Traveler on the water again!

July 1, 2014

“TRAVELER” on the water again !!

At Bellingham launching

After an extended stay at home because of health problems and family events, we are once again on the water. We left Bellingham, Washington July 1^st and anchored in Blind Bay on Shaw Island. Our Bellingham Bay crossing was wonderful! At 84 degrees, beautiful skies, and no winds. Very unique day for crossing, as some of you know!

San Juan Islands map

Shaw Island has about one hundred permanent residents, one of the smallest Islands served by the Washington State Ferries. Here you can hike or ride bikes through the rolling hills, heavy timbers, and small fields. You can enjoy rural Island life stopping by roadside vegetables stands with the honor system of paying. Love it!!!

Blind Bay sunset

Boating is not without problems though. Luckily not big problems. I had called for a two nights stay in Friday Harbor Marina on the San Juan Island and was told no problem. When we arrived this morning we only had one night reserved. Then it was three hours before we finally got into a slip. Oh well, that gave us time to fix a slow leak in our dingy. Together we found the leak and patched it. Before that Russ fixed a small problem with the toilet in the bathroom. Of course only one of us can fit in the small bathroom/shower. HA Russ can fix anything!! He is the best!!

Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island is the most populated and busiest island in the group. Though you would never know. It is very laid back and covered with farm land and forested mountains. It is home port for the local fishing fleet and the crossroads of International boating traffic with a US Customs office and the Washington State Ferries. Air planes fly in and out daily. There is a wonderful Historical and Whale museum. The Island is one of the biggest whale watching areas in the islands and of course wildlife is abundant.

There is also the San Juan National Historical Park with a British Camp and an American Camp. There is a lot of history on such a small island. Several of the islands we are visiting can be reached by a ferry. They also go on to Vancouver Island, Sidney Canada.

It is really windy here with up to 25 MPH winds, so happy we are in a marina. Tomorrow we are cruising to Orcas Island and anchoring in Deer Harbor if possible, 4^th of July weekend. Our daughter Cathy and her boyfriend, Josh are there for a few days visiting friends. That should be fun!!

In front of Bryce & Jen's house

Selfie, Russ, Josh, Cathy, & Toni

July 3, 2014

YEA, Beautiful day and great cruising to Orcas Island. The Washington State Ferry also goes to Orcas. Saw some Porpoise on the way and met up with our daughter at the dock. Spent a few hours visiting them and some friends who live right on the edge of Orcas with a beautiful view of San Juan Island and the strait. Fireworks at Deer Harbor are displayed on the 3rd of July, they were almost 17 minutes long and wonderful. The next morning we visited with our friends, Tom and Susan Elliot on their 27ft. C-Dory. So good to see them again. When we left Orcas, we cruised by our daughter's friend's house and they took a great picture of our boat. Thank you Cathy!!

Shallow Bay, Sucia

We are now in Shallow Bay on Sucia Island. No Ferry here! You can get here only by boat or plane. This Island is unique with plenty of anchoring, eagles, fishing, crabbing, and hiking. There are unique rock formations caused by the winds and waves eroding the sandstone. We have gone rock, shell, and sea glass hunting. One of my favorite places. A little rain. Loving It !!!!!

Sucia

Sucia

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Russ and Toni on Traveler

Wintering in Arizona

January 12, 2014

Hello to all our family and friends, Toni here.

We would like to update you on our adventure here in Arizona. We just love our little home in Gold Canyon Golf and RV Resort. We can see the Superstition Mountains from our front porch and watch the sunset from the swimming pool. Everyone here is so friendly and active. You can never be bored because there are so many activities to do.

Our Park model

Day Trip

We have gone to dinner dances, potlucks, live music by the pool while watching the sunsets, Halloween party, wine tastings, lots of dances, Season Kickoff party, and coming up is the Newbies party and Flintstones meet the Jetsons costume party. We are going as the Flintstones!! (pictures to follow). There are trips on tour buses you can take to Las Vegas, Mexico, San Diego, Phoenix to attend symphonies, football\baseball games, etc. and they leave right here from the park. And then there are so many places close by us, yet to be seen.

