Marking time in Tok Alaska for repairs..

so we made it to Tok Alaska which is the front door to Alaska.. two roads depart from here one to Anchorage and one to Fairbanks.. we are here until the welding shop can fabricate a mounting bracket for the left front shock absorber, which broke off somewhere along the Top of the World Highway.. this is not a bad spot to be for a while, the RV park has shade and the bathrooms and laundry are close by and we were able to power wash the RT yesterday to clean it up a bit after the dirt and gravel roads we have been down..

fellow travelers speak about forest fires around Denali NP, where we wanted to spend some time..travelers who went through Fairbanks said smoke was so bad they kept going rather than stay there.. so part of our job today is to find out what the story is about a number of items.. there appears to be construction delays along the Kenai Peninsula, which we have encountered with some regularity.. no big deal just a little waiting until the pilot car leads the line around the worker bees..

there has been a heat wave with temps in the 80's and 90's.. tee shirt weather, except with out mosquito repellent one gets chewed on to distraction.. so repellent is as essential as putting on your shoes..

backtracking a little.. out in the wilderness on the road to Whitehorse we spotted a small sign which said Moms Bakery.. Cinnamon rolls and other baked goods.. we are often game for little sidebars so off we went down this desolate road for about 2km and came upon a house with one parking spot and Mom was out weed whacking her front yard.. she told us to come on in and she put on her bakers hat and showed us what she had baked since 4am.. sourdough bread, white and wheat, big 9 inch cinnamon buns, bear claws.. which were made with apple and filo dough.. we thought it was more like apple strudel, but they were delicious.. she even cut one large cinnamon roll in half, heated and buttered it so we could eat it along the way.. she had pictures of grizzly bears that had come within camera distances of her home pinned to her bulletin board along with other memoriabelia..it was one of our special stops and views into life in the back woods of BC..

well.. that's all folks..
i will fill you in on the repair and what we decide to do about fires and construction delays..

take care be safe and bea utiful,
love Pegndon

Probs on Top Of The World Highway

We are spending 4th of July in Chicken Alaska the largest town on the Top of the World Highway which runs from Dawson City in the Yukon to Tok Alaska.. across two countries and two time zones.. it is mostly dirt/gravel with occasional paved sections which have not disintegrated over time.. it appears that the paving was placed directly on dirt without a base, but whatever the reason paving is scarce on this long road.. it took us 6 hours but our top speed was 35 sometimes but mostly under that and we let all comers pass us along the way.. it was dusty and washboardie with chuck holes and some portions very narrow.. travelers told us oh it’s no big deal.. well we might not be that encouraging.. at one point near what had been touted on billboards as food, gas, tire fixing we hit one of the washboard sections and the bolt that held the left front shock vibrated loose and we began to hear metal against metal when we hit bumps.. by this time we were passed the tire fixing place so i turned the roadtrek around on the narrow dirt road by tooing and froing until it was turned around and i only held up one small car for a short time.. so we clackaty clacked our way back to the store and we find out it is boarded up.. closed.. now what.. so i got out my 4x4 rubber mat laid down and began to look under the RT for evidence of something loose and i finally notice that there is a shock with no bottom attachment and it is hitting the axle when i hit a bump.. by now we figure it is 40 miles to Chicken, so i get out my tool bag and think about what to do when up drives a pickup with a cab over camper from Palmer Alaska and the Gary Feaster asks what is happening.. so i tell him what i think it is and he says he could take off the shock and it would stop the noise and we could get it fixed down the road.. so he picked through my tool bag and found two crescent wrenches and said this will do the job.. and he proceeded to remove the top bolt and the job was done..

we started talking and Peg had told his wife we were going to visit a friend in Palmer, who he asked and I said Charles Reynolds.. oh yes i know him and his family.. he asked if we liked tomatoes, and i said we sure do.. before we left san jose i planted 33 plants for the people staying in our home while we are away.. he went into his camper and and brought out a small basket of cherry tomatoes and a cucumber and one larger tomato.. we fell over ourselves thanking him for his help and for the tomatoes and i went back to the RT and got a ten pack of Panda note cards that we brought along for just such occasions of thanks.. Cari his wife love them as did their three young children.. we exchanged cards and he invited us both to his shop in Palmer when we get down there.

as we parted i thanked him again and told him he was an answer to an unspoken prayer which went something like.. what the hell am i going to do now ?

