Fresh Sourdough Bread
Adventures with Abby
July 11, 2025
As I sit in our cabin at Ripley Creek Inn just across the international border with Hyder, Alaska, Abby is in my lap. We’ve just come from our morning walk and a visit to Trudy’s Temptations Bakery.
There was no bread yesterday, as Trudy wasn’t in, and apparently the others in her employ haven’t yet mastered the fine art of bread making. Today there are a slew of folks inside waiting patiently for attention. But I see fresh bread!
A lady in a blue jacket is standing outside talking with her friend who Abby and I met a few days ago. After being introduced to Abby and I she kindly offered to hold her leash while I go inside to purchase freshly made and still warm sourdough bread. I accepted the offer and joined the throng of people asking for sandwiches and baked delicacies.
I have lots of patience, but come to the conclusion this is going to take a while, so I stepped back out the door and explained that I’ll just come back later.
Abby’s new friend asked what kind of bread I’d like and if I have a $5.00 (Canadian) bill. I do, and placed it in her outstretched hand. She disappeared inside and emerged in short order with a still warm loaf of sourdough bread and handed it to me with a smile.
This is Stewart, British Columbia, Canada. Canadians refer to the Province simply as “BC.” It’s peaceful here, remote, beautiful, friendly, and I’m wearing a down jacket and rain coat in July.
Rather than try and recreate blog posts after the fact this year, because “Life happens” after I return home, I’m going to simply share pictures from the beginning of the trip as well, and see if I can get you caught up between now and a week or so from now when we saunter back to Icefields Parkway for a few more days of splendidness before heading to Western New York, think Niagara Falls, and a visit with my Mom, who is now 85.
The past two years I’ve shared a lot on this Substack blog, and all the posts are still there to be enjoyed. If you haven’t read them yet or perused the photography, please feel free to do so.
I don’t post these stories and pictures on facebook because I came to realize they essentially show 1 in 10 of my posts to 1 in 10 of my friends. All the while harvesting my data out the wazoo to monetize it. I’m not a fan. If you’re reading this it’s because you want to, and free subscribers receive every post. You have the option of looking at every picture and reading every word if you so desire. No algorithm is involved with Substack. I like it!
If you’re wondering how Substack’s business model works, they get a percentage from bloggers who charge a small fee from subscribers to see their posts. I’m just a guy with a dog. My posts are free. I’m just glad to share these heartfelt stories and images with friends, both old and new.
No, I don’t use AI to write, and all the photos were first seen with my eye looking through a lens before I decided to push the shutter button. I do edit every image before sharing them with you. To not do so would be akin to serving raw chicken for dinner. I prefer it cooked and seasoned.
One of the most satisfying parts of these journeys is the people we meet along the way. I plan none of it, and as such we can rightfully consider the spontaneous ”Meet ups” as the “Divine appointments” they often prove to be.
We first talked to fellow travelers at the Arkansas Welcome Center. Abby almost always facilitates the introduction. I handed out two of our “Adventure with Abby” cards, and we would later hear from one of these new friends after she made it to Alaska later in the summer.
The camper can also draw people in to take a closer look. As I finished my turkey and cheese sandwich a rather weathered looking man pulled in driving an equally weathered looking pick up truck. The camper caught his attention as he drove by. He turned around and initiated conversation so he could see the inside.
I would realize the “Divine appointment” part of his visit was when I told my brief story about Danielle and I doing these trips, and life itself, for a third of a century together. Two and a half years ago she went to Heaven. Now I have adventures with our dog Abby. The man began opening up about how his wife of a similar timeframe passed away earlier this year. I mostly listened, and at no time did I tell him I was sorry for his loss. Instead I compassionately expressed how wonderful it is that they had such a full life together. I know what that’s like, and I certainly know how he feels right now.
In case my daughter is concerned I’m surviving on a diet of butter tarts, halibut and freeze dried meals, here’s what I had for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. I’ve only had one freeze dried meal so far. Mountain House spaghetti. Delicious as always!
I haven’t forgot about sharing a few pics from the Axe Throwing and Bush Woman Competitions on the 4th of July. Substack has data limits on the size of these e-mails and they will each require a separate post, which you shall see.
It’s now 3:15 in the afternoon, and I’m beginning to get hungry. A drive across the border to Alaska to get some Fish and Chips at “The Bus” in Hyder seems to be appropriate.
The word I would use to describe what I feel here in Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, BC is “Peaceful.”
Extraordinarily peaceful.
I wish you the same.