Journey to Alaska Photos 4 - ID

 Thanksgiving dinner with Granny, Aunt Cindy and Uncle Allan.

  

Steve Otto playing with his granddaughter.

Journey to Alaska - 4

I arrived in Spokane, WA on Friday morning, and took several hours to hang out with my brother, Eric. We headed out to a cafe for lunch, and then I began the drive down to Moscow. Eric's twin, Mark, had to work, but we waved as we passed on the highway. :) The road wasn't too bad, though one car had flipped, and another was in the ditch. I had a chance to hang out with a good friend for a few hours, and then to catch up with a family I haven't seen in years.

This morning my mission was to hunt down a set of tire chains and a headlight. First, however, I had a nice chat with some other friends. Between the headlight and chains I was sent all over town, and finally came up with both. Today was our late Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt, uncle, and grandmother. We had an enjoyable day, putting together puzzles and eating...a lot. The pie was done before the turkey, so we changed things up a bit and had dessert first. And last. Yep, it was yummy. :-)

The day is over, and tomorrow is coming quickly. Good night, my friends!

Journey to Alaska Photos 3 - MT

 Scenic drive through Montana.
   Thanksgiving with Glenn and Bonnie.

Journey to Alaska Photos 2 - SD, WY, MT

Badlands, South Dakota

Wall Drugstore, in Wall, South Dakota

Over 100 miles between towns at one point.

Journey to Alaska - 3

It was -17 when I woke up yesterday, with windchill of close to -40. I'm slowly getting used to this weather, but I'll be thrilled when it gets a little warmer. Cary went out to check the headlight in my car, and found that my car was frozen. It was a good thing I didn't have all that far to go, since it was almost noon before the brakes had thawed out enough to safely drive. Not that I minded having a few hours to relax and chat. By the time I left, the roads were clear and I made from 3 Forks to Missoula in under three hours.

The weather is slightly warmer here, at 9 above zero. We've been enjoying a quiet day, and are about to watch a good movie. Hope you are all enjoying a restful and thankful Thanksgiving day.

Journey to Alaska - 2

I woke up to a gorgeous, sunny -6 degree day, with windchill a LOT colder than that. Kadoka is right before the Badlands, so of course I made a slight detour to get a picture or two as I went by. I then stopped at Wall Drug, which is a famous drugstore that is huge, and a big tourist trap. After that my phone's GPS took me away from I-90 for awhile, but neglected to inform me that I would be on a road where there was nothing but the fields of Wyoming and Montana for over 100miles! It was a beautiful, scenic drive, and I had a wonderful time singing worship songs, and braving the elements every once in awhile for a photo op. The entire day the warmest weather I found was 0 degrees with a high wind, blowing snow EVERYWHERE! I almost ran out of gas during that portion of the drive, since I had thought more than 1/2 a tank would be enough to get me to the next town. But I made it, and then I was back on the more familiar I-90.

The sun abruptly changed to high winds, snow, and ice when I passed Billings, MT. An arctic front had arrived, and it was NOT fun. Traffic on I-90 slowed to 15-35mph for several hours, and even so, I saw many cars in the ditch, 3 different semi's rolled, and a sheriff cruiser spun twice and ended up on the other side of the median. I definitely felt God's hand of protection around my car, as I was almost hit several times when vehicles slid accross into my lane, and made it over a pass that was deemed 'virtually impossible to make it through' today. A high stress day, but God is good, and I survived. :-)

Here in one piece, and now that I've had a nice visit with the friends I'm staying with, it's time to turn in. Good night!

Journey to Alaska Photos 1 - NY, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, SD

Ohio - this road went up and down over many hills, and at least the 11 miles I drove of it was straight, as far as the eye could see.

The Ohio Turnpike - a very expensive toll portion of I-90.

Chicago - hate the traffic, but the skyline was cool.

Minnesota - ice, sleet, pea soup fog, and snow. Tough driving but slightly more interesting with the mountains, hills, and trees. They like their windmills.

South Dakota - clear skies, windy, but able to make good use of the 75mph speed limit. Back to a very flat landscape.

Champlain, SD - dinner was at a place called Al's Oasis. Not too good, but it looks neat from the outside. :)

Leaving Champlain

Spam Museum - I saw the sign from the road and decided to stop in. Got lost getting there, but eventually ended up driving right by it.

Journey To Alaska - 1

My journey began on Sat morning. It was a beautiful day for a drive, and as I worked my way thru NY into OH, I made good time. Mapquest had come up with just under 9 hrs, but I somehow managed to make it in about 7 1/2. Not sure how, but I was sticking pretty close to the speed limit so I'm pretty sure it was because I drove straight thru, stopping only once for gas. My mom's cousin had dinner for me when I got there, and we spent the evening chatting.

Sunday I was able to get an earlier start, and was on the road by 8:30. The day was uneventful, and pretty boring. I drove through IN, IL, and into WI. Chicago traffic was AWFUL, and slowed me down some. It would have been interesting to see the city, but I was not at all confident of my ability to get BACK on I-90 if I left it. Same thing with Toledo, though I did see Chrysler/Toyota Manufacturing as I flew by. It rained most of the afternoon. Sparta was the town I had chosen randomly to stop in for the night, and THAT part didn't go so well. The hotel had given me wrong directions, so it took almost an hour of driving before I found it. By that time the town had pretty much shut down for the night. I managed to find one restaurant that was still open though.

