Drinking and Driving Across the USA & Canada

Bill and Rhonda

Drinking and Driving –

The 2010 Odyssey Across the Continent and Back

The Plan

  Let’s just say that a decision to travel 6 ½ weeks, travel 9,425 miles, and buy a timeshare didn’t just pop into our brains one day. We can thank an unfortunate event for the seed that grew into an amazing adventure. In 2008, Bill’s employer, Hospira, announced their decision to move manufacturing operations from Morgan Hill, CA to Costa Rica. When Bill went to work there in 2003, it was what he described as his “dream job”, and he virtually skipped off to work every day. In 2008 things started going downhill, and the carrot that kept Bill going to work each day was the promise of severance pay, based on time with the company, and age over 40. A prudent decision was made to skip vacation in 2009, and to plan something for May, 2010, the anticipated layoff date.

  Rand McNally became daily reading, and a plot hatched. With the financial future somewhat murky, it was decided that a road trip could be taken, but it needed to be done with a low budget. A trip to Santa Fe had been simmering on the back burner for several years, and heck, as long as we’re that far, why not go to New York to visit Bill’s mom? And oh, how ‘bout Elbow, SK, where my dad was born? Bill decided such a trip would take 3-4 weeks. I immediately decreed that it would take 5. And a “compromise” was made, to go for 6! That would allow extra time to visit a few more people and do some beer and wine tasting along the way. I must admit, I was just a little bit worried about what it would be like to be together every minute, in a tiny hybrid car, sleeping in a tent, for more time than we had ever been together in our 30 years as a couple!

  Given Bill’s free-wheeling style of travel, he decided that he would need an iPad for the trip, to locate hotels, campsites, restaurants, and tourist traps along the way. So Eddy and I got together and made it happen as a Father’s Day gift. The reality is, one-finger-typist Bill really has little use for a tiny computer. So I monopolized the machine throughout the trip, finding the next stop as we drove along. For $25 a month, we got 3G service, which turned out to be spotty at best. Live and learn. We became devotees of free wi-fi at Starbucks. Bill added the “Brewcator” app on the iPad, a nifty mapping program that pinpoints all the closest breweries wherever you might be. He also picked up WeatherBug, so we could pick our next destination based on the weather. I ordered a card reader to upload pictures along the way, and we were ready to hit the road.

  The first layoff notice came for the end of April, 2010. Then another came for June, then July. Our plans kept having to be put on hold due to the extensions. We had already laid out a tentative route, going through the south first, and returning via a northern route. Bill’s final layoff notice was for July 31, his birthday. Yeah, happy birthday to you, too, Hospira! So we were ready to go August 1.

  We had another complication at that point. Andy & Lyda’s wedding was Aug. 20, and we wouldn’t miss it for anything. We also had houseguests from Buffalo, NY coming in for the wedding. We set a departure date for after the wedding, and used the time to swamp out Brian’s bedroom, and turn it into a new guest room. And Bill started his lackluster search for a new job. The terms of the severance pay were that it was to cease if Bill got a new job. What sort of incentive is that for someone to go job seeking? Those greedy corporate jerks could just pay up to the max, thankyouverymuch.

Ready to hit the road

Here's a summary of the grand adventure:

Las Vegas – Sun 8/22-Tue 8/24

Show Low, AZ – Wed 8/25-Thur 8/26

Gila, Deming, and Truth or Consequences, NM – Fri 8/27-Sat. 8/28

Santa Fe – Sun 8/29-Tue 8/31

Oklahoma City – Wed 9/1

Thurs 9/2 – Travel through AR

Nashville – Fri 9/3 - Sat 9/4

Gatlinburg Sun 9/5 - Mon 9/6

Hudson – Tues 9/7

PA & VA – Wed 9/8 - Thur 9/9

Potsdam – Fri 9/10 - Tue 9/14

Michigan – Wed 9/15 - Thur 9/16

Minneapolis – Fri 9/17 – Sat 9/18

North Dakota – Sun 9/19 – Mon 9/20

Saskatchewan – Tue 9/21 - Thur 9/23

Calgary – Fri 9/24 – Sat 9/25

Banff (Canmore) – Sun 9/26 – Tue 9/28

Sand Point – Wed 9/29 - Thur 9/30

Vancouver – Fri 10/1 – Sat 10/2

Yachats – Sun 10/3 – Mon 10/4

Tuesday 10/5 Drove like crazy people, all the way home

9,425 miles, 32 tanks of gas, 13 breweries, 10 wineries

Las Vegas – Sun 8/22-Tue 8/24

  On the road at 5:00AM, over an hour down the road, we had our first “Oops”, when we realized that we had forgotten to pack our passports, a necessity given our itinerary passing through Canada. But a little quick thinking, and a call to Eddy, hatched a plan to have him find them in the safe, and FedEx to Grandma’s in NY. We wouldn’t need them before then, anyway. Whew, dodged the first bullet.

