Monday, October 29, 2018

BUSH DIARY JUNE 1993

BUSH DIARY JUNE 1993:

I actually left Barrow on May 29 for the vacation as follows:
Okay the plane did not land at 11:30 am as planned as it could not land due to fog.  Fog is the usual issue this time of year.  We were told to call back every 30 minutes.  Finally after 4 1/2 hours of this they announced that the weather had lifted and as soon as they could find the passengers and crew the jet would be on it's way.
I cannot remember if I was bright enough to call Seattle and let Carla know I missed all connections.

On the leg from Fairbanks to Anchorage and since all connections had been missed the very nice captain took us for a low level spin around Denali.  We were close enough to clearly see the base camp at 14,000 feet.  We were also close enough to clearly see the trail that went on up the maintain.  The view was spectacular.  Weather is not often clear enough for this flyby.  Oh and the captain?  Captain Kirk.  Hee, hee, hee.

Landed in Anchorage, rebooked for 7 am the next morning and hailed a cab and asked him to suggest a hotel for the night.  He took me to Ramada which needs a remodel but it was a comfy bed.  Security consisted of a loop of chain rather casually draped about the door handle.  Left multiple messages for Carla but not answer, they apparently went looking for me which was a no show.  Drat!

I upgraded to First Class with mileage and ate fancy croissant and cheese something or other.  Nummy. Carla took off Monday and we played.  We rode the ferry  and had breakfast in the Space Needle (Barrow prices!) saw a movie at the OMNI theater all about Antarctica.  We ate lunch at  Kuchina! Kuchina! which is noise, come with a good set of lungs. (Writing this 20 odd years later, I think Kuchina! Kuchina! is probably a lot quieter with the advent of the smart phone). Rode on the monorail which is a tragically short ride from West Lake Center to the Space Needle. We also toured Smith Tower which at one time was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. The observation room is furnished in Chinese and very pretty.  The tower has only one apartment and that is where the mechanic lives.  Parking sucks however. We obeyed all posted signage to not give anything to panhandlers.

Flew to Boise June 1. Mom and I took of by car for Wyoming on the 2nd.  We drove to Yellowstone Park through West Yellowstone, Montana.  I had never been to Yellowstone and found it quite beautiful.  We stopped at one point for a quickie walk around some geysers.  I remarked to Mom that we could fart all we wanted because no one could tell unless it got noisy.  The fire damage is still quite evident but the buffalo are easier to spot.  Lots of sport fisherman in the river, saw one deer. We stopped at Old Faithful long enough to take pictures and scoot out the back side of the park headed for Cody, Wyoming.  We got a room there at Comfort Inn and next morning we toured the Buffalo Bill Museum. I skipped the gun collection and drooled all over the bronzes by Charles Russell.  I saw fabulous bronze of wild and raging cattle stampede it was about six feet long, full of long horns and carnage.

Kept moving east. Stopped at Wall Drug, saw the ten foot tall rabbit. Went south from there through the badlands which was gorgeous.  I forgot to stay that we stopped Wyoming to pick up Ellen who had taken the bus to Casper to meet us and away we went.

We took the Wind Cave tour. If I had known how stove up I would be by the next day I would have gladly taken the elevator.  We walked down lots of stairs and at one point the guide turned off the lights so could see how dark it was six feet up the backside of a cow.  

We stopped in Mitchel SD to see the Corn Palace, quite nicely done.  There was a doll museum there as well and my favorite doll was a little old lady dressed in black with baskets and stuff all hung about her person.

On the road again, headed for deepest Minnesota to Bloomington to see the Mall of America. (open, open, open!) Went to Bloomingdales and opened an account.  We could only do a partial lookee loo due to time but wow!  We spent six hours there and finally pled exhaustion.  

Back on the road to Rochester Minnesota.  One of the TDY docs suggest that we visit the Mayo museum.  We accidentally found the historical society that handles the tour and a bus was waiting conveniently leaving in fifteen minutes.  Mayowood was started in 1908 and finished in 1910.  The mansion has 55 rooms and cost 65k in 1908 dollars.  Three generations of Mayo's lived there before being donated to the historical society in Rochester.  They had a pipe organ installed.

We declared the next day a day of rest and of laundry.  Rest, rest, rest, wash, wash and dry.

