Church Raffle Quilt 2005

Home at last! - #52-23

September 15, 2005 (Thu)
Dillon State Park, Zanesville, OH #85 elec. $21.00 A

Indianapolis, ID to Zanesville, OH (221/13231 miles) Q024945

We said a reluctant and tearful good-by to Frannie and got off at 8:15 (68.9° cloudy). A half hour later it came to us that we'd forgotten the package of Lee's elk sausage that he'd given us to take home. What a disappointment not to have this special treat and reminder of our visit!

At 9:10 we pulled into the Spiceland, IN Flying J to refuel and to dump Q's holding tanks. Rather than get back onto I-70 with all the trucks competing for roadway space, we dropped down to US-40 (The National Road) running parallel to the south. This road goes through every town it comes near but was much more interesting than the Interstate would have been - and it had much less traffic. But the cities of Springfield and Columbus were more than we wanted to tackle, so back to I-70. The Interstate also has rest areas - we were ready to stop for lunch - that US-40 does not. The two we passed were closed for rebuilding so we were pretty hungry by the time we ate lunch in the campground at 3:00!
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September 16, 2005 (Fri)
Camp Flying J, Carlisle, PA

Zanesville, OH to Carlisle, PA (293/13546 miles) Q025260

Up at 7:00 (71.4°) off at 8:15 (71.9°) It rained most of the night but this morning it was foggy and hazy with some blue sky above. We switched back and forth between US-40 and I-70 depending on the road conditions. - we tended to go to I-70 to bypass the larger cities. We got gas ($2.79) in West Virginia just before crossing over into Pennsylvania.

For lunch we decided on Kentucky Fried Chicken. Getting to the place was a nightmare! We sat for 10 minutes trying to make a left turn off the interstate ramp. (in frustration, a fellow pulled around us and into the path of one of the 18 wheelers holding us up. He made it, but barely. We finally turned right and made a U turn. When we got the the KFC it was blocked with a bar announcing "No Trucks Clearance 10 ft 6 in". We decided to find a nearby lot and walk there but found a back way in. We managed to place our order just before the place was overwhelmed by tour bus (that also found the back way in) passengers.

On the road again we passed fall colors in the hills, a wind farm (6 wind mills), and a motor home size Oscar Meyers hot dog (westbound).

License plate: Hi Ho Ag (Ag being the atomic symbol for silver)

We are camped at Ed's favorite - could it be the donut shop just down the road? - Flying J Truck Stop in Carlisle, PA. It's as noisy as all of them are, but we'll see. There is a Walmart 5 miles south if we need to stop in this area again.
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September 17, 2005 (Sat)
Home

Carlisle, PA to Home (193/13739 miles) Q025453
117 days and 13739 miles later we are home. It was a great trip! We would definitely like to do it again - once we've seen the rest of the country and if the price of gas comes down.

The traffic and truck stop noise wasn't as bad as we expected. Even so, if we need a free stop in this area again, we'll probably head for one of the two Walmarts in the area. It rained some last night and was still cloudy this morning. We got gas ($2.79) and dumped and flushed Q's tanks before hitting the road at 7:30 (72.9°) Our last-day-on-the-road breakfast was from McDonalds about 5 miles North on I-81. (A Red Robin restaurant and the other Walmart are there too.)

Two motorcycles with teddy bears in goggles as passengers passed us shortly after we got back on I-81. The Cabela's store in Hamburg, PA (we stopped to check it out) does not allow overnight parking. Most other stores allow it though. They said it is by town ordinance because people were taking advantage - loud parties!

We crossed the state line into New Jersey on I-78 at 11:15. Home at 12:40.

Across the Midwest - #52-22

September 5, 2005 (Sat)
Bemidji State Park, Bemidji, MN #9 dry $15.00 + $7.00 B

Minot, ND to Bemidji, MN (333/11456 miles) Q023773

Camping here ended up being more expensive than we thought it would be. There is a $7.00 a day fee just to be in the park! The cost of the campsite was additional. $22 a night without hookups is a lot.

Up, this morning, at 6:45 and got off at 7:35 (59.7°) - It was warm when we went to bed last night, almost too warm. But it cooled off nicely during the night. It was hazy as we started out East on US-2 and there was even some light fog 20 miles out. At 8:55 we passed the geographical center of North America, Rugby, ND, a monumental passage!

