Byron, NY ( and side trip to Niagara Falls)

Today we traveled as planned from Port Huron, MI , across Ontario, thru Niagara Falls, and on to Byron, NY. We used Canadian Hwy’s 402, 401, 403, Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, QEW, 406 and US Hwy’s 104, 98, and 262. It was a 255 mile drive. We passed thru Paris, London, and Niagara Falls all in one day, the same day the Royal Wedding was happening. Now we’ll stay 2 nights in Bryon at the Southwoods RV Resort.

The trips thru International borders today were like the last time. Good going into Canada, and bad coming back into the US.

Going into Canada first thing this morning a young woman, Customs Official, had a conversation with us after crossing the Blue Waters Bridge in Port Huron. She quickly said, “Go ahead and have a nice day.”

Getting into the US at the Lewiston, NY border crossing there was a delay in traffic of over an hour. Then, once we made it up to the gate, the US Customs Official questioned us and took the time to go thru our RV. Shortly thereafter he let us proceed thru. We didn’t have any of our produce or dog food confiscated this time.

The highways thru Ontario were very good compared to those in the western Canadian provinces. It sprinkled all along the way. Most of the sites we saw today were of farmland and golf courses, except for Niagara Falls, read on. Oddly enough we passed two places along the highways today where we saw men practice driving Trotter horses like those you’d see at Scarborough Downs. I got a blurry picture.

Anne drove most of the Canadian portion of the ride today, about 175 miles worth of it. I had to pull her off of the steering wheel today. I did that when we exited the highway and had our lunch. I don't remember where we were but it was somewhere along the QEW highway, somewhere between Hamilton and St. Catharines, Ontario.

We witnessed the wind storm devastation that happened here yesterday near St. Catharine off of Lake Ontario. Huge trees were blown down or snapped, some caused damage to houses and power lines. Most of the problems were seen after we entered the US and followed Hwy 104 from Niagara Falls to Byron, NY.

After crossing the border into the US I exited the highway and scooted maybe 5 miles over to Niagara Falls. We parked on a city street and I got out to walk over to see the ‘Falls’. Last time I saw them we stayed on the Canadian side. That’s definitely the better view but I don‘t remember getting as close to the Falls as I did today.

Our engine light came on today as we sat in the traffic jam at ‘Customs’ coming into the US. We'll try to have this checked out tomorrow. Maybe we’ll be lucky and the light will go out over night tonight.

The owners at Southwood’s RV Resort, Sue and Mike, had been great to us on the phone up until now, and even nicer now that we’re here. As we got set up Mike stopped over and introduced himself. Then he asked me if our unit was wired for Cable TV. When I said ’yes‘, he offered to hook us up with a long cable running over from the next site. He said he has just made a deal with Time Warner Cable for the Resort, but they don’t have all the wiring done yet. So, that’s a nice fringe benefit and a nice thing for him to do. The internet signal works great here too.

Now I'll try to add some pictures to this blog.

We'll leave here tomorrow, Sunday, May 1. We’re planning to go to Johnstown, NY to stay at Royal Mountain Campsite.

Port Huron, MI

Today Anne and I drove 171 miles from Harrison, MI to Port Huron, MI. We left at 10:15am and arrived at the Port Huron Township RV Park at 3:30pm. Anne had packed the cooler for the ride, including a nice lunch which we enjoyed along the way. No different than any other travel day the past 4 months. She is something special !!

We passed thru Saginaw and Flint Michigan today. We also passed thru a lot of flooded land. Some roads were closed and we had to adapt and re-route one time. Anne was prepared for that from watching the news this morning. I’m not kidding ya, I don't know what's next. When we set up in Harrison there were tornado warnings all over the area that night, then yesterday and today it has been flood warnings all around this area. Holy cow !

We filled with fuel about 33 miles outside of Port Huron expecting that this ‘gateway to Canada’ would be a fuel trap. The price was $4.11/gal outside town, good relative to what the cost has been lately. Once in Port Huron we toured around town to see the city. After that, ready to retire to the campground, we filled our tank with fuel again. We needed to ‘top it off’ before taking the 255 mile trek across Canada to Buffalo tomorrow. The cost of fuel in Port Huron was up, $4.28/gal. Hurray for us, we beat the system !!

