Author Archives: Elizabeth & Gary's Magic Bus Tour

Family

The past few days have been a lot of fun with Haley – the Spring performance at school (2/3 year olds), a walk to Mommie’s work with a picnic lunch at the park, Chinese food dinner, Easter egg hunt at school and dinner and a sleep over at Magic with Gramma and Gramps –


Spring Pageant – The Butterfly Song

Aren’t we cute?

Hopscotchin’ on the chessboard.
Where’s the fourwheelin trail?
Always tastes better with chopsticks.

Getting ready for the Easter egg hunt.
Holy-Moley, look at all the people!
Here’s one!!
Look…my bucket is almost full!
Whipping up some bouillabaisse with gramps.
Time for another sleepover in the Magic Bus.
Mmmmm, I’ve never had apples with caramel sauce before.
Good morning Gramma. Do you want to hold any of my animals?

After all this fun, we are now on our way to some National Parks – Sequoia, King’s Canyon and Yosemite – and the natural beauty our country has to offer. We must say that we are VERY happy our Congress got it together and passed a budged ‘fix’ – as we have become quite enamored with our NP’s and think they are a wonderful experience (and value) for all;-) We will share with you in a couple of days –


Love to all – E & G


PS – Don’t EVER bother to stay at the KOA Avi Casino just outside of Laughlin!!

Skinny Dippin’ with the BIG Boys

Today was a travel day – Williams, AZ to Laughlin, NV to play golf tomorrow.   On the way – Magic got a bath;-)

Magic was the prettiest – but the ‘boys’ were carrying Indie cars!

Slight change in the travel plans – Death Valley was on the agenda for Thursday until we saw the 103 F predicted temp.  Lemoore and the granddaughter have replaced that nonsense!!

More later – E & G

The GRAND Canyon

WOW!! What a beautiful, grand day we had on Monday.

But, first – how we got there – which was NOT easy.

After that wonderful (not) snow storm we had in Sedona, which blanketed all of Northern Arizona in inches to feet of snow, we headed to Williams and the Grand Canyon a day late. The delay was to allow roads to be cleared of all snow – and to be sure that the National Parks would NOT be closed due to our diligent Congress people’s inability to determine a budget;-( We won on one count – the park was open – but lost on the second. As we approached the first exit west of Flagstaff on I40 at about noon (our destination was 30 miles west of Flagstaff!), we were directed off the freeway and told I40 was closed! Yes – closed. Seems that several semis – followed by several passenger trucks – hit black ice early in the day and it took until almost 3:30 in the afternoon to get things cleared. So – we just kicked back in Magic, fixed lunch and watched the final round of the Masters;-) Timing is everything. Just as the Masters finished, I40 was opened and we were on our way again.

Williams, Arizona, on historic Route 66, is billed as the ‘gateway’ to the Grand Canyon. It has that stereotypical Route 66 look – don’t ya think?
Get your kicks on Route 66..Williams, AZ style.

Monday morning was bitter cold – but the sky was clear and the sun would surely warm things up quickly. So – the car was loaded with all the camera gear, fanny backs full of power bars and snacks and all the travel books we had with even a mention of the Grand Canyon. We were on our way to that immense gorge a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide. As we drove north on highway 64, crossing a gently rolling plateau, there was no hint at what was about to unfold.

The Grand Canyon. Nearly 5 million people travel here each year – most were here on this Monday morning in the middle of April after a snow storm!!!!


Monday, after an April snowstorm and there are so many people we can hardly move.

The draw of Grand Canyon is not just the size, but also in the beauty of its landscape. In this respect, Grand Canyon shares many characteristics with its neighbors – Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Arches, and Capitol Reef National Parks. All of these NP’s lie within the geologic province known as the Colorado Plateau, a region characterized by mostly flat-lying sedimentary rocks that have been raised thousands of feet above sea level, then carved by erosion. In fact, the canyon floor is 2,400 feet above sea level – and the elevation of the south rim is approximately 7,000 feet!

How did this happen?? Beginning about 70 million years ago, heat and pressure generated by two colliding tectonic plates induced mountain building in western North America. The Colorado Plateau was raised more than 10,000 feet. Then – in the last 5-6 million years the Colorado River (Colorado is derived from the Spanish for ‘reddish’) did its work of carving the canyon. Water draining off the western slopes of the southern Rocky Mountains carried sand and gravel, cutting down through the layers of rock. Without the uplift of the Colorado Plateau, there would not have been the thousands of feet of topography for the river to sculpt!!

