BANNACK GHOST TOWN

If there's a ghost town anywhere near us, Kathy T will find it. She'd been here in Dillon before and knew of the Bannack State Park and Ghost Town. It was only about 16 miles down the road from our campground, and there wasn't even a dirt road to travel. Anyone who has ever been to a Ghost Town knows, they are always miles away on a dusty, dirt road. There were no fences and there was cattle and deer on the roadside, so they had to be alert.

Bannack mining camp was named for the Bannack Indians, who along with the Lemhi Shoshone frequented this area. Gold was discovered here in July of 1862 in the "Grasshopper Creek" and by spring of the next year the population had grown to over 3,000. The gold discovered here was unique. Most gold is 80% to 95% pure but some of Bannack's gold assayed as 99.5% pure gold. There were people living here until the 1940's. And people are still searching for gold in the area today.

There are over 25 buildings still standing, and most of them are open to the public. My humans found a lot of very interesting history touring through the town. There was a 2-story hotel with 16 wallpapered rooms to walk through as well as the Methodist church, a schoolhouse and the Masonic Hall. A great way to spend the afternoon. 

Tomorrow it's back on the road for us. Next stop Fort Hall, Idaho, another new adventure for us. 

MONTANA MOUNTAINS

Are you tired of me saying that we have had another long drive? Try being in a stinking dog crate all day long while bouncing up and down and trying to sleep while being tossed around. Kathe says that says that I better stop complaining or she's going to trade me in for a goldfish.

The drive was supposed to be a shorter one today. However, there was so much construction and 35 mph zones that the drive took just as long as yesterday. Kathy T was driving solo and there was a stretch of road with K-rails on either side of the single lane. If that wasn't scary enough, we were also diverted to the opposite side of the I-15 with big rigs coming at us full speed. Yikes! She sure is brave.

We finally arrived at the Dillon Motorcoach Resort. What a joke! This place is nothing but a concrete and gravel parking lot with a few patches of dried grass and dead trees. No one was in the office (a beat-up trailer), and no one answered the phone, so we spent 20 minutes looking for the 2 large pull through sites we paid for. We chose two sites and an hour later the manager showed up and told us to move to different sites. Kathy T gave him a piece of her mind, what a dust up! Oh, and the Resort pool, that’s across the street at the YMCA!

In the end we stayed right where we were parked with a great view of 3 beat-up trailers with a pile of old tires, tarps, kiddie pools and trash all over the sites. Motorcoach Resort, they have to be kidding! And we planned to stay here two nights. Yelp!

GREAT FALLS

Lucky us, we only had about 85 miles to drive today. Straight down the I-15 and even with the slow down for road work we were camped before lunch time. This RV Park is not so great, gravel sites with weeds for grass. They have new owners so maybe things will get better, I'm glad we are only here for one night.

Not much to report, except we took Warren to the airport, and he is on his way back home for surgery. He said that the TSA x-rayed his cast 3 times and tested him for gun powder residue before he was able to board. Flying is always an adventure.

The Kathies and Jim were out galivanting this afternoon, so I stayed home and rested up for tomorrow's drive. After they went to dinner at the Applebee's (no doggie bags I might add) then they went to visit some friends who were camping at another RV park in town.

Lois and Troy from Las Vegas are here in Great Falls, and they invited my humans to visit and have some apple pie and ice cream. They were staying at a great KOA Park much nicer than this one. It was fun for them to get together as they had a lot of catching up to do. They haven't seen each other for several years. What a nice coincidence, finding them right here in Great Falls.

Tomorrow morning, we leave for Dillon, Montana but we are going to stay for 2 nights. We need a welcome break from all this driving. 

BACK IN THE USA

In the last few days, we have covered at least 1000 miles, and we are all just relaxing tonight. Lots of beautiful fields of grains, grasses, and rape seed on the drive before we finally reached the border today. 

