DAY 74 JULY 30 CHICAGO

Day 74. We're almost back to home country. Today was full of anticipation as we left LaCrosse bound for Chicago and our daughter Hillery. It continued to rain off and on, a weather system that has been following us since we left Yellowstone. I90 was fine, although traffic increased as we crossed the Wisconsin/Illinoir border. By the time we headed east from Rockford we felt like we were back in full-blown civilization. We arrived at Hillery's mid-afternoon and settled in for a three-day visit. We took our soggy tent and spread it out on her back porch to dry before we pack it away. Tent camping was a good experience (Honest, you can even ask Gail!), but it feels good to be ready to pack it away. We plan to celebrate Hillery's birthday while we are here (July 26), do some sightseeing, and make plans for our return to St. Louis on Monday, August 3.

Mileage for the day: 270 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 11,605 miles.

DAY 73 JULY 29 TRAVEL DAY

Day 73. Today was devoted almost exclusively to travel. It rained during the night so we broke camp and stowed a wet tent. We headed east on I90. The one sight seeing destination was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. We watched the interpretive film and toured the building, which was an effort by the community to put Mitchell on the map. There is some interesting native American artwork made from corn that is worth seeing. We continued east through southern Minnesota, eating supper in Albert Lea. Since it rained all day and tent camping was out of the question, we pushed on, figuring we could crash late in a motel. We did so in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, around 10 p.m.

Miles for the day: 583 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 11,335 miles.

DAY 72 JULY 28 DEVILS TOWER-MT. RUSHMORE-BADLANDS

Day 72. Today was packed with much sightseeing as we traveled. We headed east on I90 from Buffalo, Wyoming. Our first stop was Devil's Tower in northeast Wyoming, about thirty miles north of I90. This was the geologic formation featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Very interesting and impressive. Then we contined east to Rapid City, SD, and then southwest to Mount Rushmore. Mt. Rushmore itself does not change, but the surroundings have changed alot in the 18 years since last we saw it. That being said, it is an iconic American symbol and well worth the trip to see. We then headed east and drove through Badlands National Park. Though totally different than the Rocky Mountains, these peaks, bluffs and valleys are equally awesome. God has worked some remarkable wonders in this world and the badlands certainly qualify for the term "wonders." After the badlands we headed to Wall, SD. We visited Wall Drug and heard the story of the Hustead Family that founded it. Interestingly, they settled in Wall because they wanted to attend Mass daily and could not do so in their previous town. Now Wall Drug is known throughout the country (and beyond) and is well worth the stop (which is easy because it is right on I90). We made camp in Wall after a busy day.

Miles for the day: 391 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 10,752 miles.

DAYS 69-71 JULY 25-27 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Day 69. Today we drove across Montana to Yellowstone National Park. We had contacted Yellowstone from Glacier about accomodations, and were overjoyed when we were able to book two nights at Old Faithful Inn! We arrived at Old Faithful Inn around 4 p.m. and checked into our room in the West Wing. It is an historic building (built in 1904) and on the National Registry of Historic Buildings. We took a tour of the geyser basin around Old Faithful, ate supper, did our laundry, and concluded the day by watching Old Faithful erupt at 10:45 p.m. in the moonlight.

Miles for the day: 459 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 9,981 miles.

Day 70. Today we took a tour of Old Faithful Inn to begin the day. We then drove the lower loop drive, looking at many of the geyser basins. We also toured the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone from the north rim drive. On our way to Lake Lodge, our supper destination, we were stopped for over a half hour by a huge herd of bison. One got right in front of us on the roadway and I drove behind it for several minutes while listening to it grunt! We got many great pictures of bison. We ate supper at Lake Lodge where we had eaten 18 years ago on our family vacation to Yellowstone. We returned to Old Faithful Inn for a quiet evening reading in the huge lobby. Such an impressive building!

Miles for the day: 65 miles.
Miles for the trip: 10,046 miles.