While the ‘uplift’ occurred approximately 70 million years ago, the rocks exposed within Grand Canyon range from the Kaibab limestone, the caprock on the rims of the canyon, at 270 million years to the oldest rocks at the bottom of Grand Canyon, which are 1.84 BILLION years old!! The National Park service has done a wonderful job of providing a physical ‘picture’ of this age by creating a “Trail of Time” – an interpretive walking trail in which every meter (one large step) of the path represents one million years of Grand Canyon geology. We walked all 1.84 billion years!!


Beauty

More beauty

Endless views.

Don’t slip!

Gary managed a rare picture of a condor over the canyon. Northern Arizona is one of four release sites in the California condor recovery program, which for the past 25 years has sought to bring these large scavenger birds back from the brink of extinction. Their world population had dwindled to only 22 by 1982 – and now more than 60 condors fly in the skies over Arizona! Their grace and wing span of nine to 11 feet are awe inspiring.


Lucky shot of a condor in flight.

Our 4 mile walk, including the 1.84 billion years, brought us to the Grand Canyon Village Historical District. Now – those of you who have read our blog in the past may remember all the discussions of the RRs building all the wonderful lodges in both the US and Canadian NP’s. The lodges at the Grand Canyon are no exception. On September 17, 1901 the first steam-driven train rolled into Grand Canyon Village after a relatively smooth 3-hour trip from Williams (cost was $3.95!!). Shortly after, the El Tovar, once described as ‘the most expensively constructed and appointed log house in America’, was commissioned by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1902. It cost $250,000 to construct and was considered by many to be the most elegant hotel west of the Mississippi. Many years later – 1932 – there was a need for additional accommodations and the Bright Angel Lodge was started. Designed by Mary Colter – the ten foot high geologic fireplace was her ‘star’ component. It represented the rocks and order of strata inside the canyon. The top of the fireplace is constructed of Kaibab Limestone found on the rim and the base of the fireplace has smooth river stones from the bottom of the canyon. Our NP guide said to be sure and have dinner in the Arizona room at the Bright Angel – so that is how we completed our picture perfect day;-)

Still climbing trees.

Just a few more canyon shots.

Much wonder to you all – Elizabeth & Gary

PS – I knew there was a picture of the Birthday Boy celebrating – just had to find it on the iPhone –


Birthday boy and the Barking Frog in Sedona.

Escape the Snow?? Time to get ‘Back on the Road’ – again;-)

Well – here it is a SNOW day (April 9!) in sunny, warm Sedona, Arizona.  

Are you sure this is Sedona?

So, it’s a ‘snuggle-in’/watch the Masters kind of day – which provides time to get a blog posting done since we have now been gone a month and everyone keeps asking “are you going to do blog postings this trip?”.
March 8 – The skies cleared and stopped snowing for one day to allow us to pack Magic.  Then we were on our way with the usual stop in Las Vegas with warm weather and golf and dinner with friends.
March 12 – Lemoore NAS and three days filled with lots of time with daughter Heather and the grandkids, Haley and Joseph.  In fact – granddaughter Haley had her first sleep over ever – and first sleep over in Magic!!  We enjoyed Marry Poppins, stories and a bed just for her.
Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious movie with Gramma & Gramps
Night-night?  I’m not sure I have enough stuffed animals!!

Breakfast as soon as we finish this book.

A trip to the zoo, gymnastics class and Joseph’s academic award ceremony were also on the agenda.

Look gramps, there’s a Camel.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  Yuuuummmmm!
Would you like some hay?
Can I brush you now?
a 5. 6. 7. 8!
Congrats Joseph on your academic performance!!