Border crossing was not very much fun. They took our passports and ask us to drive though a giant scanner. It flashed red and then they pulled us over for the "AG" inspector.  Both coaches got pulled over and the humans and doggies were asked to stand outside. The custom agent had a clipboard and started asking questions for a "survey." We were out there so long I started barking. I was afraid of the uniform, so I was quiet and on my best behavior from then on. 

After a short lecture on bugs, nematodes, and the bird flu, she entered our coach and came out with a load of stuff. We were not allowed to keep peppers, blueberries, green onions, tomatoes, grapefruits, lemons, limes, eggs, or any chicken that wasn't already cooked. She spent a long time searching our coach and even looked inside our coffee maker. It sure took time for her to raid both coaches, but eventually she gave us our passports back and we were on our way. She forgot to say, "welcome home!"

BEAUTIFUL DRIVE

Another long, long drive today. From wherever we were yesterday to Cochrane, Alberta tonight. We drove for over 5 hours again today, and all of us are very tired. We are staying just outside the city of Calgary, but it's all a blur to me. 

The drive getting here was so beautiful, all through the country on two land highways. Very enjoyable. Nothing but green fields and farming in this part of Canada. We saw lots of cattle, horses, and sheep in the distance, and hardly any traffic. 

The Park where we are staying tonight is so different than last night's park. No mud here. There are lots of flowers and trees. Very civilized, too bad I'm too tired to take Kathe for a walk tonight. So, I guess I'll curl up under the table and nap until bedtime. 

AND THE BEAT GOES ON

Okay, we have regrouped and have a plan. Not going to Alaska now, that will have to wait until next year. We are all very sad that the trip had to end, but we want Warren to be fully healed and ready to roll as soon as possible. Us doggies are just going along with the flow, new experiences and adventures are what we live for. So, we are having a good time despite what the humans are experiencing. 

The plan is to drive Warren down to the states ASAP to take a flight back to Palm Springs for surgery. We have been driving more miles a day than I'm happy about, so I start barking about every two hours. On the last two days we covered over 280 miles each day. Nobody is comfortable with the pace we are traveling, but we have to keep it up to make it to Great Falls by June 28. 

We are also trying to stay in pull-through sites to make it easier for Kathy T who is driving to park each night by herself. Tonight, we are in a very weird place called Whitecourt, Alberta. Unfortunately, they had a flood right before we arrived and there are piles of mud everywhere. It took about an hour for the man with a bobcat to move enough dirt to clear two sites. Heaven knows how we will get out of here, but it's really fun to walk in the mud. By the way, do not stick your nose into an ant hill, they will climb all over your face, and make you sneeze.

TURN AROUND DAY

Sorry I didn't get to post last night. It was a busy night for the humans. They had a great day in Fort Nelson at the historical museum and planned a nice leisurely afternoon in the shade. Things quickly changed.

Warren was cleaning his windshield when he fell off the ladder and landed hard on the gravel. The Kathies and Jim came running to help him, and a Fantasy tour leader from across the road started first aid right away. It became clear that Warren needed to go to the emergency room as his elbow was very painful and bleeding.

At the hospital the x-ray showed that he had broken his elbow and needed immediate orthopedic surgery.

So, last night we made a plan to end the trip and return home so that Warren could be treated in the United States as soon as possible.

We will travel as quickly as we can to return reach to Great Falls Montana and put him on a direct flight to Palm Springs. 

 

FORT NELSON

We left Peace Island Park this morning at 10 o'clock. Practically the crack of dawn for this crowd. We had over 250 miles to cover today to reach the town of Fort Nelson.  As soon as we were on the road a few miles we started to notice all the smoke. There is a very large fire in British Columbia and the visibility was very poor. Not to mention the breathing! Traffic on highway 97 was speeding along as usual but we were taking it a bit slower. There are so many big rigs on this highway. Jim estimates that 95% of the vehicles that passed us on both sides of the road were huge oil, timber and heavy equipment rigs, with a motor home sprinkled in once in a while. 

