The End

Well, we actually made it home all in one piece and none the worse for wear. The last few days of our trip did not produce any exciting news or new picture with the exception of Friday. Connie had wanted a good loon picture from the very beginning of the trip and although we had a few, none were of descent size and quality for printing. When we left FSJ I told her to keep and eye out because we still had a few chances to see one. After 2 days of scanning every body of water that was visible and after turning around more than once to find out the birds we saw were ducks we were about to give up. Then, with less than 200 miles to the US border and hope running out, we see a sign that says Loon Lake 18 kilometers that way. If you can't venture 18 k out of your way when your on vacation, then when can you? Loon Lake does have loons and we spotted a pair before long. We got some good pictures and decided it would be worth spending the night if we could hear them call. We didn't get much in the way of calls but did end up with a beautiful sunrise on Loon Lake. The photo of the mountain on the far side of the lake is just to give you an idea of how prevalent the pine beetle kill is in that area. This was some of the worst we have seen but it goes all the way to Alaska.

There was one other big event on the way home. When we stopped at the Hensley's, we discovered that Alice had made us an exceptional lemon delight dessert. If you know Alice you know that was a big deal!

Now, I think I am done blogging. However, if anyone is still following this blog, and you are interested in seeing a few more pictures from the trip, just post your comments or email me and let me know. I can add a few more pages with mostly pictures. We hope you have enjoyed our trip as much as we did. But if you haven't, you'll just have to get in your vehicle and go to Alaska.

Thanks for following along with us.

Tom & Connie

Technical Difficulty

Monday morning I arose from my air mattress wondering how good an idea camping really is, but ready for more fun and beautiful scenery. We all wanted to go a little further up river before heading home. Just a few miles from camp a rear wheel bearing went bad on my motorcycle. It was decided that the group would press on while I made a rather slow return down the trail. I could still ride but the back wheel was wobbly and I wasn't sure how much additional damage I might do by riding on it. The extra time allowed me to get a few extra pictures and we joined up less than 2 hours later. I was able to ride all the way back to the trucks, just not as fast as normal.

Can You Say "Chowade"

That's "Chow-wad-ee". Sunday morning still at the property the guys all get up around 5:30 to head out on our motorcycle/quad trip up the Chowade river. Check the SPOT if you want to see where that is exactly. It was all of the pirates from the treasure hunt plus Sam Fallen and Justin's best friend John for a total of 7. We rode about 20 or more miles up the river through mud and water and more and made camp on a gravel bar for the night, but not before we broke a hitch on Bill's quad and rolled a quad trailer twice. In the mean time all the pirate ladies at the property were having a Maui-Birthday party for Connie with a pajama party following. There was certainly no shortage of activity for all good pirate treasure hunters.

The Teasure Hunt

Saturday was finally the day for our Treasure hunt party. The pirate crew consisted of Bill, Sandra, Justin, Jessica, Tabitha, Dave, Cheryl, Luke, Amy, Connie and Me. We had a wonderful dinner in the gazebo complete with decorations and costumes. Then it was off for the treasure hunt. Each pair of pirates ended up with a treasure. After we finished their hunt Connie and I found out they had prepared a treasure hunt just for us and off we went again. It was just as elaborate as their hunt was and at the end we were rewarded with a treasure chest full of goodies. Then some games rounded out a really fun day.

I'm Baaack

Sorry for the long absence. We have been very busy having a good time in FSJ. Thursday at Bill and Sandra's was mostly just a day of taking care of odd things, so not much to report on and no pictures there. Thursday night Connie and I headed out to the property with the trailer so we would have all day Friday to prepare the treasure hunt before everyone started to arrive in the evening. It was so quite and peaceful that night and the next morning. I spent a little time just wandering around and taking pictures. Now back to business, at around 7:00 AM Connie started her preparations for the party and I began the task of laying out the treasure hunt. Connie and I both noticed quite a bit of smoke in the air and were concerned about where it was coming from but with over 500 wooded acres it was impossible to search everywhere so I decided to just keep my eyes open and continue with my task. After about an hour of working on clues and looking for places to hide them I walk straight into a smoldering forest fire in the woods of the property. It was only about 100" x 50' and just smoking on the ground but with much potential in the dry conditions. I called Bill and he came right over from work and we started fire fighting just like the old days. A Honda pump at a dug out and then drag in 500' of hose and away we went. We had it all out by lunch and it was back to work on the treasure hunt. The last picture is of the lightning storm that went by on Friday night.

Shiloh Tower

Wednesday finds us with better weather. The rains have stopped and the sky is clearing. By the time we got back to FSJ it is in the mid 70s, the warmest we have seen since we left here. Caribou were one of the remaining animals left for us to capture on digits and now we have them. The only big animal missing on my list is Mountain Goat.
Yes, that is our rig emerging from the 109 onto the Alaska Highway. No, we did not take the trailer in to Shiloh. We just pulled in there to get some pictures. However, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, Connie and I plan to drive in and get some pictures later. The next couple of days we will be out at Diehl's property and Sunday Bill, Dave, Justin, Luke, Sam Fallen and I will be headed to Christina falls on a motorcycle-quad camping trip. Hopefully that will produce some more good scenery shots as well. I probably won't be posting for the next few days, but I will be back with more pictures so keep checking. You can continue to follow the SPOT during our camping trip and #36 from Wednesday is mile 109. If you haven't tried the Satellite view you should. Try zooming in. The detail in some places, like the 109 road, is incredible. Unfortunately it is not high res everywhere. It's not so good on Shiloh.

Northern BC

Tuesday morning found us leaving Haines Junction with a fairly long day ahead of us. We wanted to get to Moncho Lake over 500 miles away so we could make it to Fort St. John on Wednesday. Once upon a time we considered 500 miles a short day but not any more. Anyway it rained most of the day again, but when it wasn't we grabbed a shot here and there. We came upon the buffalo herd again but this time we had to wait for some of them to cross the road. We made it to Moncho lake by about 7:00, had dinner, watched a float plane land and relaxed to the sound of a loon on the lake.

The Yukon

Sorry, I'm a little bit behind. Wireless connections are hard to find in the Yukon and Northern BC. The only thing harder to find is cell phone coverage. Monday was a rainy and overcast day so scenery was hard to come by. I gleaned a few mediocre shots out of the day though. A poplar with yellow leaves is becoming more and more common. A sign that fall is right around the corner. I am disappointed that I might miss some fall color by just a week or two.

Oops!

Sunday morning we started our return trip by heading for Tok Alaska. If you have ever made this trip you might look at the pictures I posted and say "I don't remember seeing that pipeline". You didn't. That's where the oops comes in. There is an intersection in Glenallen where we stopped for gas. When we pulled out Connie asked "are you sure this is the right way". Most of you know me well enough to know that I said "Of course it is". There aren't many signs on these roads so it was an hour or more latter before we realized that the scenery was not right and we were headed for Delta Junction. I consulted with my computer and decided that it would faster to continue on than to turn around. We ended up with some nice scenery, a few good eagle pictures and an extra 2 1/2 hours of travel. (O:

It Rained All Night The Day I Left

Well, as we knew it would our time in Alaska was coming to an end. Saturday was a very rainy day so we used our last day with Martin and Rebekah for a little R&R, shopping, and fellowship. Palmer had a small car show on a main street. I just want Steve Hensley to note that they feel Scions are worthy of being in a car show! There weren't to many photo ops this day so I have included 2 pics from our travels on Sunday.