March 16 – Now the WORK begins.  We arrive in Santa Clarita and the task for the next 12 days is to get Gary’s Mother’s house ready to sell.  After three days of “Estate Sale”, EVERYTHING was sold and the house was empty.  In the next six days the house received its facelift – cleaned, painted, re-carpeted, tiled and cleaned again – ready for sale.  Now all it needs is that interested buyer;-)  
In between the chores, we had breakfasts, lunches, coffees and dinners with ‘old’ friends.  One always needs to make time for those faces and discussions that bring back memories and just make us happy;-)  Oh yes – we also made time for the triple overtime Laker game with Phoenix!!
March 27 – Off to Phoenix to have niece Deme join us in Magic for her Spring break.  After loading her into Magic on Sunday night, we were off to Catalina State Park on Monday morning.  This state park sits at the base of the majestic Santa Catalina Mountains, just north of Tucson, and is a haven for wildlife and desert plants including nearly 5,000 saguaros.  We all learned a lot about the mighty saguaro on this trip.  Did you know that they don’t begin to grow arms until they are 25-50 years old?  And, they live more than 200 years?
After checking into the Catalina State campground (site no. 23 – picked by Deme) and setting up, we were off on our first hike – the Canyon Loop Trail – in search of water and shade to keep us cool.  

Which way do we go now?
Cooling off.

Along the way we looked like the Three Amigos in the desert!
Shadowy characters seen on the trail.
A busy day of travel and hiking earned us a hearty dinner at our wonderful campsite in the beautiful Catalina desert campground.
Appetizers before a well deserved dinner.

Sabino Canyon, in the eastern foothills of the Santa Catalina mountains, called early on Tuesday morning.  It is a world away in terms of climate, vegetation, and wildlife and beckons with towering cliffs, waterfalls and swimming holes.  The tram (no cars allowed) took us to the upper canyon where we began our hiking.  First up – in order to get a good look at the canyon.
High above Sabino Canyon.
Then it was time to find one of those good swimming holes where we could take our shoes off, wade in the water, climb on the rocks and enjoy our PB&J sandwiches in some shade with fantastic views.  
A little water left in the Sabino Creek.

Can’t beat PB&J – and shade – on a hike!

Look Mom, no shoes, no net!

After this full day, we were exhausted and hit the bed early.  Especially because we had a VERY early day on Wednesday.  Today it was Kartchner Caverns State Park that called.  Discovered in 1974 by Gary and Randy, the caves were not opened to the public until 1999.  Kartchner Caverns SP contains an extraordinary display of colorful speleotherms.  Formations – some of the tiniest, most delicate growths, as well as the tallest column in Arizona – provide evidence of the role water plays in the creation of caves.  (Unfortunately, we have no pictures of this activity, as NO cameras were allowed in the caverns in order to prevent the introduction of ‘alien’ particles into the caves.)
After Kartchner, Deme’s request was the Tucson Reid Park Zoo.  This little zoo was quite wonderful – and enjoyed by all!  Just as Haley enjoyed feeding the giraffe’s at the Fresno zoo, so did Deme at the Tucson zoo;-)
I like carrots, are there any more?
March 31 – Finally time to return to Scottsdale – where we celebrated birthdays;-)  First, it was Gary’s turn as he turned 64!!  (Again, no pictures as the photographer was the subject and no one else picked up the camera;-(!!)  Then, mother’s friend, Nat, turned 92 – and we celebrated at Magic.
Happy 92nd, Nat.
April 4 – Our stay in Scottsdale came to an end and we packed up and moved to a beautiful spot in Sedona – Rancho Sedona RV Park.  
Great spot on the creek in Sedona.

Our campground was also home to several crane couples who were ‘nesting’ in the tops of the trees that surrounded us.  These birds are so prehistoric and yet so graceful when they fly.  We sat and watched for hours at a time.

Two cranes canoodling above their nest.


We shared part of our time here with our friends – the Stinsons.  Our first excursion was Montezuma Castle – a five-story, 20-room dwelling that the Southern Sinagua (Spanish for “without water”) farmers began building early in the 1100s.  It stands in a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley and reached its maximum size in the 1300s.  It was occupied for another century, when the Southern Sinagua mysteriously abandoned their pueblos. Early settlers marveled at the structure and assumed that it was Aztec in origin, hence the name Montezuma Castle.
Montezuma Castle
Linda & Jim at the Castle.
On the way back to Sedona we stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross – a striking, slender building built into a red rock butte with a 90-foot cross as an integral part of the structure.  And, a well known landmark of Sedona.
A view from the Chapel of Holy Cross.
Like it sprung from the Red Rock.
Golf courses were now calling – so we spent the next two days golfing – AND CELEBRATING GARY’S 64th;-)))))!!  And our timing was perfect.  A whopper storm moved in on Friday and dumped several inches of snow in Sedona and about a foot in the Flagstaff area – our next stop.  Because of the storm we extended our stay in Sedona, as we did not want to be on the roads during the ‘dump’.  However, watching the tree branches falling all around us in the campground was not fun either!!  (The staff here said it was the worst storm this winter;-(  )
Glad these two branches missed the bus!