Of course, it started raining, again.  I'm blaming Jim, he washed the car last night. After about an hour, the rain stopped, and the rest of the drive was clear and sunny. The most exciting sight today was a tiny black bear Kathe spotted on the side of the highway. Apparently, a few hours before us another camper saw the mama bear and 2 cubs. We missed that but the one little bear sure was cute. 

We are camped for the next two days at the Triple G Hideaway RV Resort. There is lots of grass for us doggies and some very interesting sniffs. We are lucky that we arrived today as they are expecting 86 rigs to check in tomorrow.  This is the RV Park that many of the RV Caravan companies stop so it should be interesting on Saturday morning when everyone wants to leave.  

AROUND THE PARK

I'm a little under the weather today with and upset tummy. Took some yucky medicine disguised with some feta cheese and still not feeling tip top. For once I was glad just to stay home while everyone else went out exploring.

We are staying in a place called Peace Island Park and although our full hookup sites are not in the most scenic area, the rest of the park is beautiful. Today the humans went for a walk into the other side of the park where there are trees and big grassy sites. The sites over there are large, but all they have is a picnic table and a fire pit. Pretty but primitive. Taking a long walk on the nature trail, they eventually found the Peace River. Not much water as they are currently constructing a dam upstream, but still deep enough for some small boats to launch.

Later they ventured into the town of Fort St. John a few miles south of where we are staying. Kathy found the Walmart and yet another history museum. The museum was all about homesteading in North Peace. There were many really great exhibits inside the rooms of the museum and several historical cabins outside to explore. Fur trade was a very important in the early days of Fort St. John and this is a picture of a typical trapper's cabin which was one of the exhibits inside the museum.

MILE 0

As we traveled into in town of Taylor yesterday, we passed the most famous sign on the AL-CAN highway, the mile marker for the beginning of the route to Alaska. We couldn't stop to take a picture. So today, we doubled back to Dawson Creek to take the picture like all the other travelers to Alaska. Construction on this highway was started in 1942 and the road stretches from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks. Approximately 27,000 soldiers, engineers, and civilians assisted in the construction. 

After taking the picture my humans went to the Historical Museum where Jim and Warren watched a film about the hardships of completing the highway. The Kathies explored the museum enjoying the animals and artifacts from the early days in Dawson Creek to the present day.

One thing I would like you to know, since it's been raining for so many days, how come no one thought about giving us doggies a bath. Just dried us off and forgot about us. Now, with all this sunshine guess who got dumped into the kitchen sink this morning.  Well, at least the water was warm, and I now smell good. Don't they know rainwater is good for your hair?

People have been asking about the newest crack in the windshield and that it looked small in the last photograph. It's still growing. This picture has a penny attached next to the bullseye so you can see how really big it is. Jim keeps patching things up with super glue and Gorilla tape. Hope we can hold it together till the end of the trip.

BLUE SKYES AND A BULLSEYE

Well, the good news is that the rain has finally stopped. I had to go outside last night in the pouring rain, and let me tell you that was not fun for me or Kathe. This morning the sky was blue and we were happy to be on our way to dryer weather.  We read on Fakebook that the storm we were in yesterday caused a lot of problems and that 2 fifth wheels jack-knifed yesterday at Jasper in the snow. Glad we missed that. Our park last night was great except for the constant rain all night. Chinese water torture on the roof.

The drive this morning was on some smaller highways and things were going well. Today we were following the Taylors when all of a sudden, BANG, another rock flew at us.  This time it hit on Kathe's side of the windshield and made a perfect bullseye crack as you can see.  The picture looks small, but the damage is as large as a baseball, hopefully Jim can put enough superglue on it to keep us safe.  Now we have three cracks in the windshield. We really have had enough of these trucks throwing rocks at us! 

