A Look Back And Forward

It’s customary to look back on the previous year, reflecting on all that occurred, while at the same time looking forward to the new year with hope and refreshed aspirations. And, this is the case with me as well. I’m sitting here, looking out the window on a seasonally crisp morning as my husband burns a bit of brush, thinking about the trip we undertook during the summer. It was phenomenal and it’s hard to believe we’ve been back longer than we were away already. I promised some of you readers some additional details on the trip so here they are. We traveled 16,458 miles, covered 21 states and 4 provinces. We were gone 93 days and in that time we got to experience things I had only ever read or dreamed about. I won’t say it was my “Bucket List” but I did get a chance to cross several thing off that list while admittedly adding several more to it. But did you know:

We used 1,460 gallons of gas. This figure may be a bit higher due to some places just giving us receipts without liter amounts printed on them. I also admit I could be off due to my conversion from liters to gallons.

The entire trip cost the equivalent of $1.00/mile. This is a strange statistic because it includes all our expenses, haircuts, beer, post cards, magnets, hotel rooms, wine, ferry fees and even movies.

We spent 63 nights on campgrounds or paid rooms which averaged $26.00 per night. And, we spent 29 nights at either WalMarts, friends or rest areas which saved us more than $750.00. That’s a cool statistic.

Our expenses for food totaled $2,083.81 which includes both groceries and eating out or if you prefer, it averaged $22.41 a day for two people. I think that’s pretty good, too!

I’m not sure what other information might amuse people so if you have any questions about routes, statistics, border crossings, admissions to parks or attractions, just let me know. I’m happy to help in any way I can. And while I took more than 8,000 photos, I can honestly say about 7,500 where of the “vacation” variety. Of the remaining 500, there are but a handful I would consider “saleable” . Oh, but those handful can still take my breath away. And even the snapshots take me back to that place and time. This was a trip of a lifetime. We may never travel this way again. Carl has stated he will never drive to Alaska again although he is the first to admit everyone should do it once. And with all of his grumbling, he’s already talking and planning for the next great adventure. I just have 29 more states to hit!

Day 47- Moving to Soldotna

Everyone’s heard of the Big Bang Theory, right? Well, when we checked into the Seward Military Reserve Campground a few days ago, we heard a big bang when the slide out room came to a stop. I didn’t think anything more about it after making a comment about not hearing that noise before. I should have paid more attention. When it came time to bring the room in so we could leave this morning, nothing moved. Carl found out the bang was one of the bolts that connects the motor to the auger which moves the room in and out. He grabbed the one good bolt and headed to the local hardware store. They fixed him right up and we were on our way after only a half hour delay. I can just imagine how difficult it would have been to get fixed if that had happened on the Alaska highway 300 miles from anywhere. The move over to Soldotna or more specifically Sterling which is just outside Soldotna took a few hours. We got a cozy little site and then set down to figure out our grocery needs for the next few days. What we discovered is I needed to shop for all of the days between today and the 11th when we get on the ferry. And, I needed to have enough things to eat most of our meals on the ferry by sandwich or microwave, Thursday supper and all three meals on Friday. We’ll be off the ferry in Prince Rupert about 5:00AM on the 13th. We’ll get breakfast on the road. Anyway, back to Sterling. The place we’re camping at is the Alaska Canoe and Campground right on the Sterling Highway. It’s only a 15 minute drive from where we need to get the float plane in the morning. The people seem quite friendly and they have free internet and showers here as well. The laundry is on the honor system, too. We had some of Carl’s freshly caught halibut for supper and I didn’t find it much different than haddock. So, I’m now officially happy he caught them. He did give away the cod to our neighbors in Seward after finding out they “loved it”. We shopped at the Fred Meyer store. It’s sort of like a super Wal-Mart but bigger and it has more satellite stores in and around it. The prices were proportionately higher here than in Anchorage which is what you’d expect and gas prices are hovering around the $4.17 per gallon mark although you can still find stations with a much higher price the further from town you get.

