We're Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

After 4 months and 1 day, we have once again crossed the Canada/USA border!
I must admit, it wasn't easy to return...we left the Canadian Rockies in Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff and found flat farmlands in southern British Columbia before reaching Montana. It was a letdown, to say the least.
I truly want to document our trip and the fantastic adventures we had, the new friends we met, the experiences and knowledge we acquired, and share some of the pictures of mountains, lakes, rivers, elk, moose, bears, porcupines, fox, eagles (bald and golden), dall sheep, mountain goats, etc. I had expected to keep a running log as we traveled, but each day was so chock full of all of the above adventures and animals, that we arrived home each night exhausted and excited for the next day's adventure.
We're currently in Butte, Montana waiting for new tires to arrive and after they do, we'll slowly make our way to Arizona to spend the months of November through March. We have a short trip planned to Mexico in mid November, but have decided to 'stay put' for the rest of those 4 months. We'll have the opportunity to see our sons in Tucson, I'll also fly to Florida to see my Mom and hopefully, Dom's dad will fly out to Arizona and then they will drive to California to visit Dom's cousin and aunt..We'll be able to spend unrushed time with our 'Arizona friends', and hope that some of you might find some time to come out to the southwest to visit with us during this time.
We've been somewhat out of touch during these 4 months with some of you, and also with what's happening with world events, American finances, and campaign news. I'm not sure that missing the latter was such a bad thing, either! I tried to at least read all my emails, but sometimes the internet connections were inconsistent and unreliable. I’ll review all the emails and answer them all very soon.
We did hear of some bad news from some of our friends, and for that we are truly sorry. It is challenging to be far away when you want to reach out and share your love and hugs with those you care about. It also affirms the need for us all to cherish each day and the beauty it brings. I hope we can catch up with all our friends in the weeks to come.
There is a bit of an adjustment we are finding .... although Butte is certainly not a big, hustling, bustling city, we are fully aware of the faster pace and more complex life we are seeing here compared to that we found in Alaska and the Yukon Territories. There's no doubt in my mind that i certainly miss that.
Please drop us a line or call us (now that we have email and phone service!)...we'd love to hear from all of you.