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.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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.
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.
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