Still having problems with the Internet. Our Verizon jetpack is not working at all and the Starlink that the Taylors purchased for this trip pooped out the minute we left Banff. So, we are hobbling along with hotspots on all of our phones to get the blog out each night. Verizon says that maybe in Fairbanks we can get the jetpack exchanged. We can text but downloading pictures is SLOW. Only one tonight.

SNOW DAY

Of course, it was raining again this morning when we left Jasper National Park. The Elk didn't seem to mind the rain, they were all over the place. I walked by them this morning and they casually looked up at me. I was going to bark, but I decided just a growl was enough and we kept on walking. Boy, those guys are really big; they are as tall as horses with really skinny legs. I'm glad we were moving on today.

We started out towards Groveland, Alberta and noticed that we were traveling on the "Scenic Route to Alaska" also known as Highway 40. It was sure scenic. And bumpy. Lots of trees and so much rain it was hard to see anything! Then we climbed in elevation and the rain turned to snow. And more snow. Pretty soon the light dusting started sticking and we started praying that we would start downhill soon and back into the rain.

Next problem was finding our RV Park for the night. Directions were sketchy. Down a wet dirty country road only to find what looked like an abandoned ski area. Love that GPS. There was so mud that we turned around and left. Just awful. Can you imagine what Gianni, Bella and I would look like if we spent the night in the mud. Luckily, we found another park about 12 miles away with full hook ups for the night. Still raining!

Here is a picture of our coach this morning when we stopped for a break before heading to a lower elevation.

GLACIER DAY

Even though it was a little rainy this morning the humans set out for a glacier adventure. The drive to the Columbia Icefields was over 60 miles, but the skies cleared up most of the time and they were able to see some really beautiful scenery. Lots of pine and white birch, many rivers, lakes and waterfalls. When they finally reached the Icefield Centre the glaciers were obscured by clouds, and of course it was pouring rain again.

A few minutes in the gift shop and all of a sudden, the skies cleared, and the rain stopped. They decided to take the Icefield Adventure, a ride in a giant artic cat vehicle up onto the Athabasca Glacier. It was freezing cold, and the wind was howling, but they enjoyed the experience of a lifetime. They went walking on a glacier! 

They were gone all day. They didn't return until 6:00, and us puppies had our paws crossed the whole time. But we were good doggies. 

We will all have to get up early tomorrow for a long drive to Grovedale, Alberta.  

MALIGNE CANYON

Boy it's really fun to walk around the loop here. There are 26 sites in each loop, and they are in a big circle. I walked the whole circle twice today and there is a lot to see. First of all, there are about a dozen very smelly elk walking all over the place, not to mention the squirrels and chipmunks. Paradise! Kathy took this picture this morning, when they were grazing behind our coach, but during the day they were walking everywhere like they owned the place. 

The humans decided today to take a hike to Maligne Canyon where there are five waterfalls with bridges that connect all of them.  It was a very beautiful but strenuous hike with lots of stairs to climb.  They took lots of pictures but with the slow (almost nonexistent) internet, downloading pictures takes forever. They were so tired after the hike that they stopped for lunch at the cafe along the river.

On the way home there was a "bear jam" on the side of the road. As they were leaving the canyon there were several Canadian Park rangers trying to chase a mama Grizzly Bear and two cute little cubs off the highway and back into the woods. Too bad my humans weren't allowed close enough to take a picture, but it was sure exciting to see them so soon on this trip.

CLOUDS AND SMOKE

Terrific drive today from Banff to Jasper National Park. Very long and curvy highway with a lot of uphill and downhill along the way. So beautiful, but with the combination of clouds and smoke none of the pictures are very clear. 

Biggest issue today was the fact that we needed fuel, and the only station large enough to accommodate our size rig was in the town of Jasper. Jim never likes to have the tank below 1/2 and today we were almost below 1/4 of a tank before we found an ESSO that was tall enough for our rig. We're all filled up now and ready for the next adventure.

