tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70499795032299592612024-03-13T05:20:32.311-07:00our travel journalThe Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.comBlogger334125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-10783269295508104942019-10-07T16:18:00.000-07:002019-10-14T16:18:50.341-07:00Moab 2019David, Savannah and Calvin planned a fun fall trip this year. They took a a day and a half off of school plus a 3 day weekend and squeezed in a trip to Moab Utah. <div>
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They took the bikes down for some mountain biking, and the Razor for some 4 wheeling fun. I stayed home with the rest of the kids.</div>
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These are some of the fun things David and I did in college, so it's fun the kids are old enough to share in some of these adventures together.</div>
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The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-67699164954799477032019-09-20T21:48:00.000-07:002019-10-13T11:27:58.137-07:00The Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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David and I made a trip to The Sunshine Coast of BC, Canada and Vancouver Island. We decide to drive up so we could enjoy a fun road trip! We made it to Vancouver City on our first night to enjoy dinner at one of 5 locations of TacoFina. We first encountered this amazing food last September in the city of Tofino on Vancouver Island. We were not disappointed in Vancouver City, the food was just as amazing as we remembered!</div>
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The next day after attending church services we took the ferry north to the Sunshine Coast. The scenery is beautiful, even in a little rain. We drove up to Egmont to stay near the Princess Louisa Inlet. After checking in at our hotel and enjoying the view from our room, we took an afternoon hike to see the Sechelt Rapids at high tide. The waves these rapid produce are pretty amazing. It was fun to watch an otter play in them for a bit.</div>
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In the morning we were booked for the Princess Inlet boat tour. The scenery was beautiful. We saw numerous waterfalls. We were even treated with some blue skies and sunshine!</div>
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The following day we took 2 more ferries and headed over to Vancouver Island and up to the northern town of Port Hardy. The next morning we would head out for a day of fishing. We tried fishing for both Salmon and Halibut, but it was just our luck... we caught nothing. David decided he did not like fishing unless it guaranteed catching. </div>
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Our final day on Vancouver Island was a real treat! We booked a sightseeing tour with an air charter company. Essentially you spend the morning hours flying, wherever they are flying that day. Small villages or logging camps far out in the middle of the beauty. It was a small land and float plane. David was invited to sit in the co pilots seat for the best view. Our first stop was at an Indian reservation and logging camp. The next stop was the first time I have landed on water in a plane. We stopped at a private fishing lodge. It used to be a fish cannery but was since purchased privately and now guests may only come at invitation of the owner. </div>
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Before returning to the airport, we made two other sea stops at logging camps. The scenery was spectacular.</div>
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-27064149182439606772019-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:002019-10-14T14:54:48.526-07:00Lake Powell by House Boat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Both David and I had been to Lake Powell once, each in our younger years before we met. It is a beautiful place. While we lived on a boat for several years... we have never been lake boat people, or all that that entails as far as water sports. So this was a very new experience to us.<br />
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First on the list of preparation: Enlist friends to join us! That was not too hard to do. The scenery of Lake Powell was enticing enough. <br />
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Second thing to do: Book a houseboat. We rented a 70 foot houseboat out of Antelope Point Marina. There was plenty of room for the 16 of us. 4 staterooms for adults and small children, and a large flybridge for all the other kids to sleep under the stars (and sprinkling rain). Had a 75 foot been available for our time frame, I may have rented that. It most likely would have been a little nicer. Our boat was okay, but maybe a little tired. The engines for sure needed work. It was terrible to drive. I could not get it to drive straight, so a 3 hour trek to find our anchorage was tiring and frustrating to constantly steer as the boat zig zagged it's way up the lake.<br />
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Third thing to prep: Food. I knew I invited the right friends, because we had sooo much food! Next time, I'd bring less. Or encourage the friends to bring less. It was all delicious! But we had enough food for an extra 2 days!<br />
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Lake Powell is a 100 mile long lake, with canyons stemming off of it like fingers. It's absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed our trip there. We left thinking "when can we go back?". We spent 5 days there and easily could have enjoyed another 2 days. <br />
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On our way there we dropped our oldest 2 children off at a youth conference at BYU Provo for the week. They did not get to enjoy this slice of heaven with us, and we missed them! However we knew they were having an amazing time on campus at BYU, meeting new friends and growing their spirits.<br />
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We arrived in Page Arizona and stopped for dinner and a quick trip to Walmart (for more food of course!). Then we headed to the marina where we were met by the dock service. At Antelope Point dock service shows up to your car to load all your gear, food, toys, everything you brought into a golf cart and trailer. Then they chauffeur you to your boat and unload. If it takes 5 trips, then they do all 5 with you. This was a great service, otherwise the walk to the boat is like a mile. <br />
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Once we unpacked and checked out our home for the next 5 days, it was bed time! Since we were plugged in at the dock with the AC cranking we let all the kids sleep inside in the living area. Tomorrow night that would not be the case. <br />
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In the morning we did a run through with the boat pilot and went over all the systems. After an hour we were on our way. The pilot steered the boat out of the Marina breakwater and than handed it off to us. David rode back with him to go get the day boat and planned to meet up with us only a few miles up the lake. <br />
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However he had a few boat problems that took awhile to fix, so we steered the zig zag boat up the lake to Last Chance Canyon. 3 hours later we were still waiting on the 2 day boats to find us and I was not prepared to anchor the house boat with just me, one other couple, and all the kids on board. If only it was simple to anchor in Lake Powell. This process requires you to beach the front of the boat and then use 4 anchors (2 from the bow, 2 from the stern) to secure the boat to shore. You can either tie your ropes to rocks as anchors. Or dig a hole and drop your anchor in and bury it. This is a lot of work!<br />
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So we stopped at the mouth of a small canyon off Last Chance to wait for the others to show up. With no current, and hardly any wind, we just floated in the same place. The kids had been begging to "arrive" and get out and swim. So I agreed they could get in the water as long as they stayed close to the boat, and listened if we needed to get out of the water immediately. They had sooo much fun on the slide and cooling off in the water! <br />
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Finally the others arrived. David had rented a day boat, and so had the Gardners. Once they found us just floating in Last Chance, they took off to check out where we should anchor the house boat. They decided the next small canyon up Last Chance had a great open spot to anchor, so we slowly followed them and in 15 minutes pulled into our awesome cove. There was a slight breeze that made beaching the boat straight in a little tricky. And the engines were wimpy. David had hopped on board, to help with this. I tried to warn him how terribly the boat drove, but really you have to just experience that for yourself.<br />
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We eventually got the boat beached and hopped off to run anchor lines and start that process. Once we were secure enough and the engines off, we tied up the day boats alongside and further secured the house boat to shore. Parker worked his tail off, and then when the anchoring was done, he worked on blowing up all the play toys for the kids. Rock star teenager.<br />
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The water was absolutely perfect! Clear, clean, and 82+ degrees! And the fact that it was fresh water instead of salt was the cherry on top! The kids spent everyday swimming, kayaking, SUPping. And then there were the day boats. The kids learned to knee board; the adults learned to surf. We all had fun on the tubes. We checked out a few narrow canyons, and even hiked to Rainbow Bridge. It was a fabulous week and we are looking forward to going back!<br />
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-90643206622023497722019-03-31T13:18:00.000-07:002019-05-16T18:33:34.469-07:00March Trip, Part 3- Back to IsraelWe arrived back at the border to leave Jordan and walk back to Israel. Then we picked up a taxi and headed to the rental car office. When they brought our car around, it was the first time I have ever wondered if we should request a different car. I think every panel was dented or scratched. We video'd the car and pointed everything out to the agency and they marked the paperwork up. And off we went, we had a busy day ahead of us!<br />
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We drove back on the same route we had just driven 3 days earlier on our way from church to Jordan. But this time we would make a few stops on our way back to Jerusalem. Our first stop was a the Unesco site of Masada. The majority of tourists visit Israel on a bus tour, so the tourist sites have plenty of parking for large buses, but parking for cars is minimal. We parked in a dirt lot off the side of the road with a few other cars. Because buses full of tourists visit these places, there are usually cafes there, which is nice. We were able to grab a quick lunch before taking the funicular up the cliff to the Masada Palace. <br />
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High on a cliff above the Dead Sea, King Herod built himself a vacation Palace. It is amazing what they were able to build and accomplish thousands of years ago and without the technology we have today. They engineered amazing structures in incredibly difficult places. The view is spectacular and the ruins of the Palace are amazing. They built cisterns and food storage to be able to live up there for months, it's amazing. <br />
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However Masada is known for more than just King Herod's Palace. In 73 AD during the end of the First Jewish-Roman War, a thousand Jewish Rebels fled to Masada to hide from the Romans. The Roman army. The Roman legion laid siege on Masada and surrounded the Palace below the cliffs. You can see the remains of the huge Roman encampments from the top of the cliff. It's incredible. The Romans then built a huge siege ramp, tower and battering ram to gain access to Masada and the Jewish Rebels hiding there. But as the day came that the ramp was ready and they were about to breach the fortress, the remaining Jews, all 960 of them, men- women- children, committed mass suicide rather than be taken by the Roman Legion. In addition they had set all the buildings on fire. <br />
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We only had a short 2 hours to explore Masada, so we did not get to see it all. But what we did see was pretty incredible. <br />
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We had a 45 minute drive from Masada to the caves of Qumran. We needed to arrive before the site closed and we did. Qumran is also a Unesco site, mostly known as the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. After excavations, nearly 900 scrolls were found in the area. A long time ago a small settlement lived here of possibly Essenes or maybe Saducees. They are not completely sure at this point. But the site is most famous in our family for it's reference in our favorite audio book series Tennis Shoes Among The Nephites. My children have listened to these stories numerous times over the years and it was fun to visit a site mentioned in the stories and learn more about the area.<br />
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After visiting Qumran we were less than an hour from Jerusalem. We headed to our apartment to check in and then walked to a nearby fun street to pick up some groceries and find dinner. We walked a main modern shopping street and happened upon a fun soup shop. The flavors were local and delicious! We picked up snacks and food for breakfast and a cake for dessert. In the morning we would have a long day of touring Jerusalem.<br />
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On our way to Jordan I had received an email from the tour guide I had hired for a one day tour in Jerusalem. He had a family emergency out of the country and apologized that he would have to cancel. With such short notice I could not find a guide at the same price or that I seemed to connect with, so we decided to find our own way and use the tour books I had brought to read and learn about different sites. I had already made a list of places we were interested in seeing so that helped. But there is so much history in this city, history of many different cultures and people that goes back thousands of years, history of wars and sediments that still exist in the culture and people of today. I had wanted a guide to help us understand more. But we would make due on our own.<br />
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In the morning we headed to the City of David, below the old city walls. In walking there we passed through the Kidron Valley walking outside the old city wall. It is a very pretty area now. We also made a stop at the Upper Room, believed to be where the last supper occurred. The view from the top of the building is beautiful.<br />
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From here we continued to nearby City of David. This area is under excavation and full of amazing sites to see. The Palace of King David, homes of high priests during David's time. One of them being the tunnel of Hezekiah. This all dates back to Old Testament times. The tunnel is an amazing example of engineering. King Hezekiah was preparing his people for an attack by the Assyrians and wanted to protect the water from the valley, so he moved the spring from outside the city wall, to inside.<br />
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The tunnel is 583 yards long, and was built by two teams, working from each end of the tunnel to meet in the middle. When the two groups met up, they were not off by much. We walked part of Hezekiah's tunnel, until we reached the water. They allow you to continue through the tunnel in the water, but we were not prepared for that so we choose to finish our walk through another tunnel nearby that was dry. <br />
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After visiting the City of David, we walked up into the City Walls of Jerusalem. While it seems like an old city, we should remember that so much of Jerusalem has been through many wars. Some very recent, and so much of the city has been rebuilt. It has been expanded throughout the ages as well. In fact not too long ago, the Jordanians occupied old Jerusalem, and the Jews moved out and across a nearby valley. The Jordanians would stand on the walls of the old city and shoot with their guns at the homes of the Jews just across the narrow valley, that eventually the Jews even left their homes there. This was in the 1970s. <br />
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But since that time, the Jews have returned and traditional Orthodox Jews, and hassidic Judaism can be found all over the city. So can the Muslims. The city is still divided. We visited the Western Wall fo the Temple also known as the wailing wall. It was Thursday and this was Bar Mitzvah day. Many Bar Mitzvah ceremonies occur all day long at the Western Wall. We did not know until we arrived and passed through security that the wall is divided. On the right side only women can enter the area and approach the wall, and the left side is for men. Between these areas is a wall. Women, I assume mothers or family of the boys having their Bar Mitzvahs, would stand on chairs to look over the walls to watch their sons perform this sacred ritual. This was fascinating to watch and learn about. Savannah and Calvin asked about the separation of women and children and I imagine it may stem back to the Temple. In our temples today women go to one side and men to the other. We had a great family discussion about this. <br />
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We were unable to go up on the temple mount. They had closed for the day. The entrance to the Temple mount is close the Western Wall. Jewish people are currently not allowed upon the Temple mount as it is owned by the Muslims and they do not allow it. This is why the Jews come to the Western Wall and why it is referred to the Wailing Wall. The lower portion of this wall is in fact the same wall of the second temple period built by Herod the Great. The Jews consider this the closed they can get to their sacred Temple site, and therefore this is their holiest site where they can pray.<br />
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After lunch we visited a museum over homes being excavated. These homes were in a richer area, homes were high priests maybe lived, those considered upper class in society. <br />
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As we walked the streets of old Jerusalem and through it's markets we found the vendors to be more aggressive in many cities and countries we have visited. The kids were still able to buy souvenirs they wanted, but we needed to have a bit of a thicker skin, because if you walked away after looking and even some bartering, the market stall owner could turn quite mean. In several areas we realized we must be close to the Temple mount in the Muslim quarters because we would get turned around and sent away by military soldiers with guns, telling us we were not Muslim and we could not go further. So we quietly turned and went back another way. The spices and food were lovely to see. Olive wood and Hebron Glass is everywhere. Fruits and juices, and Dates and Figs, Hummus and Pita were also every where. <br />
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In the afternoon we walked along the Via Dolorosa, the route which many believe Jesus walked to his Crucifixion, however this route is just a guess, but mostly unknown. As it was growing late in the afternoon, we headed over to the Garden Tomb. This is one of the possibilities for the place of Crucifixion and burial. Inside the garden it was peaceful, and not too busy. We were able to walk the beautiful grounds in a quiet reverence and sit and read the account of the burial and resurrection of our Savior, as he appeared to Mary Magdalene in the Garden near his tomb, and ponder the significance of these pivotal events. There were a few tour groups sitting together, also in quiet reverence nearby. It was beautiful as they started singing I Stand All Amazed.<br />
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The next morning, we headed to Bethlehem for the morning. Bethlehem is in Palestine territory so it is a little complicated to get there. It is not very far from Jerusalem, maybe 10km, but with traffic it takes about 25 mins to drive there. However, you can not drive a rental car into a Palestine controlled area, so we took a taxi to the border crossing. Our driver was not able to drive us across the border, so we got out and walked through the wall and border building to the other side. Once we cleared the building in Bethlehem, we were bombarded by taxi drivers. Instead of negotiating with one approaching us, David picked one sitting in his car, and approached him and offered him the going fair to the Church of the Nativity, just a couple miles away. <br />
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Once we arrived at the Church of the Nativity, it was fairly quiet outside. It is Friday, and this evening would begin Shabbat, or the Sabbath for the Jewish community, and I think many of the shops were closed because of this. Inside the church we found a fairly short line, waiting for the "cave" to open. In our traditional version of the nativity we picture the manger where Jesus was born in a barn like structure, but in actuality it was more like a cave carved out of the rock beneath the home or inn where the animals were kept. Here a church was built over the very spot where it is believed Jesus was born. In fact they have marked the very spot with a star in the stone. We waited with hundreds of people for this cave to open, so we could all push and shove our way through the door way to walk down the few steps into the cave to push to the star, to then be yelled at by the security guard to move along. This was a stark contrast compared to the beautiful peace in which we walked the grounds of the Garden Tomb the night before. There was no reverence in viewing this spot, yet many were there with great faith, dropping to their knees and reaching to touch the star with their hands. It was an experience we discussed as we walked the empty streets outside in the drizzle of rain.<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjUsIXB-YME/XN4HyHG5FMI/AAAAAAAANz4/NE-Pl9d571skb-RYN_8MfefIPPPFX2r7QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> </a><br />
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After leaving the Church we walked to a few nearby Olive wood shops to watch them carve. Everything I read said that Bethlehem was the best place to buy olive wood souvenirs for the best price. However we did not find that to be true. Prices were listed in USD, not local currency, this is a big tip off that they price high for tourists. We did pick up a couple of items for good prices after bartering. But as we left the shop owner included extra bracelets as "gifts" to us, which had me guessing our good price was not so good. But I was happy with the price, and that is the goal. <br />
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We then found a taxi to take us back to the border crossing to head back to Jerusalem. As we passed through the fence and into the border patrol building, there was a line. David went to check for a shorter line and the security guards told us we could pass, however they would not allow any locals that tried to use the short line to pass. They had to wait in the longer line where they were thoroughly checking everyone's documentation. All we had to do was hold up our US passports, and we were waived through. It was interesting to discuss these border crossings and the ones going in and out of Jordan with our children, especially as we now live in a country drastically divided over whether or not to erect walls around our country borders.<br />
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Back in Jerusalem we did more souvenir shopping. The kids went from shop to shop bartering to get their desired price for a few things to take home. I wondered when the shops would start to wind down as the afternoon grew later, but there was no sign of the Sabbath approaching. But maybe the shops were owned by Arabs or muslims, rather than Jews. I don't know. <br />
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As the afternoon grew later we headed to one last stop on our must see list- the Orson Hyde Garden on the mount of Olives. As we walked towards the city gates near the temple mount, the Muslims had just finished their prayer and worship services and came flooding out. The streets became extremely crowded and loud as we all tried to exit the city gate. While we were not on the temple grounds, the crowd was mostly still divided, men on the right side, women on the left heading out of the city gate, similar to the Jews at the wailing wall. As we reached the street outside the gate the sidewalks were lined with vendors selling food and clothes, this must be a busy sales time with so many people crossing this path each Friday. We made our way down the hill and the crowd thinned out. We headed over to the Mount of Olives and found a few Gardens, one being the signed as the Garden of Gethsemane, so we stepped inside to walk for a few moments. No one knows for sure where exactly on the Mount of Olives our Savior prayed and suffered for the sins of the world, but this Garden was full of Tourist groups visiting the church attached to the Garden, so we decided to exit and make our way further up the hill to the Orson Hyde Garden and as we exited a man looked at my hat and said "BYU- Brigham Young University" This was the first time anyone had commented on my hat the entire trip. I asked him if he knew it, and he responded "Yes, I knew it, before you" He went on to tell us he helped with the construction of the Jerusalem Center and would sometimes drive the tour buses for the student tours. We told him we were looking for the Orson Hyde Garden, and he said he would walk us there and show us the way. He was very friendly and kindly led us to the gate of the garden. We probably would have passed it on the street. He had told us about an Olive wood shop in town that his friend own that sells LDS carvings. He said if we would like to go, he would drive us whenever we were done in the Gardens. <br />
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The Orson Hyde Garden is beautiful. It is filled with Olive trees and overlooks the Temple mount and the old city of Jerusalem. I imagine the place where the Savior prayed for our sins must have been somewhere like this. We walked along the paths and enjoyed the beauty of the Garden. Together we read of our Saviors Atonement and listened to the Primary Song Gethsemane and pondered the gift our Savior has given us, to repent and made whole from our mistakes in life. <br />
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We returned down the hill and found the man waiting for us. We accepted his offer for a ride to the Olive wood shop. There we found many carvings of the Savior, bible characters, and book of mormon characters. They were beautiful to see. We purchased a few more items and then headed back to our apartment. This evening for Shabbat we would attend a traditional Shabbat dinner within the Jewish community.<br />
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Back at our apartment we had been having trouble with the washing machine. The manager had sent a few repair people to try to fix it, but we ended up having to hand wash what we need, and hoped it all dried so we could pack up in the morning.<br />
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At 8pm Friday evening we headed to the home of a Rabbi for dinner. We found several traditional Orthodox and Hassidic Jewish students were also there for dinner. Many Jewish young men and young women spend several months to a few years studying their faith. Many of them come here to Jerusalem to do this. Throughout the evening they explained many of their traditions as they went through them. They sang and danced traditional Shabbat songs. The meal was delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and getting to know this faith. They in turn asked us many questions about our own faith and we found that we have many similarities, especially in morals and values. <br />
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The next morning, Saturday, we packed up early and headed to Church at the BYU Jerusalem Center for our Sabbath Worship Services. It wasn't as crowded as the week before, less tour groups. After church we headed to Tel-Aviv for lunch and then to the airport- it was time to head home! We would arrive in London late at night. I had booked an overnight stop for sleep at an airport hotel. Then the next morning we would make the rest of our trip back to home.<br />
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-6032117885637506182019-03-26T19:50:00.000-07:002019-05-16T18:43:15.461-07:00March Trip part 2- JordanWarning! Picture Overload! Jordan is beautiful!<br />
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In the morning we looked around and thought- this looks like southern Utah! But then we hiked into Petra! And wow! This place is amazing!!!! And while much of the scenery does look like Utah, this place is more intense than Utah. Some of the rock and colors are so beautiful and we have never seen before. There's camels, just hanging out in the desert. I've never seen a camel in Utah.<br />
