Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Back in the USA!

Location, International Falls, MN

The truck tire pressure was still ok this morning so the valve stem must have been the culprit.

The road east to the Ontario border was as bad as the rest of Trans Canada 1 however it was only about 66 miles. We stopped at the Ontario information center and picked up maps, etc. The woods are getting thicker as we head east and lakes are more frequent. An especially notable lake is Lake of the Woods which extends south to the US border. A quick look at a map shows how really big this lake is.

Clyda has been trying for days to get a picture of the Trans Canada Hwy signs and has about 2 dozen so-so shots. This may be the best one.

We left Trans Canada 1 east of Kenora and drove south on Hwy 71 and then Hwy 11 to Fort Francis the Canadian town across the border from International Falls, MN. We waited in line for about 20 minutes to cross. An interesting thing for this crossing is the truck lane. It goes down the railroad tracks to the border and while we were waiting a train came down the tracks and waited behind the trucks. When the trucks cleared the border, the train continued on its way into the USA. A sign on the train said it was “under remote control”.

Taken through the windshield so ignore all the bug spots.

Our crossing was fairly routine. The first question they asked was how many fish we were bringing back. I guess it is a common occurrence here because everyone goes to Canada to fish.

We are staying at Voyageurs RV Park in International Falls. An ok park but no trees and it is hot and muggy. Thank goodness for air conditioning. We spent the afternoon sending a fax to the car insurance company (more paper work), paying bills on-line at the library, checking email, buying groceries (the frig was empty), and buying gas. It was a pleasure to pay $3.05 for diesel. My last fill up in Canada yesterday cost $110 Canadian. With the US dollar and Canadian dollar almost at par, that is a lot of money. I haven’t done the conversions yet so don’t know how bad it really was per gallon.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Manitoba

Location, Richer, MB

The repaired tire needed a little air this morning. I don’t know if it was because the compressor at Wal-Mart couldn’t pump to 80 lbs or if I still have a leak. I aired it up and we left about 8 AM this morning for another long day on the road.

Yesterday afternoon and all day today we have had a severe side wind from the south. It cuts down on fuel mileage and speed. Of course, with the bad roads my speed is down to 45 mph at some points. It just beat us to pieces today. We were glad to get off the road.

The country went from flat to flatter. At one point I pointed out a hill ahead of us as we hadn’t seen any for a day. We skirted south of Winnipeg on the by-pass so only saw the city from a distance.

A lot of wheat is grown in Canada along with Canola which is a tiny seed. We only saw a few fields of corn. As we passed in to Manitoba the country changed subtlety from flat grass and wheat fields to some trees. Our campground is in a stand of Popular which seems to be the dominant tree in this area.

We are east of Winnipeg at Richer in the Rock Garden Campground which is in the woods. It is listed in Trailer life. So many campgrounds along Trans Canada 1 are not. None are real paradises but they will do at the end of the day when you are tired.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Hot! and Hotter!!!

Location, Indian Head, SK

It was already hot by the time we left Ross Creek Campground at 8:15 this morning. We heard later on the radio that records were set locally yesterday.

East bound Trans Canada Hwy 1 in Saskatchewan is the pits. It is rough, poorly patched, and worthy of a third world country. I thought California had some bad roads but this beats anything we have driven on. Especially for a major highway system. Only near major cities is it in better condition. Our speed has dropped because of the roughness of the road.

I decided we would stop at a McDonalds for lunch today in Moose Jaw, SK. We parked at Wal-Mart which had the only McDonalds in town and had lunch. After lunch we did some shopping for groceries and walked back to the trailer where we discovered a flat driver side rear tire on the truck. I got out my tools and found that the knurled knob holding the jack in was stripped so I used a bottle jack instead. At full extension I had a hard time getting the spare tire on but finally managed it. Of course, I did all of this having put on clean cloths this morning which were now filthy from crawling around on the blacktop in 96 degree heat. When we were ready to go, I decided to check with the Wal-Mart tire shop about repairing the flat. So, a couple of hours later, and a new valve stem, we were back on the road. I am not sure why the stem failed but I will check it in the morning before we leave.

We pulled into the KOA in Indian Head east of Regina about 5 PM. Of course, it is near the train tracks.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Medicine Hat, AB

Location, Medicine Hat, AB –

The heat caught up with us by mid afternoon today. We left a beautiful morning in Banff and traveled to Canmor which is like a bedroom community for Banff. After a quick breakfast at the rest stop, we headed east and out of the Rockies.

We passed through Calgary and I mean right through town as there is no bypass around the city. It was just announced that Calgary is now home to 1 million people. One advantage of going through the city is passing the Olympic ski venue west of town. All of the ski jumps are very near the highway. The mid town section of Trans Canada 1 is being rebuilt so we had construction to contend with for several miles.

Speaking of construction; it goes on all during daylight hours because of the short season. The overtime pay must be tremendous.

East of Calgary the temperatures started climbing until late this afternoon it was 97 degrees. We got to Medicine Hat by 2:30 PM but couldn’t find the campground. The GPS was no help at all in fact it steered us into a residential section of town. Eventually, we found the right street only to find no room in the camp ground because of the Stampede in progress here. We were directed to another RV Park connected to a golf course but the RV in front of us got the last site.

