Dragonfly Fun

First Scrap Page in ages!!!

Rocky Mountain Highwood Pass

We had a grand weekend in Calgary with the local Goldwing chapter there. In true Wild West Style, we started out with breakfast at Lousiette's, then headed out, one of four groups of five bikes for Highwood Pass. Beautiful! Wildlife seen: Mountain goats licking the salt off the pavement. The Pass itself is gorgeous and we had the best day for it. We managed to dodge all little rainclouds, and arrived back at Lousianne's for beef on a bun for supper. The Calgary chapter is very lucky to have such spectacular rides in their own backyard! Awesome!

My roses this morning after the rain....

I saw my roses this morning with droplets of rain on them and had to grab my camera and take a few shots...

OMG!!

Back to work and we are swamped. Ever hear the phrase "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get"? Well I had a morning like that. I was trying to rush the stack cutting and I had a little tustle with it....guess who won?

Wow! It's over!

As you know, my DD was married yesterday, and it was beautiful! The weather cooperated, and we couldn't have had a better anything! The service was so special...just the right amount of humor and seriousness. Pastor Marilyn was fantastic! Then the reception was so much fun! I will upload pictures as I find any....I was so busy and only got 103 myself...which is a puny amount for me! hehehe! Thanks everyone for making Kristin's day such an enormous success!

So now it's all over with, LIFE can return to normal. Sort of. I know I have lots of orders sitting on my sewing machine in the shop just waiting for me...*sigh* The bubble has burst and I have to get my nose to the grindstone.

Man! What a week!

We got home Tuesday at 4:30 pm and it has been a zoo ever since! The upholstery work load this week has been crazy! No time to "ease" into the whole scene...just go for it! I don't work at the Lodge until Friday night, but this has been a tiring week after all those long days in the saddle!

Squeaker has loved being home. She spends her days outside bird-watching and chasing bugs! She has been very cuddly and even slept one whole night snuggled in my neck. She doesn't even mind if I pick her up, which was a no-no before we left!

Only a week until the wedding and another very busy week it will be....

Special Moments from our Holiday

Monday July 7, 2008 (THE END!!!)
We are finally home now! No rain today, and the closer we got to home, the more layers were peeled off! Arrived home at 4:30, changed clothes and headed out in the Nitro to get our Squeaker from Ty & Kristin.

Funniest Moment: The Snowshoe Shufflers (hands down!)
Best Ride: Tie: to Skagway via Train and Bike.
Biggest Disappointment: not seeing Mt McKinley due to rain & cloud cover
Prettiest View: Midnight sunset/sunrise June 22, Whitehorse
Proudest Moment: Nailing up our sign in the Sign Forest, Watson Lake
Most Unusual Accommodations: Tie: Air Force Lodge, Watson Lake & Seven Gables Inn, Fairbanks

Once the wedding is over, I will have more time to process the photos and diary into a memorable scrapbook!

Sunday July 6, 2008

I put ear plugs in last night to drown out the outrageously loud fan, and slept right through until 7:23. We were to be packed up, gassed up, and ready to roll at Tim Horton’s by 8am. Just made it. We have a long day today. Lunch at Prince George, where we will be saying goodbye to three bikes & their riders. We had a yummy lunch at Red Robin, where Rick’s wife, Corey, joined us. The manager was all ga-ga over the Goldwings and treated us to 3 mud pie desserts to share. Wow!
Then on we go to Valemount. We had mostly sunshine all day with only a few sprinkles. We missed it all the way there! Hehehe! J Apparently a few days ago, the rain was so heavy that there were 3 mud slides just around the corner to Mount Robson, causing single lane traffic and up to one hour delays. We checked tonight and the road is back to double lanes, so we should have clear sailing. We are three couples and Terry now. Almost home…………

