-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, September 01,
2003 9:12 AM
Subject: Greetings from
Westwood Lake - Miami, Florida
We're Home.
Wow, what a wonderful
trip! Almost five months, almost 19,000
miles. Lois and I are both missing it
already.
The web site www dot pryslak
dot net has been updated with the final few days of the trip.
I look forward to seeing you
soon,
Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, August 16,
2003 10:05 PM
Subject: Greetings from
Dubuque, Iowa
In the past ten days or so
we swam in a lot of lakes and several times in the Mississippi River. (Today we just read how there is a debate
about the health safety of swimming in the Mississippi River.) We saw two wonderful water ski shows, one
amateur and one professional. We
visited the original winter home of the Ringling Brothers circus and saw a
small circus there. We also went to two
more amusement parks - one indoors!
Except for minor problems
with flying, biting bugs, this seems to be a very nice place to spend a
summer. (It's kind of like living on
Westwood Lake.)
The rear slide out broke
again on the motorhome several days ago.
I worked on it for several hours into the evening, but it got too dark
before I could get it fixed, so I wedged it in the travel position so we could
drive safely. I haven't had a good time
to try to fix it since. This motorhome
has been wonderful except for the problems I've had with the rear slide out.
We're on the home stretch
now - all our expectations are to only go South and East now. We don't know the exact date, but we should
be home in about two weeks, give or take a week.
The web site www dot pryslak
dot net has been updated through today, and we seem to be in cell phone range.
Mike
305 609-8832
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, August 06,
2003 10:35 PM
Subject: Greetings from
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
We're finally back in cell
phone range - it's been a long time out in the middle of nowhere.
Today we drove east across
North Dakota and we're just east of Fargo.
We're not sure of the route we're taking home yet - tomorrow we have to
decide if we'll go east or west of Lake Michigan - we've got to study our
TourBooks to see what things we can see along each route.
We're most likely going to
visit Janet in Gatlinburg on our way home, too.
See you soon,
The web page has been
updated through August 4th at www dot pryslak dot net then click on the link
for the Spring/Summer 2003 trip,
Mike & Lois
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, July 26,
2003 10:30 PM
Subject: Greetings from the
base of Pike's Peak
Seeing Bryce Canyon National
Park again was important to Lois, so since we were in the area, we had to visit
much more of Utah. What a beautiful
state! The heat slowed us down quite a
bit--we weren't able to hike much, mostly we had to enjoy the views from the
air conditioned comfort of the motorhome and take only short walks. One day it rained, and we experienced a 55
degree change in air temperature in only two hours.
A highlight for us was
floating in The Great Salt Lake. We
liked it so much we went back another day.
The salinity makes everything, including people, extra buoyant. Floating on my back, my heels were
underwater, but most of my feet were in the air. Sitting up it felt like being in a small inner tube without the
tube.
If you're ever in Utah, take
note of Utah Highway 12 between Escalante and Torrey. This is one of the most beautiful roads I've ever driven. The deep canyons, vivid colors and then the
surprise of an aspen forest in the middle of mostly desert.
We tried to go to Lake
Powell to swim and boat, but the lake level was far too low, so we opted to
leave Utah and head for cooler temperatures in Colorado.
We spent a day at Mesa Verde
National Park and hiked to one of the cliff dwellings and viewed several others
from atop the mesa.
Utah had the heat, but
Colorado has crowded campgrounds. For
the first time on this trip, we've had trouble finding a campsite for the
night. It seems we're not the only ones
looking for cooler temperatures in Colorado's high country. The lack of campgrounds has kept us moving a
little faster than we like.
Tonight we're camped near
the base of Pike's Peak in the town of Woodland Park, just west of Colorado
Springs. I think this is the first time
my cell phone has worked since Salt Lake City.
We're aiming for Mount
Rushmore before turning toward home.
The web site at www dot
pryslak dot net has been updated with pictures through today.
Lois & Mike
Cell 305 609-8832
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003
10:33 AM
Subject: Greetings from
Escalante, Utah
I've just updated the web
site with more pictures. Everything's
great, gotta go.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003
10:28 PM
Subject: From Twin Falls,
Idaho
After a week in Wyoming,
including a quick return to Yellowstone National Park, we're now in Idaho on
our way to Utah. Even though we had to
work a little at campground reservations over the July 4th weekend, we are
still finding campgrounds with lots of sites.
And just when we thought it was starting to get too hot, we had a night
below freezing again.
We crossed the 10,000-mile
mark for this trip, and thankfully the motorhome is performing fine.
I've updated the web site
with pictures through today. The web
site is www dot pryslak dot net then click on the link to the Spring 2003 trip.
We hope you are enjoying
your summer and we look forward to seeing you soon, but not too soon,
Lois & Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, July 02,
2003 9:30 AM
Subject: Happy July from
Cody, Wyoming
WOW, we continue to have a
great time. I hope you get an
opportunity to take a similar trip very soon.
