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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>This will likely be longer than usual but those who manage to get to the end may </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>understand the title.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The format will be a series of “incidents” that we’ve encountered </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">or experienced over the last few VERY busy weeks.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>After camping at an overlook on the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place>Denali</st1:place> highway, we discovered that a ground </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>squirrel had taken up residence in the frame of the truck. Dislodging him was an exercise </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>in stubbornness – we won, but barely.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It’s the first time we’ve ever been growled at by a </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">ground squirrel.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Waking up in a shelter on the Pinnell Mt Trail north of <st1:City><st1:place>Fairbanks</st1:place></st1:City> to a grey, foggy and </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>eventually rainy day.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The 27-mile trail is entirely above treeline and we’d walked in to </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>the shelter the previous day accompanied by high winds (20 – 40 mph) and low temps </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">(35 – 45 deg).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We got back to the truck just before the deluge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Looking out over the Chena valley from Angel Rocks.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It was a relatively short hike, but </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">typical of <st1:State><st1:place>Alaska</st1:place></st1:State> (and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>) – steep.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Afterward, we visited Chena Hot Springs, but </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">didn’t stay. At $145 for a half day visit that was out of our comfort zone.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Stopping for gas (at $6+ / gallon) in Chicken and having to wade through the “Princess</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>people” who were complaining about not seeing any wildlife when we’d just seen 2 </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>moose a half mile back down the road.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Princess people” are those who are on the “land </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>option” of a Princess line cruise. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We ran into them everywhere.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And we have no respect </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>at all for “the Princess” – but I won’t expand on that right now.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Oddest part of the </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Chicken stop was the poor kid standing in line for the outhouse who was literally green </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>due to extreme motion sickness. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Driving the Top of the <st1:Street><st1:address>World Highway</st1:address></st1:Street> – literally feels like the “top of the world”.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>road runs along a ridgeline above treeline and you can see for miles and miles ahead.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Great views if the weather is good, but it would be miserable driving in bad weather.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Seeing moose every day – although not always close enough (or fast enough) for photos. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Moose move much faster than you’d believe when they want to hide. But we’ve gotten a </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">lot of good photos (and video) of some of them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Touring</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Dawson</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>City</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, home of the Klondike Gold Rush, and for a short time, home to </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Jack London and Robert Service.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Those who aren’t familiar with the names should </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>become so.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Dawson</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>City</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> is also home to Diamond Tooth Gerties Saloon - dancing girls </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">included.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Now we know why Robert Service and Jack London liked this town.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Getting 100 miles up the <st1:Street><st1:address>Dempster Highway</st1:address></st1:Street> and discovering that we had a bad tire.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><st1:Street><st1:address>Dempster Hwy</st1:address></st1:Street> is 450 miles of bad gravel road that leads to <st1:place>Inuvik</st1:place>, NWT (well north of</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the <st1:place>Arctic Circle</st1:place>) through some wonderfully beautiful country. We got as far as the north</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>end of the <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Tombstone</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Provincial</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> before turning back because of the tire (and </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>maybe partially because of the $8/gal gas).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Turning back didn’t help much – we still </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">didn’t find a place to get the tire fixed until we got to <st1:City><st1:place>Whitehorse</st1:place></st1:City> – 250 miles later.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Doing the “Alcan Run” --- from <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Dawson</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>City</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> to <st1:City><st1:place>Dawson Creek</st1:place></st1:City>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Who is this “<st1:City><st1:place>Dawson</st1:place></st1:City>” </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>character ayway? </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Stopping at Liard Hot Springs for a long relaxing soak.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The upper (beta) spring is much </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">less crowded.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Stopping at the Northern Lights Center in <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Watson</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Lake</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> – it was interesting because their </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>video presentations were based on spacecraft data from programs that Jim had worked on </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">in the past.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Good show.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Walking through the “<st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Signboard</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Forest</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>” at <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Watson</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Lake</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It consists of probably 20 </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>acres of posts with signs that have been attached by travelers starting back in the 1940’s</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>when the <st1:Street><st1:address>Alcan Hwy</st1:address></st1:Street> was being built.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The count as of last year (2007) was something </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>over 65,000 signs.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We didn’t get pictures of all of them, but there were a few that were </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">of particular interest.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Finding a traffic jam on the way into <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Jasper</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>National Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> – and then working our way </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>through the herd of bighorn sheep that were licking the salt off the roadway and stopping </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">traffic.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Trying to find a campsite in Jasper in the middle of a major Canadian holiday weekend </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>was “interesting”.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We ended up in the <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Snaring</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> overflow area for Jasper National </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">Park – there were probably 3,000 people out there – and maybe a dozen outhouses.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">Backpacking for 6 days from Jasper to Mt Robson (about 120 Km) on the GDT.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>The trail was everything we were warned about - <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>it was wet, wild, rough, tough, extremely </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>beautiful and extremely buggy.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The mosquitos could only be described as a</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Biblical plague.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So much so that we have photos and video that clearly show some of</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the clouds of the little suckers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Several photos have one huge<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>bug right in the middle of</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the image<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>– they’d be nice pictures without that.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We were sometimes off-trail (“lost?”)</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>for much of the <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>day in places where the “trail” simply disappeared in the middle of the</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>vast meadows of flowers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The flowers, the mountains and the sheer number of glaciers</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>and icefields <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>made the hard parts worth the trip.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The only real disappointment was that </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>we saw no <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>bears, moose, caribou or elk.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Where did they go? <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>On the other hand, we had </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">the longest period of sunshine that we’ve seen since we left <st1:State><st1:place>Utah</st1:place></st1:State>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Oh yeah<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>- “Eau de DEET”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>----- we were told that the mosquitoes would be minimal </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>because it had gotten cold in the mountains.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So we took a “minimal” amount of DEET </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>(about ½ oz of 100% DEET).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We used it VERY sparingly and brought back about 1/3 of </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">that – and about a dozen mosquito bites a day.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>This hike also emphasized the fact that Jim’s knee will preclude any more long hikes </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">until it gets “fixed” (replaced) – this Fall.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Being back in Jasper and trying to decide what to do next – we’ll probably head south on </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>the <st1:Street><st1:address>Icefields Parkway</st1:address></st1:Street>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We’ve driven it twice before, ridden a bus through it once – and </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>walked the length of the mountains it showcases last year on the Great Divide Trail. And </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">it’s eminently worth doing again.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">After that we know we’ll be going to Head-Smashed-in <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Buffalo</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Jump</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Provincial</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, which </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">reportedly has the best available historical exhibits re: pre-Columbian Plains Indian life.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN>We missed that last year – we won’t miss it again.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Y’all have a good day,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Jim & Ginny</FONT></P><BR><BR>http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/</body>
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