July 6th

July 5^th,

We awoke early and we went for breakfast at Buffalo Bob’s. Then we hooked up the rig and left the park.

Ken gingerly drove down the highway with the destination being Don K’s Dodge dealership in Whitfish.

Greg met us in the lot immediately and then we explained our problem and he directed us to safe parking at the back of their lot.

We arrived there at 8:30 and at 10:30 we were leaving with our problem solved and a spare filter in hand.

We were so pleased with the service. Ken had feared the worst. He was imagining being there for days and needing major repairs. Our guardian angel is still taking good care of us.

We picked up route two not far out of town and we continued on our way.

The scenery in the mountains was so amazing. We climbed to the top of Maria Pass, a height of over 5500 feet. It was so beautiful that we decided to stop there for our lunch. We ate, took pictures and thoroughly enjoyed the hour.

At one o’clock we were on our way again.

By 1:10 we were out of the mountains and in the grass lands. No more trees and no more mountains for a while.

The day was lovely, not too hot at all.

On several occasions Ken was thrilled by passing diesel trains.

We searched for almost 2 hours to find a RV park with no luck . Finally we were tired and it was time to call it a day .

We stopped at Malta Montana and spent the night in the local city park. The air was so clear and a pair of doves called it home so we were serenaded all evening.

Independence Day in the USA

July 4^th/2013

We are spending Independence Day in Whitfish Montana.

All day we have been hearing ads for the sale of Fireworks and we were told by the campground that that would be having a fireworks display in the area of the petting zoo.

Of course we thought the fireworks would begin at dusk or later. Around nine o’clock long before dark we began to hear sounds of fireworks. We wondered who would begin so early, the sun was still shining.

Well at ten o’clock we watched for awhile and believed that the show would be about 15 minutes long and there would be no sense in walking down to the zoo area.

Well the fireworks became more and more intense and they lasted until almost midnight. Every time we thought it was over it would start up again. Our thought was how much did they spend on Fireworks.

Well the next morning when we were at breakfast we commented about the cost of such a display.

Paul proceeded to tell us that they had a few fireworks but by far the bulk of it was done by Canadians who were at the park.

He told us how the Canadians come down every year and they buy copious amounts of fireworks and they set them off.

But we heard that Americans purchase over $ 600,000.00 for this weekend alone.

It really was an awesome display no matter who paid for it. It was not as grand and it was not set to music like the Festival of Lights in Vancouver but it lasted much longer.

More Gems

This is definitely an amazing camp ground but when you are not a child and you do not have children and you only need a place to park and plug in air conditioning until you got a mechanic it is a bit much and a bit costly.

Some photos of Camp site

July 3rd...Oh Oh!!

We got underway around seven on Wednesday morning after having had a great sleep. When iy finally cooled off we were able to rest quite comfortably and actually pulled up the covers through the night.
We crossed the rest of Washington and passed through a small bit of Idaho.
We gassed up at Bonners Ferry which is right at the border between Idaho and Montana. The station was having computer troubles and we had to pay with cash. Their computer troubles with pumping gas should have warned us to continue on but we didn't.
We had a very nice lunch in an air conditioned place because it was already in the high nineties.

Not long after we continued on our way Ken noticed that the fuel pressure indicator was beginning to flash. Not too much later it was staying on anytime that he pressed on the gas peddel.
This was the reason why we decided to stop for the night in a place called Whitefish Montana. They have a Dodge dealer.
Ken was thinking that we have gotten dirty fuel and as a result the fuel filter is dirty and blocking the flow of the fuel to the engine.
We choose the closest campground, called and booked a spot for 2 nights. Knowing that the next day was Independence day, we assumed the dealer would be closed for the holiday.
The plan is to hopefully get a new filter and pump out the dirty fuel on Friday when they open ....we are keeping our fingers crossed.

When we arrived to check in we learned that we had gotten their last spot and it was available for only 2 nights.
We also found out that is it one of the most expensive RV Parks we have ever stayed at. They have lots and lots of activities for children and they supply breakfast. There is WiFi but no TV.
Even with our KOA discount the charge for 2 nights was $132.00

Would you like to see what you get for $132.00

The Trip Begins

We had hoped to get away by eight but you know how plans tend to get changed. That is the beautiful part of being this age. When you misplace your glasses and have to spend a half hour looking for them it really doesn't matter too much.

We were at the border and even though we had to use the RV line and couldn't use our Nexus cards we were through in about 5 minutes. we were officially out of the country at 9:24

There are many ways that we could have traveled East but because we are "older" and not in a hurry and because I have never travelled through the North Cascade Mountains it was decided that we would travel along Route 2.

It is an amazing trip through the mountains and up and down the mountain passes.

Rainy Pass at 4855...Washington Pass at 5477...Loup Loup Pass at 4020....,

Wauconda at 4310 feet and   Sherman at 5575 feet are some of the passes we crossed. The views were spectacular with boreal forests on the west side, Pine forests and dry lands on the leeward side.

Because of the heights all of the snow has not melted so inspite of it being above 30 degrees most of the time some snow banks could be seen along the sides of the highway.

Most striking for me was the contrast between areas with water and those without . There were lush green areas of orchards and crops and cattle along the river banks and within range of irrigation and beyond that was dessert.

Because we were taking our time and enjoying the scenery and because it was so very hot,( at our lunch stop it was 102 F) we stopped early at a place called Frontier in Washington State.

On the Road Again

Well things were looking kind of unsure up until a couple of hours ago.
You see Ken and I planned to travel back to Nova Scotia this summer. Our goal was and is to attend the 50th reunion of our graduation from the Nova Scotia Teachers College. It is hard to believe that we graduated 50 years ago . But we did, the class of 1963.
Anyway it looked as if we may not be able to go because the doctors discovered that I am the proud owned of a kidney stone measuring 24mm by 17 mm. That is a biggie!!
It was decided this morning that we can take our trip and I will see the specialist and make arrangements to have the surgery to have the stone removed when we return. The appointment is September 23rd and the surgery will be in early October.
We will leave here on Tuesday! Hip hip hurray!!