The Final Straw

To say that it's been a rough winter would be an understatement. With unemployment running rampant, food and fuel prices climbing higher and higher and more troubles on the horizon, it's time for a change, don't you think? Well, I thought so. I spent the entire month of February sick and most of March trying to shake the winter blahs. Here it is April and I've seen my first beautiful crocuses on the front lawn. YEAH!!!!!! The grass tips are fighting their way up through the dead duff of last year, the birds are starting to get frisky, moose are on the move and the snowbanks are almost a thing of the past, on the edge of the road that is. Deep inside the forest, the snow is still just exactly that- deep. And, out of the blue, I fought a toothache all weekend. The tooth had been repaired several times and the last time, the dentist said it might be the last. he must be some kind of prophet. Monday, I'm in his chair and he's pulling it out. I hate dentists and hate loosing teeth even more. Today, I feel lousy. My jaw hurts just a little less than it did with the tooth in it, I have to be careful of everything I eat and drink, no soda and very little brushing. My mouth tastes like a war zone and I lost. I'll be so glad when the weekend gets here. We're going to work in the studio and get the camper out of the mud, ready for the season which starts on the last weekend of the month, the three day Maple Sugar Festival in St Albans, VT. I'll be there. Hope to see you there as well.

Can't Be Long Winded

I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd poke around the Internet and one of the places I tend to gravitate towards is my blog. It's been way to long since I made an entry and my loyal readers have probably stopped checking on me. I hope this isn't the case because I haven't been slacking. It's just a case of being really busy. Let me tell you what's been happening since Mother's Day. The first few shows of this 2008 season started off on the slow side and I began to regret making the decision to travel farther and expose new people to my work. My faith was rewarded, however, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Londonderry where we experienced not only a resurgence of interest in my work but a better class of campground at Hidden Valley in Derry, NH. In fact, we enjoyed our visit to this area so much, we've decided to attend the two day event the church sponsors in September. Our calendar is filling in quickly now with only a few weekends where we will be staying at home. This isn't a bad thing because my mom is getting ready to move in with us. She'll have her own studio apartment attached to the house by labor Day. That only gives us two very short months to build a 20 x 24 addition. Wish us luck! Meanwhile, the lupine season is in full swing with these beautiful three foot tall spikes waving majestically in the early summer breeze. The three weekends of the Lupine Festival in Sugar Hill, NH just concluded and overall, it was a well attended event. The weather handed us a mixed bag of hot and humid with high winds and torrents of rain thrown in just to keep us on our toes. Next weekend we're off to North Woodstock, NH for the Olde New England Days which includes a micro brewery tasting. Carl is looking forward to this one.

A Successful Weekend

It was a real pleasure to meet and visit with the many hundreds of visitors to the 42nd Annual Maple Sugar Festival in St. Albans. VT over the weekend. The three day event features sugar house tours, an antique bazaar, specialty foods to sample and an entire gymnasium full of eager artisans like myself. The weather was summed up in one word, perfect; a nice change from last year's cold, rainy and downright dismal conditions. For us, it was the third show of the season, but I have to tell you that all things considered, I'd have to consider this event a complete success, both in terms of enthusiastic on lookers as well as sales. We have a few weeks off to ready some new work to be exhibited and while we're at it, the studio could use a bit of tidying up. During the slower paced winter and spring, we sometimes just toss things on a shelf or into a corner instead of finding them a more permanent home. This small intermission before we get going like gangbusters is also being used to prepare the pop up camper for it's "coming out" event which will be on May 17th in Londonderry, NH and May 18th in Manchester, NH. These are both new venues for us and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and introducing them to my work. I hope you're able to stop by...

Go, Sox !!!!!!!

Congratulations to my Red Sox for the manner in which they have carried themselves. Never once has their success caused them to be anything less than cautiously optimistic about their progress or gracious when talking about their opponents with the media. And as a lifelong devout fan, I 'm beside myself with every pitch that takes us deeper into the post season. My faith in their abilities never wavered even when they were down 3 games to 1 with Cleveland. Now, I'm not saying that I believe in curses or even the proverbial "Gowdy" when talking about some one's hitting streak or the tossing of the all too rare no hitter, but I'm just superstitious enough not to say the words... What I will say is that I have really enjoyed the first two games of the World Series and will be sitting next to the radio in our camper on Saturday night to listen to game three. The pop up will be at the Friendly Beaver Campground in New Boston because we'll be doing a show at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester on Saturday. It's the last "away game" of the season for us and the last camping expedition for the season, as well. Play well, Guys!!

