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Heading out en route to Alaska via automobile!!!!! Yes by car, approx 4,700 miles one way. So it's quite possible one of us will be flying home.
Our trip will take us through Mt Rushmore; Little Big Horn and the Edmonton Canada Mall. From Edmonton we will head to Alaska, stopping in Delta Junction (where I was stationed), North Pole, Alaska, Fairbanks and a two night stay in Denali. Then we will head south to Anchorage where we will spend about twelve days with Lee's brother and his wife.
While there we'll do some day trips, a little fishing, and then a two day trip to Seward's Sea Life Center. And then ultimately head south for home.
Our return trip will take us to Hamilton, Montana where Lee's cousin has a summer/winter home in the mountains, where we will spend two days. Our journey will then continue South East, stopping along the way to see yet more historic sites. Our trip will culminate in St Louis with a Cardinals game. And then it's heading home, possibly via Birmingham to pick up my mom and bring her to Little Rock for a couple of weeks.
Oh and if you haven't kinda figured a time line out yet this trip will take approximately six weeks. This will be the longest period of time Lee and I have been away from our babies (cats and dog). A trip of a lifetime for sure. I am going to try and upload photos to our online album and will try to send everyone a link. We are looking forward to the adventure, not necessarily the thirty plus days in a car.
We have a house sitter that will move in to take care of the home front while we're gone.
(Link to photos posted at end of blog)
July 30, 2010 – The big adventure has begun. Left Little Rock around eleven a.m. Stopped in Marshall, AR and enjoyed lunch at the Sunset Inn. Well lunch was okay, the fried okra was great.
On to Springfield, MO with a stop at Branson Landing. Quick stop in Bass Pro Shop, didn’t buy a thing! Yes I checked my temp and I was normal. Next, two mistakes. First: Stopped In a little wine outlet, they specialize in Missouri wine. What a deal, three free tastings, and then a dollar each for each additional taste. Ended up buying six bottles, well actually the deal was, buy four get two free. So Lee got two she liked and then I picked two I liked and also picked the two free. Have to laugh. The four bottles I picked were less than the two Lee picked!!!!
Next mistake. Happened upon an olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop. OMG, flavored EVOO and flavored balsamic, yum-o. Well no, of course we didn’t get out of there without buying. Bought two bottles of French Walnut EVOO and two bottles of Tuscan Herb EVOO and two bottles of eighteen year old balsamic vinegar, which they will ship to the house. Then bought a bottle of French Walnut EVOO and a bottle of eighteen year old balsamic to bring to Alaska.
At this point I told Lee we needed to go. No more shopping, we don’t have any room in the car for anymore stuff. We have like four thousand six hundred miles to go and if we buy like this along the way, one of us will end up as a hood ornament.
On to Springfield where we stayed at the Drury Inn and Suites. Ya know we stayed in one of these in Mobile and absolutely fell in love with the place. So they have become our hotel of choice. Included with stay is an evening gig they termed “kick back.” Starts at about five thirty and goes til seven. They have a nice hot food buffet, Friday is hot dogs with chili and baked potatoes. As well as salad, veggies and dip; chips and dips and pretzels. Oh and hot popcorn. They offer a soft drink fountain and adult drinks. At check in you receive a ticket for three drinks. They offer beer, wine, mixed drinks and umbrella drinks. Morning brings a hot breakfast. Batter made waffles, sausage, bacon, etc.
The rooms are clean, free Wi-Fi, refrigerator and microwave. Did I mention the rooms are clean! And the staff, omigosh, the best for sure. I could go on, you’ll just have to stay at one to appreciate my comments.
Tomorrow we head to Omaha! End day one.
July 31, Day 2: Headed out drove towards Omaha, destination was actually Council Bluffs, IA. When I turn off the highway towards our hotel a Bass Pro Shop is like right in front of the hotel:) Oh wait, there’s a casino too! The Horseshoe casino, and then I see the hotel sign, well heck, we are staying at the casino!!! Lee planned that perfectly, she has the casino, I have Bass Pro, can’t get any better than that. Beautiful hotel, Hilton Gardens, great room and a free breakfast. Lee got a weekend special, where a real sit down cooked to order breakfast was included. Uneventful night and no we didn’t win:( End day two.
Aug 1, Day 3: This morning we head towards Rapid City, SD, an eight hour drive. Not a bad drive, but boring as hell. One can only oouu and aah at corn fields for so long, then it becomes monotonous. One good thing, the speed limit in SD is 75mph. Let me tell you, Lee’s VW CC rocks. Comfortable, quiet, and 33 mpg, can’t complain. En route to our bed & breakfast we stopped at the infamous Wall Drugs in Wall, SD. I won’t bore you with the history of this drugstore, but I encourage you to Google and read about it.
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Arrived Black Forest Hills B&B right at 6pm. Had a wonderful dinner, OMG, Lee got Freshwater King Shrimp, the plate came with three; they were the size of small lobsters and tasted just as good. I had the salmon, can you say yum-o! During dinner we had a visitor, the resident cat. Never saw a white cross-eyed blue eyed cat before!!! Max, was a very loving audible male, and I am sure he knew we were an easy target for scraps. Max stayed and shared dinner with us:) Cheesecake for dessert which we were told Max did not like. Hmmm, obviously they didn’t know our charm with cats as Max enjoyed dessert with us as well. I’m sure he knew we were missing our babies:)
After dinner, we planned to go to Mt Rushmore for the night lighting ceremony. I go up to the room to change, open the suitcase, and all these little white pellet things are everywhere. What the heck!!!! Seems Lee’s pillow burst, I’m sure we’ll find pellets for days.
Off to the ceremony, I won’t go into all the details, all I can say is awesome. At the end of the ceremony all veterans were invited down to the amphitheater stage to assist in the retiring of colors. I could not believe it. The entire place, thousands of people, stood and gave all of us a standing ovation as we made our way to stage. I’m guessing probably fifty veterans were on stage, and many more still in the upper seating area, Lee said she was surprised there were as few as there were. After the flag was lowered and folded, we were asked to pass by the individual holding the flag and lay a hand upon the flag, as so many before us had. You know I am not really into receiving praise for my service, but I can honestly say I was moved by the reaction of the people. Made our way back to the B&B and had a very restful night.
Tomorrow, breakfast at nine after which we’ll head back to Mt Rushmore for a day of reading about and touring the monument. Day three is behind us!
Aug 2, Day 4: Up early, breakfast served at 9a.m. Waffles, sausage, orange juice and coffee, all very well prepared. Off to the Crazy Horse Memorial. I can’t say enough about this monument, sadly we’ll not be around to see its completion. Google it if you’re interested in this kind of stuff.