Port Huron is an old place but the city is taking a lot of pride in modernizing itself, especially along the waterfront. It’s called the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway and it runs between Lake Huron and Anchor Bay. Anchor Bay is slightly north of Detroit, and across from there is Lake St. Clair. Lake St. Clair is at Winsor, Ontario, Canada. With a little imagination, Anchor Bay and Lake St. Clair are the same body of water shared by the 2 countries.

There is big double bridge crossing between USA and Canada here. It is named Blue Water Bridge, A.K.A the Bridge to Canada. When we were at the waterfront park in town today we took some pictures of the bridge etc., and sure enough, the water is a very nice bright blue in color. It also has a tremendous amount of current in it. It reminds me a lot of the Cape Cod Canal.

This night at the Port Huron Township RV Park we never disconnected our truck from the RV. We have a nice level, solid, dry site. We have water and electric hooked up. We don’t need sewer hook-up tonight. We don’t have an internet connection here so I’ll write, and save this blog entry on the word processor on my laptop. With any luck we'll have internet connectivity tomorrow night and I can paste this into the blog then

We’ll get up in the morning and drive from here thru Canada to Niagra Falls, NY.

Note: As we drove thru Michigan today the grass became very green. YEAH !!

Harrison, MI

Tuesday April 26 we leave St. Ignace and travel into the mitten of Michigan ending up at Harrison.

It rained as we drove today so we didn't take very many pictures to speak of, but the highways are wonderful here. It wasn't a bad driving day.

We drove around in downtown St. Ignace on the way out of here. It is a tourist town on both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. They have a big catamaren ferry and all. And we did cross the Mackinac Bridge as planned. There is a 20 mile speed limit for trucks so it takes awhile to cross. One lane in each direction was being worked on too, so it was narrow with only the 2 middle lanes open, and cones lining the lanes.

We arrived at Hidden Hill Campground in Harrison safely and we'll stay for 2 nights. There are a couple other campers here. It's a nice place where Dixie can run free in the woods as we walk with her. We checked out Harrison and it's a very neat little town with a beautiful lake.

Thursday we get up and head to Port Huron, MI, north of Detroit, where we will spend one night at Port Huron Township RV Park. From there we'll jump directly over a bridge into Canada for one days drive which will take us across Ontario, thru Niagra Falls and clear over towards Buffalo, NY. This way we avoid driving around Lake Huron by cities like Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland. Plan has us then staying in the Buffalo area at Byron, NY, Southwoods RV Resort.

St. Ignace, MI

On Monday April 25th we travelled into Michigan from Wisconsin, AGAIN !! It's unusual the way the geography and state borders are layed out up here. It's fun tho. Our drive today was of 265 miles well over 5 hours.

We had planned to stay near Manistique, MI but never ran into the campground we expected to find there, so we just kept going. It was a great day to drive, and the highways were empty and smooth. It's so 'off season' here once again. Things will gear up in another month for sure. Anyway, we followed the shores of Lake Michigan in the sunshine and it was beautiful along the way.

We pulled into an 'unattended' Lakeview RV Park. There were 'late arrival' instructions posted so we read those and pulled into a site, but it didn't work out. Let's leave it at that. So we asked the owner for our check back, it was given to us, and we moved on. We ended up staying in a Truck Stop overnight in St. Ignace for $5. Diesel engines hummed all around us all night long, but they hummed us to sleep and it worked well.

I took off with Dixie for a walk and minutes from the Truck Stop out back we descended a hill and found ourselves looking at the Mackinac Bridge from the St. Ignace Golf and Country Club around sunset. It was well after supper and no one else was around there. We were standing on the deck of the club house, elevated above the golf course, and we took pictures of the bridge. The Mackinac Bridge (Big Mac) is the third longest suspension bridge in the world, and it is designed just like the Golden Gate Bridge, just of different colors, and perhaps even more beautiful. It links Michigans Upper and Lower Peninsulas, running between the towns of St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. It crosses the neck at the tops of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

I purchased a future meal, a couple of frozen 'pasties' in a store across the street. I didn't know what these were, but pasties are advertised everywhere around here so we had to try them, according to me anyway. They ended up being hand made meat and chicken pies with peas, rutabaga, potatoes, onions and carrots inside. We have one of each in the freezer and they come each with their own gravy on the side.

