2022 Road Trip

0257, Fri, 052722. Redding, CA. We are off to another adventure. After completing our exercise at the gym this morning we filled up on fuel, ouch, and headed home to pack up the van. We were able to get all the packing and readying of the van done by about 11 o’clock and were on the road by quarter after. Redding is our first stop, at the super Elks Lodge. We stayed here once before so we kind of knew our way around. We got all set up in our spot by 2:30 and hooked up to the 30 amp plug to try out the new AC for the first time. All seems to work except the cooling. The fan comes on but the output never gets cold. We made a few calls to no satisfaction, so I guess we are stuck until we get home. Oh well. Time to kick back.

0244, Sat, 052822. Springfield OR. We managed a pretty good night. After a cup of coffee we disconnected the electric, pulled up the anchor and hit the road leaving Redding about 6:45. We made a stop about an hour later in Sisson (now Mt. Shasta City) at a brand new Starbucks. Sue made us up a great breakfast. While we ate, we called Michelle to wish her a happy b’day. She was busy at the cemetery helping the scouts put out flags. We then headed inside to grab cup number two for the day. The clerk was so new, I don’t think she had ever seen the reusable cup. I didn’t check, but that probably means I didn’t get my dime discount either, ha. Back on the road we came across some gorgeous country and a fair bit of rain. I guess the two go hand in hand as the rain is the reason everything is so green. Going past Lake Shasta the water level was the lowest I have ever seen it. Heading into Oregon our next stop was at the Costco in Medford to fill up on fuel where we decided to stretch our legs a little while we picked up some ice cream inside. Oregon has never allowed customers to serve their own fuel fill ups. There were lots of attendants running around very busy with all the cars. The guy told me that it is only the gasoline that is restricted and that it is ok to fill your own diesel. So, there ya go. Back on the road with more rain as we headed to Springfield. Tom Tom (our GPS unit) ran us around town then shot us out the other end like we were going to the next stop. Luckily, Sue was able to get us back on track as we found our spot at the local Elks Club. Last night’s hook up was thirty bucks and tonight’s only ran $15. Not bad at all. Sorta helps out with the fuel prices. Once in our spot I figured it was time to catch up on some exercises, now I have noodles for legs. Sue was able to get a few in as well. Just trying to keep fit. Looks like the rain may have stopped for the day. We shall see.

Sun., 052922 Burlington, WA We headed off to Mt. Vernon, Washington. Lots of rain along the way but easy driving. Breakfast at Keizer then Portland for a fuel stop. Sue was able to get the Indy 500 on an app so we were able to listen to the entire race on our way up to Burlington. We arrived at the local Elks of Mt. Vernon but found their spots were filled with live ins. We headed off to the Burlington RV which also was a live in place but had one spot they could give us for the night. Hope I never end up in a trailer park later in life. A lot of people are living in trailers or some sort of camp mobile that hasn’t seen the road in lots of years. We got a good nights sleep and were off once more on our adventure.

Mon., 053022 Herald Provincial Park We crossed the border into Canada at a small crossing; Sumas, Washington, with no one coming or going. We were the only ones there. We declared our one apple and threw it away to their satisfaction and headed off to the local Starbucks. Sue made breakfast, I grabbed a cup to go, and were back on the road. Beautiful country. Lots and lots of trees, everything is green, with big jagged mountains covered in snow. There were some delays as we waited for road construction but nothing too long. We got to our destination. Salmon Arm was the town close by but our place was a little Provincial campground, Herald Provincial Park, right along side the lake. Lots of trees, each camp spot had a DG driveway that gets swept off between each camper. There were lawns that meandered through the trees and a beach just a stones throw from our camp. Really a nice place. I was able to get a few kata in during our stay.

0244, Tue, 053122. Lake Louise, Canada. This morning we headed for the Rockies, but first we went over Rogers Pass as we passed through Glacier National Park then on to Golden. That is when we hit the Rockies. Incredible mountains, every one of them looking like a life size Matterhorn from Disneyland. We lost an hour crossing our first time zone and also crossed over the summit at the Continental Divide as we left British Columbia into Alberta. We made a stop to look out over the mountainside at a spot that was too steep for the trains to make it over the summit. Their solution was to make a tunnel inside the mountain that makes a loop, gaining altitude as it makes the loop then on up the mountain to do one more. This made it possible to keep a decent grade so the wheels wouldn’t slip on the tracks under load. We are now at Lake Louise. We got our camp spot, checked out the shopping area and met our neighbors who are camped next door, two young gals from the Netherlands. They rented a camper/pick up truck and are traveling around Canada for several months. Sue and I grabbed a shower and are settling in for the eve. PS Sue saw a bear along the side of the road today. Pretty awesome.

