Day 92- 13 Weeks On the Road

We caught the ferry in Port Kent, NY to cross Lake Champlain. It was a short trip, 9.6 miles taking a little longer than an hour but it saved us about 6 hours of travel to the top of the lake and around Rouse’s Point. It was a different sort of ferry experience than the Inside Passage. There the vehicles were in the belly and the passengers on top. Here, the vehicles were on top while us passengers rode at about water level. It was mildly disconcerting to look out the porthole and see the water just below the rim. The photo of the day is of one of the deck hands. Check out his stylish footwear. You can do anything with duct tape! Burlington was only slightly congested so we were able to get out of town in pretty good time. Then, it was “second star to the left and straight on ’til morning” or to be a little less dramatic, home over very familiar roads. We did stop in Barre for gas and lunch. I’m not sure if it was relief I was feeling when we arrived home or something a little different, maybe dread at all the stuff I have to catch up on, mail, shows to register for, several phone calls to return and of course there is the unpacking. Somehow, it’s always easier to pack than to unpack. Well, the trip of a lifetime is finally over. The partial tally stands at 92 days, 16,458 miles, 4 Provinces and 21 states visited, 77 postcards sent and 18 new refrigerator magnets to dust. People have asked what part of the trip I liked best and I have to say, I loved it all. Carl wants to go back to Arches at another time of the year and I’d have to agree. I loved Yellowstone for it’s hundreds of miles of roads which allowed much more access to the park than any other. And our 3 ½ weeks in Alaska wasn’t nearly enough. We didn’t even scratch the surface of what she has to offer. I discovered bears are more prevalent than I had previously thought but moose are more scarce in the areas we visited. I’m sure there is somewhere up there where you can’t turn a corner but you’re bumping into them. All that remains now is to unload the camper, total up the expenses for the accountant and get the rest of my images burned to DVD so I can free up some hard drive space on the laptop. Shortly, I’ll be posting a list of “Things We Learned” on our trip. I got the idea from my step mom, Adena. She and my dad traveled to Minnesota to pick up their new camper at the Scamp factory and she posted her list for friends and family to chuckle over shortly after their return. I thought it was a great idea. Now, I have to throw myself back into the business of being a photographer and a participating member of the co-op in Plymouth. I need to feel as if I’m pulling my own weight. In fact, I have a show scheduled for September 24th in Littleton I need to get my head on straight for. The following weekend will be in Sugar Hill and then it’s time for the Sandwich Fair. I hope to see you all at a venue near you!

Day 87- And Then It Rained Again!

There was blue sky and brilliant sunshine when we woke this morning. It was good to see. The rivers are dropping and people are beginning the drying out process. There are threats of showers later and I suspect they will appear about 3:00 when we’re packing. Most craft show vendors know what I’m talking about. The customer traffic was slow today but a man came over to see if I’d take his photo. He said he was the director so Carl and I assumed he meant the chapter director. 10 photos later, I found out he wanted the picture of himself for some magazine. He asked me to burn the images to a DVD so he can send it to his people which I did. He seemed happy. An hour or two later, I asked the Vendor Coordinator, Al, and discovered Mike is the director of the entire GWRRA and not just the PA chapter. The photo I took will most likely end up in every Gold Wing magazine published for several years because Mike writes a welcome or editorial piece each month. Here’s keeping my fingers crossed. I could certainly use that kind of exposure and it may even convince me to apply for the photographer’s pass in Denali for another year. I took one other set of photos today but this one made me kind of melancholy. The man needed to sell his bike because his legs can no longer deal with the weight. The wife wanted to buy him a three wheeled motorcycle called a trike but the man doesn’t want to admit he’s having trouble, yet. So, the wife asked me to take a photo of her husband and his bike before he has to give it up. I know a bit about how he must feel. My knees aren’t as good as they used to be and my love, riding horses, would probably kill me if I had a steady diet of it. I kept watch on the skies as the afternoon wore on but the big dark clouds snuck up on me from behind. We did manage to get everything packed into the truck and about half way back to the RV Park before the first drops fell. Then, it sort of stopped so we drove on over to the dump station to empty our tanks. It was then the sky opened it’s dump valve and we got drenched. About 20 minutes later, the rain let up enough so we could back into our site. And 20 minutes after that, two muddy and very wet people climbed into the camper for the night. The photo for today's post is a view from our truck during the cloudburst. All in all, I’d have to say our trip to the PA GWRRA Rally was a success. People had difficulty getting there because of road closures but once there, everyone had a good time. Someone pointed out the motto of the Gold Wing Riders, “Fun, Safety, Knowledge” and they like to put it in that order.