Umm, short commercial break. The scene; over a thousand miles from home, driving through the mountains and my phone rings. I grapple for the phone and see that it’s my mom so I hand the phone to Lee. Mom says hello, and then says “you know I’m always thinking of you.” She then proceeds to explain to Lee that she was at the grocery store and while in the meat department she sees they have soup bones! You know a bone that has remnant meat and usually used to make a soup base. Mom continues to say that the bones were skinny and that she mentioned that to the butcher. He promised her that he would make some “healthy” soup bones for her. Now you must understand that my mom is Polish and cooks some terrific Polish meals. The soup bones are used to make a dish called “pierogi.” Pierogi is made from flattened dough filled with various food items. Cabbage, potato and cheese, fruits and meats. Kinda looks like a small turnover, however, not fired, rather boiled and served with drawn butter. So the soup bones are the mainstay for the meat variety. Mom assured Lee that she would get enough and freeze them for Lee!!!! Mothers, you just have to love them. I love you mom!
On with the trip. So we leave Crazy Horse’s Memorial and head to Custer State Park and the Wildlife Loop, some 68 miles of driving windy twisted roads through the Black Hills. You’ll understand when you see the pics. We saw buffalo, elk, deer, antelope and red ass donkey. Honest that’s a species of donkey. Mountains, mountains and more mountains. Traversed a stretch called Needles Highway and Pigtail Bridges. Again when you see the pics you’ll be awe struck.
Somewhere we made a wrong turn and ended up making the 68 mile route into like a hundred miles. We started this trek about 12:30 and didn’t get back to our B&B until five. Yep four and a half hours driving through South Dakota’s Black Hill’s. No complaints, it was a site to see. Got some super pics of Mt Rushmore as well. Our original plan was to re-visit Mt Rushmore, but after our wrong turn, we ran out of time.
It would not be fair of me to leave out the carrots and donkeys encounter. However, I don’t feel I’d do the story justice, so that is one you’ll have to ask Lee about.
After a phenomenal meal at the B&B and the return of Max, we retired to our room for a relaxing whirlpool bath and the “Final Rose.” If you don’t understand that, no problem.
End day four, heading to Billings, Montana in the morning.
Aug 3, Day 5: Left the Mt Rushmore area en route to Billings, Montana. For those of you that know Lee, you know how she loves casino video poker, so needless to say a quick stop in Deadwood, SD was a must. Went into the saloon that Wild Bill Hickok had been shot and killed on August 2, 1879. Looked like a nice place to drop a few nickels. About thirty minutes into our stop it began to rain. Then it began to hail and hail it did. OMG!!!! When you see the pictures you’ll understand. Within thirty minutes the hail had clogged all the drainage grates. Streets flooded, water poured into the saloon, the ceiling began to leak and the kitchen flooded. Hour and half later the streets were covered with hail, store owners out shoveling as if it had been a winter storm. We were told by the owner, in August in Deadwood you always park under cover. Luckily the town was filled with bikers which forced us to park in the deck. LOL, when we finally got to leave, we went to the garage to get our car. The elevator was filled with at least six inches of ice and doors tried to close, would hit the ice, ding and open. Something you’d see in a horror film. Made our way to the car and proceeded toward the exit. When we hit ground level water and ice was up to our door wells. What an experience!
On to Billings; the remainder of the trip was rather uneventful. Arrived at our little B&B got checked in and all was good. This little B&B reminded both Lee and I of our grandmother’s house, kinda had the same smell too!!!!!Do you remember what your grandmother’s house was like? The host directed us to a nice little restaurant within walking distance, The Montana Brewing Company, sorta like an Applebee’s. And yep, it also had a casino in it. After dinner Lee found a machine and sat down to play. The casino chairs in this place and in most of the Montana casinos were like office chairs. Plush and comfy, some even had massagers in them. I stayed at the bar. Met a couple of other guests from our B&B. A seventy-one year old dad, Norman, and his son Adrian. They were from England and were here for a three week bicycle adventure. I believe they told me they started in Oregon and the end point was Cheyenne, Wyoming to tour the site of the Battle at Wounded Knee. They stayed in Billings for a couple of days and were actually catching a Greyhound to Rapid City, SD at midnight August fourth. I think we stayed until a bit after eleven. We convinced Lee it was time to go, and we all walked back to the B&B together. End day five.
August 4, Day 6. Got up, had breakfast together and said our goodbyes.
Our plan was to backtrack about an hour and go the battleground of Little Big Horn. Lee talked herself out it being it was mostly a drive around tour. So we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to replace Lee’s pillow. Then it was off to Cabela’s. Bought a few shirts and headed for lunch. Lee wanted Mexican, big mistake, within thirty minutes she was suffering from terrible reflux. Poor baby, four hours in a car en route to Great Falls, Montana.
We checked into a little place called the O’Haire Motor Inn, now if you haven’t Googled anything I’ve suggested to this point, this is one place you want to Google. Be sure to read about their lounge, the Sip ‘N Dip!! Behind the bar is a huge aquarium, they actually hired a guy and a gal that don mermaid/merman attire and they swim around entertaining the customers. They also have a piano bar where Pat, probably in her eighties, plays. She was a hoot. She has been playing at the place since they opened in the mid-sixties.
A fun part of this place is the rubber duck. In your room is a rubber duck which becomes yours. Then when you travel you take your duck and take pictures of where you are and send them back to them. They have huge wall where they post all the pics they receive. Really, you need to Google O’Haire Motor Inn!!
I think we stayed at the Sip 'N Dip for an hour or so, Lee gambled a bit, but still wasn’t feeling well, so we went to bed. End day six.
Aug 5, Day 7. Left Great Falls heading to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Long driving day, but we’ll be in Edmonton for two nights.
I took a few pictures in Montana, we’ve been driving through the state for two days. Although pretty country, one can only enjoy the plains for so long. We saw lots of cattle, some prong horn antelope, a few deer, lots of sheep, many bee hives and hay bales. Hay bales for as far as the eye could see. Saw round bales, bezillions of them; hay bales shaped liked water troughs, very oblong; square bales, I had never seen a square bale; and even got to see some of those now almost extinct rectangular bales, you know the ones we all saw growing up. Witnessed many electricity generating windmill fields. I mean more windmills then one could count.
Crossed into Canada without incident. Presented our papers, answered a few questions and we were on our way, ten minutes tops.
Stopped in Lethbridge for lunch at East Side Mario’s. Ate light, soup and salad, didn’t want to chance Lee’s tummy again. Lee napped until Calgary where we stopped to top off the tank and she took over the driving. A nice relief for me and gave me time to catch up on my blog.
