Home We departed Nebraska City at 8:30 AM, looking forward to our drive home after traveling almost 10,000 miles and being gone 81 days. Nebraska City is located near the northern Missouri border, so we quickly found ourselves on I-29 in Missouri. Missouri has the best highways of any state we traveled this summer. We made a couple of rest stops, and bade farewell to the Todds just north of Kansas City. We filled up with gasoline at Gainesville, MO, paying $2.199 per gallon, our cheapest fuel of the trip, arriving home at 5:45 PM. We found the house to be in great order, but weeds had taken over our garden beds. After flushing the tanks and unpacking the bare necessities, we savored the wide open spaces of the house, and marveled at the size of the 46-inch HDTV. It’s good to be home.

Kay’s Take It’s amazing how clean a house stays when no one lives there! We cleaned it from top to bottom when we left because we were hoping we would be having several guests, but only one group came during Labor Day. Glad to be home but I can honestly say I haven’t missed the humidity at all! LOL.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 18,760.5
Beginning Time: 8:30 AM Central DST
Ending Mileage: 19,205.1
Ending Time: 5:45 PM Central DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 444.6
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 9,813.0

One More Day We made the short drive from Onawa to Nebraska City without fanfare; however, I-29 is pitiful, with two lane traffic most of the way. As we drove it, we remembered why we have been cutting across Nebraska the last couple of trips out west, rather than go I-29 and I-90. Our future travels will continue across Nebraska! We arrived shortly after noon, and were able to watch college football. Consequently, the guys watched Notre Dame and Michigan, while the girls toured Nebraska City and shopped. Kay prepared a great dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, and gravy.

Kay’s Take Mark this spot on your calendar, Ladies! A Pendleton outlet in Nebraska City!!! Can’t believe I’ve camped in this area three times and never noticed this outlet before. It’s in the downtown area and beautiful, current Pendleton pieces and some from last season also. We shopped til we dropped. Carolyn did some Christmas shopping too. I found a great black short trench coat – so cute!

Recommendations Enroute to Nebraska City, NE Regretfully, we have a negative recommendation when traveling in Iowa: avoid their interstate system, and if the interstate system is an indication of their overall road program, avoid the state entirely. Nebraska City is a neat town, and worth spending a few hours seeing the sights. It is where Arbor Day began, has a rich river history, and has an outlet mall.

Campground We have stayed at Victorian Acres RV Park, Nebraska City, NE, many times. Recently, the RV Park changed ownership, and the new owners have done wonders. The already clean restrooms were immaculate, many of the semi-permanent tenants had vacated, and it now feels more like an RV park. The interior roads and sites could use more gravel, but this park has definitely improved, and business was brisk.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 18,653.4
Beginning Time: 10:30 AM Central DST
Ending Mileage: 18,760.5
Ending Time: 12:15 PM Central DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 107.1
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 9,368.4

We’re Getting Warmer Despite rain almost every day, it’s still warmer than that to which we’ve been accustomed in Canada and Alaska; consequently, we’re in shorts and T-shirts most days. We made the turn from I-90 to I-29 and are headed south, inching our way closer to home.
Kay’s Take This RV park has huge cottonwood trees and very nice, level sites. It’s also close to a DQ, gas station/grocery, and a McDonalds and Subway. Very little road noise. The bathrooms are beautiful – great blue tiles floors and walls and huge showers! I washed my hair. Gotta get a ‘color’ as soon as we get home!
Our Recommendations Enroute to Onawa, IA None
Campground On-Ur-Way RV Park, Onawa, IA was a great campground with full amenities. The bathrooms and showers were among the cleanest we’ve seen. There’s a Dairy Queen and McDonald’s close by, but we didn’t “try” either. We’ll definitely stop at this campground again, if it is on our route.
Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 18,495.1
Beginning Time: 10:15 AM Central DST
Ending Mileage: 18,653.4
Ending Time: 1:00 PM Central DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 158.3
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 9,261.3