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And then there's Petra the city! Wow! It's amazing what they built here 2500 years ago. They were clearly a smart people that did tremendously well serving the trade route through the desert. They offered safety and shelter if you were traveling through the desert on this route. The Nabateans built the city, carving caves and buildings out of the red rock. Knowing water was a necessity to live in the desert, they built cisterns, and water paths to route water to the cisterns from throughout the city. It's incredible. The Romans eventually caught up with them and built a few roads and buildings though out the city as well. In it's heyday, more than 20,000 people lived here. It's fascinating. In the end the Romans found the Nabateans weren't interested in being overtaken and instead of continuing to work with them, the Romans moved the trade route to go by sea, and so the reign of the Nabateans in the desert came to an end. Until the 1980's the site was still occupied by many Bedouin families living in the desert. Most have been relocated, but there are still some Bedouins living on the outskirts of Petra.<br />
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After eating breakfast, we headed into Petra with our local bedouin guide for a 10 hour tour. We asked to push a little faster so we could hit the road before sunset. They like to finish the tour at sunset at a great viewing spot, but we were planning to catch a desert sunset tomorrow night and wanted to see the beauty of the area that we drove through in the dark last night. <br />
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We hiked in to Petra through one of the back entrances. Using this entrance we were able to hike to the Monastery. When you enter the main entrance of Petra, many day tours don't make it to the Monastery as it is at the far end of the city and a long climb up. We spent an hour hiking to arrive at the Monastery and since it was still early in the morning, it was not crowded at all. We were able to enjoy the beauty of the structure. Our guide pointed out cisterns that had been dug nearby and through out the day showed us many water routes and remains of clay pipes built throughout the city. This was fascinating to see. <br />
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From the Montasery we hiked down into the heart of the city. Here we found mounds of ruins not yet restored. We were able to explore some of the ruins from the Roman Era, and many from the heyday of the Nabateans. The coliseum, the caves and tombs of the rich, and the caves and tombs of the not so rich. <br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">We hiked to the high place of sacrifice where animals were sacrificed to the Gods. The view points were spectacular. Then we hiked to an overview of the Treasury. And then down to the ground in front of the Treasury.</span></div>
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This is the carving you see in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and many pictures of Petra. This was the entrance to Petra, and here travelers and traders would pay their fees to the Nabateans, hence the name "the Treasury". In front of the treasury is a 1 km long narrow canyon with tall cliff walls, know as the Siq. Through this canyon is how most travelers entered Petra, and today it is how most tourists enter Petra. We hike about halfway through the Siq along the Roman paved road, admiring the beautiful towering walls overhead. Our guide stopped to point out the carvings of Camel Caravans in the walls. They are faded and most tourists passing us by didn't even notice them. Along the walls edge are rock carved posts for Camels to be tied up to, and Rock carved shallow water cisterns for the camels to drink from. <br />
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We then turned around and hiked back to the end of the Siq to get the "traditional" view of the entrance of Petra. It was beautiful, even in the slight drizzle of rain now falling on us. Our guide offered to walk us out through the Siq and get us a ride back to our B&B to pick up our car since it was raining. But we opted to continue our tour and hike out on the Bedouin trails back to the Bedouin village. <br />
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Luckily the rain lightened up as we hiked and we were thrilled we choose to continue as the trail back to the village, called the Rainbow trail, was absolutely spectacular. The rock along this path was truly beautiful, striped and swirled with several different colors. Even after hiking a mile we found more caves and roads. Clearly those not lucky enough to live in the city of Petra lived in it's surrounding areas. It was an incredible end to a spectacular day. Just as we reached the road we were using to exit Petra, it started to rain harder. Luckily the gate had an overhang we hide under as we waited for a car to pick us up and drive us the mile or so back to the B&B in the rain. <br />
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As we checked out of the B&B, the owner mentioned Little Petra and explained it's history to us. It was the first city built by the Nabateans and is a much smaller scale. As they realized the extent they could build their city they moved it to where Petra stands today. In Little Petra they found a tile mosaic and colored plaster, giving us hints of what the inside of these caves were decorated with.<br />
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We then made the drive back to Aqaba, and a few miles south along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba off of the Red Sea to Tala Bay Resort. We checked in to our small condo within a huge resort. After the long hike today, the short felt heavenly! And we were grateful to do laundry in the condo! <br />
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The next morning we were up and going again! This time we were off to drive an hour back towards Petra, but turning off to head to the Wadi Rum desert. Another UNESCO site, this area is beautiful! We drove to the village and found the guide service we had hired for the day. We had planned to hike Burdah Rock Bridge, but the weather was forecasting rain today so the guide service was concerned the rock and trail would get slippery if it rained and altered our plans to their typical one day desert tour. While I was disappointed, I was also exhausted and sore for the day before and willing to accept the altered plan. While the only rain that fell that day was short lived, it was chilly and very windy, all day long. The kids were happy the day had less hiking too. And the truth is-- it was still a great day!<br />
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Our guide was very friendly and promised to teach both Calvin and Savannah to drive his stick shift truck in the desert. Our first stop was a tall sand dune which we hiked to the top. After getting pelted with wind and sand and watching the clouds go by and making a few time lapse videos, we headed back down the dune. We watched a couple try to surf the dune, but they didn't make it very far on their snowboard. But I'm sure it was fun to try. <br />
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Our next stop was a narrow rock canyon carved by thousands of years of wind and water. On the walls were several petroglyphs from long long ago, marking water and animals for those who might come to the area. The Nabateans also roamed these deserts, and knew it's secrets.<br />
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And this was how our day went, drive then stop and view, then drive more and stop and view. About every other stop we were offered Bedouin tea, and the guides would all take smoke breaks and visit. There was no rush, an easy day of nature and beauty. Since we don't drink tea, our stops were maybe slightly shorter than others. Our guide was happy to go at any pace we desired. He answered all our questions about life in a Jordan Desert, and the business of raising camels for milk or racing. We learned a lot.<br />
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For lunch we stopped near a canyon wall with another group and the 2 guides made us a delicious local lunch. They built a fire to warm up, and to cook over. Pita and hummus and cheese, oh yummy. And a local sort of bean stew was warm and yummy. my favorite spread is the baba ganoush, it is so delicious. It was also nice visiting with another group of travelers. A older couple and their son from the Netherlands, and a solo traveler- an American currently living in India as a teacher. We enjoyed chatting with them and hearing their experiences.</div>
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The kids favorite part was driving in the desert. Our Guide Habis, was very patient with each of them (of course, he promised to be the best teacher- boasting of teaching his 9 year old nephew). He told them how to use the clutch and did the shifter himself for Calvin. But since Savannah had more experience he just talked her through shifting. They both had fun driving across the desert sands. <br />
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At one stop we saw the rock bridge we had planned to hike too, way up high... And the kids declared they were happy with the altered plan. Wadi Rum is strikingly beautiful. Several movies have been filmed here, including the Martian and Rogue One. They say they have sunsets that make the sand look as red as the sand on Mars.<br />
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We did stay for sunset but it was not a huge experience as the clouds were mostly covering the sky and the sun only peeked through for a moment on it's way down, but it was still beautiful, as most sunsets are. It was a fun day.<br />
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Our third and final full day in Jordan started with us sleeping in! We were excited for a "break" or a slower paced day. After resting in the morning, David and I contacted one of the dive centers at the resort and made plans to leave at 11am for a few hours of diving, lunch, and a short cruise on the Red Sea. Savannah wanted more rest, but we convinced her to come along. She and Calvin would do a discover dive, and complete their first scuba dive. They loved it! The boat and crew served a fabulous lunch on board and David and I completed 2 fun dives.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Just after we descended on our first dive, I was starting to wonder just how out of shape I was. There was no current, but I was completely out of breath swimming. I was falling behind, wondering if I why I was so out of breath and thinking I must still be worn out from all our hiking. As I was starting to think through what I was experiencing, shortness of breath, not being able to keep up with our group, I was starting to think through how long my air would last (the faster you breath, the faster you run out) and thinking maybe I need to ascend and cut my dive short, we were still "near" the boat. As I was waiting for the dive guide to turn and check on me, as I was falling behind the group, I started to notice a noise when I would breathe in. It was different than an air leak sound, and in paying attention, it was a squeak on my intake of air, but no noise when I would breathe out. I started to wonder if there was something wrong with my equipment, and maybe I was not getting enough oxygen. David finally looked back at me and I attempted to signal to him and ask him if he could hear me squeak. But without being able to talk, it can be hard to communicate while diving. And we didn't have our gear, only borrowed gear, and so I did not have my slate to write on. Finally the dive guide looked back and asked if I was okay, and I was able to signal to him that I was not ok. He came over and I tried to ask him if he could hear me breathe and the squeak. He, being experienced, and somewhat interpreting my signals, grabbed my "octopus" (which is a second regulator that all scuba gear has- in case your dive buddy runs out of air and needs to share with you), and handed it to me. And at that moment I thought "Duh! Why didn't I try that already!" so I switched regulators and oh JOY! I could breathe! It was amazing to me, how I could not tell when I first descended. Sure it seemed a little "hard" to breath, but there's always nerves, and a little anxiety on the first dive, that I didn't realize it was actually HARD to breathe because I was missing oxygen, until I could actually breath again. And then I thought how often we experience this in life in other ways. We don't recognize that we are missing a spiritual connection, and we are just in survival mode, until that connection is brought back to our lives and we breath it in and go "yes, I was missing this and I need it!"</span><br />
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That evening we went into downtown Aqaba to walk the streets and through the markets and have a great local dinner. We picked up some local delicacies to bring home. On our walk we happened into a local pita shop where they were making tons of pita and several varieties of Baklava. The shop owner or manager waved us in as we watched from the door, and gave us several samples to try. He did not really speak English but he was so kind. We took home several baklava's for breakfast and a bag full of fresh delicious pita! <br />
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We loved our time in Jordan. The people there were so kind and friendly, and helpful. The country is filled with beauty. And the food! Oh the food is delicious! We would love to go back.<br />
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The next morning we packed up early and headed to return the car and repeat in reverse what we had done 3 days before. Back to the border crossing, and then to the car rental on the Israel side. <br />
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The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-60374791917249744152019-03-19T14:37:00.000-07:002019-05-16T18:46:45.422-07:00March Trip part 1For extended spring break this year we decided to take just Savannah and Calvin on a trip to Israel. To sweeten the deal we worked in Jordan, and a 24 hour layover in London. <br />
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Even though we were exhausted after a red eye flight, we spent a full day touring the sites of London. We ended the day with delicious fish and chips at a pub near paddington station. We then caught the train out to near the airport where we would take a morning flight to Tel Aviv. <br />
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After arriving in Israel we picked up a rental car and drove to Nazareth where David, led by GPS drove through some super narrow streets of old town, until we decided that we should figure out how to turn around and drive to some wider streets. Driving in Israel is definitely more aggressive than the typical US city, but it's doable, for David. We stopped in Nazareth, the home town of Jesus, for dinner. It's not a quiet little town as it was in Jesus's day, but a bustling small city. <br />
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After dinner we continued our evening drive to Livnim, to our airbnb. In the morning we were greeted with a narrow view of the Sea of Galilee from the property. We took off for a day of touring the Galilee area. First to Capernuam to view the ruins of the town. Capernuam was near the trade route so it was a bigger town than Nazareth at the time. Now it is nothing but ruins on the shore of the lake. <br />
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Next we drove up the Mount of Beattitudes where it is believed to be the location of the sermon on the mount. After walking around the area, we then drove to Tiberias to walk along the shore and look for some lunch. Along the board walk, it was packed with people and music blaring. We're not sure if it was a special festival of sorts or just a typical weekend day. But there were people and families everywhere. We found a great Falafel place and picked up some treats and pastries for later and breakfast the next day. <br />
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With lots of daylight left we decided to drive all the way around the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Kinneret. It's not a very big lake but it was a scenic drive. We stopped at a few beaches and watched many Israeli families out enjoying their day off. It was Friday, this evening would be the start of the Sabbath here in Israel.<br />
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On our way back to Livnim we stopped along the road where we noticed several cars. There was a pretty canyon through the hills to hike along a stream. We followed it for a bit, crossing the stream a few times and enjoying the beauty around us. It was really a beautiful way to end the day. <br />
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We arrived back to our place to check on our laundry that the lady that owned the house we stayed in was kind enough to do for us. We found all our clothes hanging to dry off our back deck. This was really a wonderful treat as we were able to enjoy our day and not worry about this chore. <br />
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We then drove 15 minutes back into the small town of Magdala, where Mary Magdalene is thought to be from. Here there is a grocery market and a couple of restaurants. We ordered an Israeli style pizza from Pizza Hut, which was not a huge hit with us, but we still ate it. At the store we picked up a few snacks for the road. Tomorrow we would do lots of driving.<br />
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On Saturday we rose early for a drive to Jerusalem to make it in time for worship services at the BYU Jerusalem Center. It was a two hour drive early on the Sabbath from the Galilee to Jerusalem. We left with plenty of time to make a short detour if we found one. And we did. We pulled off the main road to stop in the town of Bet She'An-Beit She'An. They have excavated some Roman ruins from the time of Roman occupation. It was interesting to see. <br />
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We then continued our drive through the lush green hills into the dessert as we neared Jerusalem. Unfortunately google is not correct on the location of the Jerusalem Center and after driving in circles twice around Mount Scopus, we stopped to ask a police car nearby. They escorted us to the Jerusalem Center, which we found located on Google Maps, but as you click for directions it takes you to a different spot on the map- frustrating, but we were blessed to have help and we still arrived 10 minutes early. However, everyone else arrived earlier than us and we were lucky to get 4 seats in the very back. The students weren't even in residence that Sunday and the place was full. After the Sunday School lesson we enjoyed the view from the terraces of the center for a bit before our 6 hour drive.<br />
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After driving for 45 minutes, the Dead Sea was within view. While so much of Israel looks much like southern Utah, there seems to be a perpetual fog over the Dead Sea which ruins the view a bit. A couple hours later we stopped at Ein Bokek and walked on the beach along the Dead Sea. I was the only one that removed my shoes and stuck my feet in the water. It was interesting watching the different people at the beach, many dressed differently than the beaches we are used to going to. There were lots of bathing suits, but many more modest or dress styles, even on men. Since it was still the Sabbath and we were still in Israel, it was hard to find a place open for lunch, so we opted for McDonalds, which was extremely busy at 3o'clock in the afternoon. <br />
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We hit the road again, we still had a couple hours left to reach Elat and the Jordan border. Once we arrived in Elat we found the car rental location- closed for Shabbat, but Eldan Car Rental has a key drop at this location, so we were able to leave the car parked out front, drop the key, and take a taxi to the border. Here we cleared out of Israel, paying the exit fee, and then walked across the border. Lots of open land along the Dead Sea- which also divides the two countries, but here at the border crossing are actual walls. <br />
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It took less than 5 minutes to reach the Jordan side, we then had to fill out a little paper work to obtain our visas there. Since we entered in their tourist zone of Aqaba and we were staying 4 days, there was no visa fee for us. From here we walked to the parking lot and picked up a taxi to take us to downtown Aqaba and the Avis Car Rental. The taxi driver told us to be careful driving at night- don't hit a camel. A Camel! On the road? Sure enough there are camels, and sometimes near the road, but we had no issues and never saw them on the road. The taxi driver may have been exaggerating, i don't know, but he also offered to drive us wherever we wanted to go during our stay instead of a rental car. We stuck with the rental car, it gave us some freedom to do what we wanted or take back roads.<br />
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After picking up our car, we hit the road again. It was dark, so we didn't get to see any scenery, but an hour and a half later we arrived in a bedouin village near Petra. It was a loud Saturday evening in the village. Many were out and about in their Bedouin clothing, even the donkeys were out. We were definitely in a different country here. We found our Bed and Breakfast and dropped our stuff off in our room. Then headed to the main house for dinner. Pita, hummus, chicken and rice, and salads. It was delicious. We visited with a few of the other guest for a bit and discussed with the owner the route our guide would take us hiking through Petra tomorrow.<br />
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-60525906921696993662018-09-20T14:34:00.000-07:002018-11-15T14:34:47.531-08:0017 Years TogetherThis year we have been married 17 years. And we still like to travel together! We must still like each other!<br />
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Over our anniversary date we took the 5 youngest kids camping up to Hazard Lake. But for our own celebration, David and I took a long weekend trip to Vancouver Island Canada. It is beautiful here. I think I say that about everywhere, but the world truly is a beautiful masterpiece.<br />
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We spent the first 2 days near Victoria exploring that beautiful area. Our hotel, Villa Eyrie, was up a hill with a beautiful view out the window. We visited Butchardt Gardens, built in an old Limestone Quarry. We drove out to Port Renfrew on old logging roads and thought we'd been led astray by google and wondered if the road would truly lead us anywhere. Sure enough it did. Then we took the coastal highway to Sooke with beautiful views of the US across the straight.</div>
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The next 2 days we spent in Tofino on the west coast of the island. The drive there was spectacular. Tofino is just north of the Pacific Rim National Park. And our room at the Wickaninnish Inn, was seriously right on Chesterman Beach. We could sit in front of the picture window or lay in bed and watch the waves roll in and crash against the rocks and beach and watch the surfers. Picture perfect! The hotel had complimentary bikes for use, so at low tide we rode out to the island via revealed sand spit at low tide. And the view from the beach at sunset was spectacular.</div>
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The weather here is pretty temperate year round, mid to upper 50s for the highs, upper 40s for the lows... year round.</div>
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-84234135387061733152018-08-16T15:25:00.000-07:002019-04-04T15:31:40.370-07:00Summer Trip 2018, stop 3From Wisconsin we drove a few hours east into Michigan's upper peninsula. We rented a little cabin in the woods outside Pictured Rocks National Park. <br />
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Our first full day there we rented a pontoon boat to go out on this part of Lake Michigan to see the shoreline of Picture Rocks NP. After the disaster of our boat rental in Wisconsin, I was a little worried, but this place had the boat rental thing down. They have more than a dozen pontoon boats for rent and know what they are doing. We walked up and were settled on the boat and headed out within 20mins. While the pontoon boat is spacious, the engine is slow. It was a long hour splashing in the windy waves out, along the shoreline. We decided to go to the edge of the boating area and then as we head back stop and see the sights along the way. With the chop on the water we tried to follow a larger tour boat to lessen the waves by riding in their wake, but at one point we dropped down in their wake and a WALL of water washed over us. Matthew and I hid under a raincoat, but I kept one eye out and watched David get drenched in the wall! We were running after our water shoes that laid on the floor of the boat, reaching to grab them before they were washed overboard as the water receded. We were now, wet and chilled from the wind. But we all laughed as we discussed the great wall of water. <br />
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We reached the end of the boating area and stopped at a nearby beach. Their was a hot springs runoff, and the kids enjoyed warming up in the cascading waterfall it created. David and I took the pontoon closer to the nearby cliffs to check out the scenery. We laid out our wet sweaters and warmed in the sun. <br />
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We enjoyed the beautiful scenery on our way back and took a more leisurely pace. No more walls of water! Instead we enjoyed the walls of the cliffs and their "painted" look created by minerals that have dripped down them over the many years.<br />
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We enjoyed a couple hikes in the area and checked out a few nearby waterfalls. It is a beautiful area. On Saturday we drove a couple hours to the Mackinaw Bridge. We crossed over and headed to nearby Cheboygan. I had never visited these areas while serving as a missionary here, but I was familiar with the town names. In Cheboygan we met up with the delivery man for our new camping trailer in the walmart parking lot. After a couple hours of David fixing up the hitch, and me shopping for new trailer supplies and groceries, we took our new Rockwood Roo hybrid trailer back to our cabin in the wood. <br />
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On Sunday we attended church at a small nearby branch. We believe it was the smallest church building we had ever been in. We then went to the east end of the park and hiked to the log slide area, where loggers would just roll the trees down the immense sand dunes to the sea. They would then be picked up and placed aboard ships.<br />
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Bright and early Monday morning we headed west, towing our new camping trailer. After a day of driving we stopped at a state park outside of Fargo ND. In the morning we stopped at the Bonanzaville museum in Fargo that showcased what life was like during the Bonanza days out in the territories. Then we drove the rest of the afternoon to our next stop: Medora North Dakota. <br />
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Medora is home to Theodore Rosevelt National Park. It is very much in the middle of no where, or a pretty badlands area, but the town is set up for tens of thousands of visitors with several attractions. We camped in the nearby state park. Our first full day there, we drove around the park and did some popular short hikes. That night we had tickets to dinner at the cowboy steak fondue buffet dinner. Steaks were cooked on pitch forks dipped into boiling hot oil "fondue". On Wednesday nights, kids 12 and under get a free hot dog dinner! After dinner we walked across the big parking lot to the Medora Theater to see the Medora Musical, a family friendly variety show. On Wednesday nights all kids were free! We enjoyed our day here in Medora, but there wasn't much left to do after 1 day. <br />
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-67276071433526184602018-08-02T21:02:00.000-07:002018-09-18T21:02:49.078-07:00Summer Trip 2018 stop 2Minneapolis and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin<br />
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From the Black Hills of South Dakota we drove to Minneapolis where we arrived at bed time. In the morning our neighbors the Gardners flew in and we met up with them at the Mall of America. We rode a couple of roller coasters and the Fly Across America ride- which is similar to Soarin at Disney. After lunch it was time to hit the road.<br />
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We made a stop at Walmart to stock up on breakfasts and snacks for the next day or so. We then made the 4 hour drive to Wisconsin's Apostle Islands. Once there we checked in to these cute little cabins on Lake Superior. Our other neighbors, the Despain Family were already there, they flew in a few days earlier. We ordered pizza for dinner and enjoyed spending time together.<br />