We blew a few fuses this night at the truck stop before the Truck Stop owner put us on a 20 amp circuit, up from 15. With the 15 amp circuit breaker the electric heater and microwave at the same time were too much for it. It all worked out and we were on our way in the morning, heading across Big Mac to Harrison, MI and the Hidden Hill Campground.

Eagle River, WI

On Saturday April 23 we left Cloquet, MN for Eagle River, WI. It was some 205 miles, over 4 hours driving. On the way we passed thru alot of the UP of Michigan on Hwy 2. There were some places covered in fresh snow along the way. We passed ski resorts at Bessimer, Ramsay, and Wakefield, MI.

The Hi Pines Campground at Eagle River was not opened for the season, but we had called them ahead and the owner graciously welcomed us to stay on a seasonal site where the water was turned on. He would be around there working on the place before they're opening day, this coming Sunday. Mark also let us spend time in the clubhouse to use the Wi-Fi while he was out on the property working. He was supernice to us and because of that we were able to use the Internet to do our planning.

Dixie ran free here, all over with the owners dog Asher. Many deer roamed in the campground and the dogs chased them to the woods edge. Dixie took her first dip in the fishing pond.

It's a nice campground in a neat town. Here they have a stadium here where the Annual World Championships of Snomobiling take place every January.

We stayed 2 nights and got some much needed rest. I brought the water hose in over night to avoid freezing lines. The sun came out brightly Easter Sunday and it felt glorious. We went out around noon and brought 2 hot meals back to our place for Easter dinner. We miss our family and church family this holiday.

We will leave here Monday and go back to Michigan's UP. We'll pass thru the border towns of Spread Eagle, WI, then Iron Mountain, MI. Once back on the UP we'll continue on Hwy 2 and we may stop somewhere around Manistique, MI.

Cloquet, MN

On April 21 we left Thief River Falls, MN and drove 270 miles to Cloquet, MN. We are staying there for 2 nights at Big Lake Campground. It’s actually The Lounge at Big Lake, which includes the campground, with the Lounge up the hill from where we set up, where we can see it from here. There are a few cars there tonight, being Friday night, and once in awhile we can hear where someone must’ve put a dime in the juke box.

The owner turned the water on for us here right after we set up, but guess what...a pipe burst, so that was that. Today, our second day here we took showers being connected to our on-board water supply. Before the day was out we ran the tank dry, so we fall back on gallons of water, and bottled drinking water we have in storage till we can refill the tank tomorrow.

We’ve taken a couple of naps here today as we are pretty tired from travaling, setting up, and breaking down to travel again and again. We are the only ones camping here on the shores of this lake. It is still a cold spring, so not many others are up for camping as of yet.

Today we took a ride into Deluth and we visited the AAA office to pick up the maps we‘ll need to get home. Deluth is on the lower tip of Lake Superior. There were several bridges in the city, and lots of road construction going on causing for many detours.

The NCAA National Champion College Hockey Team plays at the AMS Oil Arena in Deluth and the locals are proud, just as we were in Maine a few years back when our Black Bears won it all. I think Maine may have beaten U Minn/Deluth on it's way to the championship.

On the way here from Thief River Falls we came thru a place called Lake Itasca. It is known as the territory of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I was looking at the Mississippi on the map, trying to figure out where it actually begins and couldn't make sense of it. It is very hard to trace around where it begins, but it becomes the border between WI and MN.

Tomorrow we head out of here and move on to Wisconsin where we'll stay over at Hi Pines Campground at Eagle River, WI.

Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Today, April 20, we drove from Minot, ND to Thief River Falls, MN. We covered over 300 miles due to road closures/detours due to flooding around Grand Forks, ND.

