27. Flat Stanley Visits Vancouver Island & The DaVinci Science Center!

Okay I'm behind on my updates again! Here is an email I got just about a week ago from Flat Stanley who is visiting Tim in Calgary! He said:

"Here are the pictures from my last trip in Canada. On our way to Vancouver Island we stopped off to see Lynda’s brother, Bruce, in Aldergrove BC where he raises and trains border collies to herd sheep. At present he has 13 dogs ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years. The first couple of pictures show the dogs running the sheep, while the third is a picture that Bruce sent us of a young puppy being introduced to his first sheep.

We then got on the ferry for Vancouver Island. The ferry had to run some tests while it was under way, so it was going a little slower than it usually does, and we ran into a small pod of whales. We got shots of a couple of them coming out of the water. It was wonderful to see them swimming and jumping alongside the ferry.

We then got to our hotel in Parksville where we spent the day just watching the tide go in and out. As you can see from pictures 6 and 7, there is a great tidal beach there that must go out for a kilometer or more. From our window we could also see a couple of bald eagles, and we got this shot of them by their nest.

We then went over to the west side of the island, near Tofino. This is as close as you can get to Japan and still be in North America. Pictures 9, 10 and 11 show some of the scenery in the area. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a place called Cathedral Grove, which is an old growth forest of Douglas Fir. A peaceful and quiet place for contemplation. Because it is part of a rain forest there is green and moss everywhere.

On our way back to Calgary we stopped again in Vernon. You may recall a picture we took a couple of months ago when we were here, one looking down the valley towards Swan Lake. The last picture shows what it looks like now with all the smoke from all the forest fires in the area. We went up on one of the higher hills, and from there we could see smoke rising from 6 fires along the lake.

This seems to be the end of my travels in Western Canada. Tomorrow we leave for Las Vegas, and from there to home.

See you soon,

F. Stanley"

Here are the pictures:

































Gorgeous pictures! That is some amazing scenery, and the border collies are fun to see! We are in love with the puppy being introduced to the young sheep!


We also took our hometown Flat Stanley along with us to the DaVinci Science Center recently. Here are some pictures from there:





















That last thing was pretty cool, we stood in front of this white wall, jumped or moved or whatever we wanted when they told us too, and then we got to see images of our shadows frozen in place on the wall even after we moved away :)

I do have another update to make as a couple more Stanleys actually came home, I will do that very soon! :)

26. Flat Stanley Visits Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump!

I received an email today from Flat Stanley who is visiting Tim in Calgary. He wrote:

"We’ve had a busy week and it may take a couple of messages to get it all out. We started with a trip to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. It shows how the Indians, or what the Canadians call the aboriginals, gathered the buffalo, or bison as they are now called, in a gathering area, then chased them along to the jump where they buffalo were killed. It was really very interesting, and the aboriginals used every part of the buffalo from the nose to the hoof to the tale for food, clothing, weapons, tools or decoration. There was no waste.


At the outside part of the exhibits you can see jump and the Indian camp, The gathering area and the drive lanes. Inside they show various of the artifacts from the jump area as well as dioramas of the excavation sides and the jump, so you can see what it looks like from below. They also show an Indian tipi and a dog pulling a travois. Until the white man came in the 1500’s the Indians had neither horses nor wheels to help them in setting up and moving camp, so everyone from dogs to children to old men and women, and everyone in between helped with the move.

F. Stanley"

Here are the great pictures that were attached:

25. Flat Stanley's First Group Photo!

This entry is just to show off the very first "Flat Stanley Group Photo." I gathered all of the Stanleys who have been returned home to us so far (along with our own "Hometown Flat Stanley") and took a group photo of them:



When I get a few more back, I'll take another one. It's fun seeing them all together!

P.S. Arggggh I HATE the way this site tends to sometimes cut off my pictures! It was worse on the first try, now I have it improved to where it only cuts off a little bit, but I don't know why that does that, and sometimes I can't get it fixed so that the whole picture shows up! Blah, but you should get the idea!

24. Flat Stanley Visits Two States At Once And Comes Home!

I received another email update from Flat Stanley who is visiting my sister, Alexa's Aunt Robin, in New Jersey (okay I actually received it like a week and a half ago, but like I said yesterday, I've been very behind in updating here! Sorry!).

