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2017 Possible Trip

Started by GAB, February 20, 2017, 02:23:21 PM

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GAB

Quote from: Andries on June 06, 2017, 10:33:30 PM
Seems that this trip is no longer a "Possible' trip - GAB and his lovely wife are on the road.
They've made it to the 'Great Frozen Yonder' as WDH likes to say.
From Northern Vermont to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canada.
Teea and I brought him a bottle of red wine, and he presented us with a jug of . . . maple syrup!

The four of us had a fine visit in their spanking new camper trailer, and compared notes on milling and the Forum. He especially enjoyed the Great Grits Caper of 2014. Check it out under "Crime Does Pay", by the very well known MagicMan.

His next port of call is Lumsden, Saskatchewan. @jrwoelk is next on his list of Western Canadian Forumites to visit - enroute to ( ;D not making this up) Frostfoot, Alaska.

Wishing GAB and Michelena many happy days on their adventure!

Got an email from RJ yesterday that said he is in Winnepeg and will not be home so we will not be visiting with him on this trip.  We are now headed to Spiritwood and then Lacombe, AB.
Frostfoot might be a better name for Coldfoot, AK.

To WDH for your information they are starting to thaw as the deciduous trees have leaves on them.
Gerald @ approx. 6:10 AM Indian Head, SK. time





W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

sawguy21

Quote from: Brucer on February 21, 2017, 01:54:15 AM
... and Gerald, we live just north of the Washington-BC border in the interior. The road south goes all the way down to Spokane, WA if you are headed in that general direction. Come on by if you're going to be in this neck of the woods.
If you come through the Okanagan you will pass within sight of our front door. Coffee is always on.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Grizzly

Well, Gerald and Mic..... I guess we never learned how to spell Mike for her......... are off and away to Lacombe to Bandmill Bandit. Was sure good to meet new folks and chat a while. Interesting how we normally would not be so open to having strangers in the yard but communication here on the forum allows us to know a little about folks and simply have a good time together. I saw them taking pictures so if you expect to see any it'll come from them. I was too busy enjoying the visit.

Lyle

And to future folks. Don't be allowing Gerald to teach your children how to fool Dad!!!   ;) :D
2011 - Logmaster LM-2 / Chinese wheel loader
Jonsered saws - 2149 - 111S - 90?
2000 Miners 3-31 Board Edger

Percy

Update. Gerald AKA GAB and his wife Mike popped in to my millsite today at quitting time. Awesome folks. I showed them around a bit but for the most part, we just GABbed. Some irony there  ;D ;D Like Andries, I got a jar of syrup too. Mike says its for grits, helps lube up the sand in your teeth texture of grits. I think i'll just put it on my sardines like most folks...or maybe pancakes even...Ya thats it. :D :D

Happy journeys Gerald and Mike. Was an honour  to meet you.
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

GAB

Quote from: Percy on June 29, 2017, 12:46:05 AM
Update. Gerald AKA GAB and his wife Mike popped in to my millsite today at quitting time. Awesome folks. I showed them around a bit but for the most part, we just GABbed. Some irony there  ;D ;D Like Andries, I got a jar of syrup too. Mike says its for grits, helps lube up the sand in your teeth texture of grits. I think i'll just put it on my sardines like most folks...or maybe pancakes even...Ya thats it. :D :D

Happy journeys Gerald and Mike. Was an honour  to meet you.

Thank you for the tour and the time you alloted us.
Tonight we are on RT 97 just S. of Prince George.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

