Day 18, Vancouver, WA to Lincoln City, OR

Rising early this morning, we had breakfast and drove to the VW dealer to be there before they opened at 7:00. We waited until they started opening and asked one of the service advisers about getting them to check the car right away. He said that they would look at as soon as the technicians arrived at 8:00. We waited until they took a look and told us that it was probably the water pump since no coolant was flowing through the reservoir. The tech said that sometimes when the plastic impellers break they shatter and a piece may have been left and damaged the new water pump. They wanted to look at the water pump and maybe replace it. We said for them to go ahead. We got a ride back to the motel and waited for their call which came at about noon. The water pump was OK but some of the hoses were plugged with corrosion/gunk so they cleaned those out. Also, the timing belt was off by one notch. We packed up, checked out, called the shuttle, and went back to the VW dealer. We got the car, loaded up, and headed for the Oregon coast. We got to the coast highway and stopped in Tillamook to sample some cheese. We then headed on down the coast highway where we got our first view of the Pacific along the Oregon coast. We stopped in Lincoln City for the night. We had a good seafood dinner and washed a load of clothes.

Day 17, Ashford, WA to Vancouver, WA

Oops, we didn't make it to Astoria, Oregon. We left Ashford and headed toward Mt. St. Helens mostly via National Forest roads. The drive was through some very beautiful country. It was also over narrow twisting roads which necessitated slow driving. It was also mostly uphill. About 5 miles before our viewing area for Mt. St. Helens, Cindy noticed a familiar noise coming from the car. We stopped and checked. The coolant was essentially boiling. We let the car cool down some, added some water and decided to try to get to the Vancouver, WA, Portland, OR area. Meghan looked up Volkswagen dealers for us and found one in Vancouver, WA. We made it to Vancouver and plan to be at the dealer first thing tomorrow morning.

Day 16, Vancouver to Ashford, WA

After docking, we quickly disembarked (carrying our own bags we were able to do express disembarkation). We quickly got through Canadian customs and retrieved the car. We loaded all our stuff into the car and departed. We dropped Bud and Ann at the ferry terminal. The return to the US was an hour and 15 minutes of waiting in the line of cars and 30 seconds to actually clear US customs. We then drove on to Seattle and picked up our bag at the airport. After a quick lunch, we drove on to Ashford. After settling in our room. We drove into Mount Rainier National Park for some great views of Mount Rainier and the surrounding area. Before settling in for the night, we washed and dried a load of clothes.

Day 15, Cruising the Inside Passage

We spent part of the day roaming around the ship taking snapshots of various locations on the ship. We spent part of the day lounging around in various places on the ship, including the Crows Nest lounge. In the early afternoon, I watched an ice carving demonstration. It was interesting to see the chef's at work doing the carving. As we entered the narrow portion of the passage, the scenery was beautiful, small islands of various sizes and shapes, lush green mountainsides, and small towns located on the islands. While observing the scenery, we saw a small boat going by with a guy standing and playing the Canadian national athem on a bugle. On completion he was greeted with applause from the ship. We watched for killer whales (orcas) just before and after dinner but none were spotted. Later (about 9:00pm) as it was beginning to get dark, Cindy looked out the verandah door of our cabin and saw a whale blow. We stepped out onto the verandah and saw it again. I grabbed the binoculars and watched for it to surface again. It did and I got a good look at its large dorsal fin and its white markings.

Day 14, Ketchikan

We arrived in Ketchikan at about 1:00pm. We walk off the ship and onto the tour boat for the Misty Fjords. The boat ride to the Misty Fjords area takes about an hour, most of which is through low clouds and rain. But when we get to the Misty Fjords, the rain stops and the clouds are high enough that the views are wonderful. This is one of the most beautiful areas we have seen yet -- and that is saying a lot. There are sheer cliffs of about 3,000 feet, beautiful inlets, cirques, and amphitheaters.Along the way we saw beautiful waterfalls and some harbor seals. On the way out, we saw some pictographs. While stopped to see the pictographs, a juvenile eagle swooped past and landed in the top of a nearby tree. The tour guide is a local and had a lot of information about the area. On our return to the dock, we walked over and called Meghan. While talking to her, two bald eagles flew overhead and landed on the top of the building across the street. One was out of sight and the other was sitting on top of the pipes coming out of the top of the building.

Day 13, Glacier Bay

We arrive at the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park early in the morning and pick up the naturalists who will keep us informed about the area. The cruise into Glacier Bay is beautiful (I know that word is overused in my descriptions, but what can I say -- it fits.). Along the way we see magnificent scenery, glacially cut valleys, a couple of glaciers in the distance, and snow capped peaks. We cruise on to the end of the bay, where the Great Pacific Glacier blocks the end of the fjord. Great Pacific glacier and Margerie glacier are at the terminus of the bay. These are known as the night and day glaciers. Great Pacific glacier actually looks like a wall of dirt and rock because it picks up dirt as it moves through its valley. Margerie glacier is white and blue since it moves through a mostly rock valley. We spend about an hour to an hour and a half viewing these glaciers. We spend most of that time viewing Margerie glacier. We see several calvings. On our return trip out of the bay, we turn into the Johns Hopkins inlet where we see the Reid glacier up close and the Johns Hopkins glacier from a distance. We continue cruising back to the park entrance where we drop off the naturalists.