We've been out of cell phone
range for more than a week now. I'm
using a phone line at a campground to send this email and I just updated the
web site with more than a week's worth of pictures.
The web site is www dot
pryslak dot net then click on the link to the Spring 2003 trip.
We expect to be out of cell
phone range for at least another week.
We've been enjoying Montana
and had, perhaps the highlight of our trip in Yellowstone National Park. We saw a mother bear with her two cubs and a
moose. Some how, find a way to spend a
week in Yellowstone. It's fantastic.
Lois & Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2003
9:26 PM
Subject: Greetings from the
Columbia River Gorge
Happy Fathers Day to all you
fathers, especially Tom and Luis, with new kids
this year.
In the past week we've
explored Central Oregon and half of the Columbia
River Gorge.
We're starting to get warmer
temperatures - in the mid 80s in the afternoon,
but still in the low 50s in
the morning. We're also starting to run
into a
lot more people. We've been used to empty campgrounds, now
they're almost
full on weekends and 1/3 to
1/2 full on weekdays.
We're headed toward Grand
Coulee Dam and then to Cheney, WA to visit Lois'
friend's daughter.
The web site has been
updated every few days this week since we've had good
cell phone coverage.
www dot pryslak dot net then
click on the Spring 2003 trip.
Lois & Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, June 07,
2003 9:10 PM
Subject: Greetings from
Bend, Oregon
This week we've traveled south
from Mount Rainier to Mount St. Helens, back into Oregon, where we spent a day
in Portland, then went back to the coast to see our favorite barking sea lions
in Newport. We camped on the ocean,
then followed the Umpqua River inland to Crater Lake, and now we're headed back
north towards the Columbia River gorge.
I've updated the web site
www dot pryslak dot net with pictures of this week.
We've been having a ball,
but it has been hot. At Mount St.
Helens and again at Crater Lake, we walked around snow-covered ground in shorts
and t-shirts. At lower elevations it's
been in the 90s.
Until next time,
Lois & Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003
10:39 PM
Subject: Approaching Mount
St. Helens
On this last day of May
we're camped in the shadow of Mount St. Helens. In
the past week we explored
Seattle, Whidbey Island and Mount Rainier National
Park. We were in the largest building in the world
where Boeing puts 6
million parts together in
five months to end up with a 747. We've
been
blessed with fantastic
weather. The day we went up to Mount
Rainier it was
clear, sunny and in the 70s,
even though there were glaciers all around us.
We hit a minor bump
yesterday when the shear pin for the bedroom slide out
in the motorhome broke. This makes three times I've had this
problem, but
hopefully it will be the
last time since I replaced it with the hardened
steel pin Tom made for me.
We've got Mount St. Helens
and the Columbia River Gorge next on our agenda,
but we're not sure which way
we'll go from there.
I've added a few more
pictures at www dot pryslak dot net - then follow the
link for the Spring 2003
trip.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2003 8:18 AM
Subject: Memorial Day Weekend
We're at the southern end of the Hood Canal, not far from Seattle. We were so amazed at the number of RVs on the highway yesterday, that at one point we sat for about 30 minutes and counted every type of vehicle that passed by. We found 20% of all vehicles were RVs and about 5% were boats. Probably the same thing happens with boats going to the Keys for lobster season.
I've changed my return address in my email account in an attempt to try to reach those on AOL, Compuserve and/or Prodigy. If you are on one of these services and receive this message, please reply and let me know. (My email address hasn't changed, but perhaps the junk mail filters don't like my return address being different than the server sending my mail.)
We've been in cell phone range every day for the past few days, so I've been updating the web site each night. I'm also not including the web site address in this email, again in the hope that I can get past the junk mail filters that are stopping my messages. The web site is www dot pryslak dot net.
We wish you all an enjoyable weekend, and hope you are all well,
Regards,
Lois & Mike
Cell phone (in service this weekend) 305 609-8832.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2003 10:18 PM
Subject: From the north coast of Washington
We've been enjoying Olympic National Park and the areas in the northwest corner of Washington. This area is mostly uninhabited and filled with forests. It's amazing to see the crops of trees in various stages of growth that take 50 or 60 years to mature. Even though we all use lumber, it's sad to see the areas that have been harvested recently. We lucked into a three-hour private tour of two local sawmills that we greatly enjoyed. It was fun to see the logs turn into the lumber we see at Home Depot almost instantly. A few cuts, some planning and sorting and the lumber is stacked, dried then shipped.
Another highlight was standing on the most northwestern point of Washington at Cape Flattery. The Pacific was on our left and the Strait of Juan de Fuca on our right with Canada on the opposite shore. We had to drive the motorhome eight miles on a dirt road and hike about a mile, but the view was breathtaking and the geographical sense of accomplishment was exhilarating.
