Extended Stay Deluxe Anchorage

... back slowly, never look at him in the face and never run; if you did, you would become a potential prey! I was never confronted with such a situation even though I saw a great number of grizzlies fishing in the lakes and in Brooks River.

You need to take the local bus and travel along the 37-kilometre dirt road to reach the Valley of the Ten Thousand Smokes. The landscape is gorgeous. In September ...

... I hate these overnight flights...)

Anchorage airport is interesting as it is a cargo jet haven. They must just stop to refuel from Asia - the cargo carriers here have been Eva Air, China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Asiana, UPS, Shanghai...none seem to empty any cargo...just park for an hour or two.

It's been a great trip...pictures will be on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmbell64/c ollections/72157622360839812/

... saw spouts of water coming up from the other side of the inlet. We were able to see the pod through the binoculars and you could see the spouts of water by the naked eye. It was the perfect finish to the trip.

We had to say goodbye to Chet first at the airport, then Betsy, Kenny and Ramon. We were next to be dropped off but arranged to catch up for dinner with Angela, AC, Nacho and Ramon at the Glacier Brewhouse. The Glacier Brewhouse ...

... by Dusty Sourdough who was billed to take us back to the gold rush days with song, storytelling and humor. The only place we wanted to be taken back to was the motorhome. There were some others who had the same idea and the shuttle bus driver was willing to take us regardless of whether the entire group was boarding.

While we waited approximately 20 minutes for the shuttle bus to arrive, Art and I strolled over to Alaska ...

The last night at Alaska. No specific schedule, just shopping, and easy short drive to the berry farm to see the chocolate fountain. Our flight was like 1:28 a.m., so we got to the airport around 10 p.m. Finally, the night fell. I was so glad to see the night. My eyes felt comfortable. No wonder we all felt sore for the eyes, the sun's been shining all day long!

... removed, repaired, and replaced at a place called Trailer Craft. They put the coach on the side of the building so we could stay in it at night, but we did not have water, sewage, and only 15 amps of electricity for three days. Thank goodness Betty and Heman stayed with us so we had a place to flop while Trailer Craft worked on our coach from about 7am to 10 or 11pm every day. To cap off the week, Sophie got sick and we had to take her to an animal hospital at ...

... commanding the St. Peter, ultimately discovered the Aleutian Islands. It was on this fateful voyage that Bering, sickened by scurvy, landed on an uninhabited island and eventually died. That island is now known as Bering Island." Today we joined people from all over the World participating in Cruise West's Voyage to the Bering Sea. CW hosted a lovely dinner on Friday night; on Saturday we flew from Anchorage to Nome to begin our first every ...

Woke up a bit early today to send the truck to the Dodge place. Since this is almost the halfway point of our trip, I figured I'd get the breaks checked out along with the 2nd of 3 oil changes for the journey. Anchorage Dodge is located on a busy highway under a lot of construction and the parking lot of the cramped in place was very crowded. They were very busy so they said it would be ready in the afternoon. I did bring a magazine to read, but not that many. So they ...

... the dock. I don't mind, in fact, I like not knowing what to expect from one day to the next. I woke up Friday morning aboard the Bountiful to knocking at my door - the deck boss with a message - pack, we're dropping you off in St Paul, we'll be there in less than 2 hours. Good thing I travel as light as this job will allow me to. That'll be all for now. . .time to run some errands while I still can.

... We were exhausted. I had an entirely new respect for Lance Armstrong. Andres produced a camping stove from his pack and we shared a measly lunch of canned raviolis. Over lunch we talked of our lives in different hemispheres. We both worked a day job, getting by on a middle-class wages-nothing extravagant but enough to travel a few times a year. We both had moved out and back into our parents homes as the tides of our fortunes rose and fell. We loved and missed our ...