What to do? I needed fuel so we stopped for that which at 91.9 cents per liter still cost $86. Wow!!!! We stopped at a nearby information center to inquire about camping and they directed us to a place east of town next to a golf course. A call on their courtesy phone got us a site. It is near the highway, next to a golf course, and did I mention the train? It is about 300 ft from our RV at the back of the Park. Folks here say not to leave a window open on the track side of the RV during the night because of the noise. The only good thing is there are no crossings near here so no train whistle.

West of Calgary is all farm land then it turns to prairie for some distance before farm land again. The wheat harvest has begun around Calgary but not further west.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon in the air conditioning. Later, we sat outside as it cooled off. I fear the next 2 days will be a repeat of the heat from today.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Banff

Location, Banff, AB

Cold again this morning and overcast. We are in no real hurry to leave as we are only traveling 38 miles to Banff and Tunnel Mountain RV Park. There are actually 3 RV parks here, one with no hookups, one with electricity only (that’s us), and one full hookup trailer park. As usual, when you arrive early there is no problem getting a site. The sites here are all parallel parking on both sides of what looks like a wide blacktop road. Each site has a table and an electrical pedestal, nothing else. With all the mountains surrounding us, it really is a beautiful campground.

We drove into town and stopped at the information center but they had little to offer from information we had already collected. We drove to the Cave and Basin Museum expecting more than actually was there. It was the first site in Canada’s park system. It was a swimming pool for years with caves behind it. Now it is more of a reflecting pool.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at the town recreation area along the Bow River. Later we found out that a cougar had killed a baby elk near this spot last week. Wild animals are a constant worry here in the park. Grizzly bear and black bear attacks occur fairly often. Even mountain bikers are not immune to attack.

The park service has a beautiful garden behind its headquarters. It is all slate walkways, pools, and 50,000 annual plants of all kinds. A really beautiful place.



After a walking tour of downtown which has its main street completely tore up for renovation to the tune of 23 million dollars, we drove to the Banff Springs Hotel. Tim had been here several years ago with his uncle Roger and a friend and wanted us to have a martini in the Rundle Balcony Bar. So we did, and toasted them. Clyda ordered a Blond Bombshell and I had a virgin margarita (I’m driving). After floating a loan with the CBC Bank to pay for the drinks, we drove back to the campground.


The campground looks full now and people are strolling up and down the road enjoying the beautiful evening and the great views.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lake Louise Day 2

Location, Lake Louise, AB

It is cold this morning!! Only about 43 degrees at 8 AM. We are packing our breakfast and lunch and driving up to Lake Louise before the crowds get there. We will get a few quick pictures and then eat breakfast and take a hike.

Beautiful!!! It is 8:30 and only a few people are around. We get our pictures then walk back to the truck for a quick breakfast, repack the food and water into the backpack and we are off. There is a very nice wide level hiking trail around the right side of the lake for about 2 Km. If we are so inclined, there is a continuation which climbs up for another 5.5 km to the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse.

We stop often for photos looking back at the lodge and the ever changing wall of rock and ice ahead of us. By now, the trail is full of people hiking in the same direction. We make good time to the end of the lake but slow down on the uphill which continues to the Tea House. We finally decide that we have gone far enough and turn back. We have traveled about 3.5 km one way and still need to retrace our path.



Walking at a leisurely pace, we return to the lodge about 11:30 and immediately look for a restroom. There are none on the trail by the way. The lobby of the Fairmont Lake Louise Lodge is quit nice and of course, full of people. We find the Café and have a scone with Chai tea.

Look at all the people now!! They come by the bus load.

After a picnic lunch below the lodge, we drive back to the RV. It is a very nice warm day by now so we read for a few hours.

Around 6 PM we drive up to Moraine Lake. We did not attempt this during the day because of the hoards of people and the road is being repaved. At this time of day the paving has stopped and the traffic is all coming down from the lake.
We have no problem finding a parking place.


We take pictures and walk for about .5 km along the lake. We are at a much higher altitude than Lake Louise. Eventually we drive back to camp.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Lake Louise Day 1

Location, Lake Louise, AB

Clyda is suffering from the cottonwood bloom but hopefully we will be out of it as we gain in elevation.

The white speckles are cottonwood bloom.

As usual, the campground filled up last night. That seems to be the way it is each day. People arrive later in the afternoon and by evening the campgrounds are full.

We pulled out at 8:00 AM this morning for a 144 mile run to Lake Louise. A lot of the drive is uphill but oh so spectacular. Actually, we cross Rogers Pass at about 4300 feet which is mild for us Californians. Most hills in California are at least that high.

We are supposed to have a parks pass to stop in any Canadian Park but all the places which sell them are closed. We did pull into a roadside pull off which sold passes but a sign on the door said “Be back in 5 Minutes”. No one was around so we started to pull out when a young lady came out of the pit toilet at the back of the lot. I told her “Her 5 minutes were up” and she laughed and said she had only “been in there 2 minutes”. She told us we could buy our pass at Lake Louise and that is what we did.

