Saving Banjo and flying to Alaska

As we were getting ready for our second trip to Alaska, we had a harrowing week. Our 3.5 lb. chihuahua, Banjo, got sick. We took him to our vet at Halfmoon Valley Animal Hospital. After x-rays, they determined that he had something in his lower intestine.  They thought he’d need surgery and they didn’t have any drs that could perform that type. So they called all around and no one had space for him except Pittsburgh Veterinary Hospital. So on Friday (6 days before we were to fly to Alaska), off we went to Pittsburgh. Long story shortened a bit … Banjo had to stay at the hospital for 4 days so they could give him fluids to try to pass his obstruction, which we know now was sand.  After many phone calls with the drs there and lots of worrying, we picked our little Banjo up and brought him home. He was very happy to be home but still needed some recovery time. Luckily for us Kristen has taken care of many sick dogs, so off Banjo went to stay with Kristen. 

While we were waiting to fly from O'Hare Airport to Seattle, Kristen sent me this picture and said how much better Banjo was doing. Wow, that was such a load off me. 

So now I can enjoy our trip more. We had a long day flying but finally arrived in Anchorage 7 pm their time. They are 4 hours behind us. Linda took this picture at the airport. Notice the mountains in the distance. 

We stayed the night in Anchorage and left for Talkeetna early Thursday morning. 

Our first stop along the way was to hike to Thunder Bird Falls. The falls drop 200 ft. 

After that 2+ mile hike, we continued up the highway and we’re able to see these majestic mountains. It was a gray day with lots of fog. 

Since we want to visit Denali National Park, we decided to stay in the small town, Talkeetna, just south of there. Talkeetna is an eccentric little town where we will stay for the next two days at the Fun and Funky Blue Moon cabin. The outside may be a little scary looking but it is so cute on the inside. Just what I had in mind when I think of Alaska. 

Very artsy town with cute shops, and especially a quilt shop!  That was a pleasant surprise. So many beautiful fabrics with the Alaskan theme. While Linda and I browsed and bought fabrics and kits, Bill went to get a beer. 

Adventure awaits tomorrow. 

July 21-26 - camping at Fred and Janet Powell’s

Decided to camp at Fred and Janet’s for the weekend to help with creek cleanup. They live on the Slippery Rock Creek which is large enough for pontoon boats to be on the water. Since the storms, they had a lot of trees that came down and needed to be taken out. 

Playing Sequence 

Biking on the Sandy Creek Trail. The boys are in the trailer. 

Next it was time to kayak. 

Janet’s brother, Ken

Beaver dam

Now it’s time to play games: cribbage, and Sequence. 

A pontoon ride is the perfect way to end our time on the Slippery Rock Creek with the Powell’s   

70th Birthday celebrations for Peg

Birthday celebrations started when Drew arrived. It was great having him around for a whole week. We went to several good dinners and visited the Penn State Arboretum. 

Axeman Brewery, sitting along the creek. 

Celebrations continued at Happy Valley Winery when Biscuit Jam played. . 

Then it was a quick trip to Prince Gallitzin State Park July 7-8 to test our new Blue Ox towing system. 

We sold the trailer to Ryan since we no longer needed it. The Blue Ox tow bar system will allow more flexibility where we can go, especially when boondocking. 

Prince Gallitzin is in the Moshannon State Forest. It’s only about 60 miles from our house BUT it’s up and down mountains and sharp turns so it took us about 1.5 hours to arrive. Once you’re here, it seems like you’re in the middle of no where, no big towns, only small ones like Frugality, Patton and St Augustine. 

The weather wasn’t the greatest. Lots of gray skies and rain. We did get a 4+ mile hike in Thursday morning. Beautiful hike through the forest. Only saw one other person on the trail. Lenny had a good time sniffing and smelling new ground. 

Even with intermittent rain and storms, we managed to kayak early morning on our last day. Then the winds kicked up so we got off the lake. 

Ready to kayak. 

Osprey nest. 

Rusty Rail was my next celebration with Gale and Ken Miller and Ken and Beth Raney. Great food, beer and a shuffleboard challenge. 

See, I do celebrate for a month!!

Allegheny National Forest June 21-25

Deep in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest is where we are parked for 4 days with Bill’s brother Lew and Denise. 

Lots of open space around us, reservoir behind us and trees all over.

 It rained when we arrived on Monday afternoon and had a river running out front but it stopped so we could have a late evening fire and s’mores (for me). 

Tuesday Lew and Bill left for a one night backpacking trip in the forest somewhere. 

This was their camp for the night. And a beautiful sunset 

To finish Tuesday, the boys and I hiked around the campground and drove up to check out Jake’s Rocks, where we will hike on Wednesday. 

Back atain camp, we had a nice evening with a full moon. 

This is where Lew and Denise’s camper is parked. Lots of space between us. 

Our camper with lights. 


Wednesday, Denise’s sister, Brenda, came to visit so she and I hiked a 6 mile loop in Jake’s Rocks. Saw this cutie on our way. 

The hike was beautiful through the forest and loved walking among the flowering Mountain Laurel. 

After the hike we decided to visit Rimrock Trail. We hiked down to the overlook. Huge rocks and look at that crevice we hiked down. 

Then it was time to play cards with Demise and Brenda while we waited for Bill and Lew to return. 

Thursday, the 5 of us drove to Kinshasa State Park to walk on the reconstructed Skywalk. 

Brenda is walking on all fours on the plexiglass looking down 

We walked down a trail to the bottom of the valley to see the devastation the tornado caused in 2003. 

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Friday, last day at camp, Bill, the boys and I kayaked on the reservoir early morning. Saw a blue heron and an osprey. Great way to end our time in the Allegheny National Forest.