Back Home Again!

And today we drove 155 miles and arrived at our favorite place of all, the place we call home!

 And here is why we sped home:

Music is a huge part of our lives.  We have enjoyed thinking of different tunes to the various scenes that we have seen before us.  One tune, however, rises above all others.  With each new bend of the road, with each new individual met and heart touched, with each new scene played out before us, through the forests, the rivers, the lakes, the streams, the oceans, the mountains and most of all the people, the hymn, “How Great Thou Art” rings in our ears.

 

O, Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the world thy hands have made. 

I see the stars.  I hear the rolling thunder. 

Thy power throughout the universe displayed. 

Every pebble, every speck of dust, every mountain grandeur and glaciers upon which we walked are gifts of our Almighty God.  Every conversation with every human being with whom we have conversed while on this trip, were gifts from our Almighty God.  Every individual from every different country who looked in upon our adventure were gifts from our Almighty God.

We have planned for quite a while to do this trip. We met others along the trip that were doing far more miles than us. But I assure you, no one has done a trip exactly the way in which we did it.

I remember well an event that changed my life forever.  I was in 8^th grade in an English class taught by Miss Nowak, and I believe that her first name was Emma.  I was a typical 8^th grade male, misbehaving, sitting at the back of the class.  One day she pulled me out into the hallway and wanted to let me know that every class has a leader and as goes the leader so goes the class.  She told me that I was her leader and as I misbehave, so does the class.  When I got back into the classroom, all my other misbehaved buddies asked me what she wanted.  And I made fun of the teacher and told them, “She told me that I was her leeeeeder” and we all enjoyed a good laugh.  A couple of weeks later, I missed a day due to illness.  I returned the following day to learn that the class had been given an assignment and they were a day ahead of me.  The assignment was to select a poem, memorize the poem to share with the class and write a brief paper about the poem.  Being that everyone else had a day’s head start on me, I grabbed a book of poetry and found the shortest one that I could find indicative of my laziness and lackadaisical spirit.  The poem had 4 stanzas.  I memorized it line and verse and never knew until later how that poem and Miss Nowak changed my life forever.  I have tried looking up and contacting my former school to find where Miss Nowak might be.  I believe that she left teaching after her first year feeling that she was a failure.  She has no idea to this day how she changed my life for the good.  And that poem, I still remember it to this day.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorrow I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh I kept the first for another day

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere, ages and ages hence

Two roads diverged in a wood

And I, I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.  Thank you, Miss Emma Nowak, for changing my life.  And thank you, Robert Frost, for a very short poem to memorize.  I stand proud of the accomplishments in my life.  We stand proud of our accomplishments on this trip. 

Miss Emma Nowak,

I heard that you may be moved to Hawaii.  I just want you to know what a difference you made in my life.  I indeed was blessed to become a leader.  And I know that people are still following.  Two roads diverged in a wood.  And I, I took the one less traveled by.  And that has made all the difference.

Everyone can take a different path and find a road upon which you have not yet trod. Everyone can affect the outcome of a day; a kind word, a gentle touch. You, too, can be an agent of change; reach out and touch somebody’s hand, say hello to a stranger, compliment an adversary, share the good news with someone who is aching to hear it. We are blessed to get to do what we have done. You, too, are blessed and can impact a stranger wherever you go.

This trip of a lifetime took 69 calendar days but its impact upon our lives will last the rest of our lives. Countless people have impacted our lives on this trip that we will never forget. Our trip consisted of our home State and 14 additional States, 3 Provinces and Yukon Territory. We will play out the beautiful and unique scenery from each location in our minds and cling to those special memories forever.

Our Road not taken consisted of:

Bike mileage:                          12,592

Truck/towing mileage:                 732              

Air mileage:                               2,124

Rental car:                                    129

Total Miles Traveled:              15,577

If you'd like to contact us for any reason, please do so by sending an email to route66toalaska@gmail.com.

Thank you for following.  It has been an honor to share our experiences with you all over the world. 

Till Next Time!

Almost Home!

Today's travel was not particularly conducive to photos. With road construction in multiple areas and some rain, we just didn't have a chance to take pictures of value.

We realized yesterday that our exploration was about over for this trip. Yesterday, we left Medicine Hat,AB and drove 680 miles to North Dakota and I-94. This morning in Jamestown, North Dakota, we arose to a sight that we have not seen in a month.  We actually saw a sunrise. We got on the road before 7 and drove back to our home State of Michigan after 825 miles. Over 1500 miles in 2 days.We are still 150 miles from home. We whisked through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and arrived in Michigan at 9:00 this evening.

