North of the Border

 The Road to Merritt

We left Sun Lake on Saturday and headed up Highway 155.  We passed the Grand Coulee Dam one last time continuing North on Highway 97 to the Canadian border. We crossed over in Osoyoos.   Jack and I have crossed into Canada more than a few times and you really never know what to expect.  Sometimes it is a breeze but this time they did a full search of the truck and RV.  It took us well over an hour before we were allowed to cross.  The border patrol was friendly but they have been checking more thoroughly since a bunch of Texans tried bringing their guns  across a few times.   So if you are planning to come to Canada, respect their laws and do not attempt to bring any type of firearms.   One nice thing about our new truck is one quick setting change and we were now using  the metric system to tell mileages and speed and  Celsius for the temperature.  Just wish we knew what it meant.

The area just before and across the border was beautiful and idyllic filled with cherry trees and vineyards.  Rolling valleys banked by mountains and lakes.  The famed Okanagan area with lots and lots of traffic and Canadian tourist.  I suspect this is area is being promoted as the Canadian Napa Valley because there were wineries everywhere!   It soon became a zoo!  It was stressful driving.  We originally were planning on trying to make it to Kamloops but with the delay at the border crossing and the traffic it became apparent that would not happen.  Pull out the Trailer Life and find an RV Park quick! No more cell coverage until Alaska for us.  We found one not too far and it sounded like the sites were big enough.  Big mistake!  It was a packed sardine park in the middle of a congested town on a hill.   We decided this would not work and turns out the next couple behind us said it was booked to boot.  They asked us if we had GPS and needed help finding another park.  I am always pleasantly surprised by how nice Canadians are to us folks from the states.  Where next?  We backed tracked a few miles and took 97C to Merritt.  Wait , what did that sign say?  No gas for next 200 K! The problem is you see the sign  after you already passed out of town with no way to turn around.  Well at least it was a two lane highway with no traffic.  And  a very winding road climbing up over some significant mountain passes.  We have enough diesel right?  Ahh, maybe. Turns out we did – whew!  We pulled into the municipal campground and breathed a sigh of relief.  A very stressful day indeed!  The  municipal park was nice and the town looked interesting but we wanted to get some miles,  wait I mean  kilometers under our belt. 

Smither's area

The next day was another long driving day.  We decided to spend two nights in Quesnal.  We stayed at Roberts Roost, a nice RV park on the shores of Dragon Lake just outside of town.  We did not do much except rest up.  We did get our first cup of Tim Horton’s coffee along with a doughnut and I was able to catch a yoga class in town.   Some needed down time.

Next stop Smithers, BC!  Jack and I got to know Smithers quite well last time we came through these parts.  We had to wait a week for a part for the black truck on our last Alaskan adventure (see previous Blog post). The town has a nice downtown area with a few nice restaurants and shops.  We knew once we continued on Yellowhead 16 that it becomes very remote and even more so when you turn onto the Cassier Highway.   It is a good place to stock up on supplies but beware of sticker shock!   Time for the adventure to continue, bye bye Smithers.

Wagons Ho

We hitched up the Biff and headed West young man! We followed the path of the original settlers along the Oregon Trail which follows the course of the Snake River through this part of the country. The land around Idaho and eastern Oregon is arid grasslands. There was plenty of grass for the livestock and water to be found but still a harsh climate. We unhitched and rested in Baker City, OR and decided to stay for two nights. Pretty little town. The next day we visited the Interpretive Center on the Oregon Trail.  Truly amazing what these heroic pioneers went through to settle this wild land.  I highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.  We started the drive towards Hells Canyon, be warned – this is much longer drive than you think on twisty roads over rolling hills. We gave up and turned around not wanting to drive all day. Hmm, maybe next time. 

We continued on through Oregon in a northerly direction towards Washington. Most folks picture Oregon and Washington as lush rain swept forests.  This area is dry and more reminisce of New Mexico than I was expecting. We were headed for the Grand Coulee Dam. The closer we got to the dam the more dramatic the geography of the area.  This was the flood plane for the Ice Age Lake Missoula noted for biblical proportioned floods.  The landscape showed the evidence with odd large boulders randomly placed over the flat lands, and then turning into the dramatic  Dry Falls dwarfing current day Niagara Falls. Okay, so all my life I thought Coulee Dam was named after someone but “dam” I was wrong.  This area is called the Grand Coulee with coulee being yet another name for dried ditch.  What?  Just a fancy name for a dry gulch, ditch, arroyos, wash, etc - I’ll add it to my list.  