We drove on the Ice Field Parkway past many glaciers and thousands of tourists at every road site pull-out. Everywhere you look there are snowy mountains, glaciers, and blue rivers and lakes. We will take the car tomorrow and go back to see the sights. It's kind of hard to park two big rigs like ours together anywhere.

The first picture was taken this morning as we left Banff. The rainstorm yesterday left snow on the mountains. The bottom picture was taken on the Icefield Parkway. There is a fire a few miles from here and the smoke makes everything cloudy too.  Hopefully tomorrow my pictures will be clearer.

99% CHANCE OF RAIN

Yes, it rained all day today. I took Kathe out this morning at 2AM, 4AM, and again at 6AM and guess what? It was raining every time. The temperature is about 46 degrees right now at 8PM and it's still raining. I don't mind the rain, and I love the warm towel that Kathe dries me with, but really all-day rain is a little too much even for a brave doggie. Not much to do for me but sit by the fireplace. 

The humans drove into Banff today for a day of souvenir shopping and dodging raindrops. Kathy T spent too much time as usual in the Christmas store, but everyone bought something to remember the trip. 

Later in the afternoon they purchased tickets for the Banff gondola ride with the rest of the tourists in town. It turned out to be a really fun and dry way to spend the afternoon. I was so cloudy that you couldn't really see anything, but once there was a break in the clouds, Jim took this picture.  Even in the rain this is a beautiful spot.

Tomorrow it's on to Jasper and the Ice Fields. Hopefully the rain will stop mid-day, and things will warm up. 

LAKE LOUISE

Lake Louise only a few kilometers away from Banff Park, and since the Taylors had never been there, they all decided to make the trip today. Kathe and Jim camped there many years ago and were very surprised at the changes that have been made. The Lake and the Hotel are exactly the same as they have been for many years, but changes had to be made due to the enormous popularity of the park. There were thousands of people all over the place. It's still a beautiful site.

They took a hike around the lake and took lots of pictures. When they stopped to rest, a fellow tourist took a picture of them on a bench by the Lake. It was a beautiful day, and for once the sun was shining.

Back here at the campsite, I investigated those two fat squirrels that are sharing our space. Turns out they are not squirrels at all, but prairie dogs. I've seen them early in the morning, and if I stay really quiet, they stand up and squeak to me.

Good news, bad news, Jim spoke to two different window glass companies to see if there was any way to fix our windshield. Both companies said that there was really nothing that could be done, but not to worry, the glass is laminated so that the windshield will stay in place. So, no matter how large the cracks become, the glass will not be a danger to us. 

CRACKED

Only three miles out of Cranbrook on our way to Banff when we heard a loud noise. CRACK, a rock hit our windshield. And we aren’t even out a week. Two large trucks passed us and we think one of then threw the rock which bounced up and hit the very top of the glass. The cracks quickly spiraled down about 18 inches in several downward directions. 

We quickly pulled over and with Warren helping, Jim was able to use a couple of tubes of super glue to try and stop the progression of the crack. Hopefully it will stay together long enough for us to continue our journey. We knew we would probably have a good chance of a cracked windshield, just not this soon on the trip. 

We continued on to Banff National Park, as planned. What a beautiful drive. Miles and miles of unbelievable scenery. Warren took this picture of us going through one of the most scenic parts. My picture is just of the green pines we passed for about a  hundred miles into the Park

Don’t expect much in the next few days as there is NO cell service and hardly enough internet at all. The Taylors have a Starlink, but they are parked too far away from us to be of any use. We saw a sign coming into the Park that said, “No internet for the next 105 miles”.  I’ll do my best to send something tomorrow. 

P.S. There are very fat squirrels here, right outside my door. More on this tomorrow.

CANADA EH!

