Dorothy's Wildlife Trip

Upon our arrival in Prince Rupert, northernmost city on the B.C. coast, we checked in to the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club.  Then Dorothy and I took off to check out to town.  We came across an office where tours were being advertised~  Dorothy has been dying to see bears and even imagined a couple on the shore as we traveled (rocks or shadows). A seven hour catamaran tour was offered for the next day, but the price was $199!  Then the lady said she would be willing to give a discount.  Alice spoke up and said, "Well, if it were $100 that would be fair." And the lady agreed to give Dorothy the tour for $100~ she was not disappointed, seeing a dozen bears, lots of harbor seals, and many, many bald eagles. The crew even fed chicken to the eagles so they would swoop down for photo opps.  Dorothy got great photos, as seen above!

Waterfalls Galore~

  One day as we were traveling through British Columbia, Dorothy spotted an article in our guide regarding waterfalls. Thus began our waterfall adventure ~ The next day we headed out in search of Lacy Falls. On our way we saw many other falls, unnamed on the map, but large enough to warrant photographing. THEN we came to Lacy Falls, and what a treat that was: bright sun, close up access thanks to Bill, and a feast for our eyes. Dorothy and Alice stood on the bow of the boat taking every possible angle of photo. By the time we left waterfall country we had named several of them: Firemen Falls, Lady Falls, Shoestring Falls, Baby Falls, Split Falls, Long Tall Sally Falls, etc.  What a show the snowmelt gave us!

The Great Adventure North Begins

On May 15, 2012, Grey Wolf and her crew of three pulled out of Chinook Landing Marina in Tacoma, WA, headed for Alaska and points in between!  Our first three nights on anchor were in Washington state.  Then we checked into Canada in Bedwell Harbour, So. Pender Island. We had U.S. potatoes on board and were told to hurry up and cook them all so we could keep them!  Nothing like eating a ten lb. bag in a hurry!! Since then we have been traveling north along the coast of British Columbia.  Even though Bill's new GPS was supposed to cover the coastal areas throughout, by the time we reached Campbell River it had given up on any details. We had to wait three days to pick up new GPS cards, since stores were not open on Sunday and the following Monday was a national holiday... We whiled away our time on anchor by working on a 1000 piece butterfly puzzle!  We really did do 2/3 of it, but the centers of the wings finally got to us and Alice just piled the remaining pieces in the middle and took a photo- looks pretty good, right?  After calculating tides and currents with a new tide book, we headed north again.  Some nights we anchored alone, with the most in one anchorage being five boats.  The night in Cutter Cove found us by ourselves in a most pristine and isolated place akin to a land when time began!  We bundled up and put the dinghy in the water so we could enjoy this solitary place~

Happy, Happy Birthday, Bill!

 Alice spent a lot of time planning a surprise 75th birthday party for Bill, and Carolyn offered to have it at her daughter's home in Burien, WA on May 6, just five days before the real big day.  As luck would have it, Bill 'smelled a rat', but went along with the plan to have dinner with them that night.  There were the seven boating friends shown below, plus Carolyn's daughter's family, in attendance.  Many friends and family members had sent greeting cards and emails and the captain was very well-remembered!  And, guess what?  He is STILL 29- imagine that!

The New "DO"~

When Bill and Alice left on their adventure to Mexico in November, 2005, Bill was sporting a new beard and Alice had decided to let her hair grow long.  It was the easiest, most practical way to deal with super straight hair in remote places...  She had it trimmed several times by daughter Melinda when she was home briefly.  Now that hair care is not as big an issue, Alice decided to cut it off and donate it to one of the charities that provide wigs for ill children.  The change, of course, was pretty dramatic and now she is struggling with short hair again!  Where is Melinda when she needs her???  What do YOU think of her new 'do'?  Check right sidebar, please...

Bill is Making Progress!!!

