5Jun08 To 4Jul08
Last edits: 26Oct08 0130 ADT
This site shares travel reports from Nikki & Ken, as we wound our way from home in Fairbanks (AK), to Portland (OR), Oshkosh (WI), the Mississippi River Valley, Ozark Mountains, Carrizozo (NM), Tempe (AZ), Lake Powell (AZ/UT), Bryce Canyon (UT), Salt Lake City (UT) Los Angeles (CA), Chico (CA), Ellensberg (WA) and back home. We left Fairbanks Jun 5, 2008, and returned home September 29, 2008. Postings were done as internet access allowed.
Nikki drove our Sienna van, pulling our TrailManor camper.
Ken flew our Cessna 182G.
We planned our travels so we met in the evenings at some combination of a nice RV spot near an airstrip. During the travels we stopped every few days and explored the area by air and by car (as weather and locale allowed).During this time, we were involved in: wedding of our daughter, Angie Kokjer, in Portland; EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh (including mass arrival of Cessnas); Kinne family reunion on Lake Powell; and other adventures we found or created along the way. The home front was covered by family and friends living in our house and tending to remote support of our travels.
..........Driving Map........................Flying Map.............5Jun08 Fairbanks, AK Starting out
Ken: We didn't finish packing/loading until mid-afternoon. Here's Nikki about to head out, while I still had packing to do. Then I had to get the plane loaded, file flight plan, etc. etc. etc. So, Nikki made it to Tok ahead of me!!Tok, AK
Ken: My new Breezer folding bike fits in the baggage compartment easily, once the wheels come off. So I could tie the plane down, dig out the bike, load up my backpack, and pedal down to the RV park -- arriving just after she'd finished setting up the TrailManor.
6Jun08 Haines Jct, YT
Ken: We didn't get an early start today, but it was better than yesterday. Nikki dropped me at the airport, and headed down the road. With the short legs of this trip due to Nikki's driving time, we planned on stopping here in Haines Jct. But that meant I had to clear customs at Beaver Creek (usual trip is to fly Northway, AK to Whitehorse, YT). So my day was broken into 80 minutes of waiting (2 hr notice required by CANPASS), a 40 minute flight from Tok to Beaver Cr, and a 75 minute flight from Beaver Creek to 
Haines Jct. I passed Nikki as she was driving the shoreline of Kluane Lake, but she didn't see me turning circles around her (I was 3000' above her). Winds from the low in the Gulf of Alaska, coming across the mountains between the ocean and me, made for a turbulent ride much of the day.Nikki: The hardest part of the whole road is behind me now (construction much of the way). Still, driving 40 mph allows for a more relaxed view of the land.
Random thoughts from the passing miles of alone time:
** All of my years of Alaska driving probably play a large part of me not even questioning driving this alone.
** How amazing adult life has been, living in Alaska.
** Having Ken fly makes for heightened awareness of aspects of the weather.
Somewhere just into Canada a young moose and I almost became intimate. He appeared as startled by the squeal of my brakes as I was by him bolting from the woods.
We finished the day by cleaning inches of mud from the outside, and dust from ALL surfaces on the inside, of the TrailManor. Dinner was very late.