 We decided to head for Las Vegas first, and the best rates are Sun-Thur, so D-Day was set for Sunday, August 22. The first order of business was to secure a pass to the buffet at the Paris Casino. We planned to stay for 3 nights, taking advantage of great mid-week rates, and booked a package of shows and the buffet… or so we thought. When we got there, we were advised that there was NO BUFFET PASS included in our package. What??? That was the main reason we were staying at Paris. A call to vegas.com found that we had elected the 15% discount deal, not the buffet. It was to be the “Buffet of Buffets”, a 24 hour pass to 7 different buffets. We only planned to go to Paris, because from experience, we knew theirs is the best, and they have great coffee, too. So we set out to see if we could score a deal on a buffet pass somehow.

  We made our way over to Harrah’s because they offered $10 off the buffet pass if you joined their Total Rewards program. In search of free food, we agreed to go to a timeshare presentation at WorldMark. The upfront sales team does a good job of offering free stuff as incentives to “just attend… you don’t have to buy anything”. A very convincing saleswoman offered us the free 24-hour buffet pass, “even though they don’t normally give that”. Oh, and also a $50 Am Ex card, and two free Carnival cruise – 4 day Mexico deals, and heck, a 2-for-1 buffet coupon to use right there at Harrah’s.

  The “rewards” from using your card in the slot machine accrue as you lose more. The bigger loser you are, the more benefits you get from Harrah’s. Glory be! I earned a “free” t-shirt by just losing $25 in the slot machines. Being that I have no use for a white Harrah’s t-shirt, I astounded myself with my winnings. Doh! I posted this miracle on Facebook, and Julie agreed to take it off my hands. The only good thing I found at Harrah’s was actually a bit miraculous. The buffet had cotton candy, pink and blue, all lined up to take as you exit. Oh my, maybe it was heaven after all. We ended our first night with a comedy show, moderately funny at best.

  On Monday, we trooped off to our WorldMark presentation. It included free lunch, lasagna & salad, but in a shocking development, no dessert! I actually counseled them on the oversight, saying they could have at least offered up a bag of cookies! The presentation was very well done, and the tour of the hotel made us want to stay there. In spite of having no intention of buying, after a call to Judy, who is already a member, we decided to go for it. Due to our stellar credit, we were able to buy a set of timeshare points with nothing down, and no interest for 6 months. With only a little buyer’s remorse, we headed back to the strip to enjoy our shows – Blue Man Group and Zumanity. We had “poncho section” seats for the Blue Man Group, so got to enjoy it up close.

  Pre-trip research had identified an item of interest… a toasted marshmallow milkshake offered at The Mirage. It was crazy hot outside, but we were able to pass through most of the casinos inside. Luckily all the walking helped compensate for the overeating. Every day in Vegas netted about 15k steps on my pedometer. Alas, it was in flip flops, so my tootsies didn’t feel so great.

  We had our first buffet at Paris on Tues. morning, then went back to the room to sleep it off. We slept 2 hours, from 10-noon, and it was a good thing I set the alarm, because we were sleeping soundly. Gotta get to that next buffet, ya know. I did have a weird dream, that the mailman stole the box from our Garmin GPS. I confronted him on the front lawn and told him I was going to call his supervisor. Next I was in Vegas, walking in the parking garage and the mailman was following behind me. He whipped out a knife & slashed at me, but I leaped back out of the way. I jot down dreams sometimes, because they’re so vivid and odd. I’d rather dream about cotton candy.

  Tuesday afternoon, we used the GPS to find a Whole Foods to lay in some brie for breakfast on the road. We had gathered some croissants from the buffet, and figured we could round out the un-heart-healthy meal that way. We delighted in the free wi-fi at Whole Foods, and I uploaded the first of many pics along the way, keeping our loyal followers informed. Eddy advised that 3G would work better outside the big cities where everyone was jamming the bandwidth. We’ll see about that.

  After 3 days, we were happy to be leaving Las Vegas. We’ve decided that 3 days is our threshold. Anything over that would be torture. The whole city is an assault on the senses, from the extreme heat, to the lights, noise, smoke, people, and overindulgence. It’s just too much.