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In the morning, David and I took the ferry over to Madeline Island to pick up a small boat rental. We took the boat to the marina near our cabins to pick up our kids and the Gardner Family for a day out on the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day and we headed out 20 miles to Devils Island to see the sea caves. They were amazing. The water was so calm we were able to take the boat inside a few of the caves which was really cool.<br />
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We tied up to a rock area and met the volunteer rangers that were staying on the island. They gave us a tour of the lighthouse and some history of the island and it's light keepers. The kids had fun swimming in the cold water, then laying on the warm rocks to warm up. We decided to take the boat back near the caves and cliffs to anchor and have lunch. The kids braved the cold water again to climb through the caves and explore. Then they climbed the cliffs and jumped into the water. It was a fun day. </div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The boat was acting a little odd so when we found we had cell service at Devils, David made a call to the guy that rented us the boat. He suggested we make our way back. So we did, slowly. We went by a few of the other islands between Devils and Madeline. We stopped at South Twin Island, and then went by Stockton to see larger cliffs and more sea caves. There were crazier teens climbing higher cliffs to jump. We stopped at Stockton to visit the ranger station there and pick up- you guessed it, junior ranger packets.</span></div>
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As we headed back, the boat seemed to get slower and slower and then started making a screeching noise. We'd stop and let the engine rest and then start slowly again. David texted the boat owner and he wanted us to just wait. After about 45 mins of just making our way slowly towards the mainland, he finally reached up, about 3 miles for the marina near our cabin, but he insisted he tow all of us back to Madeline Island. This was quite frustrating and took nearly an hour. SO instead of getting back at 6:30pm to the cabin for dinner with the Despains, we were all taken to the island and had to take the ferry back. David tried a few times to discuss the issue with him, but he was not interested in having a conversation about the the situation. I told David not to worry about it, to not let it ruin our day. After finally docking the boat, we made a quick dash to the ferry dock to catch the 7:30pm ferry. Had we been 5 mins later, we'd of had to wait another hour for the next ferry. We felt blessed we'd made the 7:30. A text to Diane, and she agreed to come pick all of us up at the ferry dock in town. She even agreed to squish all 12 of us in her 7 passenger SUV. And then she made all of dinner and brought it to our individual cabins while we showered and packed for our kayaking camping trip tomorrow. What an amazing friend! Despite the delay in our evening, we had a great day, ending with amazing service from a great friend.<br />
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The next morning the real adventure began. The Despains, Gardners, and Millers all met early in the morning at Lost Creek Adventures to take safety training and prep for our kayaking adventure. The national park only allows 21 people to camp in each group site in the Apostle Islands. Our group totals 22. Plus we hired a company to guide us in kayaking, bring tents, and cook for us(very important!). We have been planning this trip since December, the company we hired did not tell us until just before booking the campsites that our group was too large. So we decided our family would attempt to book and individual campsite near the group site so we could all still go together. Group sites are booked 6 months out, but individual sites can not be booked until 30 days before. So after booking our group site, 2 months later, Lost Creek owner informed us that maybe my family should book another family vacation that he did not think he could take my family in addition to the group, he didn't think he could book our individual sites near to the group site. Well this was disappointing. So I contacted another company, that agreed to take us, even with the odd situation. They also thought it would be easier for just one company to take us, but the 2 owners knew each other and agreed to work together.<br />
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So 30 days ago, Neal from Whitecap Kayak booked our campsites for us. As anticipated, he was able to get the closest sites to the group site booked for the other group. And here we are ready for our trip!<br />
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So the other 3 families, and Savannah- to even numbers out at the campsites, met early in the morning at Lost Creek Office. While our family slept in, and packed up that morning. We met our guides Kyle and Reiley at noon at the launch point, Little Sand Bay. The other 3 families were there, eating lunch when we arrived. Our guides soon arrived and set up lunch for us as well. We all packed our kayaks and set out in one large group to make the 3 mile paddle to Sand Island. Kyle was great to coordinate with the 3 Lost Creek Guides. Truthfully the LCA guides had more experience guiding, and especially in the Apostle Islands. Kyle was new to both this summer. Really, our second guide, was 15 and in training. Although young, he loves paddling and is quite experienced in both guiding and kayaking. They both did a great job.<br />
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We made it the first 3 miles! David and Benjamin kayaked in a tandem with Matthew in a middle hatch. Isabel and I kayaked in a tandem together and Calvin had a solo kayak. Savannah was paired up in the other group with Sawyer. We had thought she would be paired with Mirelle, but the LCA guides made the determination, and put her and Sawyer together and they made a great team.<br />
The kids had a great time running around at the campground together. We had fun visiting as adults. We had made it 3 miles, but we still had tomorrow...<br />
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After breakfast the next day, we broke camp and packed up our tents and gear. LCA took a little longer to get going so our family and guides headed over to the sea caves on Sand Island to explore. Once the LCA group arrived there we started towards our first of 3 stops for the day. I thought we'd just paddle slow and they'd catch up, but they must have been paddling slow too. We arrived on York Island with them trailing behind us still. After a short bathroom and snack break, our family started out again in the lead. David was anxious to start out and keep a slow pace. The other families soon followed but were still behind us just a bit as we arrived for lunch at Raspberry Island. Lunch was delicious and needed! Paddling was hard work and our muscles were tiring quickly! We started out after lunch as one large group and stayed together for our last paddle to Oak Island where we would spend 2 nights. The paddle was hard, and we were all tired and struggling by the end, but we made it! 12 miles over the day, and we did it! We couldn't have planned the trip more perfectly. We had great weather for our days of paddling but that night rainstorms would pass through with winds and high waves. We were blessed that weather would pass on the day we planned to rest and hike on Oak.<br />
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After setting up camp, the kids played in the water and David jumped in with Matthew. I braved the cold water just to rinse the last 2 days of sweat off! It was so very cold, but I was so glad I did it! The rain dropped the air temps more than 10 degrees and it was so nice not to spend that time with sweat glued to my skin. The rain started early the next morning and drizzled on and off through out the day. Two days ago I was wondering if I had over packed. Nope. No way. I used all my layers. Savannah even used the extra fleece shirt I had packed for her, since she refused to pack it with her stuff. She was sure she had enough warm clothes. But we all had to layer up, including PJs under pants, to stay warm.<br />
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The kids did great playing games in tents or hanging out around the fire when the rain would stop for a bit. They enjoyed the day and just hanging out together. Even the teenagers seemed to enjoy their day. They even included our 15 year old guide with them. Of course the girls were happy to have him along; Reiley is pretty cute.<br />
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The adults took a hike out to the other end of the island to see if we could see the waves raging off shore. We heard from the campsites on that end of the island that there were bear problems over there the night before. As we started our hike we hadn't realized that Matthew and his buddy Olivia, the two 8 year olds, had run up ahead of us on the trail. Olivia's mom and I were at the back of our hike group. Once we realized they were far out of sight, we picked up the pace, and even jogged a little to go find those 2. We knew the kayak guides were a head of us on the same trail, but hadn't realized how slow we were hiking behind them. It took us several minutes of jogging and fast walking to catch up with them. When we finally did, we found the guides aggressively scaring off a bear near the trail. Olivia and Matthew had even tried to run a head of them, when they came upon the bear. All was well, the bear was off the trail aways, but not scared of humans or moving away. So the guides were taking progressive action to chase the bear away from the trail. I was glad to know the guides were ahead of us and watching out for the two kids, who got a stern talking to by us, to not run off from their parents! Once the rest of the adults caught up with us we finished our hike out to the shore line on the south east end of the island. But we couldn't see the waves any better from this area. So we headed back to our campsite. The rain eventually died down late afternoon. We enjoyed the rest from kayaking for the day.<br />
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That evening we discussed several ideas for where to kayak to for our finish point. Hoping the wind and waves drop as predicted we could head towards Bayfield. Or we could maybe Kayak to a closer take out point, but it would require a short hike with the kayaks. In the morning, the wind and waves had dropped as predicted, but the closer take out point was ruled out due to damage from a previous storm. So we opted for heading towards Bayfield but pulling out on the Indian Reservation, so not quite as far as originally planned, but still a distance of 6 miles. We put in, and started on our way. The water and wind were so calm. The sun was still hiding behind clouds, so the air was still a bit chilly, but really it was a pretty perfect day. We took it slow and just kept paddling. Little by little we crept closer and closer to our finish point. We even stopped to see a few shipwrecks hiding just below the surface, but without the sun shining over head they were hard to see. Finally we pulled up to shore! We had made it! over 20 miles in 3 days of paddling. We can do hard things! And we even got to see beautiful scenery along the way, and enjoy it with good friends!<br />
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LCA provided a shuttle for some of the adults to go pick up our vehicles parked at Little Sand Bay. Once they returned we quickly loaded up our stuff. Well not as quick for us, we had to unload the bikes from inside the van and move our stuff back to the back of the van. But i'd say we did it in record time. We were done not too long after the others, and they only had to pack up their kayaking stuff. They did have to unpack it from LCA's dry bags and repack in theirs, but still... we did good.<br />
After all that kayaking, the kids deserved ice cream so we all headed into Bayfield for ice cream. Then we realized we were hungry so we walked to a nearby restaurant for a dinner. The Gardner clan had taken off on their drive to Minneapolis already, but the Millers, Despains and us, enjoyed some dinner together before each starting our long drives. Like the Gardners, Millers and Despains were headed to Minneapolis for a few days before flying home. We were headed east to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.<br />
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-2572494290797519002018-07-27T11:06:00.000-07:002018-09-18T20:52:22.373-07:00Summer Trip 2018 Stop 1<span style="font-size: large;">The Black Hills of South Dakota</span><br />
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We left Sunday evening after church and drove to the small town of Montpelier on the border of Idaho and Wyoming. In the morning we made a quick stop at the small local grocery store for donuts and lunch items. Then we were off. A short 4 hour drive and we arrived at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. This site is owned by the LDS church to remember the saints that crossed the plains by handcart. The Martin and Willey Handcart Companies got a late start on their trek to the Salt Lake Valley. Combine that with early winter storms and their circumstances became dire. When the Saints in Salt Lake learned of their circumstances, the church leaders told them to go and get the handcart companies and bring them home. Nearby to Martin's cove the rescuers found the dieing and starving immigrants. They helped carry them across one more river crossing in the bitter cold and took them to a sheltered cove, now named Martin's Cove, where they waited out yet another winter storm before helping them finally reach the Salt Lake Valley.<br />
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The kids had fun pushing a handcart on a short trail, and we took a short hike around the area. After a couple of hours at the site it was time to move on. We had another 4 hour drive still.<br />
It was just after dark when we reached our little rental in Custer, SD. I had checked the weather several times over the last few days, as they were calling for thunderstorms for the next few days. It appeared the next day would be sunny. So in the morning we packed in as many activities we could.<br />
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We started the day with a 7 mile hike up Black Elk Peak, the highest point in the area with a beautiful view. We hiked up trail 9, it was a nice hike that increased slowly in elevation throughout the hike. On the way back we took trail 4 by the cathedral spires, to make a nice loop hike. The boulders throughout the area are just beautiful! I think David is trying to figure out how to get one in our backyard.<br />
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We lunched at Sylvan Lake with it's beautiful boulders on the lake's edge. Deer ran around the area like happy horses. I'd never seen deer act that way, darting in and out, and around people. After lunch we took a few scenic drives through Custer State Park. It is quite spectacular scenery and David and I were wondering what winter is like here and would it be a great place to live when we are older. We drove through the Needles Eye tunnel. Savannah was driving, and the tunnel is one way, decided by whoever gets there first, through a rock. The rock walls of the tunnel were barely wider than our big 15 passenger van. It was incredible. <br />
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Then we headed out to the Badlands National Park, about an hour and a half away. It's desolate and isolated, and beautiful in it's own way. The kids had fun getting their Junior Ranger Badges.</div>
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Back towards the Black Hills area, we stopped in Rapid City for dinner at a pizza buffet. Then we rushed over to Mt. Rushmore for the 9:30pm lighting ceremony. We were a little late but got to see the presidents lit up for the night sky. On the way home we talked over plans for the next day in case of rain.<br />
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We had decided if the sky was clear in the morning we'd try a bike ride on the rails to trails system here. The 109 mile long George Mickelson Trail. I picked a section about an hour north of us that was mostly down hill with one section of incline. It covered 4 tunnels and several bridges. We stopped at a bike shop in Hill City to pick up trail permits and asked if they could provide a driver to drive up to the trailhead we wanted to start at, then drive our van back to their shop where we would pick it up after our 32 mile bike ride, that would end in Hill City. Sure enough for $65 they were able to do this for us.<br />
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As soon as we arrived at the trailhead to unload, it was as if the kids were hit with a dose of extra whininess. All of them were full of complaints, from "I don't want to ride that far" or "I hate my bike!" or "I don't want to carry the backpack!" I was planning to buy them all ice cream when we arrived back in Hill City, but threatened to not buy ice cream for any whiners that continued. There were still a few tears, but most of them quit complaining. After a few miles of what should have been coasting we realized both Isabel and Matthews brakes were rubbing their back tires, so they were having to pedal instead of coast. After fixing those it was a more pleasant ride, until we reached the incline. The scenery was absolutely beautiful! We even stopped for a break at a waterfall. But once we started the incline, it was 8 miles of crying. Mostly from Matthew, but Isabel would pitch in occasionally too. It wasn't a steep up, but a long long up. But then we reached the top, and it was a sweet, sweet 8 mile coast into Hill City. The tears all dried up and the kids finished on a high note. We then topped it off with ice cream. We walked to the local shop and Matthew pointed to the waffle cone and declared "I want this!" I pointed to the regular cone and said how about this one. Savannah then looked at me and said "Mom, 32 miles!" I relented. Waffle cones for everyone! If I were to do it again, I would have dropped David and the kids at the same beginning trailhead and then driven the van myself to the Mystic Trailhead just as the incline is starting. It's still a 22 mile ride and all downhill. You'd miss 2 tunnels, and more beautiful scenery, but it would have been an easier ride on the younger kids. Also I would have missed out on riding with the kids, but I could have ridden it backwards till I met them, then finished the ride with them. I do think it might be fun to make a couples trip and come do the whole 109 miles over 2-3 days.<br />
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The weather was still perfect outside. No storms in sight. But the locals had told us that while it may say it's going to rain or storm in one town, that the next town over the hill, 10 minutes away could have sunny skies. Regardless, we headed back over to Mt. Rushmore to learn about it. The kids earned their junior ranger badges there too.<br />
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As we headed back to Custer for dinner, it was still a pretty nice day outside. Not sure what happened to the rain storms.<br />
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The next day it was raining, but that was okay. Today we planned to see the caves-- all indoors. We had reservations already for Jewel Cave at 10am, but Wind Cave required we get tickets the same day. So David woke up early and headed out to Wind Cave at opening time to get tickets for after lunch. I made breakfast while the kids scrambled out of bed. Both Jewel and Wind Cave are National Parks so the kids were excited to work on junior ranger badges at each. Jewel Cave is the 3rd largest cave system in the US. They are still exploring and expanding it's map. It has all the usual features of stalactites, stalagmites, and ribbon formations. It was a pretty cool cave. We've been to some amazing caves and this one was just cool, not spectacular.<br />
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After lunch we drove out to Wind Cave for our tour. Neither cave has a self guided tour, you must have tickets to go in. Wind Cave was really cool. We did the fairgrounds tour there which went through 2 different levels of the cave. They measure barometric pressure in the cave and find that it attracts storms to the area. The pressure also tells them, the cave is way larger than they have explored. This particular cave has a formation we had never seen before, mostly because it is mostly only found in Wind Cave. The Boxwork formation. It looks like honeycomb and it has a sound proofing effect in the cave. It was really cool to see and learn about this formation.<br />
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It started raining as we headed in Wind Cave, and was still drizzling a bit when we left. On our way home we stopped in Custer at the Purple Pie Place to order 7 different pieces of pie to try. A unique pie was the Raspberry Rhubarb Jalapeño. It was delicious. The kids enjoyed taking a bite and passing, so we could all try every kind.<br />
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It was so nice to rent a house through VRBO. We had a washer and dryer which made it easy to do laundry and leave for our next stop with all clean clothes! Next Stop Minneapolis and Apostle Islands National LakeshoreThe Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-69292187054032079212018-07-08T20:11:00.000-07:002018-07-27T20:12:24.711-07:00Bull Trout Lake, Idaho<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: start;">It's been a busy summer, but we found a weekend to take off for a family camping trip. I picked an old favorite place, Bull Trout Lake. It had been years since we had been there. If only I'd known how bad the mosquitos were, I'd have picked somewhere else. We managed to get a camping spot pretty close to the lake and the kids had fun kayaking. The scenery was beautiful-- until the mosquitos came out!</span></div>
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The evening bugs were the worst!!!<br />
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One afternoon we drove over to Stanley and Redfish Lake. We brought a picnic lunch and played on the beach. Then drove to the Lodge for ice cream. Lucy, our dog, even behaved herself around all those people at Redfish Lake.<br />
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Calvin had a great time trying to fish. The last night we dropped him at a different lake nearby, Martin lake, for an hour. He managed to catch a fish there off the dock. He was thrilled!The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-91078406661031100942018-04-01T08:16:00.000-07:002018-08-21T08:17:36.177-07:00China part 3 Zhangjiajie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our day started fairly early. It takes about 45 mins to get to the train station North of Xian. We arrived early enough that even though I already had our tickets for the train we would take this morning, I wanted to secure 2 other sets of train tickets we would need later that evening and next week. The ticket counter had a short line so we spent a few minutes collecting tickets, then headed upstairs to the departure area. This train station was a little different than the others, and we were having a bit of a difficult time figuring out where exactly to go, and our train would be leaving very soon. You must be at your departure point 5-10minutes before the train leaves or they close ticketing and you cannot board the train. We were getting close on time. I finally stopped to ask someone working in the train station, showing them my ticket and she hurriedly pointed to the gate we needed to go to, and off we ran! We made it with at least 5 minutes to spare, but it was a little nerve racking since that station was quite larger than I expected and structured for boarding differently than we'd experienced before.</div>
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We were riding the bullet trains this morning, riding 300km per hour. The kids thought it was awesome. First class is just a little bit more $ than 2nd class, so I purchased first class when I could. There is a higher tier, for business or supreme class, but those are lots more, in some cases almost double $$, so we stuck with first class. When they came and checked tickets on this train they dropped off a few snacks and water. There is also a lady that comes through and mops up the floors. They do the mopping in the 2nd class cars as well.<br />
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Our first stop was at another Unesco Heritage site, Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang. We quickly found the left luggage counter and stored our bags. Once leaving the train station we were quickly approached by a man using a translate app, asking us if we wanted to go to the Grottoes. We said yes, and he indicated he could drive all of us for $60rmb. We agreed, we were going to have to take 2 taxi's, but he had a mini van to take all of us. 10 minutes later we were at the Grottoes site. We arranged for him to pick us up in 1.5 hours. As we started walking away, he ran up to us and pointed, we were headed in the wrong direction. He pointed to show us to go to the Ticket window first. That was very kind of him, and in my opinion beyond what we had paid him to do.<br />
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Longmen Grottoes is a Buddhist site along a beautiful river. 1500 years ago they started carving Buddha statues into the rocks and caves here. For 500 years they carved more and more statues. There are more than 100000 statues of Buddha here now. They range in size from 17 centimeters to over 17 meters. It was fascinating to walk along the path and view all these statues.<br />
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Safely back on the next bullet train we were heading to Changsha. Changsha is just a transit stop for us. Here we will take the subway 7 stops to switch to the main train station in the city. We will then ride the local train for 4.5 hours out to Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, to visit China's first national park. I was worried about the local train. I don't mind a local train for an hour or 2, but 4.5 hours is a really long time on an old slow train. Let's stress the "old" part, meaning not so clean. It was definitely a taste of everyday life in China. The local trains are the ones they ride in and out of the city to nearby places everyday. Luckily I only had to use the bathroom once. We survived.<br />
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At the train station, 11pm at night, we were happy to see a sign with our name on it! A driver was there to meet us, to drive us to our hotel, 1 hour away. I did tell the hotel there were 6 of us, but he had a 5 seater car. So we squished! We made the bumpy 1 hour ride, just to have to climb what felt like 1000 stairs up a mountain! We made it! Out of breath and tired! The hotel owners use a the SayHi translator app and Google translate. They work really well to help communicate. He showed us to our rooms and we got the kids settled and off to sleep. We were staying in traditional style rooms in the owners wife's grandfathers house, built 100 years ago. They'd remodeled the bathrooms to be modern with real toilets (including a heated seat on the toilet). The walls had cracks and gaps in them, but they added heated blankets to help with the chill in the air.<br />
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In the morning they had a wonderful Chinese breakfast waiting for us. Once we sat down and started eating the different things they had on the table, they started frying eggs. I think they deep fry them, they were absolutely delicious! Fried egg with a sausage dumpling and fried rice. Yum. They eat a lot of eggs here. We have had scrambled eggs many times at lunch and dinner. Oh and the peanuts. I love the peanuts! Roasted in oil and salt. So so good!<br />
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The view was amazing. Green Mountains all around. Quickly after breakfast they asked to help us make plans in the park. They pulled out a map and showed us where to go and what to see. We came up with a 2 day plan to see most of the park. They drove us 5 minutes to the closest gate to the park and I finally looked up to see the towers of rock all around me! Incredible. This park was the inspiration for the floating pillars in the movie Avatar. It often rains here and the clouds settle in, that when you look from above the pillars it does look like they are floating. Absolutely stunning. We purchased our park tickets. A man approached us to try to convince us to hire him as a guide. David spoke with him for a bit while I was face timing with the little kids at home. We decided we would tour the park on our own and it was a good choice. They have buses, and well signed pathways, trams, and elevators all over the park. I had never been to a park so accessible. <br />
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The red fabric is tied onto the railings. They represent wishes the people make as they visit the mountain. They purchase the red ribbon and tie it where they would like, and make their wish. </div>
