Alaska Day Four--Glacier Bay National Park

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” - Gustave Flaubert

September 19, 2017

Southwestern Breakfast

We woke this morning inside a national park. The Eurodam slowed long enough to allow 4 park rangers and a native guide to hop on as we turned into the Sitakaday Narrows and into Glacier Bay. We had an early breakfast with Joy and Mike and then headed back to our respective cabins to prepare to spend the morning out on our verandas watching the wondrous frozen world slide by. 

The key to comfort in the cold is layering. I didn’t bring a winter coat per se. Instead I wore wooly socks, black pants, a long tunic topped with a sweater, a thick cowl neck poncho (This last item I received from my sister Linda when we dropped by to see her on the way out here. All these years, and we can still raid each other’s closet!) My ensemble was completed by a red toboggan hat, a long blue neck scarf #2 Daughter knitted for me, and a pair of leather gloves.

The next step was to prepare my chair and ottoman on the veranda. First, we draped the spare comforter that was in our closet over it which made for a warmer seat. Then we covered our legs with woolen lap blankets the DH snagged from up by the unused pool. We each had a set of binoculars (We brought one and HAL provided another in the cabin for us to use. This must be something unique to suite passengers. We’ve never had one in any of our other cabins.) And our cell phone cameras (with the phones set to flight mode to avoid roaming charges!). We also had a map of the park so we could follow our progress up the bay.

It was a magical passage. In addition to the incredible glaciers, today was a big wildlife day for us. It started with seeing some harbor seals lounging on ice bergs. A little later, a pair of sea otters were playing like sea-going dogs, chasing and leaping out of the water, and treating a large block of floating ice as base in their game of tag. I wasn’t able to get good pictures of this activity because my phone camera wouldn’t zoom as close as my binoculars did, but it was such fun to watch them. To my surprise, the park ranger, whose narration was blasted over the ships intercom, told us that beneath the milky gray-green water, the sea floor is home to sea urchins, starfish and even a species of coral that likes cold water. We saw whale spouts, plums of mist shooting into the air like dragon’s breath, but the animals themselves were too far for us to see clearly. The spout sightings however proved they were there. On a small archipelago of islands, a colony of hundreds of sea lions barked and growled at us as our ship passed by.

In the afternoon, the native Tlingit interpreter gave a heartfelt talk in the main theater. His history tells him his people lived in the Glacier Bay area since “before memory.” Then in about 1750, there was a cataclysmic advance of the glacier. We normally think of glacial speed as being slower than slug-like, but he said the ice came bearing down upon his village “faster than a dog could run.” They abandoned all they had and moved south. The ice spilled out past the current day park boundaries at the mouth of the inlet and into Icy Straight. By the time Captain George Vancouver sailed there 45 years later, the glacier had retreated back into the cove about 5 miles. When John Muir, noted naturalist, visited the park in 1879, the glacier had retreated an additional 40 miles.

Now, some glaciers are still retreating but some are advancing again. The Grand Pacific Glacier, the largest one in the park, has advanced from its 1966 position, as have the John Hopkins and Lamplugh glaciers.  

Since the Tlingit’s homeland has reappeared at the mouth of the bay, these indigenous people are reclaiming the area as their spiritual home. They have a rich spiritual life. They have always acknowledged a Creator, but they also believe all things have a spirit of their own. Balance is their watchword. I mentioned yesterday that the Tlingit divide themselves into what they call moieties—either Eagle or Raven. To maintain balance, if you were an Eagle man, you must marry a Raven woman. Your children would be considered Ravens like their mother, but they would hold Eagles in high regard because of their father. And vice versa. It seems like a tidy way to keep peace between the people.

However, according to our native guide, when his Eagle father was three, he was taken from his family and sent to a boarding school where it was thought he would lose his language and culture. When he was eighteen, he was sent home, but not alone. The school had assigned a wife for him. She was another Eagle, which made their kids “double eagles.”

This was considered a great taboo, probably because following the prescribed rules would guard against inbreeding and deformities in offspring. They were ostracized, and so were their children. There was no balance. When their father died, they were not even allowed to grieve him. Finally, they petitioned their elders, who are held in universally high regard, and balance was restored when they were “adopted” by a Raven relative. They were considered double eagles no longer.

The evening show was called Alaska in Concert. It featured a video accompanied by a live mini-orchestra. Very enjoyable.

