12Oct 2015 by Lboll

Six Weeks in Minnesota

Traveling

So much to do and so little time to do it! We had only about six weeks back in Minnesota after our great Alaskan adventure before we left for Ohio and then south. Of course, we wanted to get in as much grandkid time as possible so they were our priority. Each of them spent a night in the mini (one at a time of course) which was a lot of fun for them. Cate especially loved the idea of spending a night in the small space and tried to talk Joe and me to let her have the big bed and we take the little bed. It didn’t happen and she loved sleeping on the little bed. Alex had to sleep on the floor because we worried about him…

01Sep 2015 by Lboll

Back in Minnesota

Traveling

We are back at our Minnesota location as of Aug 30th. Hard to believe we have been to Alaska and back. They say that times flies when you are having fun or time flies as you age and both of those are true for Joe and me. We thought we would recap some of the highlights of our Alaskan adventure Have been in the mini for 112 days and still counting (May 13th until present) In Alaska 53 days Drove 9,608 miles from St. Louis Park, MN on May 26th to St. Louis Park, MN on Aug 30th Dry camped (no electricity or water) 30 of the 97 days So many animals and birds - Wood buffalo and Yellowstone buffalo, Elk, Pronghorn deer, Big horn sheep, Moose and babies, Antelope, Mountain goats, Dall sheep…

13Aug 2015 by Lboll

Our Alaska Adventure Coming To an End

Traveling

Yes after fifty-three actual days in Alaska it has come to an end and we are making our way back to Minnesota. We are currently outside of Spokane, WA in temperatures over 100. I will never complain about the wonderful cool temps and rain we had in Alaska after these very hot days and the dryness British Columbia and Washington are seeing. Because it took us six days to go through British Columbia without cell or Wi-Fi service, I’m a little behind in blogging so I hope I don’t get to long. Haines is where we stopped for a few days to get on the ferry to travel the Alaskan Marine Highway to Juneau. I will cover Hanes in a nutshell – most expensive place we stayed at in our…

29Jul 2015 by Lboll

Joe Gets His Wish

Traveling

Joe has been asking people as we travel if they have seen a grizzly along the road. Probably 50% of the people have seen one. Joe said that is his only disappointment on our Alaska trip even though we did the bear adventure. He just wants to see that big grizzly walking alongside the road. Well he finally got his wish. About twenty miles from the Canadian border on our way to Haines we finally saw that grizzly. We slowed down to get a picture and of course the bear turned around and headed into the woods. We got a nice picture of its back-end but at least we saw one. Little did we know that a few days later Joe would have a much to close encounter with a…

22Jul 2015 by Lboll

Valdez, Alaska

Traveling

Well the drive from Glennallen to Valdez was two things – first Joe classified it as the “worst road” we have been on in Alaska (but he will change his mind a few days later) and second one of the prettiest drives we have been on. From Glennallen to Valdez is about 120 miles and about the first 90 miles were terrible frost heaves and expansion repairs. To say the least it was a very slow, bumpy ride. Our speed was between 45 and 50 mph. Once we hit Worthington Glacier about 25 miles north of Valdez the road got better but then we were stopping constantly for the beautiful views. Our first stop was Worthington Glacier which was pretty and we could have hiked to the base…

14Jul 2015 by Lboll

Homer and Seldovia, Alaska

Traveling

The town of Homer, Alaska is at the end of the Sterling Highway. The Homer Spit is a 4.5 mile geographical landmark on the south tip of the Kenai Peninsula that goes out into the Kachemak Bay. Marinas, restaurants, shops, a hotel, and a few campgrounds fill the Spit. It was enjoyable checking out shops on the Spit and we had a wonderful halibut lunch at one of the restaurants. We also booked a wildlife cruise with Rainbow Tours for a 7 hour trip to Seldovia, an island in the Kachemak Bay. Our tour started at 10:30 from the dock in Homer. An hour and a half cruise checking out wildlife before we were to dock at Seldovia. We headed out to Gull Island to check out the birds. …

12Jul 2015 by Lboll

Our Alaska Bear Viewing Adventure

Traveling

As we started really planning our Alaska adventure we talked about things we wanted to do. We realize this is our one and only time taking a trip to Alaska so we wanted to do “those Alaska” things. We talked about taking a bear viewing tour but having a fear of flying I had a hard time seeing myself in a small plane. Joe started checking on a boat bear viewing tour. We did find one but you had to be on the boat for 6 hours. Then we started thinking about what happens if the water is rough. Six hours on rough water would not be a lot of fun. We started looking at plane tours and started talking to people who had gone on them and well it…

06Jul 2015 by Lboll

The Start of Our Alaska Adventure

Traveling

Beautiful – what more can I say! We’ve seen some absolutely beautiful scenery, have stayed at some gorgeous campsites (and some not so gorgeous) and taken some fabulous hikes and all in such a short period of time. What a wonderful world! I keep getting asked why I’m not posting more on the blog. I have a lot of excuses – we don’t have electricity and the computer needs to be plugged in, we don’t have internet service so I can’t download it, we are just too darn busy enjoying Alaska but my best excuse is that my computer decided to quit and Joe just won’t share his (best excuse ever). We have been looking for a new computer for me but not a lot of options in the area…

13Jun 2015 by Lboll

British Columbia to Yukon, Canada

Traveling

What a wonderful world, yes what a wonderful world we live in. I can’t tell you the number of wonderful people we have met as we have been travelling. From Minneapolis to Australia, from Ohio to Quebec, from Florida to Germany, just wonderful people with stories to share. We might camp next to a couple from Australia one night and move on the next day and when we pull into a park here they come. We might take a doggy walk with Lily around the park and stop to visit with a couple from Quebec and pretty soon an hour or two have passed and then we might see them again down the road a few hundred miles at a different park. It is a wonderful world and we are…

05Jun 2015 by Lboll

What a Wonderful World

Traveling

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a beautiful park that isn’t talked about much. It is a fantastic park that we love. In 2011 we stayed in the North Unit and this go-around we stayed in the South Unit. We waited for the buffalo to roam through our camp as they did in the North Unit but no such luck. There was a lot of evidence as we walked around that they do go through but not this day. We appreciated having our mini-camper since the sites were very small and the road was tight to get around. We stayed one night and moved on to a nice Corp of Engineer Park in Fort Peck, MT. We are hardly ever disappointed when we stay in a Corp park and this one…