Day 98

Vancouver, British Columbia

Aug 12, 2013, 2:51 PM

NOT WHAT I EXPECTED!!!!! There have been so many occasions along this trip for that sentiment. We drove up to Canada and I really wanted to get our passports stamped, but sadly they wouldn't. I mean really! You couldn't just reach over to the ink pad and put a little stamp in my freaking book, whatever!! After crossing the border we were probably about 25 miles from Vancouver and the entire way was flat. Not what I was expecting at all. As we got into the city the residential area was kind of strange. I couldn't tell you much about the houses that lined the streets because 99% of the houses were surrounded by a hedge that formed a wall. These walls were so high and thick and filled in, I doubt a hedge hog could get through. Some of the hedges were high enough that they went completely around a gate, hedge to the left, hedge to the right, and hedge above you. Freaky!! I hope crime is very light in this area or muggers have a great advantage. 

After going through this residential area, it was like any big city, traffic that makes it next to impossible to get around, maybe two or three cars get through a light at a time, cars nose to tail for blocks on end, it was horrible. One thing that was very different were the huge residential skyscrapers on the north end of the city. There were so many apartment/condo buildings. They were massive towers of glass. These things were almost on top of each other. 

We went to Stanley's Park for the afternoon. It was a beautiful park in the middle of the city. We had a fantastic lunch and then went in search of the totem poles. We walked around the waters edge. It was a lot of fun. Then since we were in Vancouver I wanted to go to the Cupcake Girls Shop for cupcakes. Now you have to have some background here. I watched a show about these two women in Vancouver that opened a cupcake store. It was a cute show and they were crazy, they only did like 13 episodes, but since we were there we had to have some of the Cupcake Girls cupcakes, that's part one, part two is the flipping GPS was nearly useless in Canada. I updated the maps, it made me go out and get a microSD card to store the updates, you'd think it would be at least a little helpful, but all we really had was the little blue line that shows where we had been. No map associated with the little blue line!  So we are in a strange city, not in our own country, we didn't cross the border at the big border crossing cause a highway sign said there was a 50 minute wait to cross on I-5 and only 5 minutes to cross on 543, just a mile or two east from I-5. What we didn't realize was we weren't going to pass a Visitor's Center using the road less traveled. So we were just wandering with no idea where the heck we were going, are you getting the picture now? Well I had an address for the Cupcake Girls, but we had no idea where the street was, for sure, I thought we'd passed the street on our way, but I wasn't sure and Steve was getting really frustrated with the traffic, and not being 100% sure where we were going to get back across the border, there was stress! I have to admit the signs are not clear, not for following, or parking, or just getting around. Anyway, I thought for sure we'd missed it and that was OK, but then we passed the street it was on, so we turned. Trying to park was a nightmare, but when all was said and done I GOT CUPCAKES. 

Now it was time to get the heck out of Canada, so we are trying to follow 99, which was hard to find, to get back to the US and also following the little blue line on the GPS. We pass a status sign for the wait to cross the border, it says 60 minutes so we are in for a wait. Oh and wait we did. The status sign was pretty much right on the money, we had cupcakes to eat though. Now I don't want to say this line was long, but there was a guy with a cart going up the center of the road selling ice cream and water, that's a long line. 

No worries though, we made it home just fine. As soon as we got close to the border the GPS knew where she was again. Thank God we know where we are again!!!!! 

Steve just found out the main road going through the Cascades National Park was washed out and 65 cars were stuck there overnight Sunday into Monday. How horrible is that? Thank God we weren't there for that. We are going to wait till Wednesday to go to Cascades instead of going tomorrow, to give them as much time as possible to get things cleared. We will check out Seattle tomorrow and let you know how that goes. You lucky people!  LOL

Day 97

Further West We Go

Aug 11, 2013, 10:26 AM

First of all, I forgot to tell you about WWIII almost erupting last night (no not Steve and I). Last night, Steve and I were getting things ready to leave in the morning. In the next campsite there was a Class A with a couple and a 7-8 year old kid with them. It looked like it might be their grandson. We never spoke with them, we hardly saw them, except to nod a head or wave a greeting, that kind of thing. Anyway, we are outside trying to get bugs off the front of the RV when I hear "I'll never do it again", from the woman. She said that a couple times and he was saying something in between. I wasn't really listening, but it was hard not to. We were right there! She said it again, "I'll never do it again", then he starts in with "I'm not going to cover ground we have been over again and again". At this point I was feeling really uncomfortable and I tried to tell Steve we were going to have to go inside for awhile. I wanted to glance over to see if they were even aware of the fact that we were RIGHT THERE, but I didn't want it to look like we could hear, even though how could we not, WE WERE RIGHT THERE!!!! Thank God in Heaven, at this point the kid must have been on a bike ride and he came up and the argument came to an abrupt end. Steve and I finished up quickly, went inside, closed the blinds, put the TV on and minded our own business. I have never understood how people can engage in public displays. Have the decency to take it inside, nobody wants to witness that, it makes people uncomfortable. 

