June 21, 2009 The “Real” Father’s Day -in the Yukon!

As we push on and finally hit the Alaskan Highway Sunday, the sun came out and the vistas were beautiful. We stayed at Destruction Bay, on Lake Kluane, the largest lake in the Yukon, in sitting atop 165 feet worth of permafrost…the campground just got their running water defrosted and working last week! We arrived in time for the Father’s day cook out and summer solstice celebration on the lake. The food was great. RE It is a good thing we celebrated Father’s Day last week –David drove all day! Happy Father’s day to all you amazing Dad’s out there!
Rebecca is still struggling with the fact that there are only 37 people who live in Destruction Bay, Suzie was thrilled that the dog population is at 52!

Quote of the day: “As far as we driven in the past few days, Sarah Palin might be right – you probably can see Russia from there!”

June 19th & 20th

Friday and Saturday were long traveling days. We took the Cassair’s Hwy north through some of the most remote territory we have ever been in! Saturday was pretty miserable. It was rainy, gray and cold all day as we trudged through the worst road conditions yet trying to cover some of the 1200 miles to Fairbanks. When we finally stopped, we had the "Season One" marathon of “24.” We watched 3 episodes back to back, and still had to pry the remote out of Suzie’s hand to go to bed. The full daylight at 10:30pm made it hard to take “bedtime” seriously.

June 18th - Gold Rush!

Today we went to Barkerville, a restored 1860’s gold rush town complete with stage coach, original church, smithy, general store (check out the name–any kin in Canada, Mason’s?) theater, and much more. We were pleasantly surprised as townspeople in period dress gave great history lessons and showed authentic activities typical for Barkerville during its heyday. The girls and I attended a lesson in the original school house and received instruction on everything from the proper way to address someone in public (curtsy and bow with Ma’am and M’ lord), to how to write properly and only right handed ( everyone wrote right handed, lefties would smear the ink as their hand move across the page…) We even had to wear bonnets as one did not go uncovered to church or school.

We ate in the Barkerville china town café…and learned about the oppression and discrimination against the Chinese during this time. The theater hosted a “Gold Rush review” that was a real treat. The singing, costumes, comedy and dancing were all very professional and greatly enjoyed. They even got David and several other s on stage for a hilarious number we got on video!
Both moose and bear have been spotted on the side of the road – wild, really.

June 18th - Jack of Clubs lake

Canada 1 took us to route 97. A detour east off 97 on route 26, led us out to the most beautiful and remote rest stop next to “Jack of Clubs” lake in the heart of BC “gold rush “ territory. It was pristine and so peaceful. The only drawback was “no service” on our phones. This was cause for near panic in Becca’s book! David wasn’t too worried as he tested out the satellite phone, unfortunately for the girls there is no text plan on it!

June 17th...from Wet to Dry...

We are traveling up Canada Hwy 1. The southern part is so different - it is dry, often referred to as the “Arizona” of Canada in climate. There are steep bare slopes down to the Frasier River, providing beautiful barren landscapes. It is getting pretty remote, and the travel guides recommend you watch your gas gage and plan your fuel stops, as not to get stranded. To Susannah’s great joy we spotted a Dairy Queen and had to stop for a blizzard before lunch– honestly, you just don’t know when you will see another one! We pasted the Resort area of “Horsefly Likely.” As David said, “I’m not sure that would be our first pick of vacation spots!”

Quote of the day: "Wow, everyone is so nice here! Oh, I forgot we aren’t in south Florida anymore…" Suzie

Strawberries, Cherries and Swans...June 15th

Up for an early run around Stanley Park, I managed to get lost on the trails only to find my way down to (ironically) “Lost Lagoon Lake.” There, a couple of yards, off the shore was a huge nest with a beautiful mama trumpeter swan resting on it, Papa Swan was swimming lazily within a few feet , and 4 little baby cygnets were clambering all over mom. I eventually found my way home. We had to wait for the arrival by ups of our sim card for the satellite phone so we did not leave Vancouver until Tuesday. That was all good for Rebecca as she needed to be able to get the Jonas brothers latest release due out Tuesday, before leaving for the wilderness of Northern BC.
We have arrived at the height of strawberry season and every corner seems to have a table with fresh picked berries and produce on it. Of course, I have to stop at all of them. I have been fortunate to discover Mt. Rainer cherries which come in season a little before the typical red cherries. They are a pale yellow with an orange blush and they are wonderfully sweet… The only comparison are the ones right off the tree at the Mason’s NC cabin!

June 14th, Father's Day in Victoria, BC

Sunday, we were up with the dawn for another early morning ferry ride as we celebrated father’s day in Victoria, BC. We spent a beautiful morning at Butchart Gardens (more of a Mother’s day treat for Laura, but David was a good sport and enjoyed it, too). Becca’s favorites were the sunken gardens, while Susannah really enjoyed the Japanese garden. Laura loved it all and wanted pictures and names of every flower, tree and shrub. She almost went over the edge of the wall chasing a green speckled newt. David’s favorite was the magnificent “huge” copper beech tree.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking Victoria’s shop lined inner harbor streets and China town, where we had a great dinner.

Quote of the day: “Buddha has man-boobs” (thank you, Seinfeld). A chinatown observation of all the many Buddha’ s on display…

June 13th, Vancouver, BC

A trip into down town Vancouver landed us at Granville Island, under the Granville street bridge. Street performers and funky little shops entertained while we strolled, and eventually led us to a wonderful steak and seafood dinner at “The Keg.” The girls said they could get used to the Fine dining experience, but I am not sure the trip budget could stand it. After dinner, we wandered through the Granville public market, boasting everything from fresh local berries, Chinese specialty fruits, exotic spices, more amazing fresh flowers, and of course, whole fresh local octopus (he was a beauty!). We stocked up on fruit and pastries for our day trip tomorrow, and headed home to get to bed early.

