2013 - Alaska or bust!

Hi Jenn. I wanted to introduce myself. I am in the process of looking to buy a raindrop. I was given your name by Cary at CampInn. He said you would be a good source for me as I will be a solo camper and new to the "pulling a camper" world. I own an outback and would like to hit the road and experience the life a a nomad. Would you be willing to converse with me and share some of your experiences and knowledge. Hope so.
Lolo
 
Well we made a run for it and beat feet for Illinois. We stayed at a very nice Corp of Engineer Park on Carlyle Lake. We got our tents all dried out and we decided to put the NB away before another rain. It was a good decision because the rains came in again and saturated everything.

We stayed there a couple of days and got all our towels and tents dried out. We then went to Starved Rock campground for a night and did some hiking. It was a very pretty park and then onto the mothership where we will be for a day or so.

It was good seeing Cary, Craig and Marty again. They are so great!! Set us up in the parking lot and gave us a key to the bathrooms. It is raining again here. We did see sunshine for a couple of days so that was nice.

Our next hard stop is in Rochester, Minn next Tuesday. Carol has an eye injection scheduled at Mayo Clinic on the 11th and then we are off for Alaska. We catch the ferry on June 21st in Prince Rupert. Pictures from the Mother Ship when we get the chance.
Mike
 
Mike and Carol,

I can offer you free driveway camping in Rochester if you are interested.

Jean
 
Jean,

Thanks for the offer. We are booked at Autumn Woods and will take the shuttle in for the appointment. I have a 7:15 am appointment so will be on a tight schedule. I couldn't get an injection any earlier so we will have to beat feet to get to the ferry after the fact.

Carol
 
Autumn Woods is south of Rochester, on Hwy 63. (Expect lots of road noise). As for taking the shuttle, that is an option, but there is plenty of parking ramp parking downtown. Skip the shuttle, drive and park in the ramps. In my opinion, not worth the expense.

What day do you arrive in Rochester?

Jean
 
Well last week we were at the Mothership and the Dells. We had a good time in spite of the weather. We arrived at Camp Inn on Tuesday and Tuesday evening we hit three of the spots Cary had recommended. We went to Alecs for a drink and wings, on to Roadside for a drink and then to Swigeys for Burgers.

Wednesday we hung out at Camp Inn and then off to the Dells for a couple of days. We took the boat trip on the Upper Dells and then took the Duck boat on the Lower Dells. We had a nice time.

Friday we stopped back by Camp Inn and spent the night before taking off for Rochester. We were headed for Whitewater State Park but the rains started again so we decided to go on to the park in Rochester so we could set up our tents and leave them up for a few days. It also gave us the opportunity to go to the Malls and get some walking in with the rain.

Tonight we are meeting Jean W for dinner. We are here until at least Wednesday. I am hoping that I will only need one injection this month so we can go on. My doctor will inject both eyes at the same time but most doctors won't do that. We'll just have to see.

Carol
 
Terry and I were camping at Whitewater this past weekend (Thursday - Sun)! Wish I would have known then that you were in the area, as we would have loved to see you both for a visit. The campground was a busy place, but we were the only teardrop there. Praying for some of our Minnesota sunshine to make an appearance!
 
Oh, I wish we had known. It would have been great to see you both. We actually drove over there but decided that we had been moving so much that we wanted a few days in one spot so we could put our tents up and relax.

Carol and Mike
 
Well we have been trucking. We left Rochester on Wednesday morning and headed to Mall of America. We spent three hours there walking the Mall and then onto Fargo for the night. We went down and walked around the town and saw the cute old movie theater.

From Fargo we went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We saw so much wildlife it was amazing. We ended up in the middle of a herd of buffalo. I thought I was so lucky when I saw one off in the field but it just kept getting better. We had dinner at the Pitchfork Fondue Restaurant overlooking the Badlands. It was awesome.

Yesterday we drove through Montana and stopped at Cut Back at a nice campground called Riverview and today we spent the day in Glacier National Park and then on so Mike could go to Head Smash In Buffalo Jump.

Tomorrow we are heading to Lake Louise. We have to catch the Ferry next Friday so have not been able to sit back and smell the roses. We have seen so many spectacular things so far.

Carol and Mike
 
I love reading your posts about the trip west! I am hoping that when you return home to The Villages Alan and I can take you to lunch at Sumter Landing and hear more!!
Keep on "Drop"ing!
Susan
 
Ah, Cut Bank - I love that little spot. Passed that way ourselves on the way into Glacier in '94 camping with our kids. Sounds like you are moving right along. Have a safe trip, and put up some pics when you can.
 
Oh, Lake Louise - one of my favorite places. Weather Channel report looks promising. Hope you have a wonderful stop.
 
Well yesterday we started off in Banff and then drove to Lake Louise. We walked to the end of the lake and then turned in. The scenery has been absolutely breath taking. I don't know what was my favorite because there were so many beautiful spots. Today we drove on the Icefield Parkway which was beautiful. We stopped at the Columbia Icefield and went up and walked on the Athabaskan glacier part of the Coumbia Icefield. We have had beautiful weather the last couple of days but as we stepped out on the glacier it down poured. However, before we left the sun came back out and we were able to get some great pictures. What a great experience.

We now are in Jasper and will take the gondola tomorrow morning and on to Prince George. Pictures will come as soon as we get a good connection so we can upload them.
 
Mike and Carol,

Enjoy the views, I fondly remember Athabaskan glacier.

So now you are approaching the land of the never setting sun.

Thanks for the updates.

Jean
 
Mike and Carol what a glorious time. We have benn to these places and reading your post brings back so many wonderful memories. Enjoy!
 
FLMikeandCarol said:
Well yesterday we started off in Banff and then drove to Lake Louise. . . . We now are in Jasper and will take the gondola tomorrow morning and on to Prince George. Pictures will come as soon as we get a good connection so we can upload them.
Click to expand...

I am glad to hear your travels through the Rockies were enjoyable (save for the brief downpours). Your timing for being in Banff couldn't have been better - Southern Alberta (including Banff) is currently in a state of emergency due to extensive flooding.

Kelly
 
We heard we were lucky with the flooding. We are now in Ketchikan. It is very beautiful here and we are having remarkable weather. According to a native this is very unusual for this time of year. They get mostly rain here. He said that it is suppose to be like this all month. Hope he is right.

We are recovering from our fast trek across the USA. Today we went on a little hike at a National Park close by. Driving there we had a black bear cross in front of the car and of course I didn't have the camera out. This has been a fantastic trip so far.

Carol
 
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