July June May 2006 Latest news
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28th of July hi glade to report my
main email is working fine now, I had been leaving a copy of my
emails on the server and it had clogged everything up. Bryon from
Namehog.net (The company who have been hosting the website for
free since Rosie started her world run), was really helpful in getting
everything sorted out, many thanks James.
By the way I forgot to introduce this email from
Rosie herself, which I was very excited to receive a few days ago.
22nd of July 2006, Hi Jim, Using hotel
computer! A small effort this morning to stretch my little bubble of
life a bit - i.e. try doing as promised - using computers at each
place... Not so hard really!!!! I always feel eyes are watch me at
night in these forests. There are many, many bears and wolves
around, but they have been ok. I try to act as if I too belong in
the forest indeed I have been sleeping in forests so much in Siberia and
in Alaska and Canada that this is true I just try to smell unafraid - I
think they pick up things like that.
The language that is without words is universal I
believe - both between people and animals - it transmits feelings - and
does so as swiftly as lightening. However wolves do not usually
attack people. I think it is a privilege to see them. Again, this
journey is not so much about trying not to be frightening - as trying
not to be frightening. I am privileged to have met many people and
creatures in a way I could never have done had I not been vulnerable and
alone. It's worth it.
By the way a lady here says reindeer males lose
their anklets in Oct or Nov...females keep theirs until the spring???
She pointed out that if this is true - then the big secret is out --
Santa's reindeer./.. Dasher... Rudolf and the rest - must all be lady
reindeer - what a thought? I'd like to know if this is a fact? or
just another amusing myth.
Glad you are going camping. I still love the red
pot etc. Have been trying to eat better since you were here - and showed
me the way with you haute cuisine de camping! You can put this letter on
the web - direct from me to you to all all my extended web family
all thanks to your great work. Tell everybody I am vvvvv grateful
for the kindness and support. PHD, Suacony, Geoff Hall, Steven Seaton,
Steve and Giles who made Silver. Terra Nova, because I still treasure my
little Saturn Bivvi - and all the rest of my supporters. And a big
thank you to Bob, I would definitely not be alive without all his outstanding
help.
Thank you to Kath Arners, to Meryl Sharpe and to
the fantastic Ann Rowell who is always first to help. I am vvvvv lucky.
I will talk to Steven in case it is useful for you to talk to someone re
y our leg. Hope to talk to him at Teslin - which is in about 120 miles.
must try and get this off - running 20 miles a day. but did nearly 30 to
get to White horse. I am determined to do the Chicago marathon - for the
Kitezh Community in Russia - I want to know that they are always on my
mind - they help so many children and in a way that really matters and
works. I love you. Next big email from Teslin. Take care. Hugs to all
the family, Rosie xxx
Hi here are some photos and email kindly sent in by Heather
Worden, always love getting photos. Many thanks James.
Hello James!!
My name is Heather. I have had the wonderful pleasure of meeting your mother this past weekend in Whitehorse, Yukon. I work at the Airport Chalet where she was staying. She is awesome, what a beautiful person!! She asked me to take some pictures of her to send to you with hopes that you could put them on the site. Oh, and good job on the site, you've done great work. Your Mother is an
amazing person, you and your sister should be very proud!!
Heather Worden
14th of July. Just had a text from Rosie says
she has been checked out by three wolves sounds quite relaxed about it
said they did not want to stay for breakfast. Also just had these
photos sent of Rosie kindly sent in by Jan and Rita Eggens They were
taken in a place called Destruction Bay in Canada.
12th of July 2006. My trip to meet Rosie in Alaska part 2
Me and Abigail spent a very nice night at Pat and Marjorie
Cole's in
Fairbanks There was no darkness and it was very weird and hard to sleep
even though the windows were blacked out with heavy blinds. The plan was to
drive up to Tok where Rosie was about to arrive at any moment. The
visitors center at Tok had arranged a welcoming party to meet Rosie for when
she comes into Tok which was going to be around 2pm. So we set off
for the 250 mile drive to Tok in our
hire car to meet Rosie.
It was a blazing sunny day and it was a great drive, amazing scenery
which got better and better the nearer we got to Tok. Lovely
strait roads and little traffic. Some hours later we where on the outskirts
of Tok looking for any sign of Rosie.
I soon spotted Rosie's, 'Rosie is here' sign made for her by Al
Brawner a good friend of Rosie from Fairbanks. And Rosie lying by the
roadside having a snooze on her caribou fleece.
We had a great meeting with her, I was over the moon to see her after
so long and there was much fun and excitement. here are some photos.
Top right is Don Abbott, who with his wife Barbara run
the Tundra RV and
campsite that we stayed, a lovely couple who let us stay at
there campsite for free while we were in Tok for a few day. Really
nice campsite. The next series of photos is Rosie getting all
clipped up to run into Tok Visitors center. And that is Abigail
filming it live as it happened no stage managed stuff for her. We
got a very friendly welcome in Tok. And things get even better
after this. Regards James. End of
part 2.