About mid-morning a class A motor home came up on us from behind. At first we thought it might be friends of ours but it turned out to be a man by himself. Although he was traveling faster than we were he tended to stop at all the rest areas so he overtook us several times. And in Bagley, Minnesota he passed us going the other way! We guess that he needed fuel and discovered that the prices went up as he went out of town so was coming back for a lower price. We filled up down the road in Bemidji for $3.09/gal - not too bad compared to some of the prices we saw today - some as high as $3.34!

In general the road was good even when the four lanes narrowed to two in the construction areas. The landscape was quite flat with fields of mostly soy beans and sun flowers. There were also some fields of corn. The weather was clear but very windy. As we passed through Grand Forks, ND we discussed the fact that this is where Ray Kelley (married Mark's mother after his father died) was from. We got into Bemidji State Park at about 3:20.
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September 6, 2005 (Tue)
Bemidji State Park, Bemidji, MN (2)

It rained during the night giving us both concerns about having signed up for two nights here and maybe spending the day cooped up inside. The sky was clear when we got up though, so after breakfast we took the bicycles off the front of Q for the first time since we'd left Homer, Alaska.

The city of Bemidji is 7 miles down the paved Paul Bunyan State Trail (an old railroad bed) along the Bemidji Lake shore, a beautiful ride. There is a huge statue of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox "Babe" in town that we wanted to see. It is claimed to be the most photographed site in Minnesota. But to get there we'd have had to ride through city streets so we decided to wait until tomorrow and see it from the safety of Q's cab.

This afternoon we took our chairs down to the beach and spent a couple of hours there in the sun looking at the water and reading. It got rather windy though so we didn't stay as long as we wanted to.
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September 7, 2005 (Wed)
Wanoka Campground, Chequamegon National Forest #1 dry $5.00g B-

Bemidji, MN to Iron River, WI (222/11678 miles) Q023995

Up at 6:30 off at 8:00. Our first stop was in Bemidji to help maintain the "most photographed" reputation of the Paul Bunyan and Babe statue. The next was across town (to near where we were on bicycles yesterday) to a laundromat - a needed stop because we'll not be in comparably equipped campgrounds.

US-2 eastbound was about the same as it has been for the last two or three days, flat without much interesting scenery. After about two hours we passed the couple (we think) on bicycles whom we passed two and four days ago. Quite a trip!

We stopped for lunch in a rest stop in Floodwood, MN and found out later that there was a free WiFi hotspot there. (We must learn to check whenever we stop!) To restock the pantry we chose Super One Foods in Superior, Wisconsin (across the St. Louis River/Lake Superior from Duluth, MN). We should have gotten gas before we crossed that river! We would have saved least 10 cents a gallon. Instead we paid $3.19/gal.

We're in a National Forest Campground with the usual amenities, atmosphere, trees, few people, quiet, pit toilets, and no shower facilities. We discovered that Wisconsin is like Minnesota in that they charge a daily fee just to be in their state parks. That makes the cost equal to or greater than private campgrounds. We opted for atmosphere and a low price. After dinner we walked down the path from our campsite to the small lake that we can see from our dining room window.
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September 8,2005 (Thu)
Camp Walmart, Madison, WI

Iron River, WI to Madison, WI (321/11999 miles) Q0243116

Up at 6:30 (43.3°) off at 7:30 (45.5°) Cloudy but blue sky in the distance. In Ashland we began to see a huge pier projecting out into Lake Superior and finally determined that it was a railroad pier (probably used to load the big ships bound for the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. For wildlife we saw several white tail deer in the woods and risking their lives to cross the road and a lonely pheasant strutting his stuff along the shoulder.

Finally leaving our old pal US-2 we turned south on US-51 where we saw the landscape change from mostly forest and lakes to mostly farmland - wild rice seemed to be a popular commodity as we saw it advertised for sale all along the way. At first the trees showed definite signs of fall but as we drove south the color turned back to green. Interesting. Road construction produced some slow downs and one stretch of loose gravel - no stone dings this time but one SUV tried his best to give us one. Why is it always the SUVs?