Closer to Home We are slowly making our way east and south towards home. South Dakota roads are in fair condition, with some one-lane traffic on I-90. The joints where the highway meets entrance and exit ramps have significant elevation differences, 2 to 3 inches, creating tire problems for wide vehicles when venturing too close to the edge. There are also significant elevation differences where the highway meets bridge abutments, pounding the motorhome as we go on to and as we leave the bridge. Kay took a turn driving this segment of our trip, as expected, did a great job. We stopped at the rest area at Chamberlain, SD, on the east side of the Missouri River, and were surprised that it had a great Lewis and Clark exhibit, as well as a nice overlook of the Missouri River valley. We drove further east to Cabela’s in Mitchell, SD, and were astounded in the emptiness of both the parking lot and store; we’ve heard that they are in serious financial straits. After we shopped a bit, we realized that neither of us needed or wanted much; we walked out with a vest for Kay and a couple of packages of large strike indicators for me. We drove another 45 minutes or so to Camp America RV Park in Salem, SD, and were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.

Kay’s Take This is one of the nicest RV parks we’ve stayed in. Clean, nice bathrooms and beautiful treed sites with grassy areas. I had tried a new technique as we traveled. I put a crockpot in the sink and plugged it into a plug in connected to our inverter and cooked a casserole while we were driving down the road. It was our friend, Ray Minardi’s Louisiana Jambalaya recipe and it turned out fine. We had enough to share with our friends, Dick and Carolyn. We played “Aw Heck” for a couple of hours as it rained some more. I came out low man! Donald was the high man.

Our Recommendations Enroute to Salem, SD The rest stop at Chamberlain, SD, is not necessarily a must see, but we’ll stop there in the future when traveling I-90 in South Dakota. It has ample parking for motor homes towing a dinghy, has clean restrooms; there’s a nice overlook onto the Missouri River Valley, and a decent Lewis and Clark Exhibit. Anytime we’re in an area with a Cabelas retail store, we stop, and the one in Mitchell, SD, has been one of our favorites. However, the amount of merchandise looked a little thin, the parking lot was near empty, and the store had few customers. It was an eerie feeling as we have stopped there before when it was so busy you could hardly move—another sign of hard economic times.

Campground Camp America, Salem, SD, was a very pleasant surprise. We were parked in a large site among tall trees, with full hook-ups, and could pick up a number of television stations using our antenna. The restrooms were clean, but did charge a quarter for a 6-minute shower. We’ll add this to a list of good RV parks in which to stay when traveling this route.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 18,238.0
Beginning Time: 9:30 AM Mountain DST
Ending Mileage: 18,495.1
Ending Time: 5:00 PM Central DST

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 257.1
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 9,103

Traveling with the Todds Soon after pulling out of Laurel, MT, we exchanged telephone calls with our good friends, the Todds who had been in Wyoming since mid-May, leaving today for Arkansas. As God would have it, we were traveling parallel to them, and agreed to meet in Rapid City, SD. It was great renewing friendships, catching up on news from home, and just laughing. We both filled up with gasoline, and decided to travel together to Lee’s Summit, MO, where they were going to stop off for a visit with kids. We traveled to Wall, SD, home of Wall Drug, and stayed in Arrow RV Park.

Kay’s Take It was warmer here and we began feeling some humidity again. I fully intended to go over to Wall Drug for a ‘walk-thru’ but never made it. Still experiencing ‘jet lag’ from changing time zones – Alaska zone to Pacific zone to Mountain time zone and tomorrow we’ll change into CST zone.

Our Recommendations for Wall,SD Wall Drug is a must see, and is within easy walking distance of the RV park. Also, the Loop Road in Badlands National Park is a must see, just west of Wall–one of our favorite national parks.