It has not been the greatest of days. It started out slowly as we hunted around Minot for the AAA Office. We wanted to pick up some maps that we now need since changing our travel plans. Well, we couldn’t find the address, and when we called the phone number we learned that the office has closed. At that point we hit the highway and figured we find AAA somewhere ahead of us. We were told there would be an office in Grand Forks, ND.

Driving thru North Dakota and into Minnesota we were surprised to have seen a huge number of oil wells.

We were also surprised, as we passed thru Rugby, ND, that we were on, or at, or in (?) the geographic center of North America. It wouldn’t have occurred to me being so far north in USA, but I supposed I never thought about it before.

Another couple of unusual observation are that the ‘Rest Areas’ on the highways in ND and WI have all been on the left as we drive South and East. You’ll either find the Rest Area in the middle of a divided highway, or you’ll cross directly over the highway to the common Rest Area on the other side.

They also don’t have any overpasses on the highways as we have back home. Rather they have small roads, sometimes dirt, just coming up to and often crossing the state highways. There are right and left turning lanes on the highways at the intersections. Vehicles on-coming to a highway will wait at stop sign to gain access to either direction.

There aren't any guardrails along the roadways either. I guess all of the above these things save alot of money.

Of the hundreds and hundreds of miles of farmland we‘ve gone by the last few days, the vast majority of it has been wet, alot of it totally flooded, so much so that none of the soil has been worked anywhere, so no fields are planted yet.

There are tons of large farm implements being transported around on the highways, probably on their way to be tuned up for the upcoming growing season. The seeding and fertilizing machines are massive, consuming the breakdown lane as well as the travel lane on our side of the roadway, definately a challenge to pass out there. They do move over as far as they can when they see you coming up on them.

Like in Canada, we’re still in big time grain growing territory, and some cattle country. There are huge facilities all over the place with giant grain elevators and loading shoots. The railroad tracks run directly along side or near these facilities.

In northern North Dakota and Minnesota there are lots and lots of Indian territories, and their Tribal Centers. You might think you’re passing a large High School complex only to learn it is a Tribal Center. There are a lot of activities and facilities there for the youth, etc.. I was impressed.

As we approached Grand Forks we made a phone call to find out where the AAA office is. After much effort on the phone we learned that this AAA office has also been closed. We find out there is one in Duluth, MN tho, and we get the address and phone number. We’ll be there in a few days. The Road Atlas will have to do for now.

Today as we approached the Minnesota border Anne noticed what looked like a shortcut, so we took Hwy 29 North before getting to downtown Grand Forks. Plan was to take it 10 miles north to Route 1 East which will take us directlyh to Thief River Fall’s. Well, after on Hwy 29 for three miles we were detoured off of it due to flooding. At that point we didn't know how much of Hwy 29 was closed, we just followed the leader. The detour took us on to adjacent Hwy 81 N which took us well out of our way. Looking occasionally at the GPS I noticed the distance to Thief River Falls increasing more and more. As this turned out, we drove at least 60 miles out of our way.

We arrived at TRF’s and as usual we are the only ones in the campground. The park is set up nicely, but all of the gravel pads are pretty wet, quite soft. We took what we thought was the driest site. I feel like we’ve christened half the campgrounds in USA this spring. Not much socializing going on as we’re pretty much the only campers where ever we go. Not many RV’ers out this time of year in the North.

Once we set up here we found out that the cable TV hookup didn’t work. We adapted and pull in the local channels over the air. Then, as Anne made supper and plugged in a few other things, the power went out. We worked thru the power issue. It's close to freezing and the water is not turned on here. It’s supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow, so it won’t be long now.

We're hoping tomorrow will be a better day. I think we’ll move on from here in the morning. We plan to stay near Deluth, MN next.

Minot, North Dakota

Well, as you may have gathered, we have abandoned our plan to travel home thru Canada. It just didn’t work out for many reasons. Have I mentioned yet that the American dollar is only worth $.96 in Canada. That may be the case, however cost of goods in Canada is very high. The prices in grocery stores were thru the roof. Not sure how natives can afford to live here.