We knew previously that we wanted to see and experience what for us are the 3 most iconic roads; Route 66, Pacific Coast Highway and the Alaska Highway. We additionally got to enjoy The Trans-Canada Highway. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting multiple new States and Canadian Provinces and the Yukon Territory.

So the past 2 days, we have been speeding for home in order to visit with our daughter from out of State and our other daughter and her entire family, (3 Grandchildren), who lives just down the road from us.

We embarked on an adventure and what an adventure that was!

Till Tomorrow!

Back in the US

And a very Happy 4th of July to you! To celebrate the fourth, we drove back into the US today in North Dakota. Yes, we are Back in the US, Back in the US, Back in the US....(Song 1).

We said our goodbyes to Greg and Sharon. If you are ever in Medicine Hat, look them up! Their hospitality suite is awesome! Ask for the Ron and Rita discount plan. We left bright and early this morning, on the road by 6:15; time to put the hammer down.

We arrived in Saskatchewan after about an hour drive.  Terrific scenery again, looking very similar to the last two days drive. Beautiful again!

We knew the farms were vast. We knew, especially because of their enormous grain elevators.

And their tractor dealerships. We passed through Swift Current which had every tractor dealership available. Yes, they do grow giant farms here!

And guess what we ran into once more. No it’s not snow, it’s salt. There was a massive salt mine in Chapman.

We saw enormous fields of rapeseed again and I mean miles on end.

And then we saw this field with purple flowers. We knew not to walk through it or we might fall asleep. Evidently, it is phacilia. Farmers are not allowed to leave their fields bare so they plant this. These die with the first frost and are plowed under in the spring which fertilizes the field.

I like the name of this town!

And while still driving through Saskatchewan we saw this locomotive on the rails, If you look closely, it says, "Building America". next to the US flag. 

Weyburn, Saskatchewan declares itself to be the largest grain gathering inland port in Canada. I would agree.

And to the trucker with 2 trailers attached to his rig; when the gates are down and the red lights are flashing at a railroad track, it really is best to stop and wait for the train to pass. You should have to pay for everyone's lost time!

And we made it safely back in the US.

And thank you North Dakota for the greeting.

I liked seeing all of the graduating class years on the hills in this town, whose name I do not recall.

God bless America!  (Song 2).Yes, it is nice to be back on home turf. America the Beautiful! (Song 3).

And you may recall, we started the first day of the trip in Chicago and saw the Blues Brothers on a roof. The concert venue has changed and they are now here at Two Rivers Inn in North Dakota. If there was not a line drawn for an international border, we would have never known that we were back in the US. North Dakota looks just like Canada that we left behind. Fields of rapeseed and uncountable oil derricks. There were so many great people that we met along the way. Most came to talk to us and comment on the bike. Thank you to all of you!

And a final word to the incredibly talented kamikaze bee who made his way past my windshield and my face shield and managed to land on my upper lip and commit suicide by stinging me: what did I ever do to you? 

Till Tomorrow!

Medicine Hat

We drove an easy 250+ mile day, that pales in comparison to that which we have been driving. We arrived at our Mexican, Canadian friends house, Greg and Sharon. We have known them for 3 years since we have been traveling to Puerto Vallarta for the winter. Along with Greg and Sharon, we met up with Richard and Kathy. We had a marvelous time! Now it's time for you to make your way over to our homestead!

Today we arrived in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The name medicine hat is from the Blackfoot Indian word for the eagle tail headdress worn by the medicine man, or medicine hat. It is a question that is most often asked by visitors in this fine Alberta City: How did it get its name? Now you know!

We had an easy uneventful driving day. The first two photos are indicative of the entire day's drive. As they say here, our dog ran away 3 days ago and we still see him running. We made it back to the Trans-Canada Highway.

And, please Canada, what does this sign mean? What is important about some intersections while others are relegated to a lesser value? I need an answer.

Medicine Hat boasts the world's largest Tee Pee. It is left over from the Calgary  Winter Olympics from 1988. It was moved to Medicine Hat in 1991. It stands 215' tall and 160' in diameter. This is visible from much of Medicine Hat.

More friends from Mexico that live about an hour and a half away came over to Greg and Sharon's to see us. We really appreciate Richard and Kathy Klein driving all the way over to see us!