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory on my birf day

As we were leaving Atlin BC yesterday the local Canada Day celebration in the 350 person town was a parade.. Cindy's husband Will and his late family lived the summers there for 20 years so it's like home to him.. and Cindy is the celebrity, Dawson Dolly from Skagway.. she doesn't like to be in parades but they begged her and Will finally suggested that they bribe her. So the Brewery Bay Chalets offered a free night at their wonderful facility at the lakes edge and she relented.. the picture shows she got into it and was a hit.. the First Nation Tlingit's families in Atlin dressed in their parade best as well.. there were not too many by standers in this small town to watch the parade most of them were in it..

As the parade ended Peg and i drove out of town heading for Whitehorse in the Yukon.. i always had a thing about the Yukon, i considered it far and remote and often wondered what life was like up there.. well we are up there and life is much the same here as anywhere.. we are seeing the lamb of the Yukon now in the summer, the lion of the Yukon comes out in the cold winter weather which lasts maybe 8 months.. when we arrived in Whitehorse we were warmer than we have been for many days.. but i did buy an insulated flannel shirt at Canadian Tire in anticipation of it being a little more cold as we continue on up into Alaska from here..

we are aiming next for Dawson City the heart of the Yukon Goldrush.. we saw where the stampeeders started in Skagway and Dyea and now we want to see and experience the actual destination where the gold was found.. perhaps i mentioned before that the claims had all been staked out by the time the stampeeders reached Dawson City.. not all gold had been found but it had been staked out so that there was nothing left for the new arrivals.. how's that news after suffering through the worst winter in history to finally get to Dawson City..

from Dawson City we are going to take the Top of the World Highway to Chicken and Tok.. it's not as far north as Fairbanks which will be our next destination so we will see what we see but our fellow travelers who have driven the road say it is worth the time and the road is good with a little dirt in one portion.. but we have dealt with that.. one deals with it by going slower and i do that anyway so we can look for wild animals..

the nights are getting shorter and the day light is getting longer and it is beginning to mess with my mind a tad.. today i woke up at 3:30 yesterdays time in Atlin and it's 4:30 here in the Yukon.. so i stayed up and wrote you deez woids.. hope all is well with you.. it is still well with us.. our bums are getting sore from riding in the RT but we take frequent stops and makes us feel better, but over all this is a wonderful trip and true adventure.. we don't know what we will see, where we will stop, who we will meet and everyday is met with anticipation..

take care of yourself and we will talk when next we have wifi.. which has been often surprisingly..
Pegndon

Atlin BC on Canada Day and Donald Day July 1 2009

we have been with Cindy for about a week now.. mostly in Skagway and now for the last 2 days in Atlin.. one of the most beautiful settings we have seen, next to the Icefields Parkway.. last night it rained nearly all night, the mountains are all fogged in or clouded in, not sure what they call it here.. but the result is nothing but lake can be seen.. it's Canada day and a parade is planned in town, but it remains to be seen what will take place, but when life goes on at 40 below zero what's a little downpour to do to stop these rugged people..

there is only one road into town, there used to be no road and people could only arrive by boat.. there was no air travel then.. Juneau is same way, no roads into the capitol, what other state can say that.. anyway the road out is paved near Atlin and near the beginning of the road but inbetween it's compacted dirt and gravel, not loose gravel unless some has been just laid down.. on the way in our nice blue and white van turned chocolate and vanilla.. with an all night rain on the road we may be chocolate chocolate going out.. haven't had chance to wash it off yet but we will see what's available in Whitehorse or Dawson City.. our itinerary has built in flexibility to stay one place longer or shorter than planned so we have absorbed the change.. going forward we can't say with certainty what will happen the next few days.. so flow along with us and you will find out when we do..

we are now nearly six weeks out from san jose and approaching 4,000 miles from home.. we have spent about $1,000 for fuel.. we have some wonderful pictures to show for the time.. the ones that we get most excited about are the wild animals that we see along the road.. we keep the long lens on the camera and shoot from either window when we see something.. Peg has caught some wonderful shots from her side.. perhaps most prized is a golden eagle that just sat still while she took maybe twenty shots..

stuff to do so take care all, we think about you and love you all,
Pegndon on the road