When we stopped for gas in Stevens Point, Mark found a WiFi signal so we were able to download our email. We got cut off though when we tried to download our banking data. We pulled into a Pizza Hut for lunch and found that Q was way too big to maneuver around. We almost couldn't get turned around (backing out onto a busy 4 lane highway was out of the question!) We went on and found one in Plover. Our former traveling companions will be interested to know that it was a buffet and they had blueberry pizza for desert. YES!

Our host for the night is again Walmart. As I write this (6:00 pm) there is a class A motor home nearby - here when we got here at about 3:30 - and a fellow sleeping in a beat up old Chrysler wagon loaded so heavy that the fender is barely off the rear wheel.
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September 9, 2005 (Fri)
Moraine View State Park, Le Roy, IL #C11 elec. $15.00 A+

Madison, WI to Le Roy, IL (234/12333 miles) Q024550

Up at 6:45 (For the first time in a long time it was warm enough, 63°, not to turn the furnace on when we got up) off at 8:00 (sunny & clear 68.9°).

The interstate highway system isn't known for scenery and I-39/US-50 southbound through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois is no exception. It's mostly flat fields of mostly corn - although there was a silo at one farm that was topped with a huge Jack-O-Lantern, as big around as the silo itself. South of Rockford, IL we noticed that there was no traffic northbound. We soon came upon several emergency and police vehicles supervising a front end payloader cleaning garbage off the highway. It looked like some kind of trash hauler had dumped its load. We're not quite sure why the operation required routing traffic off the interstate 10 miles down the road. Lucky for the north bounders, traffic was very light - barely a quarter mile back up. A large wind farm further on added some interest to the landscape near the village of Paw Paw, IL.

This Illinois State Park is very nice and so far unpopulated. It was so hot (92°) when we got here at about 12:30 that we haven't done any exploring. There seem to be hiking paths and it looks like we might be able to bicycle a road that goes all the way around the lake. We've left that kind of activity for the cool of tomorrow morning.
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September 10, 2005 (Sat)
Moraine View State Park, Le Roy, IL (2)

It was 74° when we got up this morning. We're not in Alaska any more! We got a phone call this morning with the news that Joy's sister Frannie is scheduled for surgery - not for the aneurysm that she's been anticipating but an unrelated minor procedure - on Monday. She preferred that we come tomorrow as planned so we will be here another night.

The road around the lake is only 3 1/2 miles long so we decided to walk it rather than take our bicycles. It was a very nice walk through woods with occasional views of the lake. We were surprised at the number of other people who were also doing it - both walking and on bicycles (and some also in cars). The thermometer was approaching 90° by the time we got back so sitting became the most strenuous activity for the rest of the day. After lunch it was naps interrupted now and then with vigorous reading. The temperature reached the mid 90s before dropping back in the late afternoon.


September 11, 2005 (Sun)
Lee and Frannie's driveway, Indianapolis, IN

Le Roy, IL to Indianapolis, IN (174/12507 miles) Q024724

Up 6:00 Off 7:30 (hazy 71.2°) After dumping the tanks and topping off the fresh water we were on our way headed East on I-74 through eastern Illinois corn fields. At 9:20 we crossed over into Indiana and proceeded through its corn fields. Off in the haze we can see a big city, but there shouldn't be a city there. Brigadoon comes to mind. Then we realize the "city" is just a bunch of grain elevators. On through more corn fields.

Back when Mark was gainfully employed he had been in Crawfordsville several times on business. We thought it might be fun to detour through there for our grocery stop. He didn't recognize any land marks but we did get groceries. Rather than getting back on I-74 we followed the less hectic US-136 into Indianapolis. In addition to corn fields we saw turkeys in the road and Llama in a yard. And for a long while we drove along side a 10 hopper car long train (2 CSX blue and yellow engines, Ed. Don't know the manufacture, model, etc.) We got to Joy's sister Frannie's at about noon. We spent the afternoon catching up.
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September 12, 2005 (Mon)
Lee and Frannie's driveway, Indianapolis, IN

Frannie and Lee left at 5:30 for Frannie's 6:00 appointment at the hospital for her out patient TGN surgery. We joined Lee in the waiting room at about 8:30. At 8:45 the surgeon stopped by and told Lee that all had gone well and that she was in recovery. We brought her home an hour later and she spent the rest of the day resting.