Day 86- Finally, A Dry Spot

My original plan was to be on site at 8:00 AM but that didn’t happen. It wasn’t that bad, though. We were ready to chat with potential customers by 9:30AM, only a half hour behind schedule. There aren’t many people around and the few we’ve talked to have come in their cars because it just isn’t any fun getting drenched on a motorcycle. Each person I talk with is informed I’m here to take photos of “Boy, Bikes and Babes” as Carl likes to put it. Today, I got several maybes and lots of firm no’s but there were also a couple of “I’ll talk it over with the boss” which is my personal favorite. We did a several sales and all in all considered it a pretty good day even though I didn’t make a sale after noon. The weather forecast for tomorrow is much dryer so I’ll be hanging all of my hopes on Saturday. We’ve decided to stay the night in the vendor lot. Carl is leery about leaving the inventory since it doesn’t seem as if the Hotel has any security patrolling the grounds. And, each year the rally sponsors an ice cream social and we’ve always been given tickets to the event but never taken the host club up on their offer. That is, until tonight. The ice cream was great and afterwards, several of the chapters performed in the talent show. The theme for this year is Hillbilly based and some of the costumes were downright hilarious while others were tastefully authentic. Before we retired for the night, we refilled the generator and checked on my photos in the tent. Everything looked just fine. And we have a new neighbor who sells pop up campers which tow easily behind motorcycles. It has quite a bit of storage room under the platform and when folded out offers a double bed. It takes about three minutes to open up or close. The way I figure, if you're traveling on a motorcycle, you already had to pack light anyway. This just gives you sleeping options.

Day 85- On To The Rally

It continued to rain most of the day and although the rally officially started at noon, the only people we saw today were other vendors and the vendor coordinator, Al, who has been great. There was finally a break around 2:00 so we jumped at the chance to get the tent up, tables and racks inside and the sides zipped on and down before it began to pour once more. We timed it just about right. The water problem is enhanced because the Hotel Carlisle has a large amount of water in their cellar with a sump pump working round the clock. The water level Thursday morning was more than 10 inches deep but when Carl looked today, it had dropped considerably. Now, we don’t care one way or the other about the water in the hotel’s basement but the discharge for the sump pump has created a problem in the vendor area. The “Carlisle River” , as we have dubbed the stream, travels more than 100 feet from the end of the discharge pipe into the parking lot where the vendors are set up. Our original site is under water and the inches deep stream cuts the pavement in half diagonally. Carl looked for a culvert or sewer drain that might be block but didn’t find anything. The ground at the end of the parking area is saturated to the point the water is collecting into a lovely little pond. This is another day I haven’t taken any photos so I’m going to have to look really hard for a subject or two tomorrow. Carl suggested we go out for supper and our choice was “Bob Evans” . Neither Carl nor I have ever eaten there before. I had a turkey dinner and Carl had country fried steak. Both were served with lots of real mashed potatoes and gravy plus two generous and delicious home made rolls, warm from the oven. Well, okay, it might have been the microwave. Both of our meals were mighty tasty. We’ve also heard their breakfast are also tasty so maybe before we head out of the area, we’ll give them a try. When we returned to the campground, the original plan was to back in, remained hooked up and settle in for the night but Carl decided it didn’t take us all that long to unhook and rehook. What took the time was leveling the trailer. We had to put the driver’s side or left side wheels up on blocking more than 4 inches to get anywhere near level from side to side. The site is off that much. Then I listened to the Red Sox get their collective butts handed to them by Toronto. I went to bed, still a fan, but wondering why most years, the team fades at the most crucial part of the season. In the words of Yul Brenner in “The King And I” , ’tis a puzzlement!