Aug 11, 2013, 1:52 PM

We have traveled through some diverse terrain today. In eastern Washington the land was flat with lots of farms and grasslands, at least along I-90, then we cross the Columbia River and we are in mountains. The sheer cliff sides of the river made it just so beautiful to look at and it's funny, as I saw the boats out on the water I wondered if you could swim in that water or if there were gators. I guess I haven't been out of Florida for that long if I'm still mindful of gators. Now we are within 70 miles of Seattle and guess what? It's raining. It was going to be another 90 degree day in Spokane, and we just passed a sign saying it was 66 degrees here. I guess the mountains really keep the cooler pacific coast weather from going too far east. Until now personal experience would have allowed me to say that it only rained at night in Washington, but I guess I can't anymore. In Spokane everyday had been hot and we got nasty rain each night. 

I wish I could get a better look at the mountains all around us but they are shrouded in clouds. I just can't wait to see what Seattle has in store for us. 

Aug 11, 2013, 3:23 PM

Well I can say with absolute certainty right now, I'm not liking Seattle so far. The traffic is just horrible. We might as well be back in Orlando. We are on a ten lane highway and we still have to slam on the brakes horrible. 

Aug 11, 2013, 5:26 PM

We are at the Mount Vernon RV Park in Washington. This park is 100% full. People are very nice here and we are very close to our neighbors. Our side awnings and their awning are almost touching. We made sure they didn't mind. They were very nice about it and said it didn't bother them at all so we are going to leave them out. Hopefully they will take a page from our book and be equally considerate with their barking dog. 

Tomorrow our plan is to go into British Columbia. I'm excited about that. It all looks so beautiful. Good night all, I'll be sure to check in tomorrow. 

Day 96

Sad News

Aug 10, 2013, 7:53 PM

Kim sent me an e-mail this morning telling me about the death of a gorilla at Philadelphia Zoo. I went though my photos from the zoo and found one of him. It's such a shame, it was a freak thing. He died on the operating table. It's such a shame. Steve and I don't seem to be very good luck for these zoos. After we were at the Atlanta Zoo the red panda died and now this. If we aren't careful they are going to bar us from admission. 

I really have nothing noteworthy today aside from my sad tale about the gorilla. Steve and I slept late and just relaxed. Well actually we got things ready to leave tomorrow, I did wash and made us a great dinner. So we are ready for Mount Vernon, Washington tomorrow. I am very concerned about the reservation we've made for Hoodsport, Washington. The guy that took the reservation just didn't fill me with confidence. So stay tuned, I'll have more from the road tomorrow. Good night all!

Day 95

Aggravation Day

Aug 9, 2013, 8:14 PM

Have we been dealing with aggravation today! First we are having the damnedest time trying to find a campground in the northwestern part of Washington that has the facilities we want and has the availability on the days we need. Steve is afraid we may be up against this while we are on the west coast. Oh my gosh I hope not, cause it is making me nuts, and I'm on the verge of losing my patience. This afternoon I called about a half dozen places and the last one went through the process of asking me all of our pertinent information, I had to repeat myself and spell things out, I must have been on the phone for over 15 minutes, then THEN she tells me they don't have any openings. Now I ask you do you really need my name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, just to tell me you're all FULL UP?????? I don't think so!!!!!

So putting all of that aggravation behind us we went to get an oil change on the car. Poor thing has put the miles on even if it's just following behind the RV. After the oil change we went to a self-service carwash. Oh boy, the car was such a mess. Trailing behind the RV, dirt roads in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, rain, and even hail make one heck of a dirty, filthy, disgusting car (inside and out). After a quick trip around Walmart we wanted some ice cream. So we stopped in at a Cold Stone ice cream place. Oh you're gonna love this, the guy didn't know how to make a sundae. REALLY, AN ICE CREAM PLACE THAT CAN'T MAKE A SUNDAE, OMG!!!!!! I had to explain to the kid how to even put one together. I'm so glad this day is almost over. Don't misunderstand, there were bright moments. My wonderful husband did make me a very good dinner. And now I'm sitting comfortably inside crocheting. So all is good!!!!! Tomorrow is another day, and I can't wait to get started. 

Day 94

Washington Bound

Aug 8, 2013, 11:56 AM

We got off nice and early, at least for us, but then there is no hurry. We don't want to deal with any kind of rush hour traffic and why would we? Anyway the first part of the drive has just been so pretty. For quite a while we were driving along the Flathead Lake. In the east at the horizon there were mountains. The mountains looked as if they were a backdrop. They were blue looking and hazy and it was some nice scenery. We are driving along roads where ours is the only vehicle in sight for long stretches. We are seeing the Flathead Indian language on signs again and I am bound and determined to get a picture. 