1205, Wed, 060122. Lake Louise, Canada. We got a good night’s rest. Our campsite has electricity so we were able to plug in our heater which kept us very comfortable. Even with all the piles of snow around the campground it isn’t all that cold. We got up, had our cup of coffee, then hit the road. We were on our way to Lake Louise. Once at the parking lot we had breakfast, then on to the lake. With the steep mountains surrounding the lake there is no room for a road, only a food path. The Chateau Lake Louise is a huge structure looking out across the lake. It is designed along the looks of a German castle. The lake is gorgeous. We walked right along the water’s edge taking in the reflection of the mountains that reflected from the first twenty feet of water. Beyond that was a frozen lake that was snuggled into the canyon with mighty mountains shooting to the sky. We spent some time browsing in the hotel, the usual things to be expected, big chandeliers, a bar that overlooked the water, and lots of little shops. It was time to move on. We took a drive out the road that leads to Jasper hoping to see some wildlife. The views of the mountains were spectacular. We made several stops, one at Crow Foot Lake. As we took pictures, a big crow landed on a pile of ice not three feet away from me. Wow, they are big up close. We had a little discussion about the lake. He seemed to enjoy his home. Other than that we only saw a couple of bunnies dart across the road. They were gray in color with bright white feet. So cute. Now we are back at camp with a nice restful afternoon ahead. It has gotten pretty quiet around here as most all the campers moved on as we will be doing in the morning….more later..

Thursday,060222 We ended up passing through Banff. It was really a nice little town. All the architecture looks like something you would see at a ski resort, lots of beams and wood. The main street is blocked off for foot traffic and sitting outdoors. Really nice, but we couldn’t access the local Starbucks so we headed back to the road ending the day in Medicine Hat, just at the eastern border of Alberta. It was a nice campground with lots of grass. We took advantage of the laundry facilities and are in nice clean clothes once again.

Friday.060322 This was a big day with miles at the higher end of what we travel in a day. To add to it, we had to make some crucial stops in Regina, about the center of Saskatchewan on Highway One. First off was a stop at Mercedez Benz to see if they could fit us in to fix the latch on the sliding door. Coming out of Lake Louise, it slid open and we had to pull over to the side of the road to close it. This happened about 3 more times until it wouldn’t latch at all. Rog jerry rigged it closed with some rope from the door handle up to the side mirror. Worked ok but Sue couldn’t use her door and we couldn’t lock the van so it was a temporary fix. The folks at MB were awesome. We were in and out within an hour, door fixed and working better than it ever has. Next was to find tires. Yes, we should have done that before we left but…..Costco Canada doesn’t take Visa, so we were out of luck. Good thing they didn’t have the tires that would fit nor would they budge on installation (two days out). We went to the Goodyear across the street and found some tires there with no waiting for installation and we were soon on the road once again. Wow, I always lose at cards, saying that luck is finite. I saved it all up just for the two stops that could have been horrible. It all went so smoothly. Off to the campsite that was to be in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. It came with high grades online but Sue said she never got a reply from them. We found out why. They were closed down. Now what, I relied on that good luck once more as we pulled off at the next little town, Fleming. Now, this was a little town. No paved roads, just dirt but better than some back home. I spotted a local pizza/bar that might lead us to a campground. As I went past the front of the building I saw what looked like an electrical hook up. Sure enough, the local Canada Legion runs a little camp spot. We inquired at the pizza place and were told to go ahead and hook up and drop 20 bucks in the box on the front of the building. We hooked up, found the bathroom open, but no box. We asked if we could leave the money with the lady at the pizza place but she said no. We looked all over for a drop box and never found it. We were the only campers on a nice grassy knoll, like our own private camp site.

0417, Sat, 060422. Kenora, Manitoba, Canada Off early once more, stopping a couple of hours down the road at Starbuck, Brandon, now we were in Manitoba. Then on to Ontario. I don’t think I mentioned that once we left the Rockies behind it has been as flat and straight as can be. Once we got to Ontario we climbed back up to some prettier mountains and back to forested land. We are at a great park for the night, Kenora, right next to a big lake, Lake of the Woods. The park name is Anicinabe. We showered and are just about to sit down for dinner. All is well. PS we saved three hundred bucks on the exchange rate for the tires and the latest gas prices is a bargain at $2.09 per liter. We learned the name for their dollar, the locals call them Loonies.