Day 84- Flood Watch

Sure enough, there are flood watches and warnings in effect for more than a dozen counties. The Susquehanna River and several tributaries are already at flood stage. We’re in Cumberland County which is laced with rivers and streams. In fact, so are York and Lancaster counties right next door to us. The kicker is the weather is so lousy, we don’t want to go set up today but if we don’t we may have to squeeze in tomorrow morning. So, we’re here in the campground peeking out the windows at all the sites around us, empty and flooded with massive puddles. During the day, we went over to the Hotel Carlisle, but didn’t set up. Probably a really good thing because it’s been really raining hard. The TV is full of NOAA emergency flood warnings, cancellations and they’ve even sheltered the children in school instead of releasing them and sending them home. Now, doesn’t that sound dire? To me, it sounds safer than trying to deliver them over flooded back road with questionable bridges. And believe me when I tell you there are a ton of bridges, concrete and covered in the counties in question. Also having driven some of these roads in the past week, I can attest to how close the creeks and rivers are in spots. We hit the Wal-Mart on our way back to the campground to get a couple of things we were out of and there was the Red Box once more. Tonight’s entertainment was a 2010 released movie called The Conspirator. It was based on the trial of Mary Surratt, one of the alleged conspirators, found guilty of the plot to assassinate President Lincoln, and hung by a military tribunal. I’m not guilty of spoiling anything to this point because it is a matter of historical record but the trial raised many questions and I highly recommend the movie. Now, I’m listening to the Red Sox against the Blue Jays. Wakefield goes for his 7th attempt to win his 200th game. Holding my breath and keeping my fingers crossed here.

Day 83- Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Our trip back to Carlisle can be summed up in just one word, “RAIN”. It was pouring when we left Easton and it was pouring when we arrived back at the camper. There are large amounts of standing water everywhere and the news and weather are filled with warnings for flooding. The rain from Lee is heavy and stalled over the area which doesn’t bode well for our outdoors rally at the Hotel Carlisle. Set up is for Wednesday but I’m less than enthused about the prospect of exposing my work to the dampness. Rain and paper based products do not mix well. Granted, we have a great heavy vinyl tent and my work is, for the most part, in plastic sleeves but the dampness permeates everything including my bones. And, on top of the whole dampness thing, I can’t imagine the participants, Honda Gold Wing owners, really enjoying this kind of weather. We rented a couple of movies from the Red Box at Wal-Mart, had supper and then settled in for the night. I’d like to say we were lulled to sleep with the pitter patter of the rain drops on our roof but that isn’t the case. We are under an oak tree and the heavy downpours have done a number on the acorns falling on our roof. And you know the weather is depressing when I didn't grab even one photo to post with the blog today.

Day 81- More Of The Same

Now, the work begins. I have to decide what to take to PA with us for the show. It’s been so long since we’ve packed for a show, I want to make sure we have everything we need, including enough paper and ink since I’m taking the printer with me for this one. And, it’s really muggy out so I don’t feel like moving. The only way it could be worse is if we were at a local show today in all this humidity. When I opened the door to the studio, I almost screamed. There were bugs and cob webs everywhere. I have to send in my exterminator before I can work there. Okay, so the bugs were mostly flies but where there are cob webs, there are spiders. I heard this trivia fact a while ago which says you are never more than 6 feet from a spider at any time. If that’s true, I’ll be lifting my feet from the floor quite a bit. It took quite a while before I made the decision on which photos to take and while I was repacking the blue plastic covered bucket, Carl put the racks, tables and tent into the truck. It took even more time to load everything else because my glasses kept fogging up and everything in the studio had steamed up too. The air conditioner in the studio works really well but we had to leave the door open for the loading process. By the time we were finished, the sky was black as night and we could hear the distant rumbling of what promised to be a whopper of a storm. And even before it started raining, we were drenched with sweat. I hit the shower which felt really good and spent another hour trying to figure out how to get a downloaded template from Avery to work on Microsoft Word. Avery uses the Word platform and I am unfamiliar with the program. I’d prefer to use Works which I’ve used for years. No go on the application so I asked Carl to come upstairs to get the printer which was the very last thing to be packed. I have one last thing to get tomorrow, ink. The photo was taken by my step-mom, Adena, while we were in WA state.

Day 80- Finally, No Techno Glitches

I managed to recreate a bunch of stuff so I could, at least, print some note cards and photo cards. It would have been the perfect opportunity to redesign my business card but, hey, I like the one I’ve got. We’ve had a couple of great conversations while we’ve been back with our daughter and Mom. They both hid health issues while we were away. Mom helped put together a new PA boxed set of note cards and I printed some of the best snapshots we took on our trip, grizzles, big mountains, cute fawns and an amazing shot of a monarch butterfly on a sunflower head. They look great. It was a productive day and best of all, the Red Sox won as well.