5 nights in Skagway, Alaska - Gateway to the Klondike

hi from Skagway Alaska..
a town of 382 people when it's 50 below zero and 8,382 when the summer cruise ships are in town.. the town is 4 blocks wide and 22 blocks long.. downtown reminds me of big ant hill with ants going in all directions up and down a jaywalking across the streets.. it is a colorful town which is what attracts the ships.. it was the route to Klondike Gold Rush in Dawson City, Yukon.. 10,000 people came here and then discovered that they had another 600 rugged grueling miles to go to the Yukon.. there was no railroad, like now, the poor among them had to hike 3,800 feet up and over rocks in the coldest winter on record - 50 below zero.. to make matters worse the Canadian govt required that each miner have 1 ton of supplies to last them for an entire year in the remote Yukon area.. that meant 50 trips up and down the Chilkoot trails hauling that 1 ton of provisons to the customs station and have a partner watch it while the other went down for another load.. it took them two years to get to the Yukon and by that time all the claims had been staked and they were out of luck.. very sad story..

Peg and i rode on Dawson Dolly's Parlor Car a couple of days ago.. Dolly is my sister in law who i helped raise from age 8.. in Columbus, Ohio.. i have attached a link to the pictures in facebook that shows her in action and also the scenery along the train ride.. spectacular..

we are ready to move on to Atlin, Yukon with Cindy and Will.. they have gold mines in Atlin which is where that gold nugget in the pictures comes from.. From Atlin we will go on to Dawson City, the heart of the goldrush.. it remains much as it was at the turn of the century complete with dirt streets and old buildings.. hope to have plenty of pictures from there..

we are 3,800 miles from San Jose at the moment.. the night is shorter and shorter as we go north, it doesn't seem to bother us however.. we pull the curtains in the RT and we are in our only little world and we go right to sleep.. Peg reads herself to sleep and i usually fall asleep over the computer looking at pictures or writing..

Well time to go do something else like enjoy the town and capture it's beauty..

love to all ..
Pegndon

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121914&id=749024017&l=5bd5b4de7b

We are in Yukon Territory at Watson Lake tonite..

Hi all.. we are in the wilderness, no cell ph or wifi svc so communication back home and around the world has been sketchy.. but for us we are both feeling well, no sickness, just pesky skeeters, but we have a tennis racket electrocutor for flys and pests that get inside the RT and we have no mercy.. i let every car and truck pass me and then i poke along about 40 to 50 mph and we look for wildlife.. i keep my 80 by 400mm lens connected to my nikon D2X and we can get good closeups.. peg shot the running grizzly and got good pix.. the moose is shaking itself like a dog after a bath that was at our stop over in toad lake.. the mt sheep posed as if he was in a contest, i loved that look..

the red and white heart with harmony in center was on the hillside after a first nation settlement on the way into watson lake.. the canadian indigineous people are refered to as first nation or aboriginal people..

we have met some interesting people along the way and exchanged cards and will probably see more of them at the stops ahead.. by now nearly all the people we stop with at night are heading into various parts of alaska.. a caravan of adventerours.. there are quite a few europeans traveling north as well as young people and motorcycle riders.. we have encountered ten to fifteen couples of bike riders heading south out of alaska.. the hills are fierce.. today we had an 8% grade and some hills i have to use first going down to slow down the RT..

we are only a few days from seeing my sister-in-law cindy, aka "Dawson Dolly" in Skagway. we are not sure how we are going to get to see her because she has written a book and is doing book signings every night in Skagway or Whitehorse.. she plays a goldrush madam on the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad from Skagway to Whitehorse..

if and when we get internet connections again we will tell you what has been happening and perhaps show some pictures of interesting sightings along the way.. i hope you are liking what you see, we love doing it..

all our love to you all, Pegndon

High Country hello from Grand Prarie, AB, Canada

Friends and relies..
we have now entered new country to us.. we had been as far as Jasper before, but today we drove hwy 40 in Alberta which went through 3 towns all day.. 300 km. Meskeg, Grand Cache and ended in Grand Prarie a town of 50k.. big for up this far.. oil country.. funny thing on this long isolated 2 lane road there was quite a bit of traffic and trucks but hardly any visible wildlife although it was a wildlife preserve.. we did see one deer spring across the road, but that was it..

