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Site MapAgain, this is something that I've been wanting to do for some time and I believe that a site map is necessary to help those people out that have a hard time figuring out what is what on our site. I'd like to think that our menu system is easy and will work, but some people just require a site map to figure it out. So ... here you go ... a site map. :)
About the Kimlers
about usThis is where visitors can find out about Randsco and the Kimler family. Who are we? How did we come to be? What motivates us on our adventures. It's kinda like the old "meet scott and rachel" section on our PCT WebPage, but this "about us" section will be a stand-alone page.
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Thank You
FEATURED DONOR: The "Red Dirt Emporium", located in the historic "Bricktown District" of Oklahoma City, made a donation toward - and is using - Photo-caption Zoom Version 3. The Red Dirt Emporium was founded in 2007 and has a goal of introducing visitors and locals to the best that Oklahoma has to offer. They specialize in Oklahoma resources, art, music and other items that celebrate Oklahoma
Since they are largely responsible for the "Thank You" section of our sidebar and this "Shout Outs" blog, it's fitting that one of the first shouts should go to Oklahoma's Red Dirt Emporium.
What's the story?
Simple.
The Red Dirt Emporium was one of the few companies (or people) that made an unsolicited donation for their commercial usage of the Photo-caption Zoom v3 technique.
Not only was their contribution unsolicited, but they didn't require any support to get it deployed.
One day, a donation email arrived and I thought, "Wow. Cool. I really should find a way to say 'Thank You' to them (and others who've helped Randsco) ... I know I've been meaning to ... I just need to DO IT!"
So, I made this section and (slowly) have begun populating it with some of the many people and companies that have - in some way - supported or helped Randsco. It's provides a formal way of saying "Thanks" and helps to promote their website (in a Search-Engine-friendly kind of way).
To learn how Oklahoma's Red Dirt Emporium is using Photo-caption Zoom and about some of their unique products, carry on ...
Kimler Adventure Pages: Journal Entries
On October 26, 2009, Yahoo pulled the plug on millions of websites hosted on GeoCities web servers. It marks the end of an early Internet Era and one that affects no less than five of our early adventure journals. Restoration efforts are taking place. Learn more (including why the Internet is a house of cards)
26-Oct Yahoo-GeoCities Shut Down
Randsco Adventures Rescued from Ashes
On October 26, 2009, Yahoo-GeoCities shut-down their servers and immediately obliterated 15 years-worth of personal websites, made by millions of people across the world.
We rescued our early adventure journals off of GeoCities, reposting them on the Randsco domain, including: Scott's Big Ride, Rachel's 1999 Big Ride, our Oregon Cycle Tour and Wonderland Trail backpacking trip.
Begun in 1994, GeoCities spawned "neighborhoods" and by 1997, there were over a million "homesteaders" that had created personal websites. In 1999, Yahoo! bought GeoCities for $2.87 billion dollars.
GeoCities floundered under Yahoo's leadership. Terms of service changes, monthly data transfer limits, eliminating FTP access and changing advertising strategies drove users away. (We moved our home page off of GeoCities in 2003, because advertising changes interfered with visitor experience - and shared server costs were becoming affordable).
To learn more about the GeoCities shut-down, what's being done to preserve this bit of Internet history and the pitfalls of 3rd-party servers ... carry on.
Scott & Rachel took their 3 1/2 year-old daughter on her 3rd self-supported bicycle touring adventure. They cycled from Yellow Point to Seattle and back (350 miles or so). Read about their 10-day journey. (Completed through Day 4)
338 Miles, 5 Ferries & 10 Days of Sunshine
Early this month, we enjoyed a 10-day bicycle loop adventure. We started from our home in Yellow Point, just south of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island and rode to Seattle Washington (via Victoria) and then back, along the Washington coast. Along the way, we took a few ferry boats, which helped break up the riding for our 3-and-a-half year-old daughter.
It was Alex's third cycle-tour! (For a 3 year-old, that's pretty good!)
We experienced 10 days of glorious Indian Summer weather, we camped out, we visited with friends in Victoria, West Seattle, Redmond and Bellingham, we had an unlikely encounter with an old PCT friend, and we even managed to cycle a fair distance.
Join us for the tour! See photos, maps and read the daily log. Learn which routes made for good cycling, where we'd visit again, why Washington State is bicycle-friendly and more about the logistics of cycling with a kid, riding ferries and cycling western Washington, Vancouver Island and the Vancouver lower-mainland.
It's going to take a while to unfold this story, so I'll have to do it in pieces.
(This should aid the night cleaning crew, as it'll chop the diatribe into small enough chunks that they should have plenty of time to mop the floors and empty the trash cans). 