Day 79- Work, Work, Work

Well, that was the plan right up to the point in time where I discovered my desk top computer had a heart attack and a stroke while I was away. I tried every trick I knew to get it to respond to my key strokes but nothing I did made any difference. I even tried calling the shop who built it for me years ago. They were either all off for the long holiday weekend or some one forgot to shift the phone from fax mode to talk mode. I got that irritating squeal in my ear each time I called the number. So, I spent the better part of the day finding software install disks for my printer, card design and photo printing. Then I held my breath because they are all designed for Windows XP and my laptop is Windows 7. Have I mentioned how much I don’t like this platform? Sure enough, there were glitches left and right. When I tell Print Master to print a designed note card, instead of getting the 5 sheets I ask for, it decides to print 25. And my photo printing software will only print single pages even when I tell it I want 3 of the same. At one point today, I needed a serious technology break. Even my clothes dryer and I couldn’t see eye to eye for a while. I had to redesign my business cards, thank you pages and every note card I wanted to print. I needed labels for the backs of photos protecting my copyright and I’m sure by tomorrow, I will run out of ink because Carl had to make a trip to Staples because I was almost out of envelopes and matte paper card stock. It hasn’t been a very good day. I only hope tomorrow will be better. I need to finish printing everything and then get out into the studio to get things in order. We’ll pack up the truck on Sunday and head back on the road Monday morning. Carl was able to get the generator in to the repair shop and while they weren’t able to repair what’s wrong, they were able to tell him what the problem was. We just worked it too hard. It needed a deep cleaning and some TLC. So, Carl left it there for a much needed “spa treatment” and he purchased the companion model to the one we have. We’ll now be able to connect the two of them and end up with more electricity than two singles alone. Don’t ask me how it works, I just know it does.

Day 60- To Somewhere , August 14, 2011

Our night at the Wal-Mart campground in Prince George was peaceful right up to the time when the murder of crows decided our camper looked like a good place to hang out. At first, it seemed as if a couple of children had been turned loose to run about and knock on the doors of the dozen or so campers resting up for their days’ travel, us included. I was getting ready to climb out of the sack to find those irresponsible parents. It was the squawking and gurgling that made me think otherwise. I’m not sure what time it was but I do know I’m glad I’m not I that parking area tonight. It was also right about that time, I realized I had an awful headache so I got up, tool some Tylenol and went back to bed. I heard Carl get, make his coffee and have some cereal and all I did was keep my eyes closed hoping it would go away. Carl planned to put another 350 miles behind us. Yesterday, he drove 444 miles on just a few hours’ sleep. We hit the road and immediately turned the wrong way. My sense of direction and navigational skill were way off. It was going to be a very long day. The countryside we drove through was pretty much the same as yesterday including the sulfurous odor of pulp mills. Carl pulled over for lunch and I crawled onto the couch and slept for 2 ½ hours. Then it was back on the road. We made it a few miles past a nice little town called Cache Creek and pulled into a long deep rest area where a couple already had their tent set up for the evening. The view outside our camper is more reminiscent of South Dakota with it’s rolling hill and scrubby trees. We even thought there might be a sunset so after the supper was finished and I’d done up “the crockery” as our friends across the pond might say, it was outside for about 20 minutes watching the sky turn a pale orange and then nothing but gray. It was a great idea for a sunset photo since this is our last night in British Columbia. I only have two notes of interest from today’s travel. The first is about a well maintained little gift shop we stopped at with signs boasting of their RV friendly circular drive. Off a ways from the parking area was the prettiest outhouse I’ve seen in a long time. There were flowers hanging from both sides of the door and planted around it as well. And the second item is we are more than 500 miles from the ocean but we have traveled over numerous creeks and streams with signage designating the water below us as salmon habitat and to use it wisely. Neither Carl nor I figure they mean to keep you from fishing those waters, just to remind you to use them responsibly. I know some salmon travel great distances up stream before they reach their spawning grounds. I just wasn’t prepared for all of this distance. Tomorrow is another boarder crossing back into the United States. I wonder if the other Carl Hill Jr is still at large.

