October 18: Mark is home. Came in last night and looked good after his trip. He said that when he got off the plane in Austin it was the first time he had been warm in a week. He reported that he and Allen went to over twenty state parks in California. They also went over Donner Pass and saw a lot of snow.

Cancer Treatment Update: Amazing story about some woman cured of bile duct and liver cancer by a surgeon. Sounds too good to be true but maybe it is true. Check out the video at this link http://www.curedoflivercancer.com/ Mom also read about some liver cancer research which her fuzzy mind recalls was at the University of Utah. It involved sending bubbles of medicine though the body to the cancer site and popping the bubbles with radiation. That is a simplistic explanation. We've learned a lot about cancer treatment since these adventures began; just a couple years ago Cyberknife surgery was new to us and recently we saw an advertisement for it on a DC metro train.

Picture of Mark's sister, Stephanie, while we wait for Mark's pictures of the Elk in Sinkyone Wilderness (some people would probably rather see Stephanie and some would rather see the Elk so where are those Elk pictures, Mark?)

Stephanie is in England working in her new job with plans to move into her house there soon- she's looking forward to enjoying life in the village she has decided to move to. The photo is in honor of her selection as Japan District Teacher of the Year, and she'll be in Washington DC on November 2 for conferences. and so will Mom. Mark, James and Mom head for the airport very early on the 2nd. Mark goes out for Bangkok

Today is the day Mark and Stephanie's dad died 18 years ago; in honor, we'd ask that you tell someone today that you love them.

Continued Tales of Mark's Adventures with pictures to come

Mark called last night at midnight to report he is doing fine on his trip with friend Alan and Allan's dog, Bully. Continuing from the trip log below, the expedition stayed a night in the town of Fort Bragg planing to go out tuna fishing. there were not enough people interested in tuna fishing so the trip was cancelled. It was too cold to go diving for abalone. The fellows headed on for the Sinkyone Wilderness Area and camped out. Mark said Elk were everywhere and he took lots of pictures. Next they went through Mendacino and camped south of there. Monday (yesterday) was Alan's birthday so they left the motorhome quarters and stayed in a condo in the middle of wine country. Mark was tired so Alan had his birthday supper by himself and let Mark sleep, but as Mark says it was ok since they have been celebrating Alan's birthday all week. Today the guys will be in Bodega Bay and will cruise on back, stay at a casino hotel one night and Mark will fly back home on Wednesday to rest and plan the next adventure .

8134 people have visited the blog since Stephanie put the counter on and they come from 72 countries now.