Finally arrived our hotel in Edmonton. Checked in and ready to eat. Nice little restaurant next door so we opted to try it. I won’t go into all the details of dinner, but it was absolutely awesome. While at dinner I asked Lee if she ever called our credit card folks to let them know we were traveling, she said she forgot. So I told her we needed to call before we got embarrassed. Too late, our card was declined. No problem, I whip out my debit card and hand it to our waiter, he comes back and says I need to put my pin in. No problem, I enter my pin and all seems well, oops, nope my card is declined as well. Oh well, we pay with cash and will contact our card companies and get it straight.
Tomorrow we’ll sleep in and have a day of leisure at the big Edmonton Mall. So far all is well. And the VW performing great, yielding us 32+ mpg!!!! And we need it, gas in Canada is like $1.29 per liter, yep that equates to like $5.00 per gallon. Bed time. End day 7!
Aug 6, Day 8: Happy birthday to me!
Day spent at Edmonton Mall, 800 stores, plus numerous restaurants, a full size ice skating rink, an amusement park, a water park, a wild animal exhibit, a sea lion adventure pool, a gorgeous casino, where Lee actually won like $50, and so much more. I mean the place was like a city, oh yeah, and it had two hotels in it.
Driving through Edmonton was a bit confusing, but Ms Garmin (GPS) handled the task well.
The hotel we are staying at is the Matrix, very nice place. Complimentary breakfast and wine tasting in the evening, we got here too late last night to go, but tonight we’ll check it out.
Our room is very spacious with a very nice view. One cool thing about the hotel are the elevators, in order to push a floor you need to slide your room keycard into the slot. Once accepted you can push the desired floor. Really good for security.
Rested a bit before wine tasting and dinner.
So for today I’ll call it a night and end here.
On to Dawson Creek in the morning. End day eight.
Aug 7, Day 9: Ended last night with a wonderful dinner at the hotel restaurant. The Wildflower Grill, very much like Little Rock’s Brave New. Very nice menu with a very nice presentation and all was so yum-o.
On to Dawson Creek. Nice drive, lots of countryside, some wildlife, and Canadian speed limits. I’m still trying to figure out the mph vs kmph, and all the distances are in kilometers, ugh!
Arrived our B&B, the Northern Lights B&B. Nice little place with nice accommodations. Only problem here was the narrow staircase leading to the upstairs room. No banister and the wall is lined with pictures. I start up and immediately knock a picture off the wall. Okay, go slow. Whew finally to the top! Damn it, forgot I had my backpack on. Knock two more pictures off the wall at the top of the stairs. Can’t catch them, so they tumble down the stairs breaking glass while they tumbled. Okay I am totally embarrassed. Then I get upstairs set the suitcase down, stand up and smack my head against a low ceiling.
Time to go chill, so we go to the laundromat to do laundry. Four loonies (Canadian dollars are referred to as Loonies) to wash, four to dry, so eight bucks to do a small load of laundry.
After laundry we go to Mr. Mike’s to eat. Very nice steak house and good food. Then it’s back to the B&B. I am not allowed to carry anything upstairs. Very pleasant sleep. Got up showered and went down for breakfast. This had to be not only the best breakfast, but the prettiest as well. Homemade crepes, with ham and scrambled eggs, kinda like an enchilada, with a nice crème sauce with dill, fresh asparagus spears with the same sauce, and home fried potatoes. Of course coffee and juice. I was very careful bringing the suitcase down, nothing broken.
After breakfast, we said goodbye and headed north to the Northern Lights Lodge at Muncho Lake, BC. We stayed here two years ago when we drove with Lee’s brother. Nice place, huge log cabin lodge, owned and operated by it’s 1980’s founders. Wonderful restaurant and great atomosphere.
Rained along the way, yuck. Many kilometers of gravel road, poor Lee’s car! Saw our first moose, so the spell is broken. Ready for bed and a good nights sleep, provided the baby in the next room doesn’t cry all night.
In the morning we head to Whitehorse. End day nine!
Aug 9, Day 11: Got up about seven, showered etc and went down for breakfast. On the road by nine. Nice day, started out overcast with a little drizzle, but cleared up, sun came out and temps hit sixty-four degrees. Along the way we saw buffalo, lots of buffalo. These are not the cattle type buffalo, these are wild herds.
Lee’s driving so I tell her I’ll open my window, they were on both sides of the road, and take pictures. So I roll my window down, ready my camera, get ready to shoot and she drives by. So I say thanks, she says well tell me what to do. I said why would I tell you I’d open my window to take pictures!!!! Forget it just drive.
We hit construction and have to wait to cross the bridge. As we begin across, a bear saunters across the road on the other side of the bridge. I say see the bear? She says no. I tell her where it is, oops too late. She gets to see it’s butt as it crests the hill. We continue. More buffalo, again I roll down my window and she rolls past. I’m convinced she has no idea what the term Kodak Moment means.
On to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. Check into the hotel, a new place called, The Skky Hotel. Very nice rooms and very very clean. Off to supper at the G&P Steakhouse and Pizza. We ate here two years when we made the trip with Lee’s brother. The food is great and they have everything, Italian, Steaks, Mediterranean, Chicken and BBQ!!!
Back to the hotel for a relaxing evening. Tomorrow we head to Tok, Alaska. End day eleven.
Aug 10, Day 12: Arrived Tok, Alaska. And one more hour added to our day. Gaining hours is cool, but they make me tired.
Pretty good drive, eight hours not counting stops for gas, restrooms and stretch breaks. The roads, ugh, frost heaves and lots and lots of gravel road. Had a few construction delays, but nothing major. While Lee drove I snapped pictures, while I drove Lee napped, go figure. But like I said, she isn’t into Kodak moments!!!!!
Wildlife today included a porcupine, deer, a wolf, and something unidentified that scurried across the road.
Hope for a restful night, children next door and they sound rowdy!!!!
Tomorrow on to Delta Junction. End day twelve.
Aug 11, Day 13.
Morning arrived in Tok. Had a good nights sleep except for the lack of warmth.
This has been the first room we had with a ceiling fan so we turned it on low. After all, at home we sleep with our ceiling fan on year round. When I awoke I mentioned to Lee how cold it got, she pointed to the window and said it was open. Guess the window is always left open. Brrrrrrr!
We went down for breakfast which was nice. I think all B&B’s operate with a like breakfast menu, well except for the one in Dawson Creek. The usual yogurt with granola, I’ve eaten more granola in this two week period than I probably have in all my life. We were served a very nice egg and cheese casserole with all the trimmings.
After breakfast we packed and hit the road for Delta Junction, Mile 1422, the official end of the Alaska Highway.
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A short hour and a half drive and we arrived Delta Junction. After the tour of the visitors center, the usual “we made it” photos, we headed to Ft Greely, five miles down the road. In 1991 I was stationed with the Army at Ft Greely for two and half years. I was excited to give Lee a tour of where I had been. The Fort has changed, many new structures and a lot of construction. The Fort had been closed in 1997 as part of the big money saving efforts by the Department of Defense. However, in 2002 under the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Fort Greely was reopened with a new mission. Quite exciting to see all the changes.
