Saturday 20 October 2012

Saturday


Idaho
   A busy day.  Got up in Pocatello and had the compl breakfast at the Best Western hotel, it was very good, bacon, eggs, french toast & all the regular continental b'fast stuff.  We were on the road by 8am and traffic was light.  Perfect day for travelling, cool in the AM & sunny.
Montana
  As we made our way north thru Idaho, it just kept getting cooler.  I think it got down to about 12C by the time we got to the Monida pass.  It sprinkled a bit in the pass, but the roads were good, a bonus with this pass.  This is where the state line into Montana is and as we proceeded north in Montana the winds picked up and they were chilly.  Some of the peaks in the pass were snow covered.  The forecast for the next few days in this area is for snow showers, so we were not looking at hanging around there. When we got to the north end of the pass at Dillion, it was sunny, so we took the Deer Park mountain pass north to Helena.  We had a brief stop in Butte where Marg got to try the new Taco Bell salad, which received a very favourable review.  The wind continued thru the pass and again we saw a bit of drizzle, but nothing serious. This is easily one of the most scenic parts of the drive.  Lots of Alberta & BC license plates along the way, lots of rv's coming south.
Welcome to Canada!
  Got to Sweetgrass in good time, early afternoon and got some scotch & cigs, filled up with that nice low priced Montana petrol.  Got a nice Glenmorangie, Lasanta.  It is very different, but very tasty.  The lines were long and we picked the slow one.  I have a knack for that.  A van load in a Hyundai they probably snuck in from Korea in front of us that took forever with the agent & were finally waved inside.  I did my usual - yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir and we breezed right through.  I never offer any information they do not ask for, that seems to be the only thing that works with these guys.
  When we got in to Lethbridge, we stopped in for a Tim Hortons to go, just to re-affirm our citizenship.  Needed something to warm us up.  We seem to have picked up a flu bug in St G, didn't declare it at the border though.  Anyway the hot drink was very nice, then onward. 
  We thought we might go as far as Claresholm, but when we go there, it was sprinkling and there were snowflakes, so we thought the roads will be bad tomorrow and continued on.  It rained after that & the ditches were white by the time we got to Cowtown [Calgary].  The trip through Calgary was nasty with lots of rainy snowy stuff and road spray, in the dark.  Sort of thought if it continued we would stop, but by the time we got to Airdrie, the roads were dry & we were pretty much out of it.  So we continued on and finally stopped in Red Deer.  1,310 km's today, about 820 miles.  After a dinner at East Side Marios, we were ready to call it a day.

Friday 19 October 2012

Oct 19th, Friday

  Like the old willy Nelson song, we are "on the road again" .  Got up early and drained all of our water and pumped in some rv antifreeze.  Then put up the relective stuff on the windows and put our rv in the storage lot at Templeview.  Took a while, but everything I forgot, Marg was able to remind me of. 
  It was a nice sunny day, perfect for travel.  Got on to the highway [I-15] and before we travelled 5 miles we came on a terrible accident.  Apparently an older couple on a motorcycle drifted off the highway into the median and were thrown from the bike.  All Marg had to say was -  SEE - that's why it was good you sold yours.  One old guy gets in trouble and all of us are tarred with the same brush.  LOL
  Made pretty good time, although traffic was fairly heavy when we got to Salt Lake City, especially through the construction area.  We got there about 2:30, so missed the rush hour on Friday, we were thankful of that.  There were only a bazillion cars on the road when we went through.  Saw lots of rv's coming south & many of them were going to be in the midst of the rush hour.  It must have either been their first year or they must be on some very strong medication, LOL.

  Made it to Pocatella, Idaho where we checked in to one of our favourite motels, the Best Western.  It is within walking distance of the Appleby's and after the day in the car, we needed to stretch our legs.  Supper was great, as usual; we had the 2 for $24 special and because it was such a good deal, I had a Blue Moon, very nice.  In the second photo, you can see the Appleby's in the trees, not a great pic, but I was in a hurry.  Hah!