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Our day started very early, as the ferry docks at Prince Rupert at 1am. PR is the rainforest of Canada, so it rains steady, of course. As soon as you get off the ferry, you get in line at Canada customs, so we were wet right through before we even got out of the Customs area. No more midnight sun for us…it is very dark, but lucky for us, Tim Horton’s just opened and we invaded, dripping with rain, until the sun comes up.
Onward to Smithers today, and good thing, because we are all so tired we can’t see straight. The scenery would be very beautiful if we could see past the low cloud and fog and keep our eyes open! When we arrived at our motel, we discovered we had reserved for tomorrow night! Miracuously, there were rooms for us….with beds…..to lie down on….and go to sleep……. *snore*
Later on after a power snooze, a walk was in order but it was difficult to know what the weather was… it would shower, then the sun would come out and it was rather hot….then we had a real torrential downpour… and luckily we were all under cover….except Terry.
Supper was superb at the motel restaurant. Then a little relax time to call home and catch up on the news via Skype before hitting the sheets again at 9pm.

Friday July 4, 2008

We woke up in a fog this morning….literally. Can’t really see much out of the windows. The clouds are so low! During the day, they lifted, but it is rainy and we have all day to relax. Poor Ted is bored stiff!
At 3pm the ferry stopped for 4 hours at Ketchikan. Quite a few of our gang took a mini van into town. Ketchikan reminded Ted of Skagway: another town owned by the cruise line, this time Carnival. After the logging was outlawed and the fishing died off, tourism remained as the only “industry” left. There is a Carnival ship in the harbor too…massive! A few of us walked the 2 miles back to the ferry…had to be back in time!
The meals on the ferry aren’t really expensive and the portion sizes are big enough to share between the two of us. Tonight we had turkey & dressing, etc. We also were treated to a film about 2 motorcyclists who toured Southeastern Alaska, waaay back when there weren’t roads, just some trails! I guess our journeys were not as bad as that!
Gathering in the cafeteria, we had our own rowdy poetry reading. Terry has written a poem about our entire journey so far using the rhyme scheme from “T’was the Night Before Christmas” It was ingenious! That guy is talented!!

Thursday July 3, 2008

The morning was gorgeous; sun shining, no wind. (Just the time to throw in a quick load of laundry! Haha! All done by breakfast time too!) The ferry leaves around noon, so we have a little time to enjoy before then.
All motorcycles go on the ferry first and have to be tied down properly for the trip. We had brought our own tie-downs, but it was every man for himself at the bins for the ferry tie-downs. Ted ended up with some twine, but I guess it worked fine and the bikes were all secured.
We hadn’t been on the ferry very long before we saw a mother whale & her calf going by and then another one blowing its blow hole, and a pair of dolphins. They weren’t close enough to see very well, but we did see them nevertheless! The weather is quite mild today, so if you sit on the sunny side of the boat it is hot. The other side has more wind, and just a windbreaker is needed! I imagine we’ll be wind and/or sunburned tonight! The ride is amazingly relaxing…just flowing by the shoreline….the water is calm…just lulls you to sleep …almost!
We are staying in little tiny cabins with a tiny little desk to set the laptop on. We have our own bathroom with a tiny little sink and a tiny little shower too! There were bunk beds, and you should have seen Ted jump up into the top bunk! Years of experience…… No internet, but I have lots of “homework” to do on my photos.

Where We Have Been & Where We Are Going

click on the map for a larger view!

