Friday, Jan. 2nd HAPPY NEW YEAR
I got a reminder this week that I needed to back up my computer files. I have not been able to get on my system while in Colorado all week. My computer said that it had "system fan failure" and to turn the system off immediately. Not a good thing. Since the laptop is a Gateway, I knew that I would have to send it to them and would be without a computer for weeks. Since all my work files are on this computer I was concerned about my ability to take care of my work efficiently. Anyway, first thing this morning I went to a computer service repair location. They checked the fan, blew some air through the vents and it started right up. The fan was just stuck and not able to turn. YEAH1 I'm back on the job with only two minutes down. I guess I should have called a tech person earlier and I could have tried blowing out the system earlier. I've been fretting all week!
So, back to our activities. I got to Boulder Sunday night at a reasonable time. The group got their rental stuff and were ready to go skiing the next morning. Monday, the drive to Eldora was not too bad. It was 21 miles and took about 45 minutes. The roads were clear and the traffic was not too heavy. Tuesday we headed up to the mountain again. The sheriff department turned us around at Nederland. Seems as though they had a shooting at the ski resort that morning and they had closed the resort for the investigation. We had a feeling something was wrong since there were as many cars coming down the mountain as going up. We had to drive back to Boulder and then to Loveland Pass. It is the next closest ski area. We got there about 12:30. It was a pretty drive. The group skied the rest of the day. We skied there Wednesday as well although Eldora had opened back up. They really liked the Loveland ski area. I skied a little on Wednesday. I rented ski equipment and the ski resort gave me a free lift ticket. I didn't want to spend much since I wasn't going to ski very much. We left early Thursday morning with an uneventful drive to Lubbock.
Tom was home during the first part of the week. He had plenty of things to get done with the buses and such. He left for Dallas on Wednesday with the TTU cheer and pom squads. They are going to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. They had an appearance with some of the alumni Wedn. Then he took them to the clubs for some New Year's Eve partying. They had a curfew of 2:00 am so he didn't have to stay out too late. Thursday they had more appearances, a parade and pep rally. He is staying pretty busy driving around town. Today they left for the game about 10:00 to head for the game.
We had two other drivers meeting the bus coming back from Florida. The bus was here this morning so I guess that trip went well. Tom coordinates those long trips well. He is good about figuring where to put drivers to make it easiest on the drivers and the groups. We like to have the drivers that are going through the night to have the shortest drive time.
Saturday, Dec 27 Tonight I am in Dumas. I will be the second driver for a group that is leaving for Colorado in the morning. Te other driver will return to Lubbock and I will stay with the group. Tom will be home late tonight. He completed his portion of the trip to Florida and picked up the other driver in Shreveport on his way home. Should be a lonely night for both of us.
Friday, Dec. 26 I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Tom finished the shopping on Christmas Eve while I worked on the cooking. We have eaten plenty. We went to visit family Christmas Eve. Had friends and family over for Christmas breakfast and visited more family that afternoon and evening. It was a busy day.
Tom left early this morning, headed to Alabama this evening. We had a group leave at noon today, going straight through to Florida. Tom will start driving at Shreveport and will take the bus to Alabama. The final drive will take it on from there. He will come back to Lubbock, picking up the driver on the return. The group returns on Wedn. and we will send drivers out to help drive the bus back. I will leave Saturday night, heading north. Another group is going to Colorado and I will take the bus north from Dumas. I come back on the 1st. Tom will be back on Sunday and then leaves on Wedn. for Dallas. He will be taking the TTU cheer and pom squad to the Cotton Bowl.
A busy week for us all. We will put on a bunch of miles in a few days.
Monday, Dec 22 There isn't much to say as far as traveling goes. We had a local trip last week, shuttling the basketball team that played TTU. Not real exciting but it keeps a bus moving. This week we do not have anything moving until the day after Christmas. We will have some time to visit family and relax. Tom and I finished up our Christmas cards over the weekend so they will be out in the mail today. I have almost finished our brochures for our upcoming tours. I know there are many that are waiting for that information. My final chore for the end of the year is to send out calendars for my family. There is always plenty to do before the year is over. I procrastinate through the year, thinking I will get some of this done before the last few weeks of the year but I don't usually get to it until the due date..
I did buy a new laser color printer so the printing part will be much faster. I always spend several hundred dollars on ink for the inkjet each quarter so I final spent the money for a laser. It will be able to print all the things I need to do without buying any ink! For my type of work this is a much better option. I did get a good deal on the laser as it was a closeout item. The quality of the print is much better as well.
Tuesday, Dec 16 Tom got in Monday morning about 7:30 a.m. He ate a little breakfast and went to sleep. It was cold so we didn't get much done outside. I worked in the office and Tom worked at getting the house warm and getting some rest.
Today we are driving some local trips. We are taking a business group on a tour of Lubbock this morning. This evening we will be driving a Christmas Lights tour. That is always fun. Through the remainder of the week we are shuttling a basketball team that is playing at TTU.
Sunday, Dec 14 It is not a "chamber of commerce day" today in Lubbock. The wind is blowing, probably 50 mph at least and the sand is blowing. Most of the cotton fields in the area have been stripped so there is nothing to keep the sand down. It is in the high 60's though. I'm sure it will be colder soon. There is certainly something blowing our direction.
I picked up a group in Muleshoe early yesterday morning and switched drivers in Lubbock. I drove to Abilene that afternoon, meeting the group as they returned from Grand Prairie. I got home early this morning. The group we took were spectators from town going to the football game. The school won state in their division. They were playing a central Texas school. Usually those schools misjudge the west Texas area in the football arena.
Tom will be leaving this afternoon. The group is skiing through the day prior to departure. They were supposed to be getting snow yesterday and today. He says there are supposed to be some ice storms coming home today. He continues to check the weather to determine which way he wants to travel coming home. He does have another driver with him in case it is a long night.
Friday, Dec 12 Tuesday we had a Christmas Lights tour. We drove out to Ransom Canyon, TTU, and around town. It was fun. Thursday Tom left early for Crested Butte, Colorado. He will be there for the weekend with a group that is skiing. There was snow on the ground but not on the roads as he traveled. He said they are expecting snow on Sunday, when they come home
I have been home this week working in the office. I am really getting a lot of things moved to my new office. It was cold early in the week and I was rethinking having to walk 20 feet outside to the office.:-)
I have some family visiting yesterday and today so I haven't gotten much done. I will be driving on Saturday, shuttling for a group going to the Dallas area.
Monday, Dec 8 The last few days have been busy and I have neglected updating the web page. We are home again. We drove from Carlsbad to Ruidoso on Thursday. It is an easy drive. We saw several deer as we traveled into the foothills of the mountains near Ruidoso. We stopped downtown for lunch and some shopping. The sky was clear and the weather cool, great shopping weather.
We checked into the Inn of the Mountain Gods for our overnight stay. The hotel has been completely redone and it is very nice. The rooms look out over the lake with a nice view of Sierra Blanca. There was a light dusting of snow on the mountain but it wasn't much. We had plenty of time to relax and enjoy our location prior to heading for the Spencer Theatre.
The show for the evening was the Flying J Wranglers. It was a pretty good show. The group does a BBQ-show on their ranch in the summer. The show was similar to the summer show with a few Christmas songs included. They had several songs that were original to the group that we enjoyed as well.
Friday morning we left late from the hotel after enjoying a nice breakfast. We had a light lunch in Brownfield before returning to Lubbock. That evening we went to Seminole at the last minute, in our pickup, so we got in pretty late.