7Jun08 Watson Lake, YT
Ken: Our plan was to meet at Daughney, a lodge/airstrip on the continental divide. But the folks at Whitehorse flight service thought the airstrip would be in poor condition, and didn't know if the lodge was open. But without cell service, I couldn't easily notify Nikki. Amazingly, she was in Whitehorse at the same time. A VERY friendly Flight Service fellow drove me into town to look for her, and we found her at the grocery store! So we went on to Watson Lake. From my overflight, and Nikki's drive by, it
probably would have been a good place to stop. Lots of thermals -- most of the day was 500-1000 fpm up, then down at a similar rate. A couple of the bumps had me up against the seat belt pretty firmly. So I kept the speed slower for much of the time. When Nikki arrived, we were able to park the van/camper by the plane. Nice rain through the night, but we were cozy in the TrailManor.8Jun08 Iskut Village, BC (~50mi south of Dease Lake)
Ken: A combination of two weather systems had a lot of moisture/clouds along our path. I held off flying for a couple of hours, then filed to go take a look. I was concerned with more than just potentially low ceilings. The Casiar Highway winds through some passes that look intimidating on the sectionals. Plus, I'd bought a Juneau, instead of Atlin, as it looked like they both covered the same area. Turns out Juneau started about 1.5 degrees further west, and the Casiar winds exactly down that missing sliver. I was able to get an Atlin from a friendly soul. The Garmin 496 did a great job, as usual . Weather was great: high overcast (flying 6500' to 7500') meant much less turbulance. One of my first times actually flying the blue diamond marked pass route, though I was high enough that it was no sweat. Iskut strip is something else. I had to fly around a line of rain (possibly light snow included) showers to slip
between them and some mountains, round a corner and find the strip dead ahead. But it's an upslope, with not much possibility of a go-around. Approach was steep, landing not the best, and strip had some rough spots. Nose strut totally deflated when I parked it. Now what to do.... I biked the 5 Km or so to the Red Goat Lodge where Nikki was just starting to set up.Nikki: Cassiar - the road hugged the lay of the land, following the curves and hills.
Big black bear right on the side of the road, got upset when I turned the classical music off. Ken asked if I figured how fast the window would go up. I was more concerned with how fast I could get the music going again.The bear helped with the rough road. Forget frost heaves! It was watching for the pavement heaves that caused some passages to be
at 5 miles an hour. Still, the landscape, the velvet carpeted forest floors, lakes and limited traffic made this an amazing drive.Glad to get to the Red Goat Lodge, but worried that Ken would try to fly in in the bad weather. The trailer was a mess. Dirt covered every serface. Not amused! As I was trying to get the trailer unhitched Ken came rolling down to the site. I was shocked at seeing him. He helped clean everything inside.
9Jun08 Red Goat Lodge, Iskut
Nikki: Woke at 5:30 AM. Not mad at the trailer for being a dirt magnet. Looked out on the lake, watched the sun kiss the tips of the mountains. 
Had hot tea and went through the last 2 weeks of mail. It brought home to this wild spot. Once Ken woke - not saying how many HOURS later that was - we packed a lunch and went canoeing on this 10 mile long lake with only 2 human touches in sight, our camp area and a private home. It was a magical day, the rest most needed.10Jun08 Red Goat Lodge, Iskut
Ken: We spent the day cleaning, packing, and organizing all the stuff we just threw into the van in the scramble to get on the road. Also, I talked with my airplane mechanic, Vickie, then found the pieces she suggested to prop up the nose until I can get to a shop and get the strut fixed. Plane now even looks happier. So it should be ready to head to Smithers in the morning (pending good weather, of course). Very restful, and rejuvinating day.
11Jun08 Smithers BC
Ken: Lovely flying from Iskut to Smithers. A couple of the narrowest, twisty turning mountain passes I've been through. Fortunately the solid overcast was at about 6000, so flying 5500 and hugging the right side gave me enough "turn around" security to forge ahead. The times I'd love to have had photos are the times I was fully focused on flying -- sorry, but "aviating" comes first. Then climbing to 7500 above the scattered "puffies" made for what should have been hands off flying. However, the nose gear didn't fully extend and was canted to the left. So I flew the whole 2 hours with the right wing low. "Winds calm" at Smithers didn't account for significant thermals, and the huge back hoe at the end of the runway needed to be flown over. So the landing was one I'm glad no one filmed. Slight pull to the left, then the nose gear was responsive to rudder. Found a mechanic, replaced the valve stem and pumped it up. We'll see if it's still up tomorrow. But the next issue is to see if the local Toyota dealer can fix the cruise control that simply fell off somewhere in Nikki's drive today. It's becoming a trip of mechanical issues...