.
9th of July. Hi Rosie is making good
progress she has reached Haines Junction and should be in Whitehorse in
a few days.
Rosie has been following the Alaskan highway into
Canada it is the road that is heading down at about 130 degrees from the
top left, Whitehorse is in the center of the map. And is about 200
miles into Canada.
Here are some of the very latest photos I took of
Rosie and the new Silver Dream Machine sled which Rosie has named
'Silver'. This was commissioned by Runners World magazine who have
been a huge supporter of Rosie's world run. Rosie would particularly
like to thank Steven Seaton of Runners World for all his help and
support. Rosie is very pleased with 'Silver', when she get tired
she is able to flop down and sleep without having to put up a
tent, I found out she can get very tired during the day sometimes and
needs to rest . Although it is quite a lot bigger and heavier
tham Hercules her last sled, it is very maneuverable with the steering front
wheel and holds far more.
That picture on the bottom left is me with Rosie,
middle bottom is my last shot of Rosie before I left for home in a rainy
Canada. I brought from Fairbanks loads of reflective stuff that
has not been put the sled at the time of the photo as it was too wet to
stick them, so it should be a lot more visible now.
My trip to meet Rosie
I will start from the beginning, the flight
over to Alaska I few from Gatwick near London to Minneapolis airport and
then on to Alaska, Just the usual drama of leaving my passport at
home and having to drive about 150 miles to get it at the last minute
thanks to my sister Eve the the taxi service.
Made the flight with minutes to spare, I was
fully prepared to leave all my luggage in England so as not to miss the
flight, managed to check it in late and it got lost I later discovered.
I knew Abigail was on the same flight but did not
know what she looked like. I was a little preoccupied with violent
car and airsickness for the start of the flight. A little way into
the flight there was a bingbong on the intercom asking if there was a
James Swale on the flight.
The flight to Fairbanks.
And that how I met up with Abigail. We had
been emailing a lot about her plans to film Rosie for BBC4. We got
on really well and it made the flight a lot more bearable. The
flight was eight hours and two hour stop off and then a seven hour
flight to Fairbanks Alaska. By the time we got into Fairbanks our
bodies where telling us it was about three in the morning.
We where met at the Airport by some some very
lovely people who were friends of Rosie and had very kindly come to meet
our flight they were Pat and Marjorie Cole and Dan and Jennifer. Both
these couples had meet Rosie and offered her they very kind
hospitality. This hospitality was extended to me and Abigail and
was hugely appreciated. We were whisked away by Pat and
Margery to stay at there for the night.
By this time I have found out that my luggage had
gone missing, Pat lent me some clothes and also his very nice tent
here are some pictures.
Here is a picture of Marjorie Abigail and Pat.
More to follow regards James.
7th of July Hi everyone I had a very
productive, enjoyable exciting time in Alaska. It was great to see Rosie
after so long. As you know Abigail Neal from BBC Wales traveled
over on the same flight to stay for a week to film Rosie for an documentary
for BBC Wales. It was great to be involved with her
filming, I though Abigail did a highly professional job of the
filming, and was great to be around and in my view she has similar
drive and determination as Rosie.
Since I have been back I have been wiped out with
quite an amazing cold. I also was informed that my broadband
company had 'taken the money and run' as it were. And I have
to wait for my MAC code so I can transfer to another provider.
Please be patient there is as lot of news and
pictures coming. There is a lot of people to thank as well.
I am giving myself the luxury of waiting till I don't feel half dead
before writing much about Alaska.
What I will say is that Alaska was one of the most
amazing places I have ever been to. I found Alaskans to be the
most honorable, decent, kind and generous people I have ever met.
I hope that I get the chance to visit the State again in the
future..
Enough about me. I just got a message on my
answer phone that Rosie is just about to enter Haines Junction, about
160 miles into Canada. I will be writing a lot more about
Rosie. We got on so well, it was like being with a good
friend. I have not seen her since she left about two an a half
years ago. It was a huge boost seeing her.
And I got a true understanding how hard she has to
work to do what she is doing. In baking heat she ran 30 miles with
her new trolley sled up endless hills. It was wilting just
standing in the heat. Me an Abigail drove on to find a campsite
30miles away. I got a new found respect for Rosie's strength and
endurance, doing this day after day.
7th June 2006, Hi I am writing this in-between
franticly packing at the moment, as I am flying off to Alaska tomorrow
to see Rosie. I will try, but it may not be possible to update the
Website until I get back. When I shall have loads of news. I
have left this page as a combined June / May so the page is not too
bare.