Show Low, AZ – Wed 8/25-Thur 8/26

  In the scorching heat, we headed for AZ, over the Hoover Dam. We were stopped and had to open the car top carrier in order to pass through. Apparently they were looking for terrorist stuff because they don’t want their bridge to be blown up. It must have been the pink neck pillow that made me seem suspicious. We were headed for Show Low, to a campground named Fool’s Hollow. We called the park, and found that they don’t take reservations, but we were assured that they had plenty of space. After all, they have 31 sites! We wondered if we’d be fools to stay there. What a pleasant surprise to find a lovely campground, on a pretty lake, at only $17 a night. We knew we’d have to stay another night. After setting up camp, we headed for Safeway for food. It was 10:00 by the time dinner was ready. Unfortunately that’s when the resident skunk comes out. He kept coming towards us, and we could only keep him away by constantly shining the flashlights on him. He raised up his tail as he came near… Run, Forest! He made me forget that I had Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for dessert. Boo! Rather than waste it, I poured it in my coffee the next morning. I guess I prefer to “waist it”.

  We found our new airbed to be extremely comfortable, except like usual, my hands fell asleep, waking me up all night. I decided right then to submit to the drug thing, and took Advil PM the entire trip. The temperature at Show Low was perfect, and there was a full moon casting beautiful light over our tent. The high was 81, low 65. Could it get much better? There were gorgeous wildflowers all around, and we just breathed a sigh of relief, having left the hubbub of Vegas for good.

  We picked up a trail map and went for a lovely walk on the lake trail. But we quickly found that the 6,300 ft elevation made us huff and puff a bit. Papa Bear was mighty thirsty for a beer when we got back. Thrifty me picked up firewood from vacated sites on the way back from our hike, but eventually we made it back to camp, and had that long awaited drink. We thought ahead and packed a case of wine to get us started off. A little Hearts Fire, and that skunk didn’t seem nearly as threatening. The next day the ranger told us he has never sprayed a camper, only dogs who come after him. The poor little guy was just looking for food.

Gila, Deming, and Truth or Consequences, NM – Fri 8/27-Sat. 8/28

  Awakening to the sound of raindrops on our tent, we feared we were in for a rough morning packing up and heading to NM. But it stopped long enough for us to get our gear stowed and on the road again. We stopped at Starbucks, then headed for the border. But uh oh, we “pulled an Eddy”, and got stopped by a trooper who came up over a hill on the 2-lane highway, and caught us with his radar. He flipped a U, and came after us. His radar said we were gong 76 in a 65. But oh happy day, he was very kind, and wrote just a warning ticket, for going 69, and said next time it would be 200 bucks, so slow down! Yes sir!

  Just before the NM border, we spotted the place where the locals eat, Bear Wallow Café. We couldn’t resist the name, but missed breakfast time by 15 minutes, dang it. We suffered through a mediocre meal, a burger for him, and grilled cheese & salad bar for me, with flies buzzing all around. No matter, there will be plenty more meals on this trip. Of course if it’s a good meal, it will end up getting cold while I dig out my camera to take a picture. A good sense of humor will come in real handy on this trip.

  Crossing into NM, we were anxious to try the first brewery from the Brewcator ap, but we exercised discipline and found a camping place first. I was thrilled to discover that there are free campgrounds operated by the US Forestry Service. Although it was quite a way up the road toward the Cliff Dwellings National Park, we got settled in, then headed back to town to find the Silver City Brewing Co. We found the approximate address using GPS, but alas, no brewery. We went into a clothing store and inquired. “Oh, that closed over a year ago.” Great. That was the beginning of a frustrating evening or aborted drinking & driving. Just then the sky opened up and it started pouring, and “I don’t camp in the rain!” It was too late, since our tent was already set up, miles up the mountain. The store clerk suggested a place called The Buckhorn “a bit up the road” as the best around, but said it would probably be too far for us to go just for dinner. As it happened, it was on the way to our campsite.

  But then we saw a restaurant with a lot of cars and figured that must be where the locals eat, and we decided to give it a try. After waiting 45 minutes, and no sign of our food, seeing terrible disorganized service all around us, we decided to leave. We spoke to the manager, who didn’t see any problem. It turned out they had just opened, and hadn’t worked out the kinks yet. As we were leaving, a couple coming in asked us how it was. Bill explained that we never got our food, and we were going to Taco Bell!

  Of course we didn’t go to the Bell, but headed for The Buckhorn. I called first, to make sure they were still serving. Technically dinner was over, but they said they’d still serve us. We followed directions, taking the turnoff but due to the heavy rain, missing the little street where the restaurant was. Next thing you know, the road was no longer paved, and the car high centered in the mud. Great. It had been that kind of evening, so we really weren’t surprised. We were actually worried if we were even going to be able to get back to where our tent was set up, because we had to cross a low spot that could have been a raging creek by that time. Worrying wouldn’t help, so we decided to carry on, in pursuit of that fantasy great meal. We rocked the car back & forth until it got unstuck, and went back just a half a block to the street we missed. OMG, what a warm and welcoming place! They had REAL FOOD… chicken, broccoli, and homemade shortbread cookies w/chili peppers (not my thing, but HE was happy).