Thursday 18 October 2012

October 18th

  Busy day finishing things up in St. George and packing things away.  Had to pack our stuff to go home & it all barely fits in the car.  Amazing what 4 or 5 days of shopping can do.  It doesn't help that we got 4 new life jackets, like they are not small.  Oh well, they were needed.
  In the morning I took the car in to Walmart & got an oil change.  Oil, filter, lube $26, pretty expensive compared to Apache Junction, but reasonable compared to any place in GP.  While I was doing that Marg went and got a pedicure.  She has not been very successful finding a place in GP & with her foot problems, she really lucked out getting one here.
  Had find the Dixie Gun shop, where I got a new rear sight for the Ruger.  It was almost impossible to find from home, but here, just walk in and pick it up off the shelf.  The first shop I went to never had it, but the salesman volunteered to take one of his spare barrel for his 10/22.  Pretty nice guy.
  Tried a new restaraunt tonight.  Everytime we drive by, the parking lot is always full, so figured we should check it out.  It was pretty good, but not one that we put in our must go there list. 
  We got pretty much everything we could, done today, so with any luck we will be on the road in good time tomorrow.  It was a little like clean up day at the end of the lake season.  Finished up the stuff in the fridge, the snacks, etc. Had the last Kokanee tonight and a special Miller high life.  It was a hot day today, in the 80's I think.  We will not see anything close to that until we return after Christmas.  The forecast up north is pretty good for the next few days, with rain/snow forecast by the start of next week.  By Monday or Tuesday we should be back home in GP.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Oct 17th

 Back to St George, big road trip today, made about 45 miles, LOL.  We got lucky, they are hosting the senior games down here, so the park was fully booked.  Someone had to leave unexpectedly & Marg was in the park office, so we got their stall.  We were going to be in an overflow area, but now are in one of the nicest areas of the park.  Pretty tight spot, but with Marg spotting & giving signals we managed.  We checked out the storage lot and there are still some good spots left so we went in and reserved #133 for our unit.  We always look for one around units that aren't shabby and are properly parked & that are long enough for our unit.
 Ran around to get a few things that we need to pack up on Friday AM.  The antennae/cable selector for the tv's went on the fritz, so went to camping world & a couple other rv places, but no one had the unit in stock.  Had to re-wire the cable connection around the unit so it would work.  Went out for supper to Cracker Barrel, food is always good there and this was our first visit to it since last spring.
  We also got a deal on life jackets.  We just walked up to the area as the girl finished marking them down by 75% for the end of season.  We bought 4 & couldn't have got 1 at home for what we paid.  It will be good news for everyone as we will toss out a few grungy ones next spring.
  After all that we had a chance to kick back for a while after supper. 

  Need to make a note that the fuel prices are better in Mesquite for when we return.  We will need a few litres before leaving here.
 

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Tuesday, Oct 16th

  Wow another hot day in Mesquite, as we sit here under the golden arches blogging.  I think it was 90F or better.  We chatted with a few of the other campers from Saskatchewan.  Asked them if they knew Phil, but they never heard of him, LOL.  We toured around a bit and stopped in at a new rv park here, it's much better than anything else we have seen, so next trip through we will be calling ahead to see if we can stay there.  Lots of changes in town since our last trip here, lots of empty stores and hotels.  Then stopped in at the Eureka, where they were more generous than the other one yesterday.  Today I made enough to buy supper.  Marg did a lot better as well, so a good afternoon. 
  We went out for supper to the dining room in the Casablanca.  The food was pretty good, but nothing special.  On the way back out we stopped in the casino for a short visit.  Marg at the slots, me at the blackjack table.  Not quite as good as this afternoon, but we didn't get hurt by it. 
  Made our reservations for Templeview in St G for the next 2 nights, so will be out of here tomorrow morning and in the park where we will leave the motorhome in storage.