12Jun08 Smithers
Ken: Folded up the trailer, drove to a laundromat, dropped trailer and Nikki (with laundry) and drove to Toyota dealer. No cruise control switches available in Canada, so we made arrangements to have it waiting for us in Spokane. Lunch at the renovated train station Cantina was superb!! Found another nice RV park on a golf course, and relocated. Quiet evening.
13Jun08 108 Mile, BC
Ken: Flying today was a lot of zig zagging both horizontally and vertically. Rain showers all over central BC. XM displayed radar images on the Garmin 496, which helped a lot. Kept speed slow for some turbulence associated and managed to hold altitude within 500 ft! Planned to fly the 2.5 hrs to 108 Mile, but weather looked worse and I needed a rest. So put down in Prince George. Spent some time looking at the radar and checking reports on the computer kiosk. I saw Nikki drive by, on the tracking, while I was checking it all out. A couple of guys came in from the SE in a C185 and said it wasn't all that bad. So I fired up to have a look. It wasn't all that bad, and 108 Mile soon was found. 108 Mile is a really nice strip, new owner of the FBO there, pleasant chatter while waiting for Nikki. But she had a long day (over 400 miles), so we're in a motel/resort on a great golf course next to a lake.
14Jun08 Oliver, BC
Ken: Easy flight from 108 Mile Ranch to Oliver. Last few miles were a bit exciting, as I thought I'd gotten into the wrong valley going through the pass. There was space to climb and look around and I found a way across to the main Okanagan valley. After landing and reviewing the map, I found that I'd been exactly where I'd flight planned, but it just hadn't looked right at the time. This time I was way ahead of Nikki, so got some reading done over lunch at a really nice pilots lounge. It's door, and gates to access the airport, are code locked, and a sign says the code is the last 3 digits of the ELT frequency. Nice way to restrict access to pilots. Nikki dropped the trailer at the campground, then came the rest of the way in to get me. Met a German couple parked next door, and found the woman had never been in a small plane. So off we went for a 45 minute flight seeing trek, upstream to Penticton and back down the valley a ways. I think she studied the GPS and plane panel as much as the view out the window. It's fun to share flying.
15Jun08 Oliver
Ken: Lazy day so far saying goodbye to the German couple, eating late breakfast, showing off TrailManor to another couple walking by, and getting Nikki's computer reprogrammed to get on the internet.
Nikki: Travel and exhustion made doing blog entries not high on the list. Now we are camped at a small lake near Oliver BC for a few days. Weather is perfect. We might even swim some today.
Recapturing thoughts a few days past is hard. While driving I have great ideas to write in here - even play with the wordsmithing some. But, like a blank piece of paper, the fading thoughts fly quicker than snow birds with the first frost.
Have you ever tried to find the place where the land changes from green to not green? Do you ever take an extra breath when at the peak of a mountain pass? Do you look for the spot where new types of vegitation grow? 1000s of miles, hours on end, with only music and the landscape. Some might think it Hell, but for me it is Heaven.The Cassiar Hwy had some surprising changes from when I drove
it 19 years ago. A town was nothing more than covered gas pumps, an open door to an abandoned store, and trailers long past their prime. I pulled in for gas bone dry. There happened to be a man walking to his truck, just finishing his lunch break. He and his partner sold me their extra 20 liters, which was enough to limp to a village 95 miles later, once again bone bone dry. The thing that didn't change on the Cassiar was the lay of the land. I must revisit in my sleep the places I drive, because I would come on a certain part of the road and know I knew it.
It was a relief to get off the Cassiar and turn East on Hwy 16. The little town at the junction was a place I stopped for lunch. Found a tax place who also sold coffee. There was a lunch special in which I couldn't understand what was being served. But, it was 3 PM and my light breakfast at 7:30 AM was long gone. So, I ordered it. It was quiche on steroids. It tasted good, but by that time if it wasn't walking I would have thought it tasted good.The charm in this little community was in the road names, such as"Short Road," "Yard Road," etc. It made me think of how communities grow. This one has been around before cars. So, I guess the roads got named by what they were.