Well – that is our first month on the road.  As you can probably tell, we are now into the National Parks with a little golf mixed in.  (Another reason to stay in Sedona an extra day as we were not sure the NP’s we planned to visit would be open on Sunday when we got there!!)  We are now off to Williams and perhaps a visit to the Grand Canyon.  A quick stop in Laughlin for golf will break up our drive to Death Valley.  More on all of this later.
Hope all is well with all of you – Elizabeth & Gary from Magic

25,000 MILES!!!

Friday we hit the end (or the beginning) of the Alaska Highway! Yep – Mile “0” of the 1942 wonder.

Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia

The Magic Bus traveled EVERY mile of this highway dubbed the AlCan Highway by the Army when they built it in 8 months in 1942 – seen as a necessity of World War II to get troops and supplies to Alaska. The literature says it is paved?!?!? In fairness – it also says there may be long stretches of gravel where road work is being done. UH – you think so?!?!?! Magic came through fine – BUT, we have a car that will definitely need a paint job some time soon;-( The literature also says “For many people the Alaska Highway is a great adventure. For others, it’s a long drive.” We fall into the first group – IT WAS A GREAT ADVENTURE!! Didn’t see as many wild animals on the road as Gary would have liked – BUT, Denali and the bear viewing made up for all of that!! So – Mile “0” proved to be the rainbow at the end of the road for us – literally!! How fitting –

As we settled into our campsite in Dawson Creek we encountered a weather front which brought with it heavy rain and a dust storm. It made for some interesting colors, a double rainbow, and

a very colorful sunset.

Another fitting ‘happening’ in the last two days. Just after leaving Mile “0” Magic passed 25,000 miles!! In exactly one year we have put 25,000 miles behind us and in the memory banks!!!!


One year and 20 days after Magic joined the family, we recorded 25,000 miles.

Gary and I had to laugh hysterically as we stopped to take this ‘memorial’ picture. After all the beautiful, wonderful scenery that we have viewed on this trip – Magic turns 25,000 miles in a coal ‘dust cloud‘ at a coal burning power plant!! We decided NOT to share this picture with you;-(((


Sunday morning we sat at at a KOA campground just outside of Jasper NP making a blog posting (due to the long Labour Day weekend here in Canada, we could not get into a camping spot in the Park until Sunday night). The next four days we are visiting two of our favorite spots here in Canada – Jasper NP and Banff NP. Then back into the US and home.


Hope there are more rainbows in our future;-)


XOXOXO – Chasing Rainbows Elizabeth & Gary

Horses Headed for Home?????

Whew! The last three days have been long and grueling;-( Almost 1500 miles in the three days – leaving Homer, Alaska VERY early Monday morning – making Tok, Alaska that evening – a VERY early departure on Tuesday (as we immediately lost an hour leaving Alaska) making Whitehorse by dinner – then a 12 hour day on Wednesday to Toad River;-)

While the days were long – there was some fun packed in. For instance – Whitehorse brought a bath for both “Magic” and “Magic Kbus” before we set up camp for the first time ever in the WalMart parking lot!!!

We finally decided to try a new type campground in Whitehorse –
the Wal-Mart parking lot
It was handy with a Starbucks at one end and the WalMart and Canadian Tire at the other end. AND – it was FREE!! (Even better than all Gary’s Senior discounts!!)

About 4 hours east of Whitehorse we finally arrived at ‘virgin’ territory. Up to this point we were retracing our steps from the trip up – thus, the hurry to get through it. About mid-afternoon Watson Lake was in view with its World Famous Sign Post Forest😉 The forest was started in 1942 by a homesick US Army GI from Illinois. While working on the Alaska Highway, he erected a sign here pointing the way and stating the mileage to his hometown. Others followed his lead and are still doing so to this day – the forrest now has over 20,000 signs from all over the world!!!

In Watson Lake, YT, there are more than 20,000 of these signs and plates on display. (Above is only a small piece!)

