Bishops Adventures

 June 20th, 2024 Problem #1... has been resolved! After almost purchasing a new water pump for $100.00, he spent time diagnosing the issue. His hunch proved correct when he treated the issue for an airlock. After about 10 minutes of running the pump he forced the water through releasing the air. We're back in business and can now dry-camp again! Which is important when facing British Columbia and the Yukon Territories remote areas. Problem #3... Water leaking under the kitchen sink. Just another tightening of the plumbing underneath. Are we done with plumbing issues yet?? THE DETAILS:  Chilly start to the morning, 39  but it quickly climbed to a comfortable 72. Clear, dry, partly sunny 300 miles/ 5 hours staying at Camp'N in Lloydminster, Alberta We are now in Mountain Time. 2 hours behind the East coast. That's right people we have crossed the provincial line from the bread basket provinces into Alberta. Tomorrow I can tell you if it looks any different than Saskatchewan...

 June 19th, 2024 June 18th cont..... Problem #2.   After settling in last night, after I posted the blog and we were getting ready for dinner, Gary noticed water on the floor between the bathroom and the entryway. He removed the electrical panel and discovered the hot water tank pipe fittings had come loose. Probably due to all the rocking and rolling from the road. He tightened them back up with a pipe wrench and it seems to have taken care of the problem. (Because every one travels with a pipe wrench... right?) THE DETAILS: The morning started off in the 40's!! but climbed to a cool 61. Dry. Partly sunny 350 miles/ 5 hours staying in Regina, Saskatchewan Last night we slept well under our electric blanket! We even had to turn the heat on when we got up. I think we're catching up on our lack of sleep due to the road and the stress leading up to leaving. we're both feeling a bit more rested. You know you are in the West when you start seeing the hillside branded! After ab...

 June 18th, 2024 Map UPDATE: THE DETAILS: 400 miles/ 9 hours dark low lying clouds, rain, high of 57, windy staying in Minot, ND Over night it went from a cool 60 to a warm and muggy 72 by morning. It was our first night of rain, thunder and lightning. We slept well! After a long day of miles upon miles of farm land and grain elevators we arrived in Minot, ND. It was a boring day of driving apart from the tornado warnings issued around St. Cloud. The clouds today were so low at times we thought we would drive through them rather than under them. Tomorrow should be interesting.... we cross the Canadian border! Gary's 2 cents: The road kill has moved from deer to coyote's. we passed 3 on the road. The only excitement all day was when I had to take a right hand turn into the campground. Not much to see.

 June 17th, 2024 Are we there yet????  My brother, Dan, has kept us grounded in reality by sending pictures that gives great perspective....  DAY 1 DAY 2 We've driven 1,400 miles total. Only about 3,000 left to go! THE DETAILS: Dry, warm and clear to start this morning but as we drove north it became cloudy. We did expect some rain but the threat of thunderstorms we saw on the radar never hit us. Thank you Jesus!  It looked pretty ominous on the radar. 400 miles/ 8 hours staying in St. Cloud, MN tonight What a difference 400 miles makes! We woke up this morning to warmth that allowed us to sleep with the windows open and use just a sheet for comfort. Tonight in St. Cloud its a cloudy, 62 degrees and dropping so we'll be under the covers! The landscape hasn't changed much from our New England home. Lots of trees and greenery. The drive here was pretty uneventful, other than keeping an eye on the weather. Gary has tried a variety of different things to get the best gas...

 June 16th, 2024 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1 This is the spectacular sunrise that greeted us as we got on the road this morning. It was the perfect start to the Lord's Day.  THE DETAILS: another dry, cool, clear day for traveling another 500 miles staying in Milton, WI  crossed our first time zone. we are now on (central time zone ) one hour behind those on the East coast.  We headed out early again this morning. The alarm went off at 4 am and we were on the road for 5:00. The roads were virtually empty, it being Sunday, and so it was a low stress day for Gary...... but we were headed to Chicago! Waze picked up that there was a delay ahead and began rerouting us through the city. Of course Siri doesn't know that we're towing a 27 foot trailer behind us and sent us through winding narrow streets with lots of lights. My admiration for Gary's driving skills has just gone up a few notches! I was able...

  June 15, 2024 Day 1   THE DETAILS: Cool, dry, clear day to travel We drove 500 miles today Staying in Erie, PA   The difference between a trip vs a journey… one is planned the other is taken from the Latin word ‘diurnum’ which means “daily portion”, “a day’s travel” … we’re on a journey. Taking one day at a time because scripture says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” Matthew 6:34 Our journey started before we ever drove our first mile! This past week has been filled with trials that have tested our resolve and patience. Tuesday my mother became ill which required me to extend my visit with her to make sure she was comfortable before leaving. On my way home while driving on a remote part of the road, a deer jumped out and hit my 4-month-old car (used but new to me!), the week continued with our internet having problems which is a big problem due to my brother Dave and h...

 We're Baaaaack!! Well, we lied... If you have followed our last two journeys to Alaska, the first in 2010 followed by the second in 2016, it ended up with us determining we would never return to that wonderful place.  Not that we didn't love it, but we felt we had seen all it had to offer and 150 lbs of salmon is quite enough, don't you think?  We were satisfied... we were satiated.... we were content.... we are heading back! Gary started reminiscing in 2020, reading through the two blog books of the previous trips and he began missing all the adventure Alaska has to offer (mainly the amazing fishing... let's be honest). We would have returned in 2021/2022 but the Canadian border remained shut due to Covid. (gotta' love all the Covid-Chaos). So we began planning in 2022 to return and to our delight our daughter Kim decided she was going to join us on this tour of the Northern Frontier! Not only her but a few couples from our home church and another couple related t...