Saturday morning we picked up a group in Muleshoe. The group was headed for Abilene for a playoff game. We had drivers meet us in Lubbock to continue the trip to Abilene. Tom and I had some running around in town to do prior to leaving again for the evening. A group from Olton was having a company Christmas party in Lubbock. We went to Olton to pick up the group and returned later that night. It was certainly an uneventful drive. It is about an hour to Olton, some of it on the same road that goes to Muleshoe. We saw that road six times in one day!
Sunday, we went to church, napped, visited friends and took the day off from work.
Today we are back to our usual routine. Tom is getting some things done on the buses and I am cleaning off my desk again. I have mail to go through and tours to complete for next year.
Wednesday, Dec 3 I came back from Dallas on Sunday. Tom had gotten most of the work finished on setting up a separate office for me. He moved the remainder of the office file cabinets on Tuesday. It is amazing how much stuff we had in the house. It barely fits in the office!
We are in Carlsbad this evening. We left this morning, eating lunch at the Furr's in Hobbs. We went to the Living Desert zoo prior to checking into the hotel. They zoo has animals and botanical displays that are natural to the area. The albino rattlesnakes are the most interesting to me. They have a mountain lion and bobcat as well as many other animals.
This evening we took a boat ride on the Pecos river. The homes on the river decorate extensively for Christmas. The trip takes about 45 minutes and is fun. It can be a little chilly on the water but it wasn't too bad tonight. We dressed warm.
Friday, Nov 28 This is always a slow week in the bus business. Our minibus is on a trip to San Antonio and we are driving for a local school playoff game tomorrow. We took Thursday off (most of the day anyway). Tom is working today and Saturday. I am on a personal trip to Dallas to visit my sisters. We are gong to go to Canton shopping. It ought to be real crowded so we are going early!
Monday, Nov 24 Tom's group left early (they do fine sleeping on the bus). He was home by 2:00pm. The other group did not leave as early but they got in at a reasonable time. I'm sure it was a tough night for all the groups coming home. If you didn't hear about the game, it was not pretty.
Today Tom is working on getting a foundation ready for the office. I'm working in the building but I got get it all set up as it will be moved. We have buses out this weekend so he has a few days to get some work done.
I'm working on the trips for next year and trying to keep up with the calendar!
Saturday, Nov 22 Another bus left this morning for the TTU game at OU with the TTU Spirit Band. They are spending the night tonight so we didn't need to send two drivers. Our other bus is shuttling a local group and then will be done for the day.
I am staying home for the weekend. Tom has gotten me a separate building for an office and I'm moving some of my stuff into the building. I have to have enough in the building to be able to work on Monday. So far I am making pretty good progress. I can't move the file cabinets until Tom gets the building level and all that so I have to bring the things that are "must" haves down without the cabinets. Such fun! Over ten years in business and I finally get to move the office out of the house! I'm sure it will be an adjustment!
Friday, Nov 21 We got in from Branson about 5:30. The trip was uneventful. The wind had calmed down considerably from yesterday so it was an easy trip.
I finished out the drive as Tom had to fly out on Thursday since we could not find a driver for a trip. He had a local trip Thursday night and left this morning to go back to OKC. He will be driving the TTU Spirit Squad for the OU game. I know, it is a tough job but someone has to do it!
Thursday, Nov 20 Tonight we are back in Tulsa. We are at the same hotel, most of us in the same rooms. It is nice to have a familiar place to go to!
We started out the morning with one last show, the Lowe Family. It isn't a "name" show but it is really good. The performers are all one family and they play lots of instruments and sing and dance. It is a great show.
Heading north to Springfield after the show we stopped at Lamberts for lunch but didn't stay. There were 8 buses there and two had just pulled in to unload. We didn't want to wait that long! We went to Steak 'n Shake again, it is always a good back up.
We stopped at the largest McDonalds for a break. The restaurant stretches across the interstate. There is even a gift shop.
We got to the hotel in time to get checked in and go to dinner. We did take the bus to our favorite Mexican food place. It is always good.
Wednesday, Nov 19 Wow, we had a full day yesterday and today. When we take our Branson trips we try to get in as many shows and activities that we can and we are usually tired by the end of the day.
Tuesday we ate lunch at the Steak n" Shake in Springfield. Our first stop in Branson was the Roy Rogers Show and Museum. They Roy Rogers family moved the museum here from California. Their son Dusty does the show and this year his son sang with the group for a couple of songs. They sing cowboy music and it is a great show.
We had dinner at the Dixie Stampede. The dinner includes a horse show. It is always fun. We ended the day at the Dino show. Dino is a piano player and his show is always very extravagant and pretty. He is an excellent piano player as well and the show is always well done. Our final thing for the day was a drive through Christmas Lights Show.
This morning we started out at the Hollywood Wax Museum. They have a nice display of many movie and TV characters. It was a nice way to start the morning without too much activity. We headed for Table Rock Lake for the Showboat Branson Belle Cruise. They serve lunch and the show follows. The show includes singers, a dance team and a comedian. It is fun.
The afternoon show was Noah, the Musical at the Sight and Sound theatre. This is a new theatre in Branson. The show was very good and we will be repeating shows at that theatre regularly.
Supper was a served meal at Montana Mike's. The food was great and the service was quick. We were able to get to our last show of the evening with plenty of time. The Baldnobbers is an original show for Branson and they are always a great show to see. They have a regular group of country music singers. The comedians are really funny and we got in our laughing quota for the day. Back at the hotel we are in for the night and ready to rest up for another day.
Monday, Nov 17 Tonight we are in Tulsa. We had a good drive. We had some things to keep us busy on the bus as we traveled.
Our other buses are resting today but will be working later in the week.
Sunday, Nov 16 I took Saturday off. I did a little work but not much. Today I am getting ready for our Branson tour which starts tomorrow. Tom did some work on the house and with the buses. We bought a small metal building that we are setting up as an office. It will be nice to have a designated area for the office.
Friday, Nov 14 Tom is finishing up his group today. The group toured San Angelo, then came to Lubbock two days, today they are in Amarillo. Tom will be finished with them tonight. He has enjoyed the group.
I am in Wink tonight. I have driven the team from O'donnell here for a playoff game. It is very windy and cold. I will probably watch the game from the bus.;-) I will be in late tonight.
Tom and I will be home for the weekend. We have several things we are working on around the house so I'm glad we will have a few days together before we travel again.
One bus is still in Branson and the small one went to Ft. Worth for the weekend.
Tuesday, Nov 11 I guess I have been neglectful on keeping this updated. Since I've been home I don't remember to update what everyone else is doing.
Tom had an interesting week. It was educational as it was a History tour. They went to museums in Austin and San Antonio as well as other places of interest in the area. The group was the 7th grade class, primarily girls, which made the trip a little difficult. That age group is tough to be with for an entire week. Tom got home Friday evening.
Saturday we took the bus to the Ragtown theatre for "Joseph the Carpenter." It was a good play, as always. We went into Post for dinner at the Hotel Garza. They made a nice dinner for us and we had plenty to eat. We ended the day at the Garza Theatre. The play was a funny murder mystery. We enjoyed the laughter.
We did get to listen to the TTU football game before and after the game. Wasn't quite as exciting as last weeks but they won, which was great.
The group that went to Branson came in on Saturday as well. They drove straight through so we had a driver meet the other driver so he wouldn't be too tired.
All the buses were home on Sunday but two are out again. One left for Branson again on Monday and Tom left for a trip this morning. He will be in San Angelo tonight.
Tuesday, Nov 4 We had a full weekend. The TTU game was a long one and the groups were slow about leaving as they were all celebrating a win. We were able to watch part of the game. We were parked on the street south of the stadium and could watch on the jumbotron TV (while sitting on top of the bus) that was in the stadium. We listened on the radio for the play by play.