The stretch of road that followed is known for the bison on the road – and we were not disappointed –

We saw many bison along the Al-Can Highway between Watson Lake, YT and Toad River, Alberta.
Must be their afternoon nap time.

About 5PM on Wednesday we arrived at Liard River Hot Springs Park. Everyone we had talked to in preparation for this trip said “Don’t miss it!” So – in the pouring rain we donned our bathing suits and trekked the 10 minute walk to the pools. The springs are comprised of two deep pools, which fill naturally with water that has been heated deep underground by the earth’s core, pressurized and forced back to the surface along faults in sedimentary rock under the park. Water temperatures reach up to 126 degrees – and did it feel good on our weary bones;-)!!!!!!!

Enjoying the very hot waters of Liard Hot Springs
After being so relaxed, the next two hours in Magic were REALLY hard. BUT, we arrived at a cute little stop in the road – Toad River – and decided to park here for a couple of nights and have a ‘down day’, which was much needed after the 1500 miles!!

The White Tundra swan that was out here in the morning has not been seen since I decided to include it in the shot from our campsite.  Just pretend you see the big honkin’ swan in the middle of the shot. 


Five loads of laundry later, along with first of the month banking and email catch-up – we were revived and ready for the next week. There is “Mile 0” Dawson Creek, a return to Jasper NP and Banff NP ahead of us – keep you posted.

Love to All – Ready to Go Again Elizabeth & Gary

BEARS AND BEARS AND BEARS…OH MY!

Well – guess what our days in Homer brought?? A bear expedition. It came, however, after a two day weather postponement. No matter (we are retired after all and can adjust our schedule at a moments notice;-)) – those days were just filled with an ‘investigate Homer’ day and an ‘investigate Soldotna’ day. The day to Soldotna netted a nice visit with Marita and Pat, who we met in the Phoenix RV Park, and another moose sighting of a cow and her calf –




THEN – our postponed trip to Katmai NP to see the bears. What an experience!! The mighty grizzly got up close and personal;-)

The pictures will tell a story all by themselves – but, just a little about the ‘personalities’ of the bears we saw. YES, the personalities of the bears!! Amazing what you can tell from watching each of these animals for an hour or more.

The first ‘watch’ was of “Bad Mama”. She acquired this name as she paid very little attention to her cub (which was probably about 6 months old – born this past winter), NEVER shared the food she caught with it and wandered off leaving the poor little thing behind without a thought!! She, also, was not very effective at fishing. Fishing is what all the Moms were doing in the river when they looked like the were romping/playing in the water. Very serious business for them!



Bad Momma was not very interested in her cub.
Man, can she move!
As Bad Mama moved on, “Good Mama” and her two bear cubs (probably about 18 months old – born the 2009 winter) became our study. Good Mama was a VERY proficient and efficient fisherwoman! She caught 7 fish in the hour we were watching her – only missed on about two attempts!! The first one she caught she took to the sand bar where the two cubs were – and they immediately jumped on the fish leaving her nothing. The next ones she caught she brought to the sand bar in the middle of the stream and made the cubs come out there if they wanted any. At least this way she got the first couple of bites. BUT, she always shared with the cubs. While she fished she kept an eye on their antics on the beach. She was a real study in fishing and we watched this ‘family’ for about an hour while eating our lunch.

Good Mamma was very attentive to her cubs.
Psst, let’s keep an eye on mom. She’s fishin’ and she’s good at it.
Look, look! She’s after a big one!
Where did it go?
Over here?

Over, there?
Gotcha!
Mmmmm. Thanks mom.
That didn’t last long. Let’s get another.
I’m over here.
I think I’ll stretch out while mom is working.

After all that fishing and eating, Good Mama and her cubs were ready to nap. So we moved on to another Mama and her two cubs that came our way after being displaced by a BIG male who came in to prove his authority by taking over her fishing area (we did not get too close to him as he was quite far away).

This big guy caused Mom and cubs to move on down the shore line.



This Mama was a little lazy – she just dug up old fish that had become trapped in the sand – good and smelly so easy to find!! YUCK!! The best part of this family was watching ‘the kids’ float down the river to get to Mama and then wrestling with each other. That, and the fact that one of the cubs had a beautiful collar of lighter brown around its neck.

This mom kept an eye on her cubs while they swam across some fast moving water to follow her.
Jeez.. did you have to go in the deep end?
I think I can, I think I can.
Yay, we made it. Let’s wrestle.
Let’s dance.