tomorrow we cross into BC and one step closer to the Alaska Highway.. forgot to say yesterday we took a detour to a hot spring in the mountains outside Jasper.. we had stopped to photograph the Mountain Goat and kid and someone else who spotted it first told us about the hot spring and we followed them off the road about 17km but it was so worth it.. Peg loves her hot tub and this was a hot tub fix extraordinary.. he noticed the sprint car on the back window of the RT and said he raced Miata on a road course.. nice people..

we have been in and out of internet connections.. yellowstone was blank.. some say they have it then it doesn't work.. this one right now is going in and out so we will see if you have something to read or not.. the blog is autosaving when it can, but then it will say it can not contact blogger so saving and publishe may fail.. then it saves.. so it goes in the wilderness with new technology..

i have been putting more stuff on facebook and the links below will take you to two albums you might want to see because the pictures are quite nice.. today was frolicing foxes, a family of red foxes caught on my long lense and then the pictures from the ice field parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper, one of the most beautiful stretches of landscape either one of us have ever seen and some of the pictures will give you a good impression of its beauty..

we are just a day or two from the Alcan highway so no telling what our communication ability will be.. i am still tweeting little bits and pieces here and there, ususally at a restaurant or the like.. so take care be safe and so will we, love you all,
Pegndon on the road to Alaska and loving it..

Frolicking Foxes..
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119290&id=749024017&l=c33010f309

Beauty on Road to Alaska..
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119012&id=749024017&l=eeb39cb79b

Calgary fixit day.. jun 8 2009

staying with Peg's friend Kathleen got a late start and went to Roadtrek dealer who said he could work me in the middle of August.. hey i'm almost home by then.. went to their in house store and scouted around and found just the part that would screw onto my dump hose and bought it and put it on and job is done.. then i went to Apple to try and fix my iphone which was freezing on Kathleen's phone #, they didn't fix it but gave me some clues to look in the manual (RTFM) which i did and found that if i held down the off/on switch on top and the home button on the bottom that it would reset itself.. this is the fix if it freezes off and won't come on.. but it worked to chase out the gremlin that was bugin me.. so now all i need to find is a cig lighter power cord for the garmin 660 we use on the road.. to find stuff that is not obvious.. that's tomorrow's job one..

the other day at Glacier's Alberta center we saw this big T-Rex skeleton which they had found intact.. it was hard to get a iphone pic of it so here are a few portions, you have to put it together in your own mind.. it was quite nice..

Glacier Natl Prk Montana.. what a diff a day makes..

so we go to bed with the wind howling and a severe chill in the air and we look at each other and think this could mean snow.. so the pix above show the before and after the wind blew in the snow on the campground outside East Glacier.. we were planning to drive around the lower portion of the park and go up the hwy to the sun from the other side.. but when we got around to that side the snow was falling the road had cinders on it and we thought.. nah.. some other year we will see this great sight.. all of the land around the park is black foot indian reservation and it was not kept up at all.. my comment was that they were living like teenagers often leave their rooms.. only it was on the outside too.. no offense you tidy teenagers, but you get the picture..

so we went on to calgary alberta to spend a few nights with one of peg's friends from Tripoli Libya. we got in late afternoon and have our own life size room for a change and will be here maybe up to 5 nights before pushing on up the highway to Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise and Jasper.. the must see portions of Alberta..

need to get some repairs done to the RT while in Calgary.. the large hose we use to empty our gray water and black water has a crack in it and that needs to be replaced and we need to find another cig lighter power cord for the garmin gps we are using. it shorts out because a potion of the connecter is missing.. like they say if it isn't one thing its your mother..

cheers yall..
here we are 16 days out and in canada already..
be safe and take care, love..
Pegndon

East Glacier Montana June 5th

sunny and warm all day as we drove from glacier meadows campground to east glacier a small town at one end of the highway to the sun, which is closed by snow, construction and an avalanche.. it was said it might not open til mid july.. we will be deep into alaska by then.. oh well..

we did drive up the 2 lane hwy to the closed sign and found a spot to picnic and along the way we had some pretty good photo ops of the river gushing down hill from the melting snow.. we could only see the big mountains from a distance though so the entire experience was so so.. would have been different had the highway been open but after all this is montana at the border with canada so this is big snow country..

trains are running through the mountains following the rivers and going through mountain tunnels.. we noticed they have the same kind of avalanche shelters that the sierras have along the donner summit, which prevent avalanches from stopping the trains..

the rivers we have seen are nearly emerald in color and we expect to see more of that as we go further into canada.. we will see if we can capture that in photos.. it is wonderful to see..