We could not possibly do everything in 6 months. But we are trying!! Russ has been going to the wood shop and turning bowls on the lathes, he learns new things from other wood working enthusiasts. Hiking is close by and we ride our bikes almost every day. I have done sewing and a stained glass class for Christmas gifts. I just finished making an Antler Basket. (I am going to ask all you hunters out there for antlers. I will make you a basket if you give me some antlers!!) I will be taking a class in horsehair pottery. We both took a silversmith class and I want to learn how to wire wrap my sea glass to make jewelry.

Russ /Bowls

antler basket

stain glass

Russ exercises three mornings a week in the gym. I have been going to Yoga, total body fitness, Pilates classes and swim when it is warmer than 70 degrees. There is a library, computer room, pool tables, beautiful ballroom, and great Hot Dog/ Taco Salad lunches every tuesday. They have started the spaghetti dinners and pancake breakfast as fundraisers for the shuffle board and mens baseball teams. There is so much more and we are looking forward to doing it all some day.

We flew home for Christmas and enjoyed seeing all of our family. Our newest grandchild is Ryan (Elizabeth and Adam) and he sure grew while we've been gone. Hoping some day to have everyone down here to visit, one family at a time of course! We had a Casita built for guests and Russ built a murphy bed and dressers for the inside. There is also a bathroom and washer and dryer. “Room for a few at a time.”

Jacob, Natalie, and Austin (Carrie's)

Addie and Ryan (Elizabeth's)

Lucas (Cheryl's)

Gavin (Ashley's)

We have really enjoyed our “snowbird getaway”. We will be heading home the end of March or first week in April. It might depend on how cold it is in Washington! HA

Our love to all. And we really do wish you were with us.

Our address here is: Gold Canyon RV and Golf Resort

7151 East US Hwy. 60

Site 481

Gold Canyon, Arizona 85118

Russ Cell phone #360-957-2430

Toni's Cell Phone# 360-214-1201 YES, I finally got a cell phone!!  

Alaska update 7/23/2013

Alaska update 7/23/2013

Russ here,

After seeing Faye off for home Toni and I took on provisions and fuel for our circumnavigation of Revillagigedo Island via the Behm Canal. The locals call the island Revilla, for obvious reasons, try to pronounce it!!?

We left Ketchikan cruising south to make a counter clockwise route around the island. After making the turn at the southern tip of Revilla Island we anchored in Alava Bay just a few miles northeast, on the west side of Behm Canal. We were the only boat anchored here and it was early so we dropped the dinghy, put on the little 3.5 hp Mercury, grabbed our light spin poles, and trolled around the bay. We caught four Pink Salmon and some bottom fish, it was great fun with the light tackle and we released all but one salmon that we used for crab bait. We haven't fished too much since my friend Danny left but when we do it doesn't take long to catch a meal. Toni likes to catch and release while we are at anchor, just fishing off the swim step most times. That evening a few whales entertained us as they swam around the bay, a nice end to a perfect day, the weather has been beautiful.

Pink Salmon (crab bait)

The next morning we woke up to bright red sun in a clear sky rising over the trees. We had coffee and a some breakfast, pulled the anchor, and headed north. We are entering Misty Fiords National Monument which encompasses 2.2 million acres designated as wilderness. The travel books say that if you can only go to one place in SE Alaska it should be here. We took a side trip into Smeaton Bay and enjoyed the dramatic scenery of the steep granite cliffs that were shrouded in fog and mist. Back in Behm Canal we cruised slowly (6-7 mph) to Shoalwater Pass on the east side. There is always something to look at as we go, we saw three killer whales, countless Bald eagles, and of course fishing boats and pleasure craft as they pass, we stopped once to watch a purse seiner haul in their catch of salmon. We both keep a pair of binoculars and camera close by.

