We're on our way home . . .

We are making our way back home. After riding the ferry for a day and a half, we drove from Prince Rupert, British Columbia over to Prince George, BC and then down to Washington. We decided to by-pass the cities so we've been driving on scenic by-ways. We drove through the North Cascades today. It was beautiful. I'm a bit disappointed that it's been pretty hazy and there are forest fires out here so it's smoky as well. Picture taking has been challenging. We couldn't resist taking a picture of the "World's Biggest Fly Rod" in one of the towns in British Columbia. We are staying in Sandpoint, Idaho tonight at a Best Western that's on Lake Pend Oreille. (I am not kidding; that's the name of the lake.) It's really pretty and touristy but worth the stop. The ride home has been great but it's long. We will be heading for the Interstate tomorrow; no more back road riding! We look forward to seeing everyone!! Take care, Pat & Al

Just hanging around in Juneau

Hello!! What an amazing week! We are really excited about becoming grandparents and can't wait to see Kallie and TJ! We have spent an incredible week with my brother, Don. We are staying at Mendenhall Campground and can see the glacier from there. We are not too far from downtown Juneau, which is a pretty cool place. It's not that big and it's only crowded when the cruise ships are in town (which is every day). We have done some hiking around Juneau and are looking forward to doing some more this week. We went out to Tracy Arm, which has a fjord and the South Sawyer Glacier. What an amazing place. The glacier was calving that day. It was just amazing to see and hear. We saw whales that day and harbor seals and icebergs. Don took us out to Pack Creek, where he works and we spent a fair amount of time watching the bears. The moms and the cubs were so entertaining. They gorge on the salmon that is coming back to spawn and then they play. These bears in the picture couldn't have been more than 25 feet away from us. We didn't bother them in the least. We also went out to the huge sitka spruce that you see. We actually got stranded out at Windfall Island, where Don's camp is. The weather changed so we had to wait until the next day to fly out. That's OK. We also got to see Patches. She's an old bear, about 26. She came to the creek to eat and must have stayed there for almost two hours. We are looking forward to a relaxing week here in Juneau and taking the ferry to Prince Rupert, British Columbia on Aug. 13th. Thinking of all of you and we'll be in touch soon. Take care, Pat & Al

Greetings from the great, big, vast state of ALASKA!!

I can't even begin to tell you how big this state is! We have driven hundreds of miles and I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface. What we have seen is phenomenal!!! We did have a stretch of cloudy and misty weather so mountain-viewing was tough at times. The day we drove to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula started off OK, but it soon starting raining. We saw a couple of glaciers, some of the beautiful mountains and some porpoises in the ocean. When we got to Denali Park, we did not get to see Denali (Mt. McKinley) but the beauty around it is breath-taking. We continue to enjoy the wildlife. We have seen grizzlies, caribou, wolves (saw two lone females on the park road on our bus tour and a pack with pups in the distance -- amazing!!!!!!!), eagles (golden & bald), ptarmigan, and moose. Most of the animals were hard to photograph; they were off in the distance but so much fun to watch. There were a couple of sibling grizzlies romping around on the mountain side. Soooo cool!!!! We are off to Juneau tomorrow, July 31st.

Take care everyone!!!

Banff & Jasper National Parks, oh my!!!!

We spent a wonderful week in the Banff & Jasper National Parks. The scenery in both places was amazing. From the beautiful Canadian Rockies, to Lakes Louise, Moraine, Maligne, the glaciers, the waterfalls and the wildlife, we have enjoyed every minute of this journey. We have done some hikes that brought us to amazing backcountry (not too back country; the elevation has me huffing and puffing along the way). We are beginning our trek to Denali. We are hoping to be there by this weekend. Looking forward to seeing the scenery there. Take care everyone!!

The fun continues!!

Wow! Glacier National Park was awesome. The scenery was spectacular, the wildlife was fun (so far, no bear encounters even though there were plenty of them lurking about everywhere we went), the wildflowers in Montana blew me away and we even had Katie and Joe as guests for a couple of days.

The time is flying by so fast but we have spent plenty of time in each place so far to really get to see a big part of the parks. We did a couple of pretty good hikes in Glacier. One was to Avalanche Lake. Unbelievable. So many waterfalls coming off the mountains and the color of the water was so pretty. The other was along Two Medicine Lake at the campground we stayed at. The trail took us to a place called Twin Falls. What a beautiful walk in the woods. The mountains all around us couldn't have made a prettier backdrop. The wildflowers were amazing. So many different varieties and colors.

We are in Calgary, Alberta tonight in a hotel room. It's nice to regroup. Off to Banff tomorrow!!

We're having a great time!

OK, I've had a really hard time trying to get this going, so here goes again. . .

We're having a wonderful time!! The scenery and the wildlife in every place that we've been to so far is spectacular! We spent three great days in the Badlands. We did encounter an awful storm that I hope we never go through again. We stopped by Devil's Tower, Sundance and Cody, Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone. I really appreciate a hotel room every once in a while. We spent 8 days in Yellowstone. It's such an experience!! I really loved the campground we stayed in. It was off the beaten path but it was quiet for the most part and we even had a couple of buffalo come through our campsite. It made for an exciting morning!! We are in Missoula, Montana for tonight and our on our way to Glacier tomorrow. We're looking forward to seeing Katie and Joe for a couple of days.

I've been thinking about all of you but it's been a challenge with wi-fi. Believe it or not, Yellowstone does not have it unless you stay in the hotel. To drive to the entrances of Yellowstone takes forever. Hopefully, my next post will be sooner than this one.

Take care everyone,

Pat