This morning was by far the most difficult so far. As soon as I left Wisconsin, the sleet, hail, and wind started. Throughout the morning as I drove through Minnesota, I was dealing with pea soup fog and icy roads as well. Thankfully, by South Dakota the roads cleared and it was down to just snow and wind. Oh yes, and 20 degree weather the whole day. Brrr! I stopped for dinner in Chamberlain, SD. But now it's time to get back on the road. More later.

Getting Ready for Alaska

The time has finally arrived to begin the long journey to Alaska. For those of you who are just beginning to follow my blog, I took a 2 month vacation to Alaska this summer, and while I was there decided I missed it more than I had thought. It was the first time I'd been back to Kodiak, my hometown, since our family had left almost 12 years ago. I knew as soon as I set foot on The Rock that I wanted to go back. While I was there, I was blessed with several job offers, as well as a variety of places to stay if I came back. I decided to go for it, and arrived back in NY in September excited about the possibilities. I began making plans to move, but had an unexpected delay when I found I needed another surgery on my shoulder. My ortho surgeon was able to get me in on Oct 14, in hopes that I'd be able to leave early November. A minor complication arose when he doubled my recuperation period because my shoulder is 'too loose', and therefore needs much more time without movement than normal for that surgery. Still, I continued to make plans, and at my follow-up on Nov 18 he ok'd me for the drive. I'm still in a sling most of the time, and unable to do anything with that arm, but I'm thankful I'm moving forward! Which leads me to the beginning of the trip...
Last Wed, I had some help from family and friends loading my car, and it is FULLY loaded! I then had the car serviced, and it was declared ready for the long haul. Friday, I finished up all the loose ends, particularly the most important one of watching the Youngmann girls play their parts in the Hoosick Falls School play (they did a great job!), and then crashed at my parents' house for the night.

Life's Craziness

I've come to the conclusion that insanity is normal. And I'm definitely NOT understanding what people are talking about when they say life is boring. It just isn't so!
I found and bought an '04 Ford Escape, navy blue with a silver stripe down the side. I like it, though it came with its problems. I had to get the drive shaft replaced, and now the sun roof doesn't work all the time, but for the price I paid, I think I still got a pretty good deal. Due to the lemon law, the repairs are covered 100% by the dealership, though driving 45 min to the mechanic is frustrating.
Last week I found out I have to have another surgery done on my shoulder, and a few days ago was informed that it will be this coming Thursday. A bit of change to my plans, considering I was planning on moving to Alaska in a month. Now, if all goes well, I'll still be able to go, but will be in a sling and unable to drive or do much else right up until I leave. Not sure yet how packing and everything else will go, but I'm sure it will work out.
I went down to visit some friends in New Jersey on Sunday night. It was a fun and memorable trip, complete with spending a good portion of it on the phone with the state troopers as I followed a drunk driver down the thruway, and helped get the guy arrested, missing my exit in the process, and then getting very lost. I made it back on Tuesday no problem.
Last night I went camping at our cabin in West Hoosick with my little brother and sister. Joanna spent the evening, but headed back to the house at bedtime, while Zachary and I played games, cooked marshmallows over the propane stove, and then crashed. Not quite roughing it, but still a lot of fun. :-)
Seth and Hannah got a puppy, so while Seth was back on leave, they brought little Carlos over to play a few times. He's tiny, and VERY cute!

The fall foliage was great for a couple days, though not for as long as normal, and not as brilliant as usual. Still, Zachary came with me one day to drive around and take pictures, and we got some good ones.

Back in NY

It's been a busy couple weeks. I'm back in NY now. The jet lag coming back was awful, and took several days to get used to this time zone again. At which point I began dealing with some physical stuff that took a full week to get over. The doctor's think it was just from having so much going on, not much sleep, and dehydration. My blood pressure ended up dropping extremely low a couple times, but the part that was making me nervous was that during those times, I couldn't taste anything and I was numb head to toe. Let me tell you, when you're already feeling really weird (due to the low BP) and then your senses have gone, it's a bit scary. But it's over now, and I'm doing much better.
The other thing that has kept me busy this past week has been car shopping. I HATE car salesmen with a passion! Nothing worse out there, in my opinion. I get so flustered, but it has helped to have a friend who is a car salesman himself, and also a few friends who are mechanics, so they've been able to offer advice from time to time. Still haven't found the right car yet, but hope to soon.
I was on a waiting list for a rental for the first week, so I was stranded in Hoosick Falls, which didn't help matters any. Now that I have my little rented cobalt, I'm back out there getting things done, or at least attempting to.
It's been good to see so many people since I've been back, but I already miss Alaska!

Kodiak Pictures - Fun With My Cousins!

Skip-Bo with Grace, Shalom, and Sarah; Anton Larson with the Neff family; John enjoying his sushi; out for a drive with John; the girls and I took the rowboat out to a little island on Island Lake; Aunt Katrina working in their garden; and Shalom's flower garden. 

Kodiak Pictures - Random

These are small salmonberries, and they're still 4-5 times the size of the blueberries! The next several pictures are from the top of Pillar Mtn, overlooking the town of Kodiak, the new windmills on top, and the view of the airport and Gibson Cove. I'm standing by the Buskin River at about 10pm (still light out!); and the last

picture was taken out at White Sands beach of a place where there used to be a bouy swing at the top of that hill. It gave quite the rush when you jumped on and swung out over the parking lot and back! (It's a fairly steep hill!) 

Kodiak Pictures - Bell's Flats

Here are some more Kodiak pictures. Bear with me if a few are duplicates. I don't remember which ones I put on before. The pic of the houses is our old house (white w/green trim) and our neighbors' houses on the hill; Russian River is a good place for fishing; salmonberries; and the last is a shot of the airport and Women's Bay.