Sunday Tom left with a group to central Texas. They visited the George Bush library in College Station on Monday and they are in Austin today. They went to the Bob Bullock Museum this morning and the capital this afternoon. He is enjoying the trip.
We have one bus in Branson for the week and the other one came in Sunday and will leave on Friday.
I am working on getting my trips set up for next year. There is always plenty of things to do in the office!
Friday, Oct 31 We have been working at home most of the week. Tuesday we had went on a day trip. We went out to the corn maze. They gave us a presentation on how they make the maze and then we wandered through the maze and the other things they have on the farm. It was a fun. Our next stop was the Wind Power Museum. They have an extensive collection of windmills of all sorts inside and out. We were given a guided tour of the interior section and then they took us out to go inside of the tower of one of the wind chargers. Those are certainly tall when standing next to them.
Lunch was at Apple Country east of Idalou. They had beef stew and many items on the buffet with apples as well as salads, cornbread, and apple desserts. We were all miserable and full when we left. Our last tour of the day was the Lubbock Lake Landmark. We learned about the lake that used to be in the area and the Indians that settled in the area. A few of us wandered around the area where they are digging up artifacts. It was an interesting tour and we learned a little. Our last stop for the day was in the depot district for dessert at La Diosa. It is a unique restaurant with settings of couches and dining tables instead of typical restaurant settings. We had dessert and coffee. Both dessert options were excellent. Returning back to our starting place we drove up the Brownfield Hwy. to get a new look at the construction progress.
The remainder of the week I have been working on upcoming tours. Tom has been changing oil in the buses and getting those things taken completed. We sent a bus out Thursday for a school group and another left this morning. Tom and I will be shuttling for the TTU/UT game tomorrow. That ought to be fun.
Sunday, Oct 26 I am in Tulsa again today. I drove up this morning to bring back the bus that we were test driving. I will be home tonight. I left early to make sure I got here in time for my flight back. The only flight available was the last flight of the day so I have plenty of time to wait. I have checked in to be a standby for the earlier flight but I don't think I'm going to make it on that one.
I drove a short trip to Midland yesterday but was home by early afternoon.
Tom will be home this evening as well. He is coming back from his trip to Fredericksburg. Sounds as though he had an interesting trip although he did not send me any "blogs" about the trip.
Friday, Oct 24 Today I am working in the office. Tom left yesterday for a trip with an Adult Learning Program with Texas Tech. They are in Fredericksburg through the weekend. I'm not sure what the course study is but they are visiting wineries in the area.
I flew to Tulsa yesterday and picked up a bus that we are test driving. We will see if we like it through the weekend. It is going on a short trip with one of our other drivers today. I will take it back on Sunday.
We have another bus on a local trip today and it will be on another short trip tomorrow. The other two buses are going to Dallas tomorrow for the Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday. I'm sure they will have a good time. The drivers are excited to be going as well. It doesn't sound like fun to me though!
Tuesday, Oct 21 I drove a group from Ransom Canyon on a trip to Plainview. We visited a dairy owned by one of the women in the morning and spent the afternoon shopping. I knew the group would be shopping so I volunteered to do the trip. Tom doesn't like to do those shopping trips.
We have a bus out today with a TTU group. Tomorrow we will be picking up UT-Volleyball at the airport for their game here tomorrow evening. I think Tom is going to drive that group.
I am working in the office today and tomorrow. We have several weekend trips. Tom will be doing the longest trip which is going to Fredericksburg. I haven't decided if I'm going to drive a trip or stay home and continue to catch up on the house cleaning and office work. There are not any "interesting" trips going out so I will probably stay home ;-)
Friday, Oct 17 We have had a relaxing week and have gotten lots done. I actually had time to clean house a little. I still had things laying around the living room from the Alaska trip. I had not had a chance to go through the items and get things all sorted out. I still have some things that need to go into storage but I'm making progress.
Tom worked with the buses all week. There is always something that needs done. We had some local trips during the week.
Today Tom is leaving for College Station with the TTU cheer squad. The game is a morning game tomorrow so he will come home after the game. Our other buses will be out as well. One is doing a local trip for the Peanut Producers this morning and a TTU event this evening. The other is going to Gail to take the football team to their Friday night football game and then it will be headed for Durant, OK for a bingo group. Sounds like fun. I am not going out. I will stay home and keep working on the house.
Monday, Oct 12 We took Sunday off. I did have a couple of e-mails I had to send but that is all we did that was work related. Today I am getting the office straightened out and Tom is working on the buses. We have one that goes out tomorrow and the others go out during the remainder of the week.
Saturday, Oct 11 The wind came up this morning so we were not able to see any balloons. We did wander around for a little while and visited some of the "free" booths. There was a Texas booth giving away items so we had to go there. We got a few other free things before heading back to the bus.
We got our stuff ready and headed for home. The wind was up and it rained part of the way home. It was a good trip.
Another company had emergency need in Amarillo so our bus went to Amarillo as soon as we got in. We need to keep those buses moving anytime we can!
Friday, Oct 10 We had a busy day today. We started out early, 5:30 a.m. It was perfect weather at the festival. The wind was calm and the air was cool. There many balloons that lifted off this morning. After the balloons had lifted off from the field we were on more came from the west that had lifted off from another field and landed on the field we were near. It was fun to walk through the balloons as they were being aired up.
We left the festival and drove about an hour west to the Acoma Sky City. This is a pueblo that has been inhabited for many years. The pueblo is on a mesa. We toured the pueblo and learned about the people. It was interesting. It was a little long for some of the group.
We ate lunch prior to heading back to town. There was a little time for shopping in Old Town prior to going back to the festival.
The evening glow didn't happen. The balloonist showed up but the weather didn't cooperate. It was too windy. We did get a chance to shop for more balloon items. That wasn't a good thing for me! The fireworks were good, the weather doesn't matter for those. They did shoot them off a little early so we got back to the hotel sooner. We had a full day and everyone was ready for a rest.
Thursday, Oct 9 Well we are back out again. We got in on Monday with an uneventful day. We did go by the memorial in OKC. We got back to Lubbock about 6:00 pm.
We got a chance to catch up a little at home before we had to go out again. Tom had to mow the lawn (5 acres). I got some of my work caught up as well.
Tonight we are in Albuquerque, NM. We left this morning for the Balloon Festival. The drive was good. We saw some antelope along the way. The weather was nice.
After a little down time at the hotel we headed for the balloon festival. The have a night glow. The balloons don't lift but they are them up and light them with the propane. It is pretty. After the glow they clear the balloons and light off fireworks.
We got there late because the traffic was worse than normal. We will certainly leave earlier tomorrow.
Sunday, Oct 5 A full day of travel today. We covered the miles quickly. Finishing the drive through Iowa, into Missouri, through Kansas City and a good part through Kansas. We are spending the night in Wichita tonight.
We stopped for two quick picture stops at the capital cities of Iowa (Des Moines) and Kansas (Topeka). That slowed us down some so we got to our hotel a little later than we wanted. It was a good day overall. We did catch a little rain but it wasn't too bad.
We will be finishing out our trip tomorrow. We ought to be in Lubbock by 6:00 or so. Everyone is usually pretty fast at the stops since we are headed home.
Saturday, Oct. 4 We had another full day today. We made several stops during our initial drive of some of the countryside.
Our first stop this morning was the “The House on the Rock.” It is a museum, sort of. The displays are unique and whimsical and there is a house, although that is a small part of the tour. We gave everyone foue hours to look through the house and most of us were able to do so. Some had to hurry at the end.
Tonight we are in Cedar Rapids. The weather was good all day. Sunny and a little cool.
