Alaska 2020

I can speak of Covid-19 and the changes in our lives, but I'm sure everyone has heard all they care to hear about this virus. A traditional summer would see Bucky and me renting our Ripton, VT house to faculty members of Bread Loaf School, Middlebury College's mountain campus. However, due to "the virus", all summer learning will remain remote, meaning no housing is needed. We were surprised to hear from our past renters that despite Bread Loaf being closed, they would still like to rent for July and August. It didn't take Bucky and me long to decide we would maintain our pre Covid model, living in our RV for the summer......but where? For the past 12 summers we have travelled to our small cabin in Talkeetna, Alaska. The cabin is built from timbers harvested from the land on which it sits. For Bucky it was a labor of love. He worked nonstop through the summer of 2012 to finish the cabin before our return to VT. Not only did he produce a quality product, he lost 20 pounds in the process!

June 30

Thunder showers dampened the T-shirt on Bucky's back as he finished mowing the yard. With glee, I crumpled and threw my final to do list into recycling. The yellow lined sticky note bounced off the rim of the recycling container in defiance, but with a final angry bounce, tumbled in. An optimistic departure time of noon, had the clock now showing 3:30.

                                                               

The lawn and flowers soaked up the rain as fast as it fell. June 2020 holds the record as the driest in history.

The torn black rubber of the driver's side wiper blade flapped erratically as rain pelted the RV windshield. Still, the vehicle navigated Vermont's backcountry roads as if knowing our destination. 

Leaving Vermont and crossing into New York state, bright sun shown into my eyes and I pulled down the visor. So many times, when standing over the kitchen sink, I have looked west, past the rain drops on our window, to see the sun shining on the Adirondack Mountains in New York. It happens often enough that we've coined the household phrase, "it's always sunny in NY". Weather moves in from the west. This happens quickly with thunderstorms, but slowly with fair weather.

Exiting I 87 in Saratoga Springs, we travelled NY 29 through rolling countryside until descending into historic Amsterdam where the roadside is defined by grand mansions. 

Our Hannaford "rotisserie chicken", microwaved potatoes and steamed broccoli, all eaten while gazing over the lawn and garden section of Amsterdam's Walmart, was as beautiful an end of day sight as the finest lake sunset. 

 

Sand bars stretched from the shore out into the channel of the Erie Canal. The Canal dashed in and out of view along I 90 as we headed to Buffalo, NY. The Canal was completed in 1825 connecting the vibrant eastern seaport of New York City, by way of the Hudson River, with Lake Erie. Its completion facilitated the movement of goods and people to the Midwest.......westward expansion. The Canal is 360 miles long and utilizes locks to overcome the 571 foot difference between the level of the Hudson River and that of Lake Erie. Today, we saw no boats traveling. I've read of companies that rent sleep aboard canal boats and think a few days spent recreating history and traveling in this manner to NYC would be fun.

July 1

We passed through the Leatherstocking Country of Central New York, navigating from the Mohawk Valley into the land of the Iroquois. 

Seneca, NY, home to the Seneca tribe of the Iroquois, provides a climate for growing grapes in a region of lakes and rolling green hills and valleys. 

I worked for many years with an adorable girl who struggled academically. This resulted in her disliking school and most of the adults within the building. It was approaching the end of the school year and I had noticed a marked improvement in her attitude. When I asked her why she seemed so cheerful, she shared that her family would soon be heading to a family home on Seneca Lake. When I asked what made this place special, she told me about the "glen". This child, who rarely placed a word on paper, described in fabulous detail what she loved about this spot. Her eyes lit up when she spoke of adventuring there with her siblings. I too spent summers with my family and grandparents at our "camp" on Lake Champlain. It was magical for me and I easily identified with the feeling of escape she expressed.   

This child usually arrived at school in a disheveled state. Her petite, skinny stature was topped by long messy hair. And, with the arrival of warm summer weather, she wore a T-shirt, shorts and broken sandals. It was easy to envision this barefoot sprite, hair flying in the summer breeze, running through the "magical" glen. She spoke of playing there in a shallow stream and told me of tall ferns lining the stream banks and colorful rocks found beneath clear, cold water. To this day I remember her words and the images they created. When life is tough, we all need a cool glen in which to seek refuge.

Our second night was spent twisted in sweaty sheets at a Walmart in Holland, Ohio. Midwest heat can't be ignored. There seemed not a breath of air. 

July 2 ....... from glens to dells 

The farm land of Ohio and Indiana extended mile upon mile. Well kept barns, neck high corn, grazing deer and an occasional hill paved our way through Illinois and into Wisconsin. Construction resulted in backups of traffic and accidents resulted when brakes were applied too late. I looked forward to being surrounded by the rolling green hills of the Wisconsin Dells. 

Delta, Ohio

A farmer blends into his field, Wauseon, Ohio

Orland, Indiana

Farmer in the dell....hi, ho the dairy oh!

Cocktails sipped while sitting on a shady patch of grass at Walmart, Eau Clair, Wisconsin, brought our 560 mile day to a comfortable end. My glasses slid down my nose with regularity and I had to keep reminding myself of VT snow falling in May. The 90 degree Midwest heat required the generator and air conditioning for another night. 

July 3

Bucky's french pressed coffee sipped on the couch, ushered in a welcomed overcast day. We headed west on I 94 toward Saint Paul, Minnesota. When leaving Eau Clair, the Chippewa River ran full bank, in sharp contrast to the Erie Canal just a few days past. People watching, through the RV windows, showed a populous gearing up for picnics, boating and outdoor activities characteristic of the July 4th weekend. Discernibly absent, was the wearing of face masks. Walmarts nationwide are closing at 8:30 pm. It seemed like every family in Eau Clair needed to shop for the weekend as cars streamed in one after another until closing time.

The song birds hopping branch to branch in the flowering bushes behind the chain link fence dividing Walmart from the neighboring houses seemed accepting or oblivious to the frantic action just yards away. It's an interesting phenomena how nature adjusts with animals living in habitat surrounded by development. A few of my best bird photographs have occured in Walmart parking lots! I captured an American Avocet from the open RV door while it waded amongst McDonald wrappers, plastic bags and cast aside soda bottles in Gallop, New Mexico. The wet swampy areas, a result of removing earth during development, are  attractive to a variety of water oriented birds. We often see cottontail rabbits in the Yew bushes used in mall landscaping and on one occasion a coyote.

Covid-19 cases have continued to rise in cities throughout the US as restrictions are loosened. We follow the same routine we used when traveling to Texas at the start of the virus in March. Bucky fuels up the RV at the pump wearing gloves and mask. He re-enters the vehicle disinfecting everything used, including the credit card. 

                                                                             Don't see many wearing masks!

Our meals are prepared onboard. Years ago, we placed a chest freezer inside the RV shower. We rarely used the shower as it draws considerable water and when at a campground, we use the campground showers. It's handy having frozen venison and veggies just footsteps away to eat on the road and then take on to Alaska. On the return trip, we bring frozen Sockeye back to Vermont. 

You'll remember the torn wiper blade from 1200 miles back. Bucky modified it with scissors. 

And, our "original seasoned" rotisserie chicken has provided some excellent sandwiches! 

Fargo, North Dakota is a mere 100 miles ahead!! Leaving the land of the Golden Gophers behind for the Fighting Sioux!