Vacation Pictures Part III

You saw the pictures from our trip to Seattle. You saw the pictures of our cruise to Alaska. Now here are the pictures from our trip home.

Since we did most of our sight-seeing of Seattle before the cruise, we didn't need to stick around so much after. Which meant we arrived in our first spot earlier than anticipated. But Spokane seemed to have something to offer: the Spokane Falls.

It was a hot day (in the 90s), but the mist from those falls felt oh-so-good.

There's even a statue at the bottom of a Native American honoring the salmon. But the salmon no longer climb this river. There's folklore of how that came about, but I didn't take a picture of that story and can't remember it. Bad me!

After Spokane, we drove to Gillette, WY. Saw nothing of importance in that trip, but it made it easier to plan out the next day. Of which I realized we were really close to Devil's Tower. It wasn't on our original itinerary, but I convinced Hubby we should go. I'm glad we did. That thing is AWESOME!

Gotta show proof I was there! I started out wearing the sweater (it had been raining just before we arrived and was a bit chilly), but it got warm rather quickly. Not too warm, but too warm to wear a sweater. I wished I had left it in the car.

Hubby and I walked the 1.3 mile path around the tower (and if I had known about this path beforehand, I definitely would have left the sweater behind). I took this picture thinking it might make a nice wallpaper on my computer. What do you think?

Overall, I'm glad we were able to stop and see it. And yes, there were several people asking where Richard Dreyfuss was. Haha!

After Devil's Tower, we stopped in at Deadwood. Had lunch at Mustang Sally's. I don't really get why a town can be popular because of the murder of Wild Bill Hickock, but then Tombstone, AZ is popular for a shootout at the OK Corral. Guess it's a western thing, huh? I didn't get any other pictures of Deadwood because it just didn't occur to me to take any.

After Deadwood, we put the top down on our fun car for the drive over to Mt. Rushmore, even though it was a bit on the chilly side (68-72). I was kind of glad when it started raining and we had to put the top up! But the rain stopped while we were at the monument. Had the requisite picture taken and man, what's with my hair?? I'll blame the fun car for that, I guess. Haha!

Rain came and went several times. I managed to capture a rainbow during one of the brief downpours.

After Mt. Rushmore, we drove over to the Crazy Horse monument. It's still in the process of being created, though. You can see the side view of his face and apparently they have his arm and finger finished (you can't see it at this angle, though). And if you look close enough, you can see a chalk outline of where the horse's head will be (far right).

This is what the mountain should look like when they finally finish it. Hubby doesn't think it'll happen in his lifetime, though. They've been working on this for decades!

The next day we took the road through the Badlands. I remember seeing this when I was 13. It hasn't changed much. We lucked out in the weather, though. Reached mid 70s. It was supposed to be back in the 90s in the next few days.

Kind of reminds me of the Grand Canyon in a way. Scientists say this was all under water at one time.

Panoramic shot.

I thought the colors were pretty.

Came across some bighorn sheep, sunning on the rocks.

There are parts where people can actually climb. I remember doing that when I was 13. I wasn't about to try and relive that, though.

Some of these rock formations are so cool. I don't think I have all that many pictures from my first trip out there (which would have been in 1970), so I'm glad I took lots of pictures this time around!

Driving through South Dakota, I wanted to see the Dignity Statue. That thing is huge (as you can tell from the person standing at the bottom of the picture). It's located in a rest area along I-90, near the Missouri River.

The next day I visited my 50th state: North Dakota. Hubby and I had breakfast in Hankinson at a place called Hotcakes Café. Apparently a lot of people stop there just to say they've been in North Dakota. The food was great, too! But I didn't get any pictures. Bad me.

I wanted to make sure to visit the Mall of America during this trip and that's where we ended up on our last night. Well... not AT the mall, but near it. Yes, the Mall of America is just a mall. But a 4-story mall. And it has this amusement park inside. I couldn't leave without riding the roller coaster (which ran on that orange track in the picture).

I also couldn't leave without getting my magnets from Hard Rock and Bubba Gump. I knew Hard Rock was there, but shocked to find Bubba Gump! If I had known, I would have begged to have dinner there, but I had already promised Hubby we would eat elsewhere. As it was, Bubba Gump had ran out of their magnets (boo hoo), but they had some pins. I bought one, cut off the pin, and stuck on a magnet. Not my first Bubba Gump without a magnet. Probably won't be my last either.

There's also this huge Lego store in the mall. Those Lego men are like people-sized. I can't imagine the work involved in putting those together, because yes, they are made out of Legos.

That's all the pictures from our vacation. I had such a great time and whenever I need to unwind, I think back on all the fun stuff we did.

So... What's the longest vacation you've ever taken? Hopefully you did some fun stuff!

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Vacation Pictures Part II

Oh gosh! I almost forgot to post these.
Be prepared. There are a lot of pictures here.

