Virtual World Trek - Gateway to the World

	June 30, 2007 We spend tonight camped along a very private section of the Richardson River. We are camped on a gravel bar that no one else had drove on this year. Splendid, indeed! Tomorrow we are going to a BBQ in Weisman, Alaska, north of Coldfoot. Some folks behind us while we waited for a pilot car in a construction zone on the Dalton Highway told us about it. From there we'll head up into the Brooks Range camping. Last night was a noisy, restless night at Olen Pond north of Fairbanks. The pond is fairly small, but clear water. There is a gravel road around it with campers ranging from large motor homes to small tents dispersed about the pond. The only problem we had is that some of the camp groups decided to stay active riding motorbikes around the pond and hooting and hollering until 3 or 4 am. Needless to say, when we walked around the pond at 9am, most people were still in bed. I felt like getting revenge by making a ruckus, but decided to be my respectful self, irregardless of the behavior of others. Perhaps people just feel the need to party until the sun comes up here, as it sets for so little time. Tonight will certainly be more peaceful. We have already seen a variety of birds including swallows, ducks, gulls, finches, sparrows, and a bald eagle fly over the river in front of our site. This is very, very relaxing.
	June 29, 2007 It's hard to believe June is almost over. The time has just flown by! Last night we camped on a gravel bank of a stream along Chena Hot Springs Road. It was quite peaceful and we had a great fire. Filet mignon was cooked up with onions and jalepenos for the main course, plus mashed potatoes and asparagus. We went to the hot springs this morning and spent an hour or two lounging in the sun and the hot water. I especially liked the jet of water they had shooting out from a perch above one of the pools. It was so hard it almost peeled my skin off. What it did do was totally relax my shoulders. It was even better than a massage. After our time there, we headed back down to civilization (Fairbanks) to learn more about our trailer. It turns out it's overloaded by about 20%. So, we will have to minimize the off-road driving. We rented a space to store it here at the Air Force base for $10 per month. We'll only have it here a week or so, but it's nice to have the freedom. The only negative is the jeep is here with it, so if we see any great roads, we'll have to come back for the jeep. We'll take it for sure when we head south. That's all for today. We plan to head north and aim towards Manley Hot Springs, planning to be there for a celebration on July 4th. I don't know what internet access will be in the meantime.
	June 28, 2007 We decided to break camp this morning and head up to Chena Hot Springs. First we have to wait for our mail, which was supposed to arrive by 2pm, but now at 2pm we learn that UPS may not be here until 4:30pm. It's no big deal, as with the long days here it really doesn't matter what time we head out. The only thing is hanging out until it comes. So, we're spending some time on the computer and reading and taking Honey for little walks. We plan to go to the hot springs tomorrow, but perhaps also tonight, depending on where we decide to camp.
	June 27, 2007 Happy Birthday to Timmy! Have a great day and year, brother. Well, we left our paradise by the river and came into town today. It is strange to be around people again. We worked out at the gym on base, taking a nice long shower afterwards. Today will be spent running errands and then high-tailing it back to our campsite for a relaxing afternoon. Perhaps I shall have a mojito in honor of Tim's birthday. I'll haul out the maps tonight and plan the next stage of our adventure. It sure is nice to be lazy, though, after the trek up here to Alaska. And we really aren't in a hurry to go anywhere. This morning as we turned onto the main part of the base, the most incredible sight delighted my eyes. It was a clear shot of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. I didn't even know it was visible from here, so it was such a surprise to see it's white majestic peak thrusting from the clouds towards the blue expanses of sky. Sorry, no camera with me today. We're travelling in the jeep, which has no security, so I minimized my valuables to bring on this errand day.
	June 26, 2007 I sat in the truck to type this out while plugged in to the inverter and my poor miss little Honey is talking up a storm outside, wanting me to come out or bring her in, I suppose. I guess I'll unplug and go outside by her. Okay, now Honey is perched on my lap in my lounge chair as I precariously try to type on my armrest. The clouds keep floating by today and occasionally letting a few lazy drops fall upon us. They dusted us as we went for a stroll today as well. Honey didn't seems to mind, perhaps because she was preoccupied with the scents and sounds of the trail. As I sit and watch the stream go by, I wonder what life is like for a fish in this stream. The spawning salmon will be here in another month, totally changing the lifecycle of the river. Fishing for these spawning salmon is illegal here, as this is an important reproductive area. The salmon will have travelled 900 miles up the Yukon River into this tributary and will be battered and near the end of their lifespan. The sign posted here says these salmon are not only illegal to catch, but also are not fit for consumption. I suppose the bears won't mind the taste and I wonder how many bears will migrate to this very shore for an easy lunch. We are on our guards and very careful with food and have yet to see or hear a bear. We took a long jeep ride yesterday and did not see any mammals, including other humans. We saw some ptarmigan and other birds, but no mammalian critters. The drive was great fun, especially for Gerry, as he got to drive down dirt roads of varying difficulty. He had a big grin on his face as he successfully pulled through a deep muddy-water stretch. The roads kept going and going and going, over mountains, through meadows, and along ridges. We could have driven all night and I'm not sure if we would have gotten anywhere. Alaska is a big expanse of wilderness. Most of it has no roads, or only rivers for roads, but here on the military bases roads have been put in over the years and are in various stages of being reclamed by the land. There is plenty of driftwood here on the beach to burn. The pieces for the gravel sections burn well, as they are very dry and not too heavily laden with silt. I thank the beavers every time I put a piece on the fire, as most of the wood is the result of their handiwork - conveniently gnawed to perfect sizes. Spring floods must wash out portions of their dams and carry the wood along to be deposited on broad shores such as this one. Speaking of which, I think I'll start a fire now as it is getting close to dinner time.