Friday, October 3 We had a great day again today. We started out with a late morning. Our first activity was the Upper Dells tour. The Dells are distinct sandstone canyon on the Wisconsin River. The boat took us up the river. We made too stops along the waterway. The first was Witches Gulch. The formation goes back into the side of the canyon. The walls are real close and it is cold since very little sun shines through from above. It is a nice hike. The second hike is to see a few more formations. The tour has a dog that jumps from one rock to another. The jump was originated by the man that developed the shutter lens. He showed that his lens caught an instant in time by having his son jump the five feet between the rock pillars. It made a significant impact on the camera industry.
We ate lunch at Paul Bunyan’s restaurant. The food is served family style. We had fish, chicken and spaghetti as well as plenty trimmings. We had plenty to eat.
The afternoon was spent traveling through the “Lower Dells” on the “ducks.” The ducks are amphibious vehicles that drive on land yet they can go into the water as well. On the “Lower Dells” we saw a few more interesting formations. The hawk’s beak and the grand piano. The duck ride through the hills was fun.
There was a section on the trip that had construction workers on the bank of the river. The guide said the lake on the other side of the road had gotten so full in June that it had broken through the road. The lake had completely emptied into the Wisconsin River in a matter of a few hours.
We had some shopping time prior to returning to the hotel. The group had an optional trip in the late afternoon. Some of us wanted to go to Madison, which is the capital. We took some to shop in town and the rest went to the hotel.
The capital was a really nice building. The city of Madison seemed to be a nice city. The people were friendly and there wasn’t too much traffic. We stopped at a deli for a little ice cream before driving home. It was a good stop. The deli had caught our eye because there was a carousel outside the building. The inside was very interesting. They had things hanging all over the ceilings and the tables were all shadow boxes with displays in each one. It was fun. While we were enjoying our ice cream the manager came over and offered us all a free ride on the carousel. He didn’t have to say it twice. Most of us went for a ride. It was a lot of fun. We did get back to our hotel in Wisconsin Dells a little later than planned but it was fun.
There are a few pictures that were uploaded that are of green water. That is algae that grows in the Wisconsin River. I thought it made an interesting pattern in the water. At the end of the pictures for today there are several of the group that road the carousel, Some are not real flattering (especially those of me). The last one is of the sunset as we traveled back to our hotel.
Traveling south we drove along the Mississippi for the majority of the day. We stopped and took several pictures of the river and sights along the way. We did pick some apples from a tree near a barn. We asked first.
We stopped in Pepin, Wisconson, along the river. The town was home to Laura Ingells Wilder in her younger days. There is a small gift shop in the train depot.
We ate lunch in Winona, MN. It is a small town but it seems to have a lot of interesting restaurants. Probably because it is a college town. We had a little time so we had the opportunity to do some shopping after lunch. That is always a popular option. We drove up on the bluff overlooking the town. It was a nice view of the town and the river.
Tonight we are in Wisconsin Dells. The weather was great today. A little cool in the morning but nice and sunny this afternoon.
Wednesday, Oct 1 We traveled south for the first time today. We started out on the interstate so that we could make better time. About halfway to Minneapolis we went back east so that we could visit a dairy/cheese making place in Wisconsin.
At the dairy the lead cheesemaker gave us an overview of the process to make cheese and the plant. The plant is a co-op and puts out a lot of cheese per day. They were finishing up with some mozzarella when we were there. They had a store so we were able to buy some cheese.
We traveled the backroads the rest of the way into Minneapolis, making a few picture stops along the way. We did drive over the portion of I-35W that had fallen into the Mississippi River last year. I guess the bridge ought to be pretty stable since it is new!
We arrived for a late lunch at the Mall of America, the largest mall in the U.S. Our hotel is about two blocks from the mall. When we picked the group up most of them had packages.
Tuesday, Sept 30 We have traveled across the remainder of Upper Michigan today. We went through a small portion of Wisconsin and we are spending the night just inside the border of Minnesota in Duluth.
This morning we went to the harbor at Marquette prior to leaving town. The ships bring in coal for the power plant and go out with iron ore. There was a ship at the dock and we were able to get pictures. There was a lighthouse just beyond the ship and marina. The leaves were pretty throughout the area. We stopped by a dairy as we were leaving town for a little break. We didn't call and let them know we were coming so it took a little longer than we anticipated.
Throughout the day we stopped several times for lighthouse and leave pictures. It was another good day of travel. We stopped for a lighthouse in Wisconsin before we ended our day at the harbor in Duluth. As we crossed the bridge into Duluth we noticed a large ship in the harbor being loaded. It was the same ship that we had seen coming through the canal at the Soo Locks. We were hoping that we would see it before we left the area!
The hotel we are staying in is located on the harbor with a beach on the back side so that everyone can spend some time on the lake. We will be turning south tomorrow and leaving the water behind us. There is another lighthouse in the harbor by the hotel. There are several restaurants around the hotel and everyone got out to enjoy the evening.
Monday, Sept 29 Tonight we have traveled west for the first time on this trip. We went to the "Soo locks" prior to leaving Sault St. Marie. The locks connect Lake Superior with the St. Marie river which flows into Lake Huron. The lakes are about 21 feet different in elevation. There is a natural falls between the two bodies of water but it is not navigable by ship, of course. The canals were built in the early 1900's.
We had an early lunch in Seney. One of the Mennonite girls we know is from the area and she was able to meet us for lunch. It was nice to visit with her. The restaurant was small but they were able to accommodate the group and the food was good and reasonably priced.
Our next stop was Munising where we went on a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks Natural Lakeshore. The boat tour lasted about 3 hours. It was a nice trip. The cliffs along the lake are colored with the different types of minerals in the sandstone.
Tonight we are staying in the Historic Landmark Inn in Marguette. It is a nice hotel, built in the early 1900's. The rooms are all uniquely furnished. It is a pretty place and a little different from the typical box hotel.
Sunday, Sept 28 We drove 20 miles today but we were out all day. We crossed the border into Canada and road the Alcoma Canyon Train to the canyon. It was a beautiful trip. There were several small lakes along the way. The leaves were in full color and outstanding all along the way. The train wouldn't stop for us to take pictures though! At several points along the route Lake Superior was visible about 5 miles away.
The canyon park has a large area for everyone to spend some time off the train for lunch. There were two falls within walking distance, one that was visible from the train. Several of us walked to the falls and got pictures of the trees. I also got a few of some interesting mushrooms that were growing in the grass. I hadn't seen that type before.
The trip back was a little boring because we had seen the trees already. Several got a nap and had some time to visit. We were able to cross the border easily, which was a surprise. It was good to be in the same place again, makes the evening easier.
Saturday, Sept 27 I took the night off on Friday. We were at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. We had a good drive to the island. The leaves are starting to change and it was a pleasant drive. We stopped at the Presque Isle Lighthouse prior to going to the island. We caught the ferry at Mackinac City. We got to the hotel about 4pm. Dinner was served at 6:30 in the dining room. Everyone has to dress for dinner so we had to bring a change of clothes. Everyone looked nice all dressed up. We were able to recognize everyone;-). Tom had to borrow and jacket and tie as he "forgot" to bring one. Dwayne remembered to bring the items but we left his suitcase on the bus.
This morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel. They have good food. We tried to order some things that we are not used to. That pays off sometime. Last night for dinner Tom ordered the buttermilk/lemon ice cream. It was not good!!!
We went on a carriage tour around the island. Both groups had a funny carriage driver. That is always good. Makes the tour more interesting. The last stop is main street where all the shops, including 16 fudge shops, are located. Mackinac Island is known for its fudge.
