Day 11

25 June 2010
Dawson Creek

From Grande Cache this morning we traveled Hwy 40 to Grande Prairie and took Tom's rig to a welding fabrication shop to have his steps welded. There was some serious metal fatigue in the brackets holding the steps to the trailer. It was not cheap but they did do a great job.

Hwy 43 out of Grande Prairie took us to British Columbia where it became Hwy 2. Then it was Hwy 2 all the way to Dawson Creek. Before we got to Dawson Creek we tried a couple of places to stay for the nigh that did not work out. So we have the best around available to us, WalMart parking lot. There are probably 20 other rigs here also. I think they close about 10:00 PM and it will probably get quiet. Lots of rigs coming and going.

It is strange now to see the sun not starting to set until about 10:30 at night. We put foam inserts into the vents and the shower to cut the light down so we can sleep.

This morning we had to flip the inverter breaker off and use the solar to brew the coffee. The park we were in had very low power. So by flipping the inverter breaker off we could use solar/inverter power to supply the four trailer wall circuits and the rest of the circuits were powered by the coach AC power. The solar power was much better than the park power.

Beaver Lodge, Canada

Day 10

24 June 2010

Grande Cache, Canada

We left Kalispell, MT Tuesday morning and traveled up Hwy 93 to the border crossing into Canada at Roosville. The nice young lady just asked us to state our citizenship, where we were going, if we planned to leave anything in Canada and if we had weapons. It took about 5 minutes. She did not ask about fruit or other foods. We didn't have much fruit anyway.

Tom had to declare his shotgun and he and Jeanne had to eat their blueberries or leave them in a cooler there. There were apples in the cooler already. It cost $25 to register the shotgun and that is good for 60 days. He may have to register again when he comes back through customs if it is over 60 days.

We stayed for two nights at the Lake Louise Campground in Bamff National Park. The fee was $32.30 per night with only electric and $19.60 daily for the park pass for 2 people. So it was $103.80 for two nights. The hotels and lodges looked to be very costly to stay at.

We left Lake Louise this morning after touring the area yesterday most all day. Tonight we are in Grande Cache, Canada in the Grande Cache Municipal Campground. The cost is $20 per night with water and electric.
Hwy 93 took us to Hinton where we caught Hwy 40 to Grande Cache. Several Glaciers including the Columbia Glacier were along the Ice Fields Parkway.

Diesel is $.89 Liter here in Grande Cache. In Bamff National Park it was $1.05 and $.95 per Liter in the town of Bamff.

WiFi is pretty slow here and I am not able to post photos. Perhaps later.

Crossing into Canada at Roosville, BC

Day 6

Kalispell, MT

This morning started off with going to church at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kalispell. It was a very large congregation. It is always enjoyable to visit new churches when traveling.
After church we returned to the RVs to change clothes. Then a trip to the Super WalMart was in order. As usual we always use a few things. Man that was a huge WalMart.

After lunch we all took my truck and headed out to Glacier National Park about 28 miles away. We were able to drive to the top of the Going To The Sun Road. The drive was 29 miles in the park to the top of the pass. This is where we had to turn around and head back down. Very narrow road to the top. The Old Dually used it's share of the road to the top. There were very beautiful snow covered mountains and rushing rivers. It being a weekend day the park was very busy with folks doing the same thing as us, sight seeing.

Tomorrow morning Tom is taking his truck into the dealer in Kalispell to have his water pump replaced. If all goes well tomorrow we will head out on Tuesday and cross over the border into Canada.

Rushing Stream

Snow Capped Peaks

Day 5

Kalispell, MT 19 June 2010

After a one night stay at Buddy's RV Park in Salmon, ID we traveled Hwy 93 into Montana and past the Mission Mountains.
Flathead Lake is a beautiful area and it would be a great place for a trip to visit some other time. Tom is having a problem with his water pump so we will stay around Kalispell and take his truck to the dealer on Monday. We will probably pull out on Tuesday and cross the border into Canada.
Rocky Mountain-Hi RV Park is our home until we pull out.