My DH only had one complaint. Our day was too full for us to have time to use the Thermal Suite!
     

  ~~~

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Alaska Day Three--Juneau

Gunnalcheesh ~ “Thank you” in Tlingit 

Monday, Sept. 18th

After a night rolling on open ocean swells, we woke to calmer waters as the Eurodam turned inside to thread the needle through a wicket of boundary islands and headed for Alaska’s capital city. Juneau is one of only four US capitals not served by an interstate highway. (For you trivia lovers out there, see if you can name the others in the comments section!)

After breakfast in the MDR, (I had the Asian breakfast again!) we all went our separate ways. Mike and Joy took a shuttle to the Mendenhall Glacier where they did some hiking. Mike saw a bear and Joy got turned around on the trail once, but they both came back in the same configuration in which they left! The DH and I hoofed it over to the Mt. Roberts tram and rode it to the top. It was rainy and a bit foggy, in other words, perfect Alaska weather. The whole port was quickly swallowed up by the mist, but we were thrilled with up close and personal views of towering Sitka pines, hemlocks fringed with lichen, and stately alder trees as we rose up the steep face of the mountain.

My DH, God bless the man, took Herkimer on his back under his rain gear, which meant he had me on a 7 ft. tether (the length my O2 cannula will reach) but that’s okay. We like sticking together and he doesn’t even mind when I lovingly refer to him as my “sherpa.”
Once we reached the visitors’ center at the top of the mountain, we were treated to a talk and dance demonstration by a couple of members of the Tlingit (pronounced like “Clinket”) nation. It is a matrilinear society which means a person’s ancestry is figured through their mother’s bloodline and everyone belongs to either the Eagle or Raven moieties—something I’ll be blogging more about tomorrow.

Then the Alaskan String Band performed. I’m normally not a fan of country music, but this was authentic in a way you don’t often find coming out of Nashville. The band, which we were told was missing a few members, consisted of Dad (on guitar), Daughter (on banjo), Daughter-in-law (playing mandolin & penny whistle flute) and Son (on String Bass). The vocals (something I’m pretty picky about since I majored in vocal music) were haunting and ethereal. I was seriously impressed, which anyone who knows me would tell you, is really saying something.

From there, we visited Lady Liberty, a bald eagle who’d been shot. She lost the sight in one eye and the use of a wing, so there’s no returning her to the wild. However, she looked perfectly happy on her perch and her lifespan will likely top 40 years, much longer than birds in the wild.


Speaking of spans, we were able to measure the DH’s wingspan. Turns out, he could pass for a Canada goose!   

A native artisan was carving a totem pole inside the gift shop. When Christian missionaries first came to Alaska, they misunderstood the purposed of totem poles and thought the Tlingit were worshiping them. They are actually a record of one’s ancestors and important events in the life of the village. In the intolerant spirit that still lives on in sects like the Taliban who destroyed those ancient Buddhas, the first missionaries burned the poles to ashes. I was glad to see the art of the Tlingit being preserved through this modern day artist.


Doesn’t the expression on this totem’s face remind you of someone in a dental chair?

After our time out in the brisk and soggy Juneau weather, we headed back to the Eurodam for lunch, and then to our go-to activity when we want to relax and unwind—the Thermal Suite. A day on a cruise just isn’t complete unless the DH gets his nap on one of those heated stone loungers. Alas, the Pacific Princess—the ship we’ll board for our World Cruise next January—is not equipped with them.

By then it was time for supper in the MDR. I had soft shell crabs for an appetizer, something I might not do again. It sort of resembled a deep fried spider on my plate, but it tasted okay.

After supper, the DH and I made the mistake of returning to our cabin to brush our teeth before the show (a Latin Dance troop!). We’d even intended to stay up for 11:30 Indonesian Crew show. But a little known force we like to call cabin gravity grabbed us and when the DH started saying “Would it be terrible if…”

“…we got in to our jammies and called it a day?” I finished for him. 

He smiled in gratitude.

The man and I are so bonded. Anybody else might be annoyed by our preference for quiet and solitude, but we’re perfectly happy with it. We’ve learned that sometimes you can run yourself ragged trying to do everything on a cruise. It’s okay to do nothing.

Really.

I highly recommend it.   

~~~

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Alaska Day Two

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

September 17th was a sea day. I love them, which is why I’m sure I’ll enjoy the world cruise next January which has considerably more sea days and port days. Last night we said goodnight to a sky full of brittle northern stars.  This morning dawned ominously gray, but the sun burned through in short order and we had sunny skies as we skirted the southern shore of Vancouver Island on our way to Juneau.