Ogunquit In The Fall

We had a marvelous camping weekend with our granddaughter and spent a full day with camera in hand. There are so many opportunities and beautiful scenery to point my camera lens at in Maine and I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful autumn weather while we had it. Steph was there with her camera as well. At times, I feel sorry for my husband who is inevitably left holding the camera "bag", literally. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can include him while I'm lost in the moment? We spent an entire afternoon exploring the Rachel Carson Reserve, a beautiful marsh area nestled between the forests and the ocean. Self guided walking tours with informational pamphlets explain the need and importance of these wet lands, not only as homes to all sorts of marine animals but also how they act as a buffer against serious weather such as hurricanes. The resource acts as a filter for pollutants and a nursery for hatch lings. Later, we had a night of campfires and cooking hot dogs and toasting marshmallows for s'mores. The next morning, we found ourselves at Perkins Cove, a picturesque but working fishing harbor, and we included a walk along the Marginal Way, a mile long path that follows the rocky coastline and offers breathtaking views of nature's beauty and power. Then all too soon, it was time to head home by way of my favorite Mt. Chocorua which never disappoints in the way of splendor.

My apologies for not posting photos in the last few posts. I've been making entries from other computers but I promise, in the next week or so, the problem will be remedied and I'll add a few images to older post so check back, please.

The Schedule Calls For Fun

This weekend is reserved for our granddaughter, Stephanie. We're going camping. Of course, it's a working holiday in that I will be taking photos during the weekend. The plan is to head to Ogunquit, ME and find some sleepy little fishing cove to remind people of what it used to be like up and down the entire coastline before the tourists became the mainstay. I'll let you know how that turns out.

This is also the beginning of the ALCS and I am a RED SOX FAN. So, with the campfire crackling away and Steph roasting marshmallows, I will be quietly cheering for the boys of summer to take the Angels out in quick fashion so they can move on up the ladder of success. Even though I choose to be out among nature and beauty, I also choose to follow baseball and either watch or listen to every game. There are few exceptions, like being at 30,000 feet in an airplane or in a foreign country ( Hawaii sometimes qualifies ). When the season is over, I'm lost.

Variety

When I was a child, our family took camping vacations. It was a fun time for all of us. The necessary closeness that a family derives from all sleeping in the same "room" can develop bonds that last a lifetime and nurture feelings for the outdoors that you'll want to pass on to your children when the time comes. It's also a relatively inexpensive way to get that vacation for the parents. Nowadays, things have changed somewhat. Kids take off on bikes, seclude themselves beneath a tree to play video games and sometimes will have their own curtained area in their RV. The rates have gone up considerably for a night in a campground, as well. There are, of course, lots more amenities such as hot tubs, Wi-Fi, game rooms and water and electric included at each campsite. During the Meredith show, we stayed at Twin Tamarack on Rte 106 in New Hampton. It was a great family oriented place that was having a Halloween Party for the horde of children in "residence". A strictly enforced speed limit and noise curfew added to the family atmosphere. The place was clean, well kept and relatively inexpensive at $32.00 per night. We will be planning to stay there next year. On the other side of the coin would be Seven Maples in Hancock. This quiet out of the way place was also reasonably priced at $30.00 per night but the facilities have seen better days and the pool had already been closed. Our campsite smelled of dog manure and when it rained ( boy, did it rain ) our entire site became a small lake which drowned our cache of firewood and ruined my chance for a romantic evening beside a quickly snapping fire. Now, the owners aren't responsible for the rain but their lack of grading and upkeep certainly are to blame for my not having a fire that evening and even though the staff, in the office, were pleasantly outgoing and helpful in getting us directions, we most likely will not stay there next year. And, completely in the other direction, we have the event coordinators at Quechee Gorge Village who allow anyone with a camper to stay in their overflow parking area at no charge, with no hook ups and no amenities. There's a lot to be said for free.