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Our first day it was beautifully sunny, so no floating pillar view for us, but it is truly beautiful with the sun shining. The park has a free bus to take you from place to place. The maps are hard to read and understand as they are not drawn to scale. We figured it out though. We rode the cable car up to the Yuanjiajie area where we took a short bus ride to the Avatar mountains area. Here we hiked around enjoying the many view points. It was beautiful. We took the worlds highest outdoor glass elevator down to the bottom and than took a 4.5 mile hike along the Golden Whip Stream. Spectacular scenery all day. The end of our hike landed us back at the same entrance we started from so it was easy to send a text thru WeChat (an app widely used in China) to our hotel asking them to pick us up.<br />
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World's longest outdoor elevator! </div>
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This monkey is a thief!!!! He jumped on me from out of a tree and stole my bag of root chips and ran off. I didn't even know what was happening until he was gone. I thought I had run into someone on the trail as I was looking the other way when the animal jumped down on me! <br />
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We were thoroughly exhausted, but the kids found energy to run around and play with the hotel owners little kids. The couple running the small hotel had 2 cute little girls. It was fun to watch our kids play together, occasionally using the translate app to communicate. They cooked us a delicious dinner. I headed to bed with the kids and David visited for almost 2 hours with the owner asking about the hotel, his expansions, his life in China, and the area. It's amazing how technology can help us. The translate app works so well you can have conversations.<br />
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In the morning after breakfast we packed up and said our goodbyes. We were then off to the Tianzi Mountain part of the park. We would leave our bags in the car and they would pick us up from the wuylingan exit to take us back to the city of Zhangjiajie that evening. We rode a different cable car to the top of Tianzi Mountain to explore and hike the area. After visiting all the viewing points we stopped for lunch at the McDonalds on the top of the mountain. They have lots of local food vendors cooking meats and corn, and fruits all around, but my stomach was catching up with all the different foods we'd been trying. The street food still concerns me, no matter how good it looks. So we stuck with McDonald's today. After a quick lunch we headed out to hike down the mountain. And it was down, down, down. So many stairs! But a beautiful hike. We even passed under an arch. We made it out to the road, and onto the bus, out to the Wuylingan exit of the park to meet our driver. We were a few minutes early so we headed to bathrooms where Benjamin experienced his first time using the squatter for #2. He enjoyed telling us all about it afterwards. He was unsure of how to do it, so he removed shoes, socks, pants, and underwear to not get anything on them. He hung them on a hook. I can only say I am glad they keep the bathrooms clean. I hope his was! We had a chat about how to squat with your clothes on.<br />
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David using Google Translate to ask about the sticks in the rock wall. We passed them several times on different paths, and he finally decided he had to ask. The Chinese are quite superstitious in everything. The sticks represent supporting others or asking for support. <br />
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We were waiting our turn to take a family photo in this view point. And the family before us asked to have their picture taken with our kids. (wasn't the first time, won't be the last) The lady in the purple coat picked Benjamin up and hugged him and called him a cute baby! We all had a good laugh. Benjamin, now 10, did not think it was very funny, to be called a cute baby!<br />
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The driver took us 1 hour back to the train station where we walked to a nearby grocery store to pick up snacks for breakfast and our next stop. We grabbed another quick meal at McDonalds and waited for our next ride. We were headed to a rural farming village 2 hours away. The driver found us in McDonald's - we are easy to spot- and walked us to his van. The drive was over a bumpy winding narrow road through the mountains. It quickly got dark so we could no longer see the scenery and it started to rain.<br />
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We arrived safely and were met by YeYe. He is a 70year old man, who speaks no English, but a lot of Chinese. He quickly showed us to our room and told us to go to bed and turn out the lights. He was very friendly and kind and did his best to try to understand and communicate with us. We tried the translate app with him, but once the phone would translate our question, he would just start speaking and not wait for the beep to tell him when to speak. It was quite entertaining. We were tired anyway so it was a good time to head to bed.<br />
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In the morning we could see that we were indeed in the mountains in a very small village. YeYe's son built this house for him and his family. The village has been preserved by the government for it's traditional practices of farming and homes. YeYe's home is new in the last few years, but it had to be built in the traditional way. I was sad to find this included the bathroom. He showed us after we arrived, the bathroom is around the corner from the house, a separate building with a squatter style. Well, it was clean, and we will survive. I'm calling this the camping portion of our trip.<br />
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David flew his pocket drone around, and it freaked out and landed in the wet field and fertilizer. <br />
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The view is beautiful. This is our time to rest and relax, and just enjoy the peace. We sat outside on the porch all morning watching 2 different farmers. One was carrying manure to his field in baskets over his shoulders. The other was using a cow and a wood plow to plow and hand seed the field. We walked around the village and met the village chief. Everyone is very friendly. Of course someone asked to take a picture with us. And the village Chief wanted to know why we were here. With the help of the translator app we were able to talk with the village people. Without that app, there would have been hardly any conversations as no one speaks English.<br />
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For Lunch and dinner we went to Ayi's house. She lives close by and cooks meals for YeYe's guests. She was much quicker to pick up on using the translator app. She is a cheerful old woman, and her meals are simple and delicious. She grows vegetables in her back yard and is curing pig meat over the fire in her kitchen. She uses a huge wok to cook, built into a counter top with a place to put wood coals below to heat it. She lets the kids help her peel and cut vegetables for our meals. It is so peaceful here in the village. We have enjoyed resting and taking a slower, simpler pace.</div>
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Isabel helping to make fried peanuts</div>
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Both Ye Ye and Ahi had beehives outside their houses. YeYe stuck Benjamin's hand inside the hive one day to show him he did not need to be afraid of the bees. </div>
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On day 2, Saturday, in the village YeYe took David, Calvin, Isabel and Benjamin for a walk to a cave after lunch. Savannah felt a little sick this morning so she and I stayed behind. YeYe said they would mine for gun powder ingredients in the cave in the Ming Dynasty. The village is a little busier today, Chinese tourists drive the countryside to see the villages in the mountains. I guess we do similar things in the US on weekends.<br />
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After the cave David, Isabel, and I went on a short hike with YeYe, up the hill behind YeYe's house and around the village ridge line. It really is a beautiful valley, and I bet in a few months with the rice and corn growing, it's even more picturesque.<br />
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After dinner we paid Ayi for her yummy meals and said our goodbyes, we would leave early tomorrow morning so we could have half a day to spend on Mount Tianmen. </div>
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Ye Ye was helping Benjamin work on his Chinese posing. <br />
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Tianmen Mountain is in the city of Zhangjiajie. So we made the 2 hour drive back through the mountains on the windy narrow roads. YeYe went a short distance with us, the driver dropped him in the closest small town where many many people were out shopping on the streets. Between the people, scooters, cars, and trucks there were traffic jams just trying to get through this small town. David hopped out after awhile to figure out what the hold ups were and to tell people who were blocking the road for no reason, to move.<br />
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Before YeYe hopped out to go shopping he reminded us that we owed him 100rmb for hiking with us and going to the cave. David paid him and off he went!<br />
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Calvin had been feeling sick that morning, I think the food had caught up with him. The locally cooked food I think was a little much for our stomachs. It was delicious to eat, but maybe he ate too much. Luckily I had a spare ziplock bag handy as he did indeed vomit about halfway through our drive.<br />
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Once we reached Zhangjiajie the driver dropped us at the Cablecar office. I had read many stories about having to wait in long lines, for a couple of hours to ride the cablecar up the mountain. Indeed there were lots of people outside the cable car building, but we easily purchased tickets right away, hit the bathrooms really quick, and then maybe had a 10 minute wait in line to get on a cable car. Maybe we just picked the right time of year to come. It was a beautiful Sunday, Easter in fact. If we were home we would be watching General Conference in our Pjs in the morning, but here in China, it was still Saturday night back home and we were without access to General Conference. So it's a perfect day to enjoy the beauty God has created in the world for us.<br />
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This Cable car ride is the longest Cable car in the world. It took us about 30 mins to reach the top. It starts over the city and then up into the mountains. It was a little cloudy so it was hard to see far in the distance. But we did get a good look at the road we would later take down the mountain via bus. It is called 99 bends road, and for a reason.<br />
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Once we reached the top we took a map and started wandering the trails. We walked one of the glass skyways hanging off the mountain, they have 3 of them. We wandered until we reached a turn off to reach the high tip where hang gliders like to jump from to fly through the tallest Natural Arch in the world. David and the boys took the turn to hike to the top of this point, while the girls and I wandered the short trail. Once we met up again we headed down the escalator inside the mountain. Yes, escalator inside the mountain. And it's not just 1 escalator. I didn't count, but there were like 10. We were going down, down, down. But there were others going up, up, up the escalators. Finally we reached the Arch and were able to walk thru it. They call it a cave, but to me it was really an Arch. Once thru the arch we reached the top of the 999 steps. The Chinese had carved 999 steps to reach the arch, because 999 makes it lucky. So down we went, getting in a great workout for our legs.<br />
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Finally we had reached the buses where we would take the 99 bend roads down. you see the pattern right. 99 bend road, 999 steps. We loaded on the bus and got seats in the back. It was like being on a roller coaster. I was sitting in the aisle seat and had to put my seatbelt on and tighten it just to help keep me in my seat. Otherwise i was going to end up in the lap of the stranger across the aisle from me, and i don't think he would have appreciated that. I was fun and crazy and a beautiful ride and I was glad no one got sick on this drive. We reached the bottom where we switched buses again to ride the rest of the way back to where we began in the city at the cable car office.<br />
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It was time to pick up our backpacks from storage, then look for a store nearby to grab some snacks and then head to the airport. We hailed a taxi expecting to take 2 to the airport, but the taxi driver told us a set price instead of the meter and seemed willing to fit all 6 of us in his 5 seat taxi. The price was reasonable so we all squished in.<br />
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I had read that flying in China can be somewhat unpredictable. Flights are often delayed or cancelled. We experienced none of that. The airport in Zhangjiajie is new and beautiful. It was easy to check in and get our boarding pass. Security was easy, and we quickly found our gate. We even found a lounge associated with my fancy credit card and were able to spend a half hour in there "relaxing" and snacking. The kids loved that! Now they are spoiled. The flight left on schedule. However, just as we were in line to board Calvin (who I had advised to not eat too much because he had thrown up this morning) declared he didn't feel good and that he thought he was going to throw up. He ran for a nearby trash can and I handed David boarding passes for the rest of the family.<br />
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When Calvin finished vomiting he ran to the bathroom to clean up. I told him he did not have time to use the bathroom, he'd have to board the plane. He told me he thought when he was vomiting that he may have messed his pants at the same time. So on the plane we went and we dug out a change of clothes for him to change before takeoff. Otherwise it was a pretty easy flight. We flew into Hangzhou where we took 2 taxis to the Hangzhou east train station about 45 mins away. This train station was HUGE! We had enough time to enjoy a McDonald's ice cream before boarding our train. We were taking a fast train to Shanghai, 30 mins away. This would land us still 45 mins from where we were staying. Once we arrived at Shanghai Hongqaoi train station everyone was rushing around. We studied the subway map, then headed to buy tickets, when the machines shut down. We headed to the subway and rode into the city, but when we went to transfer to our next subway line we were unable too. The last subway had come, earlier than the online schedule said, and the line was closed for the night! This left us a little frustrated, however, we found that more people spoke English here, so that was helpful. We even found a minivan taxi to take all of us to the apartment, and we noticed the city was quiet. It was 11pm, but sooo quiet. They have a no honking ordinance in Shanghai and wow does it make a difference! Because the rest of China, honks like crazy!<br />
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We reached our apartment but could not find the key to get inside the building. It was not where it was supposed to be, but luckily someone came through the door and we were able to get in the building and found the apartment. It had a beautiful view of the city and it's skyscrapers, but we were tired and had an early morning to prepare for! Shanghai and the Water towns await!The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-64874517740594560372018-03-27T20:04:00.000-07:002018-04-16T21:42:57.005-07:00China part 2 Pingyao, Xian <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S2gPgeGMXFw/Wsrwh7jwIII/AAAAAAAAMIc/OI2Bx5XdUY4u8t6VOLuepYGNBOx9nvQeACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S2gPgeGMXFw/Wsrwh7jwIII/AAAAAAAAMIc/OI2Bx5XdUY4u8t6VOLuepYGNBOx9nvQeACLcBGAs/s640/IMG_0586.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>We packed light, backpacks only</i></div>
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<i>Security at every metro station, but I'm not sure they pay attention</i></div>
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We had an early train so we were up and out the door by 6am to head to the train station. I had purchased tickets online but we still needed to pick them up at the train station and not knowing how busy the ticket windows would be or how much time we needed to figure out the station and where to go, we gave ourselves plenty of time. The kids were tired but we did it! Once at the station we found 3 lines to pick from for ticket windows. David and I each picked a line to see which one would move faster and in case one of us picked the wrong line. The company I purchased the tickets from can deliver them to your hotel, but we were staying in Airbnb's so that did not work for us. The company had sent a detailed email with how to pick up the tickets and a few simple chinese written phrases to aid in doing so. One of the phrases said "where is the ticket window to pick up train tickets?" So I showed this one to the guy in line behind me, he just looked at my phone and then me, but the lady behind him looked over his shoulder and pointed to the window in front of me and nodded her head. So I felt like I was in the right line. But David's line moved faster and when he reached the front I looked at her and pointed to David at the front of the line, and she nodded yes again. So I hopped out of line and handed David the passports and my phone with the ticket info and a few minutes later we had our tickets in hand. We headed into the station, through security where they first check our tickets and passports, then thru a security screening, and finally we were in the station. I should mention that every metro station in the city has security screenings. People put their bags thru but the metal detectors go off all the time from phones and belts and stuff in peoples pockets. At most stations they don't seem to care, but at the train stations they had hand wand detectors out to use if the metal detector beeped.<br />
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Once we were thru, we checked the board to try to distinguish where to go next. In China the train stations have waiting areas to use before they allow you to go to the track. They only allow you to head to the track about 10-15 mins before the train departs. The waiting areas are numbered and the tracks are numbered, and not usually the same number. So you first find the waiting area, and then once they allow you to head to the track, then you find the track number. So we still had a 20 minute wait in the waiting area where there were not many open seats and a long line formed for our train. Once they opened our line to pass to the track we needed our tickets again to insert in the ticket reader to head to the track. The ticket will also be needed later to get out of the train station. We got it all figured out and even learned how to read the ticket for our car # and seat #'s. We were on our way.<br />
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Our first stop of the day was in an ancient city called Pingyao. It is being preserved and is rated by the Chinese government as a 5A tourist attraction. 5A is the best. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site. I had arranged for a tour guide to meet us at the train station to drive us to the ancient city for a tour. Jonathan first took us to a restaurant for lunch and then off to the city. The food was delicious!<br />
Pingyao's old city is surrounded by an ancient city wall and moat. They have a 2 gate system where if the enemy makes it in the first gate, they close the gate behind them and then they are trapped and the city can attack from the gate towers above. We first climbed up the stairs to the top of the wall for a short walk. It is beautiful looking down into the ancient city with its clay roof tops, that slope up in the corners. Our first stop inside the city was at a Buddhist temple, the oldest temple is 800 years old, still standing. Then we went to the Taoist temple.<br />
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One of the reasons that Pingyao is being preserved is that it is the city where banking was first established in China in the 1800s. Pingyao is situated between the silk road and East China. The story we were told was that a man in Pingyao could be trusted. His friend wanted to exchange goods and would make business arrangements with other business men to have money held during the transaction by his friend in Pingyao. It became well known that this man in Pingyao could be trusted and so others started asking him to do the same thing, which eventually led to him starting a bank. The sites of the 2 first banks in China are preserved in this town for a visit.<br />
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Walking through the town is an experience. It has been commercialized and there are vendors everywhere selling all kids of things. Many cooking on the streets. In one area they were cooking with vinegar and it was so stinky. Our next stop was to pickup bikes for a ride around town. We didn't go too far before stopping at a paper cutting shop where we had a paper cutting lesson. It is an ancient practice to cut designs into paper to put in the windows for decoration. It is still something they do for celebrations and holidays. The wife of the shop owner creates detailed and exquisite designs. The shop owner taught us how to do 3 simple designs.<br />
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We then we rode the bikes along the ancient streets to the city wall and outside through the parks surrounding the city walls. The town is beautiful and is restoring for more tourists to visit.<br />
Our few hours here were up and it was time to return to the train station. Jonathan walked us inside and helped us pick up our tickets. There was no line, so he helped us get our tickets for the next 2 train rides as well. This will make it less of a rush to the train station when we leave Xian.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">We arrived in Xian late, 10:40pm. We took the subway 45 mins into the old city and then attempted to take a taxi to the apartment. It was a Saturday night and we were at the Bell tower which was all lit up and beautiful. There were many people out and about. We had the apartment address written in Chinese and tried showing it to a taxi driver who just shook his head at us and waved us away. So we tried another taxi, he read the address multiple times and then nodded yes. The boys and I climbed in the taxi and off we went. David and the girls would take another taxi. They do not like to take more than 4 people in the taxis here. In Beijing, finding our apartment was easy as it was associated with a hotel. But here in Xian, it was a whole different story. The apartment building was in a group of buildings behind a busy street and it was hard to find. It didn't help that our taxi driver dropped us nearby, but not in front of the building. I believe they are not used to being given addresses but cross roads, so having the address was hard for him to know where to go. The boys and I waited on the street hoping to see David and the girls show up shortly. So we waited and waited and waited. Finally I asked a lady passing by for help. I showed her the address and she thought for a minute, pulled out her phone and map and then pointed across a smaller street to a building. We headed that way, where I showed the address to a man sweeping the sidewalk outside a shop and he pointed into a parking garage. My guess was the apartment was in the building above. I was right, i just didn't know how to get to it. The 2 were both really friendly and kept pointing. The lady came back over and pointed again. But I was still hoping David would show up. I had my data turned off on my phone as were using the Chinese phone and our T-mobile phone- both of which David had with him. I finally decided it was time to turn on my data and spend $10 on finding out where they were. I texted him, but he did not respond for 10 minutes. Finally the text came that he had found the apartment. He had called the Airbnb host and his taxi had dropped him at the right place to walk back into the apartment building groups to find the security guard to let him in the building. He came down to the street to meet us. maybe because it was so late at night and we were tired, but it was overwhelming to me to not be able to find where we were going.</span><br />
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The next morning we planned to head to church. I had asked the Airbnb host if he could write the address for church in Chinese so we could show it to a taxi driver. He informed me the address was for a residence, not a church. I told him that was okay, maybe church met in a house. He sent me a picture of the address written in Chinese characters and we found a taxi driver who nodded yes to take us. So again the boys and I hopped in the taxi and David and the girls would follow. A taxi pulled up behind us so they were able to follow closely until traffic got in the way The map showed us church was 3.5 miles away, but it took us 50 mins to get there. Some of that was traffic, some of it was again the taxi was not quite sure where to go once he reached the area. He stopped 4 times to ask for directions. I gave him my phone and he would hop out and show it to security people at different buildings. He was persistent. And I am thankful. I had mapped the address from the church website and we were headed in the same direction, but I also know from experience that it isn't always right. Sure enough we stopped and a security personnel walked me to a townhouse across the street from her building and pointed. I wasn't sure and felt bad if i were to interrupt someone at home. But she walked up to the door and rang the bell. Soon it opened and an American in a dress shirt stood there. He asked if we were here for church! Yes, i replied! we made it. I went out to the street to get the boys, and to text David we had found it and to come to my location. I heartily thanked and paid the taxi driver, I wish i could speak Chinese to really thank him for his persistence. I sent the boys in, since we were late. And I waited on the street for David so he would know where to go. A few minutes later we were all seated inside the home listening to wonderful talks. It turns out the small branch is mostly senior couples living here through a BYU teaching program. They mostly teach English in the universities here. There are more than 50 universities in Xian. There are a few exchange students, and a couple young people or families working in the city for companies here. None were Chinese. They are not allowed to attend church with the Chinese. They are not allowed to share any information about the church or religious beliefs. But they are allowed to discuss American morals and ethics. If you are living or traveling through China were there is not a branch--and that is most of China, then they have a phone in church service. You call and join other members in China via a phone conference church meeting. This is what we needed while living on a boat in the Bahamas!<br />
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<i>Church</i></div>
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We had a lovely 2 hour church meeting and stayed after for their linger longer and enjoyed visiting with the members over lunch. Afterwards we walked through the nearby park with a couple and enjoyed hearing theirs stories of living here this year. They will go home for summer and then return in the fall for another 2 semesters.<br />
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After parting, we explored the nearby Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the park and water fountains nearby. It was a beautiful sunny day and may were outside enjoying the weather. From here we walked towards our apartment and stopped at a Walmart along the way to pick up breakfast foods and snacks. Then we enjoyed the walk back along the old city wall and surrounding parks. It was beautiful. Trees are blooming, Spring is in the air here. Many people were out enjoying music, walking, workout equipment in the park and playing games. We came across a group of old people walking in socks and slippers on rocks in a circle. So we stopped and tried it out. It was fun! And a little painful.<br />
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That evening we tried the restaurant on the corner near our apartment. there were lots of people in there eating so we figured it much be good. We ordered a big pot of noodle soup and Chinese pancakes with scallions. It was delicious!<br />
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In the morning we met up with our guide Pheonix for the day. We walked over to the wall where she told us Xian also had a 2 tower gate to trap the enemy if they made it past the first gate. We paid the fee to climb the stair to the top of the wall. It is the largest restored ancient wall in China. It's wide enough to drive a car on. We rented bikes and rode all the way around the wall. On the South side they had their decoration still up from their Spring Lantern Festival, which is the 2 weeks following chinese New Year. They had huge figurines and flowers all over, they probably light up at night and look beautiful.<br />