Q got new shoes this afternoon. We had begun to hear noises from the tires indicating that something wasn't right so Mark had it checked out. Result: two new tires in front and a promise to Q that we'd have the alignment checked when we get home.

We will be here for 3 days.

The Icefields Parkway - #52-21

August 27, 2005 (Sat)
Sintich Trailer and RV Park, Prince George, BC #12A w/e $19c B+

Smithers, BC to Prince George, BC (240/9747 miles) Q022064

Up at 6:00 off at 7:15, in the rain, continuing east on the Yellowhead Highway. This is the weekend of the "biggest fair in British Columbia". It's an agricultural fair held in Smithers. We had talked about going to it "it might be fun", but not in the rain. But the location seems appropriate. We were passing through farm lands with cattle, horses and large rolls of hay in the fields. Logging is also a big industry here.

We stopped in Burns Lake for gas and rejoiced at having to pay only $3.13/gal (equiv) after paying as much as $3.74 only a few days ago. We stopped to do some grocery shopping on the way into Prince George and got to the campground at 12:30.

One of the first things we do on arriving at a campground is look for a way to connect to the internet so that we can keep up with email. When we were here with Gail and Phil on the way north, we found a coffee shop with free WiFi. It's not free any longer! The campground has WiFi but at a price - they think/thought. When we turned the computer on we found that we were connected - free! We took advantage and downloaded several days worth of email and updated our financial data.
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August 28, 2005 (Sun)
Sintich Trailer and RV Park, Prince George, BC (2)

It rained most of the night but the morning brought clear skies and only a few clouds. At 9:30 we all climbed into the toads and went into town to church. St. Michael and All Saints is the largest we've been to on the trip. Although we often doubled or even tripled the congregation, today we barely made a difference. That's not to say that we were there unnoticed. When we entered through the parish house the priest came rushing up, introduced himself and ask us to do the same. We chatted for a while and until he had to go to prepare for leading the service. The sanctuary was "A" frame modern with quilted banners hung everywhere. The service was the most relaxed we've ever been to. The priest often interacted with the congregation rather than the more normal, leading from the altar. The sermon was humorous as well as poignant and well delivered.

For lunch we took Bob and Pat out to a highly recommended buffet brunch for their 51st wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful meal and we all ate way too much. This afternoon we didn't do much - read, napped and relaxed.
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August 29, 2005 (Mon)
Whistlers Campground, Jasper National Forest #21F dry $24 B

Prince George, BC to Jasper, AB (240/9987 miles) Q022304

Up at 6:15 (52°) off at 7:25 (50°) We left Prince George eastbound on the Yellowhead Highway with mixed feelings of freedom and loneliness. Bob and Pat had just left heading south. Ed and Kathy were staying on one more day. Chip and Kim had left yesterday. There was no one we knew ahead of us or behind us. And no sometimes inane, chatter on inter vehicle communications radio. At the same time we were free to make decisions without seeking consensus - where to go, what speed to travel, when to take a rest or lunch break, what sights to stop for, where to camp.

The Yellowhead is supposed to be a scenic drive. It might be but the fog obscured everything but the road ahead and the trees to the side. At 9:40 a black bear strolled casually across the road in front of us. He paused when we got there to allow Joy to get a picture of him. We saw another on the side of the road later on but too late for us to slow down without causing a traffic problem.

It rained off and on for the whole trip making us feel sorry for the hearty souls on bicycles, and there were a surprising number of them. We crossed the Province boundary into Alberta at 11:58 and had to set our clocks ahead an hour to 12:58. At the entrance into the Whistlers Campground we got the now usual warning about the danger of bear in the park. But this time we were told that it is rutting season, two weeks early, for elk and they can be aggressive and dangerous too. We spent the afternoon listening to the rain on the roof and reading (and watching out the window for bear and rutting elk).
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August 30, 2005 (Tue)
Waterfowl Lakes Campground, Banff National Park #75 dry $19 B

Jasper, AB to Waterfowl Lakes CG, AB (110/10097 miles) Q022414

Up at 6:45 off at 8:00 (43°) We slept "late" this morning because it's an hour earlier here than we've been used to. Our bodies are still on Pacific time. The weather was clear after raining off and on during the night. And it was cold. There were elk grazing near the park entrance as we left, females we think, and a big male grazing on the side of the road as we chugged south. We have also added wolf to our wildlife sightings because we think we saw one trotting through a nearby campsite (empty) last night.