Have I mentioned the trains! Oh boy! Do we have trains! Ever since we left Hope, BC we have had train tracks paralleling the road. Last night in Revelstoke, I thought we might not get any sleep as the tracks crossed the river near the campground and made a terrible racket crossing the metal bridge. However, the must stop running at night as I never heard them. Here at Lake Louise we really hear the trains when they blow the whistle as we are in a narrow valley and the whistle really echo’s.

Today as we traveled higher, both the trains and highway traffic ran through avalanche sheds. Some of these are quit long.

We stopped in Golden for coffee and a potty break. I think every trucker stops there also. After leaving Golden we climbed Kicking Horse Pass. What a road!!!! It is steep, windy and narrow. The cement barrier on the outside edge prevents you from seeing how far down it is to the river. Now I know why the trucks all stop in Golden, they need to check their drawers.

We were stopped a few times for construction but no wait was very long. In one section they are moving a big mountain and building this really high bridge to remove some bad sections of the highway. Very impressive bridge towers.

We arrived in Lake Louise about 11:30 AM our time (12:30 mountain time) and checked in to the trailer campground. I had tried to reserve a space on-line but it said none were available. They did have sites so we reserved for 2 nights and paid for a 3 day park pass. The total was $112. Yikes!!! More on prices later.

The trailer camp is only for hard sided campers, no tents or tent trailers allowed because of grizzly bears. The sites are all in the pine trees and are deep and wide and each accommodate 2 RV’s. Electricity only is provided. There were many empty sites when we arrived but a walk after dinner showed very few empties. Most RV’s are Class C rentals from Cruise America or Cruise Canada and most campers are European, especially French. We have seen very few 5th wheel trailers and very few as big as ours is. After driving the roads I see why. Smaller rigs just fit in smaller places better. As we checked in to a camp ground a few days ago the lady told us that they get few Americans, mostly Europeans and Orientals. She blamed it on 911 and the shrinking American dollar.

There is a tent only campground which is completely surrounded by a 7000 volt, low current, electric fence. The road crossings into the campground are through cattle crossings, (called Texas gates here) which also have electric wires between the crossing rails. Each crossing has a pedestrian gate beside it. The purpose is to keep grizzly bears out and reduce the number of bears killed each year to 1. I guess the number killed has been quit high.

We drove to the ski area and even the gondola ride is shut down because of grizzly habitat further up the mountain.

We did drive up to Lake Louise this afternoon but there was no where to park so we will go back early tomorrow morning.

More on prices. The US dollar may be equivalent to the Canadian dollar but prices here in Canada are much higher than in the states. We noticed this in the grocery store, when buying tourist items like t-shirts, even ice cream cones are higher. We are having a hard time getting used to that. We don’t buy unless we really need the item. It is so bad, we even passed up an ice cream cone today!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The road to Revelstoke!

Location, Revelstoke, BC

Last night the campground really filled up. Most people arrive by 4 PM but there are always a few stragglers who come in around 8 PM or later. All sites were filled by 8 PM but 2 late arrivals were parked in front of the office when we left this morning. Make money while you can I guess. Brookside is the only campground in Cache Creek so there are not a lot of options.

The road to Kamloops followed the Thompson River again. The country reminded us of New Mexico or the Columbia River Gorge with farms along the river but brown hills above that. Lots of sage brush although there are pine trees on the hill tops. The pine bark beetle has really devastated much of the pine trees from Lytton to Revelstoke.

They grow a lot of ginseng under cover south of Cache Creek. In fact Chai-na-ta farms advertises it self as the “Largest Grower of Ginseng in the World". How’s that for hubris?

Kamloops is a very nice looking town. It really needs several days to explore it all. The town is spread along side the Thompson River so it is long and narrow.

The roads are quite good but mostly 2 lanes. There are a lot of ups and downs but not a lot of elevation change overall. For the most part, the road is twisty and windy. Top speed is 90 kph, about 55 mph which is great for better fuel mileage.

We are staying at the Lamplighter Campground in Revelstoke near the Columbia River which flows out of Revelstoke Lake via a large cement dam. The river here really moves. As we drove into the campground we noticed cotton fluff in the air from the cottonwood trees. By afternoon, the air is full of cotton. We hope Clyda doesn’t have a reaction from it. We will be out of the cottonwoods tomorrow.

Mount Revelstoke, BC.

We drove into town via a one way steel bridge over the Columbia River. A visit to the information center gave us maps and information for our trip to Banff. We walked around downtown and then drove around other parts of it. A stop at the grocery store and for fuel completes the day.


Columbia River with Mount Revelstoke in the background.


Court house dome in Revelstoke looking across the Columbia River.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Beautiful Fraser River Valley

Location, Cache Creek, BC

Pictures have been added to yesterday's blog.

I need to make an addition to yesterday’s blog. Wild Rose RV Park west of Hope is a jewel. There are only 51 sites but they can accommodate most sized rigs. The campground filled up by late evening with one-nighters like us. They do have Wi-Fi but it is really slow. I did manage to get my emails and up load the blog but no pictures.

We had a slow rain all afternoon and night but it didn’t really detract from any activities. The campground setting is really, really nice. Behind the campground is a high cliff of pine trees with waterfalls and yesterday the clouds drifted in and out over the trees. Very pretty.

