In Alaska, but not home yet!

Hi, this is Luke. Right now it is 8 a.m. in Juneau, AK. This afternoon we are going to get on our next ferry, The Kenikott. Our first ferry, The Columbia, was the biggest in the fleet. We saw some exquisite scenery and wildlife as we ferried from Bellingham, WA to Juneau. I've posted a picture of the Columbia plus, some of the things we saw. One is of a Canadian lighthouse and another is of a whale that we saw. You can barely see the dorsal fin of the humpback in the picture. On the ferry I passed the time playing cards with Tess, reading, whale watching and even watching movies in the theater room. During our trip to Juneau we had three stops. They include Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. In Wrangell I bought a piece of rock with some garnet in it from some kids on the dock. The last picture is of Mendenhall glacier outside of Juneau. If you wonder why some if it is so blue, it's because the entire glacier is made out of old snow. The blue layers have had all the air squeezed out of them because of all the rest of the snow on top. It was an amazing sight. That's it from Juneau. I'm keen to get on the ferry to Whittier.

Luke

Washington!!

Hi!!
Tess again! Well we had an awesome time in Washington! It was great to see friends and family from when we were there!
Well we spent 2 days at the lake with my friend Kaylee and her family. It was beautiful! We got to jet ski, go off a rope swing, swim, kayak, etc. It had a beautiful view of Mt. St. Helens.
We had lunch with our friend Dale Bowlin twice. He was a WWII veteran, and its great to talk to him and hear his stories. He was a German Prison of War. We had Chinese.... YUMMMM! :) One of the waitresses kept calling Luke her boyfriend... You should have seen how red Luke's face got!
We spent some time with our cousins, the Harris family. It was so much fun. They have four kids, Jack, Jordan, Jenna and Jamie. Believe me,
there was ALWAYS something to do!!
Well I'll keep you updated. I think Luke is posting something about our trip on the ferry soon!
TESS

Hello!!
It's Tess! Well we've finished the driving part of our journey. Along with Grandpa John, Mom, Luke and I drove from Hesston, Kansas to Vancouver, Washington. It was quite a haul but we had alot of fun at some stops we made. One of the days we stopped at Mt. Rushmore and Devils Tower. Those were both amazing places. Devils Tower was my favorite. The lines in the rock made it even more interesting. Mount Rushmore was also incredible. There is a walkway that goes up the mountain so it seems like you're right under the noses of the presidents!!! ONe of my favorite parts was seeing the buffalo. When we were in South Dakota, we were driving in some hills and turned the corner and saw ALOT of buffalo!! We stopped to take pictures,but Luke got a bit freaked out. He was afraid one was going to come charge the car!! :)
Today, we get on the ship to Alaska. We ride two and a half days, then stop in Juneau for a day, then ride three more days. Its going to be another part in our adventure!!
Well, I have to go to pack up the car for the boat! Keep you updated!
Tess

Tess Here!! We've been having an awesome time in Hesston!! We've done so much, and had alot of fun! Mom, Grandpa and I went to a USA professional volleyball game agains Russia. (it was mens) They lost :( But it was incredible. The men got so far off the ground. Women volleyball players dont have to worry about getting their arms stuck above the net but men on the other hand...

Yesterday Luke, karen, Grandpa and I went on a hayrack ride to a church picnic... it was soooo much fun minus the fact that I was wearing short pants and the hay was REALLY itchy!!

Fireworks and the 4th of July is always a great part of our Hesston vacation. This year it rained alot and we had to light some fireworks in the rain, but overall, as usual, it was a blast!
Well, Keeping everyone posted!
Love, Tess

Kansas!