We squeezed out of our sites at Tamarack RV Resort this morning and headed out for Canada leaving all trees intact. It was a wonderful drive with lots of lakes and millions of pine trees. Everyone was worried about the border crossing, but it was easy and fast. On to our home for the night, Regency Park Resort. They use the term Resort, but there are absolutely no amenities. Just some dried grass between our site and the Taylors. Oh, and it is sort of 30-amp services, but only if we plug in the auto former. We get to choose between the microwave and one air conditioner, can't run both at the same time. Luckily, it's only for one night and the rain is cooling things off. Jim says we better get used to 30-amp service as most of the trip will be the same.

The internet is really poor tonight, going in and out and Kathe can't help me type because she stuck a knife into her paw making lunch today. That means I have to hold down the shift button for her, and the "a" key. So, I'm cutting things short so we can both go to bed. And it's Mountain Time again! 

Here is a picture of Jim driving past one of the many lakes we saw today on our way to Canada.

SOME SUNSHINE

We love it here in Coeur D' Alene. The rain stopped and by 10:00 this morning the sun was actually shining. I took several walks around the park with Kathe.  I stopped at a hidden garden with a pond and Kathy snapped a picture. It's really very pretty here even if we are packed in like sardines. The 5th wheel/toy hauler next to us has so much stuff outside that we have no patio space. And I was worried about getting out of here tomorrow morning. He assured us that he would be moving out as well. I don't want Jim to take one of the pine trees with us when we turn out of our space and squeeze by his rig when we leave.

All of my humans went to the big farmers market/craft market. It's one of the best of its kind with lots of fresh produce, and plants for sale. Warren was in heaven. He bought heirloom tomatoes, giant mushrooms, onions and homemade bread. He cooked dinner tonight with steaks and most of his purchases. My Kathy bought some sugar snap peas and wildflower honey. I think I saw some chicken/carrot dog treats in the bag too. The big draw of the market was the stall where they made sweet and savory apple skivers. They listened to music while they enjoyed eating them.

Big talk tonight was about tomorrow when we finally reach the Canadian border. We changed the itinerary just a bit. We are going through a different border than planned and heading to Cranbrook tomorrow night not Creston. The checkpoint is more suited to motor homes, so that's the one we will use. Keep your paws crossed that everything goes smoothly.

ON THE WAY TO COEUR D' ALENE

Left Grangeville this morning and although it was clear and sunny, that weather didn't last very long. See the huge dark clouds ahead of us? We drove right into those and more. The first thing that happened was the attack of honeybees, all over the nice clean windshield. Not that I don't feel sorry for the bees, it's just one more thing for Jim to clean. Also, it makes it hard to take any pictures because the pictures are all blurry from smashed bees and honey on the glass. Sorry, honeybees!

No one is very happy with me today. Not my fault that I can't tell the difference between Mountain Time and Pacific Time. And they keep switching it back and forth. I don't know when it's time to eat or time to sleep and apparently, I'm confusing both. Kathe didn't want to feed me breakfast at 3 AM much less when it's really 2 AM. I can see the clock, but those numbers don't mean much to me. And of course, I really need to go out after breakfast, even if its dark outside. Good news, I think they have settled on Pacific time for a while and my internal clock should settle down soon.

Tonight, we are at Tamarack RV Resort in Coeur D' Alene which is right in the middle of the city. The Park itself has lots of large pine trees and grassy areas between the sites. The best news is that we are actually here for two nights in the same place. Oh, yeah, it's raining again!

WILD RIVERS

Great drive today from Caldwell to Grangeville, Idaho. Although it was drizzling or raining most of the drive, the scenery was amazing. We followed the I-95 all day and drove through small towns as we passed several rapid rivers.  There were kayaks in the rapids and lots of waterfalls. We crossed the Salmon River and saw many fishermen on the banks hoping to catch the Chinook salmon. 

We stopped once for a little break as I was getting tired of all the curvy roads, and I let Jim and Kathe know that I wasn't happy. Kathe took me out of my crate, and we walked down to the edge of the river. We took a picture of the two rivers that ran right through the rest area.