Monday 15 October 2012

Monday, Oct 15th


Travel day again.  We got up early and were on the road before 8AM.  There was a frost last night, so was not sure what to expect for weather during the day.  As it turns out, the further south we went, the higher the thermometer & gas prices rose.  We are now up to $3.75/ US gal, about 90cents a litre.  The trip south of Provo to Mesquite is pretty familiar to us now, but there is some beautiful scenery on this leg of our travels.  The Virgin River gorge is really nice, but we have posted so many pics of it in prior years, that I left it off today.  We made it to Mesquite early in the afternoon, some 300 miles today.  Piece of cake.  Checked in at the Casablanca hotel for a spot in the Oasis rv park.  It's pretty much an asphalt parking lot [but that makes for level spots], but the services are good and the price very reasonable, $20/night.  As soon as we got set up, I changed in to shorts, I think it was around 90F.  It's 8:30 at night as we sit here in MacDonalds with a half dozen other snowbirds doing emails.  Oh well it's free!  The temp outside is finally cooling off & is about 70F.  We went for supper to the Virgin River Casino buffet, it's great food and $11.99 each.The manicotti was outstanding, almost as good as the bread pudding.  There was a bunch of other good stuff as well.  They got even with us at the slots & tables this time.  Usually they let us win enough for supper, but I think they were waiting for us this time.  LOL

Sunday 14 October 2012

Sunny day in the Wasatch Mountians

Winter is approaching, as you can see from the snow on the mountain tops.

Sunday, Oct 14th

A bit of a slow start today, I washed the motorhome where all the road grit from the travel coming down from Red Deer and then down from Idaho.  Looks OK now, but it will get a proper cleaning when we get to AJ.
Went to the Bingham Canyon mine today, Kennecott Utah Copper, the largest open pit mine in the world.  It is apparently the only manmade structure visible from space.  It is 3/4 mile deep & 2.5 miles across, pretty big stuff.  They have a bunch of those huge trucks, much like Ft McMurray, everything is huge at this facility.  It produces 1/4 of all the copper in the USA, as well as huge amounts of silver and substantial amounts of gold and was first started in something like 1906.  While we were there, they blew a charge in the bottom of the pit and it was so loud, Marg almost jumped out of her skin.  All we could see after was a big cloud of dust.  The commentator said the annual copper production would replace all the household wiring in: Mexico, the USA & Canada as well as all the cars built in the US for a year.
After we stopped in at IKEA and looked around for another sink cover like the one we already have, but it was discontinued.  We also had a late lunch in IKEA, pretty good food, actually.
On the way home we stopped in the Cabella store in Lehi.  I was looking for a new rear sight for the Ruger, but they didn't have it in stock.  We managed to get a few things, as usual Marg found some great bargains.  Nice store, nothing like the Edmonton one, this is a real Cabellas.

Plan on leaving here tomorrow to head down to Mesquite, so stay tuned.

Saturday 13 October 2012

Saturday

On the road today, but an easy travel day.  We drove from Idaho Falls down to Provo, Utah.  The rainy weather is heading into Idaho & leaving Utah, so good day to make some miles.  We had a sprinkle of rain on the road, but nothing serious, mostly just cloudy.  We only drove 360 miles today, but the best part was we got through Salt Lake City.  You may recall my dislike of SLC from prior years, but rv'ers generally do not like the drive through the city.  It takes about an hour and there is always construction.  The construction was just in the south end around American Forks & traffic light, so not too bad.  We picked an rv park off the internet, Lakeside on the shores of lake Utah & it is very nice.  Sometimes you get lucky.  Marg seemed a little down, so took her in to American Forks for a little retail therapy.  4 or 5 bags of stuff we really needed and she had a big smile.  This is a nice place, just off I-15 and at the base of the Wasatch mountains.  There is snow on the tops already, will try and put a pic on tomorrow.

Friday 12 October 2012

Friday

Another sunny day in Idaho Falls.  The morning started off cool, but by lunch time it was very nice and warm, in the 70's.  Every year we have driven by this huge army surplus store on the highway just south of here, so we went there today.  Everything from old army vehicles, shell casings for howitzers and a bunch of camping and outdoor stuff.  We bought a few things, but spent hours around in there looking at neat stuff.
Drove around the area and saw the big mormon temple on the river as well as some very nice areas here.  The city is the same size as GP, but a much older settlement, so some very nice areas. 
Dinner tonight was Appleby's, it's been a while since we ate there & loved it.  Packing up tonight and off to Provo, Utah tomorrow.
Lots of Canucks in the campground, everyone heading south, some for the winter & others like us to leave their rv's in the area they will return to after Christmas.