Stanley wrote:

"Dear Alexa,

On Monday, Aunt Robin and I visited the Raptor Trust. "Raptor" is a name for birds that live by hunting, like hawks, eagles, and owls. The Raptor Trust is a bird rehabilitation center -- a place where injured wild birds can get medical treatment. When the birds are well again, they are released back into the wild.

Visitors are not allowed inside the hospital building to see the birds who are injured. Wild birds are usually scared of humans, so it's better for them to be in a quiet place where they feel safe. But there are some big cages outside with birds who can't go back to the wild. Some of them had injuries that couldn't be completely fixed. They can't fly well enough to take care of themselves, so they stay permanently at the Raptor Trust where people take good care of them.

We saw many different kinds of birds. There was a brown Screech Owl and a white Snowy Owl. There were several Red-tailed Hawks -- this is a kind of hawk that is very common in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The biggest bird we saw was an American Bald Eagle. The Bald Eagle is one of the symbols of the United States. If you look on the back of a one-dollar bill, you will see a picture of an eagle.

I think I will be coming home soon. It's been fun visiting with Aunt Robin, but I miss you a lot.

Your friend,
Flat Stanley"

Here are the two pictures she sent:





I received an email from my friend Kim, in Texarkana, Arkansas, and she wrote:

"Hey Nance,
Sorry it's taken so long, but I haven't forgotten about Flat Stanley. I admit that I did procrastinate, but I wanted to get a picture of Stanley at the post office/court house in our city. Texarkana is a bi-city and part of both Texas and Arkansas. Anyway, there is this place in front of the court house where you can stand and be both in Arkansas and Texas at the same time, while also being in the same city. We had to take his picture though from the car because they are having a big case there and the cops won't let you get out.

Anyway, Stanley is in his envelope and all he needs is a stamp, but I will try to mail him out this week. Probably Friday at the latest.

Again, sorry it took so long, but we had fun with Stanley!

Kim :-)"

She included this really neat picture:



We also received two Stanleys back home:

One said:

Dear Alexa,

Your FLAT STANLEY came all the way to Grand Forks, North Dakota.

While he was here, these are some of the exciting things he saw and did:

Went to Widman's candy store - famous for their chocolate covered potato chips! Rode along with Jackie and her boyfriend on their trip to Colorado! I rode through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado! We even took a day trip to New Mexico! I was able to see the Royal Gorge in Colorado, which is a very, very deep gorge carved/eroded in the mountains by the Arkansas River. It was the most breathtaking place in the world!

The distance between your town, Port Carbon, PA, and my location, Grand Forks, ND is approximately 1,400 miles.

If FLAT STANLEY should come back to visit, he should wear:

In winter: snowpants, parka and all other winter accessories! Otherwise we wear shorts and tees the rest of the year, because the climate here is freezing cold in winter and blisteringly hot in summer (well, it can be!).

Some other interesting facts about my location include:

Grand Forks is the 3rd largest city in ND
Grand Forks is a "twin city" with East Grand Forks in Minnesota
Grand Forks is home to the University of North Dakota
Grand Forks is a town prone to devastating floods and survived the catastrophic Red River Flood of 1997.

Enclosed for you is a "Minnesota" magnet and a pin from the University of North Dakota. I, Flat Stanley, spent a lot of time in Minnesota where Jackie is from. We went fishing and for boat rides both times I was there! The pin is from the college that Jackie attends. They are well known for their hockey program. I've had a fun time here!

Love,
Flat Stanley."

Unfortunately when the letter was received, the envelope was ripped open in the bottom right corner and the magnet and pin were not inside the envelope. But we do appreciate the thought and most of all we were excited to see what Flat Stanley North Dakota looked like :) Here is his picture, which I took when he got home:




The other Flat Stanley who came home came with a letter which said:

Dear Alexa,

Your FLAT STANLEY came all the way to Huntersville, North Carolina.

While he was here, these are some of the exciting things he saw and did:

While visiting, Stanley spent a lot of time swimming and boating on the lakes. He enjoyed a lot of outdoor activities, including going to parks, listening to music played outdoors by local bands, and hiking the local nature trails at Latta Plantation.