5 June, Sun. It was a rainy day as we continued our travels east. We enjoyed the scenery as there weren't many towns along this stretch. In fact there was nothing but lake after lake and lots of trees. One thing we did see were Moose. One, then another, then five, then a couple more. They are huge. We only saw them for a glimpse as we traveled down the hiway. Their coats are a dark brown so they really blend in quite a bit. We were all fired up. We found a nice little rest stop along the way to have breakfast, no Starbucks in the area. We ended our day in Thunder Bay at a place called Trowbridge Provincial Park. Not many campers, in fact we got a whole section to ourselves. The Provincial Parks are awesome. Each campsite pretty secluded from the rest, lots of green grass. They all have electrical although not always right next to camp. Locals are prepared with long extension cords. This particular park was noted for its river and cascading waterfall. Really a neat looking river. After our little hike to the river falls, we headed back to the van for our nightly card game then called it quits for the day.

6 June, Mon. Lots of driving for the day but again we ended up at a Provincial park, Agawa. We went to a campspot they first gave us but we were unable to reach the electric outlet with our cord. We checked out a couple of sites that might work and headed back to get reestablished in a better spot. It was perfect. The van just fit and the electric was right next to us. We were a stone's throw from Lake Superior and headed right down to the beach to take a look. There were a few benches on the beach so we sat and enjoyed the view of what looked like an ocean. I felt the water and it was warmer than northern California water. Not bad really.

7 June, Tue. Well, the luck ran out. As Sue turned our switch from shore power to house power she turned the switch the wrong way. This connects both at the same time. BUZZ! Not a good buzz. The only loss is 120 house power. Maybe the inverter. We drove to Sault Ste. Marie and sat outside an auto parts store trying to figure things out. Fuses checked out ok but a wire was broken in that mess so back inside the store to get parts to fix that. I discovered the inverter was triggered so I reset that but still no go. Off to Home Depot to get a continuity checker that I will work with later. We ran around town, found fuel on an Indian reservation way out on the edge of town, the cheapest price around. Everyone was there. We waited our turn and managed to get filled up. Now to get to driving. We ended up in the evening at Lazy Rock, on Lazy Dog Road in Mawaka. It was a real nice place, very clean. I did notice they built the shower room on a concrete block at each corner of the building, on its side. That load has to be tremendous. I am surprised one or all of the four blocks haven't given up yet.

0356, Wed, 060822. New York USA. This day went much better. It started out rainy but cleared as we drove along. Breakfast break was at a Tim Hortons as well as a lousy cup of coffee. It was their rush hour as it was the only place open in this little town. We were headed for the border, the US border. We had picked this crossing since we heard it wasn't as busy as the original one we had picked. Apparently the original crossing has lots of truck traffic and gets backed up. We were the only ones there. The agent took the passports then asked about the license. We told him it was TIOGA I (eye) not TIOGA ONE. That helped a little but then he had to get out of his booth and look at the plate to make sure he was spelling it correctly. All went well after that. We are now In USA, New York at another State Park. Yes, it has electric hook up unlike anything you find in California. It is built on a long narrow peninsula with the Lawrence River on one side and Goose Bay on the other. A perfect little spot. As we made camp we put up the screens on all the doors to let the air flow through. Sue let out a scream at one point. A squirrel had jumped up into the van at the back door. Luckily the scream sent him running but he tried it once more before giving up. He thought he was onto something really cool. Sun seems to be setting a bit earlier as the birds are singing outside our door. Time for cards then hit it for one more day down to the reunion.....more later..

9 June, Thursday Glenfield NY We did one last splash in Canada to give us enough fuel to get across the border. It was a bargain at 2.05 a liter. There was a concern about what it was going to take to get across the border but once again we were the only people crossing. We handed over the passports with our vaccine info. He struggled a little with spelling Tioga I but after getting out of the booth and looking at it he got it. There were the regular questions, Where are you going, where did you come from, how long were you in Canada. Then we were on our way. Too easy mate. We headed for Krings Point, a state park on the St. Lawrence River and Goose Bay. Great spot. We relaxed, took a hike, napped….the usual. Thursday morning, we didn’t have to leave until 10 or 11 so we ate at our spot, then headed over to the water dump and cleaned the toilet and emptied the gray water. We filled up our regular water tank and we are now all set for the last leg of our trip. We headed over to the shower room…always an experience in a campground. Rog had cold water and mine was hot enough to burn. Neither spigot could be regulated. We stopped in Watertown and found all our shopping needs within a couple of blocks. Sam's Club and Target for food, Hobby Lobby for more yarn (Sue finished the vest and is starting a sweater for the trip home), a liquor store for tequila for tonight’s dinner, and Harbor freight for a new inverter (after striking out at West Marine). Then we headed to Otter Creek, arriving about 2:30. The Walsh clan all made it in good shape to the cabin. Cabin, it is a mansion. Way off the beaten path, on a private lake with a huge kitchen, seating area, and dining table that fits all 16 of us. The group has really aged these last four years, but still are moving. Day one complete and all are still getting along. This is good......more later.

