Trip to Lake of the Woods

Our trip started out early Thursday morning. We left Brainerd at 6am and went to Bemidji where we jumped in Bill and Shirley Bruers Tahoe and drove an additional 3 hours to Lake of the Woods in Morson Ontario. When we got there Ralph
Vonasek came to pick us up at Mylies resort in his 24 foot boat. It was pretty windy that day and it took a little longer than usual to get to the island he and his wife Ellen own. They bought the island over thirty years ago with two other couples. Since that time they have built a large cabin and quite a few outbuildings, including a shower house. They have a water tower and gas hot water heater. There's always a hot shower. They have generators that run their tv and other appliances. It's as rustic as you want it to be or as modern as you want it to be. And the views are spectacular.

Here's a photo from one side the island. If you look close you'll see Ellen and Shirley on the dock.

Here's a shot from the other side of the peninsula.

After lunch Makita and myself went fishing with Ralph and Bill went out with Ralph and Ellen's friend Dick Valentine, who was also up visiting them for a few days. When we got back with our catch Ralph cleaned the walleyes with an electric knife in about three seconds each.

The next two days Makita and myself went fishing with Dick. I think Ralph had enough of our goofing off or something. Well Dick's boat soon was dubbed the Special Ed boat. We had a lot of fun. And of course we threw these little guys back.

The second afternoon we had a big fish fry. Here's us gals breading the fillets.

Here's the guys getting ready to fry the fish. Looks like they're having a refreshing beer while they heat up the oil.

In the evenings we'd walk to the other side of the island to watch the sunset.

Gator would come down to see the sunsets too. Good dog.

Saturday afternoon Dick headed home to Bemidji. So this group picture taken Saturday night is missing him. There's Ralph, Shirley, Bill, me, Makita and Ellen.

What a wonderful couple Ralph and Ellen are. Very generous and kind. And man oh man, they feed you good! I must not have behaved too badly because they invited us back next year.

Wheel'n in Effie

Last weekend we headed to Effie for some 4 wheel'n fun with our friends Kurt and Robin Hopp.

What a fun time. My wheeler was running especially well due to the fact that Kurt had just gone through my machine and got it in tip top shape.

We're going to try and get another weekend in before the end of the season.

Hello Fellows....

During my trip over to Rapid City, I stopped by and visited the fellows. They looked exactly the same as the last half a dozen times I've seen them.

New to the National Memorial is the Audio Tour. Depending on the time allotted, a visitor can listen to just a few stops or to the entire tour which can take two hours. The tour is $5. That will be on top of the $8 for parking.

More exciting to my visit was that Sturgis Rally was getting ready to kick off. There were lots and lots of bikes. You can check out photo's from this years Rally at http://www.sturgis.com/2007pics/index.html

Last Days in Alaska

The last couple days in Alaska where spend hanging out in Anchorage. One of the days we rented bikes and rode 16 miles which included a ride through Earthquake Park. "This park is set in the woods where an entire neighborhood slid into the ocean during last century's most powerful earthquake. Walk trails and read signs which explain the destruction and the stupendous natural forces that caused it. You can see actual footage of the 1964 Earthquake on our page. Alaska travel videos "

During our bike ride we were able to see Mt McKinley (Denali) once again. It's hard to see here but it was out and visible from Anchorage, which is a rare thing.

There were lots of raspberries along the trail we rode. Brad was especially excited to stop and partake in some of them.

The day following our bike ride we went back into town and snooped around and watch some folks fishing Silvers in Ship Creek.

Day 6 - Glacier Day

Day six in Alaska started from Homer. Here's a spectacular view (with Brad) right outside our cabin. The cabin is seen in the photo below. Nope not the big one but the small one to the right.

After lunch we headed out towards Seward. On the way out of Homer we went up to the mountain side to capture this view of Homer from above.

Here's a photo of a glacier coming down between two mountain ranges.

We stopped to hike up to Exit Glacier. "Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park is well known for its beauty and easy access from the road system. Visitors walk just an easy three-quarters of a mile from the parking lot, passing signs that mark the retreat of the landlocked glacier since 1790.
As new arrivals move down the alder-lined trail, the glacier hangs like a blue beacon ahead of them. The 3-mile-long "river of ice," fractured and crackling, pours 2,500 feet down out of the Harding Icefield."

We ended our day with some fish and chips in Seward. And then drove back to Anchorage.