Thursday 11 October 2012

Tut Tut


We were fortunate that the local museum has the King Tut exhibit, so we went to see it.  The displays were accompanied by some very well done documentation that gave us an idea of how the tomb was discovered and excavated and how the Egyptians buried the pharoahs last remains.  It must have been a truly awesome spectacle, the lavish display of wealth that even now is hard to believe possible.  The solid gold ornaments, bed, even a knife & sheath so far beyond anything even wealthy people could afford  & all of the other stuff that was in the tomb to help them on to the after life.

Idaho Falls


Such a nice day that we decided to stay in Idaho Falls and see a bit of the city.  It was a sunny day, I think it got into the low 70's, too warm for a jacket.  Our first stop was a visit to the falls that gave the city it's name.  There is a river walk &/or drive that are truly an amazing feature.  Then we went into the old downtown.  From the architecture, you can tell that many years ago it was a very prosperous area.  Sadly now they suffer from the typical vacancy and malaise of many cities.  We had to go to make a deposit at Wells Fargo & it was very conveniently located with parking right in front of the door.  Marg reported outstanding & friendly service at the branch, something we have come to think of as a signature of this bank.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Idaho Falls - Wednesday, Oct 10

Day 3 on the road and more of a normal day for us.  The thumping wheel(s) seem to be humming again.  It was chilly out, but so far the roads have been good & traffic light. Yesterday without power, we were early to bed / early to rise.  We crossed the border at Coutts just before 8AM.  We made it to Great Falls on the fuel we purchased in RD yesterday and were finally able to enjoy the very reasonably priced Montana go juice - it worked out to about 81.9 cents a litre.  Oh yes I almost neglected to mention the very reasonably priced scotch whiskey - for Canada anyway; but it sure doesn't compete favourably with the stuff I picked up in Wales. 
The border agent was one of those guys with no sense of ha ha, so it was: yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir.  He never even asked us about fruit or vegetables & for a change we never had any.
It was a bright sunny day, and at Helena we took the bypass to miss the mountain pass through deer park or elk park, whatever it is that goes to Butte.  Our bypass took us throught Townsend down to Dillion where we rejoined the I-15.  By that time I was tired of driving, so Marg drove through the Monida pass to Idaho Falls, where we stayed at the Snake River rv park, again.  It was too late to make dinner & we have no fruit or vegetables, so we went to a local eatery called Jakers.  It was very good, will have to go there again.

Another year has started 2012 / 2013

We are off on our early trip to take the motorhome down to St George for storage.  With any luck it will be a bit of a vacation as well.
Monday Oct 8th - we went to Edmonton & saw mother for a visit.  It was really cute, she had bought a package of Dads cookies for us so we would have something to munch on during our travels.  God Bless her.  We left her in good spirits and made it to Red Deer, not a great travel day, but when you live in GP, nothing is close.  LOL  Spent the night at the Westerner rv park.  Oh yes, took the Anthony Henday to Sherwood Park when leaving Edmonton.  Now you may ask - are you sure that is on the way.  Well if you have to ask, you don't know I missed the blasted turnoff in the construction zone, so got to see it again about 20 minutes later.  Arghhh! 
Tuesday Oct 9th - All day yesterday, the new tires on the front of the coach seemed to be thumping, so went in to Fountain Tire in RD.  They were very good, took us in fairly quickly and re-balanced the two new front tires.  Not sure what went wrong, but there was no charge, just one of the advantages of dealing with a large company I guess.  It was after lunch by the time we got out of RD, but it was good timing for going thru Calgary, middle of the afternoon.  Made it all the way to Milk River, where we spent the night.  A Bit of a surprise as the park was full and we had to stay with no services, good thing this unit is fully self contained.  Usually we encounter 2 or 3 other snowbirds staying the night.  Apparently there is so much pipeline and oil patch work the park has been full for quite a while.