Our overnight hosts are Greg and Sharon Jans. Thank you for allowing us to crash at your place, the wonderful meals and tour of Medicine Hat!

Medicine Hat is effectively built in a bowl. We were very impressed with the City which has a population of some 60,000 people.

Our friends from this fine location in Alberta have helped to instruct us to Canadian vocabulary. Touque, (hat), Coulee (a valley), and loonie, (a dollar coin), along with eh? and  double double, (the double cream with double sugar at Canadian grown Tim Horton's), along with sitting on the chesterfield (couch), among others you may have heard. We appreciate the fine education, O Canada!

I have reviewed the audience for this blog and continue to be amazed at its audience. To date we have had people from:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Ireland
Germany
Mexico
Russia
France
Isle of Man
Brazil
Russia
Sweden
New Zealand
Saudi Arabia
Estonia
India

I appreciate all of you looking in on our adventures.

Till Tomorrow!

Rolling Prairies

Today we enjoyed a beautiful drive in the country. Who doesn't enjoy a peaceful drive on a sunny Sunday. The part of Alberta we are driving through is full of beautiful rolling prairies and farmland. We left Grande Prairie at 7:15 and headed for Red Deer some 360 miles away, a nice 6 hour drive.

Shortly after starting out for the day, we were admiring the miles long view when we noticed something that didn't fit into the beautiful, gentle, green landscape. Gracefully floating low across in the western sky was a hot air balloon. Up, up and away...(Song 1).

The rolling hills made for a very soothing ride which proved to be extremely beneficial given the rough roads. The first 150 miles got me all shook up...(Song 2).

I can see for miles and miles...(Song 3).

This area of Alberta is known for forestry, farming and oil and gas production. We saw countless large farms with most having an oil derrick on the farm and in some cases, multiple derricks. Did you know that derrick is named after Thomas Derrick. Derrick was an executioner in the 1600s. He hanged over 3000 individuals and designed a new, easier to use gallows that used a topping lift and pulleys. His new contraption soon became synonymous with his name derrick.

Did you know that most oil and gas production companies prefer white as the color of their company vehicles? White allows there emblem to stand out in spite of the thick mud that accumulates on them. This is by no means a scientific thesis, but I suggest that there may be more white pick up trucks here per square mile than anywhere in the world. That is strictly based upon that which we saw today.



We also enjoyed seeing these massive farms with miles upon miles of rapeseed growing. I didn't name it, I'm just reporting upon that which we saw. Rapeseed is used in the production of Canola oil.The word Canola is derived from Canada and ola (oil). Canada leads the world in the production of rapeseed and thus is helping the world to live healthier. We cook at home with canola oil due to its health benefits.

I trust you enjoyed your education today. You're welcome.

Till Tomorrow!

Alaska Highway Done!

This was the final historic, iconic road of our 3 roadway trip. Route 66, Pacific Coast Highway and the Alaska Highway. I have known of these roads and planned of the day when I would experience them for myself. I say experience because these are roads that cannot be insulted with the word, "drive". You don't drive these roads, you experience these roads. And what an incredible experience!

Today we said goodbye to the Alaska Highway, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, wildlife (not one sighting all day today) and the mountains. A parting shot of BC mountains. They are very distant, many miles away. Trees, trees and more trees. It is said that a worker on the Alaska Highway in 1942 wrote home and said, "There is nothing to see for miles and miles but miles and miles." I agree.



We revisited the Kiskatinaw Bridge today. We passed it first on a rainy day; today was much nicer. Partly sunny and 77.

From this view a mile away you can't detect that this is a curved bridge.

But seeing how the planks are curved helps out.

I find it amazing that it is still in service after 75 years.

Good bye Dawson Creek, Mile 0 of this great highway!

A panoramic view of Dawson Creek in the distance.

And today we said hello to Alberta where you can see for miles in all directions. It's not that Alberta doesn't have mountains; we will be passing near Banff. There just aren't any mountains near Grande Prairie where we are spending the night on Highway 43, 360 miles further down the road than we were last night. It is obvious that this area is great for farming. And I'm hoping we meet Rose whoever she is.

  

And I would like to wish all of my Canadian friends a Happy Canada Day! 150 years old! 

I salute Canada for all her hard work to support the United States. Did you know that the U.S. imports 43% of our Crude oil from Canada? It was evident today in seeing the amount of oil and natural gas production facilities. Thank you Canada for 150 years of friendship!

Till Tomorrow!