An interesting side trip!

the cliffs of of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

Yes, there really is a place called "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump". It is located in Fort McLeod, Alberta, Canada. If you were going to lure me to a place off of my chosen route, naming it this would do it. The history of the site involves cliffs utilized by the Indians to lure buffalo to jump over them to their death.

These buffalo weren't jumping!

They(the Indians) would then harvest them for meat and such for their survival. The Canadians have built an absolutely amazing center on the site which chronicles the activity. Apparently a young Indian brave

We weren't lying - see the sign

perished while observing this event from the bottom of the cliff. His skull was apparently smashed by a falling buffalo hence the name head-smashed-in Buffalo Jump. Sharon and I purchased a few souvenirs to chronicle our visit to this site. We have thoroughly enjoyed our trip in Alberta. We have seen deer and buffalo and scenery beyond imagination. Today we drove through Calgary past the site of the Winter Olympics. It was a cool experience since all the ski jumping venues are still intact and can be seen (they are huge!) from the road. We are now in Banff resting for the evening in front of a warm fire with Canadian Club in hand.  

The mt outside of our hotel in Banff

Packer game in Great Falls MT

Sunday morning found us sleeping in a bit, and hitting the local diner for a egg & pancake breakfast (not something we usually do when we travel!).  We left the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and started a straight drive across Montana.  Thinking that we would fly through, due to the high MPH on the freeway, we set our sights on watching the Packer/Viking game in Great Falls, our stop for the 2nd night of our trip.  If you haven't driven through Montana, you are truly missing something.  The great plains were surprisingly interesting - you could literally see for miles in each direction, with cows dotting the landscape.  Then, when you least expected, rocky formations stuck out and the road swerved around them.  It looked like a moonscape.  Then the rocks disappeared and the plains reappeared.  It was totally crazy!  I tried to get photos, but it just looks like half the shot was golden (the fields) and the other half was blue (the sky).  The three-dimension was lost in the picture-taking and did not do the scenery justice.  As it got later in the afternoon, we tried to pull in any sports radio channel to listen to the Packer game, but no luck.  Our son Brian was home in Milwaukee, calling us with radio station numbers hoping we could find something that would at least give us the score.  By 2:20 p.m. (remember that Mountain time is one hour ahead so the game started in our car at 2:15 P.M.) we realize that we would not be able to hear the game, so we stopped looking at beautiful scenery and started concentrating on getting to Great Falls by half-time.  We then called our other son Josh in Louisville, and asked him to text us updates.  One was "Woodson pick - the crowd starts cheering Go Pack Go".  As we neared Great Falls, we used Bill's phone to find a sports bar.  We found one - TJ's - and I gave turn-by-turn directions to find it - it was CLOSED!  We kept driving - Josh kept giving us updates and asked us to call him when we were actually watching the game.  Finally, we saw a Holiday Inn sign that advertised "NFL Ticket", drove in the lot and practically ran to the bar and found a seat in time for last few minutes of the 3rd quarter.  Luckily for us, we sat next to a full table of Viking fans - yeah, we cheered and clapped!  Game over, day saved!  Decided to stay for the night at the Holiday Inn (they gave us an upgrade - a "senior" discount!).  Great scenery aside, a Packer win (7-0!) against the Vikings was a great way to end the day (the Alaskan Amber beer wasn't bad either, after the 7 hour drive!).  Updates coming soon...   Sharon

Our car loaded and ready to go!

It is Saturday, October 22 and we are in the Rough Rider Hotel just west of Bismarck, North Dakota, in the "heart" of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  The start of our "excellent adventure"  was at 6 a.m. this morning, with a good breakfast at Allene's Cafe in Eau Claire WI (actually, it was in my mom's kitchen - pancakes, eggs and sausage!).  With everything that we need (everything we own!) in our car, we started our trek to Juneau, Alaska,with a high state of anticipation and excitement.  I must admit that the last few days were quite emotional as we prepared to leave our home, but the decision we made was faith-based and we know it was the right decision for us.  With our apologies to those who must live in Minnesota and North Dakota, we took full advantage of the increased freeway speeds and made excellent time through those barren lands (really).  However, the photos I'm sharing here are from the last 20 minutes of our 10 hour drive and were the most incredible scenery I've seen in a long time!

Painted Canyon

The prairies of the upper mid-west were vast - you could literally see for 50 miles - and dotted with large farms and the familiar round, rolled hay bales. As we drove west out of Bismarck, the scenery changed into "buttes" and we stopped at the scenic view of Painted Canyon, the northern edge of the Badlands.  It was awe-inspiring!  Aside from the views, our travel has been uneventful - (we stopped at Fargo and took our picture with the famous wood-chipper from the movie - how boring is that?)-  and we appreciate your prayers and good thoughts for that safe travel.  Tomorrow, we drive through Montana and the start of the portion of the Alaskan Highway that we will take, starting in Great Falls.  Enjoy the photos!  Love, Bill & Sharon

It's all over but the crying!

