Day 22

At this very moment, as I write this final entry, Ian is diving onto his bed saying, "This is my bed!" We arrived back at 5904 Wellesley about 6:40 p.m. after having driven 6,300 miles in all. I think Ian's response says it all....We missed home and are very happy to be back in our own beds.  As we finished our journey today, traveling from Bay City, MI, each of us had time to reflect upon the sights that meant the most to us...the things that we don't want to forget.

For Emma it was the yellow rocks of Yellowstone's Grand Canyon and seeing the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup in a steakhouse in Christmas, MI.

For Gordon, meeting up with 2 black bears on the road and the high waterfall at Yellowstone's Grand Canyon are favorite memories.

For Ian, it was seeing Carley and Joel and the sight of our first glimpse of the snow covered Rockies.

For Amy, it was the sight of Avalanche Lake after a long hike and viewing Lake Louise for the first time with Mom and sisters.

For Andrew, the view from his hike with Joel in the Cascade Mts. and Crosby holding up the Stanley Cup were tops on his list.

For Cindy, it was the whole family standing outside looking up in amazement at the sky on a moonless Montana night and the sight of a family of moose grazing along a back road heading toward Yellowstone.

For Carl, the beauty of the Columbia River valley with its snow-capped peaks and the discovery of the Avalanche Lake waterfalls were favorites.

Each of us is very, very grateful for the times that we have had on this western adventure. We never broke down and the things that kind of fell apart, we were able to fix ourselves as we continued on our way.  We have felt the strength of your prayers and have seen the loving care of God in our lives...each day. Thanks for sticking with us as we blogged. For this last entry, we've included some of our favorite pictures.

Special thanks goes to Daniel, Kevin, and Kati for holding down the fort at home and to Gene for his kindness in selling us the motorhome.

Day 21

Saying good bye to the three little farm girls and their new-born bunnies was hard for Emma.  We then headed back to the same town of Alpena and went on the glass-bottom boat tour of 4 ship wrecks from a century ago in Thunder Bay.  Later, the drive south along Michigan's Huron coast was fantastic and especially our stop at the Sturgeon Point lighthouse.  This remote facility and its grounds and beach are beautiful as well as interesting, and you can still ring a warning bell as much as you like.You can probably imagine how much that would be for Emma and Gordon!  We ended the day in Bay City and had dinner at Grandpa Tony's Italian restaurant.  Our stay for the night was at the local Walmart in what they could call their 'Retail Hosts' program! It seems Incredible that this will be our last night on the road. The time has gone by very quickly and we have been blessed at every turn to be able to be together in this adventure.

Day 20

Driving from the Upper to the Lower Peninsula, we were advised of high winds on the Mackinac bridge, but it was mild in comparison to the gusts of Wyoming and Montana earlier in the trip.  Staying at AJ's Berry Farm through Harvest Hosts was delightful. Their farm is near Alpena, MI, which is right on Thunder Bay, Lake Huron. The young family who own the berry farm gave us a warm welcome and we had a great time shopping in their barn store...strawberries picked that morning, asparagus, homemade bread, and raspberry jam. To Emma's delight we all were introduced to their baby bunnies.   Gordon encountered his first skunk during a round of hide-and-seek in the raspberry patch, but without incident.   We camped in the back field next to a 'sink hole', which is a spring-fed sunken pond surrounded by trees. The farm supplies asparagus to a local farm-to-table restaurant in Alpena, so we took their recommendation and enjoyed a tasty meal at the Fresh Palate and then ice cream a couple doors down the main street. In the ice cream shop, of all places, we read about the intriguing history of shipwrecks in this Thunder Bay area; each of our locally bottled pops had a story of a different shipwreck on its label! I wonder what surprises tomorrow will hold....

Day 19

Being sunnier and warmer than yesterday, everyone is excited about cruising around in the pontoon boat.  At first we thought we were at full throttle and going about 5 mph, but fortunately there were several more levels and soon were headed to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore at a good clip.  There were some very sweet colored rock formations, but watching Emma and Gordon drive the boat was the highlight of the 9 hour excursion.  Beaching the boat on a secluded white sand beach of Grand Island was really cool and there were 3ft. fish swimming around quite close to shore.  There was probably a 30 degree drop in temperature from the sun drenched beach to the lake-chilled winds 1/2 mile off shore.  Dad bought 'pasties' (pastry on the outside with dinner on the inside) to enjoy on the boat.   After a great, and exhausting, day on the water, we drove to the locks of Sault St. Marie and saw some very big boats navigating between the Superior and Huron great lakes. Our campsite for the night is right along the channel and everytime a boat comes through we hear the loud ship horn warning all of us of its approach...should be a memorable stay. Gordon prayed tonight that we'd all have a good sleep