  That was a good omen for the rest of the night. We enjoyed our dinner, listened to the live music, and got a laugh when we ran into the couple from the parking lot down below. They said, “Hey! We thought you were going to Taco Bell!” We found our tent secure where we left it, and got a good night’s sleep.

Elevation... It's a dirty word

"Does this make my butt look big?"

  We folded up a wet and muddy tent, and drove on up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, for a most educational day. And another occasion where Bill accused me of trying to kill him. We hiked up to the cliff dwellings, a challenging climb for us sea level dwellers. It was worth it, though. The rangers warned us to be on the lookout for a rattlesnake that had been hanging out on the trail, but we never saw it. We got a virtually private tour of a cave dwelling and saw pictographs in several places. We decided to buy the national park annual permit, vowing to use it to go to Yosemite when we get home. We’ll see how that works out.

  So far, the trip seemed to have been all driving and no drinking, so it was off to Deming, NM, to a winery that we knew had great wine, because we had been given some by Keith & Lorraine Casto at my retirement party…

WE <3 LUNA ROSSA!!!

Alas, following directions on the GPS, we did not see any sign of it. But we saw a sign for St. Clair, just 2 miles up the same road. It had been mentioned by several people as a place to visit, so we figured, “What the heck”, and went in. Now we’re not exactly wine snobs, but what we saw there was shocking. The wine tasting was being done using plastic punch cups! And to top it off, they completely ignored us. But we showed them. We picked up a wine trail map, and called Luna Rossa to find out what’s up. She was hilarious… “You’re at the cemetery, aren’t you?” That happens to everybody! We followed a convoluted route to get there, up what felt like a wrong way frontage road, but we were welcomed extravagantly, with an invitation to stay for a party with live music beginning at 6:00. But we had to head on up the road, to find a place to camp for the night. They trotted out party food for us anyway, starting with cheese & crackers, then chocolate dipped strawberries. YUM! We bought a half case, to add to what we already had, just because they were so nice. And, on a whim, I asked about the personalized wine glasses we saw on a table in the tasting room. “You want one?” she asked. Our hostess went off to the back room and sand blasted a Rhonda glass, now in daily use, clearly MY glass. We may actually order some more of their wine shipped to CA.

  Up the road a piece, we found a place to camp along the Rio Grande. It was still daylight when we got set up, then we went into Truth or Consequences for dinner at a rather forgettable Mexican restaurant. By then we figured out that our soft-sided ice chest was leaking, so we went to the dreaded Walmart to buy another. It nestled inside the old one, so we had double insulation from that point on. When we got back to camp, we were dumbstruck to find that we had set up our tent right next to a streetlight that made it seem like daylight inside. And there was a dam making lots of noise nearby, too. (Damn dam.) But it was too late to do anything about it, so we just went to bed and got up early to head up to Santa Fe.

  Sunday morning we packed up a dry tent (YAY!) and headed north. We had plans to stop by another Brewcator find, Soccoro Springs, not too far up the road. The website said they opened at 10:30AM on Sundays, a little early for beer under normal circumstances, but heck, we were getting behind here. We timed it to have breakfast then go to the brewery, arriving at 11:00. Oh no, foiled again. Seems the NM blue laws prohibit alcohol sales on Sundays before noon. There were two guys from TX there with us in the same predicament. We all decided to wait it out. They had their own brewed root beer on tap, so we ordered that and nursed it for an hour. We tried to convince the bartender that “tastes” were not “sales”, but he wasn’t having it. Dang. We finally did get our round of tastes at noon. We had to buy a glass there, because the brand name on it was “Eddyline”.

  

Santa Fe – Sun 8/29-Tue 8/31

  We got sidetracked one more time on the way to Santa Fe, by a winery outside Albuquerque. We had been looking at the wine map that led us to Luna Rossa, and saw tons more wineries in the area. Knowing our time was limited, we reviewed the descriptions and selected one, Tierra Encantada. Following the GPS, we were pretty sure we were on another “Garmin adventure”, as we were going through a residential neighborhood. We were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice winery, and bought a couple bottles, because it was cheap, and actually quite good.

  Uh oh, big GLITCH… When we arrived at the WorldMark timeshare in Santa Fe, we found out that our reservation for 2 nights was Mon-Tue, not Sun-Mon. And since one night was paid for by our grateful sales rep, and the other by us, and Sun nights cost more than Mon nights, we had a problem on our hands. The reservation was made while standing under the eaves in pouring rain in Silver City, so it wasn’t like I had a calendar in my hand. Apparently I forgot that Aug has 31 days. While I was there freaking out, the manager tried to tell me we could stay, but would have to move rooms. It took him several times to get through to me that he was giving us an extra night. The room wasn’t so great, as it was right on the street, but the next night when we moved, I was VERY happy. I went to the office to give him a bottle of wine for his trouble, and mistook another employee for the manager. Ha ha, a low level new guy got a nice bottle of wine, and was very confused at how he had helped us out.

