Day Three - 6/26/2006

Day Two - 6/25/06

The pictures below are from day 2 of our trip, in no particular order...

This is where we spent the night...Fort Stevens is at the northwest tip of Oregon.

Day One of our Alaskan Adventure 6-24-06

Hotel del Big K - where we parked for the night.

The sunrise over the windmills as we left Palm Springs.

Mac literally kept an eye on the map as we drove through San Francisco.

The Pacific Coast Highway was very foggy so we didn't see much of the coast.

Cruising Across Canada...

We have made it all the way to Winnepeg as of July 8. So we are still on track for arrival in Michigan on the 10th. The Alaska Highway was just as rough heading south as it was going north, but thankfully we made it with no car troubles. Now that we're below the perma-frost line, the roads have been much smoother, and we've made good time. Tonite we are staying in a hotel to get a shower and to sleep on a real bed for the first time in 14 days. I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep - I might have to go out to the hotel parking lot and stay in the car now that I'm used to it! We've seen lots of wildlife and wide open spaces on this leg of the journey, and I also found out that the Element goes at least 30 miles after the low fuel light comes on. Prayer does wonders for gas mileage in the middle of nowhere Alaska at 5 in the morning in the pouring rain....

All the best!

Alaska Interior

After two days at Denali, we did not actually see Mt. McKinley, so that was disappointing. But we saw lots of pictures, and explored the park while we waited for the clouds to clear. The day we left it was nice and sunny, except for the clounds around the one mountain we really wanted to see. But I guess that's a good reason to come back. During the day today we went to another national park - Kenai Fjords, and got a close-up look at a glacier. We didn't have time to do any whale-watching, but we did go to Whittier for a Halibut dinner, and to get there we had to drive through a 2.5 mile tunnel through a mountain. It is a single-lane tunnel that is shared by the train and cars, so you have to wait your turn - definitely unlike anthing I've ever seen. Yesterday we met up with Sarah's Aunt Jodi and Uncle Bill, who are in Alaska on a fishing trip. We got to see "combat fishing" in action, and watched some people land some really large King Salmon.
Tomorrow we head back across Canada and hope to land at my Grandma Rahl's house around July 10, depending on road conditions, weather, and how long we can keep on truckin'.
Happy 4th of July from Sarah, Shawn, and Mac!

ps - we have taken over 500 pictures and would love to share a few, but need a better connection.

pps - It is 10:30 pm here in Anchorage, and I had to move the laptop inside the car because it's too bright outside to see the screen!

We Made it to Alaska!

We made it safely to Alaska - I'm sending this post from Tok, Alaska, on our way to Fairbanks. The midnight sun here is amazing - it's only semi-dark for about three hours! Great for driving...we are ahead of schedule, so will likely have most of the day tomorrow in Fairbanks to take inventory and have the Element serviced and cleaned...Time to get back on the road...thanks for all your thoughts and prayers....the scenery here is more amazing than I could have imagined...will post pictures when we get a chance!

SHE DID IT!

My sister Samantha graduated from Blaine Hight School and she's off to St. Cloud State University for her first year of college! I am such a proud sis! She is an amazing girl, with so much to offer this world. She has a love for art, but knows there is no money in it, so we'll see what she decides to do! Until then, please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.

The end of an era...05/06 2nd Grade

Sarah's 2nd year of teaching in California, and 1st year of teaching 2nd grade, is about to come to a close. Be sure to call or email with well-wishes - the kids are released back into the wild at 1 pm Pacific Time tomorrow....

Barring an unforseen event, Sarah will be teaching the same grade next year - which will be the first time that has happened in her illustrious career.

Great news for travelers!

This just in - Sun County is now offering direct flights to Palm Springs from MSP beginning in November! This is a month earlier than last year!
November is one of the nicest months in the desert, with daytime and nighttime temps that are very comfortable.
We're also getting good at picking people up from LAX, so if you need a break from the humidity this summer and want to experience genuine "dry" heat, come on down!

Hikers 6-3-06

Mac & I went for a hike above PS on Saturday morning, but we didn't make it too far. You can tell by the official "Tongue Heat Index" that it was too hot for fur coats, even at 7am. Good thing we had lots of water...

Angels vs. Twins 5-30-06

Sarah and I went to our first Angels game, and watched them beat the Twins 6-3. But the atmosphere was great...

Sarah in front of the main entrance.
The view from our seats - another beautiful California evening...

Memorable Memorial Day

This year we actually camped on a US Marines base over the Memorial Day weekend, Camp Pendleton in San Onofre, CA. One of Sarah's co-workers has a husband who is in the Guard, which is how we got on the base. She also has a cousin who is an active-duty Marine officer who met up with us since he is based in Camp Pendleton for the next few months.
The beach areas designated for surfing were too rocky for us amateurs, so Sarah and I did a lot of boogie-boarding, grilling, horseshoes, and relaxing.

Pictures to come.......

Old Blog-Worthy

Sarah and I on our honeymoon almost 2 yrs ago at Chichen Itza...

We are the Champions!

This is the softball team I've been playing with on Sunday nights for the past couple months. We had our league playoffs this Sunday (5-14), and barely made it to the finals - winning by one run in the last inning of the semifinal. But then in the finals we had our best game of the year, and ended up mercy-ruling the other team after 5 innings. Hooray for free T-shirts!!

Dad in PS

Dad and I on top of Cyclops Rock in Joshua Tree National Park.

Dad in PS

Dad heading in from the surf at Carlsbad Beach.

