USA & Canada August 2011

Photo is me on the farm in Missouri and a bear walking beside my car in Canada!

Plan for August is driving east through Canada then south into the middle of America to visit cousins in Iowa and Missouri then housesitting in Santa Fe NM starting 7 September.

31 August Wednesday 2011 (Mineral Hot Springs CO)
Hanging out another day at the hot springs! Continue to meet some interesting folks here! The Colorado "monsoon" arrives in the afternoon each day....I guess this is a common occurrence July through September. Yesterday it poured down rain and then the sun came out again; today the wind howled and howled but it has yet to rain.....beautiful cloud formations on the mountains.

30 August Tuesday 2011 (Coaldale to Mineral Hot Springs CO)
Drove to Joyful Journey Hot Springs beneath the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (on the other side from where I was last evening) which was a destination resort in the early 1900's when the railroad ran through here. With the railroad gone, the business fell into decline and eventually closed. Under new ownership and with renovations, it was reopened in the 1990's. I stayed here in August 2010 and decided to return and stay longer. I had a wonderful massage today. Beautiful sunny skies with occasional passing clouds spitting a bit of rain.

Had a nice soak after dinner and met some interesting folks...a couple from Idaho that has been living on the road for eight years not in an RV but working at B&Bs etc, and a fellow that has been living in the back of his Tercel since the 1980s'! That is the great part of this journey....meeting some interesting people and them telling me of places to visit!

29 August Monday 2011 (Coaldale CO about 7000')
Wonderful sleep listening to Hayden Creek so stayed another day and did a bit of hiking...the weekend folks have gone so nice and quiet here! This resort was built in the 1950's and then was closed for several years. New owners have invested money to bring it back to life again. It is in a wonderful location about four miles down a gravel road at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. They expect over 700 folks here for Labor Day weekend though so I am glad that I am here with only about three of us.

28 August Sunday (La Junta to Coaldale CO )
The route that I had planned to take (route 10 from La Junta to Walsenburg) is closed for two months so decided to drive west on route 50 and camp where I had camped one year ago at Cuttys on Hayden Creek.....this canyon on the Arkansas River is just beautiful so may stay another day. Never thought that I would enjoy these afternoon thunderclouds so much....so much cooler here than the heat of Kansas.

27 August Saturday (Wichita KS to La Junta CO 350 miles)
Heading west to the hills of Colorado but even at 4000 feet, it is still very hot! Guess tomorrow I will have to climb even higher! I did spend some time walking around Dodge City and Boot Hill.

26 August Friday (Wichita KS)
Enjoyed a bit of pool time at the Marriott outdoor pool since the HI pool is an indoor one! Then about a three mile walk to the WaterFront shops.

25 August Thursday (Cedar Springs MO to Wichita Kansas)
West to Kansas where there is still no cooling off.....need to find a pool to cool off in! The aircon in my van is not working well in this extreme heat so decided to hotel it in Wichita and get caught up after a month on the road. I spent most of time getting my visa application for Brazil completed and Fedexed to San Francisco since I have access to printer and copier and fax and even free fedex pickup.....need to get that done and returned to me while I am at an address in Santa Fe!

24 August Wednesday (Lake of the Ozarks to Cedar Springs MO)
They predict a VERY HOT day today so not looking forward to being in it....and yes, it is a very hot day....first stop Starbucks to catch up on internet and to do this blog...I have problems updating this on public computers. I then explored Ha Ha Tonka State Park (no campground here) which is known for its limestone karst cliffs and a castle built back in the 1920's. I stopped at Pomme de Terre to camp but still too hot in the day to stop so continued west to Cedar Springs to nice small family run campground where I am camped beside a small lake and they only charged me $10 for hookups, wifi and hot showers. My aircon has not always been working so using my computer in their aircon rec hall!

23 August 2011 Tuesday (Arrow Rock to Jefferson City and Lake of the Ozarks MO)
Early morning exploration of Boone's Lick area and on to the State Capital and stopped at this Hampton Inn for internet...overnighted at Lake of the Ozarks State Park which is quiet place away from the craziness of the Lake...also visited the Bagnell Dam on the Osage River.

22 August 2011 Monday (Pershing SP to Arrow Rock MO)
A bit of morning sprinkles then hot afternoon sun....enjoyed walking the historical town of Arrow Rock and following the Santa Fe and Lewis and Clark Trail....camped at Arrow Rock State Park where I met another couple with a very old Roadtrek.

21 August 2011 Sunday (Powersville to Pershing State Park MO)
Heading south today....warm sunny day again! Had planned to visit Jeff and Tom's mother Marie (my dad's sister) in Jefferson City but she cancelled on me.....so now wandering sussing out the state parks and historical sites of Missouri.