Day 12, Juneau to Skagway

After an overnight trip to Skagway, we arose early for a 7:15 start on our float trip through the Chilkat Eagle Preserve. No rain this morning but it is very windy. Joining up with our tour guide, we learn that Skagway comes from a native word meaning something like 'the big wind'. We take a small boat to Haines where there is almost no wind blowing. We then take a bus to the drop off point for our float trip. The tour is a group of about 25 people. We put on our waterproof boots and life preservers and load into 5 rafts. We float down the Tsirku and Chilkat rivers during which we see many eagles. Sometimes they are sitting high in a tree, sometimes sitting on a low bush along the river, sometimes standing along the river banks or on gravel bars, and sometimes flying overhead.
It is amazing to see the eagles in their natural habitat at such close range. It is also an interesting experience floating down the river delta in the rafts. Sometimes the raft gets stuck on a gravel bar and the guid has to get out and pull the raft back into the current. After about an hour and a half, we reach our destination and eat lunch. We then bus back to Haines and take the boat back to Skagway where we do a little shopping before returning to the ship. While docked in Skagway we went to the dining room for dinner. During our meal a humpback whale came near the ship so that we could watch it from our dinner table.

Day 11, Cruising Tracy Arm to Juneau

This morning we cruised Tracy Arm which is one of the many fjords in southeastern Alaska. The cruise up the fjord was beautiful with steep rock walls and forested mountainsides lining the fjord. Along the way were many waterfalls, from small streams dropping into the fjord to larged falls tumbling down the mountainsides. At the end of the fjord were the twin Sawyer glaciers. We did not approach too closely but were able to see the glaciers.
After cruising back down the fjord, we made our way to Juneau. In Juneau we departed the ship for a trip to Mendenhall glacier in a light rain. It was very impressive, but the description of its receding (melting) was quite frightening. We then took a small boat to go whale hunting, during which the rain stopped. Soon after we started we encountered a group of about a dozen whales. We watched them moving along and feeding. We saw at least one whale breaching. Seeing these animals was thrilling. After leaving the group of whales we sailed on for a while and then encountered a mother whale and her calf. We watched them for a while during which the calf played in the kelp near shore. The mother soon joined the calf in its play. On the return trip, we saw a bunch of seals resting on a buoy. One seal in the water attempted to join the others on the buoy, but was not allowed to join them.

Day 10, Cruising the Inside Passage

Waking early, I went for a 30 minute workout. When we went up to eat breakfast, we met up with Ann. After breakfast the 3 of us went for a 1 mile walk around the ship (3 laps). Some more wandering of the ship, a little rest, and we were ready for lunch. While eating lunch Bud told us about seeing a whale. After lunch we went to a naturalist presentation on Alaska. Tonight is formal dining night (Notice how often the subject of food comes up!)

Day 9, Vancouver to Cruising

After breakfast we walked around Vancouver near the hotel in a light misty rain for a short while. Shortly, we loaded up the car for the 6 block drive to the cruise terminal. We dropped off the luggage and I drove the car down into the parking garage and left it. We made our way through security, customs, and ship check-in quite quickly (sometimes aided by Cindy's cane). Once on board we headed to the buffet for some lunch. After unpacking into our stateroom, exploring some of the ship, and going through the emergency evacuation drill, we went outside for the ship's departure. After sailing under the Lion's Gate bridge, we settled into life on board and got ready for dinner. After dinner we sat in a small lounge area and talked for a while before retiring to our stateroom to read and relax for a while.

Day 8, Seattle to Vancouver, BC

Rain is falling as we wake up in Seattle. All the locals are dismayed at the very unusual weather. After breakfast we relax for a while. We relax for while and load up the car for the rest of the trip. We take a quick trip to the local Safeway to pick up some Tylenol. We find a place for a quick lunch and head for the airport. After parking the car, we decide to pack some of our non-cruise stuff into a duffel and store it at the airport. Then we sit down to wait for Bud and Ann's plane, which arrives on time. We load their stuff into the car and set off for Vancouver. Getting out of the airport was a breeze, even with the construction which has shut down some of the roadways. However, once we got to downtown Seattle on I-5, we hit stop and go, bumper to bumper traffic from there to Bellingham with few breaks of free flowing traffic. The drive on into downtown Vancouver was easy. Even though it was about 2 hours later than expected, we were quite glad to get into our hotel. We were tired and hungry so we ate in the bar next to the hotel. The food was good, the music was loud, and the crowd was interesting. The picture was actually taken in Vancouver the next day, but is meant to represent what we saw all afternoon -- brake lights on the rear of cars.