Day 71. We got up this morning, anticipating my KFUO call-in program at 10 a.m. (MST). Unfortunately there was a scheduled mix-up and another pastor had been scheduled for my slot. So we got off earlier than anticipated. We viewed the gyser basin near West Thumb on the southern end of Yellowstone, visited to of the park Visitor Centers, and left Yellowston via the east entrance by 1:30 p.m. We drove through Cody, Wyoming to I90, and drove until Buffalo, where we spent the night. Tomorrow we head for Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park. We should be in Chicago by Thursday afternoon.

Miles for the day: 315 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 10,361 miles.

DAYS 67-68 JULY 23-24 GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Day 67. We broke camp early and were in Calgary by 10 a.m. We crossed into the lower 48 by 1:30 p.m. It felt wonderful to be back after being gone almost ten weeks. We drove to the St. Mary Visitor Center and were delighted to find that we could get a room for the night at Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier Park. We had stayed at the same lodge nine years ago for our 25th anniversary trip, so this was a stroll down memory lane. We took a ranger-led tour of the lodge in the afternoon and attended a ranger-led program on Glacier National Park in the evening. It was a wonderful reentry into the lower 48.

Miles for the day: 282 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 9,363 miles.

Day 68. We were unable to secure a second night lodging at Many Glacier Lodge, so made reservations at the Isaac Walton Inn on the southern border of the park. During the day we drove to East Glacier and intercepted the east-bound Amtrak Empire Builder train at East Glacier. I spoke with the conductor and reminisced on this route which is one of our favorites. From East Glacier we drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road through the park, stopping at the Logan Visitor Center at the continental divide and hiking up to Hidden Lake. Ask Gail how she like that hike! We then drove to West Glacier, ate supper, and drove to the Isaac Walton Inn in Essex. We arrived in time to wave (and Isaac Walton tradition) at the west-bound Empire Builder on its way to Seattle.

Miles for the day: 159 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 9,522 miles.

DAY 66 JULY 22 BANFF

Day 66. The day was clear and we were off by 8:40 a.m. We went from Pacific to Mountain Time before arriving in Jasper, AB. We traveled through Jasper and Banff National Parks--magnificent! The Icefield Parkway winds through the Canadian Rockies and affords some spectacular scenary. Climbed up to the Athabasca Glacier. It felt 20 degrees cooler as I approached it. We ate supper at Lake Louise and camped at Banff National Park campground. This is a place we will want to return sometime.

Mileage for the day: 427 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 9,081 miles.

DAYS 64 AND 65 JULY 20-21 STEWART AND PRINCE GEORGE

Day 64. Mosquitoes were terrible this morning--the worst we've had on the trip. They were so thick we had to break camp in a flurry and eat breakfast in the car (after killing about a dozen mosquitoes in the car!). We left Watson Lake at 8 a.m.--a good start. The trip down the Cassiar Highway was uneventful, and the trip down the spur to Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK was spectacular. We saw several glaciers coming down almost to the roadway, plus many melting snow packs and waterfalls. The highlight of the evening was watching the bears at the Fish Creek Observation Walkway in Hyder, Alaska. We saw a black bear, two bald eagles, and two grizzly bears, one of which was romping in Fish Creek trying to catch salmon. It was awesome being so close to them and yet completely safe.

Mileage for the day: 417 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 8,222 miles.

Day 65. It rained overnight so we got a slower start this morning. Fortunately the sleeping bags stayed dry, but the tent was very wet, which made for a soggy departure. We left Stewart, BC around 9:20 a.m. The trip went well and the skies cleared as we drove southeast. We arrived in Prince George, BC, around 6 p.m. We ate supper, are updating the blog, and then heading out to our campsite. The destination tomorrow is Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. It should be a beautiful drive.

Mileage fot the day: 432 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 8,654 miles.

DAYS 62 AND 63 WHITEHORSE AND WATSON LAKE

Day 62. We left Dawson City at 9 a.m. We were thankful to be back on paved roads again after our experiences on gravel. We arrived in Whitehorse around 3:30 and immediately set out finding a tire to replace the one shredded on the Top of the World Highway. We purchased a tire and had it mounted, washed the Jeep and refueled. We got situated in our campground and ate supper at the Klondike Ribs and Salmon Barbecue Restaurant, the same one we ate at on the way to Alaska. I had halibut fish and chips (delicious!) and Gail had the half barbecued chicken. We retired around 10 p.m., thankful for safe travel and reprovisioned for the trip ahead.

