HAPPY BIRTHDAY LETA At breakfast this morning Barbara and I were finally able to stop worrying about spilling the beans about Leta's birthday presents that had been packed in our Rv by her children before we left Acworth. Remember the problem with Leta and Shelby's Rv well this morning all of those problems got resolved and we head out for Shelby Mt. knowing that we will probably not ma

Still at Toad River but took a road trip today of around 70 80 miles on up the Alcan Highway. We visited Muncho Lake which has an absolutely beautiful blue jade color caused by almost flour fine particles left from the glaciers which are suspended in the water. I don't know if the photos will do it justice. We also traveled on up to Liard Hot Springs and took a dip in the upper most pool. I

This will be a short entry but I wanted to give an update. It's been raining for three days in Beijing. On Friday night I went to see one of my American friend's concerts in Wudaokou and it was pouring probably three inches of rain on the ground. The concert was great though most classic American rock covers. Since I knew Greg I got to sit at the table reserved for the band which was fun and

This morning we leave for Billings Mt. with a stop in Gillette Wy for fueling. We stopped at a Flying J and do not recomend large Rv's using this as a fuel stop. Fuel island is jammed up to the front of the store where there is also car parking and a backup is required to exit the fuel in an Rv over about 30'. While at the fuel stop Leta thought she saw steel cord showing on both of

Everyone loves Montreal. Especially for EastCoast Canadians it's a city of nearly mythological power to enchant and seduce. Folks head to Montreal and marvel at the metropolis with its unparalleled shopping and dining and entertainment opportunities. When they return to smaller towns they tell great stories about the big city and all of the misadventures possible in a place with a Metro a Ch

We have to leave Spokane Creek a day earlier than we wanted to but they were booked for the 4th of July and we are not planning our stops far enough advance to make reservations at any campgrounds. We wanted to stay in the area for another day to visit Deadwood S.D. so after we finally got a cell phone signal in Rapid City we called Sturgis and found a campground that had plenty of space a

Today was work day for everyone. Shelby and I blogged the first part of the day and the Leta and Barbara did the wash and cleaned. That afternoon Shelby and I cooked on the grill for the travel days ahead of us. We grilled two whole chickens a rack of ribs to be eaten on the 4th because you have to have ribs on the 4th pork roast to be made into pulled pork Johnsonville Brats and cheeseb

Traveled on to Toad River. One thing I have noticed each small community such as Toad River has their own electricity generator to power the small community. Got to the park early short pull today as the last two days have been in excess of 450 miles and need a little rest. Got settled in had dinner of Hamburger Helper biscuits and baby lima beans prepared by Aleta and Jack. Park has free

We had the worst experience possible on our 2nd overnight train. It was from Nha Trang to Danang and we realised how spoilt we'd been with the previous VIP class train.The cabin wasn't that much smaller but if it was any smaller it would be called a rabbit hutch. At first it was dimly lit with a lamp and although this was quite annoying because we couldn't see it was better than when we finally f

We celebrated Phillipa's birthday properly and went to a health spa. We went all out and got the full package which began with a giant mud bath. All of us sat in a huge bath tub together filled with watery mud. Someone is obviously making alot of money out of this because it literally was watered down mud. It was fun to sit there and splash about and we were silky smooth afterwards. We then shower

Yesterday when Val and I came out of Victoria's Restaurant a place that looks like it was a bordello during the gold rush days there was a small blue and white bus right outside. We had planned to go to the Raptor Center and needed to take a taxi because it was outside of downtown Sitka. We asked the driver if the bus went out there and he said No this is the Blue Line. You need the Re

As I wrote in my paperandpen diary Take heed cashstrapped travellers Quebec City could be a town in France and you don't have to leave Canada to reach it. I thoroughly enjoyed my three nights in the provincial capital of Quebec. It was a picturesque city of cobblestone streets cafes with terraces busy squares and verdant parks. After five weeks in tiny Jonquiere it was wonderful to b

S skal jeg da lige ud og have kbt en pelshue med en lang hale. Jeg tror nok vi er kommet til DavidCrockettland staves han sdan Wyoming. Her er skummende floder og bver dmninger i stor stil. Vi bor p en rigtig hyggelig plads hvor vi har en flod i baghaven. Vi har haft lejrbl i bedste nybygger stil og lavet marshmellowssmores. Det er ferie Vi har haft det lidt svrt med det der med n

Got to Fort St. John today for Jack to get the windshield star repaired. After a bit of downtown driving we arrived at Peace Glass where the guys that do the repair were at lunch. We parked in their parking lot and had our lunch also. The guy who repaired the star was very friendly and informative. Cost of repair 25.00. We arrived at Fort Nelson and paid 4.63 per gallon for gas. The

There are a number of people who enjoy going to public places taking their clothes off. Yes I know this isnrsquot uncommon in the world but in Germany it is a bit like breast feeding in public it is a natural and seemingly wonderful thing but it has a similar impact to a solar eclipse...... Be very careful to not inadvertently look at it without your dark dark dark glasses. They actually app

I just arrived in Melbourne after a wonderful week with friends in Newcastle. I stayed with Monica and Scott and it was just great to spend time with them. Monica had taken the whole week off work and Scott who is selfemployed at the moment took time too.On Sunday night we had a barbecue and sat around a fire that Monica had lit. Camo Adriaan Donny and Tinks came over. So good to see th

MILE 0 OF ALCAN HIGHWAY After the drive from Red Deer to Dawson Creek and stopping for a photo op at the beginning of the Alcan Highway both the official and the unofficial we continued through Dawson Creek. Just outside of Dawson Creek while we were discussing where we would stay for the night Jack and Barbara showed us the first windshield star of the trip to Alaska. YEP big enou

OK Today was the day to cross the border into Canada. Upon arrival at the border crossing at 1pm we were interviewed by the young lady at the window who apparently had a rough night as she made it rough on us at the drive up window. I informed her that I was bringing into Canada a shotgun. She informed me to pull into the parking area and bring in the paperwork for the shotgun and our pass

After being in a place like Putuoshan which is more known for it's natural beauty than anything else Shanghai has been overwhelming for the senses in mostly good ways. A city of 15 million people half the population of Canada always boggles my mind just for the simple fact that so many people live out their everyday life in an overwhelmingly crowded yet organized place. Life goes on as it does

As we left town we passed a local landmark a signpost forest. during construction of the AlaskaCanada highway in 19421942 one of the soldiers asked if he could put a sign about his hoemtown on the signpost of distances to cities. He was given permission and that started a signpost forest. Janet thought about a cribbage board we had that was shaped like a fifthwheel trailer and suggested that