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It took us an hour and a half to bike the whole wall. We even stopped to let David fly the drone. He set it up to follow us on our bike ride until the Police stopped him to tell him No Drone. Next we headed to the car. Our first stop was at Banpo museum and excavation site for an ancient Chinese people that lived about 4000BC. We're not sure we have ever seen anything that old before. They found the remains of a large village and burial grounds. It was interesting to see and learn about.<br />
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From here we drove over to the area of the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum, but we stopped to have lunch outside of the Museum. Phoenix told us about a local noodle they make here in the area called the biang noodle. It is wide and one super long noodle is served per bowl. It was delicious!<br />
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Inside the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum it was amazing to see the warriors. In the mid 1970s a few farmers in the area were digging a well and discovered the broken and buried and lost Mausoleum of terra cotta warriors. In 200 BC the emperor began building his burial site. He wanted to take the warriors with him, so he had them built near his burial site. His burial site remains unearthed to this day. They believe he was buried with many jewels and treasures but that it is booby trapped, and along with oxidation and mercury poisoning, they do not wish to uncover it at this time. It totally sounds like an Indiana Jones movie. When they found the warriors they were smashed into bits and burned. They believe the enemy came before they could finish all the warriors and found 2 buildings of them and smashed and burned them. The 3rd building which was incomplete was not smashed and burned from invaders, but overtime as they became buried, the roof collapsed on them and they fell over and broke. All but one. One Archer was found intact and complete.<br />
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It was amazing to see them and all their unique characteristics. Each warrior was made to look like the craftsman making it. Every last detail was included, even the tread on the soles of their shoes. It is incredible. They were colored, looking real. Today almost all of their skin coloring or cloth coloring is gone. They are lined up and organized just as a really army as well, with flanks and a young sacrificial front line, who were expected to die in a battle. They are still unearthing portions of the army, trying to find the pieces to put the figures back together. It was a great experience to visit this museum and see these.<br />
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Phoenix drove us back to our apartment to say goodbye. It was a great day in Xian. After a short rest we decided to head over to the Bell and Drum towers for the evening. All lit up they are beautiful. There were people all around enjoying the evening. There are shops between the 2 towers and then behind the drum tower we were told is the Muslim Quarter, a lively area of shops and street food. And sure enough- it was lively. We walked down a narrow street until we came to the Great Mosque. We paid a small fee to enter the old Mosque. It has a huge open court area. We made it to the back where many had come to pray. It was a good teaching opportunity for the kids to learn about another faith, especially one so heatedly discussed nowadays.<br />
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We made it back to the main Muslim st. and it was even busier than before. Men standing on blocks selling their food, dried meats, roasted meats, vegetables, fruit, all kinds of foods, even squid and octopus roasted on skewers. A butcher was carving lamb meat right off the carcass straight to be cooked. We say lots of different things coated in sesame seeds or other nuts and seeds. And a yogurt shop chopping up fruit and mixing it on a frozen plate to make frozen yogurt that was then rolled up and put into bowls. We tried none of it, too afraid of getting sick! But lots of it looked interesting.<br />
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The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-20632245335871189592018-03-24T20:10:00.000-07:002018-04-08T21:28:35.232-07:00China part 1Beijing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tickets were $500 roundtrip, a great price. And over Spring break. So I couldn't resist. We purchased tickets to take the oldest 4 kids to China for 2 weeks. We had to get our visas first, that was an extra $150 each, but they are good for 10 years. Calvin was excited that in 4 years when he fills out his LDS mission papers he will be able to put down that he has a Chinese visa. After doing a little research I came up with a list a cities we could visit and the kids picked 4. We'd start in Beijing, to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Then Xian, with a day stop in Pingyao on the way. In Xian we will see the Terra Cotta Warriors and go to church. Our 3rd stop will be Zhangjiajie, a Chinese National Park, that is the inspiration for the land in the movie Avatar. After visiting the park for a few days we will stay a few days in an ancient farming village 2 hours away from the park, called Shiyanping. And our last stop is Shanghai where we will travel to a town nearby to see the water canals, a Chinese Venice, and explore the city of Shanghai.<br />
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We arrived in Beijing at 8pm at night. The kids all did really well on the flight, but I think I slept too much as I had a hard time getting any sleep later. As we passed through immigration area Isabel was stopped by the health officers. We was walking with a blanket wrapped around her, and apparently looked ill. They took her temperature and passport info. She returned a 99F temperature which made them ask for her to give a urine sample and saliva test. They asked if she had the Zika virus. I wanted to laugh, but just smiled and said no. It's too cold in Idaho for mosquitos all winter. We did as they asked and they said they would call us if there were any issues. Off we went through immigration and customs. I was then a little worried they might search our bags and find the antibiotic Isabel is taking because she had strep the week before we left. But we passed through with no issues.<br />
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We took the express train from the airport into downtown Beijing, where we then rode the subway to a stop near our Airbnb apartment. We walked through a shopping street which was really quiet with shops closed up at 9pm at night. But there were small red lanterns hanging in the trees, it was a pretty sight.<br />
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In the morning we met our Beijing tour guide Sonia. After we were driving down the road a ways she informed us we would today go to the great wall, instead of Forbidden City. This was a change in our itinerary, and while I had all of my stuff, David had been planning to fly a small drone over the Great Wall hike, and Isabel had wanted to wear her Shine shirt for a picture. They were a little disappointed of the itinerary change but came around ready to enjoy the day. Sonia arranged for us to stop at a bakery to pick up some pastry's for breakfast as we had not eaten yet.<br />
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It was a 1.5 hour drive to the Huanghuacheng Great Wall Section. Mostly the drive was long because getting out of Beijing, the traffic is terrible. It is pretty aggressive driving with whoever is the bossiest winning. There are street lights that seem to be followed for straight sections, but for turning it seems like a free for all at times. And cars do not stop for pedestrians. And lights do not seem to apply to scooters or bikes.<br />
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Once we left the downtown area with it's many tall buildings the traffic cleared and we soon reached the great wall. Here is were we had no choice but to use a squat style toilet. there were 2 of them in the women's bathroom, separated by a divider, no doors or privacy really. Isabel and I braved the squatter so we could pee. It wasn't too hard and we came out without spraying ourselves, so thats a win right?<br />
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We hiked up, up, and up the wall. A semi restored area with a few spots very wild. It was beautiful, but I am out of shape! The sun was shining with a light breeze, in the mid 60sF, really a perfect day for a hike. The scenery was so pretty, looking at the wall going up and down peaks through the hills and mountains. The surrounding area had orchards of chestnut trees. It was still March, so nothing was blooming yet. The kids had a great time, but I will be sore! I think Benjamin counted more than 1000 stair steps on our hike.<br />
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After our hike we headed back to where we stopped to use the restrooms for a delicious lunch! The sweet and sour pork was a hit with all the kids. The sauce was totally different from the bright red sauce we get in the US, but so good. We also had potatoes cut like noodles, spinach with eggs, vegetarian balls, cauliflower in some kind of tomato based sauce, Chinese pancakes, and pork and mushrooms. It was all so so good, I stuffed myself full. Benjamin was a little concerned. He smelled each item and then did not want to eat anything but rice. We made him try a bite of each item but he was still resistant.<br />
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We headed back to downtown Beijing, and once we reached the downtown area, Sonia helped David find a cellular store to purchase a SIM card from for one of our phones to use for data. Then we headed over to Tiananmen Square and the adjacent shopping street. Sonia showed us where the favorite restaurant with Chinese tourists like to eat Peking Duck. Walking around you can see most restaurants, even little ones have ducks hanging and roasting in the windows. It seems to definitely be a favorite here. We still had a little time before dinner so after parting ways with Sonia for the day, we walked over to Tiananmen Square to see the view of the Monuments there. At 6:30 pm, sunset, they have a ceremony to take down the flag for the day. We did not stay for the ceremony, but we did see the flag. Then we headed back towards the restaurant touring the side streets along the way. Being a favorite restaurant among Chinese tourists I hoped it would have a regular toilet. It did not, but the bathroom was very nice and clean. It had a bathroom attendant to assist if needed. And the squatters had auto flush on them, and were in stalls with doors. I did need assistance. The sink auto on did not work as I washed my hands, so the attendant had a little tool to help turn on the water.<br />
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But we came for the duck, not the potty. And the duck was delicious. They wheel it out to your table on a tray with a cutting board, and they cut it in front of you. We only ordered 1 duck as we were not that hungry after our big lunch. A server comes to show you how to eat the duck. They take a pancake, like a tortilla, and dip the duck in a soy paste and place on the pancake, then add a few bamboo shoots, and roll like a tortilla and eat. We also ordered a dish of fried duck in a pineapple sauce (which Benjamin loved), some sweet cucumbers, which were pickled, some steamed dumplings, and rice. They also bring you some duck soup, which looks like water down milk with a cucumber floating in it. It was all delicious, especially the roast duck. Yum!<br />
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After dinner we walked towards our apartment stopping in a few shops along the way. We picked up something for breakfast and the kids picked out some candy or dried fruit to try. The language barrier is hard here. Asia seems to be more difficult than any other countries and areas of the world we have visited. It is just so different, and hard to remember the sounds. We are working on "Hello" and "Thank you" but that's about all, and I am still not sure I am saying "Thank you" right. But the city looks just like any other big city we have been in, and riding the subway is easy with signs and announcements in English, so we are getting by.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9TUM5MrW5-o/WsrcsCwGp_I/AAAAAAAAMF8/oFjFgaC5FsMpAI2ZCIWJCHm0Fayadfn7ACEwYBhgL/s1600/DSCN6629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>In the morning we headed off to the Forbidden City. Sonia picked us up right on time and away we went. After all my research, I was not expecting that the Chinese people would treat us like we were famous. We did not experience that the day before, but Sonia told us it is the Chinese tourists from the country areas, visit the forbidden city, that were interested in us, as they are not used to seeing foreigners. Some would walk right up and take our photo right in front of us, Savannah did not appreciate this. Others would ask first. And a few wanted to have their picture taken with us. Some wanted their kids to have a picture with Benjamin or Isabel. Rock Stars.<br />
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The Forbidden City was incredible, beautiful buildings and a huge complex where the Emperors reigned for centuries. After visiting the Forbidden City we walked across the street to Jinglangshing park to climb the hills of the Imperial Gardens for a beautiful view of the Forbidden City. Sonia told us stories of the Emperors and dynasty's that ruled from the Forbidden City. We learned a lot.<br />
From here we stopped for lunch near the Beijing Pearl market. Again the food was delicious. We need better Chinese food in the US, the food they make here is incredible.<br />
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After lunch Sonia took us to pick up our Kungfu show tickets so we would know where the theater is, then off to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven was built to get closer to God, or to have Heaven on Earth. She said when it was first built the main Pagoda was square, but a dynasty later, they rebuilt it round as it is today. While the pagoda is round, the walls surrounding the temple are square representing the earth, and the circle represents heaven.<br />
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We parted ways with Sonia and walked thru the beautiful park around the temple grounds a little passing several groups of men and women chattering away while playing games, mostly some kind of card game. It was fun to watch as we passed by and listen to the noise they all made sitting chatting over their games, maybe placing bets.<br />
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We walked over to the Pearl Market to look for souvenirs and try out our bartering skills. The kids had a great time asking for lower prices and picking out gifts they want to take home. The sales people are quite active shouting at us as we walk by, to see what they are selling, that they will give us the best or joyful price. Some even grab arms as you walk by trying to get your to stop. The market is inside a mall like building with 4 floors, very similar to a shopping mall, but all prices are negotiable. They are set up inside with tables like an outdoor market. They sell all kinds of chinese trinkets and items made in factories that are then sent to the US. Brand (or fake brand) purses and wallets, jewelry, makeup, and electronics. Along with China and silk items and pearls from south China. Isabel enjoyed picking some pearl earring for 10rmb, Calvin loves his silk red dragon tie for 60rmb, I paid too much for my silk and cashmere scarves, Benjamin was thrilled to buy a fidget spinner for 10rmb. In the basement is a food court. David and I were still stuffed from Lunch but the kids were hungry so we had McDonald's Sundaes and Subway sandwiches.<br />
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<i>This was in the market bathroom, its a machine that dispenses Toilet Paper using facial recognition. </i></div>
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<i>This was on the floor of the bathroom, I don't think this is the translation they mean;)</i></div>
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The Kungfu show was good, the kids enjoyed it, but we were tired. By the end of the show David and I were struggling to stay awake! After the show the brisk walk to the metro station did good to wake me up a little. We were happy to see that the bakery next to the subway stop was still open for the next 5 mins and we could grab some pastries for breakfast. We had a very early train in the morning so we were happy to have breakfast to take with us.The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-72524402750052945682017-11-18T17:45:00.000-08:002017-11-19T17:46:41.792-08:00Little Cayman Getaway<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was time to take a get away trip, but i wasn’t feeling up to the jet lag. I wanted to go diving, and I knew I wanted it to be good, but wasn’t sure where to go that was reasonably close. I debated over Bonaire, again, but was just not set on it. So I did a little more research into Grand Cayman, and finally settled on nearby </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Little Cayman Island. We only had a week to spend, and it was only a 2 hour time change, so I shouldn’t have any jet lag issues going home. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Little Cayman is a small island about 50 miles to the north east of Grand Cayman. It is small. About 12 miles long, and a population of 180. Only 3 dive shops and “resorts” exist on the island. It was perfect! Because it was so remote, it also meant it was a little more difficult to get too. We had to overnight in either Grand Cayman island or in Florida. The route I picked had us overnight in Tampa, then switch to Cayman airlines in the morning. I thought if we were on the same airline from Tampa to Little Cayman they couldn’t lose our bags. But the flight was 30 mins late into Grand Cayman, so we ended up with only 30 mins to clear immigration and customs, re drop our bags with the airline and make it back thru security to the gates. They decide to search ALL of David’s items, I had time to go to the bathroom, and he was still being searched at security. They started calling our names for final boarding when david finally cleared security and we ran the short distance to our gate to board the small twin turbo prop plane. Well, 30 mins was not enough time. When we landed after our short flight to little Cayman, our bags were not on the plane. This was the last flight of the day to Little Cayman, so we would have to wait til morning for our bags. I had not packed a spare set of clothes in my hand bag, so I was stuck with what I was wearing. The Club we stayed at really shined in their customer service here. They got us set up with complimentary rental dive gear so we would not miss our first day of diving. Thank goodness for wet suits to cover my lack of swim suit! By the time we returned from diving, the resort had retrieved our bags from the airport and had them waiting in our room for us. Excellent service! </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">I decided to stay at the Southern Cross Club, and it was an excellent choice, as you can tell from just taking care of us for not having our bags at arrival. The dive boat and crew were great as well! They set up all our gear and changed out tanks at every dive. No need to lift a finger! The food was absolutely delicious. Our room was right on the beach, we could open the drapes each morning and lay in bed and watch the water. Or step out to the porch in the afternoon to read and watch the gorgeous scenery. They also had a few toys to play with in the afternoon. Kayaks, SUPs, and bikes all were included with the resort stay. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Each day after diving we’d head back to our room and shower off in our private outdoor shower, which also overlooked the water and beach. Heaven! </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The Club provided Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner every day. It was fabulous to not have to think about where or what to eat. And did I mention is was absolutely delicious? Every day!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The diving was great. We enjoyed each dive site and were treated to new creatures or corals. The first couple days were a bit rainy so the light wasn’t as good, but I found using my flashlight helped add the missing light back in. It didn’t matter that the lighting wasn't super, as I watched a nurse shark and grouper run around trying to get to a lion fish that was tucked up inside a cove. We stayed there for at least 10mins watching the 2 fish go in and out trying to get a snack of the lion fish. It was pretty cool. It was also fun to look up and see the rain falling on the water surface. Ive always loved watching the rain fall on the top of the water, I enjoyed it just as much from down below. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Since Southern Cross Club is a very small resort, 14 rooms, we had the opportunity to get to know some of the other guests. We really enjoyed chatting with them each day, reminiscing on the dives, discussing life, and making new friends. It really was an enjoyable time.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">We tried on the kayaks and made it across the lagoon to Owen island for an afternoon. Another day, we took the bikes out and rode along the small airport out to the west tip of the island and viewed the waves crashing on the north shore. Another afternoon we took out the SUPs and tried out Stand up paddle boarding. It was a first for both of us. When the wind blew, I was like a big sail, and the board struggled to obey my paddle and just kept turning me around. Nonetheless we persisted and made it across the lagoon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As the sun came out for the last couple of days we enjoyed beautiful sunrises and sunsets! All from our porch or the beach just in front of our room. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Southern Cross Club has numerous repeat visitors, that come year after year. I understand why. </span></div>
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The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-39038216529661268822017-08-19T13:49:00.000-07:002017-10-01T13:50:40.427-07:00Alaska to Idaho - the final legMeziadin lake, BC<br />
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After our delay the day before, we were almost back on track. After driving til 10pm, we found a great lakeside camp spot in a BC provincial park. It was a beautiful view in the morning.<br />
We had chosen to take the Cassier highway thru BC to head south. It is a less traveled road, and supposedly went thru more towns than the ALCAN. However, there weren't really many towns on either road, but the towns Cassier passed thru were tiny with no services really. The scenery was beautiful, even in the drizzling rain. Mountains, and lakes, and rivers, and narrow bridges, and grasses and trees, beautiful. The road was much more narrow, no shoulders at all. We didn't see any wildlife the first day, but in the morning as we drove the last 3 hours to Meziadin lake, we saw a black bear along the side of the road. He ran into the bushes as we went whizzing by.<br />
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We finally reached our stop at Meziadin Lake. I had planned to be here 2 nights so we could have a full day here, but we were just a few hours behind schedule. We arrived at lunch time, and luckily found an open campsite on the lakefront. Even though it was raining, it was still quite pretty. We made a quick lunch, and hopped back in the car for a side trip, leaving the trailer at the campground. An hour away are the towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska. The town of Hyder, while on the Alaska Panhandle can only be reached through Canada. The National Forest there has a Bear viewing area where the bears come to a river to catch and eat Salmon fresh from the stream.<br />
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The drive was beautiful. We had to drive through this incredible canyon to get there. It was hard to see the full view through all the low clouds and drizzling rain, but you could tell the mountains around us were tall. There were hundreds of waterfalls pouring down the walls. We passed Bear Glacier with a beautiful blue glow along the edge of a small lake. The river along the road was rushing and full, and a bit muddy from all the rain flooding down on it through the waterfalls. It was an incredible drive!<br />
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We arrived in the drizzling rain to the Forest Service Bear viewing area, to find out that the rain affects the bears! While they don't mind being wet, when it rains for a few days in a row, the water level in the small stream increases and the clarity is affected. This makes it harder for the bears to catch Salmon. Couple that with the fact that the Salmon had been running in the area for 2 weeks already, so the bears were okay taking a break from eating Salmon for a few days of rain. We did see a bear, but we'd already seen bears, several on our trip. I wanted to see them grab and eat fish! No such luck. But we did see the Salmon, and that was pretty cool. It's really quite shallow in this stream, so you could see the backs of the salmon sticking out of the water as they swam upstream. That was pretty interesting to watch, even in the rain.<br />
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After talking with the rangers about the area, we decided to drive further up the road to see the Glacier that carved the area. Salmon Glacier can be seen by driving an hour up the rough gravel road. We stopped at the toe of the glacier and decided to continue on to the summit view. It was a beautiful drive and when we reached the summit viewing area we were glad we had made the drive. It really was spectacular. As many glaciers as we have seen at this point in the trip, you would think we would be done viewing them. But they truly are incredible and beautiful!<br />
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As we drove back to Canada thru Hyder we stopped to see the Fjord, but the low cloud cover prevented us from seeing the fjord walls, but it is amazing to think that right off the end of the dock its 5-600 feet deep.<br />
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Passing back to Canada required a Customs and Border Stop. We passed no booth on the way into the US here, but were questioned entering back into Canada about where we had been and what we had done.<br />
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The next morning we enjoyed a restful morning. We weren't in a rush to pack up and leave. We had the campsite until 11am so we enjoyed the view and rested up for our 2 day drive home. David had talked to the campsite manager, who told him they fish for Sockeye Salmon in the lake. Maybe we should have booked a short fishing trip to take some yummy Salmon home.<br />
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I spent about an hour that morning finally taking photos of Calvin and Savannah. Savannah was struggling to smile so David pulled out some tricks to help her feel like it was a professional photo shoot-- a personal fan to get some blowing hair shots! That had Savannah laughing!<br />
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That rest of day we spent driving into the night. We passed near long burning forest fires in the area. They had shut down numerous campgrounds. We eventually found a rest stop to spend the night at. In the morning we made a couple of stops at a few stores looking for some of Grandma's favorite cookies to bring home to her, and a shirt for Grandpa. No such luck on finding the shirt, so we ordered a great Canada t-shirt on Amazon.<br />
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We finally approached the border crossing and the line was sooo long! I couldn't even see the border crossing pavilion. The road was a one lane road thru a town. I can't imagine what the locals think in trying to get home in that area. As I looked around though, I noticed a sign that said on Saturday and Sunday RVs and trailers should use the Commercial Truck border crossing area- one block to the west. Knowing that the line would most likely be shorter, we headed that direction. Only one Truck was in front of us. Although as we pulled up, I spotted wild Blackberries on the side of the road and the kids all hopped out to go pick some. We all wished we'd had more time, but too soon the truck in front of us pulled away and it was our turn to approach the border patrol, and the kids all came running back to the van. Soon enough we were back in the USA.<br />
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We passed thru Seattle, and headed towards home. We made a stop in southeast Washington for peaches. Yakima Valley is full of fruit trees. I bought 3 boxes full of ripe peaches to can and freeze in the next few days.<br />
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From here we drove and drove. We made it home just after midnight and to bed by 1am. It was a long, fun trip! But I was so glad to sleep in my bed!