Dry Falls

Natural spring fed lakes dot the area and a few RV parks too.  We stayed at Sun Lake which is private and adjacent to the Sun Lake/Dry Falls State Park.  A little confusing but the private park has full hookups. This area is a big weekend destination for the locals providing swimming and boating.  The campground was nice enough but I have never seen winds like we did in this canyon.  I don’t know if it was just the time of year or always this way due to the geography but they were almost hurricane force at times! The Biff was a rocking and rolling and not in a fun way.

Mr. Rattlesnake

We stayed a few days in the area.  Checking out some of the trails in state park (and rattlesnakes)  and visiting the famous dam.  The Coulee Dam is the largest in the North American Hemisphere, yup even bigger than Hoover Dam in Nevada.  Impressive! The tour is free and the views of the Columbia River from atop the dam can’t be beat.  We did not get back to see the laser show,  we heard they are even worth staying up past 10:00 pm! The town has strict rules about preserving the original houses. You get a real feel what the place looked like in the 30's when the dam was built.  A little bit of engineering history preserved. Interesting area but tomorrow was moving day.  Canada here we come!

Grand Coulee Dam

The Highs and Lows

Wheeler Peak

We have traveled highway 50 through Utah a few times.  We avoid pulling the Biff through Salt Lake City on interstate 15 if at all possible.  This is a long lonesome road once you head west past Interstate 15.   A flat dried lake bed from past millenniums.  Still there is beauty in this harsh land and late spring was good time to visit before the summer sun bakes the land and the days too hot to travel.   This time we decided to stop at the Great Basin National Park instead of driving through to Ely, Nevada.  I have seen the turn off for the park and wondered what the area had to offer.   It was time to find out!

Lehman Caves

Turns out there are some beautiful caves to visit in the park.  The Lehman Caves are worth the stop and some of the prettier caves we have seen in our travels.   We did not do any hiking in the park but I have been told the hike to Wheeler Peak is challenging and beautiful.  We took the drive to the top and admired the view from a distance.

We opted to stay at one of the two little RV parks in the area as opposed to attempting to stay in the National Park.  We find that we usually are too big for most national parks. We chose the one closer to the park entrance as opposed to the one just across the Nevada border on highway 50 with the casino/restaurant/bar/motel/grocery/gas station all rolled into one. It had it all!

Shoshone Falls

We headed out and turned north at Ely onto highway 93 and stayed on it up to Twin Falls, Idaho.  The road stays in the basin and is known for being part of the Pony Express route.   We watched the storms move in around the bordering mountain ranges and stopped in Wells for lunch just in time as one of the storms hit.   It was chasing us the rest of the drive until we passed into Idaho.  

We stayed a few nights in Twin Falls taking the time to get caught up on a few necessary chores.  We did do some exploring checking out both the Twin Falls which the town is named and the more spectacular Shoshone Falls.  Both have dams on them which had the effect of making the Twin Falls only half what it once was – I wonder why they don’t change the name to “Only One Fall Now”.

Perrine Bridge - it's a long way down! 

Are you sure you really want to jump?

This area is infamous for the failed attempt by Evil Knievel to jump the Snake River.  It is one steep drop!  There are still a few daredevils in the area as this is the only place in the country that allows base jumping from the mighty Perrine Bridge.  Yikes!  We happened to time it just right for two brave souls to make the jump and safely parasailing down to the  river banks.  All in all, a nice area but time for us to snake along down the road.

Safely to the ground !

Take Two

Crossing over the Colorado River

Here we go again!  Alaska take two!  We packed up and headed down our driveway on the last Friday in May. Often times when you travel in a Rv you are looking for the new road to travel but sometimes you are looking to retrace the familiar looking to find what you missed the first time. Traveling back to an area takes away some of the urgency to see it all and focus on lesser known areas that may be  a bit more off the beaten path,  or a chance to revisit an area that was especially enjoyable.  Living in New Mexico we have explored many of her scenic byways many times.  The drive from Albuquerque to Farmington via 550 is still one of my favorites.  Our plan was to spend few days revisiting southern Utah which we find one of the most beautiful areas in the Southwest.  This time around the wild flowers were blooming everywhere after the unusually wet and cool spring.  A familiar vista repainted.

Capitol Reef NP

We passed the iconic “Shiprock” formation in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and headed down a lesser taken road to spend the night in Blanding, Utah.  We knew that all thou it was a short drive mile wise, the drive from Blanding via highway 95 and then highway 24 to Torrey, Utah is winding, slow and unbelievably beautiful.   The color of the rocks and open vistas are truly incredible as you snake through the land passing over the Colorado River and then pass Capitol Reef National Park.  A drive to be savored firsthand, cameras do not capture the scale and beauty of the landscape.   