The scenery along the Icefields Parkway is some of the most spectacular we've seen. The mountains look like huge jagged rocks with a dusting of snow, silhouetted against the morning sky. And the views were endless. A sign for Athabaska Falls tempted us to take a side trip. The short walk to see them was crowded - even at 8:30am - with the contents of 5 tour buses. Although annoying it was worth fighting our way to the view points.

Some of the same tourists were taking pictures of each other at the Icefields Center when we stopped later on. This is where one can buy a ride on an a big ice buggy that goes out onto the Athabaska Glacier. We decided to save that for our next trip.

Waterfowl Lakes Campground, as was Whistlers last night, is a lot like our National Forest campgrounds in the US - high on pretty woodland atmosphere but low on facilities. There are flush toilets though. We got here at about 12:30 and enjoyed a restful, quiet, dry afternoon. There was even sun on Q's roof for a while.
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August 31, 2005 (Wed)
Chain Lakes Provincial Park, Nanton, AB #45 dry $11.00s A

Waterfowl Lakes CG, AB to Nanton, AB (234/10331 miles) Q022648

Our thermometer read 43° when we got up at 6:30. It felt colder than that though. Maybe it was the damp weather, although it didn't rain much. Or the altitude, we were at nearly 7000 feet. It had warmed up to 45° by the time we hit the road at 7:45. The weather was great, the road good and the scenery spectacular. And there was barely any traffic - for a while. What a drive! Bow Pass at 6710 feet is the highest point on the Icefields Parkway. We stopped but decided not to attempt the trail that started there. It was hard enough to breath just walking across the parking lot at that altitude.

We stopped at Lake Louise to find an internet connection. The young woman in the visitor's center said there was none in Lake Louise but there was an internet cafe in Banff. Although she told us exactly how to find it when we got there, we went to the visitor's center in Banff for a second opinion. It was confirmed. Only one place in town - $6.00 an hour for internet connection. Back in Q Mark turned on the computer and found 2 wireless networks within range. We up and down loaded our email for free!

We found Banff to be a very unfriendly to RVs. All the municipal parking lots - there are many - have signs saying no RVs. Street parking was pretty much undefined. It's hard to know whether it's allowed or not. We took a chance and parked behind another RV on a side street. As we left town we saw one sign directing RVs to a special lot - probably on the outskirts. The sign was on a side street. There had been none on the main drag into town. It's an interesting place though and once the RV is parked, legally or illegally, the shops are worth exploring.

We have left the Canadian Rockies for now. We can see them in the distance from our campsite but the area around us is rolling farm land. The sky is clear and blue and the sun is bright and warm. We can see a lake down the hill. It has been a restful afternoon, sitting in the sunshine, reading and relaxing. It's even warm enough for shorts.
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September 1, 2005 (Thu)
Lewis & Clark RV Park, Shelby, MT #44 e/w $25.50 B+

Nanton, AB to Shelby, MT (223/10554 miles) Q022871

Up at 6:30 (45°) off at 7:40 (49.9°) Sunny and clear. Last night at dusk we heard loons on the lake and this morning we saw deer romping on the other side. Going south on PH22 was mostly prairie and farmland with plenty of cattle and horses. There were sheep too and donkeys, mules, and assorted feathered wildlife. After turning onto PH6 we began to move closer to the mountains we'd been seeing in the distance. Some had fields of snow (or glaciers) but they were mostly dark gray. Then we were in the mountains again.

We're getting to be old hands at crossing the Canada/US border. This crossing from Alberta to Montana in Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park was like the others, no sweat. Just outside the park boundary in Montana we saw a small heard of cattle wandering along the deserted roadside. A half mile or so further on a cowboy, a real cowboy with big hat, chaps, leather vest, etc., on a horse and accompanied by two border collies cantered by. We guessed that he was after the stray cattle.

At the top of one mountain pass we discovered we had a strong cell phone signal so we stopped and made several calls. Our phone service doesn't include Canada so it had been a long dry spell. In Cut Bank, MT we stopped and traded in our Canadian money for US and got groceries at a real store. Since entering the US the price of gas had been consistently $2.84 at every station. We picked one at random as we drove through Shelby and filled up. At the very next station we passed the price was $2.79!