We had some shopping time and then headed back to the mainland. It was nice to be in motorized transportation again. It moves much faster! We traveled north to Sault St. Marie where we will spend the night.
Thursday, Sept 25 We didn't travel very far today. We started out the morning with a little shopping. Then we headed into Battle Creek to look around a little. Battle Creek is the home of Kellogg.
We stopped in Lansing to see the capital and then went on to Frankenmuth for an early day. We ate lunch and let everyone loose for some shopping. The town is an old town. It was settled by people from Bavaria and they have kept the town in the Bavarian theme. There are a lot of shops and restaurants. If you have been to Fredericksburg, TX, this town is similar but on a larger scale.
After some shopping we checked into the hotel. The hotel is next to the Bronner Christmas Store. It is the world's largest Christmas store. I caught a few people shopping in the evening when I went to check out the items. It is open late so there isn't any hurry to get through.
Wednesday, Sept. 24 We had a few travel miles today but we had a full day of sight seeing. We went by two lighthouses along Lake Michigan. We also were able to get on the beach in a few spots. Some of us got our feet in the water. We went by a sand dune, Mt. Baldy, and a few of us climbed to the top. It was hard as the sand was deep and we were going up hill!
We had a good day and are ready to rest so we can start again tomorrow.
Tuesday, Sept 23 We are in Chicago tonight. The day was primarily a travel day but we made a few stops as well.
We took a break at Wal-mart in Springfield, Illinois. A couple of days into a trip there are several that will need something so a stop to get a few things makes a nice break. After our stop we went by the state capital. There is also an old state capital building which we went by as well. The capital building has silver domes and it impressive.
Our stopped along the highway to look at a soy bean field. There was some discussion about what type of crop was in the field so Tom asked a local truck driver that was stopped at a rest area to confirm the crop was soy beans.
Tom spotted a Family Restaurant, our favorite kind of place in a town named Dwight. Across the street was an old Texaco gas station. It is now a museum but was the oldest operating gas station along Route 66. One of the ladies went to take a picture and picked up a brochure. The town had a few other sights to see so we went into town. They had an old windmill that was built to resemble a lighthouse. It was quite unique. We all got out to take pictures.
On into Chicago we ran into traffic about 30 miles out which wasn't a surprise. It wasn't real bad, just slow. We took the group through the downtown area to the Navy Pier. There are restaurants and shopping available. There were several lighthouses and sailing ships within view as well as the city scape.
Monday, Sept. 22 Today we traveled into Missouri and are spending the night across the Mississippi River in Illinois. We ate lunch at a Steak N Shake in Rolla, Missouri. They have good hamburgers and great shakes.
We stopped by the St. Louis Basilica as we came into town. It is a beautiful cathedral. The interior in finished in mosaic tiles, all the domes and arches as well as many walls. It is hard to describe and worth the stop.
We drove through downtown St. Louis and stopped at the arch. The arch seems small as we travel through town but it certainly seems to grow as we get closer. It is quiet large by the time we get up to it. We took some pictures, bought some postcards and then headed for the hotel.
Sunday, Sept 21 Back on the road again. We are in Tulsa this evening. We stay here so often the staff are getting to know us pretty well! The hotel is next to a Ruby Tuesday and one block from Cracker Barrel. We also have a favorite Mexican food place here called Monterey's. Since this is our last chance for Mexican food we took the bus for those that wanted to go. We did have several takers.
The trip was uneventful. We had lunch in Elk City and a break in OKC. We were able to get to the hotel by 6:00. There were a group of Harley bikers in the parking lot. The hotel hostess said they were from several countries, Germany and Brazil were the two countries I remember but there were several. We may lose a couple of the ladies to the motorcycles in the morning ;-)
Wednesday, Sept 18 Home again. We got in last night about 6:30pm. We had a good day of travel. We stopped in Alamogordo at the pistachio farm. The nuts were ripe on the trees so several took pictures of the harvest. The nuts grow in clusters like grapes. The store sells nuts that are flavored or plain. We like the green chili ones the best.
After a brief stop in Cloudcroft for a little break we went on to Artesia for lunch at La Fonda. Everyone wanted some real Mexican food after being in Mexico. The food there is not what we are used to in Texas. The food in Mexico is actually a little bland, especially when compared to TexMex food. Of course, they do have hot sauce that is pretty hot but they don't put spices in the food at all.
We got back to Lubbock about 6:30pm. We had a good trip. It seemed like a long time since we stayed at the Hotel Limpia in Ft. Davis. It was a good trip and we experienced lots of fun things.
We have four days to catch up with things. Actually, three. We have a day trip on Friday that will take up most of the day. We leave on Sunday for our fall trip to the Great Lakes.
Monday, Sept 16 We are in Las Cruces this evening. We stopped by Tombstone on the way. It is a nice town. They kept there "character" alive. The main street is dirt, they have people walking around in the older attire, a stagecoach and all the trappings of an old western town. It is a fun place to visit.
Another brief stop was Texas Canyon. This is about a four mile stretch along the interstate that has some huge boulders. The boulders show up along the road and in the distance and then they stop. It is an interesting landscape.
Tomorrow we head for home. It isn't a far drive but we lose an hour when we get to Texas.
Sunday, Sept. 15 Back in the U.S.A.
Tom took Lena to catch a bus this morning back to Cuahtemoc. We were all sad that she couldn't just stay with us but it was time for her to go home. We checked when we got in and she had gotten home safely.
The trip today was a good one. We stopped for some pictures and shopping. We wanted to eat in the U.S. so it was late by the time we got lunch, almost dinner! The border crossing took about two hours. We did entertain ourselves by letting the vendors that are always walking through the traffic on the bus so they could sell us stuff. I think some of the shopping involved spending those last Mexican pesos.
We had dinner at IHOP and then came on to Tucson where we are spending the night.
Saturday, Sept. 14 Another good day. We got everyone up early, well just eight o'clock. Since we spent an extra day at Copper Canyon we needed to get started. Our first destination was to the beach at Topolobampo which is slightly south of town. We walked along the beach, got wet and some of the group picked up a few shells, crabs and other things.
Back into town we gave everyone some optional time to do a little shopping or resting. Tom mentioned that they should drop by the local market and check out the interesting meat items. Those that went by that area of the market were glad we were not eating lunch at the time. Our last stop for the day was Wal-mart. Shopping included vanilla, vanilla syrup and a few other necessities, including lunch. They have a nice lunch counter with familiar food.
Heading north it was an interesting drive. There are just so many sights that are not typical. Burros, people walking along the highway, the cactus and ocean together, the homes with laundry, chickens in the yards, the vehicles.... There was also a lot of water standing from the floods. It was evident many of the homes and businesses along the road had been flooded recently.
We took a detour at Guaymas to the coast. There is a pretty view of the water. The hills are covered with bushes and cactus which go down into the water. We ate dinner at a restaurant overlooking the bay. Everyone had a good meal and an excellent view.
Tonight we are in Hermosillo. We got in late but we were able to get all the things done that we wanted to do. We are staying at a hotel near the south edge of town and we will tour the city a little as we head out in the morning.
SEPTEMBER 13.
Well, it
is 6:30 AM Saturday morning. Everyone got here in Los Mochis about
midnight last night. They were all glad to see me (Tom) at the train
station. They enjoyed their stay at the Copper Canyon and everyone is
doing well. Annette will be sure to add pictures and comments later
tonight about all they saw and the things they got to do while at the Copper
Canyon.