After about four hours, it was time to return;-( BUT, Bad Mama gave us one final show! She was on her way back from her afternoon outing and just passing the planes as we returned to board. Our guides said to ‘bunch up and sit down’! YES – sit down. (You have to have great faith in these guides – they said this was submissive behavior and the bear would walk right past!) AND SHE DID! Good thing – because IF Gary had stretched his arm straight out to his side he would have been able to touch her!! UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!! He does have a shot of her as she went by – but she was sooooo close with the lens he had on the camera, he only got a portion of her head!

Bad Momma heading our way.
Yikes, getting closer.
Too close to get the camera focused – and I can’t move!



This was the MOST incredible experience. And – what a finish for us by Bad Mama!! (Little cub was tagging along some distance behind and when Mama found a fish she did NOT share – yet again!) Sure did get the adrenaline moving with a grizzly passing within five feet of you. If you are ever in Homer, Alaska – be sure to go to Katmai and see the grizzlies;-))

After all this excitement, we said a sad farewell to our traveling partners – Kacy and Dusty – Monday morning and began the trip back to Park City;-(

Hope you enjoyed the pictures – we sure had a GREAT time getting them. More later.

Love to all – Mama Bear and Papa Bear

South in Alaska

Well – after all that activity and animal sightings we all needed a little ‘down’ time. So, we took a day of ‘investigating’ the cute little town of Talkeetna. Talkeetna is claimed to be VERY international as all of the 1200 adventure seekers (per year) from all over the world who wish to start a climb up Denali (only half make it) must check in here with the National Park Service before they can begin their climb. Perhaps some of the shots will look a little familiar to any of you who watched “Northern Exposure” – and none of us saw any “Men in Trees” –

Really good pizza at the Wildflower Cafe.
Elizabeth in a chocolate shop. Does a bear s…. in the woods.
Dusty and Kacy skipping rocks in Talkeetna.

Next stop was a beautiful NP campground which was our home for two nights (unfortunately no pictures of this beautiful site;-( ) while we explored Gridwood and Whittier.

In order to drive to Whittier one must travel through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel – a very unique experience. This is the longest highway tunnel in North America, is ONE lane and services not only traffic in both directions BUT, also the train!! That is right – you drive right on top of the tracks. Needless to say there is lane control – on the hour in one direction and on the half hour in the other – when the train is not scheduled. All scheduling in the town of Whittier evolves around the tunnel schedule as NO ONE wants to get ‘stuck‘ in Whittier for an extra hour;-( It is REALLY small and there is nothing to do except board a ‘Prince William Sound Cruise’. And those cruises provide more beautiful scenery and sea life picture opportunities –

Heading into Prince William Sound.
This shot makes Whittier, AK seem larger than it really is.
Yo bear
This is MY rock.
Sea otter and pup
Approaching the Surprise glacier.
BIG ICE!
Snoozin’ seal.

Big ice, little boat.
No big calving this trip.

After a wonderful day cruising – we enjoyed a very pleasant evening with Joslyln, Chris and their new little one, Passage Ray (friends in Girdwood). If there is a baby, Elizabeth is there –


We had a very nice dinner with Passage Ray and his parents Chris and Jos.
Sorry that Mom and Dad didn’t make it into the shot.

Then it was time to move on down the road one more time to Homer – as far south and west as one can go in a car in Alaska. Again, we had one of those picture post card views out the front ‘living room’ window across Kachemak Bay as we ‘parked’ on Homer Spit – with a resident eagle not too far away.


I couldn’t take enough of this majestic bald eagle.
Kudos to Dusty for spotting it hiding in plain sight.

Gives meaning to eagle eye.

Another lousy view out of Magic’s picture window.
Shot at night. Need to work on my technique.

One of our daily excursions here was to take the Danny J 45-minute cruise to Halibut Cove where lunch at the Saltry, galleries and the cutest little town awaited us –

Puffin, kittiwakes and ???
On the way to Halibut Cove
Our transportation to Halibut Cove, the Danny J.
Halibut Cove is a small little island community across Cook’s Inlet from Homer, AK.
Kacy and Dusty taking in the sights.
This loo has to be cold in the Alaska winters.
The Saltry, our lunch spot (also the only lunch spot) on Halibut Cove.
They were out of halibut and serving cod instead, imagine that.