Torrey is at the cross roads of highways 12 and 24.  There are a few nice RV parks ( we stayed at Wonderland) it is worth staying in this area for a few days with enough to see and explore with Capitol Reef NP nearby.  The drive via 12 to Bryce Canyon NP is one of the most scenic byways in the country.  Once in your life everyone should see this area of the country and take this drive.  Jack and I have done it a few times and opted out of going to Bryce again but it is one I recommend as a must do! Check out my earlier blog posts on this area too!

Here we go!

The Motley Crew

Getting steeper!

Our RV friends Jim and Liz were staying in Torrey waiting for truck repairs L.  We spent the next few days enjoying their company over roaring campfires and watching the full moon rising.  The highlight of the visit was taking an ATV tour of the area.  We took turns driving the rugged roads cautious at first then embracing the adventure.  What a hoot! Watch out for that tree!  It was time to head down that road and say goodbye to our friends.  We knew they would be the last familiar faces we would see for a few months.  It was a very social first half of the year but now it was time to hit that long lonesome road to Alaska.  

Whirlwind Cross Country

It was a fast and busy Florida season.  We got to know  old neighbors Phil and Karen better and met new neighbors Bob and Sherry  but also said goodbye to Ed and Rosie.   Wishing them the best in their new adventures! We enjoyed the pond drama with our gator neighbors, “Little Guy” and “Fatso” played a game of cat and mouse all season.  “Little Guy” was the faster swimmer but “Fatso” still tried to make a meal out of him from time to time.   We did a few touristy things this time around too!  We took a tour of the Kennedy Space Center and an airboat ride on the St. John’s River.   Highly recommend doing both.   One day we drove up to Flagler Beach where we met our Facebook friends Ellen and Damon face to face for the first time!  All in all it was whirlwind season but family commitments were a calling.  We packed up and headed home via Naples where we did our annual get together with the siblings.  Just a little out of the way ;) Only 2200 more miles to go!

Airboat ride on St.John's River

We did not dilly dally too much on the road home staying hitched and doing mostly overnighters along I10.  We had to get home for the most important wedding of my niece Maggie.  We were having all sorts of family members staying with us, so we figured we better be at home when they came a knocking.

Balmorhea State Park campground

 It was 880 miles of interstate driving along I10 in Texas.  Geez, that’s one big state!   We decided to rest and spent a few days at Balmorhea State Park.  What a little gem!  It has spring feed swimming pool in the middle of the vast and desolate Permian Basin.  You can swim with the fishies!  This time around the Permian Basin was awash with wild flowers.  What a difference a little rain can make in a desert!  Little rain?  Turns out we got out of Texas just in time, as the state was hit by historic rains and mass flooding the month of May.   

Excel Rally

Just one more detour for the spring Excel Rally held in Elephant Butte, New Mexico.  It was a fun filled weekend visiting friends.   However, it was time to head up our driveway and park the Biff for a bit.  We pulled up our driveway on April 27 which was also Jack's 60th birthday! Happy Birthday to my hubby!  But not too long, we headed out again four weeks later for our next road trip.  Stay tuned!

The Time Between

Our new Truck!

We spent a long stretch at home, enjoying our time with family and friends.  But the holidays are over and time to think about heading down to our home away from home in Florida.  Let’s see when is the next snow storm and polar vortex hitting? It is a matter of timing to get down our drive way between weather fronts.    Oh and wait a minute did we mention getting the big new shiny honking dually we decided to purchase?  She’s a beauty! So it took a little longer than expected but we did pull out on a bright sunny day in the middle of January.

Going through Eastern New Mexico was uneventful except for the wind.  We spent the first night in Lubbock and the next night at Copperas Creek Park near Comanche. The weather was warm and sunny and we spent a relaxing afternoon enjoying the weather and view.   Something to be said for traveling out of season, we practically had the park to ourselves. It took us three days to get there but Bryan\ College Station was our first official destination.  We spent a few days visiting with my son Matt.  He and Kenny are now official home owners!  We had fun checking out their new digs and visiting the campus of  Texas A&M University.  Proud to say both are now college professors and establishing themselves in the Texas heartland.  We got there just in time too!  A weather front moved in bringing rain downpours.  Good day to visit the George H. Bush Presidential Library.  Hmm maybe I should run for office?   I look pretty good in the oval office.