	June 25, 2007 Today is the birthday of my nephew, Kristopher. Happy Birthday, Kris! We are camped out at Chena River on Fort Wainswright Base. We set-up camp on the gravel right on the shore of the river. There were some folks out here last night, but they are gone this morning. This place is very peaceful and I could easily get lost in myself here. We'll stay at least nother day or two.
	June 24, 2007 It's Sunday now and a sleepy day at that. We didn't get up until 10am. With the great amount of daylight here, our bodies have no concept of when to sleep, so they sleep as needed. I suppose we were tired from all the walking and excitement of the airshow yesterday. Our eardrums probably needed extra sleep, too. Last night we were sitting around the table outside chatting and looking at pictures on the computer when we realized it was after 9pm. We had no idea it was so late. Okay, 9pm isn't very late, but it felt like 6 or 7pm. There were still guys out flying their model airplane and kids watching when I took Honey for a walk at 10pm. The mother of the boys called the older boy on his cell phone to tell him to send the little ones home to their trailer. Gerry just came back from bringing the trash down to the dumpster. He checked with a security guy who drove by and got an answer on driving back into the primitive campground 10 miles down the road. There is a gravel road on base that continues past the campground with a sign that says there is a primitive site (Chena River) further down. We started to drive it the other day, but saw a sign that said permission was required to access any further. So, we turned around and asked at the Recreational Center, as the sign indicated. Well, no one at the Rec Center knew anything about it and thought we needed to go to the Army base, Fort Wainwright, for information. The security officer said we can use it as we wish and only need to notify them if we want them to drive back to check on us every couple of days or so. Gerry is packing up now for the drive back there. It's lunch time, but I'm not hungry as we ate a hearty breakfast of pancakes and local bacon at 10:30am. The bacon is from a meat market along the highway from a family owned and operated ranch and smokehouse. We got some delicious sausage from them and some breakfast sausage also. I'll be writing more when we return from the remote campsite.
	June 23, 2007 Today was an awesome open house with airshow at the base here. We were at our campsite charging batteries and having lunch when the F-22 went by and it flew right overhead, turning around just past the campground and then punching it. The noise was so loud I thought the windows might fall out of the camper. What a neat aircraft. We got down to the show and walked around, seeing the planes on the ground. There was a KC-135 Stratotanker, a B-52 Stratofortress, a C-17 Globemaster, A-10s (on ground and flying aerobatics), F-15s, C-12, F-22 (fly-by only), F-16s (complete with aerobatics display), F-19 Hornet, C-21, three helecopters, and a tank. There were more planes and more aerial displays, too. A lot of walking, but the cloud cover kept it cool enough to be enjoyable.
	June 22, 2007 Camping at Eielson Air Force Base is great, at least for the type of camping we do. Our space is quite and isolated with electrical hookup for $10. There is walking, hiking, atving, and canoeing right here. The recreation center is a stones throw away and bicycles are $5 per day and canoes $15 per day. Today was workout and laundry day. The workout gym is under reconstruction, as well as the ladies locker room, but they had lots of equipment set-up in the gymnasium and there was an aerobics room with bosu-s, weights up to 20 lbs, balls, and mats. Laundry was done in the town of North Pole, Alaska, and was $2.80 per load for wash and $0.40 per 6 minutes for dry. Not bad pricing and the equipment was good. We had lunch out at a Thai restaurant nearby while our clothes washed. For dinner, we went to a Salmon Bake on the base. It rained a bit, driving most of us inside the bar to eat. We sat next to a couple of pilots and one of their support guys. Gerry struck up a conversation and it turns out that one of them was the pilot I saw doing aerobatics yesterday. Wow! This guy flys F16s in all sorts of loops, rolls, hammerheads, inverted runway fly-overs, and general fast fun flying. I had a ball watching him practice yesterday. The three guys are a team who do these sort of shows with the one guy flying and the other two in the tower. The support guy does the announcing during the 15-minute show and the other pilot is there as backup and a type of quality-control. Sometimes they fly their own planes up, but this time they are using planes from this base. Now when I see the guy performing tomorrow I will be able to picture his face with the strong brow and blonde hair. These guys were very nice and modest - much different than Hollywood portrays. This is not an official air force air show, but more of an open house for the base with an air show portion. There will be an F-22A fly-by and an F-16 will be on display along with other aircraft. I am going to bring the video camera down and see what I can capture. I would like to get some good footage to send to my dad and brother, as they are the ones I used enjoyed the airshows with in my youth. While doing laundry today, I had the opportunity to speak with some locals. We talked mostly about things to do around here and points north. The lady working at the laundromat was quite pleasant and enthusiastic. She said they go camping north of Fairbanks and find dirt roads to drive down to lakes and primitive camp. "Watch out for bears", she said. We plan to stay here at least two more days and I have a couple of books checked out from the library which need to be back on July 20th. We also expect mail next week and some parts Gerry ordered at Napa for late next week. We may head out primitive camping for 2-3 nights and then come back before we head north for our next adventure.
	June 21, 2007 The campground became very peaceful as folks quieted down after a day of travelling. The camp host was very friendly and he chatted with us for a while. It's his first year as a host and is really loving it. He reminded me of my uncle and Gerry of his brother in his friendly and honest mannerisms. What a pleasure! We drove to the base - Fort Eielson Air Force Base. The base is quite large with over 4,500 people. The campground is not bad and we plan to stay at there at least one night. The showers work, but other water is not flowing. We're not sure why, and will have to go into town to do laundry as there is no other laundromat at this base. There is an auto shop, which we will check out as soon as Gerry is done washing our rig. The Dempster highway uses calcium chloride to help consolidate the gravel road and keep the dust down. We went through a section they had just spread and the mud really caked up all over the truck, camper, and trailer. It will probably take a couple of scrubbings to get it clean. There is an army base to the north of Fairbanks that we can also try. Well, it's about time to move out. I'll write more later.