We took him on a weekend trip to Wilmington, NC to go to the beach. Next time he is here, he would like to see a Nascar race.

The distance between your town, Port Carbon, PA, and my location, Huntersville, NC, is approximately 521 miles.

If FLAT STANLEY should come back to visit, he should wear shorts and teeshirts and bring a bathing suit and life jacket, because the climate here is mild in the winter with hot summers.

Some other interesting facts about my location include:

We are in a suburb of Charlotte, NC, which is a big city and the home of some of the nation's largest banks, including Bank of America. Huntersville has many nearby lakes, including Lake Norman, a popular vacation destination.

-Heather."

Here is a picture of Flat Stanley Huntersville, North Carolina:



We love his sunglasses, lifevest, and fishie swim trunks! :)

I am now caught up on updates received so far. There are still a lot of Stanleys we haven't heard from at all and we hope to hear from them or get them back home soon!

I plan to start taking pictures of the Stanleys together as they come home- in fact, I already have a small group to start with, so I will take their group picture and put it up tomorrow in a new update, and then as I get several more back, I'll take another group picture, and so on until we have them all. Hopefully we DO get them ALL back home! :)

23. Flat Stanley Visits Some Airports and Avoids Crocodiles!

Okay first let me say I am SO behind on posting updates here! So I apologize to those of you who have been looking for them.

We received a brief update on Flat Stanley who, along with his "cousin" Flat Stella, is visiting with Gretchen and her family in Kansas. She wrote:

Flat Stanley and Flat Stella helped occupy our time during the first leg of our vacation layovers...


Flat Stanley and Flat Stella in the KCMO airport



Flat Stanley and Flat Stella in the Detroit, MI airport




I received a brief update from someone who is hosting a Flat Stanley in North Carolina saying that he visited Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington and that he will be on his way home this week. Here are two pictures of Stanley at the beach:





I got an email from Stanley's friend Peter, in Australia, who wrote:

"Dear Alexa,

Stanley is feeling a bit flat right now, worn out by his Australian travels, but he says he expects to be up and about soon.

He has asked me to pass on these pictures from his travels. He started in Sydney, in the suburb of Manly, and caught a famous Manly ferry (you can see one behind him, out on the harbour), over to town to see the Opera House.

Stanley also had a bit of an accident that day, just before he got on the ferry. He was standing down by the shore, but a bigger wave than usual knocked him over. Luckily, he was saved and I dried him out with a paper towel, because the very next day, we were booked to fly to the most northern tip of Australia, at Cape York. On the map, it's the top right corner of the Australian continent, the pointy bit.

We had to fly to Horn Island, to an airstrip that was once a US and Australian air force base, during World War II. Then we took a boat to Thursday Island, where he wanted to see what high schools look like.

Do you know about Australian crocodiles? There are two sorts, and the "salties", more correctly called estuarine crocodiles, will attack people. When Stanley heard that there were crocodiles in a small creek at the end of the school's football field, he hopped up onto a warning sign.

The next day, he made it to the tip of Cape York, where he posed for two shots, before heading down to the beach, where he learned that crocodiles were sometimes seen, so he hopped up on another warning sign for safety.

You can see more pictures of his trip (including one shot of Stanley in large format) at http://travel.webshots.com/album/573489584KPJfkN -- in that shot, you can see that a crocodile had not got his arm, it was just turned around in the wind.

Stanley is wearing a bush hat and an multi-pocket vest, which is what we often wear on expeditions. Stanley spent most of his time in the shade, because his fair skin meant he was more at risk of sunburn or skin cancers. We were only 10 degrees or so south of the equator, though luckily it was midwinter here.

Notes: Thursday Island was named by William Bligh, after the famous mutiny on the Bounty. There are also islands called Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I wonder if you can find them on a map of the Torres Strait and work out which way Bligh was going.

The other crocodile here is a "freshie", though it has more formal names than that. There is a difference between alligators and crocodiles, but I can't remember what it is.

cheers"

Here are the pictures Peter sent us:

















That was a fun update! Thank you, Peter, for drying Flat Stanley with a paper towel and for protecting his fair skin from the sun! I must say, we love his expedition outfit!



OK, I am STILL not entirely caught up on the updates I've been sent, but I plan to post another update tomorrow so check back :)