We were itchy for the road again. So we headed south for a couple of days. First we stopped to visit my cousin David Irvine and wife Barbara in Vancouver, WA. Then we visited Ann's step-father, Andrew Flanders in Cornelius, OR. That's him on the couch with us. We stayed in Clackamas, OR overnight and then visited Bob's Red Mill the next day. That is Bob Moore himself speaking to us. Pretty cool huh? RM

So here we are back in our driveway after 194 days on the road and 29,341 miles on our venerable old 1983 M-B diesel. We had a blast and saw 48 states and two provinces. There was not a place that I saw that I did not like and saw incredible beauty. It was truly a Trip of a Lifetime. Would we do it again? YES! In fact, we are already starting to plan our next adventures. Some have asked, “What has been your favorite place to visit?” My typical response is, “Where ever I am that day.” That is me, and, for those of you who know me well, that is how I think all of the time. Every day is “my best day ever.” That said, the very, very best part of the trip was being with Ann 99.997% of the time for such an extended period of time. The only times that we were separated was when I had to go and get something for the car – which did not happen very often; but did happen a couple of times. Otherwise we were together. Richard

Ps. The adventures of Richard and Ann did not begin with this trip and will not end today. Check back on this BLOG (weB  LOG) from time to time to see what else we have up our sleeves – and there will be plenty.

 -Richard

It has been a wonderful adventure these past 6 months.  Before we started I could not imagine being gone from home that long.  Also, the car issue concerned me, but Richard told me it's a well built car and he was quite aware of how things work on it.  So we did have a few incidents where we needed a small repair but he was able to take care of the repairs we needed, for the most part, and we only took the car into a shop 2 times.  The past 4 months the car was incredible, we only had one small problem and Richard was able to remedy that within 2 days.  So I feel very blessed that we were safe and that we got to the places we were headed without incident.  We saw lots of amazing things, places we had heard about and read about, and it was so exciting to actually be there to see them.  We have some great memories of this time and I also loved being with Richard all of the time.  -Ann 

We drove across the upper part of Washington State on the North Cascade Highway and was it ever beautiful! Then we stayed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, WA and visited my brother, George. I did not see anything across America that I didn't think was beautiful. But, we were amazed at just how gorgeous Washington State really is. Richard

We visited the Riverfront Park in Spokane, WA this morning. Ann wanted to go on the Skyride over the Spokane Falls - it was too cool - as you can plainly see. Then we drove to Colville, WA in the northeast part of the state. -Richard

My best day ever - but then, I say that every day don't I?
We drove from Kalispell, MT through the mountains and saw the most excellent panoramas everywhere we looked. Ann is getting to be a most excellent photographer wouldn't you say. On the way, we saw this very interesting road sign in Paradise Valley. I had wondered about this for several weeks. And I know that Major Percival M.J. Wallace, soldier, philosopher and naturalist had speculated and postulated various theories on the mating habits of unusual animal life. Perhaps we, today, found the elusive mating grounds of the rare Wyoming Jackalope. This may be the reason there has been, to date, no credible evidence of mating of the species in the vastness of Wyoming. Alas we may have stumbled on the destination and purpose of the mysterious nighttime disappearance and reappearance of this interesting species. Indeed we may have found the real Montana "vortex." A scientific paper may be in the offing.
We then stopped to visit my cousin, Richard Budvarson in Coeur D'Alene, ID. I was named, I am told, after the famous original voice of "Music and the Spoken Word" with the Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City - the weekly radio program, Richard L.(Louis) Evans. But since my cousin, Richard, was 19 when I was born, I am quite sure that my mother, Irene, leaned toward the name Richard because Richard Budvarson was such a cool guy. So, I am pretty sure I am also named after him. He is one of the most fun people I know - lots of life - someone to emulate. We had a grand time. And we found out that he has, at age 85, got his old camera from his Army days out and is now pursuing photography again. I just love people with vision and sparkle and ambition. He is one of my heroes.
Oh yes, he calls me Richard #2. And he is, of course, Richard #1.
Pretty cool huh? Richard
 