As a side note: There are a few, admittedly very few, archaeologists who’ve posited that this island could be the Vikings’ fabled Vinland instead of Maritime Canada. The theory is that because ocean levels were considerably higher in 1000 AD that they are now, there was a navigable Northwest Passage that took them all the way around to this island south of Alaska. Don’t know if it’s true, but it’s fun to ponder.

We breakfasted in the main dining room and had quite a sampling of international fare. My friend Joy had an All-American breakfast, Mike a classic English breakfast complete with bangers (pork sausage) and baked beans. The DH had French Toast, and I had an Asian breakfast—miso soup, grilled salmon on a bed of rice and tamagoyaki (Japanese scrambled eggs!) 

Then at 10:30AM we all took the kitchen tour. It was a fascinating behind the scenes look at how 2100 passengers and 850 crew get fed three times a day. 150 crew members serve in the galley, from the highly skilled executive chef all the way down to the dishwashers.

Occasionally, I’ve heard of cruise passengers going to the pursers’ office on the first day of their voyage and removing the automatic tip from their shipboard account. They claim they prefer to tip the crew they interact with directly. The problem with this strategy is that there are tons of crew they never see, yet are working very hard to make the voyage pleasant.  The automatic tips are divided up among all the crew, but if a passenger removes the autotip, they are effectively stiffing all those folks who work in unseen, yet essential, positions. So the DH and I embrace a both/and philosophy of tipping. We pay the autotips on our account, and on the last day, we slip something extra to our dining room staff, room stewards, and anyone else who has rendered us exceptional service.

Here are a few eye-popping stats about the weekly average consumption of food on board: 11,830 lbs. of meat, 4450 lbs. of seafood, 3,814 lbs. of poultry, over 23,000 eggs (!). Lest you think we’re way out of balance on protein, a cruise ship goes through 137,500 lbs. of fresh vegetables a week, too. Oh! And 300 gallons of ice cream.

At 11:00AM we watched the cooking show at the culinary science center and learned two new recipes for salmon. I’ll be sharing those later. Apparently there are some differences between Atlantic salmon (which are mostly farmed now instead of fished) and wild caught Pacific salmon, which require cooking to different temperatures to insure doneness but not over-doneness. My take-away was that I really need a meat thermometer.

The show ended at 11:45 AM, so we headed up to the Lido deck for a quick lunch since I’d hoped to catch the art auction at 12:30. Time got away from us and we arrived fifteen minutes late. They hadn’t started yet, but all the seats with an open space beside them where I could tuck Herkimer (my portable O2 concentrator) were taken. I was actually wearing out a bit, so we decided to hit the Thermal Suite for a soak in the hydro-pool and a quick nap on the stone loungers.

Then it was time to shower, rest and recharge in our lovely cabin for a while. I know there are plenty of activities on board we could be joining, but sometimes, the joy of cruising is simply doing nothing. The DH and I are both a bit introverted and crowds exhaust us after a while. This way, we’ll be ready to socialize this evening.

Tonight is a Gala night, so the DH will wear his tux and I’ll don my long black dress with a black and gold jacket. Sparkle is the word of the evening. 

After supper, we hope to catch a string quartet playing Dvorak at 7:00pm. If we can stay up long enough (we’re sort of old farts when it comes to our bedtime), we’d like to see the 10 PM reprise of the stage show as well. The kids they hire for these cruises are usually quite talented and I have no idea how they can dance so well while the deck pitches beneath their feet, but they manage it somehow.

Here's a pic of our friends, Joy and Mike, stepping out in style. Joy is rocking a vintage cocktail dress that belonged to her mother. I don't know about you, but I'd give my left pinkie toe to be able to fit into one of my mother's dresses from when she was young! 

More later…

PS. The dancers were cancelled because of the motion of the ocean so we heard a comedian, Kevin McGill. He was pretty entertaining and seemed to be tailoring his show to his audience with quick ad-libs. A genuinely funny guy.

Of course, he did sort of nail me. He asked if any of us took photos of our food. I had to raise my hand. But contrary to what Kevin says, I don't post the pics to gloat (a la "Neener-neener, I get to eat this and you don't.") I post the lovely plates of food because I think the chef does a wonderful job and it almost looks too pretty to eat.