The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-18135212138680489942017-08-16T21:15:00.000-07:002017-08-27T21:17:09.867-07:00Alaska to Idaho - Stop 1 <i><span style="font-size: large;">Kluane National Park </span></i><br />
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We weren't in a hurry to leave Denali, so we took our time packing up and stopped to dump the trailer tanks and refill on water. Since we had time, we cleaned up the van a little too. It needed it!<br />
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From Denali we drove up to Fairbanks, and took a slight detour to the north side of fairbanks to stop at a "visitor site" of the Alyeska Oil Pipeline. There were a couple of signs and displays of "pigs" that they put inside the pipeline to monitor. There was some info about how and when it was built. It was an interesting stop but it left us wishing there was more info offered. We'd seen the pipeline bridges over rivers before but didn't know thats what it was. Now we know. The pipeline runs from the North of Alaska, all the way to an ice free harbor in the south, where it is then shipped.<br />
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From here we drove through The North Pole, Alaska. Off the highway we could see candy cane street lights and business signs. It looks like they try to live up to the towns name.<br />
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As we head towards Tok we were hoping this road would be better than the one we took from Tok towards anchorage. We were grateful to find that it was. It was raining so a good day to drive. We stopped for the night just a few miles outside of Tok at a state park for the night. It was along a river that was clearly flooding from the rain. The kids thought it was funny to see a picnic table and campsite nearly under water. We found one that was not drowning in water to sleep for the night.<br />
The next day we were up and going early. We had several hours ahead of us of frost heaves and gravel roads under construction. We arrived at the Canadian Border a few hours later, where they wanted to see each of our children through the window. They were a little more questioning then when we crossed from Montana into Alberta.<br />
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And a few hours after that, and now with a completely dirty car, we arrived in Burwash Landing where we had booked an afternoon flight into Kluane National Park. We set the trailer up in a little clearing near the airport, and turned a movie on for the kids.<br />
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This was the smallest plane I have ever been in. There were seatbelt for 4, this included the pilot. And I'm pretty sure the seatbelt would be useless. But I put on the lap belt anyway. And off we went, into the mountains and clouds.<br />
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It was beautiful. The glaciers are amazing, and you could see how massive and long they are. They run for miles. They sometimes merge and come out of multiple valleys to create once massive glacier running through a large valley. And the ice field is amazing to see. It gave us perspective as to how this was all happening. Being above the ice field and seeing the tops of the mountains sticking out of the snow, and understanding how the valleys between all these peaks are covered in ice packed snow. It was awesome! David loved it and said he is now rethinking the pilots licensing thing again.<br />
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After our 2 hour flight, we picked up the trailer and headed south another hour to stop in Haines Junction for Dinner at a local diner there, Frosty's. Burgers and fries, and it was just okay. 20 minutes down the road we arrived at our campsite along Kathleen lake. We found a campsite and got set up quickly. We arrived in time to catch the end of the ranger's program. The Park Ranger is a native, and in Canada they call that First Nation. She shared some of the traditions and culture of the First Nation in the area.<br />
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The kids were thrilled to have a campfire that night. They were counting down nights we were in the Yukon, knowing that when we reach BC, there would be no more fires as they have a fire ban in effect because of forest fires in south east BC.<br />
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This was by far the coldest night of the trip. It was cold! And not long after we went to bed, the propane went out... not more heater. I was glad I had put on warm pjs that night. We all slept well, but no one wanted to get out of their warm bed in the morning. Finally David got up to check to see if we were really out of propane, and then Isabel braved the cold to run up to the bathrooms. She hopped outside and declared, "oh! the sun feels so good! It's a refrigerator in the trailer." She was right, it was much colder in the trailer than outside at that time in the morning. We started a morning fire and heated up water for hot chocolate. We turned on the generator and ran the electric oven to bake cinnamon rolls for breakfast.<br />
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Then we headed down the trail to the Lake. Isabel, Benjamin, and Matthew did an Explorer book challenge to see who could keep their feet in the lake water the longest. It is COLD glacier water. It was a tie, they all hung in there until they all agreed for it to be a tie. We walked along a short trail on the lake edge, around the point and then enjoyed the view of this glacier carved lake.<br />
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After heading back to the trailer, we packed up to head on that afternoon, getting closer to home. We stopped by the Visitor Center in Haines Junction for the kids to turn in there Explorer books and pick up their last park dog tag. We had lunch on a picnic table in the sun, while Savannah tried to use the wifi to access her Math work, and I caught up on some bookkeeping work myself. It was a productive stop in light of the lack of cell phone service we've had.<br />
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From here we headed a couple hours down the road to Whitehorse, Yukon. The largest city in the Yukon to stop at a couple of stores. We were looking for a Canada shirt for Grandpa, and grandma's favorite Canadian cookies. Neither could be found in Whitehorse at the 2 stores we stopped. So it was time to drive just a little further on our path to look for a campground.<br />
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We stopped that night at the Teslin Lake Campground. We made dinner, enjoyed our last Campfire for the trip.<br />
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In the morning we woke up early to get an early start on a 12 hour drive. We left at 7:30am and got 1 minute down the road when David pulled over and said "Somethings wrong", and when I looked back in the mirror I could see smoke at the back of the trailer. And as we hopped out of the van, you could smell the burning rubber. We found the source. The tires on the trailer on the passenger side were rubbing each other causing the burning. The trailer suspension system had snapped and caused the tires to be out of place and next to each other. So we turned around, and very slowly drove the short distance back to the campground, but parked the trailer in the open rest area outside the campground. David further checked out the suspension leaf springs and confirmed they were broken, and on both sides. He made a few phone calls to see if he could find a shop that could fix them, and he found the parts in Whitehorse. We were so grateful we were broken down somewhere that had cell service, as we have rarely had cell service at our campgrounds. He decided he would try to remove the springs himself, then drive the 1.5 hours back to Whitehorse in the van to pick up the parts and then reinstall himself. We hunkered down in the trailer while he was gone, as it was drizzling outside. The kids worked on school work and then played minecraft on devices. They were having a castle building contest. Matthew went with David on his parts journey. When the raining stopped, Isabel and Alexander and I made a short hike down to the pretty lake. After 3 hours, David returned. While he put the new parts on, we had lunch and were ready to go as he and Calvin finished the job. I am always so impressed that David can solve so many problems and fix so many things!<br />
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<img alt="IMG 9974" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IqtDyv2GP6g/WaOWUMxcGMI/AAAAAAAALIk/qTgztdQz1xU50NkmZH8A74D606DYuuZoACHMYCw/IMG_9974.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9974.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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Finally, after 3pm, we were ready to hit the road! We made it 7 hours before stopping for the night, with about 3 hours left for the morning to get caught up on our route.The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-15392926865040592852017-08-13T19:30:00.000-07:002017-08-25T19:30:57.593-07:00Alaska - Stop 3<i><span style="font-size: large;">Denali National Park </span></i><br />
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<img alt="IMG 6815" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FasKnIvA4kU/WaDcA3lcVpI/AAAAAAAALFM/fbJy9F0FZeI2-qNs_IwGBv7r0Q3OsoBKwCHMYCw/IMG_6815.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6815.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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After getting our laundry all done, we headed over to the park wilderness center to find out about bus shuttle tickets. While we were camping at mile 29 in the park, where they only let cars go if you have a campsite booked, we still had to get tickets to ride the bus if we wanted to go further into the park.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6823" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bO95jOgg8WQ/WaDcB2uEr8I/AAAAAAAALFQ/hWx0A7RTRp47dp5415bC5k2CWcqB-7y3QCHMYCw/IMG_6823.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6823.jpg" width="640" />
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I thought I had done enough research months back when booking my campsites for the trip, but as I was trying to look up trails to hike and must see things in Denali, i was finding I had not done enough research. I knew we'd have to ride the bus past our campground, however, I did not know the bus takes 3 hours to go 35 miles into the park. I also did not know there aren't very many trails in the park. They like to "encourage" you to hop off the bus at anytime and trek anywhere you want, no trail needed. However, this "encouragement" comes with strings attached. You only have confirmed seats on the bus your initially ride on. So, if you get off the bus, you can flag down any bus, they will happily pick you up-- if they have seats available for you. Most busses that pass thru the park are full, and most people do not get off the bus- other than to use the restroom at rest stops, and then they get right back on. This makes it really hard to get off the bus and explore. Especially with a large family. Oh and busses run 30 mins apart, so maybe one bus would have room for 4, and the other 4 would be left waiting 30 mins for the next bus to come along. This is a terrible idea. Next difficulty with getting of the bus-- they require all children under the age of 7 to ride in a car seat--What?!? We were literally riding on school buses, they've been modified to have individual seats, but still compartmentalized, Why would you need a car seat?? Well I asked... they say it's the law in Alaska, and they enforce it. If you don't have one, the Wilderness center may have one to loan you. I asked them how in the world do millions of children in our country get to school everyday without car seats. They told me safety was there number one focus, and that this was the REAL wilderness. I asked them if their drivers did not know how to drive on a road that has only their busses on it. But the real question here is-- How do you hike with a car seat????<br />
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So the other issue with their "encouragement". They are constantly telling you how far you need to stay away from the wildlife. And they mostly talk about bears, wolves, moose, and caribou. Along with sheep, that's mostly what you see. But I think this freaks people out, and they do not want to hike and run into these animals.<br />
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Our first evening there we made a short hike out to the river and rock beds. The kids had a great time throwing rocks. Then we sat thru the ranger program in a light drizzling rain. From the program I learned they want to keep the park as a preserve. They want to discourage hiking trails, and roads through out the park. They want to keep the animals there, and the people out. They don't want it to become another yellowstone or yosemite. I'm not sure what they mean by that though. I didn't know those were "bad" parks.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 9939" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rZMgRxQ8NxM/WaDcSwKkdmI/AAAAAAAALGY/s327MAb3tLk18DyAO0jE_7555FaLrwbLgCHMYCw/IMG_9939.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9939.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9944" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eKNt8-8sY6A/WaDcT3y0boI/AAAAAAAALGc/09QowLG25nkwhiQ1TBWHHn8a7BpSyiemgCHMYCw/IMG_9944.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9944.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9946" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MqGkXo2Cz8M/WaDcU81VgjI/AAAAAAAALGg/NMC5in4vGB4Tdapte0v3B4ZzynJK7MGXACHMYCw/IMG_9946.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9946.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9949" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yiil5UaQ2jU/WaDcVgwY82I/AAAAAAAALGk/42F0Ih_xl-k_BYR6KHl_ToIsrdmaRmJfQCHMYCw/IMG_9949.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9949.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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So the morning after we got there, we got on the bus, but since we were 29 miles into the park, we didn't get on with everyone else, so there were not 8 seats together on the bus for us. And that sucks to spend 3 hours on a bus spread out. Not much for a family activity. And who wants to spend 3 hours stuck next to other people's kids? After some shifting we gathered 5 seats together, and the other 3 kids were just a couple rows in front of us. SO it wasn't too bad.<br />
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The nice thing about the bus, is there are 50 people looking for wildlife. The bad thing about the bus, is there are 50 people looking for wildlife. Lots of spotters, but then we stop for everything! yup- sheep up on the mountain, so far away they look like rocks... again. Every Caribou gets stopped for. And of course bears are the big attraction. And I'm happy to stop for bears, but again when they look like rocks on the mountain and you have to use binoculars to see them... I only need a couple minutes to stop, not 10. We did see 8 Grizzly bears on our drive there, but very far off, they look okay after I used my zoom lens, and then zoom in even more. And just where were we going on the bus? We picked to go to the Eilsen Visitor Center, at mile 66. The question was were we brave enough to get off the bus there and stay awhile. Every ranger I spoke to "encouraged" us to go there. They have staff that helps you find room on a bus back if you choose to stay longer than your assigned bus.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6835" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r3yOZd9hVa4/WaDcC6X8wII/AAAAAAAALFU/LhTSRN_UrCoOwZB6mrqyfhqmJgPFKwaMwCHMYCw/IMG_6835.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6835.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6896" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FRwJcq06woE/WaDcDvMM8EI/AAAAAAAALFY/zr7sc0enEMsfKRcBaPjmYUF9qU4P-B5ZQCHMYCw/IMG_6896.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6896.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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The day had been overcast, but as we rounded the corner nearing the visitor center, we were treated to a view of the Elusive Mount Mckinley, aka Denali. We snapped some quick photos, and enjoyed the view for a few moments before arriving at the visitors center. As we climbed off the bus, the Denali was once again covered by clouds. Lucky us!<br />
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We took courage and did get off the bus. The kids turned in their packets and received their junior Ranger badges, and we perused the displays in the VC. We'd eaten lunch on the bus, so now was a good time to go for a hike. We found a spot to store the car seat at the VC, and extra food. The hike choice was to either go down, and then up on the way back. OR go up first and then down. The kids picked the latter. So up we went. We hiked the Eilsen Alpine trail. Through out all the park they tell you there are no trails, just make your own and hike, but here at the Visitor Center they ask you to only hike on the trails. We found that a little ironic. Again I think this is part of their plan to keep you from exploring any part of the park.<br />
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So up we went! We summitted the peaks above the Visitors Center. The view was beautiful! Savannah really wanted to hike off trail as they had been saying all day until we got to the visitor center. So we explored the area up top after we reached the end of the "maintained trail" and in the end we discovered our own path down back to the visitor center. The kids had a great time picking the path down and traversing the landscape. We stopped for a while to pick a bag blueberries. Had the Hunsaker family not taken us the week before, we would not have known the bushes we were walking on were blueberries, as they are hidden under the brush. Once we arrived at the bottom, some other tourists told Calvin they watched us walk the whole way down. Which was funny, cause it took us at least 45 minutes.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6960" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gWsfqCdkC7A/WaDcFR3JwBI/AAAAAAAALFg/C4vDfSyYj1Q4lezsJujwdTvD9oJ4-kGOgCHMYCw/IMG_6960.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6960.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6968" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nmse1I5mW7A/WaDcGXTIllI/AAAAAAAALFk/kNuH8BS29vch8TvKhJGDxQ-r4C31BftlACHMYCw/IMG_6968.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6968.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6979" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IEL2OnflSy4/WaDcHD429HI/AAAAAAAALFo/fm438eoD0X0kRzbXUSuFz8nwnte9XtjPgCHMYCw/IMG_6979.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6979.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6990" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LJdPTJclZ-Y/WaDcH5adoGI/AAAAAAAALFs/JdSNvnJmNiUGMBx1Z9vjAG-UXLQvljXtQCHMYCw/IMG_6990.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6990.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7024" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2df567DAbQA/WaDcI7GQE2I/AAAAAAAALFw/LznSycTWfK48kSGE-uk8Ak8VmF-FUBrEgCHMYCw/IMG_7024.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7024.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9954" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z3hIdOFPtik/WaDcRC4G2TI/AAAAAAAALGQ/fUBg7T14tSwSRH45QEILHStnekNCOG_oQCHMYCw/IMG_9954.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9954.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7062" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-11btnhZyxnQ/WaDcJ9cEV8I/AAAAAAAALF0/TBevQzMvPY4iclP26S5oasis_Ncmo_7vwCHMYCw/IMG_7062.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7062.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7069" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VaGm4szN1QY/WaDcK7AvDOI/AAAAAAAALF4/-x_7jVUwdOwpaEb9p7XjQGLxbwzIfGGqgCHMYCw/IMG_7069.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7069.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7077" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F4yzLooUlq4/WaDcMCgb4kI/AAAAAAAALF8/txGvFZmY_lcG1tFcJxvYcZh3_5ds715CwCHMYCw/IMG_7077.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7077.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9958" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cLgwRym8EZ4/WaDcSE4jm_I/AAAAAAAALGU/SS0xJHxO7YYp6g4GLMZYe97L6AqOgPOKgCHMYCw/IMG_9958.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9958.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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David talked to the staff organizing busses and it worked out, we were the last to board the next bus leaving in 7 minutes. Just enough time to use the potty's before our 3 hour bus ride back. Of course since we were the last on the list for that bus, we were the last to board, and had to ask people if they could make room for us to sit as a family. It worked out in the end and we were all together. On the way back we stopped more to pick up hikers, but we only had a few empty spots so we could only take a few with us.<br />
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We also ended up seeing a few more bears. A mama Grizzly and 2 cubs eating fairly close to the road, but down in a ditch. That, I would say, was a good bear sighting. As they were close enough to see with our own eyes. No need for binoculars.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 7083" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GjCA6gy7KhU/WaDcNIUk-8I/AAAAAAAALGA/I6LFRvvEC4snC6IQg2kmBAjuqJEWS51YwCHMYCw/IMG_7083.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7083.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7115" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Diwi6ZmR9Cg/WaDcN3nswfI/AAAAAAAALGE/IL3MqHGRyrolKLTQy_yhSqWo7Z3w3X_ugCHMYCw/IMG_7115.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7115.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7123" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7m-LQAtGZnE/WaDcO7i9ikI/AAAAAAAALGI/pgbMotMukcAGe5_Btt6dxabNVRyB_C4DACHMYCw/IMG_7123.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7123.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 7166" border="0" height="457" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CBw7hTUnaMM/WaDcP4OC7ZI/AAAAAAAALGM/GDtU-vqJhFMFehhqfSlOJb82SUQOsVJLQCHMYCw/IMG_7166.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7166.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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In order to camp at the Teklanika campsite you have to sign up to stay 3 nights. In the end we only stayed 2. The morning after our full day on the bus, it was drizzling, so after breakfast we packed up and decided to head out early. This would give us a little extra time to spend in the Yukon, in Kluane National Park. But first, breakfast... Pancakes with Blueberry syrup from the blueberries we picked on our hike. Yum!<br />
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<img alt="IMG 9962" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BocwJw8QpS0/WaDcWhbqscI/AAAAAAAALGo/9K2k1Z37fOcXhrIGz-E9yTTynbal3nKIwCHMYCw/IMG_9962.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9962.JPG" width="640" />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-55920874460221631992017-08-11T15:33:00.000-07:002017-08-24T15:34:07.393-07:00Alaska - Stop 2<i><span style="font-size: large;">Seward and Talkeetna </span></i><br />
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<img alt="IMG 9914 2" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B3IJWI2Jn34/WZ9OBhvTMWI/AAAAAAAALEY/Wt5cIg9uf_0N9d8nEKMG5bIIfqtU_ljPwCHMYCw/IMG_9914%2B2.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9914 2.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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From here we headed down to Seward for the night. The city has a huge RV/Camp park along the waterfront. We found a spot and made a short walk through some of the town It is very touristy filled with shops and restaurants. David and I had a short date night and a good meal of local halibut. Not as good as the Salmon Sierra had prepared for us though.<br />