There are very few trees in this part of Montana but there are several small ones scattered around the campground. They were probably planted by the owner when he carved a small spot out of the plains for an RV Park. There is no shade but the sun and 79.2° is pleasant after so much cold. We were the only ones here until a few minutes ago so it's quiet.
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September 2, 2005 (Fri)
Downstream Campground, Fort Peck, MT #13 elec. $6.00g A

Shelby, MT to Fort Peck, MT (292/10846 miles) Q023163

Up at 6:30 off at 8:00. Bright with a thin layer of solid clouds - we could see the sun through them as a big white ball. We turned onto US2 and headed east. The gas station we didn't buy gas at yesterday showed a posted price of $2.93 this morning, up 14 cents overnight! The other stations are still showing $2.84. At 9:17 the road turned 10° toward the northeast but 15 minutes later we were going east again. It's exciting events like that that keep things interesting in this part of the country. It's mostly flat plains with a few rolling hills. Black-eyed Susans and a small yellow wildflower line the road and we can see mountains off to the north. In Canada?

Among other very small towns we passed through Rudyard, MT "Population 596 nice people and 1 old sore head" and Chinook, MT. They have strange "Rest Areas" along this road. Two were gas station's parking areas (I guess one can rest there but how do they differ from the many other gas stations that don't have the official Rest Area designation?) Another was a parking area near the fair grounds. A sign nailed to a post at the hard to turn into entrance announced that "Rest Area does not mean free overnight camping". We didn't even want to rest there, let alone camp. We ate a McDonalds lunch in Q's comfortable dining room.

We are in a US Army Corps of Engineers campground in the Fort Peck Dam Recreational Area. Beautiful! It is a very "park" like setting with widely separated sites. The landscaping is mowed lawn with small trees and well maintained shrubs scattered around. All this and electric hookup at the site we get for only $6.00 a night (because we're old folks). We've decided to stay for two nights.
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September 3, 2005 (Sat)
Downstream Campground, Fort Peck, MT (2)

Nice sunny warm day - actually hot! As I write this the thermometer reads 96.6°. The sun is influencing that reading some so it's not really that hot but it certainly is good to know that we aren't missing summer altogether. After breakfast we went out walking to explore the campground. and came across the "nature trail" which is a paved walkway all the way around the outside of the campground. It may be about 3 miles long but we only covered about two miles. Mark's back and hip problems are about cleared up but we didn't want to take the chance of aggravating them again. The rest of the day was devoted to enjoying the weather and being in this beautiful and peaceful campground.
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September 4, 2005 (Sun)
Camp Walmart, Minot, ND C

Fort Peck, MT to Minot, ND (277/11123 miles) Q023440

Up at 6:30 off at 7:40 (63.9°) We took in-house showers because those provided by the campground (Downstream Campground) were less than desirable. We went North on SR117 back to US2 then East. US2 is the northern-most route that goes all the way across the United States. It misses all the big cities and is giving us a real good look at the rural midwest. The road is very good, 70 mph speed limit most of the way except through the villages and construction areas and there is hardly any traffic and virtually no large trucks. We think it is an excellent alternative to I-94 a few miles to the south.

We traveled all over Alaska as well as both directions on the notorious Alaska Highway through British Columbia without a windshield ding. We got one in Montana! The gravel construction area was only a mile long and the gravel pretty well stabilized with tar. An SUV with two kayaks on the roof came at us like the river was about to dry up and threw a stone. We had slowed to almost a stop for him to go by but the stone hit the windshield anyway and hard enough to leave evidence!

After several miles on US 2 we passed two bicyclists that we had passed on the road way back three days ago. Ah, to have the energy to take on a trip like that! On the right side of the road in what looked like a single range that went on forever we saw several large herds of horses. Beautiful animals to see "in the wild" like that, especially at full gallop. In Minot, South Dakota we bought groceries at The Marketplace (great store) with a great bakery (hard to resist those cinnamon buns), and gas (at $3.14/gal for 10% ethanol - cheaper than regular and worth a try). We finally found an electric heater for Q at Walmart (who kindly agreed to let us use a corner of their parking lot for the night).