Additional Post

On the charter Carl took on Friday, his fish got cleaned for him by one of the deck hands from the boat. We had no reason not to expect our guide wouldn’t do the same for us on this trip. I mean for $350 per person, you would expect it, right? Well, they didn’t and Carl hasn’t really fished in years even though he says he likes to. Back at the campground, he asked at the office and the lady tells him everyone has gone home because the weather was so bad, he’ll have to do it himself and to make sure he removes all fish guts and carcasses from the site. It’s still raining but we take about an hour to get out of our wet clothes and into some dry. Then Carl has a cup of steaming hot coffee and I have one of tea, followed by a bowl of ham and bean soup which tasted pretty good considering it’s almost 5 and we ate breakfast at 7. The chore has been put off long enough and Carl grabs a semi-water resistant jacket and heads for the fish cleaning station. One of the fellows from the canoe part of the operation is just coming across the yard and Carl asked if he could help him. He said he’ll be back in 10 minutes so Carl starts by cutting off the heads and gutting them. He does know how to do that. Then we wait. Sure enough the fellow comes back with a raft and three guys who had been on the river fishing all day. He walks up to the table and Carl tells him what he’s accomplished and comments on how he’s probably made it worse. The guy agrees. Who knew the heads being left on when you’re filleting a fish would make it easier? We do now!! It took a while but the four fish were filleted, washed, patted dry and packaged up in about 45 minutes. They weighed about 18 pounds before and we ended up with about 9 pounds of fillets. That’s somewhere around $39.00 a pound for Salmon. But hey, we had fun and Carl now knows how to fillet a fish….

Day 26- Additional

Day 26- Additional

We spent about two hours in Dawson Creek, writing postcards, converting currency, buying stamps, getting a haircut and getting online to post blogs and photos on face book. After a lunch break with a view of the visitor’s center, art gallery and a Northern Alberta railways car, we hit the road once more. Just outside of town, we saw our first moose. It was a cow without a calf. I thought this was a good sign but we didn’t see another one all day. I’d planned on doing laundry here but Carl had heard people talking about more rain for this evening and how high the Peace River was. He wanted to get across this major river before there was an issue. Turns out, there wasn’t a problem. We traveled approximately 135 miles from Dawson Creek to almost Pink Mountain through some of the most boring countryside I can imagine. It was straight as an arrow through short but dense scraggly fir trees. This must be a truly hostile place during the winter. None of the trees are more than 30 feet high and no where do we see any branches longer than three feet. As we find a nice gravel turn out for the evening, it begins to rain again. Steak on the grill becomes steak on the griddle and since we’re in water conservation mode, I don’t have to do dishes tonight. It’s an early night for me. After listening to the Home Run Derby on my XM radio, I read about a dozen pages of Moby Dick on my kindle and then it’s lights out, in a manner of speaking. It’s 10:00 PM and not even close to being dark.

Day 25- To Whitecourt and beyond

Breakfast at Denny’s was too good. I wanted to stay. The wait staff was pleasant, the tea was hot and the Hawaiian Puppies, their take on white chocolate and pineapple pancakes which tasted more like doughnut holes, were wonderful. All things must end and so did our time there. We hit the road under the threat of rain at about 8:00AM which has been the target time, but not a hard and fast rule. The winds of yesterday hadn’t eased and we felt the camper, which is more like a huge sail pushing us all over the road but the condition of the road was pretty good. The gray skies kept my camera in it’s case for the most part except for these massive fields of brilliant yellow flowered crops. I thought this was soy beans but I’ve since found out it’s canola, Canada’s largest seed oil crop. They are particularly lovely when the sun is shining on them and I had this picture in my head of a gorgeous canola field, in full bloom, under breathtaking skies with an old red barn either amongst the canola or along the edge. I’ve been looking for this image for about a week. Today, I think we drove out of canola country and the skies, dark, low and ominous, today were less than ideal for such a shot. But there it was, an old red barn on the edge of and surrounded by a less than brilliant field of canola. I’ll post the photo and you can be the judge. Carl fought the rain and gusty wind for most of the day but when we got to Edmonton, we had another issue pop up. It’s called massive construction. We did manage to find a gas station just off the highway and then got back onto our intended road of travel. About 5 miles from the gas station another camper pulls up beside us and beeps to get our attention. They motion to the back of the camper and mouth the word “hoses”. We pull over at a red light and Carl jumps out to find the sewer hoses dangle out each side of the bumper where they are stored. Once cap had fallen completely off, lost for good, and the other had popped open. A minute or two later a lady in a car pulls up beside us to tell us that our gas cap is dangling and the door is wide open. With all this happening we still made good time and sailed right through Whitecourt. Actually, we missed the Dahl Street turn off for the Wal-Mart. It’s 4:00PM and we have stopped for the night at a road side rest area where there is a large parking area with no signage that says we can’t spend the night. We’ll see and I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Day 24- To Calgary, AL