Campground Arrow RV Park, Wall, SD, was a good overnighter. The staff was friendly, the sites level, and electric, water, and sewer adequate. We would stay here again.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 17,853.5
Beginning Time: 7:30 AM Mountain DST
Ending Mileage: 18,238.0
Ending Time: 5:00 PM Mountain DST

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 384.5
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 8,845.9

Taking Care of the Motorhome After several weeks’ of worry about mechanical issues with the motorhome, we overslept, but hurriedly got the motorhome ready to roll. We drove south to Don Aadsen Ford in Ronan, MT, a town of about 4,000 people, and one of only a few Ford dealers in the northwest that can work on motorhomes. We were astonished by the Flathead cherry, peach, and apple orchards present in the Flathead Lake valley. This area was very neat and clean, with several gated communities built on the hillsides. Back to the motorhome, the service department checked out the motorhome said the ball joints were a little loose, but only to the extent of normal wear and tear, that the motorhome was fine, and recommended an alignment. They refused to charge us for the check-up, despite our insistence of paying for at least an hour’s labor. We hooked up the Saturn, and headed to Les Schwab Tires in Missoula, MT. After a 2-hour wait, they finally pulled the motorhome into a bay, and aligned the front end; the front passenger tire was almost an inch out of tolerance for tow-in. We gladly paid the $60, and were on our way. (Note: Aleyeska Tires in Soldonota, AK, wanted $250 to align the motorhome, but said the ball joints were bad , and for $1,400 they could replace them.) Our intent had been to head towards Idaho and/or Yellowstone National Park for a few days, but we talked and agreed we were both desensitized to the beauty they offered. We traveled in some of the best fly fishing country the U.S. offers—Bozeman, Butte, Livingstone—but were singularly focused on getting home. Even though we had an early start, the “maintenance” stops took their toll accumulating mileage. Finally, at 8:30 PM, we had had enough and stopped at the Walmart in Laurel, MT, just west of Billings, to rest until morning.

Kay’s Take Driving toward Billings, MT we came upon Laurel just after dark. They have an oil refinery there, we think that’s what it was, and it was lit up like Christmas. We could see these structures for miles out but couldn’t figure out what it was. It reminded me of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. Spires, towers, columns, spheres, etc. All lit up like Christmas decorations. Very surreal. I want to go back and explore Missoula, Billings, Livingston and Bozeman. Our friend, Frank, wrote about all of these when he was a fishing guide in this area one summer. The landscape changes from the hills and mountains to high plains in these areas.
We were so relieved that there was nothing significantly wrong with our rig. Jayco builds an amazing RV! Alaska tested and came shining through!

Our Recommendations for Laurel, MT Laurel is a great place to fill with fuel, and the Wal Mart met our needs for an overnight rest.

Campground Dry Camping, Walmart, Laurel, MT

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 17,392.2
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Mountain DST
Ending Mileage: 17,853.5
Ending Time: 8:30 PM Mountain DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 461.3
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 8,461.4

Glad to be Back in the Lower 48 (Saturday, September 5, 2009) Radium Hot Springs is definitely a resort town, with lots to see and do, but we were anxious to begin our drive down to the Lower 48. We passed through Fairmont Hot Springs, and were surprised to find it was less developed; however, the whole valley from Radium Hot Springs south some 40 miles is a resort complex with numerous condos, golf courses, lakes, etc. The countryside began to change considerably as we drove south towards Montana. Our border crossing went without fanfare, with a 5-minute wait, a couple of questions, and a “Welcome Home!” from the customs agent. We were so glad to be back in the Lower 48 that we almost stopped to get out and kiss the ground—there’s no place like home. We stopped at one of the first gasoline stations across the border, in Eureka, MT, and filled up with $2.789 per gallon gasoline, having driven all the way from Jasper, AB, on one tank.

Driving through Whitefish and Columbia Falls, we arrived in Hungry Horse about mid-afternoon. After setting up, I immediately tried the former Alltel, now Verizon, broadband “air” card in the router, and it worked great.