	June 20, 2007 Today we will cross into Alaska and as we journey these final miles, I feel as though we are on a pilgrimage of white boxes, spaced along the road, avoiding eachother's dust clouds. We made the crossing at 10:50am, now 9:50am Alaska time. The road is mostly dirt and heavily traveled by large RVs that choose to drive about 1/2 the speed limit. We stopped for gas at Chicken and just managed to pull out on the road in front of a monstrous class A towing a jeep cherokee. There were half a dozen or more other rigs stacked up behind the slow-moving leader, making an overland caravan of portable houses. Many thanks to the fellow for keeping traffic backed up. The clear road ahead of us is a pure joy. It feels good to be back in the U.S., especially when stopping for gas. Canadian prices were very high - $3.20 to $5.70 on our drive through Canada. The cheapest was in Jasper, Alberta, and the most expensive was in Eagle Plain, Yukon. Along the Dempster Highway and Yukon Loop portions, the cheapest gas we bought was at Fort McPherson for $4.73/gallon. We have stopped to camp at the West Fork Campground, our first night in Alaska. We took the jeep out for a ride and found that the trails on state land here are restricted to ATV and motorcycle travel. We did find a fun dirt road that went up a few miles to a radar antenna with 360 degree views of Alaska. The sky was too hazy for good pictures, but we had a blast. Tomorrow we'll be in Fairbanks and civilization.
	June 19, 2007 We camped above the arctic circle again, just south of Inuvik. The town was too depressing for us and we got lucky to have a $5/night campground all to ourselves. As we sat by the fire, we saw ducks and muskrats in the river. Serene. We drove down the Dempster highway today, picked up the trailer, and drove through the tourist town of Dawson City. We are camped across the river at the Yukon River Campground. There is no bridge here, so we crossed by ferry (free of charge) and found the campground here more peaceful and secluded than the RV parks around Dawson City. I see an occasional boat go by on the mighty river. No one is fishing, they are just headed somewhere fast. In a couple of days we will be to the airforce base outside of Fairbanks. We plan to stay there for a week or two so Gerry can do some work to the jeep and trailer. The holley carburator needs to be adjusted and Gerry wants to get, or make, stronger axles for the trailer. The tires aren't wearing well, because the trailer appears to be overloaded. We already upgraded to stronger springs when we were in California over the winter. Now it's the axles. It pulls just fine, but wears the tires too fast.
	June 18, 2007 We awoke to the same peaceful and sunny campground we closed our blinds to last night. Last night it was strange reading by sunlight coming in the windows, instead of by artifical light. I noticed the houses in town have fewer and smaller windows than I'm used to. I suppose in the summer there is benefit to keeping the constant light out and in the winter there is no light to let in and just cold to keep out. We are a long way from other towns and it is strange to think of the school children having to fly for competitions with other schools. I can hardly wait to see what Inuvik is like. What will their homes look like? What kind of watercraft will they use? How big will their school and community centers be? Will the people be cheerful as they were here? We stopped at the canvas shop, but did not buy anything as there was nothing we really needed. I am interested in a tipii as it has always been a curiosity of mine to spend time camping in one. This canvas store sells the canvas part of the tipis as well as liners in diameters from 4 foot to 22 foot. Perhaps next time. Well, we made it to Inuvik with no mishaps. The town is quite busy with cars and people, but of a different type than a city in the states. The buildings are pretty much metal boxes in town and the people are a combination of natives and non-natives. Some people move at a slow pace and others rush around as if there is not a moment to spare. Quite a dicotomy! We stopped for lunch out (the first time in Canada) and I was a bit surprised at the price of $28 for a medium pizza. If it had not been for the long drive here from small towns without much for supplies, I wouldn't truly appreciate the costs of building, maintaining, fueling, and feeding a city of 3,500 people plus travellers. I can't say this is a place I want to linger, though I am glad for the journey and experience. It would be nice to head further north, but a journey to the next town will cost over $700 with lodging and I doubt I could experience what draws me. I really wish time could turn me back to before the white man came here. But, alas, my presence would have only hastened the disease and death brought by the outsiders. The population of the area had a more than 10-fold drop due to devastating diseases brought by traders and whalers. It makes me sad to think how this land has changed by the white man. Yet, here I sit typing on my keyboard with a wireless internet connection to broadcast my thoughts around the globe. I think we will head back south in the morning.
	June 17, 2007 We're off on the Dempster Highway. Yesterday we stowed our trailer at a local gas station/campground/restauraunt and headed north to Inuvik. If it were winter we could drive on to the next town up on the Arctic Ocean, but after the thaw Inuvik is the last stop. We stopped at the first campground, just 44 miles up the road, Tombstone Mountain Campground. We quickly set up camp, a campfire, and sat down to a dinner of left over spaghetti with meatballs and fresh cauliflower. We eventually headed inside around 9pm, despite the sun being well above the horizon. Our solar panel was still charging when we headed off to sleep. We woke to more sun and a breakfast of chorizo and pancakes. Then we had a hour and a half walk along a trail from the campsite. What a delightful stroll! We flushed a couple of Ptarmigan birds along the trail and had a relatively mosquito-free walk along the creek, through the brush, along a ridge, and back down to the river at a spot where an ice flow still remained. The numerous wildflowers made the walk even more delightful. Now we are back on the road heading north through wooded glades and open fields of mountains and tundra, catching glimpses of streams and ponds along the way. The river beside us now flows north and the molecules floating by may one day reach the arctic ocean to swim among the polar bears. For tonight, we have stopped near Fort McPherson at the Nitainlaii Territorial Campground. The fellow running the place is a friendly native with tales to tell and caribou antlers to sell. This area is primarily populated with native people who were here long before traders sought pelts. The people are quite kind and friendly, as we learned this evening when invited and welcomed at a Father's Day barbeque with steaks, potato salad, deviled eggs, corn, rolls, donuts, and pepsi. There was a raffle for the fathers and Gerry won a magnetic picture frame set. We talked with two of the 18 school teachers for this town of 942. These two teachers were from Newfoundland and live here full time now. They seemed to enjoy the town folk and especially the children who they said are very well disciplined and only need motivational help with attendance. We were given some advisements for the next few days and good wishes for our journey. This would be a great area to return to in December and January for the Northern Lights, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. Perhaps I could try my hand at curling at the rink in town and watch the locals play hockey as well. Now we are sitting by a fire having smores in our peaceful campsite. We are the only ones in the campground and sounds of birds dhirping, wind rustling the leaves, and the crackling of the fire fill our ears with joyous melodies. We are north of the arctic circle and at this latitude there are 57 days of 24-hour sunlight each year. The Arctic Circle is the minimum latitude where on June 21st, the summer solstice, the sun never sets. We will have to go to the Antarctic Circle one day as welll. I am curious as to the similarity of winter severity between here and southern Argentina. We had a free river ferry crossing this afternoon and another in the morning. We plan to visit the canvas factory in the morning and maybe use the library's high speed internet before we leave town.