The location of Tok where me and Abigail Neil are all going to
meet up with Rosie..
I received this email for Keith Bushby the father
of Karl Bushby who as many will know along with his friend Dimitri, achieved
a daring crossing of the Baring Straits and were arressted by some very
un chilled out officials from Siberia. Rosie met up with the pair
and she had a wonderful meeting with them and friends and fellow
adventurers. Rosie is interested in making the crossing herself at
some point in the future. This is the Email I received from
Keith.
James,
Karl and Dimitri finally managed to recover all the seized equipment from
the authorities and returned to Alaska on 23rd May. Having missed a couple
of opportunities previously Karl was keen to meet up with Rosie before she
got too far east. Consequently on the 27th Dimitri and he took a car from
Fairbanks to meet Rosie on the road. The boys are full of admiration for
what Rosie has achieved so far, and I'm sure a lot of good information must
have been swapped.
I have attached a photo of the occasion.
Best wishes,
Keith Bushby, ( Karl's father).
Goliath Expedition.
4th June, Hi everyone, all is well, website
is still in the process of being updated and taking a little longer than
I expected, as photo editing and rescanning is not my strong point as I
have discovered.
2nd June 2006 Hi Rosie is on her way to Tok where
I shall be meeting her, had some lovely emails from people there
planning on giving her a great welcome when she arrives. The web
page has gone into June, I have realized that the about photos are not
matching the seasons so am doing an update to the layout which is taking
a little time. I am slightly worried about my trip to visit
Alaska that I have become too soft though city living I am not quite
sure what to expect in terms of wildlife, but I am looking forward to it very much.
regards James.
29/May/2006 Hi everyone I am getting really
excited about seeing mum in just over a week. The plan is to go
camping along with Rosie around the many campsite along the route,
I will be hiring a car and will hopeful lightening Rosie's load by carry
some of her equipment along the way. Rosie is very much looking
forward the the arrival of her specially designed buggy, that will be arriving
the same time as me and Abigail.
I received this great email from Diann Darnall on
the 24th, many thanks James.
Greetings from Alaska!
Hi! Jimmy, I meet your mum yesterday afternoon on the hill descending to
Birch Lake. It was a beautiful sunny spring day in the 70's F.
Her
spirit was extremely upbeat, which I imagine is probably her norm.
She
is a delightful person. I shared some fresh fruit & veggies and
bread and
she shared some stories. I was truly blessed to connect with her.
She asked that I send you a message to let you know she is well and
Hercules is doing well and both she and Hercules are looking good.
She especially wants to say Hi to her son, daughter, grandson and
friends: Patrick, Phyllida, Catherine, Non, and Nedd (I hope I got that
all right.) She really, really appreciates all the support you have
given her! Thanks also to Steve, who I believe is Hercules'
designer.
She is also dedicating these 1,000 miles to Rita.
Thanks and gratitude go out to Bob Collins in Nome for his unbelievable
feat in getting Hercules delivered to Fairbanks through DHL.
Thanks Bob
and DHL!
In Fairbanks the Catholic Diocese assisted her in getting back on the
road with the new wheels from Beaver Sports, thank you. Thanks to
Al
for the new sign "Rosie is Here" (see the photo). Much
gratitude to
everyone who has helped, so many people, she says she is the "most
spoiled woman in the world". "Everyone has been so
wonderful!"
See is very excited about the upcoming rendezvous with son, Jimmy in Tok
June 8th (she mentioned it numerous times!) She is also looking
forward
to see the BBC representative that is coming with Jimmy. In
addition,
she mentioned the new "Silver Dream Machine" which is
scheduled to come
to Tok with Jimmy, she lights up when describing it's wonderful new
features!
Occasionally, she sees people she has met before who catch up with her
again and always delights in seeing them. So when possible, keep those
visits coming.
She is warmed by the thoughts of her immediate family now expanded to
include all the new friends she has around the world. So many she
says
she hardly knows what to say. Sometimes she regrets not being able
to
communicate her gratitude to her supports & friends more often, as
she
has to conserve her cell phone batteries. However, her deep gratitude is
obvious to anyone fortunate to meet her.
OK, that's about it. I will be sending some photos. I hope
they come
through Ok. Let me know.
Diann Darnall
Fairbanks, Alaska
And some photo kindly sent to me by Brenda Cruz.
Hi James: My name is Brenda Cruz, I'm a Spanish Teacher at Monroe Catholic Jr/Sr High School in
Fairbanks, Alaska. I got the pleasure to meet Rosie and have her as guest speaker to my Spanish 2 class. I took some pictures of that day, she talked to a big group of students in the Chapel the next day. Thanks for stopping by, Rosie and hope to see you soon.
Thanks, for all you are doing!