Mission Mountain Range, MT



Flathead Lake, MT

Day 4

18 June 2010
Salmon, ID

Last night was interesting at the small city park in Cokeville, WY. The trains ran right by the park about every 30 minutes until 10:00PM. Then the train traffic slowed down and the kids came out to play football in the park. About 10:30 we drifted off to a nice sleep and the pranksters started beating on Tom and Jeanne's door and ours. After that all was calm except a train maybe every couple hours. Not to bad.

We traveled through WY on US Hwy 30 into ID and past Mt. Borah 12,662ft Idaho's highest peak on US Hwy 93. Idaho has beautiful farms and valleys. Lots of green grass and snow capped peaks this time of year.

We are spending the night at Buddy's RV Park in Salmon,ID. The park is very small and on the Salmon River. Very busy town for the weekend. $25 per night with full hookups.

Mount Borah

Day Three

This evening we are spending the night at a small city park in Cokeville, WY. Very nice little park that is well kept and it is free. Of coarse there are no hookups but what the heck.
This is day three of our Alaska 2010 trip. There have been no incidents and the weather has been great. Our friends Tom and Jeanne have been great traveling companions. Tom tows his Arctic Fox with a Dodge. So we have fun back and forth about each others truck. I have to tell you the Chevy is holding it's own.

We pulled out of Canon City on Tuesday at about 10:20 in the morning and made it to Hartsel, CO and had lunch on the side of the road.



What can I tell you, we will do anything for attention in this part of the country.
We passed through Fairplay, CO our home town of 25 years. During July Fairplay has a burro race 23 miles up a mountain pass. That draws a lot of tourist. Then on through Breckenridge and Frisco and Henney, CO where they have a Tick Festival Every year. I told you we will do anything for attention in this part of Colorado.
We spent the first night near Hayden, CO at the Yampa River State Park. Nice little park with Electric at each site and a dump and water stations.

The second day we traveled onto Dinosaur National Monument and spent the evening in the Green River Campground. It was only $6 with no hookups. The solar worked flawlessly. John and Romola are Escapees and are working in the park for the summer. They came by to say hi and fill us in on the the things in the are to see.
The main attraction at Dinosaur is closed for reconstruction. The building over the dinosaur bones is being reconstructed. There are some nice drives and hikes that are worth while to take. You can still see bones and fossils.

Dinosaur Bone

Cokeville, WY City Park Camp Site

Alaska 2010 Prep

Monday, June 14, 2010

We pull out tomorrow morning at about 10AM from Canon City heading to Alaska. Our friends Tom and Jeanne with their Arctic Fox 5th wheel will also be going. So we have a caravan of two. The trip will not be rushed and should be fun with a lot of interesting stops along the way.
The plan is to stop at several dry camps along the way especially in the Yukon.

For several weeks modifications have been happening to the Montana 3150RL we picked up in Elkhart in March. However most of the mods I did were not done specially for the trip to Alaska. Some of those mods are as follows.

New Goodyear G614 tires with all metal valve stems
540 Watt solar system
2" Hide A Hitch from the old rig bolted to the factory hitch plates
MorRyde three point X-Factor system
Direct TV SK-3005 satellite dish from the old rig to the new rig
Longer sewer boom installed thanks to other MOC Members for leading the way
Teflon slides under the recliners
Angle brackets on the bottom of the kitchen table (stops rocking)
Installed WiFi antennas and adapters for hot spots, Omni and flat panel
Extension to the kitchen counter top
Coax and cables for 3rd tv at kitchen table
20 Amp portable heater circuit in kitchen
Portable pressure washer with 12 volt pump
DW made a bra for the front of the Monty from Jeep top material we had laying around

We have been reading up on the regulations for crossing the border into Canada. The official Government list of food items allowed by Canada seems to be different than what the customs allow at border crossings. So I guess we will just have to wait and see. I know we won't be taking any weapons with us. We will just have to get used to that.

Good Byes were said to our daughter and the grand kids last Thursday. We do have a web cam for the laptop so we will be able to reach out to each other. That web cam is so easy to use I am wondering why we had not had one before now.

Looking forward to getting started tomorrow morning. Be sure to follow us along the way.

Joe & Lucy

Posted by Jolu at 2:48 PM