right now it's about 11:30pm and the wind is howling and clouds are heavy so tomorrows excursions may be dampened by the rain and possible snow.. remember this is montana and canada we are traveling in..

im starting to nod so i'll unravel a few phrases perhaps tomorrow..

take care and be safe,
w/love Pegndon

A visit at the Summit Lighthouse HQ

June 3rd was a short travel day from yellowstone to Bozeman Montana.. we made a stop at The Teton Ranch in Corwin Springs, MT to visit the HQ of the Summit Lighthouse, the organization behind the teachings of the Ascended Masters which don has been associated with since 1977. Peg and I were shown around the HQ building and the chapel and then we were treated to lunch by our wonderful guide, Mary Anne Drew of the staff.. it was an opportunity for me to catchup with the development and evolution of the Summit Lighthouse organization since the Messenger, Elizabeth Clare Prophet retired with the onset of Alzeheimers.. before that occurrence she and her husband Mark Prophet had received the teachings of the Ascended Masters and published them in books and CDs and now online at - http://www.tsl.org

I asked about Rev. Gene Vosseler who had joined the organization at the same time I did in 1977 and she said he was living in Bozeman and that he might like a visit. I called Gene when we were near Bozeman and arranged to have dinner at Perkins Restaurant on Main St in Bozeman, a Restaurant they frequent.. it was a wonderful meeting to hear the stories of his association with the Summit and the many assignments he had undertaken while he was on the staff of the organization, and at 83 he still undertakes various assignments.. His wife Wanda was with him and we heard of how they dealt with the challenges they were given while working with the Summit..

it's now thursday june 5 in Bozeman and we will be off to Cabelas sportsman store to pick up a few things we need for the trip like some comfortable chairs and perhaps a pair of outdoor shoes that don't mind going anywhere i want to go..

take care all,
our love to you..
Pegndon

5 Nights Yellowstone Park

June 2, 2009 Fishing Bridge Campground Yellowstone Wyoming

the last five days we have had no cell phone service and no internet access because the fishing bridge campground doesn’t have it.. we only had cell service at old faithful but that has been it, and for a wired traveler that has been a change..

today was a rain day so we decided to stay put and catchup on stuff we have put off.. backing up on external HD all the pictures we have taken with three cameras.. i am using a Nikon D2X and a Canon G9 and peg is using a Canon 990.. I have been using a tripod and shutter release cord to get as good a picture as i can.. the G9 and the 990 have vibration reduction an anti-shake feature which keeps the blurs to a minimum..

last night the rain was heavy around dinner time so peg suggested we go over to the Yellowstone Hotel and sit in the lounge and have a drink.. the hotel was built in 1891 and it still has that simple dated feeling to it inside.. outside it’s painted yellow, imagine that.. we checked the menu and decided to eat in the dining room, the rain had not stopped yet.. the service was good but the food was so so, in fact most of the meals at the yellowstone restaurants or cafeterias have been so so.. could be that the facilities have only been open a week and a half and the students and other workers are just getting up to speed..

a couple days ago we drove to Lamar Valley looking for wildlife and we found, boodles of buffalos, smatterings of elk, one black bear holding up traffic in both directions on a two way road.. and a few prong horn antelope.. it was threatening rain most of the time, but not pouring yet.. so we were pleased with this foray..

day before yesterday we drove to old faithful and we had a choice to go the 32 mile direction or the 59 mile direction and we choose the shorter and just as we are walking from the RT to old faithful it goes off.. so we picked a front row bench and sat there for an hour a 17 minutes waiting for the next eruption.. it was warm and sunny so it was not a bad wait and what the heck we had a front row seat for the next performance.. after the blow we went into the old faithful lodge and had lunch and looked around at the structure which was much more interesting than the yellowstone hotel..

yellowstone park is very large and it is somewhat of a long drive to where ever you are going, but it is made interesting because there are always surprises along the way.. either animals, vistas and overlooks.. but consequently you can’t do too many things in one day..

yesterday we saved the short drive of 17 miles to the grand canyon of the yellowstone river which for a picture taker was one of the most stunning sights we have encountered, especially artists point with the upper and lower falls and the canyon of pastel reds, oranges and other volcanic colors.. we spent quite a bit of time there and then drove to some new sights and overlooks they have recently built for viewing the falls and the river..