Day 7, Moses Lake to Seattle

We left Moses Lake under blue skies with some puffy white clouds, no haze today. Along the way we crossed the Columbia River (see photo). As we approached the Cascade Mountain range, we started to see trees again. The drive over the Cascades was very beautiful. We dropped down into the Seattle and fought the traffic to our motel near the airport. After checking in and dropping our bags, we took the motel shuttle to the airport and caught the express bus to downtown Seattle. We ate lunch and walked around Pikes Place Market for a while and then looked around the immediate area for a short while. The 194 bus took us back to the airport where we called for the motel shuttle to return to our motel. That certainly beat driving to downtown Seattle, looking for a parking place, and fighting the afternoon rush hour traffic back to the airport area. It was also much cheaper.

Day 6, Missoula to Moses Lake, WA

The Passat has been repaired, broken water pump replaced. We got the Passat back and reloaded our stuff. We left Paul and the animals and headed west. It was hot by the time we left and was hot most of the drive. The drive through western Montana and to Couer d' Alene, Idaho was beautiful. Eastern Washington on the other hand....... We drove on to Moses Lake where we looked over the town and saw the actual lake. The temperature here was in the low to mid 80's when we arrived in late afternoon.

Day 5, Butte to Missoula

Rising early we set off for Missoula. The combination of cooler temperatures and lack of high passes allowed us to carefully reach Missoula. Paul helped us get the car to a repair shop which was willing to get to it today. They specialize in imports, especially Audi and Volkswagen. As soon as I described what had happened the technician asked if it was a 1.8 turbo and said that a common problem with those was the water pump. A later call from him said that the water pump was bad. We goofed off the rest of the day with Paul and the animals (see pic).

Day 4, Grand Teton to Butte, Montana

We left Grand Teton early to have some time in Yellowstone National Park. The drive to the Old Faithful area was beautiful. We arrived at Old Faithful just as the geyser was erupting so we missed most of the eruption. But we did ham it up for the webcam so the Meghan and the grandkids could see us. We wandered around the area, revisiting the inn and the Snow Lodge. After a quick lunch, we leisurely drove out of Yellowstone (The picture is from the Firehole Canyon drive). It rained on us going down the mountain and turned sunny as we reached the interstate. After about 30 or 40 miles, our Passat beeped loudly at us and displayed STOP on the console. Being partly German, of course I stopped. The console displayed 'Check coolant'. We had overheated. We called Paul for help and he called the state troopers. We also were able to call 911. Eventually a state trooper showed followed somewhat later by a tow truck. We were locked in the back of the trooper's car and taken to the repair shop. Of course by then it was almost 5pm and the shop was closing. A technician who was leaving looked at the car and said he thought it was just low on coolant. They added coolant and it appeared to fix the problem. However, as we continued on toward Missoula, the car continued to overheat. We were able to get to Butte and tried to find someone to look at the car. However, no one was available until the next morning. We got one of the few remaining motel rooms in Butte and spent the night.

Day 3, Fort Collins to Grand Teton National Park

Sunny but hazy skies greeted us in Wyoming. Once again, we enjoyed the drive across Wyoming (Cheyenne to Rawlins to Lander to Grand Teton). The change in scenery is sometimes small, dry and flat to dry and rolling hills, and sometimes dramatic, dry rolling hills to lush pine covered mountains. Lander is a nice small town (by other than Wyoming standards) which we always admire. Then the drive over the mountains and down to the park is very scenic. Marring the drive was the road work. Wyoming road work consists of: remove the old road and let traffic bounce along, sometime later (maybe next year) the new surface is put down.

Day 2, Dumas to Fort Collins

Dumas to Fort Collins, Colorado. We left the panhandle of Texas under clear blue skies with the temperature already warmed from 64 to about 70 when we drove out of Dumas. The drive out of the Texas panhandle and across northern New Mexico was nice and uneventful. Driving north through Colorado we encountered a couple of wild drivers who created quite frightening moments. We finally arrived in Fort Collins in time to see the rain falling on the mountains to the west. The weather today was quite pleasant, sunny with dry air and high temperatures around 90 with a light breeze. The picture is of the mountains as seen from near our motel

Day 1, Austin to Dumas

After going through driving rain for about 20 or 30 miles before and after Sweetwater, we made it to Dumas, Texas today. After our arrival we took a short walk around some of the residential streets of Dumas where we saw this tiny square house. We also saw the water tower boasting the Dumas Demons. Now we have seen everything there is to see in Dumas except all the fast food joints.

CRAAACK

CRAAACK
No, that wasn't thunder. It was the sound of our hearts breaking. Actually it was the sound of our magnificent old live oak tree splitting. This tree was one of the main reasons we bought our house. It has provided beauty, shade, and a playground for our kids over the past 31 years.
Fortunately, no one was injured and there was only a small amount of damage to our neighbor's fence.
Unfortunately, this has dampened our spirits as we prepare for our summer trip.

Prep for Trip

We are now in the process of preparing for our 2007 summer trip.