Mileage for the day: 341 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 7,530 miles.

Day 63. We were off around 10 a.m. this morning, bound for Watson Lake. This will be the last stretch that we repeat on the Alaska Highway. From Watson Lake we will head south on the Stewart Cassiar Highway, bound for Hyder, Prince George and Lake Louise. The trip to Watson Lake went without hitch. We are doing laundry, revisiting the Sign Post Forest, and hopefully getting some calls out to our children. Tomorrow should be a long travel day, so we'll need to get a good start. We're looking forward to the Canadian Rockies and Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise.

Mileage for the day: 275 miles.
Mileage for the trip: 7,805 miles.

DAYS 60 AND 61 JULY 16 AND 17 DAWSON CITY, YT

Day 60. Today we drove from Tok, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon Territory. The word for the day is: We survived the Top of the World Highway. We did okay through Chicken, Alaska, and to the Canadian border. However, midway to Dawson City from the border we blew a tire and before we knew it, it was shredded. Fortunately we did not lose control of the car and, fortunately, I had a full spare that I could put on the car. God is in control and demonstrated it again by his grace and provision. We even had a good Samaritan stop and volunteer help. We made it into Dawson City around 5 p.m., set up camp, ate supper, and hit the sack early. A little too much excitement for one day!

Mileage for the day: 192 miles
Mileage for the trip: 7,189 miles

Day 61. Dawson City was the destination for the Klondike gold rush of 1897-99. It sits on the junction of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers. This morning we took a walking tour of the town which was most interesting. We did some shopping and ate some lunch. In the afternoon we took a tour of a working gold mine. Let's just say that no one in mining by panning for gold. The process involves moving a lot of dirt that is deep in the permafrost, just above bedrock. It is then sluiced in a three-part process to finally end up with gold dust. It takes tons and tons of sluiced soil to produce and once of gold. Needless to say, when we completed the tour and panned for gold, we only ended up with a few flakes. But the experience was worth it. We ended the day with dinner in town and some relaxing reading at the campsite. Tomorrow we head for Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory.

DAY 59 DEPARTED FAIRBANKS FOR TOK, AK

Day 59. We were up and out by 8 a.m. this morning. We grabbed a bite of breakfast, filled out some get-well cards, and got some last minute provisions. We stopped by the Carlson Center to watch the athletes preparing for the meets. Opening ceremony is this evening. We stopped by the Episcopal Diocese office to say good-bye and headed out around 11:30 a.m. We stopped at the North Pole to make some arrangements with Santa (yes, he's there!), stopped outside Delta Junction to pick up some exotic meats that we are bringing home in our cooler: reindeer summer sausage, elk kielbossa, yak meat sticks, and buffalo jerky. We arrived at Tok around 4:15 p.m. We are staying at the Tundra RV park and campground. We have a nice wooded spot and plan to make a campfire this evening. Tomorrow our destination is Dawson City. It will be a 200 mile drive, which normally wouldn't be too bad. However, the road is gravel so the going will be slow. If we can average 40 mpg (perhaps a little optimistic) the trip will take 5 hours. We'll spend one day and two nights in Dawson City so we can pan for a little gold. I'll let everyone know how we do in an upcoming blog. It feels good to be back on the road again.







Mileage for the day: 260 miles
Mileage for the trip: 6,997 (excluding air miles from Fairbanks to Fort Yukon and back)