the altitude has been a challenge for me most of the park is between 7500 and 8800 feet high which makes it challenging to walk up and down some of the viewing points which have 300 steps down and 300 up, needless to say i avoided them.. i have discovered that by breathing deeply from my diaphragm i can over come the shortness of breath and do rather well but i am avoiding the strenuous hikes and climbs and still getting very good pictures..

tomorrow june 3 we are off to see the mineral hot springs on our way out of the park and into montana, not positive where we will end up.. Butte or Bozeman perhaps.. but once again we will have cellular service for our phones and internet where i can post this blog update with some pictures..

things are going well and we are settling into a routine of activities inside the RT, i usually get up first and make coffee.. we have brought along some Kauai Coffee beans, so i grind up a weeks worth and heat the tea pot and use a melita cone and filter and brew up a large thermos full of hawaiian coffee and i drink what is left along the drive for the day to keep me perky on the windey roads..

our sleeping accommodations in the RT is a king size bed we leave made up in the rear of the van.. it has two zip together sleeping bags with two sheets sewed together and put inside the bags.. one bag is heavy and the other is light.. so depending on the climate we use the top bag to keep us warm or cool.. it has worked well for several years like this.. it has been cold here, not freezing but pretty close, there is still snow on the ground around the park and in the campground itself, but when the sun is out it is tee shirt weather..

that’s it for now, need to hit the sack because not sure how far we are going tomorrow..
hope all are well and having as much fun as we are.. we do know how fortunate we are to be doing this trip and we are happy to share it with you and let you see some of it through our eyes and words..

our love and best wishes to all friends and relies..

Pegndon

Grand Tetons

here we are in grand tetons natl pk.. what a site the teton range is.. talked to german tourist and he said oh we have mts like this in europe, sure these are nice but no big deal.. perhaps they are all he says, but to be in front of these magnificent jagged peaks is my kind of spiritual connection, they speak to my soul with a subtle beauty and power that few other sights do.. mountains, especially high and beautiful ones tend to contain a special spiritual power.. the ascended masters speak of the tetons as being the shambala of the west, and opening from the spiritual realms to those tuned to its vibration.. it said that Lord Lanto is the hierarch of this western shambala, in one of his last incarnations he is said to be Confucius..

we saw our first moose grazing willow shoots along the snake river bridge leading into the teton visitor center, we thought he had the 12 to 4 shift for the tourists.. he/she appeared to be molting, or had a bad case of bed hair combined with hat hair..

stopped in jackson wyo on the way here and had lunch and walked around the square which is famous for its antler archways.. the elk antlers are from the elk preserve right outside town.. the boy scouts pick them up and sell them for fund raising after the bucks drop them.. caught a cute ground squirrel scurrying back into his hole as i was walking the square so i stood there to see if he would come back out and viola there he was as if he was posing for the tourists.. i took some shoots and that alerted the other camera toters around that there was something worth here and he stayed for some pictures and autographs before getting back to squirrel bidness..

one of the big warnings in the tetons is BE BEAR AWARE.. they have signs screwed down on the picnic tables at each site.. so this morning i hear the garbage truck picking up the bear proof dumpsters and it occurred to me that some advanced bears may be able to morph into garbage truck drivers' and hijack the dumpsters and take them back to the tribe for a summer feast.. nah.. maybe.. nah..

today we are off to yellowstone for five nights.. a fellow traveler told us ther was a minor eruption in one of the hot spots in yellowstone recently.. wouldn’t that be something to be here when the second big eruption occurs at yellowstone.. i guess it is possible, but if i had a vote it would likely be nyet..

there is still snow on the ground in shady places around the park and the workers have been working for only a week and the students are from all over the country and the Caribbean.. their uniforms are still new and have the creases in them, doubtless that will be the way after a few weeks..