Then it was off for a reunion with old friends. We spent the day and night with Ben and Sharon, friends of mine from my days of being stationed here. Hadn’t seen each other for fifteen years, they haven’t changed. Well of course they changed, as did I, much older. We visited, talked about old times and new. Relived some of the good moments when I was stationed here. We laughed so hard. Needless to say we had a ball. End day thirteen.
Could not email for the past few days due to lousy wi-fi and no internet access. Ben and Sharon refuse to get technologically connected! They have no answering machine or cell phone!!! How do they survive!
Aug 12, Day 14. We had planned to get on the road by ten, but didn’t leave until noon.
We had planned to stop in North Pole, Alaska so Lee could see the big Santa Claus house, but she was happy seeing it from the road. Next stop, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to tour their new museum. We planned on staying about an hour, ended up about two and a half. No problem, we were headed to McKinley Creekside Cabins near Denali National Park. A short two and a half hour drive and we arrived, checked in and had supper.
Our cabin was ample, not big at all, and it did have inside toilets!!!! Hey don’t laugh, that’s a plus! The creek ran about 20 feet from our cabin door, very nice. This was the only place where Lee had to rough it, no TV!!!! So early to sleep. End day fourteen.
Aug 13, Day 15! Today we arrive Anchorage, yippie.
Last night Lee told me we were going to sleep in, as we really didn’t have a lot planned and only had a three hour drive to Anchorage. LOL, she was up before seven!!!! Well, I guess that’s because we went to bed around nine, remember no TV!!!
So we got up and got ready to hit the day. Breakfast at the little restaurant and back track about twenty miles to get gas. My bad, I forgot to fill up in Fairbanks, so we basically were close to “E.” So back to the gas station to fill up. Ugh, $3.88 a gallon. We are ready to go.
Back about fourteen miles to the Denali Park Road. There are quite a few options for touring the park, several bus tours that last anywhere from six to twelve hours. I think the furthest one can go into the park by vehicle is like ninety-three miles. We opted to do our own drive in, the max a car can drive in is fifteen miles. Lots of beautiful scenery, saw a moose and a huge caribou. Caught a glimpse of Mt McKinley. They say that during the summer months two out of three days the mountain is covered by clouds. And yep, it was!
Again our plan was to be headed towards Anchorage by one, never left Denali until after three. About a hundred miles down the road in Willow we hit rain. This is the first real hard steady rain we’ve hit on the trip. So we had to slow down just a bit, mountain roads and rain does not make a good mix for safety. Other than the rain the drive wasn’t bad at all.
Around seven-thirty we pull into Lee’s brother’s driveway. Yippie, we made it. Late supper and to bed. End day fifteen.
We will be here for about twelve days before we head back. Tuesday we head to Seward to visit the Sea Life Center, we’ll spend one night and two days there. The only other activity we have planned is a day of salmon fishing. The rest of our time will be spent relaxing and just meandering around Anchorage visiting some of the native cultural centers etc.
I am going to attempt to get all my pics downloaded from the cameras and get them up on our album pages. Probably won't even begin that process until tomorrow.
This may be my last post for several days. Sure hope you have enjoyed the read, as much as we have enjoyed the adventure.
Aug 17 & 18, Days 19 & 20: We left Anchorage Tuesday morning en route to Seward, a little coastal city about a hundred-twenty or so miles south of Anchorage. The quest is to visit the Sea Life Center. This is a rescue/research facility funded mainly by Exxon after the Exxon-Valdez fiasco.
While there we toured the facility which is awesome, many live sea life exhibits as well as educational movies and talks about the center’s goals and accomplishments. Special tours are also offered. Lee and I opted to do the Puffin encounter, the behind the scenes tour, and the octopus encounter. Needless to say all were very interesting.
During the Puffin encounter we were shown the research facility, the feed prep rooms, and a few of the rooms where they keep and treat the birds. The highlight was being brought into the aviary and were allowed to feed the birds, awesome. The pictures will tell the story.
The behind the scenes tour was pretty neat, basically this was an educational tour about the center. Pretty amazing how they pull in salt water from Resurrection Bay filter it and use it to fill all the tanks in the center. More amazing is the process they do to filter and treat the water for bacteria and contamination before returning it to the bay.
The octopus tour was probably our favorite. The highlight here was to watch an octopus being fed and being able to interact with it. Here again the photos and videos will tell the story much better than I can.
During our drive to and from, we saw some mountain goats, salmon going to spawn, and a few eagles. The sun came out today and it actually hit 67 degrees. Not missing August in Arkansas at all. We do miss all of our friends, our babies and our boat.
Not much planned the next few days. Salmon fishing on Saturday!!!! So day twenty is now history!
Aug 20, Day 22: Today we kind of chilled. Went to the Alaskan Heritage Center, an okay place. This is a native center where basically the story and history of all the Alaskan tribes is told. Not a place where you can spend hour upon hour; a couple of hours does it. There were supposed to be a few demonstrations on totem pole carving and prepping food (wild game) for winter storage, for some reason they never happened. So we looked at the exhibits and all the hand made jewelry and crafts. Nice stuff, but nothing we couldn’t live without. For me, on a scale of one to ten, this was like a four. Not something I would do again.
We did have lunch at the Wishbone Café, a little fried chicken place that has been serving pan fried chicken since 1955. All I can say is I left only the bone!!!!
We stopped at a few other local stores before heading for the house. Once home I called our fishing guide to confirm tomorrows outing. Oops, they dropped the ball on this one. For some reason they were never notified of our reservation and therefore did not have us scheduled. So no fishing tomorrow. That could be a good thing as my sister in law has no room in the freezer.
Tomorrow we will drop back to the forty and punt!!!! We’ll go to Saturday Market, kind of a big flea market kinda thing. Local artists, musicians, food vendors and vendors of all sorts convert the city parking lot into a big fair like midway. Neat to go and just people watch. After that we may made our way to the local Army/Navy store; this place has become tradition with us.
Tomorrow eve we will do steaks on the bar-b and have a relaxing night at home.
In a week, next Thursday, we get on the road and head for home!!!!
Enough for now, end day twenty-two.
Aug 24, Day 26: Haven’t done much the past few days. Sunday we ventured out to the Greek Food Festival. Very similar to the one in Little Rock with a few exceptions. First, they had a bar, yep, a fully stocked bar; second, they were raffling off a 2010 Mercedes SUV; tickets were $100 each, and believe it or not they had lines of people waiting to buy a ticket(s); and third, they had an ATM on site. The ATM was the giveaway that this was a very serious festival. Food galore. Omigosh, they had desserts, full dinners, Gyros, Greek doughnuts and so much more.
