At-las-ka home! June 13, 2011

Kansas City, home, June 13, 2011.  We departed North Platte, NE, at 6:30 this morning, anxious to get home today.  We drove through rain, glorious green Nebraska fields, roads flooded by the Missouri River and photographed more - if you haven't noticed, my favorite - dilapidated barns.  We made a side trip through Syracuse, NE, to see the world famous Mustang Motel.  We arrived home at 2:30 this afternoon, unloaded Harvey and posed the toys for a final photograph on Angie's rock.  I then shaved the month-long growth on my face. I ruined a perfectly good razor in the process. 

By the numbers, we traveled 7,950 miles in 32 days;  That's an average of nearly 250 miles per day.  We spent 157 hours driving; an average of nearly 40 hours per week.  We took nearly 1800 photographs, a small percentage of which you've seen.  However, you have seen the best of the bunch.  Harvey returned an average of 14.5 miles per gallon.  The cheapest gas was in St. Joseph, MO, today at  $3.51 per gallon.  The most expensive was in Dawson City, YT, at $5.99 per gallon.

We often stayed in places which charged nothing for the night, like Fred Meyer and Walmart parking lots.  State and national parks averaged about $15 a night.  Private campgrounds averaged about $32 per night.  Accommodations included electric, water, sanitary station and, in a few, cable television.  We saw scores of buffalo, dozens of moose, half a dozen bears, scores of eagles and several foxes.  We caught over 100 pounds of fish and shipped 42 pounds home for a family fish fry. 

It was a wonderful trip, one that was in the planning stages for two years including the purchase of Harvey in March of last year.  We enjoyed the travel, the sights, the smells, the fishing, the camping and the pleasure of each others company.  But, now it is good to be home near hearth and family.  Thank you, Lord.  Life is good. 

A man that doesn't love this life is crazy.  

Goodbye, family and  friends. 

The Farkleys

One day from home, North Platte, NE, June 12, 2011

 

 North Platte, Nebraska, June 12, 2011.  Nine hours of driving, and 650 miles after beginning this day, we are within a whisker, 400 miles, of home.  Before leaving Park City, I took a couple of snapshots of the 2002 Olympic ski slopes and jumps.  

When I began to download pictures tonight, there were over eighty on the camera.  Many of those were Annie's attempts to photograph one of the dozens of antelopes we saw along I-80.  The little rascals are hard to spot to begin with.  When you do spot one, you have to find him again through the lens, focus and shoot.  She may have succeeded a couple of times but failed more often than not.  I was pretty merciless in my teasing.  It actually became pretty funny.  Be assured that the pictures on this page are the best of thirty or more that she shot.  

Home tomorrow, God willing and the creeks don't rise.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Parking in Park City, UT, June 11, 2011

Park City, UT, June 11, 2011.  Another day, another 500 miles.  We are now about 1000 miles from home.  Tonight, we are in the shadow of the site of the ski competition for the 2002 Winter Olympics.  Some of the slopes have the remains of the past winter's snow.  We can see the Olympic ski jump from where we sit in Harvey.

Today's photo spread includes Oregon, Idaho and Utah.  It was another pretty drive with mountains along the way churning rivers and pleasant pastoral settings.  There are lots of abandoned homesteads which sometimes present dichotomous images, such as a dilapidated barn next to a one-hundred thousand dollar tractor.  

Tomorrow we will pass through Wyoming and spend Sunday night somewhere in the middle of Nebraska.  Monday evening should find us at home in Kansas City.  Thanks for looking in on the Farkleys.

 

Going home, Washington and Oregon, June 10, 2011

Going Home, June 10, 2011.  The ferry Columbia landed on schedule and we disembarked shortly after 8:00 AM, PDT.  We had time for an oil change before having a pleasant breakfast with the Sturdivants, Jonathan, Anne and Adam Thurmond.  We were on the road by 10:30.

We pulled off the road after an hour or so to make a phone call and Annie spotted a young doe nibbling on tree leaves.  After being on the long and lonely roads of Alaska, there was a mild case of culture shock as we navigated busy Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 around Seattle.  As usual, the skies in the Northwest were cloudy and a mild rain fell for an hour or so.  We finally broke out of the heavy traffic as we turned south to Yakima, WA and on into Oregon.  Tonight, we rest in Le Grande, OR. Along the way, we passed by Snoqualmie Ski Resort, where Mikki and I skied twenty years ago when she accompanied me to a lawyer's meeting in Seattle. 