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Day 18

The intention for the day was to rent a pontoon boat, but it was cold and rainy, so, fortunately, the company was fine with postponing our reservation until tomorrow.  This afforded opportunity to do our laundry and enjoy some local bagels in downtown Munising.  We also extended our stay at the campground for a night and, after it warmed up, spent the day walking and playing on the lakeshore beach.  S’mores was the order of the evening and Emma burned at least three times more marshmallows than she ate.  She also found a great 25-pound piece of driftwood that Dad agreed to bring home along with a fine selection of pebbles.

Day 17

Reaching Lake Superior for the first time for all of us (except mom) by any direction is awe-inspiring; although, coming by way of Duluth does remind you of its industrial heritage.  We read of the current day salvaging of huge logs that have been sitting on the lake bottom for 150 years having sunk during the journey of being floated to the mill, and then noticed some stores selling carved pieces from these ancient timbers.  The streams and waterfalls of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were a great find and we enjoyed one of these close up en route to the lakeside campground. Throughout the day Andrew kept us focused upon the goal of finding someplace to watch the Pens’ game. It was helpful this time to be in the same time zone….the last two games we had watched in various and sundry places in both mountain and central time….but we knew that these games were important to even the youngest Schartners who have been faithfully following the Pens this season. So, as soon as we pulled into  the Munising Tourist Park and discovered they provided some wi-fi, all onboard devices were put to use in our search to watch what could be the Pens’ final game and Pittsburgh’s 4^th Stanley Cup.  Fortunately, we found a large local pizza place just down the road in the tiny town of Christmas, MI, where we were not the only Pens’ fans, but we were definitely the loudest, especially when the game was over. The staff even rushed to turn up the volume for the ceremony, just so we could hear it.

Before our nightly time of praying together, we had our own Sunday service in which we all mentioned something we were thankful for…Carl wisely said only one person could mention the Penguins and of course we gave that privilege to Andrew!

Day 16

We woke up roaring down the road; the diesel engine raring to go on these wide open flat lands and Carl happy to make some time towards Lake Superior while the rest of the crew slept.  The speedometer/odometer has been determined to be underreporting by 13.5%, which means we’ve been getting a respectable 9 ½ miles per gallon of diesel fuel and that there’s actually been no reason to get upset with all the drivers seemingly going under the speed limit on Canada’s many two-lane roadways. Playing Frisbee golf on the grass lawn of Horse Thief Falls’ town park was the highlight of the day.  That happened just after forfeiting our oranges, based on the current citrus alert, to the immigration officer who carefully examined every child’s face through the front driver’s window. Our time in Canada will long be remembered.  We stopped for the night at a road-side rest next to a beautiful Minnesota lake and read aloud from a western novel and from the Bible to end the day.

Day Fifteen - 500 miles

Today we ventured into the barn to gaze upon some of the most beautiful horses I’ve ever been close enough to touch…admittedly, I probably haven’t been close enough to touch very many horses,  but these were truly magnificent, well-mannered horses. Two very kind and friendly students introduced us to the trainer who also had recently been competing in the Olympic trials; she very graciously gave us front row seats to watch her practice with her horse as she prepares for the next competition. It was an amazing display of strength, control, and grace.  We all have a new appreciation for these amazing creatures and those who dedicate themselves to train them.

We had to cover the miles today, but it was also important that we find enough wi-fi for Amy to submit her final exam in Geometry, one of the joys of cyber-schooling.  Finally we reached Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Then, it was a matter of finding some free connection that we could tap into without a password! Carl, the amazing bus driver,  maneuvered the motorhome in and out of at least 8 different options…we were beginning to get astonished looks from bystanders when, at last, Lowe’s gave us  enough bars to warrant parking there for the next 2 hours. While Amy took her final, the rest of the crew explored The Noodle Wok, Tim Horton’s Donuts, and, of course, Walmart.

We’ll travel late into the night as far as Carl wants to go and then we’ll find a spot to pull over for the night….all part of the adventure! But, as of today, Amy is  a sophomore.

Day Fourteen - Progress 250 miles

Driving east out of the mountains and into the Canadian plains we were treated to two bull elks by the road, each with very intimidating racks.  With the pine and mountains now yielding to pasture land with hundreds of cattle, we had to bid the Rockies farewell.
 