After I checked email, we drove back to Columbia Falls, washed the car, and then drove the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park. As we began our ascent, we noticed a couple of cars stopped on the road, and sure enough, a young black bear was in the creek, cooling his “heels”. He was obviously suffering from “discomfort.” Going to the Sun Highway had quite a bit of construction going on, causing traffic to be extraordinarily slow. We opted not to stop at Logan Pass, and drove to St. Mary’s Visitor Center. It began raining, and heavy rain and nightfall caught us on our way via US Highway 2 west back to Hungry Horse.
We “chilled” the next morning, unable to get excited about hiking or photographing Glacier National Park. It is one of our favorites, but after Canada and Alaska, the mountains didn’t seem as big and the waterfalls appeared a bit smaller. We did drive the Going to the Sun Highway to Logan Pass with an intent to hike a short trail, but it was spitting rain, the clouds were low, and we just couldn’t get up for it.

On Labor Day, Kay washed clothes, and we again intended to do some short hikes on the west side of Glacier National Park, but after getting within sight of the entrance station, I realized I had forgotten the National Park Pass; we turned around, and returned towards the motorhome, not wanting to make the 45-minute drive again. We took a side road to find Hungry Horse Dam, and drove by several saloons, but no dam. Giving up, we both read and relaxed the remainder of the day, eager for the next morning to arrive to get the motorhome front end checked out at the Ronan, MT, Ford dealer about 90 miles south.

Kay’s Take I did go into Hungry Horse and bought some Huckleberry pie and tasted some huckleberry fudge. I also bought some Flathead cherries which were quite sweet. I had no idea they grew cherries in Montana, but they do around Flathead Lake. Miles and miles of cherry orchards! Oh, yes, I AM getting better with my acrophobia. The drive on the Going to the Sun Road was much more tolerable than the first time I came.

Our Recommendations for Hungry Horse, MT With several national forests and Glacier National Park within a few minutes, there are a myriad of outdoor activities available. Glacier National Park, in particular, is one of our favorites. However, after a couple of months in Alaska and western Canada, we were desensitized to all the area’s beauty.

Campground Mountain Meadows RV Park and Campground was a welcome relief from those gravel parking lots in Canada and Alaska, though we once again had a downhill-sloping site. All the sites were surrounded by trees, and had water, electric, and sewer. Wi-fi was available, but we didn’t use it. A coin-operated laundry was available, and the bathrooms and showers were clean. Also, there’s a small lake on site that is stocked with rainbow trout, and customers may fish without a fishing license.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 17,172.0
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Mountain DST
Ending Mileage: 17, 392.2
Ending Time: 2:00 PM Mountain DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 220.2
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 8,000.1

