For Cousin Joe

Sorry I missed your phone call. I was trying to garden between rain showers. We have had rain or threatening rain every day since May! The White Stripes. Yes, they were in Whitehorse. As the story goes, they were playing in the Arts Centre which holds about 450 people. They heard that so many other people couldn't get tickets, they decided to play an impromptu set in LePage Park in downtown Whitehorse. They decided to play and 2 hours later were on stage in the park playing to about (according to Shaun) 450-500 people. Here is the Youtube of part of the concert: click here. Did I see them - NO. That was the first day I got my cell phone. I missed every call I got, not knowing that the ring was coming from my pocket and it was my phone!!! Shaun called me to let me know but or course, I missed the call. He said he rec'd a text message and then forwarded it to all the people he knew. He looked around and everyone around him was text messaging on their phones. Between that and the radio station announcing the concert, the turnout was great. He said they played about 8 songs and were so good and because of their kindly spirit, he would now pay to go to one of their concerts. Me, as they will probably never come to Whitehorse again, will have to buy their CD!

For Sue

Sue, it was easier showing these pictures this way. Here is the FRONT DOOR of Domus Ciliota. As you see, to the left of the door is what looks like a buzzer (I think it is). That is where the name of the monastery is, written around the buzzer on brass - very little.
This is the street the monastery is on. If you go to the end of this street (which you can see the end in the picture), turn right, it will take you to Campo S. Stefano (pictured below) - only a few steps away. There are plenty of eateries there. Also, if you want some wine (and who doesn't in Italy??) if you go to the end of this street, turn right and walk toward the campo there will be a wine store on your left hand side. Inside, he has casks of wine. You can ask for wine from the cask and he will fill an empty plastic water or pop one litre container and the cost I believe is either 2 or 4 Euro and the wine is unbelievably good. The bottled wine in the same shop is tres expensive.
This is the campo you will be near. It is very peaceful though not usually as empty as in this picture. The Grand Canal is not far. We attended a classical music concert in the cathedral in this square. It was lovely. If you went into the website www.ciliota.it and clicked on their location and clicked on the yellow Venice area on the map, it gives you the monastery's exact location. Ciao!

Commerce Degree

I finally talked SR into sitting for a grad photo after he received his 2nd degree. Well folks, here it is. I now have a new picture for my wallet. My last picture was his grade 12 grad pic.

Alaska Highway

One last photo to add. It really is a journey to take if you can. Remember, you can double click on the photos to enlarge.

Alaska Highway

Finished my drive up the Alaska Highway. I have driven this road many, many times and never tire of it. The most scenic portion is between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake - Stone Mountain and Muncho Lake are the highlights. It seems as you turn every corner, it is more picturesque than the one you just travelled. And, of course, the wildlife never cease to amaze. I was alone driving home (without Joan's eyes) but did see a moose with her two babies (would have stopped to take a picture, but had just driven through a cloud as I descended a mountain and didn't think stopping, just as the fog cleared was a wise idea), a black bear, deer, mountain sheep, a caribou, a red fox, a cyote, and buffalo...these sometimes right on the road I travelled.
Here are two of the sheep I captured while driving. Many more were either on the road or clinging to the side of these steep mountains (in Stone Mountain Provincial Park).
The odd lodge is along the route. This one had it's plane parked at the side of the road.
Just another corner turned with amazing scenery.
And the signs don't lie. There are similar signs for caribou, elk and sheep. As well, there are motorhomes on the road. That is the only down-side of travelling the highway, especially when they travel in convoys. The roads can be narrow with little or no shoulders, and curvy and passing them can be a chore. On the plus side, most of them do give you the opportunity to pass and some even pull over in pull-outs if they know you are behind them. This section, just over 500 kilometers bewtween Fort Nelson and Watson Lake takes about 6-1/2 to 7 hours to drive at a steady rate. One day I would like to make this portion of the road my holiday, taking it much slower, and camping along the way. It seems I am always trying to get between Whitehorse and Edmonton, and considering that is over 2,000 kilometers, I don't stop for long along the way.

Here's Tia with whom I shared the condo for 5 days. And below is the clean living room. Outside you can see the man doing repairs on the lawn, so the water doesn't drain onto the patio. Hopefully what he is doing will fix the problem.
As mentioned earlier, I left Edmonton, so I would have some money left when my sisters et al visit this August. The drive was good till I hit construction. I followed a pilot car at 20 km/hr for at least 20 kms! That took up one hour of driving and I only went 20 K. BC was seal coating the road and the dust was terrible. The good part about that was I was the first vehicle in line so at least my dust was minimal. 30 cars down, it must have been unbearable. As well, as I was first in line, I had clear sailing into Ft Nelson. In 350 kilometers, I passed only about 5 vehicles. That was the good part. The bad part was about 150 kilometers outside of the city my gas gauge read between 1/4 tank and E! I didn't know if I was going to make it or not. I have NEVER driven a vehicle with the gauge reading that low, so I was quite worried. Then when my empty gas tank light went on I started sweating bullets. I still had 80 Kms to go. I drove kind of fast so if I ran out of gas, I could coast a ways. Luckily, about 12 k from the city, there was a gas station...the only one till I was right in the city as it turns out. I drove in and got out of the truck to fill the tank - my knees were shaking and I felt weak. I never want to do that again. So here I sit in the hotel in Ft Nelson, drinking a beer, relaxed and finally connecting to internet.

A week ago, my friend Joan (pictured above) & I drove down the Alaska Highway to Edmonton. It is a two day trip (for us - 22 hours straight driving for my son) -we stopped the night in Ft. Nelson. I snapped this photo of Joan at a campground during one of our pit stops. The ride was wonderful - we saw a lot of wildlife. In fact the only thing we didn't see was elk. Joan made a list of what we saw - unfortunately, I've since lost the list...but we did see bison (pictured below), lots of black bears, deer, mountain goats, moose, caribou and I'm sure I forgotten some animals but don't tell Joan. After two long days of driving, we arrived in Edmonton, Joan was picked up by her son Kevin who lives in Red Deer and was transported there (and will continue on to Newfoundland to do some visiting and site seeing) and I stayed at my condo at which I painted and cleaned and repaired - then shopped. I had a good visit with Tia, who is now staying in the condo and to prevent the spending of mucho $$'s I left and am now on my way up the highway.