Friday, Sept 12 We got up this morning to sunshine. It was wonderful. We had breakfast at the hotel and then went on a hike to balancing rock and other points along the canyon. It was a nice hike and we were able to get in a little more shopping and a lot more pictures. As we returned to the hotel we found out that the train was going to go today! YEAH! We got our bags ready, ate lunch and found transportation to the next train station. The train that had come from Chihuahua yesterday had stayed the night in the next town. The engineer had gotten the go ahead to travel on to Los Mochis.
It was a beautiful day and a great trip. I took lots of pictures. The train ride through the canyons is about 5 hours or so. It travels through 83+ tunnels and over 70+ bridges. We had a great day to travel. All the rain had created many more waterfalls than we normally see. It was just beautiful.
As we got into the flat land of the coast we went to the dining car for dinner. We arrived at the station at 11pm. It was very nice to see Tom and our bus waiting for us.
SEPTEMBER 12. Yeah!!!! The train is running today. Annette called about 1:30 and said they were told the train would be there at 2 (or so {Mexican time}). The train should arrive in Los Mochis tonight around 11 or midnight. As for me (Tom), the streets drained off during the night and sun rose this morning. It is nice and hot here as a coastal town should be, along with high humidity. When the group arrives here tonight, it will be quite a change from the mountain air to the coastal air. Probably about 30 degrees different.
Everyone will have an incredible day today on the train. With all the rain that has dropped, there should be lots of waterfalls and rivers. It will be a beautiful, green, plush, scenic train ride. I can hardly wait to hear their comments tonight. They will all be ready for bed tonight. I already have their suitcases in their rooms, so they won't even have to deal with that. Oh, by the way, all of their clothes that were left in the bays of the bus got soaked from the flooded streets. So, guess what I did all day. Yep, LAUNDRY. But, they all have clean clothes now. They will be glad since most will have been wearing the same clothes now, since I had their luggage. Woohoo!
Thursday, Sept. 11 Although the trip was not planned this way we are still in Copper Canyon tonight. The day started out normally, except for the rain. We usually go on a hike along the canyon rim but it was too foggy and rainy. Just rain would have been okay but with the fog the sights would not have been visible. To pass the time for the morning we watched a video about the Tarahumara Indians. It was interesting.
Tom called the hotel just before lunch to ask them to call me. I was anxious to make the call since he had made such an attempt to get through to me. He said that he had looked out his window this morning to check on the weather and our bus, setting on the street, was in a foot of water. The bags that were in the lower part of the bus and he wanted to know if he should take the clothes out and dry them. We talked with those in the group and they agreed that there wasn’t anything to secret in their bags and that he could unpack the bags so the clothes would dry. He was able to get the bus to higher ground and said that it was still raining.
We went on to lunch and got our things ready for the afternoon train ride. As we were waiting for the train the hotel sent someone to ask me to come back down to the hotel. They let me know that the train was not going to be able to go on through to Los Mochis and we would have to stay here.
I talked to Tom and to the group. We did have some other options but at this time we felt that it was best to stay here. Tom is not able to leave Los Mochis yet because of the weather and the closed roads. It had quit raining there this evening but they were expecting more rain through the night.
So, we went on another hike this afternoon. The rain had stopped but it was still foggy. The fog comes in and out so we just waited at the different points for the fog to clear enough for a picture and then went on. We had a good afternoon and a nice dinner. Tomorrow we will decide what our next plan will be.
THURSDAY, Sept. 11 Today, Tom is in Los Mochis, Annette and all our group is in the Divisidero Hotel at the Copper Canyon. Due to a huge tropical storm moving in from the Pacific Ocean, it has rained an enoumous amount. As a result, the train did not run today and it may not run tomorrow. Tom is stranded in Los Mochis with all roads in and out flooded. The water is running in the hotel lobby, and a boat was spotted going down the street. As for the group, what a great place to be stranded, at a hotel overlooking the Copper Canyon, AND shopping! We'll have to see what is in store for tomorrow.
Wednesday, Sept 10
We had to get up early to catch the
train today. We had breakfast at
the local restaurant and headed into town.
The train was late but that is normal.
We have to be there on time in case it is on time.
The beginning of the train trip
follows the road west. We were able
to see Tom in the bus several times along the way. He would wave at us and then get ahead of us and stop again.
He is getting pretty good at knowing where we will be crossing that he
will get a good view of the train. He
will head west to Obregon and then south to Los Mochis.
He will get there late tonight. Tomorrow
he will get to rest while we continue our train ride.
There are apple orchards along
the track for several hours of the trip. The
harvest is just beginning so some of the trees had been picked and the others
were still heavy with apples. I
attempted to get some pictures but they may be blurry as the train was moving by
pretty quickly.
As we started to climb into the
mountains the terrain changed to ponderosa pine and large boulders.
It was cloudy most of the day and rainy this evening.
The rivers were heavy with water. Everything
was overflowing its banks. It
seemed the train slowed down more than usual while crossing some of the tresses
to be sure it didn’t put any undue stress on the bridge with the water putting
stress on it already.
We went through several small
towns today, the largest of which is Creel.
The towns are much different from what we are used to.
The main highway is usually the only paved street.
Most buildings are unpainted but those that are will usually be a bright
color. The farm animals wander meander at will through the area.
The train whistle drove some pigs, goats and horses off of the track.
Corn fields are planted in any space that is flat, sometimes even up the
hills.
We arrived at the Divisdero about
1:30 this afternoon. The hotel is
at the beginning of the Copper Canyon area.
The hotel looks over the valley floor and we spent several hours just
watching the canyon. As
the sun and clouds move about the canyon changes.
It is nice to watch and take in the view.
There was shopping to do for many
of us. There are always several
Indian women making baskets. They
also have beaded and copper jewelry and other trinkets.
I had to buy a few more t-shirts.
Several of us went on a hike.
The guide said it was not a difficult hike but it was hard for several of
the people that went with us. Everyone
made it to the end although they weren’t sure they were going to.
We went up along the canyon rim to a point where some of the Indian
people live in caves. They sale
baskets that they make to the tourists and stay up in the caves during the
evening. They also have homes in
the bottom of the canyon where they stay in the winter.
After more relaxing we had a nice
dinner at the hotel. Dinner is
served family style, passing the various bowls of food around the table.
The food was a local type of food, with tortillas, shredded beef, beans
and a chile dish. It was good.
There is evening entertainment
for those that want to enjoy some music.
The Copper Canyon area is unique.
The town is 7400 feet and the valley is 1900 feet.
The valley is a tropical environment where they can grow lemons, mangos
and other fruit. On the top of the
canyon rim they can get a foot of snow in the winter.
It is a sight that cannot be shown in a photograph.
The depth and colors have to be experienced.
Tuesday, Sept. 09 Today we didn’t drive very far but we had a full day. We stopped at the train station on our way out of town to get our tickets for tomorrow. There is a prison near there that held Pancho Villa in the early 1900’s. There are still bullet holes in the walls where his men attacked the prison to break him out.
The drive took us through the foothills, it is a pretty drive. We stopped a few times for pictures.
Our first stop for the day was the Casa de la Esperanza children’s home in Anahauc. Tom has taken youth groups there and wanted to show us the good work they are doing. The coordinator for the home showed us around and told us about some of the children and how they are helping in the neighboring area as well. I know everyone enjoyed the stop.
We headed to the Mennonite camps at Chuahtemoc for lunch. After lunch we went to a factory that makes trailers for PJ Trailers. The most interesting thing there was the paint. The paint is in the form of a very fine powder that is sprayed on the finished frame. The frame is heated to bond the paint to the frame. The frame comes out of the 430 degree oven with a glossy finish.
Next we headed to the Mennonite church to meet with Lena, a girl that we know from the area. She told us about the Mennonites and answered questions for the group. We then went to the Mennonite Museum to see some of the things there and learn more about the people.