Do you know of anyone who has hit a bear with their car? I've heard of moose, caribou, deer, etc.
being hit, but never of a bear. I was driving along and the backlit brush had a silhouette of a bear shape. I started breaking, just in case. Mind you, after a long day of driving I start seeing bears in the trees, leaping from branch to branch. Anyway, after the downshift in gears the silhouette started moving forward. It was a bear. I swear that bear was waiting to cross the road and not only knew of cars, but knew them well enough to know I was breaking. Ok, maybe I've been spending too much time alone.Now that we are near the Washington boarder, we can slow the pace a little. The plane, car and trailer are all with little problems. We've ordered a car part to be waiting for us in Spokane. Now there is a new 'clunk' sound when I put the car in park. The trailer needs a good scrubbing inside and out. I hope to never take it on gravel again, or only for short distances. Still, with all of the problems, we are in perfect weather, in a new place to explore, and we have our own little home here with us.
Time to start painting daily. The plan is to post photos of the area we are staying and my sorry attempts at painting 'en plein air.'
16Jun08 Oliver
Ken: There's a nice paved bike trail for miles along the Okanagon River. We rode our bikes the 6 Km or so into town -- actually past town just to explore a bit. Path closely parallels the river, and is mostly shaded by large trees. A couple of places have benches. Idled along main street a bit, bought a couple of books at a used book store, found a decent Indian restaurant run by a Sikh and his wife, then headed back "home". On the way home, we took a rest at one of the benches (easing sore butts) and worked through the first dozen or so moves of the Tai Chi we've been working on. Time to get back to that regularly! Back at camp, we took chairs down to the sandy beach, sat with our feet in the lake and read a bit. It was fairly hot today!
17Jun08 Spokane, WA
Ken: The 1.5 hour flight from Oliver to Spokane is one of the most tiring I've done. Another day of fighting thermals, keeping the speed down so the turbulence wasn't so bad, almost constantly changing power to keep altitude excursions under 500'. I had a tight time frame for showing up at US Customs. Added to that was misreading the GPS and thinking the ETE I was looking at was the ETA. I kept thinking I was going to be really early, throttled back a lot, and finally discovered my mistake. Then I had to use as much speed as turbulence allowed to not be late. Arriving, winds were gusting and variable direction., strong thermals, and the pattern for the runway had me skimming the downwind side of a hill. I don't recall so much action in all controls in a long time. Cleared Customs, got the plane into a shop to really check out the nose strut. Nikki arrived, we set up in a KOA park about 10 miles east of town. Did the usual cleaning up dust, then found a really wonderful Moroccan restaurant. We are here until Saturday, so likely not much posting the next four days. Friends and family to see. Car to get into shop to fix cruise control and some worrisome noise just heard. Maybe even some "tourist" time exploring the art scene here.
Nikki: Ken & I decided this trip wasn't going to be tied in knots, trying to link with friends and family. The wedding & family reunion would serve as 'community' connections. Well, not sure how it is working out, but we have had an abundance of seeing people. The following pictures are a glimpse of some friends.
Aunt Georgia in her new kitchen, Uncle Mel being introduced to the powers of the Internet.
Steve, Pierette, Emily and Julia. We spent an afternoon/evening with them. I did an on the spot portrait of Emily, as a graduation present. We also came back for a Saturday morning breakfast with them and two friends from their church. Not a lot of time with a very special, long-time friend.20Jun08 Spokane
Ken: Van is back in "spiffy" condition: cruise control replaced, various really dirty fluids and filters replaced, rocks cleaned out of carriage, etc. We've had nice visits with Nikki's aunt/uncle, and Nikki's longtime friend/family, who live here. The plane, however, is in need of parts for the nose gear. In checking the strut out, the mechanic found a bend and crack in the upper articulating arm. He is trying to find salvageable parts, but we may have to bite the bullet and go new. And since it's Friday, there's no hope of getting the plane ready to go tomorrow. We are exploring options. While we wait, Nikki and I have run some of the Tai Chi routine, I have laundry running, Nikki is painting, and I'm impatient to hear from various contacts on plane parts.