The area around Yakima and from there to here is strikingly expansive.  The mountains are a gentle, rolling variety, the kind you would expect to see in Wyoming.  Here, the rolling hills were framed by a crystal blue sky and puffy white clouds.  However, there is more moisture here, so the foothills are richly and verdantly colored.  Annie and I both were surprised by the beauty of this land.  

At the end of day, we tallied 450 miles, numerous photos through the windshield and a quick lunch at Subway.  Not a bad day of travel.  What a beautiful country this is! 

Goodbye, old friend, until we meet again, June 9, 2011

The Columbia approaches Bellingham, WA. June 9, 2011.  Tough day, this; slept late, had breakfast, napped, had lunch, napped, saw a whale, watched a film, napped, had dinner and got ready for bed.  I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.  I haven’t had this much sleep since I was a teenager.  

We are now on that part of the passage between British Columbia and Vancouver Island about 250 miles north of Bellingham.  This section is called Queen Charlotte Strait.  The sea is calm and there has been little rolling of the ship.  Earlier, that wasn’t the case. Passengers, like Annie, staggered down the halls like drunken miners.  

We had lunch today in the dining room.  On other occasions, we have eaten in the café.  The café food is what you would expect from a café, cooked quickly, served expeditiously and billed unconscionably.  The dining room, on the other hand was reasonably priced, served fresh and tipping is prohibited.  Would that we had discovered the dining room sooner.  

So, the Great Alaskan Adventure nears its end.  While the ship is still on Alaska time, everyone on shore is on Pacific time, an hour later.  I wonder - when the schedule here says we arrive in Bellingham at 8:00 AM, does that mean Alaskan time or Pacific time?  Maybe I should ask the purser that question.

The Alaska Highway and Alaska has been all I expected it would be.  For the most part, the drive went well, aside from the battery issue in Saskatoon.  There was some “getting used” to Harvey that had to happen.  However, by 1000 miles on the road together, we understood one another acceptably well.  

Annie has weathered the trip like the veteran she is.  She is a trooper when it comes to long road trips.  She has grown accustomed to having “linner” - a combination of lunch and dinner - about 3:00 PM when we’re on the road.  However, she can be a grumpy grinch if I keep her waiting too long for food.  I’ve learned not to do that.  It just makes life easier.

In the morning, we will point Harvey toward the rising sun and let him roll out.  My guess is that we will arrive in Kansas City ahead of schedule.  However, there are some things there that would benefit from our attention.  And, it will give me a chance to catch up on things at the office before anyone knows I am back.  

This isn’t the last post on this blog.  However, don’t expect anything as spectacular as the pictures from the forty-ninth state or the Inside Passage.  From here on in, the pictures will be of things you may have already seen.  Sorry about that.  If Kansas City were closer to Alaska, you wouldn’t have to endure that.  But, from here and for now, thank you for your faithful and loyal attention to these pages over the past month.  Only family or good friends would have tuned in as faithfully as you.  See you back home.  

Ketchikan, if you can, June 8, 2011

Ketchikan, AK, June 8, 2011.  Happy birthday, Annie.  Last night she told me the one thing she wanted for her birthday was breakfast in bed.  Food options are limited here in our room.  She said all I needed to do was give her a granola bar and peel an orange for her.  I forgot.  I have been made to pay for my transgression all day.  I took her for a long walk from the harbor to town, about five miles round-trip, I took her to lunch at a fine Italian restaurant.  I have been very sweet to her all day long.  So, I asked a while ago if I was forgiven.  “Not yet.  I want to play this out a while longer,” she replied.  Smart woman, that Annie.  This is a high price to pay for a granola bar and a peeled orange.  

Ketchikan is a tourist town.  Almost every business in the downtown area is designed to cater to tourists.  I don’t know how many cruise ships dock here, but there must be a lot.  The downtown is filled with “trading posts,” jewelry stores and other merchants who want to appeal to tourists.  

The walk from the harbor to downtown was along the busiest street in town.  Notwithstanding the carbon emissions, beautiful flowers grow along the way.  I will include pictures so you can judge for yourself.

The ferry is moving again.  Our next stop will be in the lower forty-eight, Bellingham, Washington.  From there, it is a short 2000-mile hop to Kansas City.