On to today. We left around 8:15 for the drive to Cache Creek. Trans-Canada Hwy 1 follows the Fraser River North to lytton then east to Cache Creek. The Fraser River is really running high right now with all the high country run off. It is muddy looking and has boiling circles of water most of way. Fraser River Canyon is narrow and steep sided and covered with pine trees. There are few settlements along it. The largest between Hope and Lytton is Boston Bar. There are lots of pull-off areas along the highway but the best views are not near a pull-off of course. There are seven tunnels between Hope and Boston Bar, none of which is very long. The railroad follows the river and was quit a feat of engineering in its day.


About 40 km north of Hope is Hells Gate. The river here is squeezed between the canyon walls and boils out in a rush. There is a tram way which takes you down to the river from the highway, for a fee of course. It does not open until 10 AM and we were there before 9:30 so had to pass it by.

From Lytton the hwy leaves the Fraser River and follows the Thompson River. This also is in a canyon but the hills flatten out and the pine trees disappear. It still is a fast moving river but much clearer looking water. There is lots of rafting on the Thompson.

Cache Creek is like the gateway to the north and Alaska. The roads are full of trucks and RV’s both coming and going.

We are staying in Brookside Campsite which has slow WI-Fi also but I hope to upload pictures for the blog.

We took a drive north of town to a produce farm. I think half the people in town were there. They not only sell produce but have a small restaurant which sells home made bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, pies, and ice cream. The pies unbaked are $12.95 Canadian.

Clyda had a good picture of the ladies making pies but their faces were identifiable so I don't like to post those.

Back to town after refraining from buying anything at the farm, we filled up with Diesel at 101.9 cents per liter. That’s about average so far. Here the diesel pump handles are yellow and the gas pump handles are green. I really need to check each time so I don’t get the wrong one.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Into Canada!

Location, Hope, BC

I started packing this morning. Fortunately it wasn’t raining, just overcast. By the time I had the truck packed; Candi came by to pick us up for breakfast. We went to a restaurant called “The Rusty Nail”; it sounds more like a bar than a restaurant, and had a very nice simple breakfast.

We came back to the RV and finished packing, dumping tanks, pumping up the tires and air bags, and checking the slide outs for water puddles. There was no water only a few leaves on the slides but I wanted to make sure.

We left Hidden Village RV Park about 11:15 AM and drove north on the “Guide” to E. Badger Road and to Sumas, WA. The line was fairly long waiting to cross but eventually they opened another lane so about ½ hour later we were through. They asked

“Where are you from”?

“Where are you going”?

“Have you been to Canada before”?

“Do you have any firearms”?

“Do you have any pets”?

“Are you bringing in any fresh fruit or vegetables”?

That was it. No questions about liquor or meat. We were through in a few minutes. One suggestion for anyone crossing the border either way with a diesel pickup, pull up to the booth and turn your engine off. The agents really appreciate that.

Within a few miles we turned east onto Trans-Canada Hwy 1 and headed for Hope, BC our intended stop for the day. Canada 1 is a very good highway. Those of us from Californian can really appreciate a nice road after the kinds of roads we are driving on in California.

Hwy 1 goes northeast up the Fraser Valley. There are pine covered mountains on both sides with waterfalls coming down the steep slopes. It really is very pretty. The low clouds stayed on the mountains all day and really added to the scenery.


We checked into the “Wild Rose RV Park west of Hope. There were a lot of empty sites but filled up later in the day. We did not have reservations but if you arrive early there is always room.

We drove into Hope which is known as the “chainsaw art capitol of Canada”. There are statues everywhere in town carved with chainsaws. We parked on the street across from the city park where a concert was being held from 2-4 PM. We walked the streets looking at the art work and eventually stopped at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. Sinful I know, but oh so good.

We drove up Hwy 1 to the little town of Yale, an old gold rush town. There isn’t much there but an old church with a museum. In 1858, Yale was the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. Yale was once the provincial capitol of British Columbia and eventually asked to join with the rest of Canada.

On our way back to the campground, we stopped in Hope for groceries. Prices are somewhat higher in Canada but the difference between the US dollar and Canadian dollar is minimal. I changed $29.96 US dollars at the Bank in Lynden for $30 dollars Canadian. For the most part, we us our credit card for major purchases. I did call the credit card company and let them know what dates we would be in Canada. We once tried to us our credit card outside the US and found that it wouldn’t work. So call before you go. Also, you can register with the US State Department on-line to let them know when you will be traveling outside the US. They are better able to help you if you get in trouble. We also got a “yellow” card for Canada from our auto insurance company before we left home. It is best to be prepared.

After we finished at the grocery store, we found a road to Silver Lake south of Hope. It is about 6 km on a partial paved road to the lake and campground. The best reason to take this road is the spectacular waterfall about 1 km from the lake. It drops straight down the steep hillside to the Silverhope River. A good way to finish our site seeing.


The Silverhope River.

If you build a cabin with a wood roof in this wet country, here is what it looks like after 50 years.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Michaels birthday dinner

Location, Lynden, WA

It was overcast all day but the temperature was around 75 degrees this afternoon so it was pleasant. It started to rain about 4 PM and is still raining at 8:30. There is some chance of flooding in low lying areas tonight. I hope it quits by morning so I don’t need to pack up in the rain.

