APRIL 8, Sunday, cloudy,snowing
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!! 26*F (-5*C) when I got up at 7 a.m. BLOODY RIDICULOUS!
Anyway, it did go up to a high of 39*F but it snowed all the same. The ice is melting off the truck and Kenzie though.
Went to Wal-Mart then looked around the town of Colorado Spring. It is pretty and probably worth exploring more but too cold right now; we just drove around.
We went to the Manitou Caves but it was closed. Came home after fuelling 11.341 Gal @ 2.999
APRIL 9, Monday, cloudy
We packed and headed out by 9:30 a.m. Got on I-25 north with a tail wind through Denver and topped up at Longmont, CO. 9.495 Gal @ 3.059 . We had a hot dog for lunch It is a balmy 60*F and we are at 5100 feet.
Arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming by 1:30 p.m. and stopped at the info centre for our usual maps and tourist books. These are all free and full of local info. Country side is very much like you see in the western movie, prairie grass and hilly.
From here we continued north towards Casper where we stopped for the night. The drive was hilly and we got into a snowy landscape. We climbed as high as 6100 feet. It looks like a moon scape! Really! Stopped in Douglas, Wyoming for fuel 20.356 Gal @ 2.949 cash. We lost our tail wind and now have a strong head wind.
Arrived in Casper under a cloudy sky, strong wind gust but warm at 60*F Paid $24.30 for the night with Good Sam discount at Casper East RV Park. Washed the rig and the truck after dinner...THEY WERE OVERDUE.
N 42*51'22" W 106*17'20" Altitude 5177' Distance today: 563 km (351 miles)
APRIL 10, Tuesday, Cloudy
Windy this a.m. Cloudy but the sun is peeking through once in a while. Temp. today is 42*F and it went to 28*F overnight.
Decided to spend another night here. We went to visit the Caspar Fort which played a major role protecting the immigrants going west to Oregon and California. We looked over the museum which is still under construction and walked the grounds but not for long as the wind was very piercing and cold.
After this, we went to Wal-Mart to get soap for the rigs and groceries at Albertson. Familiar names are starting to pop up everywhere.
Reloaded the chip as it was giving me problems and will see what happens. Topped up fuel 8.39 Gal @ 2.859
APRIL 11, Wednesday, sunny
Temp at 7 a.m. 32*F.
Broke camp and on the road by 9:30 a.m. Got propane before leaving at $16.50 and headed out.
The further north we are, the more snow we are seeing. We descended to 3600 feet and things began to improve. Stopped in Sheridan to fuel 19.876 Gal @ 3.069 and had a bite to eat. An hour later we entered Montana and turned west, northwest on I-90, our last State before Canada. Scenery changed a bit but still rolling hills and grassy field but more trees.
We stopped at Little Bighorn where Custer fought his famous battle. It was interesting to read both side of the story, Indians and whites. The battlefield was very well done with stone headstone where each soldiers was found. The view from here was tremendously powerful. we spent an hour here looking over the field and the museum and reading everything. Bought a couple of little souvenirs and then headed north to Billing where we topped up the tanks again: 14.62 gal @ 3.079. we continued on Hwy 87 north and stopped in a Wal-Mart parking lot, just outside of Billing. The forecast is for a cold night again.
N 45*49'47" W 108* 28'11" Altitude 3231 feet Distance today: 498 KM or 312 miles
APRIL 12, Thursday, cloudy with sunny breaks
We were up by 7 a.m., got a coffee and McMuffin from McDonald and headed north on hwy 87. This was a very pretty drive with lots of farming fields, trees, grassy hills and rolling hills. Stopped in Lewiston for coffee and fuel: 11.973gal @ 3.509
A scenic drive with something new with each turn in the road. Temperature is also going up the further north we go....go figure!???
we are seeing a lot of antelope in the fields amongst all the cows and horses. Arrived in Great Falls, Montana around 12:20 p.m. and from here, we turned on I-15 north, a 4 lane hwy which will take us all the way to Canada. Stopped for lunch in Vaughn which turned out to be a very friendly little place with everyone wanting to share information about the State and their local area.
We continued on I-15, stopped in Shelby for fuel: 26.309 gal @ 3.299 and at 4 p.m. local time, we entered CANADA via Coutts crossing. No problems going across except for the lenghty line up.
Arrived in Lethbridge at 5 p.m. and set up camp at Bridgeview RV Park (free for us) Went out for a good Albertan steak then went to bed satisfied. It is 50*F outside at 8 p.m.
WELCOME TO CANADA!!!!!
N 49* 42'39" W 112*52'18" Altitude: 2763 feet Distance today 690- km (432 miles)
APRIL 13, Friday, sunny
Well, this concludes our trip. From here we will go to Olds for 2 weeks to visit Marcel and Audrey, Val's sister. We have closed the Grand Circle once we arrived in Lethbridge.
We travelled a grand total of 39,233 km (24,521 miles) in 10 months at a cost of $33,400. This amounts to $3340/month or $1.36 per miles or .86 cents a kilometer. It includes everything: fuel, oil, maintenance, repairs, camping, food, misc., souvenirs, sight-seeing, etc..
It's been a wonderful trip and we are both glad we did it. Places we really liked were our time with our family of course but also P.E.I. and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. On the States side, we loved New-York but too expensive for us; we also loved Virginia, the Carolinas especially South Carolina, the Keys in Florida and St-Petersburg area on the West Coast of Florida; Louisina would be worth going back to as would Mississipi and Alabama. Texas was interesing, especially San Antonio and may be worth exploring more in the future.
We did NOT like Florida except as mentioned above as we found it expensive and the people not that friendly. Most campsite were very clicky although we did meet some very wonderful people. We found the Eastern States along the seaboard somewhat unfriendly and unwelcoming although Boston was an exception to that.
South Texas around Mission and Brownsville is very windy as we had heard but it did keep the temperature down and the humidity. We had our awning up almost everyday so it wasn't that bad.
Too bad that Colorado, Wyoming and Montana were so cold. We would have liked to explore those States more.....maybe next time.
So we hope you've enjoyed our trip with us. I will keep this blog going but not as often as the past.
We are in Olds right now and going home to our site in B.C. the first week of May. Looking forward to see all our friends and our families.
By the way.....Val bought a new kayak...longer, sleeker and at a very good deal too.
See you all next time
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