DAY 58 JULY 14 RETURN TO FAIRBANKS

Day 58. We woke up early so we wouldn't miss our plane. Rev. Mardow Solomon picked us up and took us to the airport. Our flight, scheduled to leave at 8:50 a.m., actually left about 9:20 a.m. The flight itself was uneventful except for the fact that the skies of the Alaskan interior are full of smoke from all the forest fires. We did not see the ground until we were on our descent into Fairbanks. Rev. Anna Frank met us at the terminal and surprised us with an invitation to stay in the upstairs apartment over the Diocese office. We gladly accepted as our original plan was to tent camp. The balance of the day was spent getting the tires rotated, shopping for supplies for the return trip, and doing some souvenir shopping. This blog is being generated from the Fairbanks public library. I feel like I'm in a race car compared to the internet speed in Fort Yukon. We have modified our plans. Instead of spending two nights in Fairbanks and leaving on Thursday, we're going to spend only one night. We should be in Tok, Alaska, tomorrow night, and then drive on the Dawson City in the Yukon Territory on Thursday. We plan to pan for gold in Dawson City, which was the destination of so many prospectors back in 1898 when the Klondike gold rush was on. Blog updates may not be daily for the return trip since we will need to find public libraries along the way to do the updates. We'll do the best we can. We should be back in St. Louis in about three weeks.

DAYS 54-57 JULY 10-13 FORT YUKON FINAL DAYS

Day 54. Today was spend preparing for worship on Sunday. I am preaching on "Who are you Dancing With?" based upon both the Old Testament and Gospel readings. In the afternoon the Deacon of St. Stephens, Theresa Thomas, stopped by for a visit. She has been appreciative of our service at St. Stephens.

Day 55. The skies were filled throughout the day with dark billowing clouds suggesting heavy rain. We could use them. The forest fires are bad throughout Alaska, the worst since 2005. However, it did not rain and the fires continue to spread. Thankfully we are in no danger. Nancy James, lay reader at St. Stephens are Yukon Flats School Board Member, stopped by for a visit. Nancy is a signficant person in the church and the community. We discussed ways that St. Stephens can reinvent itself and be renewed in its mission and ministry in the community. One conclusion: Begin a new emphasis on children's ministry.

Day 56. Worship was very uplifting with a fairly full church. After church we received and invitation to dinner by the administrator of the Fort Yukon Medical Clinic. It was a delicious meal of king salmon cajun style, moose stroganoff, rice, peas, fresh salad, cake and ice cream. It was an answer to one of my prayers, which was to eat salmon and moose before we left. It was a nice conclusion to our service to the church. We spoke will all our kids, made final plans for Monday, and tried to hit the sack early.

Day. 57. Today is day 24 in Fort Yukon and our last full day. Laundry, final blog posting, last minute visits, and photography will be the order of the day. We leave Fort Yukon at 8:50 a.m. tomorrow morning on Warbelow Airlines bound for Fairbanks. We will blog again late tomorrow after we make camp and attend to some chores in Fairbanks. Among other things we need to rotate the tires on our Jeep before the 4,000+ mile trip home.

Concluding Fort Yukon reflections: It has been a very good stay. It has taught us to slow down and enjoy life. We leave with several resolves that we want to implement when we get home. We shall see how successful we will be after returning to the press of duty and the rush of life in Saint Louis.

DAY 53 JULY 9 FORT YUKON TOUR

Day 53. We woke up to much cooler, almost chilly, weather in Fort Yukon. A cold front came through overnight with much rain. The high today we in the mid 60's and there was a stiff southerly wind. We were bothered by no bugs on our afternoon walk because of the wind. Very nice. This evening we were given a driving tour of Fort Yukon by Bentley Solomon, son of Rev. Mardo Solomon, who arranged the tour. For a bush community with no roads to the outside world, Fort Yukon has an incredible number of roads. Miles and miles of roads. The town is actually spread out quite a bit. Every native family has an outer allotment of 160 acres from which they cut firewood for the winter. In addition, they have a smaller parcel of land in town available to them to build a house (usually log). There is, of course, an airport (which is slated for a $15 million expansion to begin next week). There is a power plant, sewer (about half the town is on city sewer with more every month), and water works. Only one store, though, one convenience store with gas, and one post office. All gravel roads. But miles and miles of roads. Before coming we wondered if people had vehicles, this being a bush community. Everyone has vehicles, be they ATV's or cars/trucks. Many have boats. It is a bustling community, just one a different pace from what we're used to.
Today is our last post for the week, with the Tribal Office closed for the weekend. We will make our last post from Fort Yukon on Monday, because we leave Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. for Fairbanks. We will be in Fairbanks Tuesday and Wednesday next week before starting the trip home on Thursday. Have a relaxing summer weekend and uplifting worship. The Lord be with you!