Then we headed South through Minnesota and Iowa and missed five tornadoes. We went through Burr Oak and accidentally found a Laura Ingals Wilder museum.  We drove to Harmony and found a nice Amish guilt shop.  Fabulous!  We left there and drove to Kansas City and found a shopping mall where I got a haircut until it was time to meet Carla at KCI, she flew in from Seattle to join us. 

 We hopped in the car (four women in one car AND luggage) and headed east to Hannibal, Mo.  We stayed at the 3rd street B&B for the night and it was HUMID!!! Ye Gods!!! We road on the Mark Twin (itty bitty steam wheeler) and toured Rock Cliff Mansion built in 1880 at a cost of 500k of 1880 dollars.  This was my second time to visit as Judy, my boss, and I had visited it the previous year.  
After then we drove north to Kirksville and got a room and prepared to attend the Horn Cousin. Later that evening we visited with Gladys Grogan my mother's only living Aunt.  We stayed long enough for the fireflies to come out, so beautiful.

The reunion was held in Livonia, MO. All of of the cousins are descended from Isaac Newton Horn. Livonia is a small town of about 200 better known as a terrific Blue Grass town.  I was interested to see that one of the geneology cousins had compiled quite the family history. Volume one starts with Richard or Robert the Sherriffe Veatch.  Veatch is supposed to be a corruption of the French word for cow "vache". Which in the 1600's having a last name as a significant honor and status symbol.  The Sherriffe was supposed to have stampeded a herd of cows into the oncoming path of the enemies of Robert the Bruce. The history culminates in Volume three and there we are the whole famdamnbly. We had some minor car trouble the next morning, JB Wheeler had his son-in-law fetch a fan belt and got that installed and we headed out.  Thank you everybody!!

We drove towards KCI and visited in Belton with a potential relative of Carla's.  We spent the night in Belton and next day crossed Kansas City and it felt like forever before we actually sighted the airport.    We dropped Carla off and she changed her ticket to go home a day early.  That left three women and luggage in the car headed west.  

We got to Castlerock and stayed with Ellen and Leo for a couple of days and played lazy.  We did drive to Greely and visited with Aunt Wilma and Uncle Lester Kast. 

After overnighting in Greely Mom and I headed back through Fort Collins.  We stopped at Montpelier, Idaho for the night  This was Butch and Sundance country.  I was pleased to see the menu included pastrami sandwich which in actuality turned out to be a fried ham sandwich.  Kosher it ain't.

Calling home to Barrow was very difficult my Alascom card worked ok except in deepest MCI country.  Then I had to go through three operators to get an AT&T operator. Argh!!!
Arrived back in Emmett the afternoon of June 17 just in time for Cherry Festival,  bother Phil was performing at the grandstand in the city Park.  Yay!

Sunday, Dad and 
I took off in his little GEO for a quick trip to Jackpot for my annual donation to the great state of Nevada.  We stayed at Cactus Pete's and thoroughly enjoyed slot machines, poker and craps.  I enjoyed a book and a chocolate shake. I got a last minute 50 dollar jackpot and almost broke even.  Yay!

Tuesday we took Dad to the VA for a dental appointment.  I stopped off at Barbara Whelan's work place and we went out to dinner and a movie. We went to the Egyptian theater to see "Jurassic Park".  The movie sells bulk candies in the foyer so I purchased a goodly amount of Jordan almonds, my fav!

Wednesday Mom and I went to her doctors clinic as her foot had been bothering her since Greeley.  Turns out she had a stress fracture of the middle toe left foot and is now sporting a walking cast for a few weeks. 

Thursday was another run around day.  We visited Eddy's Bread store. Tim would be in love with the prices.

Friday caught the plane, met Carla for my hour layover and handed over the copper and brass watering can that Dad had found for her.  I upgraded to First Class on the Anchorage leg.  The weather was clear on the Boise to Seattle leg and I saw all of the volcanoes; Mount Adams, Hood, Jefferson, Washington, St. Helens, Baker, and Rainier.  Fabulous view.

Got hung up in Anchorage, had to change planes and was 45 minutes late.  Got to Prudhoe and we were warned they might not be able to land in Barrow.  A hole in the clouds opened up at the last minute and the pilot set us down.  Hooray, met by Tim and home we went. 

We also purchased a telephone answering machine, look out 21st century!
That is all for June 1993.  Must rest.....

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