21Jun08 Spokane
Ken: Plane parts were found/ordered but not expected in until Monday morning. So, we spent today with friends Pierette & Steve, then organizing and packing for the next driving leg. Thinking the trailer battery was bad, and getting to the RV dealers just before the weekend closing, we went ahead and bought a new battery. In checking things over to find out why we had no battery power in the trailer, I discovered that the wires to the right brake on the trailer were broken. After a couple of trips to Lowe's, I was able to replace the wires, and also determine that the battery has a bad ground. No time to try to fix that. "The world is a small place" happening. I was wandering around Lowe's trying to find the parts, and approached a couple of uniformed guys to ask directions. Before I could say anything, one says "Ken?!!?" It was Dan Harris, another ex-Fairbanksan who sang with the AK Chamber Chorale. We did not have time to get together with Dan and Trudy, but Dan ended up doing me a great favor. I left the battery with him, and sometime later put things together for him to return it to the RV dealer so I could get a refund. So, Dan, we owe you...
22Jun08 The Grand Lodge at Forest Grove, OR
Ken: Since the plane wouldn't be ready until Monday or Tuesday, and daughter Clare was due in from Oxford on Sunday, I drove to Forest Grove with Nikki. Nice to have some travel time together, and be able to share driving so we could do it easily in one day. Buckets of fresh strawberries and cherries found at a "stand" along the way made it even more enjoyable. We got the trailer set up and prepared for Clare, who arrived about 11pm Sunday night. Angie and Roger (the bride & groom to be) came to spend some time with us before we had to run to the airport for Clare.
The week around Portland was fantastic. Sunday through Friday was based at the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. Saturday we moved into the Benson Hotel in Portland for two nights. We met a bunch of Roger's family members, the Nagles from Ireland. We had a winery tour and BBQ. Of course we rehearsed, then did the actual wedding. Details of all that will be posted on their web site -- http://roger-angie.com/index.html -- before too long.
23Jun08 Grand Lodge
Ken: Monday was spent around the Lodge, connecting with folks starting to arrive.
24Jun08 Grand Lodge
Ken: I took a commercial flight back to Spokane to fly the plane to Hillsboro, the closest airport to Forest Grove. What a lovely flight. A little thermal turbulence for the first 20-30 minutes while I climbed to 8500'. Most of the flight, direct from Spokane to Pasco, then along the Columbia River, was very calm. I was able to check out the approach/surroundings at Cascade Locks, where we expect to spend a couple of nights in early July. Nikki & Clare spent the day with Angie and doing some shopping, before picking me up at Hilsboro airport. Bev (Angie's mom) and Dave (her husband) had arrived, and we sat and chatted for a long time before Roger's family began arriving from Ireland. Pizza dinner with Roger's immediate family gave us yet more opportunities to get to know our new relatives (to be).
25Jun08 Grand Lodge
Ken: Dave's sister, Jill, arrived with her husband Oden. Jill brought her sewing machine and has been adjusting and modifying dresses most of the day. Nikki and Clare did laundry, and prep for a bridal party tonight. The rest of us just lolled around chatting and eating. Among the various family groupings, there are 16 of us so far. More will be arriving each of the next two days. Angie and I got a chance to practice waltzing together, something we'd not done in many years.
26Jun08 Grand Lodge
Ken: More getting acquainted with arriving Irish contingent. We all did a Winery tour in the afternoon, then a BBQ at the Lodge in the evening.