It wasn't too long before we arrived at Bear Den RV Park. I've been here before when it was over 100 degrees in the shade. But today the light rain kept the temperature in the 60's and I was glad I was wearing my fur coat.

There's lots of green grass and trees. Gianni, Bella and I are really enjoying our walks. Here's a tip: stay away from the German Shepherd in site 5, he's a scary piece of work. Tried to chase our motor home and pulled on his chain so hard that he made a face plant in the grass.

RELAXING DAY

Not much to report tonight. We spent the day relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. Kathe tried to see if anyone wanted to go exploring in the area, but she got no reply. I took her on several long walks around the RV Park checking out all the grass strips between the coaches. Now, that's exploring! 

Last night we had a terrible windstorm which rocked the coach and did some damage in the area. There was thunder and lightning and just enough rain to mess up the Jeep. Told you so, Jim! 

One of the smaller motorhomes in the park had an awning blow almost all the way off. We stayed snug as a bug in our coach, although it was a little noisy when the rain started pounding on the roof. I didn't hear a thing.

This evening all of the humans drove to Nampa to meet with a friend for dinner. Carol N. met them at an Italian restaurant, and they had a delicious meal and spent a few hours catching up on all the news. I wish I could have gone with them. 

Well, off to bed for me as we have to get up early tomorrow for another long drive. We will be staying at a place called Bear Den in Grangeville. I really hope that I don't see any bears.

SOME RAIN MUST FALL

More driving today. Jim calls it "Blastomatic" Driving. That is when we cover a lot of ground in a short time, just like we used to do when we only had two-week vacations. As a matter of fact, as of today, we have already covered 832 miles of a planned 8609-mile journey. We will slow down a little once we get over the Canadian border.

Ok, so I promised you rain last night.  Poor Jim, after the trip to the car wash, not only did we have thunder and lightning, but enough rain and dust to completely trash the Jeep. Where is he right now? Yes, back at the car wash. Tomorrow only a 50 % chance of rain.

Here's a picture from the road today, we drove right through another rainstorm. At least the rain washed some of the bugs off the windshield. Maybe the next pictures we take won't look so spotty.

Tonight, and tomorrow night we are in Caldwell, Idaho at the Ambassador RV Park. I have my own little strip of grass, as the doggie park is too long of a walk for me.  After a long drive like today, we all just want to chill out. Me, I think the tile floor is just the right temperature for a nap.

SMELLS LIKE WINNEMUCCA

Today was another long driving day. We left Hawthorne, Nevada at 10:30 and drove all day long until we reached Winnemucca, Nevada. Kathy T was in the lead, and we followed, so I shot this picture of the back of their motor home. This was the same scenery all 202 miles. Nothing but desert sagebrush with an occasional area of flooding along the road. It was so boring I slept the whole way! It did rain on us for about 15 minutes, just enough to tick Jim off and send him out to the car wash as soon as we got set up. Oh Jim, with your luck, it will surely rain again tomorrow.

As soon as we arrived at New Frontier RV Park, Kathe and I took a spin around the area and I smelled some familiar smells, I'm sure we camped here in this exact site before. I may not have the best hearing, but my smeller is still in good working order.

Last night we had a little issue. The metal screw that holds the door closer together broke right off. The door was still attached to the coach but flapping in the breeze. Luckily, because the same thing happened to Warren's coach, he had the exact hardware to do the repair. He's been traveling with the Rihas so long that he bought two sets of the repair parts, just in case they might be needed. Anyway, working together, they had the door fixed in no time at all. Keep your paws crossed that will be the only thing that needs to be repaired on this trip.

ON THE ROAD TO NEVADA

Today was a nice long drive, past Bishop and Mammoth and really beautiful scenery. The amount of snow in the Sierras is unbelievable for this time of year. I must say, I slept through most of the drive. Jim and I had a bad night last night getting up and down out of bed when we should have been sleeping. Lucky me, I got to sleep in my crate for most of the trip, but Jim had to drive the motor home.

