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posted: June 30th, 2016 |
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This page begins with May 26th, the 3rd day of our trip north. We were staying at a friend's house in Kittitas, Washington. We stayed there for two days and three nights and continued traveling again on May 28th.   Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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Note Well: The photos shown on this month's pages mark the beginning of Kazuya's and my life in the U.S.A. We flew from Tokyo to Medford, Oregon on May 18th, a friend picked us up at the airport and graciously permitted us to stay at their house as long as we needed to. A different friend took us out "car shopping" the next morning and by the end of the day we were the owner's of a 2015 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab, Automatic Transmission, 4 Wheel-Drive with less than 10,000 miles on it. On the 20th we got a canopy put on it so that we would have a place to sleep as we traveled up the Alaska Highway to our home in Fairbanks, Alaska. We managed to kill a few more days in Oregon with friends as we prepared for the trip north and then we headed north on May 24th. We finally arrived at our home in Fairbanks on June 4th.
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Begin May 26th (Day #3 Of Our Trip North) |
![]() Up at 0615 with Kazuya and go into the house practically immediately. Drink coffee and eat breakfast and then Tony took us to the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility for an hour or two – an interesting Wind and Solar Power facility. Then we continued on to Ginkgo Petrified Forest for a bit, but it was getting hungry time so we went to eat lunch first. Then we went to a Petrified Wood gift shop and admired all of the things made of Petrified Wood. Then we returned to Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park and walked around there for a couple of hours. We took a short trip to the Olmstead Homestead Historic site and looked at it and then we returned to Tony’s house and basically killed time talking together until supper. Nancy made a delicious lasagna, which we really enjoyed. After supper we talked for quite a while and now it’s 10:31 PM and to bed. All three photos in this row were taken at the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility. In the first photo that is Mt. Rainier in the background. In the third photo please notice the weird light near the center of the photo. This was very noticeable to the naked eye, but more difficult to capture via digital photos. Nothing has been done to this photo, however, to make it appear as it does here. |
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End May 26th, Begin May 27th (Day #4 Of Our Trip North) |
![]() Up at about 0600 with Kazuya at Tony’s house, kill a bit of time and then go into the house. Check e-mail and so on on my phone and then we eat breakfast and slowly get ready to go to the Yakima River Canyon Area. Tony drive us to Umtanum Creek Recreation Area and we hike up some creek there in search of a waterfall, but Tony had never been there before, so we hiked until lunch time, stopped and ate lunch and then continued on for a while longer and finally we give up due to running out of "going this direction" time and we headed back. We got back to the house at about 4:10 PM and then soon after that we left again for a restaurant where we had a birthday party for Kazuya and Ellie, but 99% Ellie and only 1% Kazuya. That was nice because Kazuya wanted to be sure that he did not steal any of the thunder from Ellie's party as her 5th birthday was more important to her than Kazuya's 37th birthday was to him! Then we returned to the house and had another birthday party for both of them. For a 5 year old Ellie received a lot of presents - times have changed since I was 5 years old!! Then we had a small party for Kazuya, a cake and some small presents, but it was also kind of surprising. Then we ate cake and ice cream, talked a bit more and then Kazuya and I both showered and did a tick check as Tony found nine of them on himself!! We found one tick on Kazuya and none on me. Tony, Kazuya and I talked in Tony’s garage office and he gave Kazuya a nice Gerber Pocketknife – same as mine! Now it’s 10:00 PM and we’re going to sleep – we’re leaving tomorrow morning early. The first photo in this row is an Icterus bullockii (Bullock's oriole) which we saw while hiking - WOW! The second photo shows Tony and me crossing a foot bridge at the start of the hike up this Umtanum Creek Recreation Area Trail. I believe that this is the Yakima River here at the start of the trail. The third shot shows a hillside and the outlined area shows the area of the next photo. |
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End May 27th, Begin May 28th (Day #5 Of Our Trip North) |
![]() Up at about 0605 with Kazuya at Tony’s place. Pack our stuff and move it all to our pickup and then go into the house and eat breakfast, do toilet stuff and then we say our goodbyes and leave Tony and Nancy’s place at 8:03 AM. Go back to I-90 and take it to US 2 and then to I-5 to Sumas, Washington. Wait in line at Canadian Customs for about an hour, finally get through without being hassled and continue on. Customs only wanted passports, truck information and asked a couple of questions. Continue on to Emory Creek, buy some hard cider and snacks and then go into Emory Creek Campground. Pick a spot, prepare our camper, cook, eat and now it’s 7:30 PM and soon to bed. We bought some Canadian money today, but for tonight I'll calculate expenses as US$1 = C$1. It rained most of the day today and we took only 26 photos all day as we worked our way up to the Fraser River Canyon in British Columbia, Canada. The first shot shows a scenic shot and you can just barely see the Fraser River below the highway. The second photo was taken in our pickup canopy as we were preparing to sleep. And that brings us to the end of "Day #5 Of Our Trip North". We traveled 320 miles (515 km) today, mostly in the rain. It was not a very fun day. |
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End May 28th, Begin May 29th (Day #6 Of Our Trip North) |
![]() Up at 0500 with Kazuya. Drink coffee, prepare breakfast, eat, do toilet stuff and then prepare to leave and leave at 7:10 AM. Pass through Cache Creek, 70 Mile House, 100 Mile House, Lake la Hache, 150 Mile House, Williams Lake, Quesnel and more. Get to Prince George at about 4:10 PM and continue north for around 10 or 12 miles and stop at a wide spot along the road at 5:00 PM. Prepare the camper, cook, eat supper, talk, do journal and now it’s 7:31 PM and soon we’ll be sleeping. In this row all three shots were taken as we drove along the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. |
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End May 29th, Begin May 30th (Day #7 Of Our Trip North) |
![]() Up at 0510 with Kazuya. Drink coffee, Kazuya prepare breakfast, we eat and then get back on the road at 6:15 AM. It was quite foggy for about 30 minutes or so and then okay. Stop at an information center and take advantage of their free Wi-Fi to check e-mail and so on. Then go to a store and get some camp stove gas, groceries and also change some money. Continue onward and keep going until 5:00 PM and then pull over at a wide spot about 40 miles south of Fort Nelson. We saw a bear today, but nothing else. Cook supper, eat, relax and now it’s 7:27 PM and we are drinking our bottle of hard cider, eating a snack and soon we’ll be sleeping. The first shot in this row shows the fog we were driving through as we started the day. The second and third shots show some river and some fields as we passed through B.C., Canada between last night's stop and tonight's stop! |
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End May 30th, End Page 2 |
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the continuation of this incredible road trip adventure. |
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