2002-03 . . . Episode 1 - On the Road Again

Getting ready is half the fun, eh?! This year, we actually had some ideas on what we wanted to see and how we were going to get there. We wanted to get up to the Indian Lands in Northern Arizona and New Mexico, go down through New Mexico, visit Biosphere 2. Our thoughts were to get a lot of travelling in early so when we were ready, we would come directly home.

We wanted to hold off leaving as long as we could to catch the spring blossoms but the weather was starting to turn so we left (October 23).

The goal for the first part of our journey was to get into non-freezing weather. Montana didn't do it and neither did Idaho or Utah. The first day, we drove right through Montana and spent the first night in Idaho Falls between half a house and a transport truck in the truck stop parking lot BUT (as has become a habit) met a couple from Calgary and spent most of the evening visiting with them in the coffee shop. In Utah, we found a rustic little RV park in a small town called Beaver. You know the old expression one person's junk is another person's treasure? Well the owner of this place seemed to be a rather eccentric soul with very eclectic taste who totally surrounded himself with his treasures. But it did have an incredible Mexican Restaurant.

We didn't drain the anti-freeze out of the system until Mesquite, Nevada (oh-h-h that heat felt good) and then onto Las Vegas. Las Vegas is Las Vegas is Las Vegas The weather warmed up nicely - not HOT, just nice and warm. Ann and Eldon (the folks we travelled with last year) had already arranged for a place for us in a nice RV park attached to Sam's Town Casino. Oh, yes, then we toured a few of the Casinos, stopped and watched an act at Circus, Circus, went to Arizona Charlie's    

and ended up doing a buffet and playing Black Jack at a funky little neighbourhood casino that had a $1 Black Jack table and very good (reasonable) food. (2 for one $6.00 US). They are great guides and we visited some great non-casino type places.

The Chocolate Factory was a fascinating place - partly the making and sampling of the chocolates but also the Cacti Garden and water recovery/recycle system. All the waste water used in the production is collected, run through a filtering system and utilized in the Garden. They've even managed to corral a couple of roadrunner to populate the Garden.

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Mountain Spring Ranch

The Mountain Spring Ranch is a unique environment off in the hills outside of Las Vegas. It was once owned by a Krupp woman prior to WWII and then by Howard Hughes. The State has since taken it over and run it as a working ranch. There are nine springs coming down from the mountain which turns the ranch area into a lush oasis in the middle of the desert.

The house is decorated in a 50's style to reflect the Hughes era - was that stuff ever familiar!!

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Bonnie Springs

Bonnie Springs is another Nevada mining ghost town (in the hills just outside of Las Vegas) that has devoted itself to catering to tourists.

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Leaving Las Vegas and Nevada

We got away from Las Vegas either 8, 9 or ten a.m. (depending whether we went by Nevada, Arizona, Mountain Standard or Daylight Saving time) heading east and south first along the Boulder Hwy, then Hwy 93, then Hwy 40.

Las Vegas is O.K. to visit but it sure was nice to get back on the road and get to places we haven't been. We got across the Hoover Dam but they did check every cupboard and drawer in the trailer. That Power Grid is still impressive.

It wasn't until we past Kingman that we started into new country (it still looked like every cowboy movie I ever saw as a kid) a little more brush but lots of hills and rocks. East of Seligman, there seems to be less exposed rock and more trees. We climbed up over 7000 feet and started coming down again. There is one big truck after another on the road from all over. It's hard to believe so much moves so far by truck. We stayed at a small RV Park at Williams, Arizona but it was not very warm (52F during the day, windy and freezing at night). Williams is on the old Route 66 and where the Grand Canyon Railroad tour starts - another western historic place. The fellow at Williams suggested that if we wanted to really see some of the Navajo Nation, we head up Hwy 89, stay at Cameron and tour from there.

"The Summer of 2002"- Once You Start . . . It's Hard to Stop!! - Exploring Southern Alberta and B.C.

We got back to Lethbridge to be greeted by some pretty cold and miserable weather . . . so time to get the Condo in shape, seeing as how we'd only been there six weeks before we left.

It really did feel like the 5th wheel was our home and the Condo was the place we stay when we were not home. Even though it's a one bedroom unit, it felt like a mansion as we wandered from room to room.

But . . . Lethbridge and the surrounding areas have some incredibly interesting sites and we certainly have the time to explore close to our mailing address.

Locally, the first thing I have to show off is the view from our balcony (one of the reasons we chose this Condo).

We have an fantastic view of Lethbridge's famous Railway tressle (the longest Railway tressle of its type in the world) and can actually see the University of Lethbridge across the Coulee.

Many Japanese were sent to Southern Alberta from the coast during the war and they have established a traditional Japanese garden. The Japanese Gardens are both beautiful and serene. It a great place to go to just sit and enjoy the peace and tranquility.

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Our first venture out was to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park. There in the middle of the prairies just north of the Montana border is the Milk River. It carves a path coming up from Montana - meanders along for a few miles - and then wanders back into Montana. The banks are steep cliffs and hoodoos erupt throughout the entire area.

There is a wonderful array of wildlife that seeks out the shelter and food of this protected area.

Apparently it was also considered a sacred area for the Natives (mainly Blackfoot) and they left many "messages" (petrographs) which are still there today. They will only allow visitors to go in with a guide - he was very quick to point out how until it became a protected area (in the 1970's) people would leave graffiti on the rocks!! Begs the question - what were the Indian petrographs if they were not the graffiti of their day?!

We went just after our last BIG snow storm and happened to meet up with a group of birders who were out counting birds. There were a lot of unusual birds (like the Swainson's Thrush and Albert's Towhee) that they thought must have come down for shelter from the storm. The birders were some excited about all their citings.

I have a question for you all - why is it the Blackfoot in Canada and the Blackfeet in the U.S.A.?

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Our first sojourn into Southern B.C. was to the RV Lifestyle Seminar in Kelowna. The Crowsnest Pass is so familiar to us, the only stop we made was at Frank to pick up some beer before we hit the B.C. border and the dreaded sales tax.

We took the route up along the Kootenay Lake and crossed at Kootenay Bay to Balfour and then travelled to Kelowna via Highways 3 and 33.

The trip back was far more interesting. We followed the Okanagan Lake north from Kelowna to Vernon, went across the Monashee Mountains and took the Neddles Ferry across the Arrow Lake. The best part of the trip was from Nakusp to New Denver and over this wild road to Kaslo. The scenery was spectacular and we wondered why B.C. folks would go up to Alaska when they have it all here!!

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We've really only been camping in the mountains once this summer . . . it's been dreadfully hot (+33 C) and dry but we have done some day trip to see those places you've never take the time to visit when you live somewhere (unless you have visitors you want to take there).

We always talked about going down to the Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston

and (of, course) the wind mills at Pincher Creek!

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Waterton National Park

We went off to Waterton, which still is one of my most favourite places. We went up to the Prince of Wales Hotel that overlooks Waterton Lakes. Waterton and Glacier connect into the International Peace Park. The far end of the Lakes is actually in Montana (centre picture). Cameron Falls is right in the town site. I spent a good part of the summers of my childhood here attending Camp Insupi (Y.M.C.A. camp) that doesn't exist anymore.

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And I thought we hadn't done anything this summer!!