We are leaving for Canada and points east tomorrow morning. I did get the BBQ and chairs put up this morning so I don’t need to worry about that stuff tomorrow.

We should have Wi-fi at some of the campgrounds so will be able to update while we are traveling east.

We finished off tonight with a birthday dinner for Michael. He turned 17 about 10 days ago while he was in Mississippi with his church. Mark smoked pork short ribs all afternoon with 2 different dry rubs. He also grilled corn on the cob and Walla-Walla onions. All to die for as usual. We finished off with a chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce. Way too much good food. I think we will be on a diet for the next 2 weeks.

More rain!

Location, Lynden, WA

I have been concerned about the number of hits on this blog. The counter numbers seem high but then again maybe there are more readers than I expected. I do know that the number of personal emails have dropped off since I started the blog. I guess everyone is able to keep up with our travels through the blog without emailing us. That’s good and bad as we sometimes feel disconnected when we don’t hear from anyone. I’m not complaining, just curious I guess.

Rain again all day. We had planned to spend the afternoon in La Conner prowling through antique shops, etc, but decided with all the rain that it wouldn’t be a lot of fun. We went to dinner in Everson last night at a very good German restaurant. Excellent food! They also serve very good steaks.

We finished up the day looking at pictures from last Christmas and swapping a few pictures between PC’s.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

More rain!

Location, Lynden, WA

It continued to rain over night and this morning. The sun finally came out mid afternoon with lots of big fluffy clouds over the mountains.

We picked up vegetables at a local stand for dinner and went to Edalen’s for an ice cream. Edalen’s is a dairy farm with a retail store very near the Canadian border crossing at Aldergrove on the” Guide”. They get a lot of Canadian traffic buying dairy products so it is always a busy place. Of course, everyone who shops also buys ice cream. A single cone or a large soft serve is only $1.00.

Clyda and Dawn are scrap booking tonight. They have tables set up in the basement and pictures spread all over.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Rain! Rain! Rain!

Location, Lynden, WA

Dinner last night was out of this world. We were celebrating Dawn receiving a 4.0 grade for the last quarter in college. Way to go Dawn! I BBQ’ed 2 tri-tips along with Linguisa and some Adell’s sausage. I also grilled sliced Walla-Walla onions after brushing them with olive oil and skewering them with wooden skewers. Grilled Walla-Walla’s are really sweet. We also had cabbage salad, beans, garlic bread, and sliced tomatoes with fresh mozzarella cheese drizzled with a reduced balsamic vinegar. Desert was vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries. Yum-yum.

It started raining overnight and is supposed to rain for the next several days.

This morning we picked up Michael and took him to breakfast. It has become a tradition to take him for pancakes at least once while we are here. Later, we dropped him off at work.

It continued to rain off and on most of the day. The trailer was so damp that I started the propane heater to take the chill off.

Clyda went shopping with Candi late this afternoon so I got lots of computer time.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Farming near Lynden

Location, Lynden, WA

Lynden is farming country. If you didn’t know that before you came here, you sure do while you are here. Especially after some farmer pumps his manure pit. There are small farms, there are big farms, there a berry farms, and there are dairy farms. Large dairy farms which milk several hundred cows each provide the majority of the milk for the Darigold plant in Lynden. This plant makes powdered milk and is supplied by double tanker trucks day and night.

Right now the raspberries are in season and pickers are busy as I detailed in the journal on Sunday. Raspberries are a very large cash crop for this area. Blue berries are also in season and they are also a valuable cash crop but are not as widely grown as raspberries.

Potatoes are also grown here as a cash crop. The potatoes are just beginning to bloom and each field may have a different color bloom from white to light lavender.

The farms around Lynden look much like farms in any state in the mid west. There a silos and barns and stacks of baled hay. None of the farms seem very large.

The town of Lynden is very neat. It may be from the Dutch heritage. It is very refreshing to drive through it.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Shopping Day

Location, Lynden, WA

After my morning walk we drove into Candi’s to start some laundry. About 10:30 Dawn came home from caring for some dogs at the Vet clinic she works part time at and we took her car into Bellingham to have the AC looked at. It had quit working and of course with the heat last week would have been nice to have. We dropped the car off around noon and then stopped at a mall so Dawn and Clyda could pick up some scrap booking materials.

We had lunch at Panda Express and then drove to Michaels in the Costco center for more materials while I checked out some bargains at Best Buy. I had been looking for a 2 G Compact Disk card for my camera but Best Buy doesn’t stock them anymore. Outdated technology I guess. I next checked at Costco and they did have the card but it seemed a little pricey to me so I will hold off buying it for now. I don’t really need it anyway as I download my photos fairly often.

We drove to the Bellis Fair Mall and went to the Verizon store to have Clyda’s phone checked. We both purchased new phones before we left on this trip and in a marginal cell area, Clyda’s phone will not work while mine will. Also, her battery doesn’t last very long. The salesman looked at it and after consulting with a technician said they would replace it.

