Heading to Canada

Terry,

Tim talked to Tiffin this morning and it's what you thought it was at first glance at the rest area.  It's the controller for the a/c, heat and defrost vents.  They are shipping a new pump to Indiana and Tim will replace it there. 

We are in Breckenridge with snow and rain.  Hopefully we can get out tomorrow and that I70 is all down hill to Denver. 

Wendy,

Going from 100 degree weather to just above freezing is a jolt.  We are "socked" in.  However, the coach is warm and Tim has headed to the back for a nap....I'm right behind him.

Marsha~

Steve said:

Thank you Rankjo for expressing my own sentiments so well on the (previous) title of this thread.

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I agree, but Bob and Doug did not help our cause either.  Still love Bob and Doug though.

Marsha/CA said:

We are in Breckenridge with snow and rain.  Hopefully we can get out tomorrow and that I70 is all down hill to Denver.   

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Marsha,

I noted the roads were not quite as bumpy on the way over to Denver but the traffic was terrible.  I have never seen so many 18 wheelers on the road. Almost in convoys.  But weather here in Wyoming (Wheatland) is clear and 60.  We had no rain but the wind is blowing out the light on our refrigerator.

Betty

     Enough said about the "eh"  :  As for Mark's comment about Canucks, it is the same reaction one would get by calling any American a Yankee, try that one on a southerner, you'd best be quick on your feet, or awfully tough.

I hesitated to complain about the "eh"  thing, but visitors will not get a friendly response if they use it and I want Canada to give a friendly response to our American neighbors, the same way I get a friendly response when I go down to Florida for the winter.

Americans are more than welcome in Canada, and are Canada's best friends.  Who would be closer friends??

I think (this is a personal opinion) that the border should be abolished between us, although it doesn't seem to be happening at the present.

But if my home in Northern Ireland can abolish the border with the South of Ireland after all the "troubles", why can't we abolish our Canadian/American border after no "troubles" in the last 100 years?

Rankjo

Rankjo,

I wish they would abolish the border also, and would do so before we cross into Canada on June 3rd.  Between now and then, I have to drink several bottles of wine, as we are carrying more than we can take into Canada with us..... ;D

We are now in beautiful downtown St. Louis across from the Golden Arch, at the Casino Queen RV park and it's raining cats and dogs.  Since we left Indiana in 1977 for California we don't see much "heavy rain"; but boy was it coming down.  You could hardly see the car in front of you.  The last time we came through (2007) to stay at this park, I was driving during Friday night rush hour..wahoo!  We were a bit worried about Memorial Day traffic, but the drive into town was a snap; wouldn't you know it, Tim was driving.

We have had rain through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and now we are on the fringe of Illinois.  There are severe weather warnings issued, including a tornado watch for a few counties from here.  Today we drove only 130 some miles, but we were both ready to stop.  We don't seem to be able to do the long drives we used.  Ah, aging, isn't it fun?  But with the weather such that it is, it's nice to be settled into a campsite.

Tonight we plan to visit the Casino boat/ barge that floats on the Mississippi river right across from the RV park.  That is the only way you can legally gamble in Missouri or Illinois is on the river.  Tomorrow we plan to go into and up inside of the arch.  The last time we were here we weren't able to do that, so it's one of the things we wanted to do.

BTW, just outside of St. Louis, this southern gal finally got to have some "grits" today and boy were they good.  Of course after the rain quits, I'll have to walk several times around the campground to work off all the carbs in that little bit of heaven.

Marsha~

Marsha,

You can walk over to the metro station by the casino, ride across the river and get off at the Arch for free. Much better than driving and trying to park. Hope you enjoy the Arch ride and aren't claustrophobic....Mike can't get me into one of those pods. The museum under the Arch is great. So is the Budweiser brewery tour.

Wendy

Marsha,

Have you and Tim been out to Grants Farm (home of the Clydesdales)?

Marsha:

Glad you made it out of Colorado as the weather forecast seems to be improving here. ;D

We plan to head north from Cortez Wednesday and will hit the high country as soon as they take those snow showers out of the forecast!

Jeff said:

We plan to head north from Cortez Wednesday and will hit the high country as soon as they take those snow showers out of the forecast!

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The weather forecast ain't looking so good Jeff. What'll we do the rest of the week while you wait for the weather to improve  ;D

Wendy

Marsha,
We spent all day battling the rain and bad roads, trying to get through Indiana. : Right now we are in SW Michigan where we used to live. Right now I miss my AZ sunshine.

Mariekie

Mariekie,

I'm with you, I miss my California sunshine.  I'm not used to damp-soggy weather.  But then I have to remember the green-green grass and large beautiful trees get that way only with lots of water...

Wendy, somehow I think you and Jeff can come up with a plan to get through the bad weather.  Is it really calling for more bad weather in CO?

We had more rain today here in St. Louis than California gets in several years....

Marsha~

Marsha,

Get this........We left AZ 30 days ago and have had sunshine only for a total of 4 days and not consecutive 4 days either!

Why is it that nothing in nature comes in small measure???

Mariekie

Updating this thread.