20 August 2011 Saturday (Powersville MO)
Spent morning doing chores on the farm (feeding the cows and checking the newborn calves) and visiting with Jeff's brother Tom and his wife Debbie and their grandkids (they were on the lake fishing!) and the afternoon metal detecting on some property in Iowa....a great day's experience! Decided to stay another night because it was too late in the day to move on.

19 August 2011 Friday (Rathbun Lake IA to Powersville MO)
Crossed from IA to MO and spent most of morning in Unionville where I had spent time as a child visiting my grandma on her farm. I stopped at the Putnam County library and used their internet and also found her burial site in their books (heaps of great history recording has been done by volunteers and is stored in the library). After visiting her gravesite, I headed up to her farm and visited with the current owners and took photos. Then continued to Powersville to visit with my cousin Jeff and his wife Sandy and their 19 year old daughter Jessica. Great dinner out at Ludlow's in Corydon after visiting with their dad Larry.

18 August 2011 Thursday (Marshalltown IA to Rathbun Lake IA)
Headed south and camped at Prairie Ridge near Rathbun Lake....overnight thunderstorm.

17 August 2011 Wednesday (West Branch to Marshalltown IA)
Richard cooked breakfast then we washed the millions of bugs off my van before we went to visit the grave of his wife Mavis (my dad's sister) in Iowa City. I then continued west to visit the Amana German Colonies (Kalona are the Amish ones just a few miles away) and then to Marshalltown to visit another cousin Robbie and his wife Joyce ... a warm and overcast day...Rob cooked fresh venison for dinner then we went to meet his mom's (his mom is now deceased) boyfriend Jesse who just turned 90.

16 August 2011 Tuesday (Des Moines to West Branch IA)
A rainy start to the day. Visited Graham tire (where my cousin has work done on his car) and had my oil changed....they found that the new tires installed in Juneau were installed with wrong size valve stem so needed to get that changed out.....will have a few words with Les Schwab in Juneau! Continued east on I80 to West Branch (east of Iowa City) to visit my uncle Richard and his friend Arlieta and his son Scott and wife Nanci and daughter Miranda! It was Richard's 80th birthday so we went out to dinner at Agaves Mexican then back to the house for cake and ice cream.

15 August 2011 Monday (Des Moines/Ankeny IA)
A day at the Iowa State Fair....arrived at 8am and left close to 6pm.....and we still did not see it all....but it was wonderful with great weather! and heaps of food.....milk shake and pork chop on a stick and lamb burger and funnel cake....no room for the roast beef with mash and gravy though.

14 August 2011 Sunday (Harlan to Des Moines IA)
The sun is shining brightly but not too warm....stopped at Prairie Rose State Park and good thing I gave it a miss for last eve.....it was packed! Now on to visit my cousin Steve and his wife Pam in Ankeny IA. We also plan to attend the IA State Fair.

13 August 2011 Saturday (Oakland NE to Harlan IA)
Continued east on route 32 then south on route 75 to visit my birthplace town of Omaha and also my mother's parents' (and grand and great grand) at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha....beautiful location. Also stopped at another childhood home in Omaha that pretty much looks just the same! Crossed into Iowa (a few roads crossing the Missouri are closed but I80 was open). Had considered staying at Prairie Rose State Park but decided against that on a Saturday eve and stopped instead north of Harlan at a private campground in a cornfield.....quiet with lovely breeze!

12 August 2011 Friday (Burke SD to Oakland NE)
Huge thunderstorm arrived last eve and continued until this morning but no tornado. Crossed into Nebraska and visited my grandparents place in Spencer.....although not sure which one was their home! Continued on to West Point NE where I planned to camp at Dead Timber SRA but met a local State Trooper and he suggested camping at the city park in Oakland (Swedish city of Nebraska)....which I did after taking a look at the folks camped at Dead Timber (even though it is a very nice location on the Elkhorn River).

11 August 2011 Thursday (Gettysburg SD via Pierre to Burke SD 194 miles)
Fields and fields of sunflowers smiling at the beautiful sunrise on the plains!
My brakes have still been making noises so I think that this time they are really fixed for only $20 in Pierre SD. Went looking for my childhood home across from the capitol building in Pierre, but it is now gone....replaced by a lawn and more government buildings! Drove southeast along the Missouri River through Sioux country and now camped at the city park in Burke....a major thunderstorm is predicted so thought this a better place than the unmaintained state park two miles down the road plus for $10 I have full 30 amp hookup, toilet and hot shower....and I am tapped into someone's wireless in the neighborhood! The state park has no amenities and costs more. My dad's father's brother's sons all live in this area so may visit them tomorrow; the local police chief of 31 years collected my $10 and knows everyone in this county of Gregory.