GAB

To all who are curious about our trip I offer the following:
We left on 6/2 and returned after the Pig Roast on 8/7.
We took nearly 3700 pictures and none after the PR.
We spent almost $3700 (US) on fuel for the truck.
Me thinks that if Ontario 17 was straightened and leveled there would be enough road material left over to go from Sudbury to Moose Factory.  The only question would be how wide it would be.  I personally do not recommend this road to any one in a hurry, or towing a travel trailer.
We visited with Andries, Grizzly, Bandmill Bandit, Lyle Niemi, DGK, Parker Rittgers, Percy, Goose63, Trapper and Glassman_48.  All good down to earth folks with different backgrounds, educations, work experiences etc. Not a one in the group I would not want as a neighbor.
We took a side trip to Fort Laird as I desired to set foot in the NWT.  Saw a lot of Bison on the road side and a few black bears.
We did stop at the Sign Post Forest.  No, we did not have a sign to leave with us.
I would have liked to spend more time there however it was raining and the skeeters were very blood thirsty.
At DGK's I got to see his Logosol running producing siding.  I especially liked his waste bin for the Logosol - a shipping container.
From DGK's we went to Dawson City and stayed two nights.  The buildings do have the Klondike days facades and their sidewalks are also wooden.
From Dawson City we headed for the Top of the World Highway.  It is narrow just like a country lane and instead of the ditches being 1 to 2 feet deep the drop off is 1 to 2 miles.  Now I know that my eyeballs are not calibrated but it looked awful deep to me.  We crossed back into the U.S. at the most northerly land border port in the USA where the sign said population 3, then onto Chicken and then Tok on the way to Fairbanks.
Folk lore has it that when the elders of Chicken convened for the purpose of naming their town they wanted it to be ptarmigan but no one knew how to spell it so they settled on Chicken.
On 6/20 we decided to leave the travel trailer in Fairbanks and go to the Arctic Circle with only the truck.  It was raining that day and it made that gravel road messy and greasy.  At the sign indicating the Arctic Circle we took some pictures and headed back to Fairbanks.  We then headed south to Anchorage and found Mr. Rittgers.  I finally got an answer to my question of how thick the bottom board would be using his siding attachment.
After Alaska we headed down BC headed for the States.  Somewhere in BC I saw a sign showing a truck going downhill with a 15% grade advertisement.  What it did not say was that there was a switch back also.  I personally did not like that section of road.
Also in BC we were able to find Percy's operation tucked in the woods not visible from the road at all except for his arched sign over his driveway that said Thick and Thin.
Because of the ferry crossing cost of going to Vancouver Island was much higher than I had anticipated we did not go, and crossed into the U.S. at Blaine, WA.
On our way home from WA we stopped at my brother's in Boise and then we visited the Crazy Horse museum and some National Parks in WY, MT, SD, and MI, on our way to visit family and attend the Pig Roast.

To all the FF members we visited thank you for the hospitality, and Mr. Niemi thank you very much for the grand tour of the area. Hope your crops do or did well.
Gerald and Michaeleen
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

Magicman

Thank You Gerald for the write up.  It is still debatable whether we will ever make that trip again, but I know that we will always want to.  It's said that when one visits Alaska, you never come all of the way back home. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: Magicman on August 27, 2017, 09:29:31 PM
  It's said that when one visits Alaska, you never come all of the way back home.

Planning on sawing a few FROZEN LOGS in your future?  :snowball:
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

GAB

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on August 28, 2017, 06:14:05 PM
Quote from: Magicman on August 27, 2017, 09:29:31 PM
  It's said that when one visits Alaska, you never come all of the way back home.

Planning on sawing a few FROZEN LOGS in your future?  :snowball:

I do not need to go to Alaska for frozen logs.  All I need to do is wait til winter here in VT.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

Grizzly

T'was havin' French toast (I asked for English and all I got was a deep sigh) for breakfast this mornin' and asked for some maple syrup that was left for us. And out comes a bottle from Vermont!! And so I enjoyed anoth..........continued to enjoy the maple syrup that GAB left for us. You comin' agin GAB?? We gots lots of space for the camper.

Lyle
2011 - Logmaster LM-2 / Chinese wheel loader
Jonsered saws - 2149 - 111S - 90?
2000 Miners 3-31 Board Edger

GAB

Another trip up your way is not currently on the agenda.  I am glad we did it once.  Met a lot of nice folks both in O'Canada and in the US.  Got answers to my questions from Parker R.  I was not impressed with the skeeters especially in AK.  Also I'm down to four jugs of Vt Maple Syrup, I feel I'd have to get more if I was going on another trip.
Based on the caliber of the FF people I've met, I believe that Jeff would have made a hell of a Personnel Manager, but that is a personal observation.
Grizzly, for the syrup to last this long you must be doling it out with a syringe. 
How much snow do you currently have?  Are the youngsters skating on the pond?
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

Grizzly

Commercial stuff for general occasions and good stuff for special occasions. Really makes for greater appreciation of the good stuff. Not sure what was special this morning but I asked for maple syrup and that's what I got. No snow!! It's a fantastic year. Most farmers have even got crop off and cows should be home before snow flies. Kinda confusing after the last couple of years. So no skating yet but our youngest keeps wondering when winter will be here. I've tried the sales pitch that we don't need it but he's not convinced. In fact he don't even listen anymore. Oh well, we will have winter.
2011 - Logmaster LM-2 / Chinese wheel loader
Jonsered saws - 2149 - 111S - 90?
2000 Miners 3-31 Board Edger

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