This evening we had pizza at another local restaurant. We have eaten there before as well. We have invited Lena and her family to come to dinner with us. Lena’s dad is the plant manager at PJ’s Trailers.
Monday, Sept. 8, Today we traveled to Chihuahua. Tom stopped for a brief tour of Shafter prior to crossing the border. This is primarily a ghost town. There are ruins from the adobe buildings and an interesting cemetery.
We took a break in Presidio prior to crossing the border. Our last chance to get ice and fountain drink for several days! It was raining again today and the Rio Grande was over its banks. We have never seen the water so high.
The border crossing was relatively uneventful but it took awhile. They tried to convince Tom that he had to have a work permit to drive the bus. We knew that he didn’t so it took some time for them to let go of the requirement. Once we got through with that we had to have each person get a tourista (tourist permit). They did not let us fill out our own forms so we had to wait for them to fill them out. With only two people working the counter it took awhile.
It was time for lunch by the time we got through. Tom found a nice restaurant on the edge of town. It turned out to be a good place to eat. It was primarily a fish restaurant and those that got fish said that it was real good. Some of us got tacos, they were good as well. Finally, heading south we stopped for a few pictures but mostly we wanted to get down the road.
We arrived in Chihuahua about 5:00pm. Our hotel is in the downtown area. After getting settled into our rooms we went out for a walk. We went to the cathedral that was a few blocks up the street and then walked through the plaza to the government buildings. They have started to decorate for their independence day.
Sunday, Sept. 7 Back on the rode again. We left early this afternoon, heading to Mexico and the Copper Canyon. Tonight we are in Ft. Davis at the Hotel Limpia. The hotel is historic and has lots of character. The lobby area has a sitting room with a fireplace and the rooms have antique furniture. It is a nice place to stay. If you are wanting to get away for the weekend it is certainly a quiet place!
The trip was uneventful. We did pass out a Spanish lesson to the group and discussed our travels while in Mexico. Most of the people with us have been to Mexico but have not been in the non-tourist areas.
The drive from Balmorhea through the Davis Mountains is pretty. It was greener than usual so the rock formations really stood out against the hillsides.
Thursday, Sept. 4 We are catching up with everything. Tom is mowing the lawn (5 acres) and I'm going through the mail and getting my desk cleaned off. Our company came up on the list for a Federal DOT audit. The auditor came yesterday so my mind has been on that since I got home. I got a satisfactory review so that is taken care of until next time. They audit our records every two years.
I have a few more things to do. I have another tour starting Sunday and will have four days home before our last long tour of the fall which will be on the 21st. This is a busy time for us but we get to go together, which is a benefit.
Sunday we got in from our trip about 5:15 pm. We always make good time on our last day. Everyone seems to be anxious to get in and they are much quicker on breaks and lunch. It was a good trip home and we really felt like the group got to know each other and everyone has more friends in the area. That is always a benefit. Everyone said the time sure did go fast although it seemed like we did a lot of stuff. It is a great trip. I saving a space for the rest of you for the next time we go!
Saturday, August 29 We are two states closer to home. With only a few miles left in Montana, we went through Wyoming and about half through Colorado today. Tonight we are in Limon. We usually stay in Denver but there is some big convention going on there! ;-) The rooms were full a year ago when I started booking the trips.
The day was a full day, especially for Tom, as he had to put in the miles, without a nap! We took several breaks, eating lunch in Casper. We took a group picture at one of the restaurants there. They have a large Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny welcoming everyone to the restaurant. Since we are all a bit silly after so many days we thought it was a fitting representation.
Traveling along the interstate most of the day, we went east to Greeley as we got closer to Denver. The traffic was getting heavy and slow and we knew it would just be getting worse as we got closer to the city. It was a good move. The roads east and south were not busy at all. We made good time and arrived in Limon in time for a late dinner.
Headed home tomorrow, we home to be in Lubbock by 6 p.m.
Friday, August 28 Today we traveled. Time to go home and we are headed south. It took us too long to get through the border. It seems the border on north I-15 is one of the slowest we go through. We faxed a list of our group ahead of time and it still took us an hour to get through!
We made a last shopping stop at the Duty Free store before crossing. Everyone was ready to spend the last of their Canadian money.
We had a light lunch in Shelby. Our lodging tonight is in Billings, MT. The hotel is next door to a Cracker Barrel and everyone was ready for some cornbread, greens, catfish, beans and all that other southern food.
I did take a picture of one couple as they are enjoying a nap. The other pictures are of Billings, taken from the rimrock which looks over the town.
Thursday, August 27 We are in Calgary, Alberta tonight. Last night we were in McBride, BC. We had very limited access for the internet and no cell phone service. We finally got cell service late this afternoon! We had other buses out today so we were anxious to see how things were going with those trips.
We have a good couple of days of travel. We have been in the Canadian Rockies before and it is always a beautiful drive.
Yesterday we stopped at the Houston visitor's center for a break. It must be known for its fly fishing. They had the worlds largest flyrod on display. It is much taller than the telephone poles!
Tom did spot another bear but we were too slow to get a picture again. We had a nice view of the mountains from our hotel room. I thought there may be snow on the ground by morning as the mountains around us had fresh snow.
Today the clouds were scattered and we got to see some sunshine. The drive south of Jasper was beautiful. We took some pictures and made some stops for waterfalls. The Canadian Rockies are another trip and we didn't really have time to stop and take pictures much as we traveled. I think those on the trip that haven't been on the Rockies trip will be signing up the next time we go!
We did get two pictures of bears today. Buddy Valle spotted the first one. It crossed the road right behind the bus after we stopped. Later in the day we noticed lots of vehicles stopped. That means there is something to see! We stopped and were able to get a picture of the bear before it went back into the trees.
We got in a little late to our hotel tonight but it was before dark!
Tuesday, August 26 We are in Smithers, British Columbia tonight. It is raining and gray skies but at least we are solid ground.
Our ferry ride was uneventful. We had a little bit of rolling water one morning but it wasn’t too bad. We caught cell phone coverage sporadically while we traveled but no wireless internet ;-)
We spotted a bald eagle on the dock just before we left Juneau. It isn’t a good picture but the eagle didn’t care that the surroundings were not that pretty. It seemed do be fishing from the dock.
Throughout the trip on the ferry we took pictures of the various sights. There were several whale sightings, the pictures show up as small black spots in the water. A nice sunrise and several lighthouses were viewed as we traveled. We stopped in the port at Petersburg at 4:00pm yesterday afternoon. It is definitely a fishing town. Some of us walked off the ferry for a visit. They had a coffee shop open with some bakery items.
Not long after our stop we started through the Wrangell Narrows. This is a very narrow part of the waterway that is extremely difficult for boats to go through. Throughout the time of our travel through the narrows a crew member stayed on the front bow to make sure there were no changes in the water channel. It was interesting to travel through. The town of Wrangell is known for the garnet cliff that is on the hillside above the town. I took the opportunity when we stopped there for a brief time to check out the rocks they had for sale.
We docked about 2:00pm this afternoon at Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It seemed like a quick drive to Smithers. We followed a river through the mountains all the way. Stopping in Terrace for an ice cream break, we had to take pictures of some of the flowers. Tom spotted a bear crossing the road in front of us but it was in the trees before we got to the area. Maybe tomorrow.
Sunday, August 24 Today we had a free day for the group. Well, at least until the early afternoon. We left to catch the ferry at 2:00pm. We will be on the ferry until Tuesday afternoon. The ferry has sleeper berths, a TV room, an observation deck, cafeteria and other amenities. We will have time to get away from a schedule and do our own thing for a day plus a little. This is a good time for everyone to catch up on sleep or alone time. Some don't need alone time but there are some of us who are looking forward to it.