Almost... 

~~~

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Alaska Day 1--Embarkation & Touring Cabin 7078

Sept. 16, 2017

Whoever said getting there is half the fun obviously traveled by cruise ship!

After a delightful day at my friend Darcy’s home, she and her husband Bill drove us all the way from Renton to Pier 91 in Seattle. They are letting us park our RV on their property and are such generous souls. It was fun to get into the city for a bit since we used to live in Belltown, a funky neighborhood then, sort of sketchy now, we’ve been told. We drove past the “Darth Vader” building, a soaring angular structure where my DH used to work. Back in 2002, we lived in a lovely high rise at Second and Vine and had a fully walkable lifestyle. We walked to our downtown church, down to Pike Street market to pick up fresh veggies and meat, and only got the car out for weekly big grocery runs and for me to drive out of the city, across the Mercer Island Bridge and to Darcy’s to work (and play!) with the writing critique group that met around her kitchen table.

Once we reached the cruise terminal at about 11 AM, our embarkation process was quite smooth and efficient. We were delighted to meet our friends Mike & Joy, who’d driven from Missouri to Seattle, too, though they’d taken a different route than ours. They managed to hit Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone Park as well as visit friends in Oregon before driving up to Seattle. We didn’t have long to wait till our boarding group was called and we embarked on the elegant Holland America Eurodam.

We had lunch on the Lido deck, then went exploring a bit. We’d already reserved places in the Thermal Suite—a collection of rooms that includes a big hydrotherapy pool, sauna and steam rooms and the heavenly heated stone loungers that always cures my spinal ills. Until we tried them the first time, I’d have said it was impossible to fall asleep on stone, but with the warmth and the fantastic back support, I do it almost every time.

The ship is beautiful, very well appointed, and scrupulously clean. Sometimes, cruise ships get a little tired-looking and frayed about the edges. I don’t know when the Eurodam was last refreshed, but it rivals any 5 STAR resort. Last year when we cruised to Tahiti on the Westerdam, the captain was forced to cancel several ports due to poor weather conditions. HAL very generously offered all the passengers a credit worth 15% of their fare toward their next cruise. So using that little windfall, we splurged on a Signature Suite for this cruise. So without further ado, let me welcome you to Cabin 7078!

We’ve never had so much space on a cruise ship. Or so many electrical outlets. Normally in a balcony cabin (our go-to choice) we have only one outlet on the desk, and if we’re lucky, one in the bathroom. In this cabin, we have outlets on both the bedside tables (a real plus for me since I use a bi-Pap machine each night!) as well as outlets at the desk and the vanity. Our closet space is lavish and for once we have more drawer space than we can fill.

The bathroom is a quasi-religious experience. It boasts double sinks, which the DH regards as the hallmark of civilization, upscale bath products (shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, lotion, bath salts, etc.). There’s a jetted tub and a capacious separate shower. The usual joke on cruise ships is that the way to get clean in the shower is to soap up the walls, step into it and turn around twice. Not so here.

Our balcony is much bigger than is usual for us. There’s room for two loungers, and a bistro table and two chairs for dining al fresco (and in Alaska al fresco is pretty fresc. There’s a definite nip in the air out there.) There was a big sail away party up on the Lido deck, but we sat out on our balcony and enjoyed slipping out of Puget Sound (which was calm as a bathtub) and past the Kitsap peninsula. A pod of about 15 porpoises cavorted alongside, hunting the fish that had been stirred up by the Eurodam’s passage. It was idyllic until the man in the cabin directly beneath us lit up a cigar. Besides the fact that smoke is bad for people like me who have lung conditions, it’s against the rules to smoke on any balcony. As well as being intrusively annoying, a stray ash can be blown back into the ship and start a fire, one of the worst case scenarios at sea.

Supper was served in the main dining room and we met our other table mates—Hilary and Dan from Florida. They weathered Irma pretty well and were so relieved that they’d scheduled an Alaskan cruise this year instead of their usual jaunt into the Caribbean. After supper, we stopped by the jewelry shop to see if we won a tanzanite necklace. We didn’t, but it fun that we might have. Then the DH and I headed for the Thermal Suite before bedding down to let the Eurodam rock us to sleep.

More tomorrow…  

Snoqualmie Pass

Yesterday was a relatively short travel day--only a little over 100 miles--but they were cram packed with gorgeous views. I'll let the pictures speak for me.

When we lived in Seattle, we owned a Cessna 182, which we tied down at the little GA airport in Renton, WA. When the DH took flying lessons, I often tagged along, riding in the cramped back seat. One of his lessons included making steep banking turns. It's a necessary skill in a tight canyon and very useful for flying in the Cascades. The DH would pull out all the flaps, slow the plane down and tip it up on one wing. We were able to make a quick flip around in very little space, but it was nerve-wracking for me. I like my flying straight and level, but this quick turn maneuver could mean the difference between getting home and splatting into the side of the mountain.