Forest Service cabin

Shoalwater Pass has a forest service cabin and anchor buoy in a quiet protected little bay. The forest service cabins are available for rent for about $35 a night and usually have a wood or oil stove for heat and a bunks for 4 -8 people. They are unlocked and when not in use Toni and I usually go in to look and read the comments in the guest log, the cabins have all been neat and clean. We like to get off the boat when we can to stretch our legs and get some exercise so today we hiked to the other side of the island, less than ½ mile away but with no trail it was a challenge at times. When we got to the other side an eagle was having a fit because we had passed under it's nest and her baby was there. We took a break and got a few photos before crossing back to the other side. We see signs of bear everywhere we hike so we make an effort to make noise to ward them off, so far it's worked well. We visited with a fellow boater and shared cruising information in the evening before continuing our cribbage tournament, somehow she has taken a huge lead on me, I don't like it.

Hiking

Eagle baby

The next morning we cruised a short distance to New Eddystone Rock, its a volcanic plug that rises 230' high in the middle of the canal with deep water surrounding it. We moved on north to Rudyerd Bay on the east side of the canal and anchored in Punchbowl Cove. The bottom was sloped away steep from the shore so we dropped anchor and tied a stern tie to the shore to keep us from swinging. There is a 3,000 foot granite face on the east side of Punchbowl Cove that is probably the most photographed image in the National Monument. We hiked the steep mud and boardwalk trail that leads to beautiful Punchbowl Lake, about a half mile up there is an overlook and Punchbowl Creek waterfall with great views. We finally made it to the forest service cabin at the lake and ate the lunch we brought with us. There is a canoe and paddles at the cabin available to anyone that wants to continue the physical punishment of arriving to this point, yes, we are those people. We paddled out to a large island that has additional smaller lakes on it, hiked up to a high point to see an awesome view, and then continued around the shore back to the cabin. If you have never paddled a canoe for five miles with your spouse after an arduous hike before, please take my advice and stop at the end of the hike. It is obvious Toni and I need our own canoes. She wants to go one way and I another. On the way back we met some nice, smarter than us people, that had turned around half way up and we had a nice visit.

Eddystone Rock

Punchbowl Lake

The next morning, after we worked out our leg cramps from the previous day's hike, we continued on into Rudyerd Bay and anchored in the southern arm. It is also full of dramatic scenery and we took a dinghy tour of the bay in the afternoon with a few stops to walk an occasional small beach. Float planes were coming and going with passengers that would either get on or off an excursion boat that was touring the fiords.

The next morning we slowly cruised into the north arm of Rudyerd bay and were rewarded with the sighting of a mother Grizzly bear with three cubs, all three standing up to watch us, so cute. We motored out of Rudyerd and continued north in Behm Canal to Walker Cove. We anchored next to a river outlet at high tide so we quickly took the dinghy down and motored as far up the river as we could, about ½ mile. We saw lots spawning salmon and bear sign so we decided not to do much hiking, Toni has bear spray but I have no intention of being close enough to use it. We motored to the end of the bay and saw another mother Grizzly and two cubs, then after returning to the boat we saw another Grizzly with her cub at the mouth of the river we were in.

Bear poop on the trail

The next morning the same Grizzly and cub were on the beach digging clams, we watched them for close to an hour before pulling anchor. Then we motored to the back of the bay again and saw two more sets of Grizzlies with their cubs, the most we have seen on this trip. We cruised north out of Misty Fiords National Monument and north up to Fitsgibbon Cove where we anchored with three other boats. Toni had caught some flounder and we put those in the crab pot to sit over night. We took the dinghy to shore and walked the beach a bit before returning to continue our cribbage tournament. I am starting to shorten her lead in cribbage and she's not as cocky as she has been.

Bears digging clams

We have been gone for a week and we have seen lots of cool stuff but we are low on fresh water and some provisions, we have had no phone service or internet either so we decided to motor the last 48 miles back to Ketchikan and civilization. We will post this update when we get there.