Jim was so sleepy on the drive that Kathe had to put on some 60's music to keep him awake. Believe me, Kathe singing the Beach Boys would keep anybody awake. Probably for days!

Before we crossed the Nevada border, we drove past Mono Lake.  It was as full as we've ever seen it due to the winter storms. Hard to take a photo from a moving vehicle, but maybe you can get the idea of how enormous it was.

Tonight, we are staying in Hawthorne, Nevada. It has the distinction of being the largest ammunition depot in the world. A town with a population of 2,734 and 147,000 acres of ammunition. Yikes!

Last night Kathe took this picture of the Strawberry moon from the front of our coach. Again, not a great shot but pretty good for someone in their pajamas and bare feet. She wasn't the only human out there in pajamas, but no one else had a better shot.

HISTORY LESSONS

It was a beautiful sunny day when I went out for my early morning walk. I gave Kathe a break and slept in until 5 AM, but she still looked a little sleepy. The RV Park is really pretty with the snowy mountains across the highway, and a warm breeze in the shade. We are now on vacation! 

The Manzanar National Historic Site is just 12 miles away from Boulder Creek, so since Kathy and Warren had never been there, they all piled into the car for the trip. There have been many changes and additions to the park since its opening in 2008.  They recently recreated several buildings which help gives a better sense of what it might have been like for the 10,000 Japanese confined here after the attack on Pearl Harbor until the end of the war in 1945. Visiting this site was a sad and sobering experience. 

After a quick snack they went for a short visit to the Lone Pine Western Film Museum which was a totally different experience. Everyone loves a good cowboy movie!

This evening my humans are going out to dinner at Seasons Restaurant to celebrate Kathy T's retirement. It will be a short celebration as it seems she was only retired for one day. They gave her a big retirement party at her office one day and promptly hired her back the next day. Bella told me it has to Adventure Capitalizing or something. Still trying to figure that one out.

FULL MOON IN LONE PINE

We arrived here at the Boulder Creek RV Resort late this afternoon. The drive was uneventful except for one quick stop due to a very slow, almost stopped truck in front of us in Simi Valley.  Jim slammed on the brakes and the Nespresso coffee machine went flying across the coach and slammed into my crate. Wake up call! Hope it’s not broken and they can make coffee tomorrow morning.

It’s was very warm when we arrived, but cooled off this evening in time for my walk around the campground. I tried to get Bella and Gianni to walk with us but they had something else in mind. That was okay, because there is a full mom tonight and everyone knows that’s what brings out the coyotes. No thanks, I see enough of those guys at home.

Here’s a picture of our two motor homes side by side in spaces 52 and 53.  Had to drive around awhile to locate our site but eventually we found where we were suppose to be. Kathe was map challenged again and led Jim in the wrong direction, so they had to circle around a bit before landing.

ALASKA OR BARK!

If I look a little concerned, then I guess I am.  They tell me tomorrow we're leaving for a great adventure to Canada and Alaska. It will be our longest trip ever, over 8,000 miles so I think I have a reason to be a little concerned. All those days in the motor home, all those trees, and don't forget about all the animals we might encounter. Yikes! 

In between my naps I've been going over the maps and reading the Milepost book, but I can't really make heads or tails with all those numbers. Better leave that stuff up to the humans.

Jim and Kathe are all packed and ready to meet Warren and Kathy tomorrow night in Lone Pine, where we will all begin our journey. I'm really looking forward to seeing Bella and Gianni and getting into some mischief with them again this summer.

Right now, we are all so tired from packing and planning that it will be a relief to get on the road and start having some fun.

I will try to blog every night to keep you up to date on our adventure, as long as the internet is working, and they let me use the computer before the cocktail hour.