DAY 52 JULY 8 FISH AND MOOSE

Day 52. Today is the last day that the native Alaskans can run fish wheels for the next ten days. The United States has a treaty with Canada which provides for 50,000 king salmon to migrate into Canada. This is necessary to protect Canadian fish populations because the Yukon must travel 1,000 miles through Alaska before entering Canada. Unfortunately, the king salmon counts are down this year so fewer fish are being caught, and that's true also in Fort Yukon. Native Alaskans rely on king salmon and moose as the staple in their diet. Salmon shortage is a significant concern. On top of this problem, the moose population is down due to an increase in the number of bears. There is encouragement to shoot bears in hopes of boosting the moose population. In Alaska, where many of the people live pretty close to the earth, these inbalances in nature come pretty close to home. The people in Fort Yukon always have Fairbanks to fall back on, but money for many is scarce and transportation costs are signficant. What is needed, said one woman at our weekly Bible study Wednesday night, is an increase in the Athabascan tradition of giving to those in need from those who have more than enough. I hear echoes of St. Paul in those words. Wednesday was thankfully cooler than Tuesday with some hint of rain in the air. We have begun to make a list of things to do next week in Fairbanks before we begin our trip home on Thursday, July 16.

DAY 51 JULY 7 FOREST FIRES

Day 51. The air in Fort Yukon today is thick with smoke. There are two forest fires in the general vacinity, one of which has over 150 fire jumpers working on it. Actually, forest fires in Alaska are a common thing and a major summer employer of native Alaskans. Some are the result of careless use of fire, but the majority are naturally occurring. Alaska is mostly wilderness, and the vast interior of Alaska gets very limited rainfall. For instance, the dust off the roads in Fort Yukon (no roads are paved) is a major problem. One full time job in town is watering the roads twice a day. Today had quite a bit of activity. At the laundry we finally met the televsion cable guy who said he was coming today to hook us up. (After no television for eight weeks this seems almost superfluous.) When we got home we met Rev. Mardo Solomon, the pastor of St. Stephens. He had just returned after an absence of three weeks, during which time he had been attending his terminally ill son-in-law in Houston. Mardo is a fine man and most gracious. He was more than pleased that we were here and invited me to conduct worship one last time this coming Sunday. After Mardo left we got a call from our daughter Abby, who was bringing us up to speed with events back home. Later in the day Laurie Thomas, church administrator, came by to deliver some mail and introduce her father, Dennis, who was visiting from Rapid City, South Dakota. We watched the ten o'clock news for the first time in forever and went to bed. All in all, a full day.

DAY 50 JULY 6 RADAR STATION

Day 50. Today we had a most interesting experience. Last Saturday while sitting by the Yukon River we met two men working as contractors for the Air Force. It seems the Air Force maintains one of its 15 Alaskan long-range radar installations in Fort Yukon. They invited us to visit. Today we took them up on the offer. It is an impressive installation on the outskirts of Fort Yukon. With only two staff the installation provides strategic radar coverage, along with the other 14 installations, for the entire northwestern United States. The technology is sophisticated and the facility modern in every way. Gail and I commented that it was like walking into the 21st century from our accomodations these past two weeks in the 19th/20th century. They invited us to stay for supper which we gladly accepted: chicken breast in a tomato sauce, pasta, fresh acorn squash, fresh spinach salad with tomatoes and zuchinni, toasted bread, chocolate milk, and brownies with Alaskan coffee for dessert. Best meal we had had since my birthday dinner two weeks ago. They work three months straight away from family before having six weeks vacation back home. It would be lonely work at times but they are generously compensated. Glen, the station technician, showed us some footage of the northern lights, which are out from October to February in Fort Yukon. Spectacular. We won't see them with our own eyes this trip, but perhaps on a future trip during the winter. It will take a while to screw up the courage to come here when its 50 degrees below zero!