	June 16, 2007 This detour we took is saving us 20 miles of travel. The road is called the Campbell Highway and headed north and west out of Watson Lake at mile 613 on the Alaska Highway. The road is mostly gravel up to Faro where it becomes more pavement. We enjoyed this road immensely and went about half way on Friday to Frances Lake Yukon government campground. The campground had ample sized sites with several right on the lake. We took one of the lake sites and shared the campground with 3 other campers. We had afternoon rain again and got soaked when it rainned on our walk around the campground and boat launch area. We dried off in the camper and had a break in the rain long enough for Gerry to cook some Ribeye steaks he picked up in Watson Lake. After some marshmellows, we retired to read in the camper for the rest of the evening. This morning was cool and calm after the storms last night. The lake was beautiful. We only encountered a handfull of vehicles on the dirt road, which was quite relaxing and gave us a feeling of real remoteness. The landscape ushers in one wooded hill after another with scores of lakes, rivers, and swamps. We only saw one critter and we think it was a cougar, but cannot be 100% certain as it crossed the road very quickly. Backpacking here would be phenomenal, but there doesn't seem to be long-range hiking trails established, comparable to the Appalachian Trail along the eastern United States. I suppose people just head out with topographical maps and gps units, or perhaps people limit themselves primarily to road and waterway travel. At the rest stop outside of Faro, we saw an ad for a full-service RV park at $10 per night. Very cheap, but we don't want to stop yet.
	June 15, 2007 We stopped at about 1pm yesterday and spent the afternoon and night at Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park in British Columbia. The hot springs were great and Gerry even got fully emersed. There was a bit of a walk (5-10 min.) on a boardwalk to reach the hot pools of water. The temperatures varied widely, from below 100 degrees to 125 degrees F. The campground was set up to take RVs of all sizes, with no hook-ups. Although all sites were back-in, they were large and had adequate clearance for the big class A's. The grounds were well-wooded and spaces were amply spaced. Those in need of hook-ups could use the private campground across the highway and still use the hot springs at an additional cost of $5/person or $10/car. Campground guests use the hot springs as part of their $17/night camp fee. Quite a popular place and a good one to make an early stop at. Last night we had a great dinner of succulent filet mignon, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. This morning it was chorizo, eggs, and the leftover potatoes fried up. Now we're off to the races on the Alaska Highway. We saw a grizzly bear with two fuzzy cubs playing along the road. We were tempted to try to stop for photos, but decided to leave the bears in peace. The cubs were so adorable, sitting up and playing with eachother while the mother nibbled on roadside vegetation. I also saw a large bison this morning, but there was not a safe place to stop. Now we are at Watson Lake getting fuel and doing a couple tourist things. There is a sign post forest with over 60,000 signs from roads and people. We put up a sign that is a VT license plate with some writing about us. Fun! I think we've decided to take a detour rode next that is a gravel road going 377 miles with no gas. That's about what we do on a tank, but we have an extra 5 gallons in the trailer if we need it and we can always take the jeep to get more if something happens.
	June 14, 2007 Yesterday was a milestone day for us. We started the journey on the Alaska Highway! We stopped at mile 265.5 for a night at Andy Bailey Regional Park. It was 6.9 miles in and a very quiet spot with no one else there. Well, the mosquitos were big enough to almost count. There were torential rains, which cleared after dinner for our campfire. The Alaska Highway was built during World War II to establish a road to Alaska. Today's road is quite different than that original track. We drove on a small section of the original road to see the Kiskatinaw Curved Bridge. The new road has a much more gentle grade and wider swath cut through the forests. It was a bit scarey during the snow squalls when tractor-trailers were barrelling down on us.
	June 13, 2007 We stopped at a very pleasant campground last night. It was about 15 km west of Grand Prarie, Alberta and 4 km north to Saskatoon Island Provincial Park of Alberta, Canada. The spaces were fairly secluded with plenty of trees and grassy areas. There was plenty of firewood provided by the park and showers were nice and hot, although $1 per 5 minutes. There were electric-equipped sites for $26 instead of $20, but we opted for the less expensive site in a fairly empty area. We drove through the town of Grand Prarie and were amazed by the amount of new construction. Locals told us that it was the recent oil boom causing the growth and people were flocking here from the east for work. There were also timber mills in and near town with amazing amounts of lumber. There was a very large brand new OSB plant south of town and a large milling plant in town. We saw several tractor-trailer loads of rough-cut 2x6 boards heading west out of town. Today we are headed west to Dawson creek and then northwest towards Dawson. We haven't set a goal yet for today and will just take the day as it comes. The scenery here in the NW part of Alberta reminds me of a green Wyoming. We will be in British Columbia soon and that's where we head north to the Yukon Territory.
