Kamloops, British Columbia

Well here we were at another Walmart. After driving another 300+ miles, we were ready to settle in for a good night. And we did.
It was the morning which made us a little anxious. And do you know why??? Give a guess....sounds like BATTERIES!!!
Lee woke up first as usual and went to start the generator with the auxillary start like he has been doing and this time nothing happened. Our battery levels once again showed low charge. Lee tried again, no go. So Lee turned on the coach engine hoping that this effort would charge the batteries. The level remained the same. This was not a good situation. We had no "juice" as they say or very little of it. We unplugged everything we had and realized that we had to get moving. So....we just threw on our clothes and readied the coach. Then we realized that two of our slides worked on electricity. Would we have enough to close the slides so we could leave??? Once again our guardian angel was with us. We were able to bring the slides in, but very slowly. Now we were off to Vancouver which was just about three hours away. However, with no morning coffee, this was not a pretty ride!!!

Lake Louise, Banff

We woke up to what we thought was extreme fog and haze in the mountains. We figured it would burn off by the time we headed off to Lake Louise. Well, we found out that it wasn't fog, but smoke coming from fires in British Columbia - what a shame- there were times when we could barely see the outlines of the mountains as we drove along. BUT....we are glad to say that it was a simply magnificent vision to behold when we came upon Lake Louise; Breathtaking Lake Louise nestled between two mountains separated by a glacier. The water was a gorgeous turquoise blue which looked a little milky when you stood close to the water. We read that this phenomenon resulted from the rock flour which stays suspended for quite a time. Rock flour, also known as glacier flour, consists of finely ground rock particles produced by glacier abrasions which actually give Lake Louise its emerald and blue color depending on how the light hits the surface; AMAZING!!
You really felt that you were in the presence of something divine. It was quite a spiritual experience.
Lee and I found a park bench near the Chateau Fairmont Hotel overlooking the lake and had our lunch. When the sun came out, it warmed our bodies and filled us with the most blissful and tranquil feelings. I think we must have sat there for a couple of hours entranced.
When we did leave and were driving back, we did see our first bit of wildlife on the road. It was a massive elk. Yippee!!! Finally something other than cows and horses. I knew it would happen. What a great day!!
Tomorrow we will be heading to Kamloop. British Columbia slowly making our way back to the United States.

Canmore, Alberta, Canada

The backdrop of the Spring Creek Campground in Canmore was just incredible. Surrounded by mountains, it offered magnificent views. The mountains behind Lee are called the Three Sisters. The campground itself was okay; nothing to write home about. We were just delighted to sit down in one place for a few days especially with a full hookup. Yippee!! Long hot showers after 4 days of dry camping. The next day, we decided to take a scenic drive to find some wildlife which apparently was everywhere. We were excited to see moose, deer, bears, horned rimmed sheep, etc. So with maps in hand and a picnic lunch, Lee, Sammy, and I got into the Jeep and got started. The beginning of the scenic route was on a highway (40) which Lee didn't appreciate because it forced us to travel at higher speeds than what we wanted. We did turn off the road to explore "The Widow Maker" trail which led to a river where people in kayaks were practicing their skills since the river was very rough in this spot. It was fascinating to see them capsize then flip themselves back up. A friend of theirs was taking photos and then followed them down river to their next meeting place. We returned to the car and then Lee noticed a gravel road turnoff which lead to Powderface Trail and we took that. Despite the fact that we weren't finding any wildlife here either, we just continued to drive and drive and drive. We found ourselves on a neverending gravel road leading up and down the mountains. It went on and on and on!!! At certain turns, there weren't even any guardrails and the dropoff was pretty scary (Thank you, Lee, for your expert driving). Well, after what seemed like hours, we finally came to a highway which led us back to our campground. Phew!! So much for the scenic tour. Oh well...there will be more opportunities, I'm sure, to see wildlife. Now all we wanted to do was clean up and go into Canmore for some dinner. We chose The Grizzly Paw (the closest thing to wildlife we ever going to find)which was a pub and brewery. We, of course, sampled one of their home brews(Rutting Elk Red) and each of us had a hamburger (Lee actually had a bison burger!!). After 60oz of beer, I daresay, we were quite content. We went back to the coach and settled in for the rest of the evening. All and all, it was quite the day!!!!

Off to Saskatchewan, Canada

Well, we did stop at Capital RV Center in Minot and the technicians checked our batteries and they tested fine. What was going on here????? Lee later surmised that being hooked up to shore power had prejudiced the results(read future posts!!)
At any rate, we were on our way to Saskatchewan, Canada. As we traveled along , the countryside began to change. There were more rolling hills and valleys other than just flat farmland. There were many grain processing plants along the railroad tracks which made sense for the ease of transporting the grain. There were fields and fields of wheat swaying in the breeze as well as fields of magnificent sunflowers. What a sight!!! Also alongside the roads you could see bales and bales of hay. We had seen cows and horses grazing in the fields. We had beautiful weather and our appreciation for the incredible hard work that is required to be a farmer humbled us. Wow!!! I think I will look at my food a little differently from now on!!!! We will be staying at another Walmart tonight;getting closer I hope to a full hookup in our future.

The Carts are Coming, the Carts are Coming....