The day threatened rain, but it turned out nice, which was good for the festival. The festival ran from Friday to Sunday and if the amount of people that were there Sunday was an indication of Friday and Saturday, they had a very successful event.
Saturday evening Pat grilled steaks that were absolutely fantastic. He used a seasoning, but all he would tell me was he bought it at a little place downtown, so I'm thinking I'm not gonna find out what it was. He served up baked potatoes and corn on the cob. Yum-O.
Sunday I cooked chicken wings. In the morning I showed Pat how I season the wings using Rendezvous Rub and Tony’s Creole Seasoning. Popped them in a baggy and put them in the fridge. Put them on the grill about 5:45 and by 7:00 we were eating. Lee did her beans and slaw to go with the wings. Not sure how many wings I grilled, but when the eating frenzy stopped only one wing remained!!!!! I’m thinking the wings were a hit.
Monday was a laid back day, kinda depressed because we leave in a few days. We met Suzanne for lunch and a tour of the Governor’s office. Lee and I came back to the house and chilled.
Then Lee got this bright idea to mow the grass. Though the yard isn’t big, using a push mower sure made it seem like a golf course. Lee and I took turns and maybe an hour and a half later the yard was complete. Silly girl, bet she never dreams up that idea again.
Today, Tuesday, we all met for lunch. Pat went back to work and Suzanne had errands to run. Being election day, she took the day off, nothing going on in the Gov’s office today. Lee and Suzanne are on a street corner somewhere waving signs saying "Vote for Parnell." Tonight we will head to dinner and then stop by the campaign headquarters for what we hope is a victory celebration.
Tomorrow, we pack; yuck! But we can’t stay here forever. Thursday will find us awakening early, saying our good-byes, finish putting stuff in the car, and heading south en route to home. Enough rambling for today. End day twenty-six.
Aug 25, Day 27: Wednesday morning came early after a late night watching election results. Not sure I mentioned that Suzanne is the speech writer for the Governor of Alaska, thus the interest in the election, and the fact that his being elected will ensure a position for Suzanne for another four years!!!!
After dinner we headed to the results party, hung out there til about 10:30 and then headed for home. Watched the tube until the incumbent Sean Parnell was declared the winner. Everyone seems pretty confident that Governor Parnell will win the election in November.
Today is our last day in Anchorage, tomorrow we head for home, our real home in Arkansas. So we will spend the day packing our bags, loading up the car, topping off the tank in preparation to begin the four thousand- five hundred mile trek to Arkansas. Our journey home will take about two weeks, stopping in Hamilton, Montana to visit one of Lee’s cousins, and St Louis, Missouri to take in a Cardinals game. The Cardinals game will be the culmination of our Alaskan Adventure. From St Louis, next stop will be home.
Over the next week cell and internet service will be sketchy so don’t panic if you try to call or email. As soon as we can we will reply.
Although we have the day ahead of us, I don’t foresee anything earth shattering happening today.
Short funny quip. Today, still Wednesday, we go to this little home cooking restaurant, Granny B's, for lunch. Lee asks what the soup of the day is. The waitress looks at her and she says, "No soup today, it's too hot. When it's hot outside we don't have soup."
Lee and I look at each other and laugh, it's only like 58 degrees outside. But the sun was shining so maybe they consider that a heatwave!!!!! Too funny.
Supper tonight was delicious, turned out that I was the cook. We did fresh salmon, snow crab legs, oven roasted veggies and a nice salad. The crab was served with drawn butter. The salad dressing was a french walnut EVOO and 18 year old balsamic vinegar that we bought during our stop in Branson, Mo. No one complained so I think it all turned out well.
Settling back and enjoying our last night with Lee's brother and his wife. It's been a great visit and we had a wonderful time. We're packed and have everything ready for the car. We'll get up with Pat and Suzanne, bid them farewell as they scurry off to work and then we'll get ourselves ready and hit the road. First stop is Tok, about a five hour drive. We'll get to bed early as Friday begins our long days of driving. Looking forward to home and our own bed! End day twenty-seven.
Aug 27, Day 29: On the road heading for home. So far two stops down, many yet ahead. Nothing earth shattering to report, however, we have noticed that the mountains that didn’t have snow on them on the way up, now have snow!!!
This morning was probably our chilliest morning, a blistering 44 degrees.
A few construction delays, but nothing serious.
Saw another wolf, such an awesome animal.
Long day ahead tomorrow and no wi-fi or phone, I just don’t know how two people that are so connected to email are doing this, but we are!!!! Guess that’s a good thing.
End day twenty-nine!!!
Aug 28, Day 30: Left Whitehorse around nine a.m. Not a bad day, about eight hours to our next scheduled stop which is Liard Hot Springs Lodge in British Columbia. The drive wasn’t too bad, a bit of construction, but being Saturday no long hold ups or following Pilot vehicles. Quite a few RV’s on the road to home, well, south anyway.
Not much wildlife at all, more buffalo, but not much else.
About four-thirty we pull into our stop for the night, Liard Hot Springs Lodge. We are ready to have a nice dinner and kick back for a restful night. We check in, get our stuff from the car and proceed to our room. OMG!!!!! This is the worst place we’ve stopped. Kinda like something out of a Hitchcock or Stephen King movie. We have to rethink this, quick. So we get the phone number for the Northern Rockies Lodge, we’ve stayed here before, and call. Yes they have a room!!!! So we proceed to retrieve our stuff and put it back in the car.
Lee goes in and tells the folks we can’t stay here tonight. They ask why, and Lee tells them the room is nothing like the picture they have posted on the web site.
Back in the car en route to the Northern Rockies Lodge.
About an hour later we get checked in, same room we had on the way up, drop our stuff into the room and head for dinner. Just can’t beat this place.
Settled in, will have breakfast here in the morning, then head out to Dawson Creek. End day thirty.
Aug 29, Day 31: Got up, had breakfast and got the road around nine.
Arrived Dawson Creek around five this evening. That brought us back to Mile 0 which completes our drive of the Alaska Highway in both direction. Yee-haa, about 2,844 miles, a milestone many folks never get to experience.
Saw some awesome wildlife today. About fifteen minutes on the road and we came up on a small herd of young caribou in the middle of the road and they weren’t moving. So we just sat and waited. Finally they let us go. Another thirty or so minutes and another small herd. The coolest was the lone young caribou that was walking in the middle of the road right in front of us. Finally it moved off the road and let us go, as soon as we passed it came back onto the road. Lee took some pics and video, I’ll get those posted as soon as I can.
The drive was pretty non-eventful, a couple of construction delays, but nothing significant.