We bought the phone in California at a Verizon store and they will replace it here in Washington. (Blatant promo coming) How much better can it get? Verizon came through again. That’s what I call superior service. It’s the kind of service you wish all companies would do.

We drove back to check on Dawn’s car and the news was not good. The evaporator was leaking and needed replacing to the tune of $289 plus fluid, plus a new belt, plus labor. It ended up being about a $500 bill. We said, “Thanks, but we will just take the car”. It still cost 130 plus dollars for the service today. Thank the EPA for that. They have to hook the car up to a closed cycle machine for 1.5 hours at $80 an hour to check the AC. Real Bummer.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Rasberry Pickers

Location, Lynden, WA

I have wanted to post an entry on the raspberry picking machines used in the fields here in Lynden. They are unique machines built just for picking raspberries trained on wires. The machines straddle one row at a time and have beaters which shake the vines. The berries drop down to a flat shelf near the ground and then up elevators where a crew of three pick out the vines and leaves (called Greens) from trays. Filled trays are stacked and empty trays are placed under the elevators. When all trays are filled, the machine stops and trays are offloaded to a truck. A fourth person drives the machine. Fields are picked twice a day during the peak time.


The rest of our day involved lunch. Thomas cooked a superb angel hair pasta with bacon, mushrooms, a goat cheese (can’t remember the name) and pine nuts. Served with a green salad, garlic parmesan bread, and a very nice Pinot Gris, it was to die for.

Around 4 PM Thomas and Debbie left for home and the rest of us crashed. We came back to the RV and I worked on the blogs for the last two days.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Raspberry Festival

Location, Lynden, WA

This weekend is the Raspberry Festival in Lynden. Mark was working a bicycle race in Anacortes so the rest of our group walked to the Community Center about 10 AM for a pancake breakfast. For $4 we each got 2 pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee, juice, and raspberries. What a deal! After breakfast we walked downtown where the dunk tank was already in operation and the 3-on-3 basketball tournament was in full swing. The early morning tournaments were comprised of young boys and girls who played some really fine basketball. The older kids and adults took over later. This is a really big event here.

The main street of town was blocked off for basketball, food booths, craft fair and merchant displays. There also was a block long old car show with lots of very nice cars many of them from British Columbia.

Of course, the real reason for the festival is raspberries so for $1 you can buy a nice bowl of ice cream topped with raspberries. So..… good!!

We all walked back to Candi’s house and crashed for the afternoon. About 5 PM we started getting our wits together for dinner out in White Rock, BC. Thomas’s company had bought a chain of restaurants in Canada and we wanted to try one for dinner. We decided to only take one vehicle so used my truck which holds 6. Our wait at the border was a little longer than last time but still was not bad. We arrived in White rock a little early so we walked along the sea front and people watched. White Rock is a really cosmopolitan neighborhood with all nationalities represented. The restaurants here do a booming business.

Our reservations were for 7:30 PM and we were seated about then. The meal was exquisite! We started with drinks, which was white wine for the drinkers in the group, appetizers of oysters on the half shell, artichoke-salmon dip on pita bread, and batter fried calamari. The sauces which accompanied each dish were unbelievable.

We each ordered a different seafood main dish. I ordered pan seared peppered rare Ahi tuna on a bed of rice with Shitake mushrooms and asparagus spears. It was to die for. Perfectly cooked. Clyda had 3 mustard salmon. Thomas had paella while Debbie had Halibut fish and chips, Mark had the seafood sampler and Candi had lobster ravioli with shrimp. Everyone raved about the food.

For dessert we had a sampler plate of cheesecake, key lime pie, tiramisu, and a chocolate marble cake (it was actually more exotic than just a marble cake).

We spent a total of 3 hours at dinner. What a great experience!!! Thanks Thomas.

We returned to the US via the Peace Arch crossing at Blaine, WA. Our wait time again was not long.

I will need to put photos in this entry later as we forgot to download them from Debbie’s camera.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Awsome Day!!!!!

Location, Lynden, WA

What an awesome day!! We had decided to spend the day at Mt Baker. Thomas and Debbie from Portland, Clyda and I, and Mark and Candi traveled in the truck with Mark driving. The ladies packed a picnic lunch and not knowing what the weather would be, we all took jackets. Speaking of weather, it was over caste and cool when we left Lynden.

We stopped in Maple Falls which is a wide spot in the road with a gas station/convenience store, a town hall, a state liquor store, and several other buildings. It had started to sprinkle. After a bathroom and coffee break, we continued on Hwy 542. We stopped at the ranger station for information and then drove up the Glacier Creek Road towards Mt Baker. It is a black topped one lane road for most of the way but occasionally is gravel with pot holes. There are water falls all along this road. We did a lot of stopping for pictures. The water is very muddy from the glacier runoff.


Eventually, the sun came out and the view opened up towards Mt Baker. What a view!!. Only the pictures can tell the story.


We stopped for a tailgate picnic lunch along a logging road and then drove to the end of the road before we turned around and retraced our way back to Hwy 542. Our next stop was Heather meadows at the upper ski area. The snow was still on the ground here and along the parking lot.

The view of of the mountains from here is really great. This is part of the ski area.


An impromptu snow ball fight.