Our plan now is to do our laundry, fuel, provision, and wait for good weather to travel south through Dixon Entrance and back to Prince Rupert , Canada to start our land trip to our home. Our boat has served us well, taken us to some truly magical places, and is in need of some tender loving care before being put away to wait for our next outing. We hope to have one more update at the conclusion of our travel. Until then, soft winds and following seas.

Russ (&Toni)

Alaska 7-15-2013

Toni here,

My Mother,  Faye

                                         

Hello to all of our family and friends! My Mother, Faye, flew into Petersburg on the 8^th to join us for a week of cruising. We were so excited to share this with her. The first day we showed mom the town, explained about the different types of fishing they do in Alaska, and the fish canneries. Petersburg is known for its Norwegian heritage. Many residents can trace their heritage back to Norwegian ancestors who came in the 1900's to fish or work in canneries.

The next morning we took her out to La Conte Glacier to see icebergs What luck, she saw her first Killer Whales with a baby. She enjoyed seeing the icebergs and we were able to put more glacier ice in our cooler for cold drinks. We had her stay the first two nights in a motel in Petersburg.

We cruised down the Wrangell Narrows and then east in Sumner Strait to Wrangell, an historical Indian village and a town of totem poles. Tote means to carry, while totem means to carry on. Totem poles represent the creed and history of different tribes. Only five tribes carved totems. These embrace forms of myths, charms, evil spirits, legends, and witchcraft. These people believe in transmigration of souls, and that human intelligence exists in animals (bears), birds(eagles and ravens), fish (salmon), and frogs. Totems are read from the top down.

Chief Shakes Tribal House

We decided to cruise on to Anita Bay and anchor, Moms first night on the boat. Her and I shared the v-berth and Russ put an air mattress on the back deck with his sleeping bag. We all slept comfortably. In the bay we saw a black bear and eight Sitka deer. Then we wondered, “Do bears eat deer?”

Russ' Bed in cockpit

The next day was windy on our way to our next anchorage, Meyers Chuck. I got a little woozy but mom did great! I laid in the v-berth while mom kept Russ company and helped watch for possible obstructions. Meyers Chuck is a small settlement with a state float you can tie to. A small trail leads past a phone booth (local calls only and that is if there is a phone attached!) and on to a gallery (which will open if you call) then a great trail which leads past some cabins on through the beautiful woods to a nice beach facing the channel. It was a nice hike and we enjoyed it so much. After you are on the boat for a day or two you need some exercise. There was a sign on a bulletin board that said, 'Call me for fresh homemade cinnamon rolls, $3.00 each with or without walnuts, I will deliver to your boat early the next morning.' We started our cell phones up and mom had one bar, so we called and left a message for six rolls, not knowing if we would get them or not. 7:00 am the next morning the nicest lady was at our boat with our sweet hot rolls. Thank you mom for having the right amount of change and buying us breakfast. What a treat! On our way to Ketchikan we were lucky enough to see a group of Dall Porpoise chasing fish.

We got to Ketchikan and took mom to her motel room. We felt two nights would be plenty for mom to experience how we live when we are traveling on our boat. We almost stayed with her! Big bed and a long hot shower! Oh well. We love our shower and have learned how to take a two gallon bath.

Ketchikan began with a Tlingit fishing village at the mouth of the Ketchikan river then spread out in both directions like the wings of an eagle. We rented a car and drove to the Totem Bight State park and saw totems and a clan house. Then on to Totem Heritage Center and saw ancient totem poles which were retrieved from abandoned villages. We toured Ketchikan along with 8,000 other tourists from cruise ships. There are 3 to 4 cruise ships a day, every day, for 4 months. Tourism is the main industry here.

Mom stayed four days then flew out of Ketchikan back to her home in Longview. If we could have kept her for the rest of the cruise, it would have been wonderful. Mom is so appreciative of everything and a joy to be with. We love you mom!

Ketchikan Marina

The pictures say it all. Enjoy!!

Russ and Toni on Traveler