  We do love Santa Fe, and had our “regular” restaurants to visit, as well as a few things found in our research, like the Marble Brewery, and the carnitas guy on the square. The first day we went looking for him, as it was guaranteed to be good, having been recommended by Road Food. Alas, we walked all the way around the square, and no carnitas guy. The next day, on our way to lunch, there he was! Seems business was a little slow the day before, so he just decided to go home early. But what a dilemma… to carnita or not to carnita. The lunch date was not negotiable, so it was decided that Bill would have an appetizer course on the square. Clearly, the huge carnita was more than just an appetizer, but in the pursuit of culinary delight, we sacrificed a bit of appetite in order to do it all. Lunch at The Shed and breakfast at Café Pasqual were magical as always. Bill ordered an espresso milkshake for breakfast, which when it arrived was promptly appropriated by me.

  With our stay in Santa Fe, we were grateful not to have to sit in the car for a couple days. We were pretty rump sprung by then, so thought a massage might be good. There was a card for a masseuse in the office, but she said she didn’t have time, and referred us to a place in town. My brilliant internet research found that the place had recently relocated, and they were offering a 10% discount if you asked for it. YAY! I love a bargain. We walked over there, less than a mile, and enjoyed massages from Kim and Evelyn, as good as our benchmark, Kelly’s work. Ah, we were in our glory now. And to top it off, we scored a free mocha at Starbucks on the way home, as I ordered it iced, but she made it hot. Rather than throw it away, the barista gave it to us.

  We did a bit of souvenir shopping, and just walked around enjoying the ambiance of Santa Fe. It has always been a favorite city of ours. We watched an artist sculpting a giant eagle out of clay, to be made into a bronze piece.

  We ended our stay in Santa Fe with another trip to Whole Foods (masseuse Evelyn’s “happy place”), where we got portabellas to grill for dinner and snacks for the road.

Oklahoma City – Wed 9/1

There's that W!

  We managed to get on the road out of Santa Fe by 8:15 in the morning, impressing ourselves. Next stop: Amarillo, TX for some BBQ. Using the iPad, we googled, “Best BBQ”, and found what sounded like the perfect place, Dyers. But another GPS adventure sent us on a frontage road, around some office buildings, but NO BBQ! We had just given up and decided to get back on the freeway, pulled off to study the map, and off in the distance, just like the W in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, there it was!!!

A buffalo for Jill

  Our efforts were well rewarded, but like similar dilemmas earlier in the trip, what to order was a big question. Beef ribs? Tri-tip? Brisket? Pulled pork? Luckily they have a combo plate that lets you try it all. Bill’s favorite was the ribs, but it was all incredible, and Road Food scores again. The sink in the bathroom was shaped like the state of Texas, and there was a neon sign that said, “Budweiser & Bar-B-Que”. Just the right amount of kitch. That went right along with the giant stuffed buffalo we visited at a gas station. Since Jill is the original Buffalo Gal, we had to send a pic of that right off to her. We found a recurring theme of buffalo throughout the trip, possibly because we were driving through the plains, where you can be pretty sure there wasn’t much else going on. I was thrilled to find gas at just $2.49 a gallon, after leaving $3.05 at home. Little did I know I’d be even happier down the road.

  We stopped at a barely adequate, but cheap, Days Inn outside Oklahoma City. I booked it standing outside in Santa Fe, trying to get a decent signal on the iPad. We headed on into the city, and went to the Memorial Museum. We found that the parking lot was reasonably priced at $5, but unattended, and of course we didn’t have a five. Although we rarely do it, I actually wrote a check! And later we found that it cleared, in a timely manner, imagine that.

  I wanted to go to the museum, because I was a Federal employee at the time of the bombing, and one of our employees lost a child in the day care center. It could just as easily have been our building. I still struggle to understand why anybody would think killing children is a good way to make a point. The museum and grounds were quite moving, and it was especially sad to see the chairs, with small ones for the children. We spent about 2 hours going through the memorial. It reminded us a lot of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC… very somber.

Thurs 9/2 --> Travel through AR, and Fri 9/3 - Sat 9/4 - Nashville

  Our next day was spent “just passing through”. We had contemplated visiting Branson, or Memphis, or some other interesting place, but just didn’t have anything jump out at us. Our loyal Road Trip followers on Facebook pretty much agreed that Branson is a tacky tourist trap not worth wasting our time. Ah, but using the famous “Best in” command in Google, we found a fabulous breakfast joint in Memphis, Brother Junipers. It was in an old house by a college, something we never would have found without the computer and GPS.