Grand Canyon part III

Sarah and I made our 3rd trip to the Grand Canyon with Sarah's sister Sam and her boyfriend Carl, who were visiting over Sam's spring break. Below is a picture of the good-looking couple...

Mac got tired of me not braking for good smells, so he took over the driving on the way home...

More Extreme Weather!

Aargh! Rain in the desert! It makes the road wet for 15 minutes straight and soaks into the sand within seconds! It better warm up before Sarah's sister Sam arrives Friday.....

Snowy Palm Springs

This is the view from our condo today - we had a rainy week in the desert. Last night we waited in our front-row seats at the Pacific Life Open for about an hour while they tried to dry the court off enough to play (Andy Roddick was scheduled) but they finally gave up so it was a total waste of time. But, from all that rain came all that snow pictured above, so it's all good.....

CAMP PENDELTON CALIFORNIA

PICTURED (Lto R): Janelle, Rachel, and myself
OK, I am staring to feel a little guilty that Shawn has to work every weekend while I get to enjoy traveling with my girlfriends. Here we are at Camp Pendelton, where a friend of ours rented a cabin on the ocean for two nights. It was very very very cold, but a ton of fun. I didn't get in the ocean, but a few friends braved the bitter cold and tried using our surf board a little. Overall it was a beautiful weekend with amazing views.

FUN IN ARIZONA

Janelle, Rachel, and myself spending a lazy day at a hot tub in Lake Havasau Arizona!

Surgery Success

Mac has recovered nicely from his neutering, and is back to his happy puppy self. And in a big learning step, he has discovered that the vacuum actually does not want to eat him alive.

Trees grow big

Not much going on here this weekend, so here's another old blog-worthy photo..May 2005....this was the first sequoia I had ever seen...the tree is healthy but the inside had been burned out from a fire in years past......

Furious Farva

For the Super Bowl, we went to Alex & Kristen's place in Bakersfield. We also celebrated Alex's birthday and the fact that he passed his Registered Nurse test. Hooray for promotions! We also got to meet their new puppy, Farva, who is a little handful of yippin' dog. He is going to be a great watchdog, and he tried his best to eat Mac! But they ended up playing nicely, and Mac discovered if Farva had a rope in his mouth it was a lot harder for him to yip...

Mac & Grandpa

Who enjoyed Mom & Dad being in Palm Springs more?

It's tough to tell from this picture!

Old Blog-Worthy Photos

Not much going on in Palm Springs this weekend besides our dog tracking his poo through our house. Good times. Here's a photo from our road trip through the Grand Tetons this summer.......

1/22/06

Hey everyone, this weekend we went to the Bob Hope Classic, a golf tournament here that raises money for charity. There were a lot of celebrities out and great pros as well. We saw Phil Mickelson, Justin Timberlake, Samuel Jackson, Carson Daly, Roger Clemens, and lots of others...

Last weekend Alex & Kristen came to visit us (our friends from Bakersfield). A couple pictures below....

Shawn, Sarah, Mac & Kristen hiking to Eagle Canyon Oasis

The Palm Springs golf team - Shawn, Sarah, & Alex

Grapefruit anyone?

The trees around our house are loaded with grapefruit...let us know if you (local only) want some!

Christmas in Cali

After flying back to MN, we had a little more celebrating to do with Mom & Dad Norton and Audra, who were all at our place for the week. We also took a trip to the ocean, but it was cloudy and cool so we didn't stay too long.....

Mac ready to hit the beach!

Mac enjoying a holiday lolli.

Sarah gets lots of scrapbooking stuff!

Christmas in MN

We spent Christmas in Minnesota and stayed with Sarah's side of the family. Lots of fun was had, and we even got to see some of our friends while we were back......

Spencer & Sam on Christmas morning

Mom, Dad, Carl, Spencer, & Sarah - Sarah is getting an overdue birthday present.

Birthday Weekend!

It's Sarah's birthday today, and we've had an eventful weekend! Yesterday we drove all the way to the Grand Canyon and back with Mom and Dad Norton! The panoramic picture below is courtesy of Dad's new digital camera (Merry Christmas!), that allows you to stitch multiple photos together....

The view from the Grand Canyon's South Rim.

Shawn, Sarah, Dad, and Mom at the park entrance (it was only 40 degrees).

For Sarah's birthday, this morning we took our first ever hot-air balloon ride! There was about 9 of us in the balloon, including our friend Janelle. It was a smooth ride from start to finish and was amazing to hover over the valley for an hour, drifting with the winds....I highly recommend trying it at least once....

Shawn, Janelle, and Sarah wait nervously for the balloon to inflate!

Liftoff!!!!

Sunrise over the Coachella Valley.

Holiday Party!

Above: Janelle(my Cali. Best Friend) and I at the Wenzlaff Elementary School Holiday Party.

"Teachers just wanna have fun!"
L-R...Janelle, 2nd grade/Joey, 1st grade/Rachel, 1st grade/Angela, 3rd grade

NOTE: For all the sinlge guys...the 2 available gals are Janelle and Joey...

;o) Contact me for more details!

Shawn and I dancing at the party.

I was already putting my gift to use. Yes, I got Elmo slippers!! Aren't they so cute? Mac loves to attack them when I am walking around at home.

Holiday Party Weekend

Sarah and I are going to Christmas parties for both our jobs this weekend....so the over-eating season has begun! Nothing much else going on...Sarah's birthday is next weekend so everyone get their presents in the mail....Mac is now big enough to put his front paws on Sarah's shoulders when he stands up....