Saturday, August 23 A great day today. We went on the Tracey Arm Fjord Glacier Tour. . We saw some seals on a wharf near Douglas, just on the other side of the water from Juneau.
The waterfalls and mountains where along side the waterway as we traveled. We saw a group of whales on the way but didn’t stay around long because we wanted to get to the glaciers. A fjord is a narrow waterway with straight cliffs on both sides. As we got close to the glacier the icebergs started showing up in the water. As we would come to the larger ones the captain would take the boat around it so we could all get a good picture and see all the sides. The icebergs vary from every angle.
It was a rainy day and overcast. That is normal for Juneau. With the constant light rain the waterfalls were plentiful.
Our destination in the fjord was the Stewart Glacier. The glacier is a tide water glacier, it ends in the water. We stayed and watched the glacier for about an hour. We saw several calfings (part of the glacier falling into the water). I caught one picture of a calfing and several of the splash that indicated I was too late. The crack of the glacier is similar to a rifle shot. If you hear the crack, you missed the calfing.
On the way back to Juneau we stopped to find the whales we had seen on the way up. They were still in the same area. We tracked the whales through the water. We got some great views of the whales. At one point, one of the whales came up right next to the boat. It surfaced briefly and went back down. I was so startled to see it that I missed the picture.
I took over 400 pictures today. I will be thinning them out before putting them on the gallery.
Friday, August 22 We boarded the ferry this morning for Juneau. It was an early morning. The pictures today are all taken from the ferry. After a few waterfall pictures, we quit taking those. There were two lighthouses and several glaciers. The largest glacier we saw today is the Mendanhall Glacier. The glacier is seen from the harbor as we come into port at Juneau.
It was a pleasant trip. The parks service had two lecture presentations for the group as we traveled. The first was on glaciers, their formation and how they impact the terrain. The second was on Juneau and the interesting things to do in town.
We are downtown Juneau this evening. We drove through the shopping area before we stopped for the night to give everyone an idea of what was available. The town has a lot of history. I know several will be headed for Red Dog Saloon. It is an historic location. The streets get narrow very quickly as the town goes up the mountain. I doubt the town is more than five streets wide as it goes up the mountain. The town is spread out about 15 miles along the coastline. Juneau is the capital city of Alaska and the third largest. The population is about 33,000.
Thursday, August 21 A good day again today. We turned south at Whitehorse to Skagway, Alaska for the evening. We actually go through British Columbia for 20-30 miles before reaching the Alaska border, which is about 12 miles before Skagway. It was a pretty drive south. There are three lakes that we follow. As one ends, another one starts on the other side of the mountain.
We stopped in Carcoss for a break. It is a small town from the gold rush days. There are some remnants in the town that seem to be from that timeframe, if not at least the days of the Alcan Highway.
It got real foggy as we started lowering in elevation.
Skagway is at 33 feet above sea level.
It is a cruise ship town, lots of shops and restaurants. There
is some history as well, if you look for it.
Wednesday, August 20 Today we traveled to Haines Junction, Yukon. The town is small, about 500 people. There are several restaurants to choose amongst. It is a calm place. The town is in a beautiful valley with mountain peaks overshadowing the area.
The mountains and lakes were beautiful in every direction throughout our drive today. The trees have changed to fall in the week since we have been through this area a week ago.
We did see a moose today, with a calf. I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture as we were passing out snacks at the time. Several of the others were able to snap a picture. There was an eagle (or hawk) in a tree at one of our stops. It didn’t seem to care that we were around at all.
The sunrise was nice this morning, those are the first pictures in the series. The last pictures are the view from our hotel room. The hotel has benches outside so we can enjoy the view.
We did go through several areas of construction again today. The bus was very dirty. Tom rinsed the bus off after we got to the hotel.
Tuesday, August 19 The drive today was majestic. We seemed very insignificant, even in a large bus, as we traveled down the highway. We saw mountains and rivers, and mountains and ponds, and mountains and trees, and glaciers and mountains, and mountains, seven swans a swinnin', a few more swans in other ponds and more flowers. We also saw a few mountain sheep far off on a cliff. The picture looks like three white spots on a grassy section of the mountain.
The closest glacier we saw was the Matanuska Glacier. There are several pictures of other glaciers and the surrounding mountains.
We ate lunch at Glenallen. The town is 1,460 feet, the mountains around are 16,000. The mountains seemed to tower over the valley as we traveled the highway.
The skies were cloudy today. We did see patches of sun. It did sprinkle for a few minutes but no heavy rain.
Monday, August 18 Our first picture today is of the sunrise, about 6:15 this morning. It was light an hour before but the sun hadn’t made a nice reflection on the clouds yet.
We had a leisurely day today. We started out the morning with a tour of Anchorage. We traveled along the harbor to see the coastline and Alaska Gulf. We also toured the Botanical Gardens. I didn’t expect many flowers since they have had a cold spell but there seemed to be more flowers than usual. There was a photographer there taking pictures of a young lady in a fancy dress. The girl said she was a Rainbow girl, part of a Masonic Lodge. She is the head of the group for Alaska and has a special dress to wear for a special event. She made a pretty picture.
Our last stop for the morning was at the Ulu factory, near downtown. An Ulu is a unique Alaskan knife the Eskimo’s developed many years ago. There are picture windows around the factory so you can watch the process of making the Ulu. They have a store as well.
Ship Creek runs behind the factory. We were able to watch some fishermen try their luck on catching some salmon. I took a picture of a couple of men with the salmon they had caught.
Everyone has the afternoon on their own to get some shopping done or whatever else they want to do. I know there are a few ladies that are hoping to find a beauty shop to have their hair done! There is one in the mall, which is a few blocks away.
Tonight we are heading out for Mexican food. There is a restaurant here we have been to before and they have good food. We knew it would be good the first time we went there because the staff is speaking Spanish and they are originally from Tijuana. I think everyone will be going along. We haven’t had Mexican food in awhile and the next opportunity is far away!
Tom’s dad is with us on this trip. He served in the Army in Anchorage in 1945-46. Several pictures from today and yesterday are related to that occasion.
Sunday, August 17 Today it was foggy and cloudy throughout the day so we did not get many pictures. It was a good day of travel. We stopped at several "official" stops to take pictures. The view that was supposed to be there was not visible but it was fun to take pictures of signs with only fog and clouds behind them. The clouds do add another dimension to the landscape, which is good on a limited basis. :-( Maybe it will clear tomorrow.
We did stop and check out some beaver dams. There were three, in close proximity to each other. We didn't get to see a beaver working on them but it was interesting to view the construction techniques and location.
We had a light lunch in Palmer before getting to our destination early. We are downtown Anchorage. We can see the harbor from the hotel. There is plenty of shopping and restaurants within a two block radius. I know everyone will be out tonight. It was cool early in the day but it has warmed up into the 60's.
Saturday, August 16 Another great day. We are headed home today! Well, at least we have turned south. J
Traveling towards Denali park, we stopped in the town of Nenana for a break. The visitor’s center is nice and there is a nice gift shop. The lady that operates the gift shop came over to the bus to tell us that all the clothing in the gift shop was half price. The town had flooded a week ago and she had lost a week of business. I think she needed to clear inventory before the tourist stopped coming for the season. Of course, we were willing to help. That certainly got us over there. I think the majority of us bought something. Some had several bags. The prices were already reasonable so half price was really good.
There are several pictures taken around town. The town has been there for many years. The sign on the church shows 1905. The railroad bridge is the longest single span railroad bridge in the U.S. The museum in town had pictures of the town and some of the fishing.