Brenda Cruz
23/05/06 Hello everyone, apologies for the
news gap everything is well and back on track I have been sent loads of
great photos as you can see. Rosie is very well I spoke to her
this morning. I am very much looking forward to seeing her
myself in a few weeks, I have booked a ticket to fly over from Brighton
England. I will be setting off on the 8th of June. I
will be traveling with a BBC journalist Abigail Neil who is coming out
with me to interview
Rosie. I will be staying on a bit longer. Also I have
updated the contact me page with Rosie's email address.
Rosie would like me to pass on her deepest thanks
to all those here and the many other people who have given her such kind
hospitality.
The above photos were sent to me by
Sister Dorothy from House of Prayer in Fairbanks
These photos a from the DHL depo
DHL have been wonderfully helpful all though Rosie's run around the
world, Rosie wanted me to thank them all for her.
Rosie's frostbitten toe looking well healed.
These photos where very kindly sent to me
by Bev Jones, (more photos to posted shortly)
Rosie being looked after by Leslie Ann Ambrose, above.
This was sent in by Jim and Marilyn Woolace
Another hard evening in the Alaskan
wilderness.
These two photos where sent to me
by Dan Seim, many thanks.
11/5/06 Spoke to Rosie today she sounded in great
spirits, she wishes that thank everyone, she is being made to feel so
welcome in Fairbanks. She is very busy at the moment sorting out
her equipment. And asked me to thank DHL who are going of there
normal delivery routes to return the sled she borrowed and have other
vital equipment delivered.
I was delighted to receive this from Jerry Dixon who
kindly wrote a news update for the website after spending time with her
in Fairbanks, it is always great to get news on the ground. Thanks Jerry.
For all that she has been through, Rosie looks
great, bright eyed and full of energy. Very few people could
frostbite their toes then fall and break two ribs and still run 20
miles/ day pulling their gear. I drove 500 miles from Seward on
the Pacific to Fairbanks to help Rosie and see my smokejumper friends.
Rosie was appreciative because the broken ribs made it difficult for her
to lift heavy objects. As a smokejumper packing heavy objects to
throw out of airplanes was one of my jobs. So I packed up the
'Spirit of America' sled to ship back to Dennis Douglas who had lent it
to Rosie. Then we packed up snowshoes and gear to be sent to Nome,
winter sleeping bag and gear to be sent to England and more gear to be
shipped to Tanana. When we showed up at DHL to ship gear everyone
there wanted Rosie to sign the recent front page newspaper article about
her journey. Then there was a question about how to pack the sled
and Rosie said, "Don't worry I have a smokejumper here, he'll get
it right."
Only in the highest levels of those with whom I
have climbed new routes, done first descent of rivers and snow filled
couloirs, traversed mountain ranges or jumped from airplanes have I seen
the degree of commitment I see in Rosie. She is World Class.
Regards Jerry.
I always love getting photos for the website and
these were kindly sent in by Pat Lambert & Marjorie Cole who gave
Rosie some wonderful hospitality. I particularly like the last
photo of Rosie.
Here are some maps of Fairbanks and surrounding area.
8/5/6 Hi just has a long chat with Rosie from Fairbanks
she sounded in great spirits. Her rib is still quite painful and
she has had it looked at by the local doctor who very kindly waved the
fee as a donation to cause. Rosie has two broken ribs, and has to
still take things very easy. Bunnies buggy is still going great
but she has had to cut back on a lot of equipment. She has caught
up with some friends there, Jerry Dixon and and Bob Collins. Everyone
who reads this website will know the huge amount of his own time Bob as
put into helping Rosie, she and I are very grateful to him. She is
planning to set off on Saturday to continue her journey.
Regards James
Here are two photos kindly sent to me by Heather
Koponen, taken outside the House of Prayer in Fairbanks, where Rosie is
staying.
1/5/06 Hi Rosie is making good progress and should
be in Fairbanks in the next few days. I hope to have an update from her
then. In the meantime here is a catch up of some news and photos.
Hi everyone, hope you all had a good May day. Had these
photos sent to me by Ute, this is the email she sent me, many
thanks.
I
met Rosie on the
Historic Elliot Highway
at mile 80 traveling from Manley Hot Springs toward the intersection
with the
Dalton Highway
. Rosie is in good spirits and copes well with her broken rip. She has a
buggy that holds her stuff. The road is in good conditions but the
temperature drops sharply below freezing during night.
I
have attached photos of her taken on 4-27-06 at mile 80 and photos of
the historic Elliot Highway Rosie is traveling.
Godspeed
to her.
Ute
Kaden
(Texas-Germany)
Huge
thank you to all at Manley Hot Springs. This picture is of Rosie
visiting the students at Gladys Dart School. Everyone was
so kind and friendly to Rosie, with Carol helping her get her rib fixed
and Bunny building her a new buggy for the road system, much appreciated,
regards James.
