull.

One goes down here if you fall out of the car;-(

We all made it and continued a beautiful hike – along the creek, through the forrest and over more creeks.

Loser gets wet.

This old bridge has seen some wear and tear.

Nature put on a show again..colorful mushroom.

Beautiful rainforest.

Interesting fungal growths on the trees.

A mooning tree;-)!!

We did make it back for lunch – a most important event.

Just outside Girdwood is a wonderful Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which is a sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through quality care for many rescued animals.

Bison taking a post lunch nap.

This bear was having a good time playing in the pond.

Grizzly out for a stroll.

The main event for this particular day was a ‘float’ on Spencer Lake to the base of Spencer Glacier.  All the rain went away and a fabulous day of sunshine gave us excellent views of the glacier and all the ‘ice chunks/bergs’ that have calved from it.

Headed out to Spencer Glacier, which is more than a mile wide.

The water depth at the edge of the glacier is about 400 feet.

Many of the icebergs looked like carved sculptures.

Touching the shelf of one of the icebergs, which extended for some distance under water.

Another day of super activities ends and it is time to return to Girdwood.  Our train awaits – –

One more portion of our trip concludes – with many thanks to the Stinson family for their hospitality and planning of new adventures.

Next up – Our BIG BEAR ADVENTURE;-)

E & G – very excited!!  And – wait ’til you see this next one!!!!!!!!

Beautiful Seward – a port city in southern Alaska set on an inlet on the Kenai Peninsula.  It’s a gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, where more than 38 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield into coastal fjords that are a whale and porpoise habitat;-)  Kenai Fjords NP was established in 1980, covers almost 670,000 acres and contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the US!  It is named for the numerous fjords, a long, narrow inlet carved by the glaciers moving down the mountains from the ice field.  Most of the park is accessible only by boat, plane or a hike.  Our option for the day – and a beautiful day it turned out to be – was boat.  Off we go – –

Seward marina – the starting point for a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords NP.

The assignment of the day was to see how many of the 38 glaciers could be seen AND how much wildlife could be seen.

First up – Bear Glacier while leaving port.

The area around the Chiswell Islands provided some great shots, especially with the cloud cover.

Spire Cove shrouded in clouds created a mysterious look.

Great water effects created by the wave action.

The various animals were also enjoying a little sunshine – –

A lazy harbor seal.

These Steller sea lions were having a noisy turf battle on this haulout.

Hard to catch a shot of the Tufted Puffins. They spend a lot of time under water.

This humpback whale was elusive, just giving us brief peaks.

Finally – more of the star attractions – glaciers!  These wonders currently cover only approximately 10% of earth’s land surfaces – but, hold about 75% of the planet’s fresh water!!  Our ‘star’ today is Holgate Glacier – a tidewater glacier flowing directly into the ocean waters.  As it comes in contact with warmer water calving results – massive chunks of glacier rumbling and crashing into the water.  This is ‘the event’ to see at the foot of these glaciers!  Fingers crossed we will see this phenomenon today;-)

Approaching the Holgate Glacier.

Mother nature’s artistry at work.

The seals didn’t seem too concerned about any falling ice.

YEAH!!  Calving – and G captured it!!  (The noise was very loud.)

Glaciers, calving, whales, seals, puffins, beautiful afternoon – what more could one ask for?!?!?

Trip over – returning to the Seward marina.

Again, our few short days in Seward must come to an end and we are off to (re)visit the Stinson’s, including kids and grandkids, in Girdwood;-)

E & G excited for more Stinson family and glacier excitement!!

The weather ‘God’ has been very good to us over the years;-)  So – it was bound to catch up at some time.  It did.  In Palmer.  Rain for three days straight;-(  HARD rain.  Therefore, hiking went out the door and golf was wedged in during a few hours of lighter rain and ONE sunny day;-)  Cleaning, administrative activities (paying bills, making new reservations, etc.) and other mundane activities were also taken care of.  So – a mundane blog posting;-(

There was a discovery or two!  A screened ‘gazebo’  (to help protect us from bugs while eating) was ordered from Amazon – to be delivered in Talkeetna.  Talkeetna came and went with no delivery.  UPS was NO help with rerouting!!  Amazon, however, did cancel the order and immediately refunded our $280😉  After a little investigation, G found a store in Palmer that reported carrying the ‘gazebo’.  Off to the ‘Three Bears’, where the gazebo was waiting for us at $199!!  Just what was ordered – LOTS cheaper.  Thank  you UPS.

On the fifth day-there was sun to enjoy our beautiful parking spot and new ‘gazebo’.

In all our travels, G has always remarked about how an effective chamber of commerce/PR person turns a city, lighthouse, golf course, etc. into ‘the most/best’ of ANYTHING anywhere in the world!  As we travelled the Oregon coast with its many lighthouses, each and every lighthouse had its ‘-est’ description.  The tallest, shortest, the oldest, the oldest continuously used, the oldest with a certain glass, etc, etc, etc.

Well – it seems the same is true for golf courses in this part of the world.  One of our bucket list items while in Fairbanks was to play the northern most golf course in the US.  Which we did – playing North Star;-)  Funny – because as reservations were made for tee times in and around Anchorage here is what was found.  First up was Settlers Bay in ‘historic Matanuska-Susitna Valley (Wasilla) – the only residential golf development’!  The course was beautiful and quite fun to play until we were run off on 13 by a downpour;-)

Next up was Moose Run-Creek course at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.  A beautiful and challenging championship course, which, seems to be the “northernmost 36 holes in the world” AND “Alaska’s only 36 hole facility“!  Who knew?!?!?

A little sun and a LOT of creeks and rivers!

The course was beautiful providing a terrific 8 mile walk. We won’t go into the golf itself.

Sound effects were interesting. Helicopter flyovers and the sound of automatic weapons fire provided an interesting backdrop for the day.

Some of the holes seemed to have more “challenges” than fairways.

Well – all caught up on admin, a few more ‘-est’ golf courses under our belt and a new gazebo.  Guess maybe a few days of rain were called for?!?!?!  Now – rain, rain go away!!

E & G still smiling;-)