~~~IMAGINE ANOTHER PICTURE HERE~~~

Well... I've spent the last half hour trying to upload another photo to no avail. The wifi at the Kent, WA KOA is worse than AOL dial up on a bad day. I'll have to add more images when I have better access--which may not be until we get back from the cruise. Tomorrow we board the Holland America Eurodam for a wonderful week to Alaska! I promise to record our fun in several posts, even if it means I have to wait for dry land and better internet to upload them.

But I get to spend today with my friend Darcy Carson. When I first began writing, I discovered an RWA chapter in Bellevue and began attending meetings. There was a critique group that met around Darcy's kitchen table once a week and I was thrilled when they said I could join them. I learned so much from them. Then my DH's division was downsized and we found ourselves moving suddenly. I was within an inch of giving up on writing, but Darcy wouldn't let me. By phone & email, she critiqued long-distance with me, giving me much needed encouragement and the occasional kick in the pants.  

My debut title was published in 2006. Since then, writing under multiple pen names, I've had 30-some Mia Marlowe historicals and 2 Lexi Eddings contemporaries hit the bookstore shelves. I can honestly say it wouldn't have happened without my dear friend Darcy!  

Do you have a friend who helps you be a better version of yourself?

~~~

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Random Thoughts from the Road

Not all who wander are lost ~ Tolkien

(Sometimes they're just following directions from a glitchy GPS!)

We have an aging Garmin GPS which we affectionately call "Daphne" because of her lovely English accent. But however charmingly she says, "Turn left, then turn left," sometimes, she takes us where we want to go by the worst possible way. That's how we found ourselves trolling a very shabby trailer park while we were looking for the KOA where we had reservations in Missoula, MT. We finally found the park by following our noses instead of listening to Daphne's directions. 

On the plus side, this wasn't the worst detour she's taken us on. There was that one time we ended up off-roading in our old Cadillac...

But after a restful night, we woke early, put Missoula and its smoky air in the rear view mirror, and headed up the pass to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The air quality improved almost immediately once we made it through.

We're no strangers to the fire season that regularly afflicts the West. We had to evacuate once when we lived in Park City, UT. I was home alone and didn't have the TV or radio on. Gradually, I became aware that it was far too quiet. I didn't even hear the low hum of the refrigerator. Our power was out. I looked out the window and saw gray ash falling like snow. A wild fire was cresting the ridge and threatening our mountain neighborhood. Since we had no power, I couldn't get our garage door open, so I looked around at all our possessions and realized they were all at once too precious and of no import at all. I leashed up the two little dogs and prepared to walk down the mountain empty handed. I was so relieved when my parents, who lived with us at that time, pulled in the drive way. They'd run the blockade at the foot of the neighborhood to come get me. 😀

As you can see, the Coeur d'Alene area is gorgeous, with mountains, trees and lakes. And as you can also see, taking pictures in a moving vehicle poses some unique problems. I can't help it that the best view was out my DH's window. 

So we stopped at a scenic area as we neared the Columbia River.

While we were there, an F-16 fighter plane buzzed us, practicing low altitude maneuvers. Unfortunately, I was too slow to snap a picture. It was gone almost before we heard the roar of the engine.

As we came through Spokane, we noticed a lot of police activity--lights and sirens--blazing away going the opposite direction we were. When we turned on the radio, we learned where they were headed--toward the school shooting at Freeman High School. We listened with our hearts in our throats as the horrific drama unfolded in a live broadcast. It's so senseless and sad. 

After we passed through Spokane (where we paid $2.99 per gallon for gas--the highest price yet on this trip) we descended into the broad plain of central Washington. As long as this area is irrigated, anything can grow there. If it's not, the land sprouts scrub brush and sage. At one point, signs were posted along the fence rows telling the type of crops planted. We saw fields of sweet corn, alfalfa, grass hay (which my farm boy DH assures me is very different from alfalfa), field corn (again, quite different from sweet corn), buckwheat, and canola seed (Actually, this vibrant, almost neon yellow crop is called rape seed and is used to make canola oil. The farmer must not have liked the real name, and who can blame him?). There were also fields labeled onions and potatoes, but they didn't seem to be in season. And one was labeled timothy, but that made my DH shake his head. He says his dad considered timothy a weed. 