Well, we pulled into a Walmart in Ironwood, MI. We were settling in nicely having a delightful dinner when all of a sudden, we heard a loud crash and it sounded like someone had crashed into our tow car. Lee and I ran outside only to find that a Walmart Grocery Cart had slammed into our coach (it was very very windy yesterday.) Thank goodness it didn't scratch or dent our coach but it hit us so hard that it shattered the lug nut protective covering on two of the lug nuts. Thank you Guardian Angels for looking out for us.
After we recovered from that shock, we hoped that we would not have any repeats of runaway Walmart carts attacking us in the middle of the night. Wouldn't you know that because of a heavy storm with very strong winds in the middle of the night, Lee looked out our window and noticed that all the carts were being brought into the building. Thank you..thank you...thank you..apparently the wind was whipping up something awful with rain last night (of course, I slept through it!!)
Well morning came way too fast for us and Lee tried the start the generator only to find our batteries had a "fair" charge. He used the auxillary button and got the generator started and told me that we will have to find an RV Service Center so we can replace some of our batteries. As we traveled on Route 2 again towards our next stop, Crookston, Minnesota, I found an RV Service Place in Minot, North Dakota which would be a good place to stop. Tomorrow morning we will call over to see if they would have time to help us. There is another Walmart or possibly a campground where we can stay overnight in that area.
On the road today, we saw quite a few little towns. It was pretty uneventful. There were two interesting places which I could not capture on film, but I have to tell you about. First, we passed by a place called Grizz Works which had a tremendous assortment of handcrafted wood animals and other object for sale. Of course, the name Grizz, caught my eye but before you knew it we had passed it by and couldn't take a picture.
The other sign which caught my interest was one that said Pottery and along side it it said See Barb's Jugs. Well, that brought a chuckle to Lee and me and I told him I would talk about it in my blog. And I did.
We arrived in Crookston, MN for the night. Wish us luck tomorrow so we can have the coach taken care of so we don't have to stay two nights in Minot, ND.

Fabulous Route 2 North

We were sorry to leave Hearthside Grove today, but we spent an enjoyable driving day on scenic Route 2 North up to Ironwood, Michigan. Funny enough, on route to Ironwood, we actually left Michigan, went into Wisconsin, and then came back into Michigan. As we left Mackinac City early on in our trip, we drove on the beautiful Mackinac Bridge. It was a shame that it was overcast but what beautiful views you have when it is sunny. We were told by someone on the ferry that on July 4th, they close down one lane of the bridge so people can walk across it.
As we drove along, Lee and I admired the beautiful lakes with their beaches, numerous golf courses which Lee especially liked since the land was pretty flat and level, and the little towns along the way. One particular town, Crystal Falls, caught my attention. As we passed through, I noticed a sign which read "Fungus Fest". I couldn't resist and had to take a picture through the windshield. I couldn't stop laughing. This was a hoot. What could a Fungus Fest be??? I wish we could have found out!! Oh well!!! I may have to google it when I have a chance. I think I might have to make it my mission to photograph as many bizarre signs as I can. I just have to have my camera ready.
Well, we are pretty tired this evening and I am going to make us some dinner. So, bye for now.

Petoskey Stones and Tunnel of Trees

Today was an interesting day in the Griswold household. If anyone of you out there has ever tried to reconnect your Direct TV boxes in your motorcoach, you will appreciate Lee's frustration with trying to figure out all the connections. So we made arrangements with Ranch RV in Alanson, MI (7 miles from Petoskey) to have their Cable Guy reinstall our two boxes. This meant having to leave our site at Hearthside Grove and leave our coach with them for however long it would take them to assist us. So off we went with Sammy in tow at around 9:30 this morning. This worked out very well for us since we had wanted to take the road (M119) which would took us through the Tunnel of Trees. Yes, most of this road was covered with an umbrella of overhanging branches of trees which created a most delightful pathway for bicyclists and motorists alike. A lot of the terrain reminded us of Maine. Along the way we stopped at Sturgeon Bay, and took a pathway to the beach where Sammy had loads of fun romping in the sand. Note the picture of Lee and Sammy!!!
By the time we finished with our trip, it was time to pick up the coach. Yippee!!! We want to give a special thank you to Damian, Mark, and especially Dan for helping us with our coach today. If anyone needs any motorcoach assistance in upper Michigan, Ranch RV is the place to go!!! You guys are the best!!!
One thing I forgot to mention in a previous blog was the fact that Petoskey is the home of the Petoskey Stone. Now, a Petoskey Stone is a tetracoral (colony coral); "Hexagonoria" is its scientific name. This fossilized coral was formed during the Devonian Age, approximately 350 million years ago. When polished, many beautiful colors and designs are revealed. Marge had taken me to Lake Michigan Rock-Gem where I was introduced to Josephine Van Avery. Josephine sold me a polished stone and had given me a stone that was unpolished. It is amazing to see the difference. I hope my photo does it justice(the one on the left is the unpolished stone!!)
Well, we will be taking off tomorrow. I am not quite sure where we will be stopping overnight but I am sure it will be an adventure. Thanks to Marge and Hearthside for their hospitality. It was a wonderful respite from the "road"!!!