The ALCAN DRIVE

 Pic of the day;

 

  For today:

There can be troubles on trips, especially on the long ones in less populated areas.  It is good to get advice from folks who have made the same journey you plan, and much of it you learn comes in handy.

On the trip to Alaska for the driver it is a pleasure. Not only the scenery, such as the Canadian Rockies, but the traffic. It is hard to imagine driving an hour without seeing more 10 cars, trucks or RVs (at times 0)

This is Lake Louise in the Rockies,  but a good bit off the ALCAN but still a beautiful drive there (But Louise was a year or so later after our ALCAN drive)

One particular point a truck driver gave me, he said, “Not if, but when, you see a big Moose running or walking your way on the roadside, slow down to a crawl, if necessary, BECAUSE 9 out of 10 times he is going to cross in front of you.  That proved to be true at least 2 or 3 times.

These moose pic from net, cannot find ours.

One that about got me.  Every time you see a service station, regardless the price, FILL ER UP!, At times you may be 100 miles from a station.  We were traveling with My sister and hubby Dick. Both coaches were diesel. Somehow, I ran low and had to borrow 5 gallons from him.

I was told be ready for a cracked windshield, many are lost when meeting trucks as they at times throw gravel with their tires. I did not get a crack until we got back to the states. LOL.

Driving you also get SUPER surprises. It had been years since I even thought about a poem I had read in Mrs Grill’s 7^th grade, then I crossed “The Sam McGee Bridge!”

Did I read that right. AND then I saw a sign saying Lake Labarge, YES!!! and I started quoting:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

      By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

      That would make your blood run cold;

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,

      But the queerest they ever did see

Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge

      I cremated Sam McGee.

 YES Driving can cause one to think... 

Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all the visits  Love you guys I don’t expect you to take the time to read this but it costs nothing for me to just print it at a PS

The interesting parts I remembered are in highlight. The end is sorta funny,

 

The Cremation of Sam McGee

By Robert W. Service

 

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.

Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.

He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;

Though he'd often say in his homely way that "he'd sooner live in hell."

 

On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.

Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.

If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;

It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.

 

And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,

And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,

He turned to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;

And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."

 

Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan:

"It's the cursèd cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.

Yet 'tain't being dead—it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;

So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains."

 

A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;

And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.

He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;

And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.

 

There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,

With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;

It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say: "You may tax your brawn and brains,

But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."

 

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.

In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.

In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,

Howled out their woes to the homeless snows— O God! how I loathed the thing.

 

And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;

And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;

The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;

And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.

 

Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;

It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May."

And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;

Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."

 

Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;

Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;

The flames just soared, and the furnace roared—such a blaze you seldom see;

And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.

 

Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;

And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.

It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;

And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.

 

I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;

But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;

I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.

I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked"; ... then the door I opened wide.

 

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;

And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.

It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm—

Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."

 

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

      By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

      That would make your blood run cold;

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,

      But the queerest they ever did see

Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge

      I cremated Sam McGee.

Things I miss

 Pic of the day;

My Dad and Mom about 1943 after Granny Lloyd's funeral. Mama's mama

 

 For today:

This is a big subject, but the other day I was thinking of my brother-in-law Vernon.  He was a great guy and had what to me was a mischievous grin, my brother Odis also had one. Somehow that look made me smile inside.  I miss seeing that.

I miss hearing words in a song that are easily understood. Son Mark wanted to buy Sherry a pair of shoes for her BD, so we went shopping. It seems every store had that  BOOM, BOOM BOOM LOUD music.  I had to leave one store it was too much for me.  Yeah, I know that is the sign of the times and today’s music, but it is not nice to my ears.  LOL I miss soothing music. On the ship in my section I played what was called back then ‘Airline Tapes’. Music actually played on planes during flights, before the use of screens and movies.

I miss the choice of two or three brands, such as Cereals. I am shocked at the almost hundred choices of breakfast cereals. LOL  Confused?  Yep!

I really miss seeing American cars and KNOWING the make and year.

I am smiling as I think, I really miss a body that did not hurt when I laid down and got up. LOL  I did not think my body would ever meet “Author Ritus!”  but it has. ;-O

I miss using change, I forget to put some in my pocket before going out to a store. We have a collection around here.