It’s April 18 and today we drove 265 miles from Moose Jaw, SK to Minot, North Dakota. We have stopped to stay at Rough Rider’s Campground in Minot. We chose Minot from a list of 2 campgrounds around here that are actually open. It is early Spring after all, and we are pretty far North. Many campgrounds are opening May 1 or even Memorial Day weekend.

It’s a nice campground, with nice people working here, and full service hookups, electric, water, and sewer, and the water is actually turned on !! This evening tho, I have rolled up the hose and put it away till morning to avoid any possible freezing. We’ll just hook it back up in the morning. Tomorrow we’ll be able to dump our waste water tanks and fill our potable water tank in case we need it when we move on down the road.

They have plenty of RV pull-thru sites and lots tenting sites here along the Souris River. We drove thru what I’d call the Souris River basin for about an hour today just before arriving here. It was kind of like driving thru a shallow canyon, neat.

One interesting thing about this place is that half the campground it flooded. The poor campground owner has build dikes everywhere, along the road, around sheds, etc. That’s right, it’s half under water. Perhaps you’ve heard or read where this part of the world is having these problems. There were a tremendous number of fields flooded today as we drove out of Saskatchewan, and the trend continues in North Dakota.

As we drove our way out of Saskatchewan we exited the Trans-Canada Highway in order to use Hwy 39. It travels in a SE direction in almost a straight line to Minot, ND. At the US Border it changes to Hwy 52.

In Saskatchewan before we reached the US border we passed thru Weyburn. There they boasted of having the largest interior grain gathering facility in Canada.

Regarding the US Border Control, they noticed me taking some pictures around the Customs area. After all, they had asked me to shut the engine off and wait awhile for them. Well, I don’t think they appreciated my taking pictures. They asked me to delete all of them, and they reviewed each picture with me as I did so. Then the officers asked Anne to accompany them as they entered the camper and proceeded to take all of our produce and our dog food. They made me wait in the vehicle. And, they took their time if you know what I mean. Oh well, I don’t think they like their jobs very much. I don't think I would either.

On Wednesday we’ll take Hwy 2 from here to Thief River Falls, MN. From there we plan to head to Cloquet, MN, then into the upper peninsula of Michigan and portions of Wisconsin along the way.

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (SK)

Today Anne and I split the driving in half and we moved on from Medicine Hat, AB to Moose Jaw, SK. It was a drive of 245 miles. We travelled Hwy 1, the Trans-Canada Highway the majority of the way.

We are staying at Prarrie Oasis RV Park. This is the 3rd park in a row that doesn't have their water turned on. The internet signal is poor too, so we still cannot add pictures to our blog.

We are on the verge of driving back to good ol'USA. Both of us are tired of Canada. There are snow showers in the forecast tho, and we have to be careful where we decide to go. It is still cold in the US near here too. The best forecast is actually in Winnipeg, Manitoba which is 2 days away. We'd never be able to get there tomorrow.

Todays ride was thru the praries of southern Canada. Alot of it was like the frozen tundra. They grow and process alot of grains in this part of the world, and we are never too far from the railroads. We have lots of pictures of trains running along under giant grain elevators. Pretty exciting stuff.

There is also alot of flooded farmland here. So wet non of the land has been worked yet.

We have picked up an hour of time as we head East, so we are only 2 hours behind you Easterners now. Yeah ! That actually happened a couple days ago.

It is still in the 30's and 40's during the day, and freezing overnight. We're wishing Spring would have sprung already, after all,,, the boys have started to play ball again. I hear the Red Sox are not actually what you'd call playing.....

We expect to miss the Celtics first playoff game tomorrow evening. BOOHOO. I'll have to listen to it on Twitter maybe. I don't know if the team can just ‘turn it on’ at this point, not the way they've been playing as of late.

Miss you all, and hoping all is well with everyone out there. Will add pictures when we can.

Medicine Hat, AB

Today we drove 135 miles to Medicine Hat, Alberta. The entire ride was thru the plains and farmland of southern Alberta. Here in Medicine Hat they have the largest TeePee in the world. I haven't seen the big moose yet. Oh yeah, we'll see the big moose tomorrow in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

It's cold here, in the 30's and 40's during the day, and below freezing overnight. It's the second place in a row that hasn't had any water turned on.