Journal complete through: Day 4
Table of Contents
• Start Page
• Intro and Route
• Day 1 - Yellow Point to Salt Spring Island
• Day 2 - Salt Spring Island to Victoria
• Day 3 - Victoria to Sequim Bay, WA
• Day 4 - Sequim Bay to West Seattle
• Day 5 - West Seattle (Rest Day)
• Day 6 - West Seattle to Redmond, WA
• Day 7 - Redmond (Rest Day)
• Day 8 - Snohomish to Bay View State Park
• Day 9 - Bay View State Park to Bellingham
• Day 10 - Bellingham to Yellow Point
• Epilogue, Planning & Resources
Cycling the Cedar Loop
March 2nd, 2007 · stkCedar/Yellow-Point Bicycle Loop: We took this excellent, 15-mile ride, for the first time, since moving to Vancouver Island. We're lucky to have it right out our front door. See what makes it such a great ride, get a printable route map, and learn more about what the area has to offer ...
A Scenic Ride Past Forest & Farms
On Tuesday, the Oop was insistent on going for a bicycle ride. She's been wanting to go on one, for over a week, but the weather hasn't been very cooperative, with rain threatening nearly every day and busy work schedules interfering when it wasn't raining. Finally, everything came together on Tuesday.
This was the first bike ride we've taken since moving in to our new, Vancouver Island home and of course, it took a long time to find all of the cycling clothes, helmets, gloves and other gear. All the bicycle tires, including those on Alex's buggy, were flat. Scott had the added exercise of pumping up six tires!
We decided to do the loop trip, down Yellow Point Road, to Cedar Road and then back up to Yellow Point, where the two roads meet again. This is an excellent bicycle loop trip, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) in length and we're very lucky to have it right off our doorstep. The roads pass through scenic forests and sun-dappled pastures. Along the route are parks, beaches, Inns, restaurants, hiking trails, campgrounds, artist studios and family-run farms.
The Oop was excited to be "cycling" again, though just how much help can she be, sitting in a buggy that I have to tow? We've both put on weight, since we last cycled, but the Oop is the only one of us that's grown any taller. 
While I was pumping up the tires, Alex strapped herself into her buggy, itching to get moving.
Finally, we headed down our street, a downhill run toward Yellow Point Road, at a fast, nippy, early-morning clip.
"Whee!" squealed the Oop, from inside her buggy.
Read about our trip and get information about the excellent Cedar/Yellow-Point Cycle Loop (including a map) ...
In 1932, the adjoining Glacier National Park (Montana, U.S.A.) and Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) were combined to form the first International Peace Park, celebrating the peace and friendship between these two countries. In 1995, the Peace Park was recognized as a World Heritage Site.
What better place for a 350-mile loop cycle adventure for a U.S./Canadian couple and their 22-month-old, dual-citizenship daughter?
The area has stunning views of glacier-carved, snowcapped mountains, cascading waterfalls, lush alpine meadows blanketed in colorful wildflowers, rolling prairies with farms and ranches, wildlife, including big horn sheep, grizzlies and deer, crystal clear running streams and rivers, and green forested mountains. The weather includes hot (85°F) days under bright, sunny and cloudless skies. Storms roll through fast and there can be cold, wet days in down pouring rain. The terrain offers thrilling downhill runs and laboriously slow, uphill slogs. The cycling climax, in Glacier National Park: the "Going to the Sun Road" over Logan's Pass. This 50-mile road is an engineering feat, offering stunning and scary views along its windy and narrow route.
Follow along on our cycling adventure, which Rachel diligently documented and Scott has edited and optimized for web-accessibility.
We hope that you enjoy the story and find it useful in planning your adventure.
Table of Contents
• Start Page
• Intro and Route
• Montana-bound
• Day 1 - Whitefish, MT to Olney, MT
• Day 2 - Olney, MT to Loon Lake, BC
• Day 3 - Loon Lake, BC to Hosmer, BC
• Day 4 - Hosmer, BC to Bellevue, AB
• Day 5 - Bellevue, AB to Twin Butte, AB
• Day 6 - Twin Butte, AB to St. Mary, MT
• Day 7 - Going to the Sun Road
• Day 8 - Glacier N.P. to Whitefish, MT
• Epilogue, Planning & Resources
In early August, we packed up the bikes and Oop's tow trailer, headed south, and cycled from Canmore, through Banff & Jasper National Parks, along the Icefield Parkway. It was about a 300 km trip, which took us 5 days to complete. We were worried about Alex and how she would adjust to cycle-touring. We needn't have worried, because she adjusted just fine, as she normally does.
This was our only summer adventure, packed tightly between our big Edmonton move & the start of Rachel's nursing program at the Univeristy of Alberta. We nearly didn't go, because Scott felt there were too many things that needed doing before winter set in. Rachel put her foot down & said she was going to go anyway. "We need to do something this summer. We didn't do anything last summer, because I was pregnant and we won't have much of a chance to go anywhere during the 2 years I'm in the nursing program," she argued. You know what? When she's right - she's right. Scott capitulated and is very glad he did.
We had a great time. Though we started the trip with rain, the sun came out and great weather prevailed all week. The scenery was simply awesome. Alex enjoyed camping and was the talk of the town, as we received lots of kudos from fellow cyclists & auto tourists alike. She adjusted to camping more readily than we adjusted to her getting dirty (it took a couple of days before we stopped fretting every time she headed for a dusty patch). In the end, we learned to relax & though Alex was dirtier, she was happy!
Rachel kept a wonderful journal of our trip and it's posted in on a cycle-touring web site, along with a short slide show.