I celebrated my birthday on the first full day of the cruise. The steward (stwd, not stud), Basco, left this note on our mirror. In fact, it remained during the whole cruise!!

Hubby even surprised me at dinner and had bought a cake to be brought out for dessert (it was really yummy, too!). They all sang Happy Birthday to me. It was sooooo awesome!

At first we thought the weather to Tracy Arm Fjord was going to be yucky. I mean, look at the clouds. It wasn't all that warm, either. But hey, look at that. MOUNTAINS!

I discovered a strange phenomenon and couldn't believe my camera captured it. The sun was behind me. Fog in front of me. A little rainbow appeared. That dark shape in the middle? My head! Hubby stood beside me. He couldn't see my shadow and I couldn't see his. But we both saw our own. Isn't that the weirdest thing? I thought it was pretty cool.
 

Traveling in the Tracy Arm Fjord, we came across lots of ice chunks floating by. I mean, I should have realized WHERE they came from. It just didn't hit me until later. Yeah, I'm dumb.

It turned out to be such a pretty day. Fog all burned away!

More ice chunks. Loved the colors!

Surprise! A glacier. This is what was at the end of the Tracy Arm Fjord. When we came around the corner and I saw that, I gasped. So pretty!

In Skagway (the next day), Hubby and I had breakfast in a bordello. Oooh, I know. Scandalous! This one is called the Red Onion Saloon and the women working there are sooooo funny.

This is Madam Sara Goodlay (get it? get it?) telling us about the brothel. She was a hoot. If you ever go to Skagway, I suggest you check this place out. Very fun and interesting.

We also took a tour of Skagway later on in the day.

Of course we had to visit the cemetery. Hubby was in heaven, I think (he has this thing for cemeteries, back from when he was into genealogy).

When you walk through the cemetery, you come upon Reid's Falls. It was so pretty!!

We made it up through the summit and into Canada. But took this picture as we left Alaska. Driver made a joke about our beautiful sign and how Canada probably paid ten bucks for theirs. Just a plain green and white sign, no bigger than a street sign, that said "Welcome to Canada." We all had a good laugh.

 On top of the summit, on the Canadian side, this is the back side of the Mendenhall Glacier (which is in Juneau). They've been trying to get a road into Juneau for sometime now, but they'd have 70 spots with avalanche threats and realized it just wasn't worth it. So...no road to Juneau. However, there is a road in and out of Skagway (which we were on), so you could drive there if you want.

Juneau, Alaska (on the dock, anyway).

An eagle on the street light. They're all over Juneau (then again, salmon was in season). Driver said the eagles were their pigeons. I just find that hard to believe.

This is the Mendenhall Glacier. It's receding about 40' a year, I believe.

A piece of rock the glacier carved. You can see the lines from the ice.

I believe there is a glacier in this picture (although I didn't know it when I took it). I was trying to capture the whale that was surfacing. Then I got smart and filmed the sucker. If you would like to see a video (about 2 minutes) of a humpback whale (ending with the big tail splash), you can watch it on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/stacy.mckitrick/videos/1813058278740299/. For some reason, I couldn't get Blogger to post the video.

During our whale-watching tour, we came across some sunning sea lions. They were a noisy bunch, too. I also have a video of these over on Facebook, too (shorter than the whales). Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/stacy.mckitrick/videos/1814715971907863/.

We didn't go on any excursions in Ketchikan, but I did do some shopping!

No roads go in and out of Ketchikan, either, since it's on an island (which I didn't know). I'm always surprised how these small Alaskan towns manage to stay alive.

I finally won my first ship on a stick during this cruise! All I had to do was guess the amount of candy in the bag. Well, I was going to end with 18 and figured there was more than 118 in the bag, so I wrote 218. There was 216 pieces in that bag. I couldn't believe it! I didn't eat all the candy (it got ruined on the trip home), but I have my ship and plaque on display!!

Our last stop on the cruise was in Victoria, BC. We visited the Butchard Gardens. The sun was setting fast, but we managed to see most of the gardens before it got too dark. It's just so beautiful.

Some totem poles at the gardens.

The plaque below tells you about the tree above. That tree is two years younger than my mom!

So, that's all the pictures I have for today. I took so many on the trip, it was hard to pick which ones to share. Hope you enjoyed them. On Monday I hope to remember to post the pictures of our drive home. I say hope to remember, because I almost forgot to post these!!

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads

Got busy with the new house today and almost forgot to post this!

Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #27

Dates read: July 27 - August 5
Title: Craving Justice
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Fiona Archer
Genre: Romantic Suspense (with some erotica thrown in)
Series: Sons of Sydney, Book 1
# of Pages: 261
Paper or plastic: Nook e-book
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: Seth Justice is tall, daring and dangerous. The former street kid from Sydney owns a thriving technology company in Seattle. But he has bigger goals―or should that be ghosts?―that drive him harder. On the verge of selling his business for a fortune, he’s celebrating when Harper Fox, daughter of the buyer, tumbles into his arms. The curvy café owner enchants him with her sassy personality. Soon they move from easy banter to a night of passion that reveals a sweet vulnerability in the soft-hearted woman.
    After a lifetime of her domineering father’s scorn and rejection, Harper dances to her own beat. She has her café and surrounds herself with a chosen family of her eccentric staff and close friends. While she’s mostly content… her heart aches for more. But Harper has been burned before and doesn’t trust easily. That is, until a man with a panty-melting Aussie accent and a commanding stare entices her to take a chance—on him. When Seth takes charge in the bedroom and ties her control in knots, he awakens a need in Harper that leaves her hungry for more.
    When an unseen enemy attacks the new life Seth and his brothers have built, the ensuing disaster tests not only his developing relationship with Harper, but also threatens to sever the last remaining bonds with his brothers. As Seth struggles to protect everything and everyone he loves, he has to determine if Harper is his enemy’s target—or accomplice.
My thoughts: I’m Facebook friends with the author in a way most authors are friends with other authors. I’ve never met her and she probably couldn’t tell you who I am, but she’s funny and I was looking for a book to read (none of the ones on my Nook interested me at the time—vacation, remember?), so I checked out her books. Most were erotica (a genre I wasn’t interested in at the moment), but this new series was labeled “Romantic Suspense.” Sold! There is some suspense in this book, but it’s mostly romance (no complaints here). The sexy scenes, though…are REALLY sexy. Guess I should have expected that. I still enjoyed the book, though, and I may end up reading the others in the series. I just got to remember how sexy they are before I pick them up to read!

So… What part of decorating the new house do you like? Buying new shower curtains? Drapes? Shades? Rugs? I’m pretty much doing all of that. It’s putting up the shower/curtain rods and shades that can be a pain!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Vacation Pictures, Part I

Seems I needed a blogging break from my vacation. Or actually, I was just busy getting the old house empty. Which it is. FINALLY! Now the fixing up begins. Old house already has a new roof (got it while we were on vacation—looks nice!) and Hubby and Son fixed the ceiling tiles in the basement. Next, the basement guy will come in sometime next week and fix the two leaks (for a lot less than we anticipated—whew!). We’re still waiting on the quote from the painter guy, but I’m determined NOT to faint at the price.

Although, I probably will.

After the painting, I think we get the carpet and tile installed (still have to pick what we’re gonna buy), followed by a good cleaning. At least, I think that’s the order. I’m so confused, but sooooo glad we don’t have to do anything anymore with that house. Well, except pull out the checkbook.

Ouch.

Anyway… I will not bombard you with pictures from the entire vacation in one post. I figure I’ll post pictures from our trip to Seattle today, pictures from the cruise on Friday (because I actually have a book to report on Wednesday), and then pictures from our trip home next Monday. Sound good?

You know those signs on the highway that state there's a historic marker? We decided to stop at this one. Located near Laramie, WY, this tree has been growing out of this rock for over a century. I don't know if you can read the plaque (below), but it was discovered when they were building the railroads back in the 1800s.

Travel on the road and you come across some interesting features, like this unicorn on a bike. Best part? The owner is from the Cincinnati area! We ran into him in Wyoming.

Hubby had never seen The Great Salt Lake. He was very surprised at how LARGE it is. I don't believe we were at the site where they do most of the swimming (if that even exists anymore), but there were some people who had walked out into the water. I wasn't about to do that (experiencing that at 13 is probably a much better memory).

 Another shot of the lake.

This was also taken at the lake. This electrical box and light pole is covered in webs AND spiders. BIG spiders, as you can see all the dots from this distance. Ugh!!!

Saw a sign in Idaho (I believe) that said Vista Point. Wasn't much, but hey, had to take a picture!

I would have LOVED to have taken pictures during my drive through Oregon, but I was driving and Hubby was sleeping (and it was kind of a windy road). I was really surprised at the LACK of trees. That was until I crossed over the mountain range. Ahhh, there was the green I remembered.

We weren't sure we'd make it into Seattle the day before we embarked on our cruise, but got into town early enough to do some sight-seeing (and a lot of walking). All the time I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA and visited Seattle, I had never gone up the Space Needle. I rectified that this time.

Took this from the top of the Space Needle. You can see Mt. Ranier in the distance.
 

Hubby wanted to check out the Public Market Center. Unfortunately, most of the stores were closed when we got there. I remember it differently back in the 70s, though. Nothing is how we remember, though, is it?

Taken from the Public Market Center. No, I didn't ride the Ferris Wheel. Figured they'd want a fortune for it anyway.

So… Did you miss me? Never mind. Don’t answer that. Of course you did! J

Happy Monday!

Stacy