	June 12, 2007 I didn't see a single mosquito while we were at Mosquito Creek campground. Gerry made blueberry loaded pancakes again with bacon. What a great way to start the day! We drove through Banff & JasperNational Parks today, stopping for a couple of walks and several photo opportunities. We saw deer, elk, \bighorn sheep, water birds, an eagle, and moose. The scenery was beyond my wildest dreams and I am in awe deep down into my soul. I feel as though I would have needed to head into the wilderness with a backpack to truly understand these Canadian Rockies. Driving along the highway with stops at tourist spots selectfully designed by park officials seems a better way to capture the spirit of other tourists than the land's. Perhaps the cyclists I met last night have a better idea. Certainly they see the land at a slower pace and have more frequent stops. Yet they are subject to the rushing by of noisy trucks, motorhomes, buses, cars, and motorbikes. And the cyclists seemed to be in a bit of a daze, presumably from the physical exertion and exposure to the elements. Next time I would like to try a combination of train and backpacking. I wonder if arrangements could be made to be dropped in the middle of the wilderness by train for a long hike out. One thing is for certain: I will return here someday.
	June 11, 2007 Today was full of spectacular scenery and great weather. We woke in Waterton Lake National Park, Alberta, with the wind whipping up white caps on the lake and whisking clouds over the mountains. We had cereal again for breakfast and loaded the bowl with delicious blueberries this time. Yum, yum! Right now I am sitting by the fire at Mosquito Creek campground in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. I have wanted to come here since I saw a television show about a train trip and I am in a car, yet I find it very spectacular. Well, it is spectacular. I have never seen anything like this. I've been all oer the 48-states and most roads in Alaska, but this is mountain after mountain of steep, rugged edges and snow. I flew over this area on my way home from Alaska a few years ago and had the fortune of clear skies to see the mountains and glaciers. Wow! Now I am just at the edge of the truly aawesome glaciated mountain regions and I can hardly wait to see more. Tomorrow we'll se the other half of Banff National Park and go to Jasper National Park, which adjoings this one. Jasper holds Alberta's tallest mountain. I hope I get a glimpse. We seem to be in perpetual spring clouds/rain, furtunately with patches of sun and blue skies. As I sit here, the sky is about 95% clouds and it is very lightly sprinkling. Not enough to go inside, but enough to make the ink start to run.
	June 10, 2007 The rain sent us to our camper last night where we read for a while. The rain was still coming down at a slow, steady pace this morning. Off we went after cereal and packing up the jeep. Today we spent driving in and around Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park. We had a border crossing which was a slight delay while they searched the vehicles. We are camping inside Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada tonight in a wonderful spot with grand views of the lake and rugged mountains. Please enjoy the photos in the above link on the parks.
	June 9, 2007 We woke at the lake to a still, quiet morning and resumed our travels after a hearty breakfast of the most delicious fresh blueberry-stuffed pancakes along with thick-sliced bacon. This area on the east side of the lake has many cherry orchards and as we drive along I wish for a moment that it were later in the summer so I could sample cherries from the various roadside stands. Perhaps another time. We stopped in Kalispell, MT for an oil change at Grease Monkey. They had something for each of us. They had wireless internet for me, dog treats and a bowl of water for Honey, and Gerry was asked to show his jeep to a couple of interested mechanics. They were done in a jiffy and off to Glacier National Park we went. Upon arrival, we were told the Going To The Sun Road was closed in the middle section for snow removal. It turned out that the closure was really due to a major washout in the road. No one is sure when the road will open and how long it will take to get both directions open. We headed in as far as we could go and enjoyed a picnic at the end of the road. The scenery was spectacular and I have posted numerous pictures on a special page dedicated to Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park. We stopped at a campground in the Lewis and Clark forest for the night. Gerry took his jeep out and we went for a ride, finding a place called Zips Cabin in the woods.
	June 8, 2007 The drive in Idaho was quite varied yesterday. We drove out of snowy mountains, through small towns with low clouds and misty rain, over a foggy pass, through lava flows with desert-like conditions, and ended up at Craters of the Moon National Monument. We stopped at the first nuclear reactor, EBR-1 (Experimental Breeding Reactor #1). There had once been a nuclear bomber project and this historical site had the atomic apparatus outside. The reactor itself began producing electricity on December 20, 1951, using uranium 235 (U-235) in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) with a sodum-potassium (NaK) solution. This was also the first reactor to produce plutonium fuel, which was done by placing uranium 238 (U-238) rods in the reactor so the neutrons released during the fission of U-235 could bombard the U-238. When U-238 receives another neutron, it becomes plutonium 239 (P-239), a more efficient fuel. The beauty of these breeding atomic reactions is that more fuel is produced than consumed because U-235 fission only requires bombardment by one neutron to nock multiple neutrons loose, which in turn can cause more U-235 breakdown, still leaving enough extra neutrons to be absorbed by U-238. U-235 fission also releases heat, which is used to boil water (creating steam) in a PWR. This steam passes into a generator to produce electricity to run the plan and supply auxilary power. Producing nuclear power plants do not breen their own fuel, as doing so would reduce their efficiency. The biggest concerns with nuclear reactors is waste disposal and core meldown, as occured with Chernobyl in the Ukraine. The Chernobyl reactor was a graphite core reactor, more difficult to control than the PWR reactor type used in the U.S. The waste is the problem that concerns me in all nuclear reactors as containment of these materials that will not decay in our lifetimes must be locked away where they cannot become air or water-borne. The best solution is to bury the waste in a perfectly geologically quiet area, encased in materials impervious to penetration by or reaction with any element or combination thereof. Since scientists cannot predict with 100% accuracy what occurs within the earth today and the future, there is much debate over locations for disposal as well as encasement methods for waste disposal. I think scientists should consider placing the waste in the underground location of a billion-year-old atomic reaction that was discovered in Africa. It is said that the byproducts of the naturally-occurring atomic reaction were still intact and unmoved 1 billion years later when discovered by man. Thinking of power generation for large population areas