I've updated the web site http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/ with the last five days of pictures. The cell phone may work during the next few days since we're near Seattle.
We hope you are all well, we are,
Lois & Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 10:08 PM
Subject: Enjoying the Washington coast
Greetings from Grays Harbor in Westport, Washington. We seem to be out in the middle of nowhere, but we were surprised to see the cell phone was in service tonight - so I've updated the web site http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/ with the last few days of pictures.
We're camped with the front of the motorhome on the harbor, and we can see and hear the sea lions barking.
We were blessed with such perfect weather all through Oregon - now we seem to be getting some rain. But luckily, it doesn't seem to last all day. Just when we need it, the sun seems to pop out long enough to let us hike to a lighthouse or walk the dogs.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2003 10:46
AM
Subject: Still along the Oregon Coast
Happy Mother's Day!
We're still on the Oregon coast, now within 100 miles of Washington, and we're loving every minute.
There isn't much Sprint cell phone coverage in Oregon. Today is the first day the cell phone has worked since May 4th and we don't expect it to work very well for the next week or so also.
The web site has been updated with more pictures through yesterday at http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 9:47
PM
Subject: We made it to Oregon ! ! !
We've followed the coast north from Monterey and we're now in Coos Bay, Oregon. What a beautiful coast - cliffs, wildlife, forests, rough surf, expansive beaches. Wow.
The web site has been updated through today at http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 8:14 AM
Subject: Camped on the ocean at Princeton Bay
Yesterday we packed up from our campsite at the dunes in Marina, CA and drove into Seaside to have lunch with my friend, Meredith.
After lunch, we drove north along the beautiful California coast until we saw a campground (not listed in any of our books) right on the ocean. I'm sitting in the front seat looking out the windshield at the ocean, only 50' in front of me.
We continue to meander north towards Oregon. Today we will drive though San Francisco.
Only a few new pictures at http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 8:29 AM
Subject: From the Atlantic to the Pacific
Yesterday we walked in the Pacific Ocean!
We're camped at Marina, California across the dunes from the ocean.
Friday we were able to visit Yosemite National Park. The high elevation areas of the park were still closed, but we were able to enjoy the valley and hike to the base of the large waterfalls.
Saturday we drove west to the Monterey peninsula where we hope to visit my friend Meredith on Monday.
I've added more pictures at http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2003 7:02 AM
Subject: Going to Yosemite
Since Disneyland, we went to Six Flags California - Magic Mountain and two days at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We're now headed into Yosemite National Park.
The
web site http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/ has
been updated with more pictures.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 10:18 PM
Subject: Happy Easter from Disneyland
We had a great two days at Disneyland. Their new ride, "Soarin' over California" is unlike any we've been on before. It makes you feel like you're riding a hang glider soaring over the most beautiful areas of the state.
The web site http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/ has been updated with more pictures.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 10:00 PM
Subject: Camped on the Colorado River
Yesterday we visited White Sands and climbed the sand dunes. Today we visited Lois' friend Pat in Tucson, then drove west to the California border. Tonight we're camped in Arizona on the shore of the Colorado river - a cold swim across and we would be in California!
A few more pictures have been added to the web site at http://www20.brinkster.com/apryslak/
In the past few days we've seen some big swings in gas prices - the lowest in New Mexico, $1.269 and the highest in Arizona, $1.999 - for regular unleaded.
We're headed to Disneyland.
Happy Easter,
Lois & Mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 10:05 PM
Subject: Greetings from New Mexico
Hello Friends and Family:
Lois and I drove like crazy and today we finally got to go to our first National Park - Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Tomorrow we hope to go to White Sands.
I've finally put pictures on the web site at http://www.pryslak.net/ - click on the link for the Spring 2003 Pacific Northwest trip. I've done no editing, I simply put all my digital pictures on the web pages.
We're now in areas where my Sprint cell phone is usually not in service - so if you need us, please call the cell phone and leave a voice mail message. Even when we're out of range, we can check the voice mail using a pay phone. But without the cell phone service, we cannot check email.
Other than yesterday's wind and dust storm (the highest winds recorded at Carlsbad Caverns in 10 years - with gusts over 100 mph) we've had it great. We've had little traffic, everything is working well and we're enjoying ourselves.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 11:24 AM
Subject: On our way to the Pacific Northwest
Lois, her three dogs and I left Miami on Thursday afternoon in the motorhome headed for the Pacific Northwest.
We stopped our first night in Orlando and learned that Cypress Gardens was closing for good on Sunday, so we changed our plans and spent Friday at Cypress Gardens.
We then went to visit Lois' friends, Marge and John in Ocala. Saturday afternoon we started the long drive to Carlsbad, New Mexico. Last night we stayed in Quincy, Florida.
No new pictures are posted on the web site yet, but I thought I would at least try to send this email - while riding across I-10. Lois is doing a great job driving!!!