Lu-Lu Belle Cruise

Robert Miller from North Carolina and Joy Miller from Texas surprised their brother Raymond for his birthday and their father for Father’s Day by arriving in Alaska.

We decided to go on the Lu-Lu Belle to show them Alaskan wildlife in the Prince William Sound. The funny little otters weren’t afraid as they played together or lay on their backs and watched us. There were hundreds of Steller Sea Lions who looked clumsy as they lay on the rocks and basked in the sun but appeared more aerodynamic when they swam. We saw an eagle swimming and fishing. At two different times, we spotted Dall Porpoises as they dove into the wake of the stern of the ship but they were too fast for my camera. Captain Fred Rodolf sailed his ship into the mouth of a cave so we could see the puffins sitting on their nests. By Glacier Island we saw icebergs float around us.

Craig from Minnesota asked me if I wanted one of the brownies that we smelled baking. It was covered with whipped cream and had chocolate drizzled over it. Of course, I said “yes.” It was as delicious as it looked.

During our conversation, we remarked on the beautiful patina of the teak and mahogany interior of the ship that even has oriental carpets on the floor. Craig commented that the ship was “comfortable and homey. It is as though he invited us into his home for the tour,” Craig stated.

His friend Glen said that the highlight of the tour for him was experiencing the glacier icebergs as the captain had the ship floating among them. Craig’s son Mac said the cruise was “fun.”

Captain Fred Rodolf has a vast knowledge of the wildlife and the history of Valdez and loves to tell you about it. An advantage of having the Captain as the owner of a ship is that he could extend the time of the cruise to over 7 hours instead of the 5 and ½ hours.

Glen commented, “The cruise exceeded our expectations.” I agree. Each of the four cruises on the Lu-Lu Belle that I have taken has been great. Thank you Captain Fred Rodolf.

Memorial Day 2010

What do you think would be the perfect way to celebrate Memorial Day?

I thought about my father, husband, son, uncles, brothers-in-law, nephew, and son-in-law who served in the Army, Navy, Marines and National Guard. I have been to funerals where taps were played and airplanes flew overhead in salute to my relatives. Yesterday, my daughter placed flowers near the flag on her husband’s grave. I honor the service these men gave to our country but our family was blessed because none of these family members died while on active duty.

To celebrate Memorial Day, Teresita and Raymond decided to have a barbeque on their patio overlooking the lake. The rain the evening before washed away all dust leaving the air fresh, clean and with a temperature of 70 degrees. A flag fluttered gently in the light breeze.

Teresita created her usual magic with tablecloths, flowers, tableware and great smelling food to provide a gracious ambiance. Colin and Melissa, the young couple who live next door, joined us in feasting on the barbequed chicken, sausage, vegetables, and desserts.

Our usual conversation was about places we have visited in “the lower forty eight” but we also talked about places we have lived. The young couple talked about their dreams of owning land and growing cattle, vegetables and flowers. Our party broke up when the young man returned home, put on his uniform and went to work at the Richardson Army Base.

We arrived safely in Alaska at Raymond and Teresita’s apartment. It finished out great! Somehow, they have created ambiance that is both comfortable and genteel. The snowshoes, bonker and photos of black bear show a touch of Alaska. The ice left their lake last week and the trees started to leaf out.

Teresita gave me the most wonderful meal for my birthday! I requested salmon so she fixed baked salmon as the entree. There was fresh asparagus and a medley of vegetables. Even the multigrain bread was homemade. Pictured is the wonderful chocolate cake that she made from scratch. (No one but my mother has made a cake from scratch for my birthday.)

Terry bought me that dozen roses and gave me the gold nugget and a pair of earrings from Jade City. Raymond and Teresita gave me a traveling bag and a live flowering plant.

Teresita is an avid gardener. She has planted flowers in window boxes and made a mini flower garden on her deck that overlooks the lake. Her vegetable garden is enclosed in railroad ties. If her cabbages grow as large as those in nearby Palmer, she won’t have room in her garden space for them.

Wild Animals and Birds

Wild animals were quite plentiful on our trip through Canada. From Kitwanga to the border of the USA, we saw 24 black bear, 7 caribou, 5 moose, 2 porcupines, 1 fox, 1 wolf, 3 and several rabbits. In the bird family, we saw 3 pair of nesting swans plus eagles, herons, snipes, and Canadian geese.

Three times horses ran along the RV without riders, or harnesses. I don’t think they were wild but just thought the grass was greener on the other side of the highway.

In the distance we saw about a dozen wild goats by Little Atlin Lake and a dozen or so wild sheep by Kluane Lake. We could see legs and they moved so they were alive but they were too far away to distinguish what was front and what was hindsight.