Today we drove from Lethbridge, AB to Kalispell, MT. On the way, we traveled from the vast wheat fields of southern Canada through Glacier National Park and into the Flathead valley. It was a wonderful drive. Richard

Today was the coolest for me. We drove from Great Falls, MT to Raymond, Alberta, Canada and got to tour the home that my Icelandic Grandfather, I. M. Johnson built. And we got to walk in the upstairs bedroom where my mother, Irene Johnson Marin was born along with her twin sister, Ivarene. The interior walls had been redone, the exterior had been stuccoed and a bathroom had been added. But the floors, windows and interior trim were original and we were standing on the exact location where events would soon affect my life. My mother, Irene, only lived 27 years and died when I was two. I have only three things of hers. So, getting to visit this house today was hugely important to me and has been on my wish list for years. This will be a cherished memory for me for the rest of my life.
I. M. Johnson changed his name when he immigrated to the United States from Iceland. He started life as Ingimunder Jónson. It became Ingimore Johnson and then after he moved to Raymond, AB he changed it to I.M. Johnson which he kept for the rest of his life. While in Canada, he served on the Raymond Town Council from 1906-08. I served on the Edmonds City Council from 2001 until 2008. So he and I served in public elected office 100 years apart. Pretty cool huh?
Soon after my mother was born, Grandpa Johnson's health got so bad they moved to San Diego, CA
Richard

Yesterday in Philipsburg, Montana we went to Gem Mountain to do some sapphire "mining".  We bought buckets of gravel, washed it, and then searched through the contents for sapphires.  It was a time consuming process and we had lots of fun doing it.  We found about 30 or so sapphires, most of them too small to have cut but we did find 2 that were a sufficient size that we are having them cut.  It was a wonderful adventure and we had a great afternoon doing it.  The weather was so pleasant, even getting slightly cool.  It's the first time we've felt cool during the day for about 4 months. Ann
Searching for precious gems was awesome and I can't wait for the two sapphires to come back from the cutters so that we can have them mounted in some really cool ring for Ann. Richard

"Hey, hey, hey Boo Boo. Let's take this picka nik basket back to the ranger." Yesterday we spent the day in Yellowstone National Park and had a swell time. That is Ann watching Old Faithful erupt. We camped in our tent and took this gorgeous photo of the scenery this morning. Look beyond the old guy making no attempt to smile and shivering in the foreground. It was indeed cold at 7,000 feet. -Richard

Some have asked about what prompted this six-month road-trip. Well, in part it is a compilation of people and places I have wanted to visit for years. In the end, we have rolled many different visits into one trip. One such visit happened today in Lewiston, UT. It is a visit I have wanted to make for about 15 years. Here I am with Larry W. Dunn. He was my senior companion when we served as Branch Teachers in the Oak Harbor Branch in the early '60s. He was 19 and in the US Navy and I was 14. He set the best examples for me in how to have fun and enjoy life. He was someone I looked up to and respected. He was also the first person to let me drive a car. (I was 15) He had such confidence in me that he stopped near Marysville, WA, got out, went around and got in the passenger side and said, "you're driving." He then promptly fell asleep while I drove his 1955 Mercury Montclair home to Oak Harbor, WA. That was a major confidence builder and I shall forever thank him for his trust in me. We had an exceptional visit today that met my every expectation for this long awaited visit. Richard

We spent Sunday night with my brother Thomas Thunell and his wife Heather in Draper, Utah.  It was so wonderful to visit with them (top picture- Tom, Heather, Ann, Richard)
On Monday we visited with my college roommate Charleen Crawford and her husband Richard in Brigham City, UT.  Charleen and I were roommates for 4 years at BYU and we were in the same major, Homemaking Education.  It was so fun to catch up with what has happened since we saw each other many years ago. (middle picture Richard, Ann, Charleen, Richard C.  When we drove through Brigham City we saw the Brigham City Temple, now under construction.  It is very beautiful.
Then we visited with Elaine and Roger Newswander in Providence, UT.  Elaine was my roommate at BYU for 3 years.  We had  a delightful visit and so enjoyed being together again. -Ann

