Debby and Gary at the laptop in the living room.



Our house and travel trailer.
Ready to head to Key West.




Gary and Sue
At the Boonsboro parade and concert on Dec. 5, 2008



NEW!
Jan. & Feb. 2009 Key West Pictures Click Here

2008 Key West Pictures Click Here

More Key West Pictures Click Here

Homosassa Springs Click Here

More Key West Pictures . . . Art and Jewelry Show Click Here

More Key West Pictures . . . Hemingway House Click Here


Prague, 2007 . . . Photos

We took a trip with the choir, One God, One Voice, December 5 thru 10 to Prague, in the Czech Republic.
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Key West, October 2007 . . . Photos

Went to Key West in October. Took a seaplane to Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson. Toured the fort and did some snorkeling. Watched the pet show, tattoo show, and the parade for Fantasy Fest.

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New York 2007 . . . Photos

Gary and I decided to take a long weekend and check out the Catskills - we had never been there before. And swing down through NYC and New Jersey. We ended up the weekend with a drive through New Hope, PA.
The first pictures are from a gallery we found in the Catskills, the last couple are in New Hope. I had a very small card in the camera so did not take many pictures.
June 2007
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Chihuly at Phipps. . . Photos

Fifty-three Pictures of the Chihuly Exhibit at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, June 2007
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Florida Trip 2006 . . . Photos

A few pictures of Paul and Gary at Lake Okeechobee, and some pictures of the hurricane damage. Scroll down for some pictures of Key West, and Rainbow River. Page 2 shows some pictures around Cedar Key, on the west coast of Florida.


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Alaska!
August 28 'til September 25, 2005


 Transportation in Alaska: Gulf Stream RV (first one broke down):

Another chapter in Paul and Gary's fishing/hunting experiences!

Arrived in Anchorage, drove to Palmer and state fair. North to see Mt. McKinley and salmon fishing. Went to Denali National Park and got a bus tour. Last shuttle bus tour of the season. Saw many Dall sheep, moose, 11 grizzly bear - 4 walked up the road past the bus. Drove across the Denali Highway and north to Fairbanks. North all the way to the Arctic Circle and beyond to Coldfoot, 60 miles north of the circle. Fished off the docks at Valdez next to the Ferry Terminal and caught several silver salmon (maybe 10 lb. ea.) and a few other fish. Took the ferry to Whittier and saw the Columbia Glacier. Drove thru the tunnel at Whittier and on to Homer. From Homer we did a lot of trout fishing and went to Seward. Walked to Ptarmigan Lake and fished. Lots of bear tracks but no bears. Saw lots of wolf tracks too, but they are even more elusive than the bears.
Went back north to Talkeetna - finally a clear day and got a flight up to the big mountain - what a wonderful experience - absolutely beautiful. Went up to Hatchers Pass, an old gold mining area and really pretty.

Just a few of the 310 pictures taken on the trip.


















































Wednesday, Septemer 7 - Debby got the postcard below from Gary.
Thought I would share it. Isn't everything beautiful?



Gary's notes . . .

A few people have asked: "Why are you going to Alaska . . . what are you going to do?" My thoughts go to the Harley slogan that says "If you have to ask, you probably won't understand".

Alaska is 1,400 miles from north to south and 2,700 miles from east to west (1/3 of which is in the Arctic Circle). Two and a half times the size of Texas, and Rhode Island - 425 times. Fifteen national parks. Seventeen of the 20 highest peaks. 47,000 miles of coastline, 3,000,000 lakes and 3,000 rivers. Gold was discovered in 1880's. Bear, moose, wolves, caribou, sheep, etc., etc. Five kinds of salmon, 5 kinds of trout etc., etc. Ninety-nine percent of land area is considered wilderness. Average=1 person per sq. mile.

My interest in Alaska started in 1970. I was working at the Washington Daily News at the time (out of business for many years). It was a very interesting and unique place to work. Some people had worked there all their lives. Some, called tramp printers - a few weeks at a time, but they all seemed to meld and work together. One such printer, considered a tramp printer - a black guy named Joe Adamore told me of his experiences traveling around the US and working in a shop in Anchorage. A high school friend in the Air Force was stationed in Anchorage with his wife and two kids, invited me to come visit. I went to work for the Washington Post and about a year later, decided to trade in my Toyota for a VW camper van and go north - maybe work a while where old Joe had worked. Drove the VW with first wife and 1 1/2 yr. old daughter, Susan. We left Hagerstown September 23 and got back on October 31. Eight days going north and 7 days coming back - 800+ miles of gravel road (each way).

I worked with Paul's dad at the News in 1970. Paul worked there too but our association began at the Post in 1980 when we went on an antelope hunt in Wyoming with Bob West. Returning from Wyoming we decided to take a week each winter and go fishing somewhere in the south. We fished in Md., Va., SC, and Florida and still go for a week fishing trip in February each year. In 2004 we talked about a trip to Alaska and the plans started to be worked out.

Leave . . .
Depart on Sunday, August 28, United 575
From BWI 12:45 pm, on a Boeing 757
Arrive Seattle 5:10 pm (Do not forget time change)
Depart Seattle 9:00 pm Continental 1587
Arrive in Anchorage 11:25 pm. (4 hours difference)

Come Back . . .
Return on Sunday, September 25, Continental 786
From Anchorage 12:55 am, on a Boeing 757.
Arrive Seattle 5:11 am (Do not forget time change)
Depart Seattle 9:05 am United 340 Airbus
Arrive in BWI 6:41 pm.



A few odds & ends pictures



Gary on the Potomac in the kayak and Paul with one of his "small ones" on Okeechobee.




These pictures were taken Sunday, July 31, 2005. I put the kayak in the bass boat and went up the river north of Harpers Ferry. I tied off the bass boat on the West Virginia side and took the kayak out to play in the falls and rapids. After 1/2 hour or so I returned to the bass boat and couldn't find the dog, Skipper. After some searching I saw him walking on the Maryland side. I guess he decided to go for a long swim.



We started using a net to catch wild shiners for bait. At a price of $18 a dozen (2004) we decided catch our own. I think we had as much fun catching the bait as catching the bass.





Links:


First trip to Alaska in 1973 . . . Old Photos


If you wonder what I do on Tuesday evenings
and most weekends - I'm playing tuba/Sousaphone
with the band . . . Rohrersville Band




Skipper on the way to Florida, Jan. 2008.
We lost Skipper on May 15, 2008 - he would have been 14 in July. We will certainly miss our "buddy".





Page updated June, 2007
This page was created on July 9, 2005 by Gary Weaver on my 58th birthday. E-mail: gweaver7@yahoo.com