This is Luke. We are still in KS. On the 4th of July it rained 4 inches. It rained so much that a ditch across the street from my Grandpa's house began to flood. My cousin Alex and I took Grandpa's kayak and got to paddle up and down the ditch. It was even more fun than lighting fire crackers. Before we went kayaking we biked down Mt. Hesston. (The hill that was made after the tornado in 1990 with dirt from all the new basements that were dug) We rode straight into the ditch full of water! It was so much fun.
Last week we also went to the KS Cosmosphere. There was so much to see. I've attached a picture of me in the capsule used by the crew of the actual Apollo 13. There were two actual pieces of the Berlin Wall, lots of information about rockets, Werner Von Braun, the space race between America and the USSR and lots of other stuff including a SR-71.
Last night we went to a pig roast and I got to go on an actual hay rack ride pulled by a real Hesston tractor driven by a real Kansas farmer. Once we hit a hole and I flew off the hay bale about 6 inches. Who knew you could "catch air" on a hay rack ride?? Go figure. I'm including a picture of the scenery from our ride.
Well, that's it for now.
L.M.A.---OUT!

Greetings from Kansas. A couple of people have asked about Mike's whereabouts, so I thought I would update you. He left Roanoke, VA on Monday, June 21 on his LONG drive to Eagle River, AK. (It was over 4200 miles!) He crossed into Canada up in North Dakota and had a very enjoyable drive through Canada. Some days he drove 10+ hours and other days he just drove 6 or 7. On the shorter days he was able to explore the areas where he was staying. I know that he hiked a couple of times and also was able to go fishing in the Yukon River. He arrived in Eagle River on June 28, which was one day ahead of schedule. He reported into work and is already carrying around the duty phone. We are thankful he made it there safely. We will see him again on July 28 when he flies down to Portland, OR to join us for our short drive to Bellingham and then our ferry ride to Alaska! The pictures I've posted along with this entry are two that Mike took on his first day on the Alaska highway. The third one of the moose he sent to us yesterday. It was hanging out outside an Old Navy store in Anchorage.

Pyramid!!

Hello! Tess again! This is a pyramid in the middle of Memphis... none of us were expecting to be driving and look to our right and see a pyramid! I mean... who knew??

Hello!! It's Tess. Well we're in Kansas and we have three weeks to relax... finally! Well we've had quite an adventure so far, from Roanoke to Kansas. We have seen family such as Dave in Arkansas and Uncle Jerry and Aunt Sharon in Tennessee and many other things. The picture of the hay bale was from Oklahoma. A man carrying hay on his truck dropped it in the middle of the road... that is something that only happens in Oklahoma!! The one below is the family and Dave. Dave is a WWII veteran and he was even at Pearl Harbor. He met mom back in 1996. And the last picture is of Pooky. Pooky is Dave's donkey and definitly got over fed when we were there!!!

Hope everyone's having a great summer!!

Tess

This is Luke. We are still in Roanoke. The picture is of Green Cove along the Creeper Trail. Green Cove used to be ,from 1900-1970, a train station/convenience store. The Creeper Trail its self used to be a train track. It is a 17 mile bike trail. It was so much fun and so cool. On Monday we drove to a place on the Parkway called, Mabry Mill. I got a stuffed bear at the store that I named Kitty Cat. Tess got a necklace. Tomorrow we leave Roanoke and drive to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Tennessee. Ye Olde Father left Virginia on Monday and is going to be in Saskatchawan tonight. It will take him 9 days to get to Anchorage. By the way, GO USA SOCCER!

Tomorrow, June 20th, the fam is doing a 18 mile bike trail called the "Creeper Trail." Here's the link in case you want to see what it is like:

http://vacreepertrail.com/

The movers have come and gone... If you can see, Luke is in the trucks door

Roanoke

Hello!!

Tess here. The fam is all is Roanoke, Virginia. After all the stress of packing up and leaving, we're all happy to relax! Dad begins his drive to Alaska on Monday and Mom, Luke and I all leave on Thursday June 24. (From Roanoke to Arkansas to Kansas to Washington to Alaska!) It's gunna be a big adventure for all of us. So we'll all keep you posted!!

Tess