When we moved from Park City to Seattle  years ago, we came through the southeastern part of Washington during the apple harvest. The sweet perfume of those orchards was a wonderful welcome to a new place. Unfortunately, we didn't pass any orchards this time.

We've traveled over 2000 miles since we started last Friday and we're not there yet. The truck is running well. I love pulling our camper, our little home, along behind us. And I'm spending my days with my favorite person in all the world. I'm a happy girl! 

More soon...

The Road Goes Ever On and On...

It's a dangerous business going out your front door...

~ Tolkien

Tolkien conceived of his Middle Earth as an expansive place with wide open plains, misty mountains and the unexpected around every corner.

He must have been thinking of Montana.

I don’t know why I thought this would be an easy travel day. Maybe it was because we were going to remain all in one state, making the trek from Billings to Missoula. I forgot just how big a place Big Sky Country is.  The DH & I hadn’t driven this part of I-90 since we moved from Seattle to Missouri back in 2003. It’s still just as pretty, but with all the smoke from the fires up near Glacier National Park drifting southward, we were missing the lovely highest peaks.

We climbed for most of the day and I had to hook up to Herkimer (my O2 concentrator) to maintain good oxygen sats even when seated in the truck. The air quality was poor, but having supplemental oxygen and cough drops helped me keep going. I told the DH this was good practice for Mumbai when we're on our world cruise next  year. I've heard the air quality in Mumbai is always poor.

In keeping with the Tolkien theme, doesn't this tumbled down castle of a rock outcropping look like a place where one might encounter ogres?

This pic gives you an idea of how the smoke marred the views. Sort of reminded me of a large scale version of the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina (which are not smoky at all, just perpetually hazy.)  My heart goes out to the brave men and women who are fighting the wild fires throughout the West. Many of them are college students who have arranged to start their fall semester late so they can see the fires under control before they leave the line. Please pray for their safety with me.

This final picture is for my dad. He finished his railroad career as a locomotive engineer for the BN, running from Sheridan, WY to Billings, MT. Whether it was snowing or midnight, he found reasons to enjoy his trips. He's one of those lucky souls who loved his job.

More tomorrow...

The Road is Before Us...

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road

~Walt Whitman

We got off to an early start on Friday the 8th, heading north up the western edge of Missouri, all the way to our first stop at Haworth Park in Bellevue, Ne. It's a sweet little municipal park on the banks of the Missouri River. To reach it, we had to take the odd, narrow bridge over the river. It was quite high and there was a $2.00 toll each way.

Let me preface this next statement by saying I was born in Missouri, grew up in Iowa, and have also lived in Minnesota. The Midwest has genuinely nice people, top notch public schools, and is a great place to live, but unless you're really into corn, soybeans or sorgum, there's not much to see from the interstate.

That's why on the second day on the road, we stopped to see some family along the way. This is my brother-in-law & sister-in-law Wayne & Liz. We had a lovely visit and went for lunch at the only restaurant in the little town where they live--a Tex/Mex place. It may be quite a way north of the border, but the food was delicious.

As a side note, my DH has four older brothers. They all favor their dad strongly. I always tell people I went into this marriage with my eyes wide open!

 Once we turned west on I90, the landscape changed from cultivated farm land to more arid pastureland, with the exception of large fields of droopy-headed sunflowers. In Chamberlain, South Dakota, we ran into the Missouri River again.

Another side note: When I was a kid camping with my family for the first time, we stopped at American Creek Campground in Chamberlain. It's right down by the river and was very pretty. We felt lucky to snag the last available spot. Unfortunately that night, the heavens opened and we were flooded out. Every sleeping bag and blanket we'd brought with us was soaking. The next day we limped on to the Black Hills area, soggier but wiser.

Yes, my child, in campsites as in life, seek the high ground. That left over low site was left over for a reason.  

So, the DH and I pressed on to Kennebec where we stopped at a KOA for the night. As campgrounds go, KOAs aren't always the most attractive, but they're generally clean and safe. 

On Sunday, Sept. 10th, we rolled into Rapid City around noon and met my sister for lunch at the Longhorn Steakhouse. My brother-in-law had to work for a few hours, so he missed it. Then after we gave her the 30 second tour of our camper--30 seconds is all it takes!--we all headed up the mountain to her place outside the charming town of Keystone. Here's the view from their front deck:

It's always so good to see them. My sister Linda and I have always clicked like magnets, and form a little "circle of two." She's about six years younger than me, but we always got along. One of my favorite memories of our shared childhood is the time we had a crystal radio and two ear buds. We lay together in an old iron bed and listened to a radio drama being pulled out of the air like magic.

She and her hubby are wonderful hosts and served a meal that would not be out of place on a cruise ship.

And here are the guys tending to the steaks and chops. They're both proponents of the "Man Cook with Fire" philosophy! Rick does amazing things with rubs and marinades.







Today, we made the trip from Rapid City to Billings, Montana. If  you've ever seen the sci-fi movie Starship Troopers, you'd recognize the eastern part of Wyoming as the "Bug Planet." No joke. That's where they shot those horrific scenes. Marine life fossils are found all over this region. It's stark and forbidding and if you half close your eyes, you can imagine it all under an ancient sea, complete with cones and atolls rising from the seabed. When we reached Buffalo, and turned north, we should have been able to see the Big Horns all along to our left. Unfortunately, the wild fires in northern Montana are sending smoke south. If we hadn't known that range was there, we'd have wondered if the vague outline of peaks was real or imagined.

Tonight we're stopped at the very first KOA in the country. It's quite nice, situated on the banks of the Yellowstone River. There are mature trees, lots of flowering plants and a charming little putt-putt golf course in the center of the campground.

Tomorrow, we head for Missoula and will likely run into more smoke. So far, the air quality is good enough that I'm not bothered by it, though I have been a bit of a housecat. I mostly go from the air conditioned truck to the air conditioned camper.

Such is the life of  someone with a chronic lung disease.  I've packed some face masks if I need them. But I can't feel sorry for myself. I'm a lucky girl and I know it. I'm having an adventure.

How can I ask for more?

Should I stay or--No! Of course, I'll go!

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― Augustine of Hippo

We're almost completely packed for our camping/cruising trip. The camper is all packed up. Our Alaska cruise clothes are stuffed in one large suitcase a piece. I'd hoped we could make do with just one suitcase for the DH & me together, but I discovered my large suitcase isn't as large as I thought. At least not when I need to pack warmer clothes to layer with.

This picture of me glacier watching on our last cruise to Alaska in 2007 is my cautionary tale. It was wicked cold, so rather than wrap myself in a beach towel, I'll be ready this time.

I'm excited about this trip, but I'm also suffering from a niggling conscience. It seems unfair. We get to take this wonderful trip, camping through the mountains we love and miss, visiting family and friends along the way, and then spend an idyllic week on board the Holland America Eurodam, seeing some of the most spectacular scenery and wildlife on the planet. And at the same time, folks in Texas (my baby sister & her fam included) are still trying to put their lives back together after Hurricane Harvey. And in Florida, everyone is battening down the hatches in preparation for Irma's arrival this weekend.

Since we had our own bout with flooding this spring, my heart goes out to them. Too much water is a terrible problem. (Yes, that is one of our neighbor's sheds floating away across what used to be the street.)

Then there are the other things going on in our personal life. #2 Daughter is out of work right now. It's so hard to watch her struggle with applying someplace every day and keeping her attitude positive.

And one of our rental units (which we rely on for most of our income right now) is vacant. I'd so hoped it would be filled before we leave for Seattle, but unless there's a minor miracle, it won't be. #2 Daughter will show it for us while we're gone, take applications, and can finalize a lease, so hopefully, someone will want to call it home soon.

There are always reasons not to leave home. It's a safe place, or at least it seems that way. barring an ICBM from North Korea. But the reason I adore travel is still tugging at me.

I long to have another adventure...to see something new... to feel inspired by a different place and the people I meet there. Even when I was a teenager, I liked myself better when I was traveling. Being out of my comfort zone makes me think about things in new ways.

So come Friday morning, we'll be on the road. Hope you'll come along with us. I promise to share plenty of pictures!

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Sept. 7th update: A minor miracle has occurred! A lovely family is signing a lease for our vacant rental in about half an hour. Thank you, God. 

Now, Lord, about #2 Daughter's employment situation...