I wonder if this otter ate all of the halibut in Halibut Cove

There are more days in Homer – will have to see what they bring our way in the next posting.


XOXOXOOX to All – E & G

Denali

Denali, the “High One”, is the name Athabascan native people gave the massive peak that crowns the 600-mile long Alaska Range. It is also the name of the immense national park and preserve created from the former Mount McKinley National Park (NP).


Imagine the scene roughly 20,000 years ago, during the height of the Wisconsin Ice Age, as sheets of ice crept as far south as Central Illinois. Yet the Alaskan interior was free of ice, covered instead by steppe tundra vegetation and inhabited by woolly mammoth. An environment suitable for North America’s first human residents, who likely crossed into this continent on a land bridge from Asia some 25,000 years ago!!


Captain George Vancouver was the first European visitor to document seeing The Mountain in 1794. In 1913, four men became the first to scale The Mountain after several others attempted and failed. After nine years of work, Charles Sheldon’s (a naturalist and hunter) dream of saving the area came true on February 26, 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson created Mount McKinley NP. In an effort to provide additional wildlife protection and conservation, park boundaries have been extended in 1922, 1932 and 1980. The last of these expansions – 1980 – expanded the Park to 6 million acres and renamed the park Denali National Park and Preserve. And, to Alaskans, the mountain is known as Denali (NOT Mt. McKinley)!

The only access to the park is via ONE 92 mile dirt road – and this is on a bus, as private cars are only allowed by a special permit. Along this road one will see the special landscape of Taiga (a Russian word for northern evergreen forest of scant tree growth near the Arctic Circle) and Tundra (dwarfed shrubs and miniaturized wildflowers adapted to a short growing season). If one is lucky, incredible wildlife will also be spotted – especially “The Big Five” of Dall Sheep, Caribou, Moose, Wolf and Grizzly Bear. And, of course, Denali herself standing at 20,320 feet – the highest mountain on the North American continent! (We were told that only about 10% of the people visiting ever see the top of Denali due to the clouds/weather conditions created by the mountain itself.)


Our home for the three days in Denali was the Denali Backcountry Lodge (Magic had to stay behind on this one) – again at the end of the road – literally – mile marker 92! The rainbow on the way in was a good omen –


The rain going into Denali National Park kept animal sightings to a minimum,
but the rainbow was beautiful.

All things considered, the accommodations were quite comfortable – at least we had a bed, hot and cold running water in the room and heat! It was ‘adult camp’ and lots of fun. We met lots of very interesting people from all over the world, went on several wonderful, beautiful hikes AND celebrated Kacy’s birthday while there –


Just about to arrive at our back country lodge.
Are you sure this is the way to the room?

We should have gone with the deluxe room option, huh?
Happy Birthday Kacy.

The best part of all – we saw ALL of the Big Five AND Denali herself!! The pictures will tell the story –


Mt. McKinley seems to always be partially covered in clouds.

View of Mt. McKinley from Wonder Lake.

All you have to do is wait a couple of minutes and the view will change.

Still not the whole enchilada, but showing a little more.

Getting started on our morning hike up Camp Ridge.

They say if we keep talking and making noise, the bears will avoid us.

I hope the bears don’t see Elizabeth eating their blueberries.

If I could figure out how to combine some of yesterday’s shots with today’s,
we might have a picture of all of Denali/Mt. McKinley.

Denali is our background this morning.

Wow, one more time.

We finally hit the animal jackpot on our way out of Denali Park.
Our ride left at 6:15 am so the animals were just waking up also.

This bull moose is shedding its velvet.
Sure wish he would stand up and pose for us.

We really lucked out with our sighting of the wolf pack.
There were 14 or 15 in total.

They appeared to be playing here.

The Dall sheep didn’t seem to be concerned with our presence.

At long last, a grizzly sighting. She had two cubs with her.
I couldn’t manage a shots of all three together.

Nice teeth!

One of her two cubs.

This guy isn’t going to be bothered by anyone.

The Caribou were plentiful.

More velvet shedding.

Move over a little, would ya!


Hopefully these pictures have shown you a bit of the beauty and wildlife here – and given you an idea of the importance of keeping this habitat for the life of the Tundra. We were overwhelmed as we returned to our world.


Love to all – E & G