  We were a bit worried about where we’d find room at the Inn, since it was coming up to Labor Day weekend. We called all the state parks in the Nashville area, and discovered that they don’t take reservations, but we found one that had 3 spots left. After an extremely long Garmin adventure, we walked in only to have the ranger say, “Oh, sorry, we just filled the last place.” We got back on the highway and started Googling and searching. We found a KOA in town, with plenty of room. The reason why? They just reopened after the flood in May. It rained for 48 solid hours, and the whole place was under 6 ft of water. They had rebuilt a bathhouse, and were ready to give it a go again. There was only one other tenter in the place, so yeah, no kidding, they had space. We set up there, and headed into town to find some good ol’ country music. But it was not to be found. Downtown Nashville felt a lot like Vegas, with assaulting lights, smells, and sounds. Parking was outrageous, and the whole thing was a bit of a bust.

  We used Brewcator to find the local brewery, the Big River Grille & Brewing Works. Beer was adequate, and we found out it’s actually owned by Gordon Biersch Restaurant Group. It was there that Bill learned an important lesson… Don’t order salmon in the middle of the country! We made up for forgettable food downtown by seeking out the local Whole Foods. Now we’re talkin’! Great food, hot and ready to eat.  The bath house at the campground had separate unisex showers, so we saved water and showered with a friend! The handicapped shower was bigger than the others, so we were actually quite comfortable. There weren’t many people around anyway. There were some RV-ers, but overall, the place was very quiet. We drove over to a Roadhouse Restaurant, and had another mediocre meal. At that point we were more than ready to head up the road to find some peace and quiet in the Great Smoky Mountains.

  It was still Labor Day weekend, so we called ahead and found everything filled. One place referred us to another, and another. When the third one said they had a space, we jumped on it. Sat. night was full pretty much everywhere.

Gatlinburg Sun 9/5 - Mon 9/6 The Great Smoky Mountains

When we got to Arrow Creek Campground, we found out why there was a space. They cram campers into every nook and cranny in order to maximize profits. Our little site was IN the playground. Little kids came running through our site all day long. We worried that one of them might trip and end up in our fire. The trailers were all around, and most had TV’s with satellite dishes. It really looked like we’d arrived in Dueling Banjos country, and those folks lived there. We saw a lot of Bud. They looked at our microbrews suspiciously. But after Sunday they all went home. The office guy said Labor Day is their busiest weekend all year.

  We had originally planned to go tubing or rafting in the area, but found out that all the places shut down on the first of Sept. So, in my next attempt to kill my husband, we went hiking. The volunteer at the visitor center redirected us from the place we were headed, because apparently a motorhome had caught fire and was blocking the road. We ended up going back to a trail near our campground. We drove a few miles back on a gravel road to the trailhead and headed up… and up… and up. The place was beautiful, though, and we saw tons of butterflies. I even managed to get a few of them to hold still for a pic.

Just a reminder

  We came back from our hike and had a lovely swim with a huge butterfly hanging out on the float. By then all the kids had gone home, and we had the pool to ourselves. The rest of the day was quiet, and as we packed up to head out the next morning, a guy for a nearby site came up and asked if we’d had breakfast, because he had leftovers. Bill was off at the bathroom, so it was up to me. I had already eaten yogurt with granola, and was quite content. We really were ready to go, and it wasn’t MY kind of food, but I said sure, and the guy walked up with scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and sausage. I fed it to Bill as we drove down the road. When I told the man that I don’t really eat that sort of food, he went running back to bring me some pears from their yard. It was very sweet. I felt bad for being so quick to judge the folks staying there.

Mel & Sherry’s – Hudson, NC Tues 9/7

Mel is quite proud of his Allis-Chalmers

There’s nothing like visiting old cherished friends, even if they did move to a state known for some crazy conservative ideas. In order to fit in… cancel that, they’ll NEVER fit in to the stereotype of North Carolinians. We had been out of our liberal environs for quite some time at this point, and oh my, was it refreshing to be able to speak freely without someone glaring at us, making us wonder if they were going to whip out the shotgun at any moment. Sherry and I went for a bit of pampering, getting pedicures, and the guys enjoyed their brew. The next day we visited a brewery that had Bill’s very favorite beer of the entire trip. And that’s saying something! It was “Death by Hops” which of course means it was quite hoppy (read that, "bitter and virtually undrinkable for me"). It was a quick visit, but so great to see Mel happy and still upright.