We used Highway 3 today but when we leave here we'll immediately pick up the Trans-Canada Highway which is Highway 1. It's some 4000 miles long and I hope it is smoother that the roads we've used in Canada so far. It's hard to take pictures while moving along in the vehicle. Once we get an internet signal strong enough we'll add some pictures to the blog, and you'll notice the pictures are a little blurey. The wi-fi signal has been weak in Canada everywhere we go.

We stopped for the night here at Ross Creek RV Park. The park is un-attended at this time. The sign read as follows, "Sorry we're closed, go ahead and park, power, sewer, no water yet. Leave $25/night in the box."

There is a guy (enteurpreneur) here, a regular, with a tank of water who will fill anyone's on-board tank for $10. Too bad for him, we filled up from a frost-free spicket we found in the park at Fort MacLeod this morning.

We had planned to spend 2 nights here, however the forecast calls for rain tomorrow and snow tomorrow night. I think we'll leave in the morning. Tomorrow we'll drive the rest of the way thru Alberta and stay at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. To put it more in perspective we'll be north of Montana, 2500 miles from home.

British Columbia (BC) and Alberta (AB), Canada

On Wednesday, April 13 we packed up, took a deep breath, and drove up the hillside and out of the canyon. We traveled into British Columbia, Canada and beyond to Alberta. We’d drive 230 miles this day, all the way to Fort MacLeod, AB.

Between Moyie Springs, ID and the Canadian border we went thru a town named Good Grief, ID. Of course they had the Good Grief Grill, and that's about all, HAHA.

Next thing we knew we were at international border crossing. After a brief conversation with the Customs Agent (we declared some wine, no guns, and no tobacco) she kindly wished us well and sent us on our way.

We shut down our cell phones and put away our cash. We’ll use credit cards only in Canada so as to let the bank process the transactions and take the exchange rate into account. Unfortunately the Canadian dollar is worth $1.04 as compared to the US dollar. OUCH.

Before long we were riding alongside the Canadian Rockies and OMG I may have never seen anything like it. My Mom once told me how spectacular they were. They did remind me of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

While in BC and AB we used Highways 95, 3 and 93. There were tunnels, trailer trucks, rocky mountain sheep, rams, elk, and deer to negotiate and avoid along the way as we drove. These were all 2-lane bi-directional highways with the occasional passing lane every 5 or so miles. We literally drove south on one side of this spectacular snow covered mountain range then looped back to head north on the other side. It was a tiring drive though with getting used to the metrics, the wildlife, 18 wheelers, and sweeping hillside turns. At one point we stopped for a 2 pronged ram in the road which had his head down as he looked directly at us coming on.

We went thru towns named Yahk, Moyie, Cranbrook, Jaffray, Galloway, Elko, Fernie, Hosmer, Sparwood, Natal, and Michel. In traveling across just a corner of B.C. though we soon encountered the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass as we entered Alberta, Canada. That's when Hwy 93 took us out of the mountainous region and into what you might call the plains.

We now buy fuel by the litre, at between $1.15 and $1.30 per. AS you know there are 3.8 litres in a gallon.

We finally stopped for 2 nights in Fort MacLeod, AB at Daisy May Campground. Very nice campground hosts there checked us in late. They would turn the park water off at 7pm due to freezing temps. In the morning, SURPRISE, we woke up to 2 inches of fresh white stuff on the ground, and the wind blew about 25 miles (15 km) per hour all day. Good thing we had plenty of water on board. We basically took the day off except for taking a ride to A&W for an ice cream cone.

Tomorrow we drive 135 miles to Medicine Hat, AB. Anne wants to go there to see some giant Moose. I wanted to head to Banff and Calgary, but they had over a foot (35 cm) of snow today.

PS
I will not be able to add pictures till we get a stronger internet connection. I don't know when that will be, but will keep trying. There are lots of cool pictures to add for you to see.

Idaho

Hello friends. It’s time at last to get caught up on the blog. Sorry that it’s taken so long but you might say we‘ve been living under a rock, or the closest thing to it, actually in a campground in Moyie River Canyon.