is a big step out of my normal mindset, as I wish to live in a remote area with my own energy produced from natural sources as wind and sun. Today I return to my lifestyle thoughts. We stayed at Craters of the Moon National Monument last night. There were quite a few people camped there and it was surprisingly quiet, despite the crowd and proximity to the road. For dinner it was polish sausages, corn on the cob, and salad. Honey was not allowed on the trails, so we walked on the road to view the remnants of 9,000 years of volcanic activity. There were some low-lying flowers along the way and numerous volcanic formations. This morning we ate bacon and blueberry pancakes before we headed off in the crisp, cool morning. Now we are driving up route 93, which passes between numerous mountain ranges. The fresh snow and scattered coulds make for great sights of Mt. Borah (the highest mountain in the state at 12,662 feet) and other mountains. We stopped by Mt. Borah to see an earthquake scarp from a 1983 7.3 magnitude quake. The whole Lost Valley floor dropped by 7.5 feet and Mt. Borah rose 1 foot in elevation (or 9 foot drop and 6 inch rise, depending on which sign is read). The spot wasn't very dramatic to see, but certainly was to think about what it would have been like to be standing there with the ground shaking and dropping out from under your feet. We just stopped at a roadside restroom. I took Honey out for a walk as there was a nice shady area with grass. While we walked over, I realized the gurgling noise I heard was a spring, with drinking water. I filled my water bottle and Gerry filled the 5-gallon jug of ice water. As we were about to leave, Gerry went around to his side of the truck to find the air shooshing from the tire. He said we'ld be there for a while and he went to changing the tire. He was done in about 15 minutes and we are off again. We've been talking about buying new tires in Missoula, MT (about 100 miles away). I guess this seals the new tires. Well, we bought tires at Costco and drove north to Finley Point State Park in Montana. We have a very peaceful site, but if it was crowded it would not be peaceful because the sites are crammed together. There are some pretty flowers here like the orange, purple, and pink ones. The purple ones are lupine and the pink ones are wild rose, but I don't know about the orange ones. This site is on a lake with boat docks. Honey does a dance for a treat before we sit down by the fire for a salad. A walk along the lake showed some nice rocks along the shoreline. Now the sun sets and I sign off.
	June 7, 2007 We drove west from Rock Springs and then north and west into Utah and Idaho. We stopped Fossil Butte National Monument. The monument had a nice visitor center, built in 1995, which displayed quite a few of the Green River Formation fossils from the lake bed nearby. The formation is best known for the very abundant fish fossils, often in mass-extinction layers. However, the formation also contained a snake, reptiles, birds, and plants. We drove by Bear Lake in Utah and Idaho and then drove up into the Cache Forest to camp. The campground was deserted, probably due to weather. When we arrived there was a light rain, which quickly turned to snow. An inch or so fell by morning and left a soft blanket on the trees and cliffs. We were plenty warm with our propane heat and slept wonderfully in the peaceful campground. This morning we broke camp to go to Minnetonka Cave, but the gate was closed a couple of miles from the cave. So, we turned around in a convenient pull-out and headed back on our way. We found a nice free dump in Paris, ID, funded by an "Idaho RV Grant". We got fresh water, as we had run out this morning. This town of Paris was settled in the 1860's by Mormon settlers who thought this was Utah. 30 settlers came the first year and another 700 the next year. A neat stone temple was designed by one of Bringham Young's sons. The stone came from a quarry only 18 miles away and was worked by Swiss stone masons. Passing through Montpelier, ID, we saw an even more convenient free RV dump right next to the Oregon/California Trail center on route 30. We went through the town of Lava Hot Springs along route 30 and pulled in to investigate. We ended up going for a dip in the hot springs, as it was reasonably priced ($10 for the two of us), and we were able to take showers. The water felt great and we had fun swimming in the hot water. We met a fellow there who goes there fairly often. He told us a little of the history and said one of the main contents of the water is radium salts, similar to a famous cave in France where people go for healing. According to this fellow, the hot springs were first visited by white men who were part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The area around the springs were inhabited by indians who invited the travellers to visit. They ended up staying 3 days before continuing to St. Louis. As for me, the waters made me a little too light-headed, probably the temperature differential with the outside air. It took me about an hour to feel normal again. We're going through Pocatello now and are heading up towards Montana this afternoon.
	June 6, 2007 Today is my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday! Yesterday we got to Dinosaur National Monument only to find that the famous dinosaur quarry was closed. It is an incredible wall with over 1500 dinosaur bones enclosed in an architecturally artistic building. The building was built on swelling clays, though, and has been closed for several years. We were able to drive through the park and even camped at the campground. Gerry took his jeep out and we drove down the scenic road and also along a 4x4 road. Great fun. We saw petroglyphs, neat rock formations, and a cabin. The cabin was built in 1914 by Josephine Bassett who lived a subsistence lifestyle until she was 90 years old. Her life ended due to complications from a broken hip she suffered when she slipped while feeding her horse on frozen ground. Her time at the cabin was spent enjoying the serenity of this remote and beautiful location. Her light came from an oil lamp and her water from a spring on her spread. She raised lifestock and canned vegetables from her garden. Shortly after she moved there, a down-stream neighbor sued her for water rights to the river. The courts ruled in favor of the neighbor and told Josie that if the water from her spring reached the river, that her neighbor could claim the spring as well. So, Josie built ponds to harbor the water and used the spring and ponds to irrigate her land. One of the other formations we saw is called elephant toes. The jeep is running a little rich, but is still a joy to ride in. It was quite windy, so Gerry made a small fire with charcoal and a little wood to cook our ribeye steaks and vegetables. I wrapped a sliced portabella mushroom and asparagas in aluminum foil with a little butter for Gerry to cook on the fire. Absolutely delicious! And, since we had bone-in ribeyes, Honey got to chew on the bones. We broke camp early and headed through Vernal, UT for Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The area was very beautiful with a neat dam and bridge. We stopped at one of the overlooks to enjoy the view. Then on to Rock Springs to pick up our mail and get the trailer registered. Tonight we will head into Idaho and hope to camp in the forest.
