We left Washington on our adventure in the last week of June.  We went to Idaho first to visit my niece Becky and her family.  Her husband Andrew was in Africa on a mission trip for 6 weeks.  We had a great time with her and the children.  My son Michael and our granddaughters Alyssa and Maya joined us there for the trip to Yellowstone.

We stayed outside of the park in West Yellowstone.  The adventure was the 5 mile drive to the campsite on a gravel road that was like a washboard.  The motorhome rattled and rolled down that road.  Was more fun the next morning when we went out in the Jeep.  Michael decided that the faster we went the smoother it felt.  This had everyone holding on and someone (who will remain nameless) getting somewhat carsick.  Needless to say, it was not me….  I like speed.

Our first day in Yellowstone was so awesome.  Almost right away we spotted an Elk on the side of the creek that was along side the road.  Of course we all had to get out and take pictures.  We took so many pictures of falls and wildlife as well as geysers, springs, and ponds.   We had to stop by one river so everyone could put their feet into the water.  We made it to Old Faithful just in time to see the very end of it’s eruption.  So not many pictures but by this time everyone was tired so we decided not to wait till the next one.

The second day we took the upper loop to the Mammoth Hot Springs.  What a beautiful sight it was to behold.  However, I left the hiking around to the younger generation.  It was too much walking and steps for me to go.  Tony and I drove around and took pictures of what we could see.  Then later I downloaded pictures from everyone’s phones and cameras.  So I have a ton of pictures.  I can’t show then all here but I will put a few so everyone can enjoy them.

We were so happy to share this time with the family.  So much fun for us to have them to ourselves for a while.  Didn’t have to share the girls with their friends or other family.  It was interesting with the three of them crowded into the living room of our RV, but we managed.  Even though Maya had someone’s foot in her face most of the nights.  Oh well, was a small price to pay for being able to spend time with grandma and grandpa.  LOL

Here are a few of our pictures.  I will try to add more pictures later.  Running out of time tonight.  Enjoy.

I have always wanted to go to Alaska so we decided to take a cruise before we started our own adventure RVing around the good old USA.  As we saw the marvelous works that God created for our enjoyment in the wildlife, glaciers, mountains and rivers, we were so blessed.  He is a loving God and had made a way for me to experience the desire of my heart after almost 50 years.

Tony and I were able to go off the ship in Juneau to go on a whale watching excursion.  We saw lots of whales but the trick was to catch them on film.  Tony was better at it than I was.  By the time I got the camera headed in the right direction they were underwater again.  Oh well, Tony did get some shots but we missed the best ones.  So I will posted pictures from a collection of photos that I was able to purchase in Glacier Bay from the National Park Service.

In Ketchikan we went to see a Lumberjack show which was really interesting and very funny.  They put on quite a show.  We were freezing out in the windy weather but they came and gave the people in the front row a blanket to use.  I had purchased an Alaska stocking cap with scarf and gloves so I pulled it out and used it right away too.

Most of you who know me understand that I get really cold.  Why I wanted to go to Alaska I will never know…  But I always wanted to and didn’t really think about how cold it gets even in the summer.  But I managed to keep warm most of the time.  We did spend a lot of time in the crows nest just looking at the scenery and taking pictures.  The rest of the time we spent eating.  I gained about 10 pounds in that week, mainly due to the awesome desserts that they had.   When I couldn’t decide which one I wanted I just had two.  LOLOL

Sorry I am so late posting this about the cruise.  We were so busy getting the RV ready and then we have spent a lot of time in areas with no internet.  I will try to catch up on our travels as fast as I can.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.   The Lord bless all of you.

I only saw killer whales once in the two summers that I spent in Glacier Bay, but that one time they put on a great show. This photo is particularly special to me due to the unusual behavior of the animal. This is called a ‘spyhop’. A spyhop occurs when a whale rises vertically out of the water, most likely to look around and see what is above the water. In this case, what probably happened was that this killer whale took notice of our boat, and decided to pop its head out and get a better view. For animals that spend most of their time with their heads underwater, it is exciting to see such an active display of them watching us.

The best place to look for brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Glacier Bay is along the beaches. They often use the intertidal zone at low tide in search of a wide variety of creatures that make up their diet. These include gunnels, barnacles and beach hoppers, to name a few. When they are in the intertidal zone, there is no tall vegetation to conceal the bears. Still, they can be difficult to spot as their fur sometimes blends in with the sandy beaches or barnacle-covered rocks.

This picture is from our Alaska cruise.  Will try to post more when I have time.  Also when I figure out this blogging thing.

Well the day has come, we are finally leaving on our trip..  tomorrow morning we hit the road.  Going to a campground in WA for a couple days then to Idaho to see family.  After that we will go to Yellowstone National Park with Mike and the girls.  Looking forward to seeing it for the first time.

So thankful that God has been with us through all the paperwork snafu’s that we have had the last couple months.  Finally got all the medical insurance issues resolved and rx’s filled.  Also our new Dish receiver for the tailgater was defective so picked a new one today.  Enough whining for today.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel.  Looking forward to sharing our journey with loved ones and friends.  Enough for now.