When we arrived Dawson Creek we checked in, dropped our stuff and walked to the casino. Yeppers, there is a Chances casino. No we didn’t win. Then we walked through the Walmart, right across from the hotel, now isn’t that a winning combo. A casino and a Walmart within walking distance.
And then we hit our first dilemma on the trip, what to do for dinner. We split a burger and onion rings about two hours up the road so neither of us our really hungry. So we decided to go back to the car and pull something out of our “on the road” food bag. So dinner, and I use the term loosely, consisted of peanut butter crackers, chips, and crunchy cheetos. At midnight we’ll be sorry we didn’t do dinner. For dessert we have Jelly Belly jelly beans!!!! Who says we’re not prepared!!!
Tomorrow we head to Calgary, our longest day on the road, nine hour drive time, add an hour for lunch and then we lose an hour due to the time zone. So we probably won't get to Calgary until like eight p.m.
Note of interest, checked some vehicle stats today. We have average about 57.4 mph, fastest speed was 92.3, must have been passing someone. So far we have averaged about 31.2 mpg!!! This VW CC rocks. I'll post actual figures once we get home and I can do all the calculations. End day thirty-one.
Sept 1, Day 34: Crossed border into the USA. Weird, must have been a new officer who was going through training.
We handed our passports, asked the usual questions of, any alcohol, tobacco, plants, food, citrus, more than $6000 cash, etc. She then asked for me to roll down my back window. More questions, where were we coming from, how long did we stay, what was the purpose of visit, etc. All the while she was looking for approval from her training officer. Asked to turn off engine and pop trunk. More questions, what was the tag number and state of registration. Our reply was the two digits and two letters and Arkansas. She was puzzled, she looked to her training officer, “only" four characters? I then say it is a state issued specialty plate. Understand that they have a camera pointed at your plate which she can see. She asks, “what is to the right of the last digit?” We reply, a black bear, again, one of Arkansas specialty plates. At this time the training officer looks at us and says, “Razorbacks.” We nod and smile. More questions, what are your occupations, you visited your brother, and how long were you in Canada? Ya know you have to be patient and smile and answer and, well you get the picture.
She then informs us that we have been selected to take an agriculture survey, so please pull into the parking area and enter through the front doors.
By this time Lee is going bonkers; we’ve got two bottles of wine, you have a bottle of Crown; and we have a bag of food; and so on and so on. Ugh!!!
Into the customs office, lots of people waiting for one reason or another, so we figure we just wait. We look around and there is the training officer leaning on the desk, he beckons us, so we go to the counter. He has our passports and a sheet of paper, some kind of a form. He begins asking questions; where are you from? Little Rock. Do you have any food? No. Well we have chips and snack foods. So no food he says! And he scratches through that section of the form.
He continues; my daughter is a baby nurse in Anchorage. She tried to talk my wife and I into moving to Alaska. But we’re not sure we could handle all the darkness in the winter. Lee says she is a pediatric orthopaedic nurse. They talk about this.
More small talk of our drive up and our drive back. Our passports are handed back to us. More small talk. Probably spent ten to fifteen minutes chatting. Finally we say our goodbyes.
Very nice guy, Lee and I conclude he wanted a break and being Lee and his daughter were nurses, he figured us nice folks to visit with.
Done with customs, we head to Hamilton, MT. Not a bad drive, we arrive at seven.
This is the first time we have been to visit Lee’s cousin at their Montana cabin!!!!! I am not going to go into describing this place, I will dedicate an online album titled “The Mountain Cabin.”
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This morning we sleep in as our plan is to spend the day and hit the road tomorrow, Thursday, to continue our journey home. Plans change!!!!
I think most of you know that Lee and I really love wildlife. Well here at the “cabin” there are deer, turkey, grouse, quail, elk, a pond with trout and more. So I suggest we delay our departure in the morning and spend one more day here. After checking, we are given the green light to stay.
I start looking at maps and distances we will have to make up. Remember we have to be in St Louis no later than noon on Sunday for the Cardinals game.
So when we leave here Friday we have seventeen hundred miles to travel in two days. We decide we can do it, so we cancel the next two days hotel reservations. So when we pull out Friday we will drive until we get tired, hopefully we will be close to Sioux Falls, SD.
At some point this morning Buford asks if I want to go with him to get a tractor tire rim. Sure. So we head down the road to a neighbor, Ray. He and his wife have lived here for about forty - five years. Buford introduces me, I respond with "a pleasure to meet you." Ray shakes my hand and says, "you don't know that yet!!!" I laugh. What a character, neat guy, like seventy-eight or so. Introduces to me to his dog Montana, no breed, a true Heinz 57, but so friendly! Then Ray looks about and says we got two cats, Fuzzy and Nuts, but neither of them have nuts!!! They're usually around, but I guess they've been out whoring all night. Doesn't do them any good, they ain't got nuts!!! In all this he is using expletives to describe everything. I am nearly in tears from laughter. And yes, I know, it was, a pleasure to meet him!
Back to the cabin, we unload the tractor rim, we roll it down the embankment to an area that has a circle staked out. Buford plops the rim down and says, "she's got her fire pit." Too funny.
So this afternoon, Bunny and Buford ask if we want to help feed the deer. Well, duh, yes!!! So we get ready, Buford gathers the buckets of food. He and I get in a “Mule,” kinda like a John Deere utility vehicle. Buford tells me to drive!!! I’ve never driven one of these, but what the heck it’s an adventure. Lee proceeds to go with Bunny on a four-wheeler! Yes you read that right, Lee actually climbed aboard a four-wheeler.
Buford directs me and we head out. OMG, not fifty feet from our start point is a young buck standing there as if he knew food was on the way. Where the hell is my camera!!!!!
We proceed with our feed mission. At the edge of the cleared property we stop and walk a bit. Then we drive to the pond, walk a bit, chat etc. Then we head back to the house.
As I proceed up the hill a doe jumps from the brush right in front of me!!! Looking to my left and right a few more deer just stand and watch. Buford says don’t go too slow, they’ll get nervous.
What a fun time. We go to a local steakhouse for dinner and on the way back we pass so many deer we couldn’t count them. Passed about thirteen elk grazing in a field. Almost ran over a rafter of turkey. And just down from the driveway was a covey of quail. We are like in total awe. And we have another full day ahead of this wonderful Montana outdoors.
Needless to say, we are so enjoying this trip. End day thirty-four.
Sept 2, Day 35: Well today we received a sign that says we have to move to Montana. A three-legged deer showed up on the property!!!!! Really, I'll take pictures when we go to put feed out.
Spent a restful, yet exciting day here. Watched deer pretty much all day. Took some pics and hope at least a few are album worthy. Lee did laundry and we all played a game of dominoes. Then it was time to put out feed!