On Our Own, Again (Friday, September 4, 2009) Our intent was to leave early, but it was close to 7:30 AM before we pulled out, saying more good-byes, and taking care of necessities related to preparing the motorhome for a night of expected dry camping at Icefield Centre in Jasper National Park. Thinking there would be gasoline stations before getting on our main route, I bypassed on a side street, then realized that it was 130 miles to the next station, further apart than on any other leg of our trip. Apparently we were driving through a Canadian national forest as there was no development for the 130 miles. Arriving in McBride, we filled with gasoline, and continued, seeing changing landscape and more ranches. Traveling through Mount Robson Provincial Park, I caught sight of a black bear in the shrubs near the road, began braking hard, and sure enough, the young bear ran out in front of us, narrowly escaping being hit. As we drove through Mount Robson, crossing our first mountain pass of the day, the number of tourists and the resulting traffic increased significantly, as most of the parking lots were full. Crossing into Alberta, the time zone changed to Mountain DST, and we moved the clocks ahead one hour. We topped off the gasoline tank in Jasper, and drove the Icefields Parkway towards Athabasca Glacier, crossing our second mountain pass, opting to drive on towards Radium Hot Springs, BC. Despite gearing down, I thought I had overused the brakes as we could smell the odor of burning brakes. A quick check at a pull-out did not reveal any heat coming from the brake area and we drove further south. At Lake Louise, the traffic increased to the point of being bumper to bumper. Grateful that we were turning off to go west again, crossing the mountains through Kootenay National Park, to Radium Hot Springs, we were surprised that traffic on this highway was just as heavy, bumper to bumper, at 100 kilometers per hour, about 65 mph. (We’re not sure if Canadians have a lot of money to spend on recreation, but suspect they, like Europeans, place a much higher value on weekends and time off, or holidays, as they call them than those of us in the U.S.) We crossed yet another mountain pass just after turning off into Kootenay National Park. Interestingly, there was a portable flashing sign warning traffic of a wolf on the road and to keep moving; we didn’t see the wolf, but were amused that our portable signs in Baxter County warn people of sex offenders—different cultures! Crossing our final mountain pass and descending its 11% grade, we were shocked to arrive in this heavily developed resort town of Radium Hot Springs. Apparently, the entire valley is filled with resorts, golf courses, and shops. Turning onto Kootenay’s Red Streak Campground road, we saw several Big Horn sheep, and as fortune would have it, the campground had a vacancy, and we set up for the night. After a dinner of leftovers, we drove to the hot springs for a nice, hot soak, and just a half mile before the campground, another black bear ran out in front of us—a great way to end our first day on our own.
Kay’s Take I really like the not for profit campgrounds better than most commercial campgrounds. The commercial ones are more like ‘parking lots’ with water, sewer, and electricity, but you’re sitting on top of your neighbors! In parks, state, local or national, your site usually has trees, a nice picnic table, and it’s quieter – off the road – no road noise. You’re communing more with nature. We met a nice couple at the hot springs and visited with them as we relaxed our muscles and distressed in the 102% water. Golly, it would be nice to have a heated pool (like a hot tub) in Norfork or Mtn. Home area. Canadians just love them! Summer and winter both!
Our Recommendations for Radium Hot Springs, BC Being in a big hurry to reach the lower 48, we didn’t tarry in Radium Hot Springs to sample the attractions. Apparently, there is something for everyone, from hiking to golf. This might be an interesting place to which to return, on a not-so-crowded weekend.
Campground We stayed at Red Streak Campground, part of Kootenay National Park. With a pull-thru site and electricity, it met our needs, as we were only going to be here for a few hours. It was definitely better, and in a better setting, than some of the commercial parks in which we stay.
Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 16,711.1
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Pacific DST
Ending Mileage: 17, 172.0
Ending Time: 2:00 PM Pacific DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 460.9
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 7,779.9

Last Day of the Caravan (Thursday, September 03, 2009) Fifty-eight days and 4,696.1 miles ago the caravan officially began in Dawson Creek, BC; all but a couple of RVs met 8 days before in Great Falls, MT. It seems so long ago, yet the time has flown by, particularly since Fairbanks. We left early again this morning, stopping in Houston, BC, for a photo of the world’s longest fly rod. Made out of anodized aluminum, we kept thinking of Wayne and how he could use a long fly rod, and this one might be just right. It rained practically all day, and we had had enough of trying to turn around in tight places, so we drove straight in to Prince George, stopping at the Walmart for some necessary groceries. We made a stop at Costco’s where we purchased a Canon Digital camera for Kay as an anniversary present. Arriving at the South Park RV Park at 2 PM, we parked on a downward sloping site, hooked up, and read email. Members of the caravan carpooled to Cariboo Steak House in Prince George for our farewell dinner, after which several people gave short talks on their perceptions of the trip. Many thanks and praises were heaped on Les, Richard, and their wives for outstanding work in pulling off the “best” caravan of all times. I gave a short talk concerning trying to please everyone on everything, and praising Les for a miraculous job in accommodating everyone. We gave cards privately to Les and Jean, and Richard and Virginia, thanking them for the great time we had. Tomorrow morning, we leave the group for good and head out on our own.

Kay’s Take There was a guy at this campground who had set up a tent to carve wooden statues, etc. Many were displayed around the campground. They were beautiful. There was one long bench with salmon carved 3 dimensional jumping from the top as if the bench was the river and the fish were jumping up out of it. He had bears and eagles and even a beautiful elk. The dinner was a nice farewell and it was a good way to say goodbye to our caravan friends. I think everyone else was ready for our ‘journey’ to end and also sad too.