Rummage sale - check.  Mailing many boxes to Juneau - check. Give notice of retirement - check. Closing on sale of Meier compound - check.  So much has happened since mid-August.  Just when I thought this move would never happen, things around here did a complete "180" and we are suddenly planning our departure from Wisconsin.  In August, Bill came home on a one-way ticket from Juneau, Alaska, with the blessing of Siemens International, thinking that we would both leave together later in fall.  Just before Labor Day, we had an offer on one of the properties and, while this wasn't the best situation, we felt we had to grab it.  A quick plan was made for a rummage sale (THANK YOU friends and family!) to clear out the remaining doodads and thingamabobs just as we got word that the offer had fallen through.  Then, on Labor Day Monday, our realtor said he had a legit offer - for BOTH properties.  With cash.  Wanting to close by the end of September.  Decision day had arrived and Bill and I looked at a calendar to see how this was going to work.  Adding to the mix was another week of training in Chicago as well as a family wedding in Green Bay, both in October.  We had to consider travel plans; specifically, how long it would take to drive to Juneau.  We started counting forward on the calendar, and realized that we could leave on October 21, arriving in Juneau on October 30.  I wanted to give enough notice at work to ease the transition for our incredibly busy office, so my last day will be October 13.  A few days will be needed to pack the car, and then we will spend the weekend in Green Bay at the wedding and taking in the Packer game.  (I will stop to interject this thought - the 12 noon NFL games broadcast in Wisconsin (CST) are at 9:00 a.m. in Juneau; plus, Green Bay is obviously not the regional game so we have to find a neighborhood watering hole that has the "NFL Ticket" if we want to see the Packer games!).  After Bill spends a week training in Chicago and I spend the week trying to hide stuff in the car so he won't see what I'm taking (how many pairs of shoes can I actually fit?), we will travel north to Eau Claire to see family, before heading off across Minnesota, North Dakota and beyond.  We will catch the "poor people's cruise" car ferry in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on Friday, October 28, with our arrival in Juneau scheduled for 4:15 A.M. on October 30.  (Thanks to the NFL for giving the Packers an open date that day!)  So, it's done.  After years of talking, months of praying and a few weeks of planning, we will be off to sunny Juneau.  At least, it will feel like heaven to me!!

Home is where the heart is!

Our last child moved out yesterday - to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to be exact.  While we are excited about this new opportunity for him, it certainly arrived with some tears (on my part, anyway!).  Not because he will be far away - I guess I'm used to that since my children have always traveled world-wide.  The tears this time came because when he does return "home", it won't be to the only house he's every known.  Certainly by the time he can return to the states in Spring of 2012, we will have moved lock, stock and barrel to start our new life in Juneau, Alaska.  I told him that I was far from my "growing up house" when it emptied, when my mom and step-dad moved to a new home closer to town (is that an "up north" thing, calling the city you live near/in "town"?).  A physical house can certainly evoke memories - I know exactly where things are even in the middle of the night with the lights off.  I can open a drawer and find the can opener without looking.  I even know which board on the deck to avoid so I don't stub my toe. But I think that memories of a "house" are more poignant because they transcend the physical "brick and mortar" since they include memories shared with family.   Greg will remember where the Christmas tree was placed to just fit in the window, how Marshall would hang his head on the arm of the love seat to look at passing cars and the view of the house across the street from his bedroom window.  We all will remember the physical house that has been ours for over 30 years.  However, home is different - it is in our hearts, in the laughter and good times we remember with family and friends and, while he may not return to 4142 South 43rd Street again, he will ALWAYS have a place to call home.  It will be where ever his family gathers, be it a condo in Juneau, Josh's beautiful house in Louisville or a place to be named later - can't wait until we can say "Welcome home, Greg"!!

Living in a closet, part deaux

It was decided I would move my bed and stuff into our storage garage until the time came for finding a place that would suit us. I would sleep on the floor in the office if need be. We had been looking that Sunday morning for a place to rent. My co-worker and friend had been looking on a website for military people. The Coast Guard station has a two year personnel required turnover and many people choose to rent to them on this website. It wasn't long until a phone call placed to a condo owner looked promising. The owners were looking for renters and would show it to us today. We went and after a very brief meeting found a great place. A one bedroom with a loft that over looks Auke Bay. We would share it and then, when his family came down, they would look for a house to rent and I would share it with my soon to be here wife. They gave us the key and said we could move in today! No storage for my bed! I made my way back to the quiet (at least during the day) apartment and quickly spirited my stuff out in the cover of daylight. Just when something can seem really bad, it turns really good. Some will call this luck, but I know differently. The night was quiet. Every night is quiet. Most of the people living in the condo keep to themselves. I have noticed this a lot since I have been here. People are friendly but they are also private. The closet is now a memory, a lesson learned.

Living in a closet

The romance of living in a tenth floor studio in downtown Juneau wore off rather quickly. The first night my carpet was still wet from the cleaning and I spread out two rain coats on the floor in the walk-in closet. There were two large fans running in the apartment providing plenty of white noise. I slept o.k. but not a memory easily forgotten. In the morning, the floor was pretty dry. I got dressed and then off to work. I still had no furniture but a sleeping bag for a bed on the floor. The apartment was quiet until about 2:30 a.m. when my neighbor turned on his stereo (I didn't think I was living in a college dorm!)  I knocked on his door but no answer. About 4:00 a.m. the stereo went off so I slept. I was tired but off to another day of work. It was Friday night so I assumed that the stereo may actually go on early and possibly be off earlier. Wrong again! I had planned for this and, armed with ear plugs, I moved into my closet and closed the door to the noise. Even with ear plugs I could still hear the stereo faintly. I called the manager and left a message at about 2:00 a.m. Saturday was bed delivery day, but would I be able to sleep in it? That night I climbed into bed armed once again with ear plugs. At 2:30 a.m. again the bass was able to penetrate my silence. Off to the closet with the sleeping bag! I called the manager again, telling her I could no longer stay here. This was for me a worst case scenario. Sunday I would move out. I only had food, a bed and clothing so not too difficult. There are two of us working in our Juneau office and now, both of us needed a place to stay. My co-worker is quite a resourceful individual. He is a war veteran who spent three months living in our office sleeping in a sleeping bag. Like me he was unable to find a reasonably priced place to stay until his family moved here. Sunday morning we arrived in the office. He asked if perhaps we could find a place to share until his family came here? We get along very well so that was definitely a possibility. What would happen next?