	June 5, 2007 We are on the road again after a peaceful night's sleep, french toast breakfast, and a nice hike. I captured an images of a couple of wildflowers, a daisy and a purple flower along the way. Now we are headed to Dinosaur National Monument for the night. This is an absolutely marvelous drive along WY 70 down from the Sierra Madres with views of the Park Range in Colorado. This time of year is wonderful to travel these areas with cool temperatures and green hills.
	June 4, 2007 Today has been incredible! There were moose in the morning at the ponds in our campsite. We had a great drive to a new campsite seeing mule deer, antelope, m armots, prarie dogs, a bald eagle, and myriad of other birds. We tried a rough road up through the forest, but it took us to someone's homesite. The cement truck was there pouring a pad to the side of a newly constructed 5000+ square foot log cabin. We turned around and headed to find another road. There was a neat river of rock along the way. The road we finally took went through an aspen alley and to our great campsite. We're at a remote spot in the Sierra Madre's of WY with no one around. We stopped, set-up camp, ate lunch, took a nap, and then went for a hike. On the hike we passed through beautiful woods and saw antelope in an open meadow. Now we are sitting by an incredible raging campfire watching the stars come out. Dinner was good and Honey dug a big hole after a critter while we ate. Fried bananas for dessert. I sliced the bananas, dipped them in blueberry pancake mix + cinnamon, and fried in a little vegetable oil. Yum, yum. Gerry had never had them before and he was impressed by the taste. Now it's getting dark and I resign my writing to watch the fire and anticipate more stars.
	June 3, 2007 Last night we camped at an incredible remote site in Medicine Bow National Forest (WY). This was our first primitive campsite. We are staying a second night to enjoy the serenity of nature. Birds sing, river rages, the fire crackles, and the clouds drift by in the bright blue sky while I sit and write. Getting into this spot was not easy with the trailer and the journey out will be a challenge. There was a river crossing. We had to stop half way in and take the jeep out of the trailer. The truck just couldn't pull it up the tumultuous path. So far I've only seen ATVs go by on this forest road. After breakfast this morning we drove the jeep down to a trailhead and took a ppleasant 4-mile hike over the river and through the woods to the visitor center out on the main road. The folks there told us about a lookout tower with aawsome views. We headed there right after the hike, but got stuck in the snow. It turns out that Gerry didn't have the jeep in 4 low. He winched us out, though, and we turned around as the snow ahead looked much deeper. Honey and I took a nap after lunch while Gerry relaxed in the sun and then worked on the jeep. I spend an hour or two on the website while Honey ran around like a fox outside. She amazes me with her energy and inquisitiveness. Even now as she stretches out on my lap, her nose is anxiously sniffing as her eyes scan the landscape. I wonder if she saw the moose that wandered through our site and stopped to feed in the beaver ponds next to camp. She is about the size of one of the moose's ears and I was worried she may get kicked if she got too close. She will get a bath tomorrow before we break camp. I am calling tomorrow the first day of segment 2 of our trip. From here on we hope to camp more remotely and spend more time outdoors hiking, jeeping, and relaxing. I will post more photos and share more adventures, too. I couldn't be happier.
	June 2, 2007 The fog from yesterday has cleared after a peaceful evening and sound sleep. I woke to birds chirping and the sun peaking over the horizon. Honey wanted to go outside right away, so I took her for a walk and then climbed back in bed for more rest. We were still up having breakfast by 7am and I washed the sheets before we broke camp. It's always nice to have a washer/dryer handy, as this "fam camp" has. I am at the base library now, doing some computer work. We're heading off into the mountains of Wyoming for the next few nights. There was an archeology site near the campground. A firepit in an approximate 1000-year-old Indian campsite was excavated and shown in cross-section. It was humbling to consider that I gazed out across a plain that was the site of an Indian camp. As the morning breeze swept the hair from my face, I imagined what it may have been like to stand in that very spot 1000 years ago, looking upon a river that was much closer to my feet. The game would have been more abundant and the smell of campfire strong. Today the area hosts many birds, deer, antelope, and prairie dogs. A thousand years ago there would have been buffalo herds in the area. There would have been no roads or railroad tracks, just trails from man and creatures worn through the tall prarie grass. I will take the serenity of the spot with me as I venture through my day in this modern world. Tonight we hope to camp in a more remote spot and begin a communion with nature.
	June 1, 2007 This morning I woke to find my head in a fog - or perhaps it was just derailled from the night spent camping near the railroad tracks. Every half hour throughout the night a train came through blowing it's whistle and chugging along. I think I might have slept through one or two passings. After last night I have sympathy for the people around Lake McConaughy, Nebraska. A sparsely used railbed was turned into a dedicated coal-running line to a powerplant further east in Nebraska. Trains run east all through the day and night bringing coal to the plant and trains run west charging back to the mine for another load. The folks with homes along the tracks must be rattled out of their beds by the massive vibrations from the weighty rail cars. The property values have plummeted and numerous homes are boarded up with grass growing tall in the drives. There are few who can preach against the power plants, though. Daily life requires power and it would be difficult to escape the use of products whose production required electricity. Even the solar panel on our camper required electricity to produce. I suppose the goal is more about balancing the use of energy from alternate sources like solar, wind, and thermal, than to eradicating traditional methods. We have already travelled far, yet we feel as though our journey will really begin when we leave Wyoming. Starting tonight, we will spend as much as a week there. Gerry took his jeep out of the trailer for the first time last night and drove it around the wet sand tracks near the lake. He looks forward to getting it on some rocky trails. Today is a great day for travelling and there is a rainbow up ahead towards Cheyenne. The grand storms from yesterday have left scatttered clouds and cool temperatures. It's 56 degrees now at 8am and I am wearing long pants and socks for the first time on this journey. p.m. Our decision to camp at Warren Air Force Base was a good one. This is a much more peaceful place than last night and I have enjoyed several walks with Honey. As a chihuahua, she loves ground-digging critters. There are holes all over the place that she sticks her whole head into. The birds are numerous and include quantities of red-winged blackbirds, robins, starlings, and some killdeer. There are other delightful finch and sparrow songs emanating from the marsh. Gerry and I went out about Cheyenne,WY in the jeep today, despite the occasional thunderstorm. Our shopping ventures were far too time-consuming for my liking. Tomorrow is Saturday and we plan to head up into the woods. We could stay here another night and wait for the weekenders to clear out of the mountains. This is the largest town we'll be in for quite some time, so it may be wise to stay another day.