We smelled skunk but didn’t stop to investigate. The beaver that we photographed in 2008 were not in residense anymore but we saw several dens and dams that beavers built.

When we crossed into Hyder, Alaska, we didn’t see bears since the adult salmon haven’t moved from the ocean into the creeks but we did see small hatchling salmon swimming in the creeks.

Yukon and Alaska Photos

Since Terry downloaded more photos that I have taken on our trip, I now have the sunset photo from Little Atlin Lake in the Yukon. It was taken at 12:01am on May 17. Yes, I had to get up to take the picture. I awakened again at 3:45 am to full daylight. Yes, we were far enough north that you go to bed in daylight and awaken in daylight.

You would almost think that our towed Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV, had preceded us through the bridge but this is another car pictured on this bridge in Teslin in the Yukon.

The roads were patched but very uneven in the Yukon. We hoped for better roads in Alaska but a few feet from the border we met this scene. Yes, Terry had to drive the RV and our toad through this soft mess.

The road that was in construction for 4 years by the Matanuska Glacier is finished and beautiful. This photo of the bluish glacier shows that it is receding fast and leaving the charcoal murrain.

The “big five” animals that you see in the north are Elk, Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Moose and Caribou. We didn’t see any elk or grizzlies on this trip but here are photos of the three of the “big five” wild animals that we saw on the trip.

Remember that if you double click on the bottom left of a photo, it will get larger.

Visit with Uncle Don

Do you remember Uncle Don from my first RV book, “RV Chuckles and Chuckholes – The Confessions of Happy Campers?” He is the long time RVer who we met in Quartzsite each year and is now living in an apartment in Oregon. It was good to visit with him on the day after we left Nevada.

Even though my hair was cut too short and Don’s was too long, I wanted a picture. Don told Terry to keep the lens protector on the camera but he took Uncle Don’s picture anyway.

It was good to hear him say, “You kids have fun.”

We traveled in many places where we saw snow topped mountains. Some had melted snow that became waterfalls with fast moving milky silt water flowing into creeks, rivers and lakes. Some lakes still had melting ice in them. We saw glaciers in Alaska and British Columbia that are receding leaving charcoal gray murrains.

The wild animals are in the next blog.

Gold Fever

We drove through the traffic in Las Vegas and didn’t stop overnight until we saw a sign for Miller’s Rest stop. Another sign said that RV’s were welcome to stay overnight. Surprise! The temperature was 95 in Arizona and got down to the early 40’s that night.

Terry had signed up for the Escapees Prospectors and Metal Detector’s Event so we stayed at the RV Park in Mill City, Nevada for five days. (Terry said that he wanted me to have a gold nugget.)

We saw old friends and met new ones at happy hour each night as we discussed activities for the rest of the week. Terry didn’t want to go to the dry washing event so he and Glenn (Griz) Anderson spent a day prospecting for gold. (Griz has spent 50 years in the US including Alaska and in Australia prospecting for gold.) Terry’s metal detector didn’t hear the minute particles of gold so he didn’t find any but Griz had four tiny pieces.

The next day we went on a tour of the Florida Canyon Mining Company where they find about 1.4 ounces of gold per each load of dirt. The trouble was that each load was 150 tons. (The dump truck’s tires were so big that they reached the top of the van in which we were riding. We were told that the tires cost $20,000 each.) The gold they found was in such small size that many times it was microscopic.

Jason Hirt, a geologist from the mine who lived at the campground, took us on a 4-wheel trip into the mountains on Wednesday. We found fossils plus green, lavender and clear fluorite crystals, and cinnabar semi- precious stones. Jason also had found root beer colored agates in Nevada that he allowed us to clean up from the dirt and keep.

Thursday was the coin hunt. I spent an hour with my detector and found over three dollars and tokens which gave me a key ring with a measuring tape in it and potatoes.

Friday Terry went out to spring valley where the group did dry washing, dredging, sluicing, and metal detecting. No, Terry didn’t bring any gold home.

Unfortunately, Terry can’t download his pictures since my computer can’t handle the size of his photos and Terry’s computer needs a new hard drive.

Besides playing in dirt, we enjoyed the food. We had snacks at happy hour, a potluck and a catered dinner by Dusti. I also enjoyed talking with the other women and had free lessons in charcoal and watercolor painting by a professional artist in town.

The last event was a Bonanza Drawing. There were about six gifts for 35 to 40 people. Terry got some Nevada silver leaf in a little container. Then they put the names back in the drawing for the 1.3 gram gold nugget donated by the Reno Prospectors Supply. Terry won! He gave me the nugget for my May birthday!