Maybe we'll get back to this area for some fishing in the near future. The terrain between Great Falls south to Livingston was a pleasure to drive through. The road followed the twists and turns of the Belt River.
WE HAVE RETURNED FROM OUR ALASKAN ADVENTURE! After an initial set-back involving the car, the travel trailer, and an unhappy Sophie, we left Oklahoma City on August 17 for Alaska. Twenty four days and 7,783 miles later we pulled back into the driveway.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
ONE MORE DAY ON THE ROAD!
Maybe we'll get back to this area for some fishing in the near future. The terrain between Great Falls south to Livingston was a pleasure to drive through. The road followed the twists and turns of the Belt River.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Working Our Way Back to OK!
We crossed the frontier today: Back into the USA! Our last night in Canada was spent in Red Deer, AB. Red Deer is a pretty big town and yet we had never heard of it. It made us realize how little we know about our neighbors to the north. We passed around Edmondton to get there. It's the capitol of Alberta (we knew that!)!
Today we passed through Calgary on our way south. Now that's a really big town, eh! A few hours later we crossed the border into Montana, and then to Great Falls. We're staying the night in a KOA kabin. One of the nicest KOA campgrounds we have ever stayed in.
Tomorrow we continue heading for OKC.
We met up with a few horses along the walk. They were mighty friendly, too.
Today we passed through Calgary on our way south. Now that's a really big town, eh! A few hours later we crossed the border into Montana, and then to Great Falls. We're staying the night in a KOA kabin. One of the nicest KOA campgrounds we have ever stayed in.
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| We took a nature walk overlooking the expanse southeast of Great Falls. |
Sunday, September 4, 2011
From Denali
Our travels have taken us to Denali Park in Alaska; from there to Fairbanks, and then down the entire length of the Alaska Highway (AlCan), to Dawson Creek, BC, where we are ensconsed tonight. That's 1488 miles! We can only imagine the hardships experienced by the Army Corps of Engineers and the workers who carved out the highway in 1942 - 1943. Many improvements have been made since then. But there are many segments that remain just as they were origninally made.
Denali Park was impressive. Even in the rain! Actually, the most memorable part involved the drive on the Denali National Highway going to the park. The highway was 123 miles of pot-holed dirt and gravel. But fortunately, the car withstood some bodacious chuckholes along the way, and we came out dirty but unscathed. The good part? Very few others chose that route so we felt we "owned" the road!
The night before we went to the park, we stayed in a quaint little cabin about 15 miles south of the entrance. We spent a half day and went to the sled dog training area for a demonstration. Then took a bus ride a short way into the park. Saw a moose cow and her calf cross the road, and later a bullmoose sauntering along in the brush. Earlier we saw a caribou dash across the road.
Later, we decided to start the journey back to the lower 48. And that's a whole 'nuther story!!
The best time to spot wildlife is early evening or early morning. We spotted these critters at twilight. They ignored us!
Denali Park was impressive. Even in the rain! Actually, the most memorable part involved the drive on the Denali National Highway going to the park. The highway was 123 miles of pot-holed dirt and gravel. But fortunately, the car withstood some bodacious chuckholes along the way, and we came out dirty but unscathed. The good part? Very few others chose that route so we felt we "owned" the road!
The night before we went to the park, we stayed in a quaint little cabin about 15 miles south of the entrance. We spent a half day and went to the sled dog training area for a demonstration. Then took a bus ride a short way into the park. Saw a moose cow and her calf cross the road, and later a bullmoose sauntering along in the brush. Earlier we saw a caribou dash across the road.
Later, we decided to start the journey back to the lower 48. And that's a whole 'nuther story!!
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For "Flatlanders", especially in August, this kind of scenery never gets tiresome. |
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| Brown bears hunting for their supper. |
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| Our cabin at Creekside where we stayed the night before we headed for Denali Park. |
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| The car got a generous coating of Denali highway dirt. |
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| See those "pointy" trees? Those are Black Spruce, and they dominate the landscsape in the Northwest. |
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
A DAY IN GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
We're staying at a motel in Jackson, WY for a couple of nights so we can take advantage of the myriad wonders of Jackson Hole. We spent ALL DAY driving out of Jackson, north into Teton National Park. The folks at the Visitors Center outlined a trip we could take via car and foot. Although we didn't encounter any unique wildlife (afterall, we have herds of bison at the Witchita Wilderness in Oklahoma), the Teton mountains were spectacular! One of the highlights of our day: a climb up to Inspiration Point at an altitude of 7200+ feet. For us flat-landers it seemed a heck of lot higher.
Joan opted out just short of the summit. But I forged ahead to the top. I have to admit I am no longer the mountain goat I thought I was back in the carefree summer days in Idaho while working for the Forest Service (1955 & 1956) when my brother, Mike, and good friend, Joe Ulliman, thought nothing of hiking up-country and surprising the folks in fire towers atop the many mountains in the Sawtoooth Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Anyway, I was determined to make it to the top! (I overlooked the fact that some of the people passing by me were toting their young'uns on their backs!) Well, I finally reached the top. Thank goodness for light-weight walking sticks!
We made a final stop at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. But we were too pooped to take another 2 hour trek. Had to get back and do laundry!
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| 7210 feet above Jenny Lake. I felt like I had scaled Mt. Everest! |
Joan opted out just short of the summit. But I forged ahead to the top. I have to admit I am no longer the mountain goat I thought I was back in the carefree summer days in Idaho while working for the Forest Service (1955 & 1956) when my brother, Mike, and good friend, Joe Ulliman, thought nothing of hiking up-country and surprising the folks in fire towers atop the many mountains in the Sawtoooth Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Anyway, I was determined to make it to the top! (I overlooked the fact that some of the people passing by me were toting their young'uns on their backs!) Well, I finally reached the top. Thank goodness for light-weight walking sticks!
We made a final stop at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. But we were too pooped to take another 2 hour trek. Had to get back and do laundry!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
COLORADO - UTAH - WYOMING
Another day of spectacular scenery! Driving in a NW direction, we started out today from Rifle, CO. Spent the night there, enjoying the creature comforts of a first class motel, and a prime-rib dinner! Not to mention, a delicious dark beer at a local brew pub!
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| Just one of many show stoppers as we drove through the area. |
From Rifle, we drove up to Dinosaur National Park, and spent the afternoon touring around the area. Absolutely incredible geologic formations: truncated anticlines and synclines, peppered with dinosaur fossils.
We ended our day at a KOA in Lyman, Wyoming. Grilled a couple of steaks, had a tossed salad and a few glasses of wine. Oh Yeah!
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| Split Mountain in Monument Park. |
Tomorrow we plan to head north to Jackson Hole and the Tetons. I can't recall how many times we've said we're glad we're not pulling a trailer as we have 5 hairpin turns in a row! Sophie is enjoying being with the Madison's and we are having a great unencumbered trip.
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| Lyman, WY. Steaks on the grill! |
Friday, August 19, 2011
A FRIDAY DRIVE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
Last night was spent in a KOA campground in Durango, CO.
We started our drive north and went through the most mountainous terrain we have ever experienced! Beautiful!
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Blogging from our mountain-top campsite. |
We started our drive north and went through the most mountainous terrain we have ever experienced! Beautiful!
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Mountains as seen from Molas Pass between Durango and Silverton. |
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