Last night neighbors, with kids, pulled in to the site next to ours. I’d almost forgotten the sound of children laughing, playing and worst of all, crying. Anyway, the new neighbor pulled into his site facing the opposite of everyone else in the loop and it appeared where he parked, it would make it very difficult for us to get out this morning. Also last night, we had more generator trouble. Carl removed the spark plug to find it was pretty thick with carbon. He cleaned it, put it back in and things ran smoothly after that. Maybe that was the trouble the other day as well. This morning, we had trouble getting out of our space but it wasn’t the neighbor’s fault. There was a tree in our way. We had to come at the hitch from a different angle, move the camper back about a foot and a half, unhook and then back in to the hitch straight on. After that, the camper followed the truck nice as could be. We’re learning how to put things just where we want them. Once we dumped our tanks and topped off the fresh water, we left the park, crossed into Canada at Roosville and headed towards Crows Nest Pass, across the Continental Divide once more. We traveled for a short time in British Columbia but soon found ourselves in Alberta. The roads were pretty good but the wind was terrible. We saw wonderful rolling hills, lots of grazing animals and hay being baled everywhere. Signs warned us of big horn sheep and elk crossings but hard as I might look, I didn’t see any of them standing at those signs. We had lunch at Crows Nest Lake and then continued on our way. We passed by historical places marked by signs reading “Frank Slide, the site of the deadliest landslide in North America” , Hillcrest Mine Disaster Cemetery and The Burmis Tree. Why these places are important to Canadian history, I’ll have to find out. After arriving in Calgary, we parked the camper and went into Wal-Mart to “pay our campground fee”. Now, I know they don’t charge but after spending $95.00 Canadian dollars worth or groceries and I can’t even tell how many pounds of bananas I got because they were sold in kilograms, I was too tired to make the slow cooker beef stew for tomorrow night’s supper. But, hey, they had great looking steaks on sale ( we think ) so we’ll have those. We’re in the same shopping center as Denny’s so guess where we’re going to have breakfast in the morning? Tonight is our last night in Wal-Mart for a while. From here on, it’s pulling off the road in turn outs for the next week until we get to Fairbanks.

Day 20- Montana Grizzly Encounter

This is it!!!! The big day. We’re going to see Brutus. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with Brutus, well he’s a minor celebrity. The 9 ½ year old, 900 + lbs Coastal Brown Bear ( large grizzly ) has been hand raised since he was about 4 months old by Casey Anderson and his wife, Missy. Brutus has done a couple of movies, lots of public service announcements about bear proof campsites and he was the co-star of a Nat Geo series called Expedition Wild. Brutus is a big deal in our family so when we knew we were headed through Montana, I had to stop at Montana Grizzly Encounter, home of Brutus, Sheena, Maggie and Jake, all captive born grizzlies. Once we arrived, we found out the Encounter had just returned from Alaska where they have adopted their first wild born abandoned cub who is 5 months old. Maggie and Jake were in the enclosure when we arrived. Normally they are out from 10-2 and then Brutus and Sheena are allowed their turn, from 2 until closing, to play in the yard, bathe in the pools and hunt for treats hidden all over the enclosure. I think we were there about an hour and a half. I took about 80 photos of the bears and had a great time just watching them. I was disappointed with their location though. I thought they would be miles off the highway but, instead, they are visible from the highway. Brutus has a long haul trucker fan club. When he’s standing up on the hill, he can see them and they honk when they see him. It just wasn’t what I had envisioned. Another equally interesting item, it took us until Montana to see our first bald eagles. And, all along our route of travel today, we witnessed swollen and flooding rivers, the Shoshone, Yellowstone and Missouri. Record snows last winter and unusual rainfall has made quite a mess of the northern states. Back on the road, we ran into a lot of construction so called it a day about 45 miles before our intended destination. We had been shooting for a rest area in Wolf Creek, Montana but settled for a Wal-Mart in Helena, MT. We’re having trouble with the generator running the air conditioning. I think it’s an altitude issue but will have to find an RV service place to get it checked out. It’s hot, I’m miserable and even the air conditioning in the store doesn’t really do anything for me. Tomorrow, we head to Glacier National Park.