Homer Alaska

The night before we headed out to Homer we went for a walk on the trail by Jim's house and encountered another moose. I was a little nervous with her so close but Lorrie didn't seem to nervous.

On the way to Homer we stopped and took this photo of the Kenai River.

No trip to Homer would be complete without a visit to the Salty Dog Saloon. Once the first post office in Homer, the Salty Dog is now an historical landmark with an atmosphere that must be seen to be believed. Dollar bills cover the walls and ceilings.

The fishing charters where bringing in their catches of halibut. Next time I get to Alaska a fishing trip is in order. The big one pictured here was 175 pounds. Below the big one are many smaller ones lined up.

After scouting around Homer for a bit, we went down to the harbor to embark on a boat that would take us to Halibut Cove. The ride was about 45 minutes and it was beautiful.

http://www.halibutcove.com/

http://www.halibut-cove-alaska.com/saltry.htm

At the Saltry Restaurant we had a very nice meal.

We were prepared for the ride back to Homer with our yellow slickers.

I especially enjoyed Homer's own brew. We stopped by an Irish pub (which had nothing Irish about it) and tipped back a few. While we were there we learned that one of the crabbing boats (fishing silvers this time of year) were coming in.

And yes indeed here's Makita with Neal Hillstrand, crew member of the Time Bandit which is documented by the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch". Check it out at http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/bios/bios_02.html

A day in Anchorage

Well on Monday, our fourth full day in Alaska, we started our day out in an exciting manner. Jim called from his morning walk on a nearby trial, to tell us he was standing there with a cow and calf moose. So we threw on our shoes and headed his way.

After visiting with Mrs and Baby Moose we headed to Anchorage for the day. We had lunch at M.A.'s Gourmet Hot Dog stand. M.A.'s Gourmet Hot Dogs (the M.A. stands for Michael Andrews) offers 7 different types of dogs. Kosher Beef, Polish, Reindeer dogs, Louisiana Hot Links, Bratwurst, Italian Sausage and Chicken Linguisa. He was also voted one of the top ten stands in the country by USA Today newspaper. Also featured on the PBS show "A Hot Dog Program" June 30, 1999. I especially enjoyed the carmalized onions that he serves on all the dogs.

After lunch we headed to the Wildride Sled Dog Show put on by the Seavey family. The Seavey's are three generations of top-20 Iditarod racers and fourteen generations of champion sled dogs. Dan Seavey Sr. (from Deerwood Minnesota) founded their racing program in 1965 and competed in the first two Iditarods in 1973 and '74. Dan's eldest son, Mitch Seavey, took over the racing in 1982 and has since completed twelve Iditarods. They now have five Iditarod veterans in the family and Mitch won the race in 2004.

The show was high energy and fun. At one point they hooked up 16 sled dogs and they pulled a one ton Dodge pickup. It took them a little while to get it rolling but once it got going it was off. They had to jump in and put on the brakes to slow it down.

Their show included Flapjack from the movie Eight Below. Flapjack, an Alaskan native, is a true working endurance sled dog who has continued to do his job in the frozen wilds following the film. Flapjack also holds the distinction of being the biggest dog on the movie, weighing in at over 120 pounds. Dino and Flapjack performed both the acting and sledding for Buck.
http://www.ididaride.com/tours/anchorage/wildride.htm

After the show they let us hold some puppies.

Brad got a new hairdo in town and I got a trim in Jim's garage....redneck style.

After our day in Anchorage we ended the night with a big fat crab dinner.

Driving around Alaska

On our third full day in Alaska we drove back to Anchorage from Denali. On the way we discovered Martin Buser's Happy Trails Kennels in Big Lake (don't you think it should be Happy Tails?). Martin was out in the dog yard cleaning up dog crap. He came up to us and spoke to us for a bit. My brother, Bob, had gone to Alaska and had handled for Martin 15 years ago. Martin is a super nice guy. He moved to Alaska in 1979 from Switzerland to race dogs. He is a four time Iditarod Champion (1992, 1994, 1997 and 2002). He holds the fastest finish ever on record with 8 hours, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds, set in 2002. Check out his kennels at http://www.buserdog.com/

When we spotted the Batmobile we made a quick turn around to take a photo of it for Kirk. He's infatuated with Batman.

That evening we went to Girdwood to the Double Musky Inn for supper. It was an amazing place. The decor is fun. The food is fabulous. Check it out at http://www.doublemuskyinn.com/

While everyone sat in the car out of the rain I waited in line for them to open, under the cover of an umbrella of course.