See all the red heater hose?  That is just part of what Bill has been up to this past week!  The hose system is pretty well done.  We are waiting on heater units, so when he returns in April they will be installed and all the wiring will have to be run.    I am sure he knows what he is doing, but it is all a mystery to me (Alice)!

The apparatus mounted on the wooden board, left of center is the newheat exchanger that is part of the diesel furnace system Bill has been working on for weeks now.  We look forward to being toasty warm while we are out on anchor, whether it is around Puget Sound, in British Columbia, or in Southeastern Alaska this coming summer.  Our electric heaters do just fine while we are in port, but they are too expensive to try to run while we are traveling.  According to the guidebook, the new furnace system will use only 1/10th of a gallon of diesel an hour once the furnace water has heated up!

Prepping for Alaska~

We arrived in Tacoma on January 26, just in time for the Seattle Boat Show.  Bill was hoping to get a good deal on a diesel furnace for Grey Wolf, as we plan on heading north to Alaska this summer!  No super deals to be had, but we did get the equipment ordered. Our every-present mountain is now really covered with snow, since there was a snowstorm and ice storm just before we arrived!

This diagram shows how the Webasto furnace system works.  We decided to have outlets in the pilot house, the salon, and the stateroom, so it is similar to a central heating system in a house.  The red lines indicate how the hot water will flow from area to area.  Bill is working on installing over 140 feet of heater hose!

On a clear, cold (40) day in February Bill decided it was time to install the hoses that run to the overflow in the recess where our old A/C unit had been.  After a week of rain it was a blessing to be able to go out on top of the boat to take care of that project.  Alice shot this view of our marina from that vantage point.

Busy Bill has been putting in long days with this major project.  In the process he is also saving thousands of dollars!  This photo shows him in the old A/C recess as he checks the heater hoses he had just installed.  Alice is SO proud of him for all the hard work he is putting in~ what a guy!

Another Great Grandchild Arrives!

Travis James Tveito arrived on January 12, 2012, born to J.D. and Michelle Tveito. J.D. is Bill's grandson.  Travis is the first child in this family, so he is going to be 'breaking them in' in the months ahead!  Too bad his grandmother, Jamie, has moved to Arizona... I am sure the freeway will have increased traffic as she visits with this darling little boy in California.

Quilting Legacy Lives On...

After Bill's mother died in 2005, we found one finished quilt and four hand-pieced quilt tops amongst her belongings.  Alice decided that she would like to preserve these special pieces by quilting and finishing each one.  As you can see above, each is unique in its design and color.  Once completed, she suggested that they be given to Bill's four daughters.  Right after Thanksgiving we made a trip to the Phoenix area with Alice's daughter Margaret and her husband Jeff.  While we were there we attended a family gathering in our honor.  As you can see, the girls were thrilled with their gifts of love!

Our Fall Foliage Road Trip

Just after returning home from the reunion, we packed our trusty little Prius and hit the road, eventually traveling 7,000 miles on an Autumn road trip that was a walk down Memory Lane.  Stops included Arches National Park in Utah, Omaha, Nebraska, Nauvoo, Illinois, the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, Alice's Martin Family Reunion in Allegre, KY, a six day visit with Alice's college friend Carol, with red scarf in photo above (lady on left was our Toronto city guide), Niagara Falls, and a four day stay with daughter Margaret and her family in Troy, Ohio.  We saw so many gorgeous trees, ablaze in the typical fall colors!
Turning south, we then went to see Alice's sister and her family in Graysville, TN, stopped to do a tour of Elvis' home, Graceland, in Memphis, and then visited with two of Bill's longtime friends in Arkansas.  A stay with his cousin Gloria in Ft. Smith, AR and a visit with both Douglas and Dorothy in Oklahoma, his helpers on the trip to Puget Sound, rounded out our travels.  We did spend one night in the Phoenix area and were able to see many of Bill's children and some of his grand and great grandchildren there! A month to the day we left we returned home, tired but happy for the safe and pleasant trip... whew... and Bill drove every bit of the trip- what a guy!