27Jun08 Grand Lodge
Ken: The day before the wedding. More folks arriving almost hourly. Final adjustments to dresses, gathering of details, etc. Some of us just set up computers in the gathering room and worked a bit and watched all the preperatory activities. Then we all trooped into Portland for the rehearsal. Most of the wedding party moved from the Grand Lodge to the Benson Hotel in Portland, so there wouldn't be so much travel on the wedding day.
28Jun08 Benson Hotel, Portland
Ken: Wedding day. Wedding was in a small Catholic Church on the east side of the river. It all went off as planned. Back to the Benson for the big reception dinner/dance/socializing. It was all really quite wonderful. And it even wrapped up fairly early (I think most folks were gone by 2 or 3 am).
Nikki: With the world becoming one neighborhood, most have to spend limited funds and
vacation time just to attend big family events. Angie & Roger designed their wedding with care, comfort and enjoyment of the guests as one of the highest values. Good job kids! This picture was choosen to depict the wedding because it was a week of gatherings, allowing us to build friendships and fall in love with new members of our extended family. And we had great fun while we were at it too. The little girl in Angie’s lap is Amy, Roger's niece. She danced her heart out at the reception.29Jun08 Benson Hotel
Ken: Angie had asked the immediate families to stay around on Sunday to just spend the day in more family interactions. We ended up with a big group for the amazing brunch the Benson puts on. Lots of photos, goodbye hugs, various groupings of conversations, etc. etc. etc.
Nikki: Speaking of family, this photo is all the kids Ken & I claim, and they us, as ‘our children’ plus some of the partners and offspring. Roger, the groom, is missing in the picture. Josh had to leave within minutes, driving semis accross the nation. Late trains, and wedding activities didn't allow for a pre-nuptual photo of the kids. As it happened, we started pulling whoever we could catch the morning after the wedding. The decadent Sunday brunch at the Benson Hotel helped lure them in! (I'm in fishing country these days). When it looked like all 6 of them could be pulled together at the same time and place we forced Clare to interrupt Angie & Roger's post wedding morning. Angie dressed quicker than Roger! Alaska Girls kick butt!
These photos are called “Bed Full of Storytellers” and "Children of My Loins." Mandy Moran, Quin’s sweetie and very talented photographer, was trying to get a certain image of my 3 biological children in a hotel bed. Quin and Kevin were not easy to direct! I followed Mandy around with my 
camera. Not a nice thing to do to a professional, but so glad I did. Winter of 2007 was the first time this batch of 3 kids were together since Clare’s high school graduation in 2000. The blending of lines of who is related to whom, and how are so fine that within this lovely - odd family, we didn't think to get a picture of just the O'Brien part. So, I was glad when Mandy put them in bed together.30Jun08 Newport, OR
Ken: After many goodbyes Sunday and Monday, a small group of us headed for the coast. Nikki & Clare drove out very early to the Grand Lodge to hook up the TrailManor we'd left there, then head to the outlet mall in Lincoln City. I decided to leave the plane at Hillsboro, and pick it up on the way back from the coast. So Bev, Dave and I had breakfast with a bunch of the other wedding party, then drove to McMinnville to spend the afternoon at the Evergreen Air and Space museums. I got to poke around the Spruce Goose for a bit! We caught up with Nikki & Clare at the mall, still shopping. Bev & Dave went on to their motel, while Nikki, Clare and I finally got to Beverly Beach State Campground and the trailer set up just about dark. We'll be here until 4July, when we have to move out of the campground. Nikki and Bev will be painting. The rest of us will likely spend time on the beach, on our computers, reading, etc. etc. etc.
Nikki: Clare traveled with us for a week after the wedding. "Us" included Bev & Dave VanAmburg the bride's other parents. Oregon Coast - walking the beach at low tide, biking after dark around the campground, painting with Bev, sharing nightly meals, reading and Outlet mall shopping gave Clare the much needed rest. She is now offically a Ph.D. canidate of Oxford's Medical Science department, and will be going to South Africa soon to start a research project.When we left here, we began the trek to Oshkosh.