More later,
Pegndon

Jackson Wyoming Wed May 27, 2009

hey there..

forgot to tell you a few things.. saw some snow flowers at Richardson Campground in Tahoe.. these come up in the forest after the snow melts in Tahoe.. they are always neat and totally unexpected to find.. so here are four of the cute ones we found.. the one with four was peg's pic..
they are usually vividly red.. these here are a little washed out colorwise..

another thing we have noticed is we haven't been under a mile high since we were at Tahoe.. most of the time we are above 6,000' elevation, that was surprising to me, who knew that most of Nevada and Idaho are mile high states.. the other thing we noticed was Idaho has an enormous amount of volcanic lava.. it is most obvious along the Snake River canyon in Twin Falls..

gas has not been especially high, mostly in the $2.30 to $2.50 range. we noticed $2.14 as we drove into Jackson WY tonight. Temps have been pleasant, coldest was Ely NV where it was 34 in the morning.. there is still snow on the Tetons backside, tomorrow we will look at the famous front image of the Tetons..

there are signs along the hwy warning of wildlife and game crossings.. we did see a monopoly board blow across the road but that was about it.. oh yea there was a tiny munk on a rock along the snake river.. in NV we did see 4 antelope in the fields, lots of cattle, horses and some oreo cows.. all black with a belt of white about 2' wide around their middle..

except for Virginia City so far has been prolog for the mighty Tetons and Yellowstone Park which we will be getting into tomorrow.. we have entered the forested lands of Idaho and Wyoming now and it is likely to continue on into Alaska.. we'll see..

all systems are functioning well with the RT and i have been driving mostly 60 to 65 with tracking running straight down the road.. gusts of wind do push me around when they hit but fortunately except for the high winds in Virginia City we have had calm days..

take care of all your cats, hogs and dogs
and we will write again when WiFi is avaliable, so far it has been every day but we are not sure about yellowstone's Fishing Bridge campground which we see friday..
with love and affection to all,
Pegndon and copilot: fun

May 26, 2009 Twin Falls Idaho KOA

hey friends and relies..

yesterday morning we left Virginia City, NV and i wanted to avoid interstate traffic so we took the loneliest road in America, hwy 50.. and so it was.. best was only a few big trucks and it's a two lane road.. clouds were beautiful and we loved the sage brush and mountains and one very interesting SHOE TREE.. made me do a huey and go back for closer look and some photos..

we are still picking up things we forgot.. a set of keys for Peg. we stopped at a walmart superstore, which is great for us because it has food and other stuff we need. we picked up the keys, four eye glass holders for the visor, a lug wrench which has 4 sockets, some short bread cookies to treat the driver when he is drinking coffee, and some other things i don't remember now.. but it was a productive stop.. so then it was back on the road again with looming cumulus nympho clouds billowing all over the sky.. with flat bottoms even.. kind of like fruit trees that have the tops cut all at the same level with large whirling blades.. there was a little rain interspersed with sun.. no problems though.. we stopped at the Ely, NV KOA for the night and watched the Lakers lose a close one.. each stop we have to have the tv auto check the chanels available for that location.. the first night out when i did the check in Virginia City i could not get any chanels so after trying a number of things i noticed that when the tv was installed in san jose they did not run a coax cable from the tv to the connection on the wall of the roadtrek.. of course i didn't have one of those with me so we had to wait to get one of those at that walmart stop..

today we asked where was a good breaky haunt unanomous consensus was the Nevada Hotel which did indeed have a wonderful breakfast so we had enough to cover for lunch.. we waddled to the RT and took off for Idaho Falls but with losing an hour with time zone change and leaving about 10:30 we decided to settle for twin falls rather than Idaho falls. that worked well and the day was much shorter. we are already a day behind the calendar schedule, we expected to be in Jackson Wyo today but those two days in Virginia City put us behind.. it doesn't matter really except for friday we have reservations for the Fishing Bridge Campground in Yellowstone Park for 5 nights, so Jackson might not get as much attention as we had wanted, but that's no big..

hope all you are well and enjoying your activities, we will keep you up to date when we can break away from having fun and seeing beautiful things..

our love and best to you all,
Pegndon.. on the road with fun in the back seat..

day two Carson City Nev

hi friends & relies..

we are underway.. first night stay in Camp Richardson, south lake Tahoe where we have stayed with bryce and emilee the last few years.. boo hoo they are not here this time.. dined at the restaurant overlooking lake Tahoe took some phone pics of the lake, the kayaks and the racoons living under the deck who raid the garbage cans and make vicious growling sounds one of them tries to take the food found by another...

found the horn, radio and cig lighter was not working, couldn't figure it out so when we got to Carson City we went to unique sounds where Mitch fixed it by noticing that the 25amp fuse for the c ig lighter was blown, put in a new one and the horn beeped and all worked.. 10 min job, no charge and he gave me two extra fuses for the trip.. he was Palestinian from Ramala and i told him about our friend Victor Saka from Bethlehem, whom he didn't know but he gave me his card and told me to give it to Victor.. he didn't charge us for anything he did.. what a guy!