June 12th, Travel to Vancouver, BC

Thursday was spent servicing the motor home and then moving on up to Vancouver. The Canadian Customs seemed very serious and decided they wanted to search the motor home. At this point , we were really glad we did not try smuggle the parrot in as we had considered.

We are staying in North Vancouver, along the Capilano River, within walking distance of the Lions Gate bridge. The bridge leads south to Stanley Park, a beautiful peninsula area with everything from a 10km bike and running path along its perimeter sea wall complete with tidal pools at low tide; dense forest trails, beaches, restaurants, play grounds and rose gardens. David declares this is his new favorite city; I would consider moving just to have access to the park!

June 11th, Seattle WA and Friends

Wednesday, we met up with Kristin and Michael Noblin in Seattle. For all you CCA types, Kristin (formerly Mulhern) was a member of the CCA English department 5 years ago. The last time we saw Mike and Kristin was three summers ago at their wedding in Portland, OR. We honored Susannah’s request for a trip to the original Starbucks on Pike street. Once there, of course, we had to go to the Pike street market and watch the fish mongers throw the huge pacific salmon across the counter. I managed to get my finger caught in a crawfish claw, and the monkfish “puppet” scared the girls. They had a hard time dragging me away from rows and rows of the fresh cut flowers- peonies in every color! The local marionberry jam and homemade pumpkin butter just seemed to jump off the shelves and into my shopping bag. Afterwards, Mike and Kristin took us around the corner to a unique Pan African restaurant. The piri piri salmon and the company were equally good!

June 10th, Olympic Pennisula part 2

Returning to Port Angeles for lunch, we headed west on 101 for Sol Duc Falls. Lake Crescent’s south shore made for “beautiful drive #3.” Turning off at the Sol Duc river, we were awed by the dense forest with giant cedars and firs. The moisture (an additional 30 inches of moisture is added by just condensation) creates a dense undergrowth that for that lush “rainforest” feel . The hike to the falls was gentle and fun under the canopy of firs. David gave the girls a lesson on counting tree rings on the giant cut logs, some as wide as Suzie is tall. The walk was cool, damp and green in the most wonderful of ways - a perfect contrast to this morning’s majestic mountain top views. Right by the falls I spotted several trillium in bloom…as white and delicate as the spray from the falls. Dinner in historic Port Townsend and a late ferry ride, brought us back to Anacortes.

Quote of the day: “It really isn’t t he bears on the trail you need to be worried about, but the serial killers in disguise. “ –David to the girls on the Sol Duc falls trail. He was so very helpful when, as he walked by the other hikers (all potential serial killers) he would use his fingers to rank them 0-10 as to the probability that they were actually a serial killer! We have laughed for days on that on…

June 10th, Olympic Pennisula part 1

This morning we were up early to make the 8:45 ferry. We headed out on the first of the “Beautiful drives.” The farmlands nestled between the Strait of Juan del Fuca and Skagit Bay with the Olympic Mountains in the background, make Whidbey Island a special little part of the world. After landing at Port Townsend, A short drive took us to the Olympic Park visitor center where Josh, the ranger, introduced us to Beaver wear (see above) and helped us plan our day.

“Beautiful Drive #2” led us 17 miles up Hurricane Ridge. Each bend in the road revealed increasingly breathtaking views as we wound our way up into the Olympic mountain range. God’s timing is perfect, as this was the first day the road was open for the summer season to go all the way out to Hurricane Hill. Driving out to the trail we knew we were in for a treat. Snow topped the mountains and wild flowers dotted the slopes where the sun had released the ground from winter’s grip. This part is for flower our lovers ...Indian paint brush in scarlet, spreading pink phlox, tiny yellow mountain lomatium, and the deep blues and purples of the broad leaf lupine; all mixed with a healthy growth of white daisies and yellow broad leaf arnica, made for a heady sight as we walked across the top of the ridge. Snow covered parts of the trail and I seemed to be the favorite target for snowballs!

Suzie and I headed to the top as David and Rebecca turned back (the cold and the altitude starting to affect Becca’s breathing as she was recovering from a post-final exam cold). A doe black tail deer and her fawn came strolling down the trail, as curious about us as we were about them. They were the first of eight black tails, some sporting early summer antler growth, that came surprisingly close as we hiked. Majestic views were our reward as made our way up –God is truly in this place.

June 8th, Monday

Thanks to my internal east coast clock, I was up with the dawn Monday morning.
Hugging my hot tea, I picked my way over giant pieces of drift wood to the shore, and enjoyed the view of the San Juan Islands rising out of the mist across the straights. Our first destination, however, was a bit further south - the Olympic Peninsula.
It is all so beautiful and different; I believe the Pacific even smells different from the Atlantic!

June 7th, Sunday

Where do I begin? David left May 29th and drove across country to Seattle, WA. A quick stop in St. Louis, MO for business also allowed for a great visit with dear friends Todd and Keri . Their Farm is prospering and so are they, with the addition of their 8th little one this past December. They have committed their ways to the Lord and He is blessing them – Abundantly!

The girls-Laura, Rebecca and Suzie- finished the whirlwind of final exams, dance performances and last good-byes for the summer, to make our flight on Sunday June 7th to Seattle. After a full day of air travel, we were grateful to see David as we debarked the plane. He was quite a sight in his Crocodile Dundee hat he wore just for the girls – he knows how much they love it! Inspired, David planned our first two nights at Anacortes, WA; the last place we stayed before we turned around to head home three summers ago. It is a primary “jumping off” place for the Washington Ferry System, and is only a short drive to the Keystone – Port Townsend ferry for the Olympic Peninsula.