Day 19- Housekeeping

Yes, I said the “H” word but there are a number of chores we had to do today. Both of us took showers and then I got some much needed laundry done. I rearranged a closet in the camper that was bothering me and Carl rearranged the back of the truck so we could reach things better. Carl paid some bills while I edited some photos. Then Carl cooked lunch and I wrote out some post cards. Then it was time to leave for the Cody Stampede, our first rodeo. I argued with myself whether to take the camera or not, taking it won out. Once I got there I filled up one of my media card. We had a great time, Carl had a Jeremiah Weed, his first and most likely last while I had an ice cream sandwich with chocolate chip cookies. Carl says I made the better choice. Later we each had a hot dog. The events were fast paced, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding. We were back to the camper by 8:30 and listened to local fireworks until Mother Nature decided to put her two cents worth in. Strong winds, torrential rains and some fair thunder and lighting put an end to the campers fireworks and most likely, Cody’s fireworks were washed out as well.

Day 18- Last Day in Yellowstone

I know we shouldn’t have but since we were staying 32 miles from the east gate, we got up very early today and “flew” to the park. Once at the East Gate, we continued to Fishing Bridge and then headed towards Old Faithful. This is the last loop through the park we hadn’t explored. Our first stop of the morning was at West Thumb Geyser Basin and it was just barely 8:00 on a crisp and promising morning. The thermal pools along Yellowstone Lake were steaming like crazy, making some of the photography a bit more challenging. We were part way through the ½ mile boardwalk when I stopped and looked to my left. There coming out of the wooded area was a young cow elk. She came slowly to the edge of the lake and took a deep drink, pausing every so often to look about. After a couple of minutes of taking her photo, I noticed several more young cow elk coming out of the very same group of trees. We kept hoping a bull would follow or another cow with a calf but we were disappointed on this count. In all, there were seven females wandering around, nibbling on the lichen and mineral rich bits of grass that grew in the area. It appears they live there or nearby all the time because of the multiple signs insisting the elk are not to be fed or approached because they are wild and dangerous. The signs say nothing about stationary visitors and elk who approach them. Two of the ladies climbed up on the boardwalk and crossed among a large group of Japanese tourists. That was truly exciting. I think “Watch out, here comes a big animal” translates in any language. About an hour later we found ourselves approaching Old Faithful who, it seems, has become a little less reliable in the past few years. Scientists don’t know if it’s because of changes in the water table or if the hotspot under Yellowstone has shifted just enough. It doesn’t matter because I’d made up my mind that we were sitting on that bench until she blew. We saw the geyser erupting as we pulled into the parking lot so we knew our wait could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours. I am asked by another photographer what I plan to shoot the event with so, in the process, we struck up a conversation with her family that lasted the entire time we are there. One hour and 40 minutes after we sat down, the mound in front of us started to bubble and before we knew it, the full blown eruption is going off. There’s nothing in the foreground to judge but we estimate the height of the water at about 100 feet and it lasted about 5 minutes. It was great. After souvenirs, back in the truck, we decided to head on to Grand Prismatic Spring by way of Firehole Geyser. There was an enormous traffic jam at Grand Prismatic Spring so we continued on to find a nice place for lunch. I asked Carl to drive down Fountain Flats Road to the end. There, along the Firehole River, we just happened to find a small herd of bison cows with calves fairly close so we grabbed the tripod, camera and cable release and walked to a small clump of downed deadwood. We’re close enough to pull them in with my lens but not so close that we are violating any laws. I’m shooting away when Carl says something about the bull coming up behind us. I turned to look and there, between the river’s edge and our clump of trees is the largest most perfect Bison bull I’ve seen on this trip. I’m aware he’s way closer than we should be and the wind is sort of blowing in his face so he may be getting our scent. He started walking with an exaggerated stiff leg sort of walk and his tail was arched up as if he were going to leave a pile of scat but he didn’t. Then he started slowly wagging his head back and forth and grunting, followed by a display known as the Flemin response, which allows the scent on the wind to roll over this organ in his mouth. You’ve probably seen other animals roll their upper lip and make a strange face. That’s it! He passes us and I breath a sigh of relief. He’s caught wind of the cows up ahead and is definitely not the least bit interested in us. He stopped mid way between the cows and where we were, pawed at the ground, urinated in the dust pit and then lowered himself into the dust. He rolled and got good and coated and then headed off to his ladies. One by one, he approached the cows, sniffed at their rear end to check if they have come into season or maybe to find out if another bull has been messing with his ladies. This is where we spend our lunch time. It was a most exhilarating hour. Our last stop was finally to fight our way into a still congested Grand Prismatic Spring, a pool 200 feet across displaying more colored algae and bacteria than any other pool in the park. It dumps hundreds of steaming hot water into the Firehole River every minute. Oh and while we were watching the bison at Fountain Flats, we noticed a number of fly fishermen trying their hand at the fish in the river where we also noticed an osprey who at first hovered over the river and then swooped down to grab fish out of the very same river.

