Summer Travels...Pam & Bob

OK, Sue, you’re right—we peeps will do anything for a prize! When I read about your travel story prize, I was determined to make a contribution. It’s taken me a while to turn that into reality, but here are some pictures from a May trip Bob and I took to Stone Mountain, GA (near Atlanta) an RV rally. The Atlanta Botanical Garden was fabulous!
It even had some Dale Chihuly glass sculptures
As well as glass created by an unknown sculptor.
The Coke museum wasn’t a highlight.
Neither was CNN.
The High Museum of Art was.

Pam

**********

Thanks Pam! And congrats on winning the AANR election.

And Peeps, send me your travel stories and/or pictures and you too will have a chance in the super duper Summer 2010 Travel Story Contest!

(Oh, Jon & Karen...by the way...I need a prize!)

Hurricane Alex Pic from Bob W.

Here is a rare sunset view over "Lake Sandpipers."

Even more rare because Jay got the pumps going the next day! +++++++++++++

Beautiful, Bob!

Now we have lake front property...at least until the pumps did their job.

Hey, Karen, idea!...If we had a permanent

lake in the middle of the field think of the advertising...lake front lots for sale!

Skinny Dippers Reporting In...

Where were you Skinny Dipping?

Bob and Vicki participated in the AANR World Record Skinny Dip at Empire Haven Nudist Camp in Moravia, New York.

The weather was sunny and a hot 79 degrees.

Empire Haven had 156 in the pool. The occupancy for the pool is only 83 and someone checked with the state and no one has ever gotten fined for going over the occupancy number, so we took a chance and filled the pool with people.

Skinny Dipping T-Shirts sold out in an hour and any AANR towels, t-shirts and tank tops were going fast.

+++++++++

Vicki, our skinny dip was in the shower as the outside temp was a balmy 49 degrees, with drizzle!

Sue & Jim...On the Road in Alaska

After visiting the Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines

(and chasing the moose out of our campground),

we worked our way up thru the Yukon and back into Alaska on the Alaska Highway.

Yes, the road is as bad as you've heard...in spots.
We again camped in some beautiful locations, very near rivers teeming with salmon.

Having no license to fish, or indeed, any equipment, we drowned our sorrows with Bloody Mary's... While enjoying the views of glaciers and wildflowers.We finally reached Anchorage and Jim's nephews house, where he and his almost bride Janice feasted us with cioppino and King Crab!

Here Jeff (the nephew) is cleaning a rockfish he had caught the day before for the stew.This is Joyce...Mother of groom and Jim's sister.King Crab...Holy Moose, was it delicious!

Road Stories...John & Mary/Jon & Donna

On June 26th and 27th we were visited by Jon and Donna, who are on their way east after touring the West Coast and visiting George and Pauline.

They arrived on Saturday morning. We took them to the Carbon County Museum where we were all entertained by the saga of “Big Nose” George. “Big Nose” was an infamous outlaw who was lynched by a mob in Rawlins, WY. He was a very inept train robber. He was convicted of killing two railroad detectives and sentenced to hang. He escaped but with his usual ineptness was captured within days. The local townsfolk did not trust the authorities to carry out the sentence so they took the matter in to their own hands. But it took three tries to hang poor “Big Nose”. The Rawlins took possession of his corpse. His skull, less the cap which the coroner removed, is on display in this museum along with a pair of shoes the coroner had made from “Big Nose” George’s skin.

On Sunday we all went to Encampment, WY which was founded in the late 1800’s when a large lode of copper was discovered. The mining operation lasted only 10 years. Today Encampment, with a population of about 240 souls, has a museum that recounts those days.
The two story outhouse was constructed because in the wintertime the lower level was covered with snow.

Regards

John & Mary

Hurricane Alex Report

While we were shooing moose out of our campsite in Haines, Alaska, the folks at Sandpipers were getting battered by rain from Hurricane Alex.

I was glad to receive pictures of the flooding...the first four are from Bill & Annie. Here is a report and more pictures from Lanny & Donna.

Well YEE HAW!

We were blessed.

Happy to say the storm was as advertised: Came ashore about 125 miles south of us in Mexico as a (barely) cat 2, so we had outer rain bands with intermittent breaks & nominal winds.

As a former motorcyclist & water skier I would estimate max gusts at 60 or so.

Rain totals here in the park yesterday & last night was 7 ½ inches.

Official wind speed for McAllen was 50 sustained.

Glad to say no property damage to report;

all fencing, skirting, awnings, shingles & trees are accounted for.

The field of course, is once again LAKE SANDPIPERS,

approx ¾ to 7/8 of it with some degree of standing water.

The County is not releasing water from Edinburg Lake, so Jay & Karen are smiling.

The standing water is going down noticeably from this morning already.

Hugs, Lanny & Donna

Eagles and Road Kill

We learned some interesting facts from our guide at Glacier Gardens in Juneau about Eagles. Their talons never stop growing, so at about age 25 the talons have completed the circle on their feet and the birds must pull out their talons to survive.

That then turns them into scavenger eagles, more or less successfully.

If they can get enough road kill or even prey on the young of other eagles, they may survive to 35 or even 40 years...but it's unlikely.

Funny story: When we were in Sitka my sisters were at our RV for dinner.

A heron flew by and they were all, " Oh, look, look ...a heron, how marvelous!"

I, of course, ho-hummed and said "Show me an eagle, then I'll get excited."

They rolled their eyes!

But truly, there are so many eagles here they are called the rats of Alaska.

One other interesting fact on road kill. In Sitka we visited a bear habitat. The guide told us police or fish & game wardens routinely bring road killed deer to the bears. They last about 5 minutes. The city also brings prototype garbage cans for the bears to "test".

The last bear proof improvement was a success....for a minute.