We were now headed towards the Flying Colours Horse Farm, south of Edmonton, which is part of a cool association of private farms that make space available to motor homes for overnight stay at no charge.  This dressage stable had no other visitors for the evening, so the kids enjoyed Frisbee on the grass lawns and a bit of interaction with two of the magnificently well-trained and beautiful horses that enjoyed running synchronously in the fields. Amy definitely has the touch with horses; they came right over to the fence for her.  I think that perhaps they were quite curious about the big white beast that rolled onto their grass.

Day Thirteen - Progress 200 miles

Carley and Joel began their travel back to their Seattle home early in the morning. The good byes weren’t as hard this time because they will see us in Pittsburgh the day after we roll in to the burgh!  Still, it always gives us a little lonely feeling without the older kids.

 The rest of us packed up and headed out, our destination being north and also a bit more west into the heart of the Canadian Rockies.  The Columbian Icefield is an incredible feature of Jasper National Park with glacial runoff streams that feed the Pacific, Atlantic, and even the Arctic Oceans.  We will now roughly follow one of these flows for the coming days as it forms the Saskatchewan River and winds east to the Great Lakes. 

 Seeing bear, mountain goats, a wolf, and elk were also highlights of the drive which ended in a Jasper area campground where it remained light almost until the 11pm quiet hour restriction.   Since this was our first night with all 7 of us in the rig, bedtime was anything but quiet.  We had never really tested the wooden platform bed that Carl had engineered back at home for Ian to sleep on and now “we” were forgetting just exactly how to put the thing together….Carl persevered to the point of exhaustion at which point he decided to take a little rest atop his creation. It was then decided that a lighter candidate like Gordon should try the new bed and Ian would sleep in the hammock with an air mattress suspended from the ceiling. (Carl in his wisdom had evidently foreseen this when reconstructing the motorhome ceiling to include the perfect hooks for hanging a hammock.) Anyway, when it was all figured out, no one slept on the floor and we were thankful to be safe and fairly warm inside, while the rain pattered on our roof. 

Tomorrow our crew of the five youngest Schartner children and two parents will begin to head east on our long journey home.

Day Twelve

Emma has the rare privilege to celebrate a second “golden” birthday this day; the first one having been last year when she turned seven on the 7^th (of June).  This year, being in the actual town of Golden, would seem to qualify as well.  Accordingly, Dad took Emma and Gordon to the top of the mountain in a ski lift/ gondola and were able to spot the snow covered peaks of six different Canadian National Parks.  

Cedar Lake was also very close by and is a fun and beautiful local swimming hole that Emma and the rest of us greatly enjoyed.  Getting back to the Air B-n-B, Emma’s primary request was that all of us pack into the hot tub, which, of course, we were very happy to do after enjoying the birthday meal and cupcakes for which Carley made a chocolate ganache topping.  Some game playing and opening of presents and not driving anywhere very far away made for a great and relaxing day.

To celebrate Emma’s birthday on our trip is really very appropriate, because she is one of the big reasons we decided to venture forth in another vintage motorhome.  She was not even two when we took our last big adventure, so we wanted her and Gordon especially to have memories of their own.

As she was falling asleep tonight she told us that this was her best birthday ever.

Day Eleven

 I apologize that we have been off-line…We got behind a few days for fun reasons and then it has been challenging to find service, but we are all fine and the bus has not broken down.  Don’t give up on us and thanks for all your prayers.                                                   

Having the luxury of driving Carley and Joel’s relatively small vehicle gave the girls and me the chance to do some exploring of our own heading over the mountains to end up picnicking in a garden park in Banff. The guys stayed in the Golden area to find a hike up a river canyon that featured mountain goats living close by.  Sure enough, a mother and baby goat were spotted halfway down the several hundred foot cliff on very steep rocky terrain. Of course this added more excitement to the adventure as the hikers tried to get closer to momma and baby…I can imagine what took place, but have decided not to go there. Gordon did inform me that it was good that I was not there….not sure how to take that!

The motorhome was struggling today but the boys pulled over on their boys' day adventure, cooled her down and put more coolant in and off she went.  Just another few days and we will be in flatter terrain, but we are so thankful for the way our bus has risen to each new challenging climb in the Rockies.

  Today we had to say goodbye to Anna, but before we did we were able to do one last special thing…. visit Lake Louise (in Carley and Joel’s car), a place that has been meaningful to me (Cindy) because it was one of my dad’s favorite spots.  It is good to remember my dad and my mom and us kids standing in front of Lake Louise, gazing at that beautiful scene with admiration for the One who created it all…..so many memories of days long gone made even more precious as I share them with my kids. I hope that this trip will be one of those memories for them.  And maybe someday they will stand in front of Lake Louise with their children.