A Day To Remember

Today, I was kissed by a wolf named Tien. We visited the Shy Wolf Sanctuary in Naples. The owners rescue as many pure wolves and wolf dog crosses as they have room for. They spend weeks, months and sometimes years undoing the harm, both physical and psychological, to these magnificent creatures. Most of the time, they succeed and the animal can be adopted by people who wish to provide the right kind of loving and care. Sometimes, the animal cannot be returned to a state of grace and will live out it’s entire remaining life in their loving and capable hands. Our guide, Mark, one of the many volunteers who care for the animals, took us from enclosure to enclosure and explained about each of the animals. The sanctuary marks each enclosure with a grading system, level one through four, which tells the volunteers who may enter or who should be wary. For instance, some of the enclosures, level one, are completely off limits to visitors and most of the staff because the animal inside may be dangerous. Some of the wolves have been abused by men and this information is noted on the doors as well. We were allowed to enter most of the Level Four enclosures with our guide after we filled out a liability waiver. We were warned to remove hats, earrings, handbags and other items because some of the animals have developed attachments to these items and delight in snatching them from unsuspecting visitors. One of the wolf dogs has even been known to nip people on the backsides as they leave his enclosure. It doesn’t matter how much “wolf” is in the animal for each of them carry their own baggage. In fact, the animal to be most cautious around was more dog than wolf. The sanctuary does not charge an admission fee and is completely dependant on donations. There is good news for the Sanctuary. The owners have recently purchased a much larger piece of land and, in time, will be able to not only increase the number of rescued animals but will also be able to provide even more room for these beautiful creatures to roam than they have now. If you find yourself on the gulf coast of Florida, I urge you to give them a call. Please check out their website for more information about the work they do and the animals which also includes 4 panthers, a couple of arctic foxes, a half dozen prairie dogs and a handful of tortoises. Here’s the link http://www.shywolfsanctuary.com

Didn't Think It Through

I was talking with a gentleman, on the phone, a couple of days ago and he asked about my web site. I proceeded to tell him how to access it so he could look through the gallery of images I have for sale. I'm not sure if it was my early morning huskiness or a bad connection but the man wasn't sure what I was say so I proceeded to spell out the words, P-H-O- and so on. By the time I got to the second part after the very important hyphen instead of an underscore, well we were both confused. I really didn't think through the spelling of photo-sensitivity. It's a hand full of i's and t's, all needing to be dotted and crossed. I was more concerned with choosing a company name that told people what I did and how I felt about the environment. He and I eventually got it all straight and I hope he enjoyed looking through the site. And, just so there are no twisted letters, here's the link in case you, too, would like to check out the web site: http://www.photo-sensitivity.com/ Oh, BTW, we're working on a trip to the island of Tobago in May. Can't wait to get to some place warm and green. The view from my window is muddy and brown with shades of deep puddles....

Ready, Set, Go!

or that's the way I should feel at this time of year. What has traditionally happened to me the past few years is that I push myself during October, November and December. Then, January rolls around and I end up sick. Followers of this blog can attest to my previous posts on the subject. Well, here we are on January 21st and guess what? I'm not sick! In fact, there was no real push for the end of the year because, let's face it, everyone knows the economy sucks, right? I'm also here to tell you that unless you want a whole media card full of winter shots with lots of snow, there isn't much happening in the photography department either. Anyone who lives in New Hampshire and the north country, in particular, wakes up every morning to a couple inches of fluff on their vehicles. In our family, we call it something else with one less letter. I've charged my batteries, cleaned my lens and filters, re-formatted all of my media cards and I've even played a little with my new tripod. I'm ready! Now, if the weather would cooperate with a little sunshine after a snowstorm instead of this constant gloomy overcast condition, I'd be wicked happy. I can tell you that my phone is ringing with inquiries, a special order from Florida, a request for an appearance at a winter yard sale/craft event and an order from my daughter to help a 5th grader from Washington state with her search for all things New Hampshire. Things are beginning to look up and so are my spirits.