Reunion June 9-12 Some of the highlights of the Walsh clan gathering included some great “custom” cookies, hand made, by Laura, some great chocolates shared by Sue Walsh that were out of this world, a boat trip that was shared by all along the St. Lawrence River with a visit to the Boldt Castle and the Thousand Islands that dot the river, Lucas (age 4) with outstanding jokes around the campfire that no one understood, ping pong, pool (billiards style), Laura and Tom’s homemade limoncello, Kate and Jenny’s Irish coffee, Jim’s bottle of Jamison Irish Whiskey bought while in Ireland, a few bottles of wine here and there, walks in the forest and kayaks on the lake. Jer and Ann announced their new home was being built in Florida and the California house was sold. Laura has turned into the handmade Cookie Queen of the world. Her cookies are decorated in super custom designs and flavors are added to represent some of the designs ie. a lemon or lime slice. Sue Walsh shared some chocolates that were to die for. She had been gifted a couple of boxes that sell in the hundred dollar range, so creamy. The boat trip was suggested by Katy Walsh and the whole gang went. We rode in a pontoon boat along the St Lawrence that has lots and lots of islands with lots and lots of history as the tour guide pointed out the castles and mansions along the trip. At the far end of the ride we exited to the Boldt Castle. This guy owned an awful lot of the area in the day and started a summer residence for his wife. She passed away at a young age and he quit the project. It is now owned by the parks department and is being restored to the idea that Mr Boldt had originally intended. One of the most impressive parts of the tour, given all his wealth; he had a background of working hard and earned every bit of his wealth. This was reflected in the maid and buttler’s quarters, fairly large areas with views. Apparently he wasn’t stingy with the pay as well. Lucas had a ball with all of the attention being the only child there. He was very well behaved and not shy at all. He is a spitting image of Katie. Sue and I took in some of the entertainment of the cabin with a round of ping pong then moving on to a round of pool. Meals throughout the stay were very good with lots of leftovers, so nobody went hungry. Jim had purchased a bottle of Irish Whiskey on our trip to Ireland that was meant to be consumed at his wake. Well, upon reconsidering, he decided he would like a bit of the taste so it was enjoyed by all ahead of time. I mentioned the wine. There were enough bottles to fill an entire garbage can with recycled bottles, a happy group. Sue and I took a short walk along the path that led down to the lake and enjoyed the view from that perspective. There was a little beach house that stored life jackets, canoes, and kayaks. It was simply a great place to hang out and enjoy family. Everyone was quite mellow and all seemed to get along just great. It was pollen season while we were there. We could see the clouds of pollen falling from the trees as the wind blew. It managed to turn all the cars yellow. The great part was the rain on our last night that cleaned all of the pollen from the cars for the trip home. Sue and I stuck around to make sure the cabin was in proper shape as we were the last to leave.

0000, Mon, 061322, Erie, PA We arrived in Erie PA late in the afternoon, checked into the local Elks Club and asked where we could find some items we needed to pick up. The lady bartender at the Elks Club tried to help us out but warned of the time of day and how the roads would be crowded. I hope she never visits the big city. We headed out to find some new knitting needles for Sue’s latest project since she finished one sweater/vest already. After finding our needs we headed back to the lodge for a nap, dinner, and cards.

0000, Tue, 061422, Richmond, Indiana. We had another great night of sleep and managed to wash off the van in the middle of the night with some local rain. Our usual cup of Joe and off to a rest stop outside Cleveland for breakfast. About an hour more down the road we paid a visit to Starbucks just before crossing over the state line into Indiana. We tried to check in at the Elks Lodge in Richmond. It included a full golf course but we found the pool was empty and the hook ups for campers were non-existent. So we headed off to the local DQ for an ice cream. We arrived at our second choice, Deer Ridge Camping Resort, a little RV camping spot with trees all around. It was real hot so we decided to enjoy the swimming pool, ah relief. We enjoyed a walk around the area as well as sitting in the shade with our folding chairs.

