Thursday, April 12th

I can only reflect on the pleasant if not hot days in Apache Junction after today.  We started our day in Ogden, UT in the rain with temps just above freezing. 
  Our hotel was OK, but for a Best Western, a bit of a disappointment.  We have expectations of BW and while the room was fine, there was no breakfast included in this one.  I fueled up and we grabbed a coffee and headed out.  The rain was very heavy resulting in poor visibility during the early morning hours.  Traction good and the driving surface was great, so I set the cruise on 80 mph and we made good time.  It rained all through northern Utah but was very light or let up in Idaho and into the first part of Montana, so we pretty much were able to hold that speed.  The only exception was the Malad summit where we did see sleet that turned to snow.
  When we got into the Monida pass, it rained that turned into sleet, but at least it was not freezing.  There was a lot of snow in the ditches and most of the fields, noticeably more in the higher elevations.  We stopped to eat in Dillon where we encountered fellow Albertans having lunch and searching the internet for road conditions, much like us.  We continued to make good time in the valley floor parts of the I-15, but by the time we got close to Butte we were seeing heavy snow, high winds with the temperature about 1 or 2 degrees above freezing.  This was good news as snow was not accumulating on the highway, it was just wet.
  As a result we decided not to use the bypass, but went through on the I-15.  As it turns out that may have been the wrong decision, but the intrepid travelers forged on.  The snow got very heavy in the Elk Park area and by the time we got to the Boulder area of the pass we were following snowplows.  The good news was the traffic was light.  When we got to Helena, it was full blown winter with accumulations of snow that must have been more than 6 inches.  This really slowed traffic, but we locked up the four wheel drive and were able to get by most of it.  For most of the way we were able to make 65 mph,
  After that we had some periods where the snow quit and it almost cleared off.  Well I learned, never make the mistake of saying - Lucky us it's clearing up.  NOT  Then the snow would start again and in places the snowplows were doing a good job, but the places lacking were really challenging.  The good news, cheapest gasoline on the journey was in Montana - $2.40 per gallon.  Well I guess then we have to consider the 78 cent dollar I am using.
  We got to the border crossing in late afternoon, but with the weather we just drove right up to an empty booth.  The agent was very good, asked a few questions and after I apologized for being over on the liquor allowance, bade us have a good day and we were home, well in Alberta anyway. 

  Onward to Lethbridge where we got a motel room where we had previously stayed.  We are confident breakfast is included, so one more positive.  I don't recall seeing this much snow in Lethbridge.  We went out to Ihop for supper.  It was our first time in one in Canada and to my joy it was the same as the one in AJ.  On the way back I stopped to fill the truck, $120.9 per litre, that would be $4.78 per US gallon.     There was no parking stall in front of our room, so I locked up in 4x4 and climbed over the snow pile.  With any luck the ice on the front of the truck will melt tomorrow.
  The total was 730 miles in 12 hours Wednesday and another 713 miles in 12 hours today, giving us a total of 1,447 and leaving us with 500 more for tomorrow.