I sure miss gasoline at $.29 9/10 a gallon.

I miss leather shoes.

I miss being young, like 62 years old. (don’t smile!)

I miss not knowing words, I draw a blank when I am talking to friends all the time now.

This was taken the same day as the sad one above, but later sitting in the yard, they were never down for long.  I remember mostly smiles in our house.

Of course more than anything, I miss Daddy and Mama, and all my brothers and sisters. So much I did not learn from Daddy and Mama, I wish I had asked more and paid more attention.

Love y’all

Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all the visits  Love you guys…  Thanks for reading, you are company to us as we travel. Friends are less and less.

Some things are better left unsaid

Pic of the day;

 

                                                            Captain Claude Setzer (from the Belmont Historical Pictures)

 For today:

I have heard that somethings are better left unsaid.  But if you really want something known, I reckon you must say it.

So there you go, you have some us humans that MUST speak their mind.  Recently I saw a friend I had not seen in years; she said some things about another friend (a friend from times gone by also) that truly hurt. The person said a few times, “There is one thing I will not do is lie to you, you will get the truth from me.”

On the surface that sounds good, no one wants to be lied to, but at times you get the TRUTH as someone sees it.  AND if it is a problem and YOU cannot do anything about it, wouldn’t it be best that you never knew about it in the first place, since it is really none of your business to start with.

There are times when I do not need to know somethings, especially if they relate to someone, not family, nor even close. If there is a problem and there is NOTHING, I can do about it; it is better If I do to know the TRUTH as someone sees it. Especially if their facts are opposite of your ‘take’ on the person discussed.

An example: A good friend Claude (Now deceased) was a great policeman and former WWII US Marine. He even filled in as temp Chief in our small town, until the permanent Chief was hired. IN my opinion, and to my TRUTH, you would find no better man than Claude. He rated up with the best as a man, father, Christian and Policeman.

WE once lived across the street from Bobby. Bobby is a recovering alcoholic and to his own admission is addicted to gambling.  He made a very disparaging remark about Claude one day, I disagreed with him and let him know Claude was a friend of mine.

Now I have no idea why Bobby would feel that way, I have known Claude since 1954 and could not tell you one small thing wrong about his life.  But he was sure Claude was a sorry person.

I used Bobby, concerning Claude as an example of TRUTH as someone else sees it.

In this world we have people who may not lie, BUT ‘TELL IT LIKE IT IS’, in a way it hurts other’s feelings.

 

Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all who take  time to read this stuff. Seeing that you have visited makes me feel better.  

Those Half Barns in our country!

 Pic of the day;

 

 For today:

I have never tried to figure how many miles we have traveled. Traveling is NOT for everyone, and it wasn’t for Sherry, until we married. Since I am a Gypsie at heart, she has become one.  I have said before that once Camping in a StatePark in Western NC, she met some ‘smelly’ hikers that were headed to Maine, hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Sitting around a campfire I made my standard statement that I KNEW she always rejected, that was: Honey, seriously, let’s sell everything, buy a sailboat and sail around the world!

She smiled at me (she knows that melts me), “No, but we can hike from Georgia to Maine.”  WE almost accomplished that hiking nearly 2000 miles of it. YES, backpacking was solely her idea, and made a big difference in our lives.

BUT this is not about hiking, just travel. I thought about it as I was preparing supper and peeling potatoes.

On one trip around the USA we were in a new part of the Northwest. I kept commenting on the ½ barns. They looked like they were about 8 or 10 ft high.

Down south we are used to big RED barns and big, tall round silos. I learned in Missouri, from Kenneth Conrad, a farmer, that silos in Missouri are actually underground. They store the silage in a gully like formation then cover it with dirt. The cows feed from the open end all winter,

So about the ½ barns. As we drove, I noticed a huge cloud of dust out in a big field. As we came closer it hit me, THAT is a farmer harvesting potatoes, we are in Idaho by the way!  WE watched fascinated at this new to us site. I decided that must be the dirtiest job in the world.

Pictures from net

Then IT HIT ME, those are NOT half-barns, they are underground storage for potatoes until they are sold. The trucks drive down into one of the, dump, and up out the other end.

Very few times, but sometimes I answer my own questions. LOL

Ever have a truth dawn on YOU?

Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all the visits  Love you guys…  Thanks for reading, you are company to us as we travel. Now Idaho is not all dirt and potatoes, there is the Snake River. LOL

Sight and Songs are a big part of life and romance

 Pic of the day;

 

From Leesburg, FL, home of Lake Griffin and Lake Harris, many lakes here, this is Lake County! 

As age comes on or an accident happens, we can lose some of our senses. Most of the time we lose just apart of one. For us humans, the  most vulnerable are Sight and Sound.

I have a good friend who is mostly blind, disease did him in. He can tell day light from dark. Sherry and I met and had dinner with Bill Irwin, the blind man who hiked the Appalatchian Trail with his seeing eye dog, Orient. He smiled as we talked over dinner and I commented on how well mannered the dog was. “He is working now,” Bill said.

He also inconversation said he would rather have lost his eyesight versus his hearing.

I rationalize he has no choice, but he did have an upbeat explanation; using 'hearing warnings' but mostly 'music' to give a good backing for his reasoning.

Having lost my hearing I still cannot agree with him, I just cannot imagine being blind.

I was just a kid when we visited Uncle Oscar and Aunt Ruby. She was blind. But you would never know it around her house. I followed her into the kitchen once, I was about 6 or 7. She poured coffee and did not over fill. I asked her how she did that. She smiled, “Jackie notice my fore finger is just over the top of the cup, I can feel the heat as it gets close to the top.”

She told me she knew where every thing was placed in the house and she had no problem, but don’t you move a chair or I just might trip over it, she said that laughing.

Age dims our eyes, but eyeglasses helps. Cataract surgery is amazing, it clears up our eyes.

ALSO hearing aids can help the hearing, but NONE do for the ears what surgery or eye glasses do for the eyes. When you start losing your hearing it will NEVER be as good as new.

Today if I hear a song AND I KNOW the words, I can halfway understand it, but let me tell you something, When I hear, “Memories are made of This” by Dean Martin it will never again sound as good as it did when I held my sweetheart in my arms and heard it on a 1948 Chevy car radio.

I know the situations will never be the same, but neither with the solid words I heard when I was 16 and 17!

What song goes thru your mind when you were young and in love??

 Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all the visits, and the BEST OF comments, THANKS!! Memories are what is left. Some of them ain't so bad!!   Love all you guys…

 

So, that is a secret? RIGHT!

 Picture for today:

 

 

Now for today:

In this time of conspiracy theories, I am amazed at intelligent friends and others who fall for things that cannot be actually proven. Have you heard of the Flat Earth Theory?  Who would have thought in this world today that could be believed?

 

HEY,  We have been to the North Pole and the South Pole. Years ago, someone flew a Balloon Around the world East to West until they came back to the original country they left.

 

Companies and individuals have lost millions of dollars because they pushed on the public stories that they could not prove.

 

INFOWARS will be auctioned off this week to help pay the Sandy Hook Families the $1.5 BILLION DOLLARS..  Web Site owned by Alex Jones.

Alex  Started a conspiracy theory that The shooting never happened and no children were killed, it was all a hoax.  He can never pay for nor fix the stupid damage he did, but he will pay.

 

Some News network paid millions for spreading the rumor of voting machines being faulty, and it could not be proven when investigated by techs of both sides of the argument.

 

I hate to see our country in such a shape WE start believing things that happened and say they never happened.  Someone close to me declares that the USA  never went to the moon. It was all set up and faked in the desert. 

 

You may not remember Sputnik, but I do. Russia shocked the world with this little satellite, RUSSIA became the FIRST in  space. WE the USA got serious; it took thousands of people to complete the task. Manufacturers, scientists, equipment, communications ideas. But we did it.

 

Remember the FACT that there is NO secret if more than one knows  it?  How many writers would love to KNOW that secret (that we never went) If that was a secret hidden, by now someone would have sold that story for millions, One that states with proof, “ USA fooled the world!”  Even more than that my friends, How much do you think Russia would pay to be able to make the USA look foolish?

 

If the USA did not go to the moon, That SECRET was held by thousands of people.  Now we all know that is IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t WE?

 

LOL

 

Nite Shipslog

PS: Thanks for reading this mess.  Time for some sense next time,  yeah, I have said that before.  LOL