	May 29, 2007 We left Bloomington, IN this afternoon and I said goodbye to my good friend for a while. The visit was very soothing to my soul and I feel more relaxed now as we head on our journey. Just before we got to the highway, the trailer his a pothole at the edge of the road and made a rucous. We stopped a mile down the road at a gas station to find the leaf spring hanging on the ground under the passenger-side axle. Gerry fixed us up in an hour or so by putting some U-bolts on that he had as extras from the jeep. Back on the road we went and stopped for the night at Mark Twain State Park in Missouri for a relaxing night. Gerry cooked porterhouse steaks on the campfire and we had a primo spot with views of the lake. Tomorrow we head towards Nebraska.
	May 28, 2007 The past two days I have been in Indiana visiting with my dearest friend. She is such a wonderful soul and I cherish her dearly. It is early in the morning as I sit to write and find myself anxious for the day. Today we depart this area to take the next step of our journey. We will camp in Illinois tonight, Missouri tomorrow, and then push on to Nebraska. I have met many wonderful people while here in the Brown County and Bloomington area. This is truly a special place in nature and in soul. The frequent rain spurns thriving growth and life in the wild. The serenity of the woods is a contagion as displayed by the peaceful nature of the people. Artists, Musicians, and soul-searchers have migrated into the lush forests as the pull of the place is strong. This is a healing place where life can then thrive.
	May 26, 2007 Bon Voyage. We have departed our beloved Green Mountain State to begin our life of travel and adventure. Gerry, Honey, and I have left Vermont and our home behind in hopes of becoming full-time travelling adventurers. The house sits staged for showing with furniture, plants, and decorartions to entice buyers into choosing our house over the others on the market. We packed our belongings into our camper and trailer and hit the road two days ago. We discarded an amazing amount of stuff. Our posessions would only weigh us down if we had chosen to hang onto them. Gerry gave his daughter a couple of boxes of our personal memorabilia to store in her basement in NH. The rest we either sold, donated, trashed, or left in the house as staging. When the house sells we plan to call a used furniture place and have them take everything in the house. We had several guys come look at our things before we left and the consensus was that the value is not enough to pay us, but they will clean the house out to make room for the new buyers. As we drive down interstate 71 in OH, I find myself day dreaming of the upcoming months. After seeing some folks here in the states, we're heading up into Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and on into Canada. Our goal is to be in Alaska by the end of June where we will spend 2-4 months camping, jeeping, and touring. Gerry's Jeep is living in the enclosed trailer while we journey. We plan to begin using it in Wyoming. I have a dream of sharing my adventures with as many people as possible. Virtual World Trek, Inc., was formed in 2006 as an avenue for this. By posting this journal and photos I hope to enrich the lives of those who frequent my site. Photos will be for sale along with my services as an event photographer to keep the company going. Right now we are in the research and development phase of the company. We had to go mobile to accomplish this. The hardest thing about deciding to travel full time was deciding what to do with our posessions. I took a hard look at what was important to me and I reminded myself of the goals I had as a teenager. I found I had drifted quite far from the dreams I first had as I was discovering who I wanted to be in this world. My number one dream has been to travel and see as much of the world as I could, recording images of nature and life as I went. Teachers and advisors disuaded me from my thoughts of a career as a photo journalist. And now I feel myself drawn back to this path I walked away from twenty years ago. Yet rather than going back to college for another degree, I choose to use my business experience to pursue a more direct path of sharing what I see with others. As for posessioins, I desired as a teenager to fit my belongings into a backpack. Yet we live in such a materialistic world where there is a plethura of useful gadgets that are hard to pass by. Even the bag lady I see on the street has a cart to push her precious things in. As a photographer, a backpack would be filled with camera gear, a sleeping bag, lightweight stove, cooking pot, pocket knife, food, and water. That would be a very minimalistic life, but I would be very mobile. That is not the path I have chosen. I have packed far more than I need, cramming every nook and cranny of our small camper with stuff I may never use. The cost of storing furniture and other house necessities for 5 years is not justified and it was simple to decide to shed these bulky, heavy, and easily replaced items. We kept more sporting gear than we need, far more clothes than our journey calls for, and packed things we can easily buy as needed. So, even though I feel as though we have discarded so much, there is still more that is not needed. I see the people around me clinging to what they own as if their very breath depends on these things. It is as if their success in life is measured by what they own. My husband has a great way of measuring success. To him, success is being able to do what you want to do when you want to do it. By this measure, he is extremely successful as he is living his dream in complete freedom. Perhaps the advertisements we see seduce us into valuing ourselves by the physical objects of desire, rather than our freedom, peace, and joy. The most peaceful man I have ever met lived in a small village in Argentina in a modest house with a half acre of land. His being exuded joy and he seemed to glide across the yard between his myriad of fruit trees on his way to open the house I was renting for $15 per night. After helping me, he smiled and gently backed away with a prolonged nod of the head. I had the most peaceful night of sleep and woke to birds singing out my unscreened, open window. After a shower, I packed my bag with a few apples from the ground and headed off into town on my motorcycle. As I rode away, I felt as though I could have spent a few years tending to the trees and simply living. Images as these come into my mind when I think of success. For to me, success is a state of being that can only be reached when joy, peace, and happiness bless our souls.