So after spending six nights in Deer Park, WA and having several great visits with Anne’s cousin’s family we moved on to northern Idaho. Anne’s Aunt and Uncle live there in Bonners Ferry.

On Monday April, 11 we traveled just 2 hours, about 100 miles. We used Hwy 2 and Hwy 95 between Spokane and Bonners Ferry. We passed thru the towns of Newport, WA, Sandpoint, Naples, and Bonners Ferry, ID, finally settling in Moyie Springs, ID at Twin Rivers Canyon Resort.

Monday late afternoon and Tuesday were spent visiting with Anne’s Aunt Gertrude (Trudy) and Uncle Seward in Bonners Ferry. It‘s a pretty incredible river town in extreme northern Idaho. It’s in a mountainous region with great views and the evergreens are beautiful.

We had read about the Twin Rivers Canyon Resort and knew it would be a challenging drive down to it. I'd learned that any size rig could make it down the mountainside into the canyon as long as the driver was confident. There are switchbacks and sometimes the road is reduced to one lane. Pictures on the blog will have to suffice because words cannot describe the one mile ride down the side of the mountain. That’s right, one mile to ascend maybe 500 feet. Anne has suggested we don’t do anything like that again.

As usual, we were the only RV’ers in the resort. The resort had had a fire in the office this winter, lost all of their reservations, and were a bit slow getting the place opened this season. There were 3 guys trimming trees on the property while we were there though, and low and behold one of them turned out being Anne’s cousin. She had never ever met him. He noticed our license plate and struck up a conversation with me. Small world……… Anyway, the river canyon was beautiful, probably what you’d have in your minds eye when imagining northern Idaho in Springtime.

When we leave here we cross the border into British Columbia, Canada. I so look forward to seeing the Canadian Rockies.

Moses Lake, and Spokane, WA

On Monday, April 4, we set up in moderate drizzle to leave Black Diamond, WA. We were off to drive East thru 'Snoqualme Pass' in the Cascade Mountains. We planned to stop and stay next in Moses Lake, WA on our way to Spokane. Anne’s relatives there are expecting to see us on Wednesday.

Well, the drive through the Cascades was a challenge as advertised. There have been heavy rains, flood warnings, avalanches and mud slides around some of the passes this week. It did rain and sleet as we ascended, and speed limits were reduced to 45mph. Flashing warning signs were active this day. We could hardly take any pictures for not being able to see much thru the clouds and snow. We could see some treacherous territory though, and we knew we were in some serious wilderness. One section of the ride reminded me of driving thru Franconia Notch, NH.

In reaching Snoqualme Summit conditions had worsened to a heavy wet snow storm. We expected the highway to be wet, but passable. This section of highway had a very grainy gravely noisy surface to it, and it’s no wonder, traction is important. The snow on the edges of the highway was deep enough to cover some of the signage. It was unlawful to pull over on sections of this roadway except to install chains on your vehicle.

On descent, the snow storm ended, the rain stopped and the sky lightened. The low level clouds dissappeared and we continued on in clear weather. Reaching Moses Lake, WA we exited, shopped, and settled at Suncrest Resort RV Park. As usual we had our pick of sites. It was a neat park with level paved sites. There may have been a few construction workers staying there, but few others. We would not unhook this time, rather just sleep and pull out in the morning to move on to the Spokane area a day early. Nothing really to stay here for. We were able to watch the NCAA B-ball championship game, at 6pm no less. Nice.........

We awoke to sunshine and felt relief. We haven't seem much of it for some time. It stayed nice for our drive through Eastern Washington where we witnessed first hand the vast desert in this area. I cannot find where the desert is labeled on the map, or advertised as such, but there are no trees whatsoever for over a hundred miles. Much farmland and crops though. Lots of irrigation equipment, and the crops do thrive. Mostly potatoes, alphalfa, wheat, etc.. In passing through Grant County we learned that it’s the largest potato producing county in America. At least a sign said so. Move over Idaho, and Maine……….