Aug 8, 2013, 2:06 PM

We are coming up to the state border. We'll only be passing through Idaho. You just can't see every little thing, even if you do have six months to travel. In the beginning I thought we'd be dragging our feet so we were back at the right time. I thought six months would be more than enough time to do it all. Boy was I ever wrong. I would have loved to have more time in the UP of Michigan, we didn't even start to explore Wisconsin, we didn't get into North Dakota at all, we are going to pretty much just drive through Idaho, there just isn't enough time. And to top it all off, the time just changed. I'm going to be all messed up now! (Aug 8, 2013, 1:13 PM)

Aug 8, 2013, 5:22 PM

We are here and set up and MAN is it hot!!!!! Is this not the northwest? What the heck, I feel like I'm back in Florida. While it's 90 in Spokane, Seattle, which is the next stop is 79. Hold on to that Seattle, we'll be there soon. 

Day 93

Hungry Horse Dam

Aug 7, 2013, 6:16 PM

Steve had to glue into place a rubber gasket that was coming down again under the one slide this morning. So we played with some minor things this morning and then took a ride to see the Hungry Horse Dam. We wanted to take it easy today because tomorrow we are off again. This time we will be driving to Spokane, Washington. Going to the dam was a nice short ride, we even passed a pretty lake on our way. 

After the dam we wanted to see what was in Columbia Falls. I thought for sure there would be a pretty waterfall and maybe a park or something. We couldn't find anything on the GPS but what the heck we drove over anyway. Well don't you know there is no falls in Columbia Falls. We did however find a barber shop for Steve. After Steve was done at the barber we got lunch at a nice little restaurant. Then we went on a fools errand looking for a T-shirt I'd fallen in love with for Steve, but the one store didn't have it in his size. We went into Whitefish and went through a bunch of stores and I found it one place and still not the right size. It just must not be meant to happen. So back home to make dinner and get a head start on things for tomorrow. More adventures up the road. I can't wait to get started. 

Day 92

Another Day At Glacier National Park

Aug 6, 2013, 12:54 PM

We are trying the road less traveled today. There may be a reason this road it less traveled, the views aren't as good and the road is worse. We were hoping to see wildlife but so far no luck. We are having a great day though. We have driven to Polebridge. Let me tell you what, there is NOTHING in Polebridge. We drove to the Polebridge Mercantile and they had baked goods, but not really lunch stuff, so we came back to Home Ranch Bottoms, another place we saw and we are having a good lunch and talking to one of the owners. Hopefully on the way back we will see some more stuff, but hell even if we don't it won't matter we are having a good time, that's what's important. 

I Saw Moose

Aug 6, 2013, 4:12 PM

Well just like the guy at Home Ranch Bottoms said, we drove to Red Meadow Lake and saw moose. We drove down a twelve mile gravel/dirt road that wasn't fit for a humvee in places. Steve says when we get home he's taking all the Hyundai stickers off the car and replacing them with JEEP cause the car has earned the right given some of the places we have taken it. We were driving down this road that was pretty much tree lined and so dense with vegetation that you couldn't see more than a foot or two off the side of the road. We passed six guys on 4-wheelers, one of the guys was standing in the brush with his back to the road, I'm sure you can guess what he was doing. We went over several small bridges when all of a sudden it opened up to a pristine lake on the right. As we were debating on whether or not to get out and walk around all of the 4-wheelers arrived. So we kept going to see what else we could find. After a short distance the road really got dicey and we were concerned we might get into a situation where we couldn't turn around and we couldn't go forward so we took advantage of a spot to turn around and go back to the pretty little lake. The lake was completely deserted when we got back to it, the 4-wheelers passed us when we were going back, so we got out to look around. There was a tent set up on the side of the lake but no one around. The lake was so crystal clear and really really cold. The guy at lunch told us the temperature of the lake is probably 42 degrees. OH MY GOSH!!!!! Well I was walking around taking pictures, and Steve was searching with the binoculars for wildlife. God love him, he wanted so much for me to see a moose or bear or something. Well I had walked pretty far up the road happily taking pictures when Steve gave a short whistle. I looked over and he was motioning across the lake. I looked through the 300mm lens and I could see it, a MOOSE!!!!!!! Oh my God, I was so excited. So I got some photos, but I was pretty far away, I could tell you it was a photo of a moose but you'd have to take my word for it that that dark spot off in the distance was really a moose. So Steve drove up to me and I hopped in the car and we tried to get a closer look. Well we sure as heck got close!!! I was just so thrilled to see a moose and he was one hell of a good looking moose too. He was big and he was just sloshing around in the water. Every once in a while I could hear running water, like maybe there was a stream nearby, then I realized it was coming off the moose. When he would lift his face out of the water he had so much water on him you could just hear it splashing. 

So now it's good, I'm happy, I've seen a moose people, a freaking moose! Life and in person not caged in a zoo, he was knee deep in the marshy grass area around this beautiful little lake doing exactly what God intended for him to do, just being a happy moose, and I was doing what God intended for me to do, get a LOAD of pictures.