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In the morning we visited Exit Glacier, in the Kenai Fjords National Park. We hiked out to the "edge" of the glacier, which is quite far from the actual edge of the glacier. It was a great hike though. We returned to the small visitors center where the kids questioned a ranger, and turned in their junior ranger packets for badges and a patch for making extra observations. The ranger we worked with was excellent with the kids, and full of answers for our many questions. We learned they use a few gps devices to track the movements of the glaciers, but they often look at google earth to look for changes over time. He also explained the how the ice fields drain into the glaciers, and as the ice field empties the mountain peaks come out of the snow. We learned a lot!<br />
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<img alt="IMG 9915" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DoCHBpEgGcI/WZ9OC3NCZ-I/AAAAAAAALEc/uS3aSv1Te5Y8dHQOAMdKmnNhu9G6hfr2ACHMYCw/IMG_9915.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9915.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9916" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Eupa5jU0dp4/WZ9OFxC3zHI/AAAAAAAALEg/NdDlQI0A2a4vfPSt6-u-CWmOfFHCLa-xACHMYCw/IMG_9916.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9916.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6757" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-meU36fBN3qU/WZ9OGxGcLII/AAAAAAAALEk/Pd5ZQnh0AfQKSkrDYMvaXreLc3qkL8GUwCHMYCw/IMG_6757.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6757.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6759" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rm81WVxoUKQ/WZ9OHtQBBcI/AAAAAAAALEo/0VkQxCQqTHYv3BSOwyySWo0e-dou6f_7QCHMYCw/IMG_6759.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6759.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6790" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mahpSV5YBLo/WZ9OIrpLZII/AAAAAAAALEs/CId30Om_BCAiYETeDuYi9YhBy9QdQnx0wCHMYCw/IMG_6790.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6790.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6808" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IGW9rdfzQ-U/WZ9OJkwTIsI/AAAAAAAALEw/SeBoQUKi3BUuUljlFdUyvBabt-iAChrIACHMYCw/IMG_6808.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6808.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6811" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gs61mqMWX9U/WZ9OKYc6SnI/AAAAAAAALE0/a2SKqCHTUMgsP_6ujielYfNzOacL-SZIQCHMYCw/IMG_6811.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6811.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6814" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S4t4NxlEogM/WZ9OLDXImlI/AAAAAAAALE4/hjuvb9m8QBwPx9iirT3HgRwN-V4bPao3wCHMYCw/IMG_6814.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6814.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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We left Seward after lunch, headed for Talkeetna. After passing thru Kluane National Park in the Yukon and seeing several signs for Flightseeing, David was interested in doing a flight tour over glaciers and ice fields. After talking with our friends, who had taken a flight tour a few years ago, we headed to Talkeetna, a couple hours from Denali, and scheduled a flight tour for the morning before checking in at Denali.<br />
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After the drive, and a quick walmart stop, we arrived in Talkeetna in the rain, near bed time. We found a place to camp down near the river, and settled for the night. In the morning, we left the kids in the trailer, sleeping in, with donuts and bananas for breakfast. David and I made the short drive to the small airport just to find out the cloud cover prevented the full 2 hour tour we were planning to take. The shorter 1 hour flight didn't cover as much glacier area, so we decided to pass on the flight, and hope when we returned to Kluane the weather would be good and we could do one there.<br />
Off to Denali. This left us more time to do Laundry!The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-31756136237360417192017-08-09T17:32:00.000-07:002017-08-19T17:33:27.790-07:00Alaska - Stop 1<img alt="IMG 6299" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6AtxxfqDB1U/WZjV4DbOmTI/AAAAAAAALBM/brqrEnCD3FkRTxNbSuAbgDThvOE_yXZSgCHMYCw/IMG_6299.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6299.jpg" width="640" />
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Our first stop in Alaska was to visit with our college friends the Hunsaker Family! They are living their dreams out here in beautiful Alaska! And we haven't seen them in many years. In fact the last time I saw them, I had 3 kids and they had 1. They now have 4! They welcomed us with open arms to their beautiful home. 35 acres of beautiful forest in Alaska. They are starting out growing Alaska Peonies, and their property is just beautiful! The kids all became instant friends, more like cousins. She'd made a delicious taco bar for us, with Moose meat! Authentic Alaska!<br />
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Next day they took us to church at this beautiful log chapel. Afterwards we went for a scenic Sunday drive. They took us to drive the Hatcher Pass, where we hiked up to a little lake. The kids had so much fun throwing rocks and just playing together. Next was wild blueberry picking. While the blueberries were not plentiful, we learned a valuable skill here. They are grown in a short, low lying bush and are hard to find. And we got to try Moose Berries out too. The kids did not care much for these, too tart. I didn't think they were too bad. Much better than soap berries.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6128" border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5sNrrDt7uxM/WZjV987iyDI/AAAAAAAALBg/ncnxFgCRhMoEf1NWzQlfvUpAq6iVzTpWgCHMYCw/IMG_6128.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6128.jpg" width="426" />
<img alt="IMG 6189" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ezVEwK1-398/WZjV_HOs2-I/AAAAAAAALBk/0_Aa9g_oR84zzY6QjIv-60ug5IIL3yBtQCHMYCw/IMG_6189.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6189.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6206" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y6SQcheCvkQ/WZjWAEFBuqI/AAAAAAAALBo/kQXBFeJN6Skz4IJIY1MxkGNJ_8AwbkzKgCHMYCw/IMG_6206.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6206.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6210" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k_wX7Tlj350/WZjWBWpHV1I/AAAAAAAALBs/OQO6MKvDayskh16LVUDqyeO0L1WM8GHhACHMYCw/IMG_6210.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6210.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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Afterwards we headed back for a late dinner, even though the sun was still high in the sky. Sierra made delicious Sockeye Salmon on the grill. They had just caught a winters worth of Salmon a couple weeks ago. The flesh is a bright red. I'd never seen Salmon that color before. Sierra filled me in on several types of Salmon, saying this kind was her favorite for the grill. It was absolutely delicious! She made it 3 different ways so we could get different flavors. David, who has never liked Salmon in the past, and usually won't try it, LOVED it! He went back for seconds. And then Sierra brought out the fresh made Salmon cakes, and we all had several of those! So Yummy! I should have taken pictures! For dessert, She took the blueberries and made a compote for the top of vanilla ice cream! We were all in food heaven.<br />
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The next morning we spent a few hours in the garden helping to weed. The kids pitched in and did a good job. Calvin didn't care for the weeding, but helped split and pile wood up for winter. That afternoon we headed into town to a local park and lake, and the kids had a blast kayaking and rowing an inflatable boat. It was nice to just enjoy life in Alaska. That evening Ben, David and Calvin built a chicken tractor to help with the weeding. I had never seen that before.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6291" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-675VBpDZzmk/WZjWCvwoS7I/AAAAAAAALBw/izpLKqcYtEcu8sK1MCQ9vvI8nmJEAqC3wCHMYCw/IMG_6291.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6291.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9902" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KotKk-8PGeM/WZjWD7pbcAI/AAAAAAAALB0/e2XpfbkYZA4xEPhIJMrBF0r6PWfQjqJwQCHMYCw/IMG_9902.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9902.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9906" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OEFgx6A8g8s/WZjWE7U1jLI/AAAAAAAALB4/jkEOKPCKxdQj_LQZYF_uplByfp5aZTTggCHMYCw/IMG_9906.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9906.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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<i> She was proud of her hard working hands!</i><br />
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<img alt="IMG 6223" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NQ9Jb2DSCNA/WZjWGKhVcwI/AAAAAAAALB8/YH6gusFYf94GnVSTsWNLdMfynPfj1M4JwCHMYCw/IMG_6223.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6223.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6249" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V51RnVZXYFw/WZjWJfhYP1I/AAAAAAAALCA/MifbGI_DHpsGwCuAF6Hrbr3PZqb1sT8tACHMYCw/IMG_6249.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6249.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6261" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2ELNL7MMlVI/WZjWKjWXJdI/AAAAAAAALCE/n0YkYJ5UOE813nYrZTmQxO53mnIkUIY6QCHMYCw/IMG_6261.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6261.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6275" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JlcMyZi6ov8/WZjWLorgE2I/AAAAAAAALCI/JFukxdmZgFsGL01z1_RU7NSA87zcj9XfwCHMYCw/IMG_6275.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6275.jpg" width="640" />
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The next day we packed up and in the afternoon we all headed to Portage to camp overnight outside of Whittier.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6334" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ghfAemE4Jx8/WZjWN9wbgkI/AAAAAAAALCQ/hhLSO9VzNmY278Ek_V7zyylXyjlrTVOVgCHMYCw/IMG_6334.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6334.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6337" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mmfUgsW5HHc/WZjWO_yXWOI/AAAAAAAALCU/HVFbsxCy-zonaR3gnUE29bm7umnBHAeaQCHMYCw/IMG_6337.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6337.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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Wednesday morning we all take a small boat cruise out in the Prince William Sound, out to see some wildlife and Glaciers calve into the ocean. We saw lots of otters and seal lions. We visited Surprise Glacier and watched it Calve several times. We ate lunch looking out over the beautiful blue ice. A large amount finally came down off of it. You see the ice falling first, and then you hear it. And it's loud, like thunder crashing. It created a wave that was sent out into the bay, you could see it breaking where ice was under the surface of the water, like a reef. It was really cool!<br />
We picked a cruise in the Prince William Sound because it is calm and protected waters. We missed out on seeing whales there. Had we gone to Seward to a Glacier cruise, we'd have seen more sea life, and most likely whales. The calm waters were nice thought, no one got sick!<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6350" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lriMTBxfPN0/WZjWSgF2KzI/AAAAAAAALCc/DX_qimp7Hx8ood92zKsg1DlQdQ5E1MArACHMYCw/IMG_6350.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6350.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6360" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0gY-mVnjD9Q/WZjWUOjC9mI/AAAAAAAALCg/H8N4TPLyKckyo8J44uWt0QuROKY54TDNQCHMYCw/IMG_6360.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6360.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6364" border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DrlYo2G5wCY/WZjWVLkdC8I/AAAAAAAALCk/XU6v1U4eH6IqzHe8gFVvq0u3w_rFinh7ACHMYCw/IMG_6364.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6364.jpg" width="426" />
<img alt="IMG 6384" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YGxsPnLNJcc/WZjWWXs1gNI/AAAAAAAALCo/WzDY0Ee-088Hkv0qp-r6TnE0PE5krAP8gCHMYCw/IMG_6384.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6384.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6419" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rvI1ygPud3Q/WZjWXQp2e1I/AAAAAAAALCs/5kd-ke1PW3s-kHJweL1Y7hJ-PQh2IBBjgCHMYCw/IMG_6419.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6419.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6422" border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mO1iEVMrnqY/WZjWYaOMiOI/AAAAAAAALCw/ReVpGoAuHvoAxfCzU31idbA6pG6UZnK8ACHMYCw/IMG_6422.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6422.jpg" width="426" />
<img alt="IMG 6471" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JzTrDIm7iic/WZjWZ0B88dI/AAAAAAAALC0/WiVUyKqr-aYqR-cYZvS2Hv4dO4zHGzkCgCHMYCw/IMG_6471.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6471.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6494" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-95nwpf1O_aA/WZjWa6PSaqI/AAAAAAAALC4/uUgZzKPWXc4Bkg1dgmjVSbNekuK8-gFHQCHMYCw/IMG_6494.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6494.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6522" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3lQ6MvPc4YE/WZjWcR4jloI/AAAAAAAALC8/nIhtP8Bdd8Mk8jZj0gP6WO_2gusTQ8VGQCHMYCw/IMG_6522.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6522.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6598" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ruRc8QAw3a4/WZjWdqh5a9I/AAAAAAAALDA/zSSPu0dotNQ7RAprBp-3M8m_N7tPt-IcwCHMYCw/IMG_6598.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6598.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6603" border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H43TMhl5R-A/WZjWemNUjvI/AAAAAAAALDE/TQRRmWfp3yE7XuLkEYwmbE28-j7s7UReQCHMYCw/IMG_6603.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6603.jpg" width="426" />
<img alt="IMG 6618" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQxGLyT3b8Q/WZjWgZ1KAcI/AAAAAAAALDI/unqF5le1xDsaL9LsVSyXr0LuKbX67BXbwCHMYCw/IMG_6618.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6618.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6634" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RM-eJgN7dFE/WZjWhrjW6-I/AAAAAAAALDM/WNlXsJgjuwwKgobRAOeikoAiy9wFSe7nwCHMYCw/IMG_6634.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6634.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6650" border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wDnd3Wzt0GM/WZjWihXuB4I/AAAAAAAALDQ/fsQZ4qH8dW0cdzQEgwH-o0f2BemJzy6rgCHMYCw/IMG_6650.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6650.jpg" width="426" />
<img alt="IMG 6678" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zVmYUMKfy3c/WZjWkgyc3eI/AAAAAAAALDU/ZzbM6HoWp1sf-rTM6Vy8Dyv_Z6gOGFNDACHMYCw/IMG_6678.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6678.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6735" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zr_j-PJq99g/WZjWlt5d-FI/AAAAAAAALDY/GRoaD7Z1w3sxAtRAQp2d770lAMT_ilzYgCHMYCw/IMG_6735.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6735.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 6750" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EwILHd6-Z8Q/WZjWmqT66bI/AAAAAAAALDc/SoxWrNi5_7AcUaNd_LDfZrwGrme8NKAlACHMYCw/IMG_6750.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6750.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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To get to Whittier you have to pass thru a 2.5 mile train tunnel. It is timed with the train, so they only allow cars through once an hour. It's $38 dollars to pass through. And they have 6 lines for cars, RVs and trucks to line up for the appointed time. You have to go through this same process to leave town, except there is no fee to leave. Whittier is a small town, mainly owned and run by the railroad. The port is ice free in the winter and a very protected harbor.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 6343" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Fh-uX4AiJHs/WZjWQOpb-II/AAAAAAAALCY/SlYaElJujRM2S5lwbCdm82UawXbfHw4yACHMYCw/IMG_6343.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_6343.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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While waiting to leave town we had our last chance to say goodbye to our friends, The Hunsaker Family! The kids were sad to leave their new friends, we hope we can come visit them again!The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-22008252828732129422017-08-05T21:01:00.000-07:002017-08-19T17:03:10.102-07:00Alaska! We Made it! <img alt="IMG 9886" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OSGE9X6EKZc/WZjQVDZpkKI/AAAAAAAALAs/rZA8gB2_-yUvxd4_ACumFTm-opNT6RoJACHMYCw/IMG_9886.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9886.JPG" width="640" />
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We made it! Barely! Just kidding, we made it just fine, but the bikes on the other hand...<br />
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<img alt="IMG 9894" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7PHVZVN780w/WZjQZlL5ClI/AAAAAAAALAw/wUFm2muoiU07BmG66lidYYLR8__GWCA-wCHMYCw/IMG_9894.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9894.JPG" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 9893" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mIoRjiVR9TQ/WZjQc7JbvyI/AAAAAAAALA0/gTvnMXb7kbQGhWKCCOLc6cVCaSxMpUi2ACHMYCw/IMG_9893.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9893.JPG" width="640" /><br />
<i> It's not supposed to look like that!</i><br />
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A friend had recently driven her daughter up to Anchorage and had told me the road from Kluane National Park to the border was rough, and then from Tok to Glen Allen was bad too. She did not explain what was bad about them though. While there was construction from Kluane to the Border and miles of gravel road. The worst part was the frost heaves. And the worst of the frost heaves were after Tok.<br />
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We made it in one piece to the border. And the friendly border patrol let us enter Alaska! The drive was beautiful! Just before the border David had checked on the bikes and tightened the strap, as the road had been rough. Driving from the border through forested land as far as the eye can see, with lakes popping up all over. It was beautiful. Driving into Tok staring at the massive snow covered peaks far off in the distance was incredible. The St. Elias range is stunning! We should have visited the Wrangell- St. Elias National Park, but it wasn't on my radar as a place to go. Next time.<br />
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From Tok to GlenAllen, while the scenery is stunning, the road is terrible! The frost heaves are constant and unpredictable. Just when you think the road is fine, you speed up, just to hit another set of them. At one point, we are positive the front wheels left the ground. Immediately after, I thought "we should check the bikes" but I did not voice my concern. It wasn't more than 20 minutes later, a car came up behind us, zooming by, honking and pointing at the back of the trailer, so we pulled over, and I could see in the rearview mirror a bike tire on the ground. Turns out the bike holder had completely bent itself over, the straps around the bikes had ripped in two, and we were dragging the bikes on the road behind us. They were all damaged. Some much worse than others. The only bike that was barely touched was the tag-along. We had to untangle the bikes. Another driver stopped and gave us a hand. Once we had them all separated I cleaned up the back of the trailer, (our beds can go up to the ceiling and then we have "garage" space). In went the bikes, we'd look through them later. We had to finish our drive for the day. This set us back about 30 minutes. We were headed to our friends' house and we'd be arriving very late for dinner now.<br />
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All we could do is laugh at the bikes. And be grateful that most of our biking had already been done. I had been looking up other places to bike on our trip, but now I don't have to spend anymore time on that!<br />
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The scenery from Glen Allen was amazing. The Glacier and canyon along the road is just amazing! It was hard to tear our eyes away from it. This place, Alaska, is seriously beautiful! The last 4 hours of our drive, were worth the road difficulties and bike loss. It is stunning! If only we'd had time to stop and take pictures!<br />
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<img alt="IMG 9892" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GHcGng0TCYw/WZjQk8rG4bI/AAAAAAAALA4/PX0r_2_4grgWVOZXQcwgLYj3oCZ_BlWvwCHMYCw/IMG_9892.JPG?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_9892.JPG" width="640" />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-4001587186809839982017-08-05T18:42:00.000-07:002017-08-19T16:33:45.404-07:00Idaho to Alaska - stop 5 Muncho Lake, Provincial Park, British Columbia<br />
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We got an early start, hitting the road about 6:30am. On our morning drive we saw a couple of black bears eating along the road. Always fun to see. We had 15 hours of driving to do today.<br />
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We made a stop in a fairly good sized city, they even had a Costco. We were on fumes and stopped at the first gas station we came to, but the pump would not work right, so then I saw there was a Costco just down the road, so off to Costco we went, hoping we wouldn't run out of gas on the way. We had plenty of spare gas, just in case we ran out driving between towns. But really there are plenty of gas stations along the way. We put Calvin in charge of figuring out where to stop for gas. We knew we could do about 200 miles, so we gave Calvin the Milepost app and had him figure out where to get gas, he even had to use a little algebra to do so. We are carrying an extra 5 gallons in a small container, plus the trailer holds about 20 gallons for the generator and any such gas needs. So if needs be we can always use that and transfer it to the car. But we made it to Costco just fine! Just to find out, that Costco in Canada ONLY accepts MasterCard, and we don't have one! What to do. They don't take cash at the gas pumps either. So the attendant suggested we go inside to and put money on a Costco Cash card. So David made the long walk to the front of the store, and then came back, realizing, they only take MasterCard inside too! SO we used some of our Canadian Cash and put that on the Costco Cash card, after a second trip to the store. Their price for gas was really good, so it was worth the effort. After a 30 minute delay we were finally ready to go! We were ahead of schedule before that, so the delay didn't really cost us anytime thank goodness.<br />
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And off we went. The drive was quite pretty, with a few towns every hour or so, and then they became fewer and further between. We reached the official AlCan highway at Dawson Creek. We stopped further up the road for gas as we were still trying to get in a lot of miles today. Once we left Fort Nelson, it just became so pretty, first along the river and then thru large Canyons and finally to the Lake. After 14.5 hours of driving we finally reached Muncho Lake area and campgrounds. The first one we passed said full. I worried we wouldn't get a space for the night, but knew we could still sleep in a pull out area on the highway. We headed to the next campground, and after a short drive through, found it was full too. We stopped and talked to the rangers there, and they said to head to a pull out and no one would bother us for the night, and come back in the late morning to get a site there.<br />