Went to a local burger joint for dinner, we are full. Came back from dinner, packed suitcases and packed the car. Planning on leaving not later than eight in the morning, we have a full day of driving to catch up with. By staying an extra day, we are basically five hundred miles behind schedule.
Gonna be an early night to bed, so I'll just call day thirty-five done!
Sept 3 & 4: Departed Hamilton en route to St Louis.
Not much exciting, just putting a lot of asphalt and concrete under our tires. Made Wall, SD around ten, slept like five hours and then we were up and on the road. Both of these days comprised of about fourteen hours of driving.
Finally around ten p.m. we arrived St Louis. Checked in and headed to our room. No driving until Monday. Tomorrow a brand new day!!! Both the third and fourth of September are history.
Sept 5, Day 38: A sleep in day, yippie. Got up and made our way down for breakfast. After breakfast we went back to the room for a bit before heading to Busch Stadium. The St Louis Cardinals play the Cincinatti Reds. Listening to fans, it sure didn't sound like the Cards were having a great season, but today they were winners with a 4-2 win. And we witnessed a three run homer hit by #7 Matt Holiday.
Lee did great on the tickets. We got seats in the Bank of America club, section 278, west side of the stadium, so basically we sat in the shade for most of the game. Not sure how Lee managed the deal, our tickets were all inclusive. A buffet that was served for two and a half hours beginning one hour before game time. Drinks, beer, wine, and soft drinks were served up to the middle of the eigth inning. We had reserved outside seats with open seating in the air conditioned club house and it had it's own restrooms. Yeppers Lee did great.
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After the game we headed back to the hotel. We were going to go down to the "kick-back" (Drury Inn), but the place was packed. So we handed off our drink tickets to the folks in line in front of us and headed to the casino.
Spent about three hours there, I lost, but Lee did okay. So back to the hotel and dinner. Caleco's a little Italian place that stayed open until three in the morning. Lee had ribs and I had shrimp, and it was oh so good. Then we headed back to the hotel and up to the room. I think it was like midnight when we realized how late it was, so we headed to bed. No big deal as tomorrow the drive is easy and destination home! So far the trip has been awesome. End day thirty-eight.
Sept 6, day 39, final day of this adventure: Slept in again. We passed on breakfast, showered, packed and checked out. Hit the road around ten-thirty. Took our time coming home, no need to rush after traveling some 9,000+ miles, and it's Labor Day!!! By the time we got home, got things out of the car, greeted and were greeted by the pets it was probably nine.
I think we were in bed by eleven, ahhhh, the comfort of ones own bed!!!!! Sweet dreams world this adventure has come to an end.
Before I end this entry, I need to give special recognition to a very special person, my wife Lee. She spent numerous hours Googling, reading reviews, checking dates, making reservations and the plans that made this trip so wonderful. Only one place she decided to stay at was a bust, not her fault, the website was very misleading. She declined to stay there, the place was just not fit for the living. Some how, in the middle of no where, no cell service, she located a credit card pay phone, made a call and got us a place an hour down the road. Obviously all went well as neither of us flew home;) And you wonder why I like her so much!!!!! 'nuff said.
Over the next or day so, I will do some editing and titling of photos and will repost the link to the online albums. I am also going to do a review of the places we stayed i.e. B&B's, hotels etc. and weather. I also plan to include a fuel cost and an average miles per gallon. So check back next week for the final entry.
Places We Stayed
Alaska Road Trip 2010
During the thirty-eight day trip we slept in like twenty-three different beds. We carried our own pillows from home, so our heads found total comfort every night!!!
Drury Inn, Springfield Mo.
As with all Drury Inn’s one cannot be disappointed. The staff is probably the best we’ve ever encountered, very professional, personable and courteous.
The rooms are great, clean and appealing. The Drury chain offers breakfast, and what they refer to as “kick-back” both of which are free. The “kick-back” runs from 5:30p.m. to 7:00p.m. each evening. They offer a small buffet with a featured item each day. The buffet may include hot dogs, with chili and all the fixings; nachos; chicken wings; meatballs; egg rolls; baked potato, and salad, along with chips and soft drinks. Each guest is given a coupon good for three alcoholic drinks per evening. Served is beer, wine and mixed cocktails. The soft drink fountain is open until 10p.m. and fresh hot popcorn is offered until 10p.m. as well.
Needless to say the Drury Inn’s have become our hotel of choice.
Hilton Garden Inn, Council Bluffs, IA.
Short to the point here, the hotel is part of the Horseshoe Casino. Included in our stay was a complimentary breakfast which was pretty darn good. The room was great and of course convenient to the casino. Only real disappointment was the Jack Binion’s Steakhouse located in the casino. Service was lousy, waiter most impersonal and the food for what we paid was not good. We both had steaks and to be truthful the presentation, preparation, and flavor is much better at a Lone Star Steakhouse.
A plus for the guys is the Bass Pro Shop within walking distance!
Black Forest Inn, Rapid City, SD.
This was a cozy little B&B tucked away in the Black Hills. We spent two nights here. Our room was titled the Tuscan Room, I think for a few reasons. The room had a whirlpool bath and the window above the bath looked across the front lawn of the Inn. Very clean and very quaint.
They had their own restaurant, Bistro on the Terrace. The food was absolutely fantastic. The King Freshwater Shrimp were so good. They were the size of small lobsters and tasted as good.
Breakfast is included in your stay and consisted of fruit cups, Belgian waffles and sausage, and was so yummy!
This is a place we will return to in the future.
The Josephine B&B, Billings, MT.
A very nice, clean place. I addressed this in our blog. Located in downtown Billings it was within walking distance to several restaurants.
Breakfast was delightful and filling.
O’Haire Motor Inn, Great Falls, MT.
Here again I addressed this place in our blog so I won’t dwell. The restaurant attached to the motel is Clark and Lewies and serves a great dinner and an equally good breakfast. At $70 a night it can’t be beat. Have duck will travel!!!!
Matrix Hotel, Edmonton, AB, CA.
Located in downtown Edmonton, this was a neat place. Very clean, very art deco and very spacious rooms. We spent two nights here as we wanted to be fairly close to the Edmonton Mall. Each evening there is a complimentary wine tasting for an hour or so. Breakfast is also complimentary. The attached restaurant, The Wildflower Grill, was very nice and offered a nice menu. The food was very good, but pricey. The latter is true throughout Canada, lunch on an average probably ranged in the $30 - $50 area and dinner, a hundred bucks easy. And we never ordered anything extravagant, pretty much basic meals.
Northern Lights B&B, Dawson Creek, BC, CA.