next problem was getting the new tv in the roadtrek to work.. read the manual and tried to set it up and after about an hour i looked to see if there was a cable from tv to connection.. no there wasn't.. so no rachel maddow for friday night.. today we will get a small patch cord to see what ever is available in Virginia City which is our next destination.. we are crawling along.. that's not very far from Carson City..

weather was threating rain yesterday afternoon, black sky, thunder but no rain, maybe a drop or two but big time wind.. today is sunny warm and pleasant.. will enjoy as long as it lasts..

peg has been cooking wonderful breakfasts so we have good energy for the day..

better go pack up the RT and get ready for the day.. will fill you in when next we meet WiFi, which seems to be at most campgrounds.. i am writing this from the picnic table outside our campsite way in the back of the Comstock RV Resort right off hyw 50 and Carson St..

toodle
pegndon

Photos and stuff..: Alaska Kenai Penisula's Mt Redoubt is erupting..

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

Alaska Kenai Penisula's Mt Redoubt is erupting..

toward the end of our Alaska adventure we head out on the Kenai Peninsula where the currently erupting Mt Redoubt is located.. you can follow it from this site..

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

volcanoes lift up the skirt of mother nature for all to see.. we see secrets that our human eyes are not used to seeing along with a power of a truly heavy hitter.. i lived facing Mt Shasta for several years and was fascinated with it's nature.. volcanoes are living beings in the natural world.. they are another expression of the power of mother nature in the extreme..

the Roadtrek (RT) has been repaired and prepared and we are currently reloading it with only the necessary essentials.. this is usually a matter of opinion and usually Peg wins and as it turns out rightfully so..

we will be stopping at campgrounds with electric and water hookups and wifi to keep up the blog and ck our email or research the next part of the trip.. however we are prepared to dry camp if we have to because we are self contained with water, generator, toilet, sh0wer, water heater, stove, microwave, frig and holding tanks for grey and black water..

today is reloading day so i better get to it.. cya later

Alaska Kenai Penisula's Mt Redoubt is erupting..

Preparations underway for Alaska in earnest now..

We have had specialists looking over the '94 Roadtrek (RT) the last couple of weeks.. part of the work was waiting for shipment from Canada where the RT is made.. this week our mechanic is going over the engine and drive train to make sure that the usual fail parts are in good shape and if not to replace them.. the total mileage covered for the road trip is over 8,000 miles and about 97 days.. the northernmost point will be Fairbanks, AK..


Before we get to Calgary we will spend several days in Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier Natl Parks.. from Calgary we head to Canmore, Alberta, Banff AB, Lake Louise AB and Jasper AB. We have done this part before, but this time with a much better camera (Nikon D2X 12.4mp and back up D1X) i am excited to see these glorious sights once again.. after Jasper AB we are into new territory so it will be exciting to be in relatively remote areas with new sights and animals to see and photograph.. Peg will be shooting with a Canon SD990 14.7mp, she often gets better pictures than i do.. good for her.

We have emptied the RT of everything that was in it and will now evaluate what we need to put back in and what we need to replace.. all of these preparations need to be done by the week of May 17 because we will depart May 21 heading over the Sierras to Carson City and Virginia City on the first stop..

cheers to friends and relies..
Pegndon

Zup with Pegndon in their journey to the light..

090420 San Jose, California..

a profusion of orchids surround us in our patio this time of year.. it's as if a patio stager came in and arranged it all to impress prospects.. but no it's just the beauty we live with..

over the weekend we went to summer winds nursery and purchased tomato plants and some herbs for our raised beds.. i looked for plants with two or more plants growing in the small veggie containers, then i carefully separated them and ended up with a total of 33 tomato plants.. you might guess we love homegrown tomatoes, and peg loves to can them and we love to give some away to friends and relies when we have excess.. so time will tell if this is a good move.. we are going to be gone from may 21 to aug 24 as we meander toward Alaska with many stops along the way.. so our home sitters, Carl and Janet will enjoy the tomatoes until we return..

our journey to the light means the further we go north in Canada, The Yukon and Alaska we will have more daylight until we reach Fairbanks where we hear there is 21 hours of daylight each day..