Sam Houston Statue

Where next?  Just north a bit near the town of Trinity at Marina Village RV Resort. We spent the next few days visiting with some full time RVer friends Jim and Liz Arnold.  We were right on the lake. The coots and pelicans put on a show for us all day.   There was a resident bald eagle that terrorized the coots.  We never did see him catch one but he sure gave it his best.  One day it appeared that two more eagles joined perhaps courting the female?   Three is crowd and one was soon chased away while the two remaining enjoyed dive dancing and later sitting in a tree together.   What a treat!  We also visited nearby Huntsville noted for its many prisons and checked out the prison museum.  We even saw “old sparky”.   And then there was this big fellow.   They sure grow ‘em big in Texas!  Huntsville is noted for being the home of Sam Houston and his final resting place.   Time for us to say goodbye to our friends and move on down the road.   We made a push to get to Florida.   Driving through Louisianan was slow and I-10 was crowded and a mess.  Traffic thinned out once we hit the Mississippi border and  rest of the drive was smooth sailing.  We did two overnight'ers and arrived at Titusville the third day.  Bring on that Florida sunshine!

View at Marina RV

The Long Road Home

Graham  Cave State Park

The decision was made, home it was.  Well, wait a minute that is long way.  It was not exactly a speedy drive home and we did not take the fastest route either.   We opted for I70 through Indiana and Missouri and then getting off the interstate and taking some of the less traveled routes through Kansas and western Oklahoma.  We did an overnighter somewhere in Indiana just before Indianapolis. Hot.  It was hot.   It was pretty miserable in the RV after a long day of travel. It takes awhile for the RV to cool off when it gets this hot.  Plus the whole stretch of I70 in Indiana is in bad shape.  We had a frustrating time getting fuel in this state. We found out the interstate truck stops handle commercial diesel pumping different than private vehicles.  Save yourself the hassle and use only the passenger pumps if they have them.   Let’s get out of this state!  

Lazy Day Campground

Whew, crossing over into Illinois was like a breath of fresh air.   The roads were in better shape and the trucking traffic thinned out.  We decided  to find a place to stay for a few days and take break while the heat spell passed.  We found Lazy Day Campground about 40 miles west of St. Louis, MO.  What an unexpected joy that turned out to be.  It is a pretty little park with a pool and the owner takes great pride in the gardens around the grounds.  Two days turned into five.  

 It turned out to be an interesting area.   We explored a cave used by early Native Americans in nearby Graham Cave State Park.  Daniel Boone also made this area his home in his later days. The town of Hermann  located on Missouri river is a short scenic drive from the RV park. It was an early German settlement noted for wineries that pre-dated the infamous Prohibition days.  The local farmers at the time helped hide some of the equipment before all the fields were burned and the wineries destroyed. In the late 6o’s some of historic wineries were bought and the area started restoring the vineyards.  Wine making has returned to the area in a big way.  I hear they have one wild Oktoberfest due to the German heritage.  We toured the town and enjoyed lunch at the beautiful Stone Hill Winery.    Do take the tour and sample the wines.     

Stone Hill 

Just down the road a piece from Lazy Day is the historic Crane's Country Store .  It is still  an operational store but the owners are happy to let you walk around and check out the antiques strewed around the merchandise.   Next door is a small museum and restaurant.  I suspect that popular restaurant chain Cracker Barrel was based on this place.  Come see the genuine article for yourself. What a fun place to explore!

Crane's Country Store

We hitched up and continued down I70 past Kansas City and  turned onto I35 through the Flint Hills  of Kansas.  Unfortunately,  it was just too hot to explore the area.  We did an overnighter in El Dorado, Kansas and headed out on RT 54.  I enjoyed this part of Kansas and the western panhandle of the Oklahoma It was a nice break from always taking I40 through this part of the country.  One last overnighter in the panhandle of OK at Corral Drive-In.  A fun RV park with an attached drive-in that shows movies on the weekends!

A cold front moved in overnight for the last day of travel.  Sigh of relief. We entered New Mexico via RT 54 and onto I40 in Tucumcari.   Wait! Is this New Mexico? Eastern NM was unexpectedly green.  Monsoon season has arrived!  Amazing how fast rain changes the desert landscape.  Just one more stop at Joseph’s for lunch in Santa Rosa.  That first bite of green chile is always so yummy.  And  then home it was! That's all for this time around. Now it’s time to unpack – ugg.

Corral Drive-In

Note:  We arrived  home on July 27th 2014. All was well with homestead although we did lose some large pinyon trees due to the bark beetle.  Guess those monsoon rains were too late to save them.