A very nice place with a nicely decorated room. We had the upstairs room which caused a bit of embarrassment for me. The staircase leading to the upstairs was very narrow and had no handrail on the open side. If one slipped they would fall directly into the kitchen. Trying to be cautious as I navigated the stairs, I immediately knocked a picture of the wall. Glad that it did not have glass, I proceeded with apologies. When I got to the top landing I had to negotiate a ninety degree turn to the right to proceed up the final two steps. I forgot I had my backpack on and promptly knocked two framed pictures off the wall. They tumbled and shattered, ugh! Needless to say I was beside myself. The hostess was very forgiving and wouldn’t even accept my offer to pay for the frames.
I suggested she post a sign “no backpacks allowed” at the foot of the stairs.
In the morning we were served our best breakfast of the entire trip. Ham and egg crepes with a dill sauce; roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus with the same dill sauce; yep I know you’re saying asparagus for breakfast? It was awesome. As an appetizer before breakfast a banana, granola with vanilla yogurt cup was served.
Northern Rockies Lodge, Muncho Lake, BC, CA.
I think I could talk about this place for days. We stayed here in 2008 when we accompanied Lee’s brother during his relocation from Florida to Anchorage.
We had only planned to stay here on the way up to Anchorage, however, we ended up staying here on the return drive as well.
The entire place is great. The rooms are clean and cozy and the food is terrific. Has a nice little history to it.
SKKY Hotel, Whitehorse, YT, CA.
We stayed here both going and coming back. Very nice place, clean and roomy. Fairly new, I think it opened like February of 2009. Very nice staff and with a full service restaurant. We ate dinner and breakfast here and both meals were great. I just don’t think they really understood what “no berries” means. Lee ordered the breakfast fruit cup with granola and yogurt twice, both times told the waitress, please, no berries. The waitress even asked back if melon was okay. Both times the fruit cups came with berries!!! Nothing so dramatic that we wouldn’t stay here again.
A Mooseberry Inn B&B, Tok, AK.
Another place we spent the night going and coming. A very remote little B&B with very comfortable rooms. On the way up we stayed in the Iceberry room, which was comfortable, but quite small, no complaints. On the way back we stayed in the Moonberry room, very plush with a large bathroom and large balcony. Not that we could use the balcony as the mosquitoes were so bad!!
Coffee on at 7:00 a.m. breakfast at 8 a.m. In the kitchen breakfast service was listed as: Hot - 8a.m.; Warm – 8:15a.m.; Cold 8:30a.m.
Breakfast included the now usual yogurt/granola cup; a breakfast casserole, and home baked bisquits. We had a great breakfast just about everyday.
McKinley Creekside Cabins, Denali National Park, AK.
Very nice place to stay. Lee had to really rough it here as there were no TV’s in the cabins! Nothing fancy, very friendly staff, quaint restaurant, just a nice warm and inviting atmosphere. When we got to the cabin, Lee found a nice little note and two homemade cookies. A very nice touch. The creek ran right in front of our cabin and you could hear the creek as it rolled over and off of the rocks.
Lee accidently left her pajamas when we left. A call to the office and they put them in the mail, they were waiting for Lee when we got home.
Hotel Seward, Seward, AK.
A very unique little place. I guess during the gold rush this place was a brothel!! Very quaint, not the most comfortable bed, but comfy nonetheless.
Seward itself is nice little town that has a year round population of I think 3,000. Being this is the home of the Seward Sea Life Center, quite a few folks work there. The rest of the folks, not sure, your guess is as good as mine. In speaking with one of the waitresses in a local eatery, she said once the last ship leaves on September 15th, the town basically shuts down.
Liard Hotsprings Lodge, Liard River, BC, CA.
We checked in and within fifteen minutes checked out and got a refund. Dirty carpets, smelly hallway and the room was terrible. The bedspread and linens appeared old and over used. Lee didn’t want to take the chance of pulling back the bed covers. The kicker is the room rate was $140 per night.
Not for us, Lee called the Northern Rockies Lodge, about an hour down the road, we lucked out, they had a room. Got there, checked in and found we got the same room we had on the trip up.
Liard Hotsprings Lodge surely did not represent what their website described.
Days Inn, Dawson Creek, BC, CA.
Another place we stayed at in 2008 with Lee’s brother. Very clean, with nice sized rooms and breakfast in the morning. Located within walking distance to Walmart, right across the street, and about a block away from the casino.
Travelodge Calgary University, Calgary, AB, CA.
Another downtown hotel. For those that know me, you know how cautious I am about my surroundings. Getting to this place was like getting to the Josephine B&B. Just seemed to be in a not so great part of the city. However, as it ended up, it wasn’t that bad of a place. Probably the oldest hotel we stayed in, and it showed its wear. But it was clean and very convenient to restaurants. We ate at Red Lobster and for the first time while in Canada our dinner bill wasn’t a hundred dollars.
They served a very nice continental breakfast in the morning. All in all it turned out to be an okay place to stay.
Days Inn, Wall, SD.
This place was okay, we actually napped here. I think we arrived about 10:30p.m. and were gone before 6a.m.
This was our first drive into the night. Because we opted to stay in Hamilton, MT an extra day, we had two fifteen hour driving days ahead.
The room was clean and the staff very personabale, for what we saw of them. I am sure the cleaning staff were puzzled when they got to the room. We didn’t even shower. We got up and hit the road, well we washed our faces and brushed our teeth, combed hair and left. Had to make St Louis.
Drury Inn, St Louis, MO.
We arrived around 10 p.m. Staying two nights here and this will be our last nights in a bed other than our own.
I am not going to dwell on this hotel as I covered it pretty much above. I will say we had a very spectacular view, about a block from our window stood the St Louis arch.
Sunday we took in a Cardinal’s and headed for home sweet home on Monday!!!
Again kudos to Lee, she did an outstanding job in planning the trip and choosing all the places we stayed.
Home safe and sound and happy to be surrounded by all our three and four-legged babies.
Total round trip mileage of the trip was 9,733.5 miles. Fuel expenses came to $1,173.10, purchasing 294.75 gallons of gas and averaged 33.02 miles per gallon. I had to refigure this several times as it just didn’t seem possible. The majority of our driving was highway with speed limits from 65 to 75 mph.
Lee’s car, as with most VW Passat’s, requires mid grade fuel 89 octane or better. In Canada most stations offered a regular unleaded, a mid grade at 88 octane and a premium of 90 octane. So we opted for the 90 octane.
At 72 mph and burning premium (90 octane ) fuel, the car was averaging 35.4 – 35.7 miles per gallon. Seems that was the winning combination to achieve the best fuel economy.
So there ya have it, our story and our adventure. Still have some pictures to post, title and edit, other than that, I think we can say the blog is complete. Hope you enjoyed reading it and stop back in a about a week, hopefully I’ll have the other pictures posted.
Thanks for reading.
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The Mountain Cabin