DAYS 46-49, JULY 2-5 INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 2. The big news for Thursday was the arrival of a care package from our daughter, Hillery. We had mentioned the previous Sunday about how expensive groceries were in Fort Yukon and that we were economizing by getting only the basics. She loaded a flat-rate priority mail box with all manner of goodies--food, personal care, and reading. It was a great lift! Later in the day I continued my writing by completing another devotion. These may be published later by LAMP-US.

July 3. Today is the legal holiday so most public offices are closed in Fort Yukon. The streets, usuall busy with ATV's, are quiet in anticipation of the Fourth of July celebration, which is a big thing in Fort Yukon. Later in the day as we were sitting at a picnic table along the Yukon River we met two men with an interesting story. They are contractors working for the Air Force manning the long-range radar installation at Fort Yukon. This installation is one of 15 operated by the air force. Together they provide comprehensive radar surveillance for the United States. They invited us to tour the facility, which is on the outskirts of Fort Yukon (and which we did not know was there). We plan to do so on Monday, July 6.

July 4. Today was a big day in Fort Yukon. At noon there were sirens as the ambulence, followed by ATV's decked out with balloons, drove down main street. The parade ended up in "downtown" where burgers and hotdogs were being grilled and a big luncheon was being laid out. On main street the big event for the day--races--were being prepared. There was race after race by all ages. Running, three-legged, gunney sack, bicycle. They raced for cash and soda prizes. It was quite the sight. The egg toss and nail driving contests were especially fun. While we retired from the festivities at supper time, we could hear dancing going on until the wee hours of the night. Quite the celebration. Later in the evening I paid a pastoral visit on a member of St. Stephens who was flying into Fairbanks tomorrow (Sunday) for a colonoscopy.

July 5. Today begins our last full week in Fort Yukon. Church attendance was light--17--probably due to all the celebrating. I preached on the Gospel reading, Mark 6:1-13, on "Honoring Your Prohets." We have made some wonderful friendships at St. Stephens and in Fort Yukon. They have a deep and abiding faith in Jesus despite some incredibly difficult circumstances. One friend has four children. However, two have died (cocaine and alcohol) and two are in prison. Yet he remains positive in disposition and rooted in faith. We can learn from them the power of faith to carry us through even the deepest valleys. The deacon of St. Stephens, Theresa Thomas, expressed appreciation for the clear and simple Gospel that I have shared. I told her in the end it is the only message that matters. For it endures to eternal life.

DAY 45 30TH ANNIVERSARY

July 1. Today is the 30th anniversary of my ordination and the occasion which inspired this sabbatical. On July 1, 1979, I was ordained and installed into the Holy Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Isle, Minnesota. At that time I was a 27 year old graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was accompanied by my wife of four years, Gail, and two small children: Hillery, age 2, and Nathan, age 6 months. That was a long time ago. Much has happened in these past 30 years. And while they have had both some very great highs and some very deep lows, I am confident in saying that God has been faithful to his promises to us. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Reflect on that freedom as you celebrate the fourth of July. We will be "off the air" until July 6 because the Tribal Office will be closed Friday for the July 4 celebration. Be safe. We plan on enjoying all manner of races that will be held on main street in the village. When we blog again on Monday we will have only one more week in Fort Yukon. We're beginning to make our plans for the return drive. More on that to come. Oh beautiful for spacious skies...

DAY 44 JUNE 30

June 30. Today we visited with the superintendant of the Yukon Flats School District. The district educates 270 students in ten villages, the largest being Fort Yukon. The big issues for the villages in having ten students in order to maintain a program in the village. Less than ten students means education via correspondence courses or relocation to another village. The schools provide much of the social structure to the village. During the long winter months basketball is the glue that holds many of the families together. After supper we discovered a sheltered picnic table perched on the bank of the Yukon River. It was very peaceful and reminded me of the Mississippi River. The Yukon is as much as two miles wide here at its northern-most bend. From here is bends to the southwest on its journey to the Berring Sea. The village is gearing up for its 4th of July celebration on Saturday repleat with many races. Then next week the fish (king salmon) may be running. Life in the Alaskan bush.