We drove back down the mountain and stopped at Nooksack Falls. This is a double thundering cataract which also drives a power plant through a metal flume. The falls are on the Glacier River and directly below them are joined by the Nooksack River. It is very hard to get a good picture of this as the falls are in a deep gorge.

On the way home we stopped for dinner in Sumas at Bob’s Burger’s and Brew. It is becoming a Friday night thing I guess. We spent another hour looking at all the pictures on the TV. It was a long but really awesome day.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

HOT!!!! HOT!!!! HOT!!!!

Location, Lynden, WA

I guess I have fallen behind on my blogging. I didn’t realize I had missed 2 days already. Not a whole lot going on I guess.

On Tuesday afternoon I took the truck in for an oil change. It was not quite due but this is the only chance to get it done before we leave for Canada and parts east. It was also very warm on Tuesday. My thermometer said 91 degrees in the afternoon so we ran the AC.

Wednesday was HOT!!!!! Records were set in the Pacific Northwest this day. I had the AC on all day in the trailer. I had 97 degrees on the truck thermometer at 5:30 PM when I drove to Mark and Candi’s.

We went with Candi to her church for a BBQ around 6PM and it was still very hot. The church has a BBQ get together every Wednesday in the summer. The meat is supplied and everyone brings a dish to share. It is a young family church with lots of small children. There was a water slide set up and with the heat it got a great workout last night.

I worked around the trailer this morning with dumping the tanks and cleaning the shower and sinks. In early afternoon, our friends Thomas and Debbie arrived from Portland to spend a few days with us. We spent the rest of the day catching up on our lives and finished with a dinner of Amaretto Chicken made in the crock pot. Desert was thee… best raspberry pie supplied by Candi.

Oh yes, the temperature was 20 degrees lower today than yesterday. Very pleasant.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

"The Guide"

Location, Lynden, WA

Not much doing today. We drove over to Candi’s after she got off work. She and Clyda went to downtown Lynden to check out the stores. The down town area retains some of its old world Dutch charm. It is a very clean and neat town.

Washington Hwy 539 is the North-South route from Bellingham to the Canadian border crossing at Alderdale. It also passes through the western edge of Lynden. Hwy 539 is called Meridian Ave on the exit from I-5 in Bellingham. Its real name is “The Guide Meridian” but locals call it “The Guide”. Looking at a map with GPS coordinates shows Hwy 539 as having a longitude of 122 deg 30 minutes west. I assumed it would be on a prime meridian but it is not. More investigation is needed. It is a main through fare for Bellingham and Lynden traffic as well as traffic to and from Canada. At present, it is mostly a 2 lane road. To say that it is a busy road is an understatement. Many times during the day, it is very hard to get into the flow of traffic from a side street without the benefit of a stop light. The Guide is being widened for about 5 miles north of Bellingham. It has major utilities, trees, and drainage which must be moved before widening can begin. Two bridges need to be built also. The utility work is in progress and as the traffic builds for summer, major delays are expected.

We finished the day with dinner at our RV. It was a nice evening so we ate outside. Tomorrow it will be HOT. Expected temperature is 91 degrees.

Monday, July 9, 2007

New GPS

Location, Lynden, WA

We got a late start this morning after getting to bed around 1 AM this morning. I went to church at 11 AM then had a light lunch before going over to Mark and Candi’s around 2 PM.

Saturday afternoon I received a phone call from friend Gary in the Bay area. He had just bought a GPS unit from Costco for a very reasonable price. Mark and I decided we needed to check it out so drove in to Bellingham and looked at the units. They are Magellan 2200T’s priced at $219.99. On-line at Magellan, these units sell for $399.99 each. They come with maps loaded for the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico and are voice command turn by turn instructions. We each bought one and spent the rest of the afternoon reading documentation and playing with the units. My only concern so far is entering trip data. It seems like a manual process.

For dinner tonight, Mark smoked two salmon filets. They really were good! Dawn and Matt were here for dinner also so we quizzed Matt more about driving and operational aspects of a Sprint car. Very interesting!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Dirt, methenal, and fireworks!

Location, Lynden, WA

After our late night on Friday, I slept in until 8:30 or so. Our goal for today is to see the car races in Burlington, WA tonight. More on that later. We had breakfast, Clyda read, I worked on the blog, and around noon, we drove over to Mark and Candi’s for lunch. I posted the Blog and retrieved emails until 2 PM when we left for Burlington. The ladies shopped at the outlet mall while Mark and I visited Camping World. I had a $5 gift certificate which was about to expire and a few things on my list. I purchased an external in line water filter which had been on my list for some time. Also a few other minor items.

After we checked out of Camping World we walked next door to look at Class C motor homes. Mark is interested in one possibly in the future so we looked at a few. I pointed out some good and not so good features to him. They had just taken in a used Jamboree which appeared to be in excellent condition but was so new to the lot that no one had the keys. About then the ladies called so we headed back to the outlet mall to pick them up.

We planned to eat an early dinner before going to the race track so went to a place called Double Barrel BBQ. It is a hole in the wall place but had really good BBQ. Excellent choice.

