FRIDAY, July 27th, 2007

Arrived Bellingham, WA on the M/V Columbia. Nice "vessel" and the trip was not long enough. We did have a day and a half (Wed - Thurs 7/25 & 26) navigating the inside passage through the Canadian islands south of Alaska. We had land very close on either side of the ship. There were several whale sitings, a large group of dolphins, and a few seals. The ship showed several movies including Groundhog day that Meghan and I enjoyed.

Today we drove to Seattle and toured the Space Needle and then did the "Duck" tour around the city. The "cheese" factor on this was VERY high, and I told the kids to check out all the drivers and their costumes as something not to aspire to. I also asked the girls to imagine introducing one of these fine citizens as their 'boyfriend'.?.?

There were also a few carnival rides under the space needle that are the type run by convicts and predators traveling from city to city one step ahead of the safety code people.

We'll be home tomorrow afternoon, God willing, and in our own beds. 24 days of exclusive family time. Priceless!

Hope you enjoyed the tale.

RV Camping, Dalton, BC

MONDAY July 9th, 2007

Great weather today. Cool nights allow us to sleep great! We were right on the river last night. Kids made smores over the fire, but we were soon beaten back by the mosquitoes. We left about 9am and crossed the time zone about three times in the last two days, however ... time is somewhat irrelevant in our little world right now. Today we started Alaskan Highway -- 1,400 miles to the end, but still many more beyond that.

SUNDAY July 8th, 2007
Traveling from Jasper to Prince George is a relatively uninspiring drive. The mosquitoes are fierce! They remind us of our days Minnesota, but we think they only get worse as we make our way to Alaska. Hard to believe. If you stop for just a minute, the RV is covered in these blood-sucking creatures so much we don't want to leave.

We saw a black bear along the side of the road as we drove, but had just educated the kids in Banff on the proper behavior if you spot a bear -- don't stop the car. They don't want the bears getting used to people and losing their fear of them. Results are not good. So, it seemed hypocritcal to educate them properly and then uneducate them with our behavior at the first opportunity.

SUNDAY July 8th, 2007
We woke to a very cool morning. I think A/C is a non-issue from here on out. Obviously, RV has nothing to do with the “r-value” of insulation. It was cold. I went for an early morning walk with my camera and quickly ran into several elk. As I returned to the RV, I found it would be hard to get back in. I eventually was able to knock on a window and quietly wake everyone to the view outside the RV this morning.

Today we will get just north of Prince George, BC. We will hit the Alcan tomorrow.

The waterfalls were running high as the glaciers continue to melt from every peak.

Muncho Lake

We all did a dip in Muncho lake - for however brief it was, we did get in this frigid glacial runoff lake....

THE COLUMBIA ICEFIELD

SATURDAY July 7th, 2007
We drive from Lake Louise to Jasper with the occassional stop to enjoy the sites. We spy some mountain goats along the road and take a ride on the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefield. Our ride is a large wheeled buggy that traverses some rugged territory including a 32 degree incline to get on the glacier. We were able to get out on the glacier for a while in an area that the ice is about 1,000 feet thick. While on the buggy, we hear “you guys are from Georgia!” It was a woman who saw us in a small restaurant in town last week that we have never met before – VERY small world. This icefield is right on the continental divide, and as we leave, we notice the river along the side of the road that we have followed for 75 miles, is now running in the other direction (west). The water on this side of the continental divide is headed for the Pacific Ocean. We also realize we are as far north as we have ever been – a record we will break each and every day for a week now.

Crossing the Border

FRIDAY July 6th, 2007
We drove to Banff NP today. Lots of traffic – much more than anticipated. We saw some Big Horn sheep on the way as we pass thru Kootenay NP – very cool. When we got to our campsite in Banff, there were elk wandering the campground and mule deer in the early morning hours.