Back on the Road

I can hardly believe it myself but we are showered and relaxing in a motel in Bozeman, MT as I write so it must be so.  After an October with three near death experiences (and I mean this in the funny way, Char, not the scary way) we were looking at plans to head to a sandy beach on Hawaii for a couple of months R & R.

Life has a way of fooling you or us at least.  We packed out off island to spend a week in Ketchikan at the Alaskan Shellfish Growers annual meeting and Seafood Festival.  On that island we can use a phone.  After talking with family we decided it was a good winter to visit Larry's dad in Indiana so we got on the ferry and headed south.

We spent a week around Seattle, WA acclimating to America.  How soon we lost the crowd survival techniques.  Fast food has these new fangled Coke machines with 130 flavors.  We don't even have soda machines!  We shopped like crazy and loaded up the barge heading back north to Jerry, Zach, & the Boy.  Lets just say they can cut wood, move snow, and will have peanut butter, pop tarts, and Attaboy for Christmas.

Looking at the map it was hard to choose a route 'cross country that we haven't all ready covered.  Larry was also trying to avoid the cold and the snow.  So far that hasn't been much of a problem.  Traffic is another story.  Driving on one lane logging roads at about 12 mph is no practice for Seattle rush hour.  I'm not telling who got stopped for making an illegal turn... but it wasn't me!

We spent the first day in Washington state.  We got to tour the Grand Coulee Damn so named because it spits water at Hoover Damn and they pass out a fact sheet to prove it!  Let's just say that at one mile across it is four times as big as Hoover Damn and produces 6800 megawatts as compared to Hoover's 2000.

Idaho was just a quick pass over the panhandle but in a great area.  Coeur d' Arlene is a lovely city on a high mountain lake.  There are silver and gold mines on every corner.  There are ski resorts as well but so far, no real snow.

Looking ahead we should make it to Custer's last stand at Little Big Horn before dark tomorrow.  You all have longer days that Alaska does this time of year.  That is we should if Larry doesn't find any more Cabellas stores.