Wes Warner's Memorial Day - July 23, 2011

Wes's Salmon Carving at the Fish Camp

Friends and family met at Wes's Fish Camp, his home on the Kenai River, to remember and celebrate his life, They came from Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, and Alaska.

Our new Winnebago Class C

Mary and I drove our new RV on it maiden voyage. It was a brand new 2007 model... but it was new to us.  Pogo, our young dog made her fisrt camping trip with us.

Mary and Pogo at Wes' s Fish Camp

Carla & Frances Ann Prepare food

There was a hugh run of Red Salmon up the river, so the river was packed with fish in the channel and people on the banks pulling them out. Lots caught at Wes's fish camp that weekend.

Paul and Pete Warner share a memory.

Ernie Warner flew in from Coeur d' Alene, ID

Warren and Wendy Hagman came in from Henderson, NV

Paul Warner flew in from Seattle to make friends with Pogo

Pete Warner talks to his cousin, Sean Waterman, from Arizona.

Frances Waterman came from Arizona with his two sons.

Friends and Family gather to share memories.

Waitning for the start of the Memorial Service.

Fishing was great on the Kenai - the Reds were running.

 

At five the group gathered for the Memorial to Wes.  Warren Hagman read  The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service,  Wes's favorite Alaska poem.

Warren reads The Cremation of Sam McGee

The launch to spread Wes's ashed.

Scott Waterman of Arizona pays his respect.

Carla Warner gives Wes's sshes to the Kenai.

In Memory of Wes Warner.

Wes We'll Miss You.

Another Time on the ALCAN - 6. Pocatello, ID & Provo, UT

Friday, October 2 - 257 Miles Today. We left the KOA at 11AM. The western approach to Yellowstone National Park was near, and we had planned to drive through it, but the bad weather that trailed us out of Alaska threatened to blanket the area with snow so it seemed prudent to head south. The town of West Yellowstone lay only a few miles from our camp. We connected with US 20 there, and headed southwest to hook up with I-15 at Idaho Falls. The road followed the Snake River and we passed a number of nice “summer homes” situated along it banks.

Mary thought Idaho Falls might be interesting, but traffic was heavy again (5PM) and it did not seem as enticing as we had imagined. The RV park we wanted to look at lay on the east side of town, but we weren’t certain of its location. I thought it would be on the lead-in to town and was scanning the roadside the last five miles, but found it sandwiched between I-15 and traffic lights on the town-side, - a busy, congested area. I missed the turn, was highly flustered, and so turned onto the Interstate heading south. We drove on another 50 miles to Pocatello, Idaho. Looked over a KOA camp, but settled on the Cowboy RV Park. We unhitched and drove into town on 5th Street which merged with Yellowstone Avenue, the main drag. Every thing was located along Yellowstone, and the restaurant that caught our attention was called “Wingers” - a place specializing in chicken wings. It was a good choice.

Saturday, October 3 - 227 Miles Today. We left Pocatello fifteen minutes before checkout time and headed south on I-15. Salt Lake City was jammed with traffic - six lanes wide and moving fast. I try to flow with the traffic and thus found myself speeding along at 65MPH - a higher velocity than I normally chose. The heavy traffic was a bit of a surprise but the Mormon’s were having a major conference.

We stopped in Provo for the night leaving I-15 at Exit 265. Unfortunately I veered left, passed over one bridge, under another, and soon found myself going in the wrong direction. Things seemed bad for a while as I didn’t know where we were going or when I’d get a chance to come back. I turned into a gas station and noticed we were on Center Street, the one I wanted. I got on it in the reverse direction and went under one bridge and over another and was soon back on track. Two miles further and we came onto the Lake Side RV Park. Sunday, October 4 - It seemed like it was time to take a break as we had been staying at a different place every night since leaving Alaska, and so we remained at Lake Side RV for a second day. The people at the park told us that Provo Canyon was the place to see, the fall colors were brilliant, and the Sundance Resort was located high up in the canyon, We drove up there, took a photo of Bridal Veil Falls, and then visited the resort home of the famous Film Festival. Luckily we did all those things on Saturday afternoon and evening because it rained on Sunday. We had planned to ride our bikes around Utah State Park which was adjacent to the RV park, but contented ourselves with taking Moonshine for a swim, doing laundry, surfing the Internet, perusing an old Ford tractor out of my youth, and attempting to fix a leaky kitchen sink.

GO TO: Part 7