We are still in Wyoming following the Mormon Trail (Driving Route, which is quite close to the actual trail in many places).  Split Rock is a landmark for travelers on the trail and they could see it for quite a distance in both directions.  The next picture is pretty much the general scenery we have seen in Wyoming and it is also a landmark on the Mormon Trail where ice would stay frozen under the ground into June and July.  We camped  in the campground at the Willie Handcart Site. Also camping there was a couple from Germany we met, Volker and Petra, who were on a 20 month bicycle trip from Anchorage, AK to Argentina.  Wow!  We really enjoyed talking to them.

We took a gravel road for about 14 miles (scary at times) toward South Pass.  We passed Carissa Mine, a gold mine in South Pass City which was prosperous for a time and experienced several boom and bust cycles.  We loved the city sign for South Pass City.  We finally found South Pass and were able to walk out to the marker of the Mormon Trail, California, Oregon and Pony Express Trails (one marker with a trail marked on each of 4 sides).  It was so humbling and amazing to walk on the very trail that the Pioneers and especially important to me, that my great, great, great Grandfather Brigham Young had been on. - Ann

Of all of the pioneer trail sites we have visited in the past week, the one we stood on today with South Pass in the background is one of two that we could be 100% certain that we were standing on the actual exact spot where those events actually took place. The other one was Emigrants Gap. All of the others were all in the general vicinity and worthwhile, or course; but at those two sites we were standing on the actual spots where pioneers stood. It was awesome. Richard 

Flashback to Chicago, IL:  Here is a picture of our relatives we stayed with in the Village of Winnetka, IL--Richard's sister Sheila Duran (center) and our brother-in-law Rick to the right of Sheila.  While we were there we were also able to see Danica Elliott, our niece (Sheila & Rick's daughter) and her daughter Idra (on Grandma's lap)  Her husband Aaron (left of Danica) joined them later after we had been there.  At the far right is our nephew Brayden Duran who we were also able to visit with while we were in Winnetka.  We had such a wonderful time with them and they gave us great ideas of what to see and in Chicago. - Ann

After my father, George Marin, had recovered from Polio in September 1947, our little family consisting of Dad, our mother, Irene, my one-year old brother, John, and me a two-year old traveled to Cleveland, Ohio to visit my Grandparents. On the way back to San Diego we stopped at a motel in Rawlins, WY and on the night of September 7, 1947 my mother died of a seizure. I have narrowed the possible motels to these three. The next photo is of the former hospital where she was declared dead and the final photo is of the train station doors that her body passed through on the way to the train to be shipped to San Diego.
I can only imagine how hard it must have been for my father to continue that drive with a one-year old and a two-year old and no longer a wife. Richard

Yesterday, we drove to Martin's Cove in Wyoming. On the way we stopped at Ayers Natural Bridge and Ann climbed it too. Good for her. Then we drove to Emigrant Gap way out of the way. This is where the California, Oregon, Mormon trails and Pony Express routes went over a hill and a whole new vista opened up to them - a major milestone. We camped near Martin's Cove. We saw an incredible sunset, a marvelous sky full of stars that I haven't seen since I was 14 years old on Guam. We heard coyote and saw owls. Then there was an incredible sunrise too.
Up until now, I have resisted Trek. But today, Ann and I took a loaded handcart on a five mile hike that included Martin's Cove and a walk through the Sweetwater River. We walked right past the statues of the young men who carried the perishing pioneers across the Sweetwater. It was very moving. In the end we were exhausted and now have an even greater appreciation of those whose faith was so, so strong. Richard