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So we did just that. Headed back a mile or 2 to a pull off. The sunset was beautiful and I was able to snap a few photos before bed. After driving for so long, it was fun to spend the night at the pullout, we made a short walk around reading the info signs and watching some Caribou climb the rocks 100 yards away.<br />
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<img alt="IMG 5451" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qYyDKZJkH4Q/WZSVqz2TnKI/AAAAAAAAK94/DLpdyld0uR41-IBwZ4hXU4lCy3cuWzLTgCHMYCw/IMG_5451.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_5451.jpg" width="640" />
<img alt="IMG 5477" border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jWzqdjdKyAI/WZSVstFsV9I/AAAAAAAAK98/HNg0vJN62K8nOWhz57EJjHOR6isqGdCuwCHMYCw/IMG_5477.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_5477.jpg" width="640" />
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The next morning we slept in, made pancakes and took our time. Around 10am we headed over to the McDonald Campground, where the sites were still ALL full! A few were packing up and would be headed out soon, so we drove a few miles further down the road to check out a viewpoint over the lake. When we headed back we only had a few more minutes before a great site, lake side was vacated. We pulled in and set up camp. We pulled out the kayaks, set up the archery set, and had a great afternoon just relaxing! By 1pm the few sites that had opened up were now full. I had no idea we'd have to be there so early to get a site. The guy that pulled in next to us told us it's a long weekend here in the Yukon, so I guess that makes sense. He'd come early to get a site, his family would show up this evening.<br />
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The day was beautiful, I even went out in the kayak for a bit. Although they are made for bodies smaller and lighter than mine, it was still fun. We thought we might drive 45mins down the road to the hot springs, but we just enjoyed doing nothing at the lake that we just stuck with that! I sat by the lake all day and just enjoyed the scenery, it was wonderful! That evening when the lighting was perfect I put the 4 younger kids in nicer, clean, clothes and snapped some individual picture of them. Still have to do the older 2 kids sometime! But they turned out great!<br />
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<img alt="IMG 7390" border="0" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PLwUPBNXk5I/WZeUxYGobyI/AAAAAAAAK_s/ghnV1evvv046Uz0EXhKmJAwlWWEnDSZpACHMYCw/IMG_7390.jpg?imgmax=1600" title="IMG_7390.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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The kids were disappointed that they still could not have a fire that night! We were still in BC, and even though they had no fire issues anywhere near by, the entire state was under a fire ban. The park rangers informed us that when we arrived the next day in the Yukon, we'd have no problems having a fire, and the Yukon parks provide free firewood. The kids were thrilled to hear that news. We also asked the rangers about the red berries growing next to our campsite. They told us they are edible soap berries. The bears like them. We tried them, and I will never need to try them again. Isabel read in a book that natives like to make them into ice cream. I thought they tasted like puke. So I will not need to try that as an ice cream. All the kids tried them out, but after watching all our reactions David would not try them.<br />
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The next day was our last stop before Alaska. We drove 9 hours to Haines Junction. We saw a good amount of wildlife along the road. Bears, Moose, and Bison. We made a stop at the Kluane National Park Visitor Center just to pick up their Explorer packets, but the VC was so full of great info and displays, we stayed an hour. Alexander, Matthew, and Benjamin each separately dragged me over to view a display on the Glacier that melted and dammed the river creating a lake where the town now is. In the early 1800s the water receded and another hard freeze occurred that the Glacier advanced. They loved that display and watched it multiple times. So did I, since they each wanted me to watch it with them.<br />
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That night we drove up Kluane Lake and Camped at Congdon Creek, which was also more full than I had hoped... that long weekend. We did not get a lakeside site, but we were only there for the night anyway. The kids were ecstatic to collect wood from the wood shed and start their first fire on this trip! Out came the marshmallows and s'mores. It was a fun night. After we'd all gone to bed, I'd set an alarm for 3am, to get up and look for Northern Lights. The NOAA website prediction was at a level 5 meaning, they should be visible, but we think we only saw twilight when we got up. It does get dark in the middle of the night, just not all the way dark. So we're not sure if the white lights we saw were northern lights, or just the sun starting on it's way up for the day. Tomorrow... Alaska<br />
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<br />The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-31124000691424773722017-08-02T10:40:00.000-07:002017-08-16T10:40:52.255-07:00Idaho to Alaska- Stop 4<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Jasper National Park</i></span><br />
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Just up the road from Banff National Park, is Jasper National Park. The 2 parks are joined together by the Icefields Parkway, a beautiful stretch of road with mountains, flowers, glaciers, wildlife, and just beauty!<br />
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We got an early start so we could make some stops before the crowds and not have to worry about parking with the trailer. Our first stop was Peyto Lake. A beautiful lake colored by the glacier wash full of minerals. It was a bit overcast that morning, so the fog did not let me take the best pictures. The kids loved this lake because they thought it looked like a coyote head!<br />
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Next stop was Mistaya canyon. A short hike down from the road brings you to a beautiful overlook of a water carved canyon. Both Banff and Jasper are filled with examples of water at work in carving these beautiful canyons. I never tire of seeing them! The narrow winding walls are just beautiful to witness. I'd given the kids a granola bar on the hike, and both Matthew and Alex had unwrapped theirs and thrown the wrappers on the ground. After a talk about trash, and keeping it until we find a trash can, they both decided their trash would be better hidden under a rock. So to help the understand the seriousness of trashing your trash, we grabbed a plastic bag and had them clean up trash. The trash at peyto lake parking and this parking spots was sad to see. I don't understand how people want to come see the beautiful nature and than ruin it by leaving their trash behind. But it was a good lesson for the boys to learn to make sure to keep their trash to dispose of properly.<br />
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We made another short stop just down the road. The forest had been burned in a fire in the last several years, and the underbrush was starting to grow back as purple flower weeds. It was just beautiful- the thriving purple flowers contrasting the burned trees.<br />
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We found a lunch stop just 30 mins from Jasper at Honeymoon lake, at a little campground. From here we headed to our campground, while Despains dropped their little trailer at their cabin for the next 2 nights. After setting up camp we all hopped in the van and drove to Maligne Canyon. Another beautiful example of rushing water carving narrow canyons. It was a fabulous hike. David brought the unicycle and hiked it down the trail to the 5th bridge, where he was able to cut out to the road. He the took the unicycle back to where we left the van, then drove to pick us up. We continued to the end of the hike, the 6th bridge over the creek and as we walked into the parking lot, he was pulling in to pick us up. Perfect timing. He even stopped to see a Caribou on his way up the road, and checked out the first bridge, which we had somehow missed on our hike.<br />
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From here we headed out to Maligne Lake, another 45 mins up the road. We had a short chili dinner from the crock pot and then headed to meet our boat for a cruise out to spirit island. The views of the mountains were gorgeous! And the island was quite pretty. They have a short nature trail, but do not allow more exploring of the island as it is sacred to the native Canadians, which they refer to as First Nation. On the cruise I did learn that the Rocky Mountains are shorter than other mountain ranges because they are older, and eroding. Where as younger mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas are younger, taller, and in fact still growing. I did not know this before.<br />
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On our way back to town and the campsite we stopped by the canyon again so we could all see the first bridge and beauty. David convinced us it was worth the stop and it was.<br />
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The next morning we headed down the Icefields parkway. We stopped at the Athabasca Falls and spent more time there exploring than we expected but it was so pretty.<br />
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From there we had to head straight to the Columbia Icefield Center for our tour onto the Athabasca Glacier. We booked to go out on the Glacier in the mega tour bus with mega wheels. We grabbed our coats, hats, and gloves. It was definitely chilly, but the kids had fun on the bus, and then roaming around the roped off area on the glacier, hopping over streams of melting glacier water. They filled their water bottles, even though it wasn't "recommended". From here the buses take you out to the Skywalk, which frankly I could have skipped. But they had an audio tour, and David and the kids enjoyed learning and walking along the overhang.<br />
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Back to town for the afternoon, where we gathered our laundry and did a few quick loads. We headed to the park visitor center while and picked up the kids Jasper dog tags for the kids explorer program, and why not grab some ice cream since we were in town!<br />
All set to begin our path to Alaska tomorrow, we met with the Despains for dinner that night. After it was time to say goodbye to our travel friends. Mostly it was a big goodbye to Mirelle, as she will be off to college before we return from Alaska!The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-91353814142760946042017-07-31T17:26:00.000-07:002017-08-10T19:06:05.348-07:00Idaho to Alaska - stop 3 <i><b>Banff</b></i><br />
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Talk about amazing scenery! Banff is gorgeous! Driving from Waterton to Banff was pretty easy. We made a short stop 30 mins from Waterton at a Unesco World Heritage Site of Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. This was interesting to learn about. This site was used by Native Americans to strategically plan together to lure the large herd of Buffalo to a stampede and direct them towards the cliff to run them off. This required great planning, preparation, and perfect conditions to achieve. This site was used thousands of years ago, and multiple times for this purpose. They found several feet deep of leftover bones. It was very interesting to learn about. On site they have a great museum and you can walk the cliff edge to view the beautiful landscape.<br />
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Just south of Calgary we stopped at Walmart and the Real Canadian Superstore for a quick food restock, and of course to pick out some true Canadian snacks. A trip to Canada requires a few Mr. Big candy bars for me!<br />
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After we left the Calgary area you could see the mountains in the distance and they just went on forever! From North to South as far as the eye could see, and not just one row of peaks. Row after row of peaks. It was a sight to behold. It's an easy drive from Calgary, which is why the Banff area of lodging, and camping is so huge! There is a massive highway to travels through the area. Our campsite alone had about 1000 spots. We sadly had to say goodbye to the Miller family back in Cardston after the Temple, but the Despain family was still hanging in there with us! While we checked into our campsite, they headed to their little house they rented a few miles down the road in town.<br />
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The next morning we got an early start and headed up to a popular spot in the area. It's about an hour drive to the Lake Louise area, and up to Moraine lake. Once upon a time this beautiful Lake was printed on the back of the $20 Canadian Bill. We climbed the pile of rocks near the parking area for the best view. The hike is called the Rockpile. At this end of the lake, 10 beautiful peaks can be seen. And the water is a perfect blue. It was beautiful. Which explains all the people there! Even at 8:30am there were already hundreds of people there, and finding parking was a problem. I don't know how much the 150 years of Canada celebration this summer is affecting park visitors, but it was crowded! National Park entrance is free all across Canada this year. But the beauty in Banff is definitely worth paying an entrance fee to see. The entire area is spectacular. So many lakes and mountains to see!<br />
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After a short hike around Moraine lake's shoreline, we headed off to nearby Yoho National Park to Emerald Lake. The 40 minute drive follows the gorgeous mint green Kicking Horse River thru it's rock basin. How spectacular it must look in the spring as it carries all the snow melt away. Limestone washes into the river to create it's beautiful color. After admiring Emerald lake from it's shoreline we did a short hike to a nearby waterfall.<br />
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On the way down from Emerald Lake is the Natural Bridge, a gorgeous waterfall and interesting rock formation in the middle of the rushing river. Just spectacular!<br />
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We then headed back to the Lake Louise area to stop for a Linner at the Station Restaurant, which was practically empty. The kids enjoyed playing their piano while we waited for food to be served.<br />
After Linner we split up from the Despains, who needed a few hours to relax. Since we were right there, we went up to Lake Louise. I have been interested in viewing the Fairmont lodges in the area, and at Lake Louise it's just okay. It does have the perfect view of the Lake. On our way back to the Campground we stopped at the visitor center and the kids turned in their Canadian parks explorer packet and pick up their park dog tag. The Canadian park system has a program similar to the US National Parks to keep kids interested in learning about the park and it's environment. The kids are enjoying collecting their dog tag at each park, and the Banff NP has several areas to get them from. So many things to do in the area, we didn't get to do them all.<br />
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That evening we picked put the Despains and headed all together in the van to Johnston Canyon. It was a quiet drive down the old Banff highway, a small 2 lane road. Since it was after 7pm the parking lot was mostly empty, but there was still plenty of day left to explore and hike the 1.5 miles each way. This is a must see canyon. The well built trail follows the river upstream thru a water carved canyon, to view multiple waterfalls. We love walking through narrow canyons along the water. I am tempted to come back in the winter to view this trail in the snow, as they keep it open all year. I bet it's spectacular! It awesome to see how water carves thru rock over thousands of years.<br />
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In the morning before church, David woke up early to take Savannah and Calvin on a mountain bike trail that started near the campground. We thought it would only take an hour to bike the 4.9 km trail and back, but it took close to 1.5 hours, which meant we were late to church, which started at 10am and the Banff branch. Parking was difficult in the area, but David kindly dropped us off as he circled the area looking for a place to park our large van. We were late, but Calvin noticed had we been on time he would have had the opportunity to help with passing the sacrament. Since Despains were on time, both Keaton and Sawyer passed together.<br />
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Despains made a delicious lunch for all of us, and then we headed out to a nearby ski resort, Mount Norquay to ride the chairlift up a mountain. This was a first for all our kids, to ride 2 by 2 in a chairlift. I could tell riding up the mountain this way made Savannah nervous. David rode with Matthew who he said was also a little scared. I rode with Alex who was as happy as could be with the ride. At the top we watched mountain sheep eat. The view was impeded with smoke blowing over the mountains from nearby fires in SW British Columbia.<br />
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Before dinner we drove by the Fairmont Banff Springs. It's a spectacular castle looking lodge built by the Railroad President back in the late 1800s. It is beautiful and maybe someday I can stay there. We took a rest at the campsite while David took a few of the kids for an easy mountain bike ride on the trail outside the campground. Matthew loved it until he got thirsty at the end.<br />
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The Despains cooked us dinner again today and we explored near their little house after. All in all, it was a great day. In the morning we head up to Jasper, along the renowned Icefield Parkway.The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049979503229959261.post-70273242480359485812017-07-28T17:22:00.000-07:002017-08-10T19:01:30.403-07:00Idaho to Alaska - stop 2<i>Waterton National Park, Canada and the Cardston Temple</i><br />
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All 3 families shared a house a few minutes outside of Watertown National Park. The house was large with plenty of room for all of us! We arrived late, ate dinner, and slept good. The next day we headed into the park to explore. There's a nice village with homes and shopping, and a historic lodge on top of a bluff overlooking the large lake! Absolutely beautiful!<br />
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We started on a short shoreline hike, and made it to a peninsula, where the kids ran to the water to throw rocks, when the adults noticed a small black bear off to the side, eating something along the shoreline. We watched for a few minutes, before heading back down the trail, the way we came.<br />
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Savannah practiced her driving skills by chauffeuring us around the park. After lunch at a quiet picnic spot near a pretty little lake, we headed out for an afternoon hike up Red Rock Canyon.<br />
It was absolutely crowded, but the scenery was spectacular! We changed into swim gear and water shoes and headed upstream in the canyon. We had to make our way thru the crowds of people, but the further upstream we went, the less crowded in became, until it was pretty much just us. The canyon walls are stunning, but the fun thing is the natural rock slides and pools that have formed over thousands of years of water running through here. The kids had a fabulous time sliding and hiking to the next slide. Even though the water was glacier cold, they had a great time trying each slide and hiking thru the water. We had to rock hop, shimmy across fallen trees, and wade in knee deep water at times. A great hike!<br />
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We headed back to the house for dinner and down time. Later that evening we headed back to the park to drive the south road through the park. The road followed the river and the scenery was beautiful. We had all the kids in the van with us and they requested a Hank Smith talk while we drove. It was a great evening! The road ended at a beautiful lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. On the drive back we found another bear eating berries along side the road. Two bears at close viewing range in one day was awesome. We topped the day off with ice cream in the park village. It was a great visit to Waterton.<br />
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In the morning we all packed up ready to head on. But before we left for Banff we had an important stop to make at the Cardston Alberta Temple. This has been something I have wanted to do for many years! My Great Grandfather, Gerrit DeReus was the first of his family to cross the ocean from the Netherlands. His family sent him to work hard, save money to send back so his parents and siblings could all make the same journey and go to Salt Lake. My dad, in his wisdom, printed off the history of my great great grandparents for us to read and learn how they joined the church and why they came to Utah. It was my Great Great Grandfather, Teunis, 50th birthday. His children saved their money to buy him a gold pocket watch. As his birthday approached, his son Gerritt noticed the price of 1 ticket to the America's was the same cost as the pocket watch. The children decided it would be a good idea to spend the money on a ticket instead, but sought their fathers advice first. Their father agreed, a ticket to the America's was a good choice. He stated "what good is a pocket watch, when you can be with the Saints in Salt Lake, and become a forever family" There was no Temple near them at the time. So they decided together that Gerrit, my great Grandfather would be the first to go. They needed a sponsor to allow them to go, and since the missionaries in the area were from Canada, he received a sponsor to go to Canada. He rode the train across Canada and arrived in Cardston, a Mormon community, were the Temple was underway. He acquired a job at the Temple as a carpenter, which is the job he had in the Netherlands. Who knows maybe we touched some of the same wood inside the temple. It was here in Cardston that he became friends with the man that would later introduce him to his wife, the man's sister. Gerritt earned enough money, along with what they saved in the Netherlands, to bring his siblings and parents over to Salt Lake just a few years later. We all enjoyed reading the story of my great great grandparents and their love and faith of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<br />
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At the Temple we left Isabel and the younger kids in the trailer watching a movie, while the adults, and 12+ year old kids went to the Baptistry to do work for our ancestors. I had spent some time researching my dutch roots and came up with a few DeReus names that still needed work, and several cousins from my dutch side that needed work. We did almost 30 names, all I could find and verify. The baptistry was beautiful and we were told each of the oxen were uniquely hand carved from stone. It was a special experience to be in this Temple helping to make forever families!<br />
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The Blood Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843511932937609920noreply@blogger.com0