Our Recommendations for Prince George, BC Prince George is the largest city we’ve been in since Anchorage and the second largest since late June. It has just about everything in the way of shopping and dining. However, it rained the entire time we were there, so we did not explore the city or participate in any activities except for the farewell dinner.

Campground South Park RV Park is typical of Canadian and Alaskan parks, uneven gravel pads, with tight spaces. We were parked double in what should have been one pull through site, and did not have enough leveling blocks to raise the front end high enough. Electric, water, sewer, and wi-fi were provided.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 16,479.6
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Pacific DST
Ending Mileage: 16,711.1
Ending Time: 2:00 PM Pacific DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 231.5
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 7,319.0

Winding Down (Wednesday, September 02, 2009) Happy Anniversary to us! Today, we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary by departing Stewart, BC, and Hyder, AK, at 7 AM, headed south for our next to last day of the caravan. The scenery changed dramatically as we turned from Highway 37A to Highway 37, with fewer snow covered peaks, excellent roads, and more houses and people. We drove by two different First Nation villages with totem pole displays, took moving photographs of both, but didn’t stop at either. In fact, at one, we almost didn’t get the motorhome and Saturn turned around. We drove along the Bulkley River and thought of our friend, Rod Hardinger, who fished for steelhead here several years ago. Arriving in Smithers too early to park the RV, we filled-up with gasoline, parked the RV, and had an anniversary lunch. Smithers is a fly fishing town, has the world’s longest fly rod, and even has a statue of a fly fisher. Regrettably, we had too little time to fish, and there were not many steelhead in the river; maybe next time. After setting up the RV in Riverside Golf and RV Park, Kay drove back into town to see the sites.

Kay’s Take The downtown area of Smithers was charming. The theme of most of the main street shops was Swiss and there was even an applehorndoff statue at the beginning of the street. I browsed through several shops and almost all of the workers spoke with a heavy Swiss accent. Not sure how many folks from Europe settled here, but I suspect quite a few. It was a beautiful setting – the river and the mountains. I did find a bakery and they made the most delicious muffins I think we’ve had on the trip. We drove by New Hazelton instead of going to their heritage site and canyon site because we were becoming wary that some of these places weren’t prepared for ‘bigger rigs with toads’. Were we right! Some friends of ours in the caravan drove into there to see the attractions. They had a huge diesel pusher rig – 42 ft. with an SUV tow. They had to unhook their tow car three times in order for the coach to backup and get out of a ‘tight’ spot. The third time, our friend was so frustrated he misjudged and backed into his own car. Those of us who tow can’t back up unless we unhook our tow cars. When folks park too close to us in front or block us in in front, our only option is to unhitch our tow in order to back up and move forward. Yes, it is a pain, and we’re very careful not to get ourselves ‘locked’ in when we go places or pull off the road.

Our Recommendations for Smithers, BC Smithers is a Swiss-type village, and celebrates their Swiss heritage. The community is big on fly fishing, with the Bulkley River so close, and a walking tour of the business district is worth the effort. A guided fly fishing trip on the Bulkley will be on our next trip’s itinerary.

Campground We stayed at Riverside Golf and RV Park, and had 30 amp electric and water. Wi-fi was good. The parking spaces were tight, and most of us were parked with just a few feet separating the RVs, and for some reason, we were parked so that everyone had to hook-up on the passenger side, yet we all could have pulled in from the opposite direction and hooked up on the correct side! Our campgrounds have varied from great to marginal. The caravan wagon master has done an incredible job of arranging RV sites and activities for the whole of the caravan, and with 18 RVs, it’s hard to please everyone. Some, especially the big rigs, like all the luxuries in an RV site so as to take advantage of all the luxuries in their RVs, while others, like us, prefer more rudimentary features found in provincial or state parks. Also, when one tries to arrange for 18 sites, few RV parks can support that many RVs at one time. Les did a miraculous job of finding us places to park without driving lots of miles between stops, and our hat’s off to him.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 16,268.9
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Pacific DST
Ending Mileage: 16,479.6
Ending Time: 1:30 PM Pacific DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 210.7
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 7,087.5