Off to the race track. The reason we are going is because our niece Dawn’s boyfriend Matt drives a Sprint car in the Sportsman class as a rookie. Last year he drove a Hornet class which is old small cars with only about 100 horse power. It is more like the demolition derby than a race. Matt was scheduled to drive in 2 races tonight. This was also the mid-season championships with a fireworks show to follow and a huge crowd was expected. We actually got to the park about an hour early but the lines of cars stretched forever. They were still coming in about halfway through the races.

A quarter mile clay track with Sprint cars is fun to watch. Sprint cars have the funny big wing on top to keep down pressure on the car so it stays on the ground. This track is well set up with all of the cars in the infield, good track crew with plenty of push vehicles to start cars plus an ambulance and fire crew.

The track before the race is wet sticky clay and various vehicles are used to pack and dry it prior to the race. Race cars are then run for a short time for the same purpose. Hot laps are taken with several cars spaced evenly about the track and they run at near optimum speed for 5 laps. As the track dries, conditions change so the drivers need to adjust their driving tactics.

It was a fun night of racing with several crashes and a couple of cars turned upside down. Of course, any problems stop the race either under a caution flag or a red (stop) flag. Cars are then restarted, lined up in their post flag position and the race continues.

Matt has done very well so far this year and is standing 5th in points for his class. His disadvantage is a lack of a sponsor. It cost big bucks to stay in the race week after week. The cars run on methanol fuel. A Sportsman class car uses a standard car engine which runs on methanol instead of gas, is supped up to run at 7-8,000 RPM, and puts out up to 500 horse power at speeds up to 120 mph. These are not toys by any means.

After the spectacular fireworks show, we went to the pit to talk to Matt, his father, and Dawn, (his pit crew) for a few minutes and look at the car. The car has 2 gauges, temperature and oil pressure. The driver has little time to look at anything inside the cockpit.

Dawn and Matt with his #30 Sportsman Sprint car


Getting out of the parking lot was easier than we expected but it was still 1 AM when we got back to the RV.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Orcas Island

Location, Lynden, WA

Mark and Candi picked us up before 8 AM this morning as we are spending the day on Orcas Island. That meant setting the alarm clock last night so we didn’t over sleep. We caught the ferry from Anacortes with stops at Lopez and Shaw Islands before disembarking at Orcas Island. The Ferry left around 10 AM but to make sure you can get your car on board we had to be in line by 9 AM. There are restrooms and a coffee shop in the waiting area. It cost $86 RT for the car and 4 passengers. The car and driver are $43 and each passenger is $13 plus tax. The wait is not too bad. You wait along with everyone else so you have time to people watch. That can be really funny sometimes as people do the darndest things. Especially people with dogs.

Another ferry just like ours.


Approaching Shaw Island dock.


Waiting to disembark.

Our ferry had large motor homes, campers of all sizes, cars pulling boats, a double dump truck of top soil, an oil tanker, and lots of cars and pickups.
Vehicles are assigned waiting lanes depending on the destination. Loading is by lanes. The ferries are double deckers with smaller cars assigned to the upper deck. After you park you can squeeze out of your door and go up to one of two upper decks to sit. There are bench seats, some with tables and small cafeteria on the upper deck. It is all very spacious. Just before you are about to dock an announcement is made for all to return to their cars. It is well organized but you certainly can’t be in a hurry as it all takes time. We arrived at Orcas Island about Noon.

Picnic lunch with a view.

After disembarking, the first order of business was lunch. We had a picnic lunch with us so found tables by the water with a nice view and ate. After lunch we drove to Rosario to look at the old Moran mansion. It is now a resort but the public rooms upstairs are open for viewing. Moran owned a lumber mill and boat works in Seattle and was told by his doctor to get away from work for his health. He moved to the island and built a large complex of buildings and lived another 40 years. The woodwork is outstanding! There are displays left from the Moran family and a large pipe organ which is played everyday at 5 PM.

We next drove to the top of MT Constitution which is the highest point in the San Juan Islands at 2200 feet. There is an observatory at the top built by the CCC’s. Mt Constitution and the surrounding area are part of Moran State Park. It was a beautiful clear day so the views in all directions were spectacular. We also saw 3 bald eagles soaring on the wind currents around the mountain top. It really was a great experience.

Observation tower at Mt Constitution.


Us with Mt Baker in the background.

On the way down the mountain, we stopped at Cascade Falls which is a short walk down to a series of falls set among the large trees. After the falls we stopped in the village of Eastsound for an ice cream. After looking for some time we eventually found gelato which turned out to be very pricey but good. While sitting on a bench eating our Gelato, I noticed a sign down the street for ice cream so checking later, we found a small store front with self serve soft ice cream which was much cheaper than the gelato. Maybe next time.

We drove back to the ferry landing for a planned 7 PM departure. The ferry prior to ours was delayed which also delayed us but eventually we boarded for a direct return to Anacortes. We planned to eat at a Greek restaurant in Anacortes but they had stopped serving by the time we got there. We were surprised that it was after 8:30 PM but with the long days did not seem like it was so late. Twenty minutes later we stopped at Bob’s Burgers and Pub for a really late meal. We arrived back at the RV Park about 11 PM. A long day, but a really good day.