10 August 2011 Wednesday (Teddy National Park ND to Gettysburg SD 361 miles)
You bounce between Mountain and Central time here as you cross the rivers! Finally on an interstate (94) for the first time on this trip but only to get through Bismarck...could not decide which route south but they all have their challenges with rebuilding of bridges and roads.....took route 83 south with 40 mile detour....yuck! Now camped on the Missouri River near Oahe Dam.

9 August 2011 Tuesday (Havre MT to Theodore Roosevelt National Park ND 343 miles)
Continued east on route 2 through Montana (with heaps of road works) to North Dakota. Turned south of Williston (where I crossed the Missouri River which is still flooded) onto route 83....what a mess.....the road is totally torn up plus heaps of oil and gas work going on here. Finally made it to Watford City where the RV park is full of oil and gas workers so continued onto the North Dakota Badlands and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park which is gorgeous. They waived the entry fee because the end of the road is closed (road fell in) and camping was $10. Walked the Little Mo Nature Trail and attended the evening program by the park ranger Eric Haugland (from MI) on longhorn cattle/bison and he also talked about the recent floods and the oil development and the history of Teddy!

8 August 2011 Monday (Calgary/Okotok AB Canada to Havre Montana 346 miles)
Spent morning at Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump....the Indians would drive the buffalo over the hill and then head to the bottom for their reward....unfortunately, one young fellow went below to view the buffalo going over and got his 'head smashed in' while there. Crossed border from Canada to USA at Peigan Montana with views of Glacier Park mountains...surprised that there were quite a folks crossing over also! Route 89 a bit winding then route 2 east from Browning is quite straight with heaps of wheatfields. Quaint towns (but not very many) along the way with old buildings of brick. Overnight at small campground near Havre.

7 August 2011 Sunday (Valley View to Okotok AB Canada 390 miles)
After chatting with folks along the way, I decided to take their recommendations and turned south before Edmonton onto the back roads (route 22) through rolling farmland full of yellow fields and views of mountain....petrol will be cheaper in the USA. Prices in Canada ranged from $1.09 - $.89 per liter. Camped south of Calgary at River Bend right on the Sheep River....just wonderful listening to the water flow!

6 August 2011 Saturday (Sikanni River BC to Valley View AB Canada 291 miles)
Awoke early for early departure and found huge truck had gone over the bridge at Sikanni River just an hour or two before and they were closing the road due to oil spill.....I got out just in time....now in Fort St John....back to civilization with WalMart, Safeway, traffic, radio stations, and Tim Horton coffee (much better and cheaper coffee than Starbucks). Stopped at Grande Prairie info center where they had free internet computers (have found this in the BC visitor centers). Continued on to Alberta where I lost another hour due to time change so between shopping and lost time, I did not get as far and am very tired from a long day. Decided to stay at an RV park where I had stayed two years ago when I did this route from east to west....which is the direction I prefer since I get started early and do not like the sun in my eyes!

5 August 2011 Friday (Liard Hot Springs to Sikanni River BC Canada 295 miles)
Just arrived Fort Nelson at noon and will have Kal Tire look at my tires...but Kal Tire was too busy so went next door to Integrity Auto and Greg found that the brake clip was loose and hitting rotor and charged me nothing....what a relief! Beautiful drive this morning with moose, wolf, bear, fox, rabbit and wildflowers! Plan to continue to Sikhanni.

4 August 2011 Thursday (Watson Lake Yukon to Liard Hot Springs Canada 132 miles)
Gorgeous sunrise! Chris Beel Auto could not find the problem with my noise (and still charged me $35) so continued on to soak in hot springs at Liard River and see heaps of wildlife.....bear right in the parking lot at the springs. Petrol was $1.89 per liter at Liard so will wait til later....it was only $1.25 at Watson Lake.

3 August Wednesday 2011 (Skagway Alaska to Watson Lake Yukon Territory Canada 306 miles)
Not much internet through here so will do my best as I find libraries along the way....beautiful sunny day for a drive with a few bear on the road!....but heard new noise in tire.....mechanic thinks that it is wheel bearings so will determine problem tomorrow....maybe an extra day in Watson Lake!

2 August Tuesday 2011 (Juneau to Skagway Alaska)
Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) from Juneau to Skagway onboard the Malaspina. We arrived too late for me to start driving so snoozed in the parking lot before getting up early to cross the border into Canada/Yukon.

1 August Monday 2011 (Juneau Alaska)
Getting ready to depart Juneau! And getting ready for travels in South America in November. It appears that the visa for Brazil is a long process and especially difficult for me since I need my passport to travel through Canada and then have no address to which to mail the visa!