Wed 9/8 – Tues 9/14 – NC>>>NY or Bust

We were anxious to get to upstate NY to visit with Bill’s family, so we didn’t dally too much along the way. We stayed @ a KOA in Staunton, VA, where they we happy to direct us to a very quiet area, as we appeared to be the only fools camping in a tent. The next night found us at Locust Lake state park in PA. At this point, no news is good news. Of course we had to be on the lookout for wine along the way. The Shenandoah Valley with its Chambourcin grapes made for an interesting diversion along the way.

Bill & his mom, with Dahl & Alta

Once we arrived in Potsdam, we were welcomed ala prodigal son. Everyone turned out to have a visit & swap tales. We did some good eatin’ then bid our farewells, and prepared to leave the good ol’ USofA as we picked up our passports and headed across the border on our way to MN. 

Wed 9/15 – Sat 9/18 – Michigan to Minnesota

I’m here to tell you, it’s a myth that the best fall colors are in New England. Michigan’s UP was every bit as beautiful as other places. Check it out, driving along, trying to watch the road when there were so many great things to see. Alas, no wine, but great views. I was like a whiny brat, though as the road along Lake Superior seemed to go on forever. Are we almost there yet??? We stopped to visit the Shipwreck Museum and Tahquamenon Falls, where I tried to kill Bill yet again, by making him walk the 94 steps to the viewpoint. What goes down must come up, right? 

We were headed for Minneapolis, to visit Wade & Lalo, more “displaced” (or would that be “misplaced”?) friends. Certainly they have figured out they’re not in CA anymore!  It was good to find them happy and healthy, and ohhhhh, such hospitality. Knowing our allergies can be a problem, they kept Milo out, and let us have their bedroom, while they camped on our airbed in the living room. We shared some great food & wine, and discovered what a lovely city Minneapolis is. Except for all that snow & stuff, we’d love to spend more time there.

Sun 9/19 – Thurs 9/23 North Dakota (Thank you Gran Gran), and 

Elbow, Saskatchewan (Thank you Grandpa Aust)

The thank you is thanks for leaving! On my bucket list for many years was to visit the places of my ancestry; where my grandmother (mom's mom) homesteaded and served as a schoolteacher before she got married, Minot, ND, and where my grandfather (dad's dad) raised his family, Elbow. I am very happy that Gran Gran joined the westward trend which resulted in our family living out west, rather than in a place where there's, well, not much. We visited the museum, and saw a schoolhouse like the one where she taught. They were spaced every 7 miles apart, that being the maximum reasonable traveling distance for children to get to school. Eager to move on, we headed back across the border, destination, Moose Jaw. 

A can of beans & tomatoes, with Taco Bell hot sauce
for seasoning, topped w/crushed saltine crackers. Yum!

  Hey, you haven't lived 'til you experience the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, the mega tourist attraction of the area (ahem), on the way to Elbow. Check it out:  http://www.tunnelsofmoosejaw.com/home/ Needless to say, we didn't spend long in town. We figured we'd head for the nearby provincial park, Buffalo Pound to set up camp, then go out for some groceries. "Nearby" in the prairie doesn't have the same meaning to us city folks as it might to the locals. Although the AAA camp book said it was open, there was nary a soul, and it was kind of spooky, because it was so remote. The deer would wander by to check us out once in a while. The bathrooms were all locked up for the season, and the water was turned off. But the gate wasn't closed, and it was getting dark, so we decided to stay. We picked a site about 100 yards from the single open outhouse. There were piles of firewood all over, and nobody to collect fees, so we just settled in and hoped for the best. There was no way we were going back out for food, so we had to improvise. As we were sitting around the campfire, we froze as we saw some headlights coming. We just knew it was the ranger coming to tell us to get out. Nope, even worse, it was two guys in a camper, who I promptly decided were ax murderers. They pulled up to our site and rolled down the window & started asking us questions about where they were allowed to park. Obviously we knew nothing, but became uneasy when they pulled in on the same loop, just 2 sites up from us. I slept with one eye open that night, but it turned out OK (whew!).  

  Next stop, Elbow!

The beach @ Lake Diefenbaker

  My grandfather, James Austin Janes, known as Aust, homesteaded in the prairie near Elbow. There was a bend in the river, hence the name of the town. But they dammed it, and made a lake (Diefenbaker) that covered much of the land. And the lake has a provincial park that we figured we’d visit. Again, no bathrooms, but this time there were rangers and other people as well as the ever curious deer. The lake has a beach and everything. Undaunted, we headed into town the next day, to check out the museum. Guess what? Closed for the season. But there was an emergency phone number posted by the door, and we were trying to figure out how

to make a call in Canada on our US cell phone when someone yelled across the street, asking what we were doing. Seems the guy runs the place and said their historical society (all the ladies) were having a meeting, and would we like to meet them, then have a tour? Well, YEAH! Off we went on another adventure. We followed him to a woman’s home, and went right into her kitchen where they were quite startled to see strangers who were actually interested in what they were doing! We ended up running into the ladies again at lunch, at the one place to eat in town, and picked up their tab. It was $43 for a party of 6! One lady said, “Dang, I would have ordered the soup AND sandwich if I knew somebody else was paying!”