0000, Wed, 061522, Oak Grove, Missouri. And 16th We had a little mix up in logistics and had to do a long drive to make it to Oak Grove. I was to meet with Mike Lyon at his dojo in Kansas City, 30 minutes down the road, the following day. We picked this KOA since they had AC in the rec room which we took in as much as we could. We spent several hours at the pool as we were able to find some nice shade provided by a big tree. I don’t know how it happened, but I was able to get a sunburn even though I was in the shade. It really didn’t help that night at class since it zapped my energy and, even though the dojo was air conditioned, I was overheating. I managed to make it to karate and learned a bunch from Mike. Sue kept busy with her knitting as I enjoyed a workout with Mike’s class. We then headed back to Oak Grove for the night.

0000, Fri, 061722, Wakeeney, Kansas. We were up early, both because it was stinking hot and we wanted to get through Kansas City before the big morning rush hit. We were on the Kansas Turnpike. They have stops that are in the center of the freeway (left exit and entrance). We pulled in for our breakfast stop and it looked familiar. I think we even parked in the same parking spot on an earlier trip. Deja vous. We made Wakeeney by 1, tried stopping at DQ but they were closed. A bit of a bummer since our attempts at ice cream yesterday were greeted with ice cream machines not in operation at both Mc Donald’s and Burger King. Lazy workers? Wakeeney was hot, but there was a breeze that helped a little. We were at a KOA, one of two vehicles in the entire place. By the time evening rolled around, the place was packed. We enjoyed their “ice cream social” and a couple of rounds of cards then took in a few laps at the swimming pool.

0000, Sat, 061822, Westminster, Colorado. Time to get out of the heat of Kansas and head up in elevation to Denver, Colorado. We arrived at the Westminster Elks club and found they had plenty of room for us. We headed off to town to pick up fuel and do some grocery shopping. When we got back we were told that there was a camp host who assigned spots for the overnight campers. We looked through the permanent resident trailers for a sign for a camp host, stopped to ask one guy who didn’t know who the host was but pointed us in the direction he thought might be the one. We knocked on the door and sure enough it was the right place. The lady said to take any spot we wanted and that she would be down later to take care of the paperwork. That evening her husband showed up to do the paperwork and asked where in CA we were from. He was born in Oroville but had never been back. He and his wife would be in CA soon to depart on a cruise to Alaska and tour San Francisco. I didn’t mention that maybe SF wasn’t such a hot place to visit but what the heck. After getting all signed in we headed into the lodge to take in the AC and play a couple of rounds of 64. I was unbeatable, ha. There I go wasting that Good Luck on useless card games. Oh well, things have been going pretty good so far. Maybe there is plenty to hold out. I do have to point out that the Colorado roads are the worst of the trip so far. It was a dramatic difference as we crossed over the state line. You would think they would try for first impressions before setting you up for the destruction of your suspension system.

0000, Sun, 061922, Provo, Utah. We had a great trip through the Rockies. Almost as spectacular as the Rockies in Canada. It was nice to be in some cooler weather. We stopped in the town of Frisco, a few miles from the first family reunion at Breckenridge. As we dropped out of the Rockies into Utah, the winds picked up making it a bit of a challenge to keep that tall van in its lane. We were greeted with some dust storms as well. We arrived at the Provo Elks Club at 3:30 and squeezed onto their last available spot for the night. We were to meet up with Marty and Michelle to see their new house and to catch up with them but it never happened. For some reason our messages never got through to him so the visit never happened. We did chat a little on the phone but mostly trying to figure why the messages never got through. Still can’t figure that one out.

0000, Mon, 062022, Rocklin, CA. We got an early start around 6 and headed to the Costco for fuel in South Jordan, Utah then to a local Starbucks for breakfast. We were getting some rain here and there but managed to keep most of it at bay. After crossing the salt flats, Nevada actually looked kind of good. Some of the mountaintops even had snow on them. We had planned to stop somewhere in Nevada but I was feeling great so we pushed on. We made a stop in Winnemucca to make our ice cream stop and found some (relatively) cheap fuel. We filled up and were back on the road. Maybe we could make it to the Reno area. We flew right through Sparks and Reno and headed into California. We made a leg stretch stop at the Donner Summit, admired the snow on the mountaintops, then headed down the hill to Rocklin by 5. We left most of the stuff in the van for the night and headed inside to be home, comfortably once again….