Coming into Spokane we find it’s a neat place to drive down into from the West. A nice small city but a lot more urban residential sprawl than what we see in Portland. There are vistas, views of Washington and Idaho's sno-capped mountains. Crystal clear air quailty.

We ended up 25 miles north of Spokane and have settled in at Deer Park, WA at the Spokane RV Park for some number of nights, maybe 4 or 5.

This is a large park, a 5 start park, meticulously groomed with paved sites and grass between them. All quality services here. We had our pick of sites. Only about 6 other RVer’s here with us, some of which own their site. The cable service is optimal and the internet signal excellent. They do not nickle-dime anything here. Dixie has room to run free and stay out of trouble.

We are right along side a fairway on the Deer Park Golf Course, and the die hards are out playing. It's in the 50's and windy, some sun. Some of the golf carts are enclosed. Sno-capped mountains are in view everywhere, and I can see snowflakes falling from time to time, but nothing sticks.

Today Anne is off on her own to visit with Martine, her cousin Seward’s wife who lives in Nine Mile Falls, WA. They live 18 miles from here. Seward is traveling and will be home Friday.

Black Diamond, WA

Today we drove an hour from Gig Harbor to Black Diamond, WA. On our way we crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as we travelled Hwy 16. We also used Hwy 5 and Hwy 18 to get here. We’ll spend 2 nights at Lake Sawyer RV Park. This is pretty close to where Anne’s cousin Richard lives, in Kent, WA.

We were hoping to see the sunrise today but no, there’s still a lot of rain and overcast. Feels like the weather here in the Northwest in Springtime is hopelessly wet and cloudy. Very low clouds and few breaks, and, the forecast is bleak. We feel like we’re in a rut with no end in sight. The weather people on TV are even getting sarcastic about the forecast.

We’ve contacted Anne’s cousin and we’ll visit him at his place today. He’s invited us out to lunch in Kent, then back to his condo to have home made cheesecake and coffee.

We’ll leave here tomorrow and make our way to Hwy 90 East. This route goes thru 'Snoqualme Pass' of the Cascade Mountains, in the direction of Spokane, WA.

When we descend the Cascades we hope there will be a major change in the weather pattern. Today, Sunday, seems brighter, but to tell you the truth it’s hard to be optimistic.

Gig Harbor, WA (Puget Sound)

On Thursday March 31, we traveled 80 miles from Sequim, WA to Gig Harbor, WA. We used Hwy’s 101, 104, 3 and 16. Relative to our driving for the past month this was a quick trip as we were able to travel at highway speeds for a change. Today was the first time in a month that the majority of our travel was not on Hwy 101.

For 2 nights we’ll stay here at Gig Harbor RV Resort. Gig is a harbor on Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle. We are told we will see Mount Ranier when we drive down to the Harbor area. Folks are excited because tomorrow’s forecast is for party sunny weather.

The internet signal here is poor so we are not able to receive or send email. Surfing the web is slow. There are no sports channels on the cable here, so Anne and I went out to eat last night to a place where we were able to see the Celtics/Spurs game. Yeah! I haven’t seen the boys play for about a month.

There are 2 mountain ranges in this geographic area, so depending on your location the weather can vary greatly. To the west of Puget Sound are the Olympics. We are at the base of those here at Gig Harbor. To the east of Puget Sound are the Cascades. In the northern Cascades they’ve had serious flooding, mudslides and even avalanches the past couple of days, both due to heavy rains.

Today, Friday, we had company. Anne’s cousin Richard traveled an hour from his home in Kent WA to spend most of the day with us. Anne made lunch and dinner. Anne has not seen him since the 1980’s. The two of them get along really well. Today was a rainy day and we had a very nice time with Richard. We took a short ride into Gig Harbor this afternoon. It is a bustling harbor with a number of marinas and restaurants.

Yesterdays weather forecast for today was wrong. It has rained all day long so we have yet to see Mount Ranier.

In terms of driving around the country, we’ve turned the NW corner and it feels now like we’re on our way home.

Tomorrow we may move on to stay in Black Diamond, WA and spend some more time with Richard. After that we will move on to spend a day or two in Vantage, WA before we head off toward Spokane, WA and northern Idaho.