Gosh, the people of Elbow were so nice. 

But there is NOTHING in Elbow. The museum has a replica sod house, all smelly from the creosote used to preserve it. There were very few trees, so they did what they had to do back then. Yes, we thank Aust for leaving the prairie to find his way to Vancouver Island. A definite upgrade! We went to the town hall and bought a parcel map, and proceeded to follow it through the fields on gravel roads until we reached the actual site of my grandfather’s homestead… which looked exactly like the other 13 miles we had just traversed to get there! It was actually pretty funny that we went through all that just to stand on the precise land. It’s now owned by the Spring Colony (Hutterites), but we didn’t see any buildings or people around. It’s located in the RM (Royal Municipality) of Maple Bush.

  

   We had an interesting encounter with a Hutterite elder, @ breakfast at a Perkins restaurant. We both observed that he had an amazing sense of calmness. He talked about how the young people were itching to get out and see a bit of the world, so they loaded them in a bus and drove them to Vancouver. He was on his way to mediate a dispute in another colony. As he left, he put his hands on our shoulders and kept talking normally, but it felt like he was giving us a blessing.

Fri-Tues  9/24 – 9/28 Calgary & Banff

Mary Ruth & Wayne

Ugh, what a flat featureless drive from Elbow to Calgary, where we were headed to visit cousin Ruth (who's now called by her full name Mary Ruth) and her new hubby Wayne. There was roadwork everywhere, and we were left with a cracked windshield as a souvenir from the drive. We hadn’t seen traffic the likes of Calgary on our whole trip. But we made it, and had a wonderful time in their lovely home. And guess what? They had hot & cold running water! And beds!

The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company rocks. 

  

From there, it was just a short hop over to Canmore, the gateway to Banff, where we again took advantage of the Worldmark timeshare. Back in civilization, we were able to check out breweries, and found what we named the brewery with the best view of our entire trip, and best appetizer, too – bacon-sirloin tips served with a BBQ aioli sauce.

And of course you just can’t match the beauty of Banff.

Wed-Thurs  9/29 – 9/30 Sand Point, Idaho

How lucky were we, to have a place to visit in Sand Point? Niece (sometimes more like daughter) Meredith was living there, teaching drama at Monarch School. We fell in love with her roommate’s dog. (Thank you Angie, for letting us hang w/Trip) and had yet another fabulous brewery experience, at the Laughing Dog's “yappy hour” where everyone brings their dogs and drinks beer. Oh my, the ESB there had the most creative name, CSB, “Crotch-Sniffing Bitch.” Hey, they’re female dogs. What did you think I was talking about? Actually it turns out they meant bastard, but we always say, “Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

Bill doesn't even like dogs, but he loved Trip!

A fabulous hike in the hills, 

and some time to eat, drink  & be merry. 

What more could a person want?

Fri-Sat  10/1 – 10/2 Vancouver, WA

I love the connection these two have. Rokee
will do just about anything for a cookie!

Another opportunity to visit with family, and engage in some of my favorite pastimes, playing with babies & dogs. It was a short visit, but I do try to see each of my little grandnephews at least once a year. And the farmer’s market is always a good time.

Sun- Mon  10/3 – 10/4 Oregon Cost, then sprinting home

One of our favorite places to camp is in Yachats, on the Oregon coast. We generally eat & drink up at the Rogue brewery in Newport, and camp right on the oceanfront, staying at least 5 days. This time we really felt the magnet of home pulling us southward. A quick snootful of ocean air and a couple of beers we were back on the road. We have a pretty firm rule that if we're going to set up camp, we have to stay at least 2 nights. So that's what we did. And there's nothing quite like your own bed! 

End of story!

Epilogue

We made a grand circle of many, many miles and experiences. Surprisingly, we weren't anxious to get back home, although when we did return, we found that we missed cherished time with our family. As for my pre-trip concern that we might find ourselves with too much togetherness, I found that things always seem to work out, and even after 6 ½ weeks together on the road, we came away with fond memories. Remembering the family butterfly motto always helps... "Don't spend $50 worth of emotion on a $5 problem. Just let it fly away like a butterfly." And now, in 2015, we're getting ready to embark on another amazing adventure, this time 2 1/2 months, mostly in tiny cabins, starting with a 29-day cruise from Los Angeles to Copenhagen. Stay tuned for that story!