Wednesday July 2, 2008

Today is a short hop for us down to Haines, Alaska. On the map, it is just a “spit” from Skagway, but we took the really long way around! The road is absolute heaven compared to yesterday! Very few bumps! Yesterday we passed from Alaska back into the Yukon, and this morning we moved into BC for a bit, back into the Yukon and then over the border into Alaska again! The borders are weird up here!
I thought I’d seen all the beautiful scenery there was to see, but apparently not. Every turn of the highway brings more breathtaking views. I will try to snaffle a video or two from another Goldwinger to put up on my blog. It’s just awesome here!
Every day brings surprises as I’ve said before, and today after turning into a rest stop area, I was lucky enough to be first in line for the biffy. Well, once inside, I heard animal noises! “Who are you? You just stay down there Stinky! Don’t you crawl up here and bite me!!”
Two visitors (not our Goldwingers) outside were tellling Ted that there was something in or under the outhouse.
“I know. I can hear her talking to it!” he said. (Please check rest Stop video => right)
Meanwhile, 2 other ‘Wingnuts’ were making snowballs and throwing them at the rest of us! Ah,….boys will be boys. (You gathered there are still patches of snow on the hills up here, right?)
Haines is another little harbor town like Skagway in that the cruise ships port here and the guests are bussed into town for fun. Unlike Skagway, the town isn’t owned by Holland American Cruise line, so it is just the local folks and things are not as well done. Ted visited a Hammer Museum ( yes you read it correctly). He even found some old upholstery tack hammers from waaaay back. The other local museum was interesting and showed us a very good map of the inside passage, where we will likely be going on the ferry tomorrow. WOW!
The Native Alaskans are very different from the Plains Indians. Their artwork is very bold and colorful. And I even found some hats and ear bands made from sled dog hair!! Those weren’t in the Museum though, but for sale at one of the shops. I knew they made blankets & sweaters from poodle wool, but I never imagined the hair from Huskies would also work!
Ted & I hiked around town a bit, and by the way, the sun is shining and it’s hot today. It was a great day for riding and bumming around Haines, Alaska.

Tuesday July 1, 2008

Happy Canada Day, by the way! Our journey today will take us back into the Yukon…and what a day we had too! Yikes! After a really good breakfast at Grumpy Grizz’s, we left Tok and headed for Haines Junction, our destination for the day. The three “R’s” were the order of the day: Rain, Rotten Roads and Road construction! We could see our breath this morning, it was so cold,
“Put on an extra layer!” “Right!”
Then we hit the construction. To make a long 100 mile story short, I never thought I’d ever hear the words, “I love gravel!” but I did today! Gravel is much easier to travel on……..pot holes and massive dips are difficult to dodge…and I think all of us were flying in the air at some point! Ouch!
Just over the Canadian border, we stopped for gas & food at Beaver Creek…nothing was open! It was Canada Day, and the RCMP officers were BBQ’ing hot dogs & burgers, so we joined in the line!! Watermelon, pop & cake too! No matter where we are, we always seem to celebrate Canada Day in style!
Oh, and one guy had a flat tire too…you should have seen the guys hop to it! First they located the puncture, then plugged it, put on some goop and filled it up with a tiny little compressor someone had with them. And the patch held. If it held on that road, it’ll hold forever!
Safely & soundly, we did arrive at Haines Junction, Yukon in time for supper.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Today is a half day of sightseeing before we have to backtrack to Tok. Valdez is a place of glaciers and our first trek is to the Valdez Glacier. We are not that far above sea level, yet the glaciers are still here…in fact, you will see the ice bergs on the pond. A couple from Ontario had just taken their canoe out of the water as we arrived and told us they had to crash through some ice as they padded about in this pond. Gorgeous, isn’t it? We hiked around as far as we could. What a grand view!
A visit to a few of the local museums also was on our agenda. In 1964, a 9.2 earthquake basically leveled the old town and it had to be rebuilt on its present site of bedrock. Fascinating films. Also, do you remember the 1998 Exxon oil spill in Valdez? Everything is clean & pristine now, but I remember the news about this.
About 3pm we mounted up and headed for Tok Junction. I thoroughly enjoyed our little stay in Valdez and tried to take a 360 degree movie for you, but I goofed. Very disappointing, as you can’t imagine the beauty of the mountains surrounding this quaint town. I did manage to steal one from rick beres, though: check it out at the right.

Travelling later in the day is tougher than earlier, I am pretty tired and my poor knees have the heebie jeebies. I was so glad to arrive at our motel at 8:30, and it was a quick wash and into bed for me. Ted walked over to the office to get registered, and was too pooped to walk back, so he got a ride! And without a helmet too!

Tomorrow we begin the trek towards home. Haines Junction will be our stop for one night.