We spent 5 day in Angola, Indiana at a great campground called Circle B.  Lots of green grass with a stream running behind the campsite.,  They had a large dog run so we could let the dog run to his heart's content.  Visited my sister and mom, attended a niece's wedding and had a great time.

Tuesday, June 2nd we left Angola and headed north up #69/#75 to Sault St. Marie to cross into Canada.  We stayed the night at great Passport America park in Wolverine, MI.  This is a really nice place for those of us with dogs.  Lots of grass, a hiking trail along the Sturgeon River.  I was itching to get out the fly rod.  However one drawback to the campground was we had to travel on a gravel road for 2-3 miles to get to the campground.  Tim dislikes gravel roads and mentioned how he was going to clean the coach when we got settled in Canada.  Little did we know that nearly every secondary road in Canada is gravel.  I think he's going to have to lower his standards a bit.  I also reminded him that we'll get dirty when we go to Alaska, so consider this a trail run.

Before crossing the border we had cleared out all the food stuffs that are on the "banned" list for entry into Canada.  Drank the excess wine  ;D, threw away left over fruit and prepared to go through the Border Check point mid day on Thursday.  It was my turn to drive so I took the coach over the Mackinac bridge, up northern Michigan through the entry port.  It was a piece of cake, they asked 3 questions and off we went.  They never asked for our passports, the animals proof of good health certificates; only where were we from, did we have any liquor and did we have any firearms.  I was a bit nervous so I fumbled around trying to get out my state of residence for the inspector, but we did fine.

For the next several days we are camped on the shore of Lake Huron at a place called Santa Maria's Trailer Resort and probably have the only satellite friendly site available.  The weather has been spectacular, cool at night (low 40s) and 60's or so during the day.  We are here for another niece's wedding and have been driving all over Manitoulin Island meeting family, sightseeing and just basically "getting around".  True to his word Tim cleaned the coach and tow car when we arrived; however all secondary roads on the island are gravel.  You should see the tow car, it's covered with dust.  I think Tim has given up.  He just turns the wipers on...hits "mist" to spay the windshield with washer fluid and calls it a day.  Tonight it has started raining, maybe it will clean off the dust.

Marsha~

Marsha,

You are going to have a blast!  I wish i was still homeschooling so we had more time for the long trips.  Will have to settle for a short two months this year. 

Just wanted to say that i had a very positive experience in Quebec, although we do speak some French.  Once you go east of Quebec City the majority of tourists are francophone so unless you are in a hotel or tourist centre you will not find many English speakers, but take a dictionary and learn how to introduce yourself in French (i always excuse myself, in French, for not speaking the language well) and i think most people are happy to try to help.  In every country where i have travelled i have found just knowing how to greet people politely in their own language goes a very long way.  The countryside east of Quebec City going along the St. Lawrence is stunning and of course you have to keep going if you want to do any whale watching. I tried to stop at every fromagerie (cheese maker) we passed and the smaller ones definitely didn't have English speakers but it was worth it for the fresh cheese curds.  St. Anne de Beaupre is a lovely town and has an RV camprgound.  A few years ago we stayed there for 10 days and made day trips out for site seeing and in that town there were a number of people speaking English as it is a big tourist area.

The best thing we learned was how to order our coffee at Tim Horton's, lol!

Welcome to Canada !
We are heading for Quebec City July 11; speak French, and know the area; any way we can help, from here or while up there, let us know.

"I think Tim has given up.  He just turns the wipers on...hits "mist" to spay the windshield with washer fluid and calls it a day.  Tonight it has started raining, maybe it will clean off the dust."

Have had so much rain here in eastern Iowa that my car is now more brown than white. Fits right in with all the farm vehicles!

Giles and momma22smallbears, thanks for your support.  I can't believe I'm so nervous about going into Quebec.  I'm usually pretty confident about things, but this has me concerned.  So much so that I've been trying to convince Tim to drop down into the States and miss Quebec altogether.  Even the Canadians here in Ontario tell us they don't like going to Quebec.  <sigh>

Russ, We have had so much rain on this trip!  Yesterday and all last night was a steady downpour; we couldn't get internet satellite.  The TV would come in; but not Motosat.  Today it's cloudy-no rain.  But, the tow car is clean!!

We were thinking of leaving today, but I've found a place where I can have my hair (s)  cut, so will stay another day. 

Oh, some campground news.  While we were gone all day on Sunday with family, they shot a full grown bear here in the campground right at a campground site.  This is a large park and a place where families come to enjoy the shore of Lake Huron on the weekends.  Apparently the bear was so brave as to go up on a porch near a trailer.  So the "ministry" came out and shot it.  A mama bear and 2 cubs have also been sighted, so we keep our eyes peeled as we hike the area with Charlie, the dog!  They were also warning us about a mountain lion that had been sighted.  Where we live we have mountain lions, bears, deer and fox along with coyotes right in our front yard; so we are somewhat familiar with the wildlife; and maybe not as concerned.  Although we probably should be  :

Marsha~

I think it's all about attitude, if you are warm and friendly people generally respond in kind. 

Quebec is a stunningly beautiful province.  The best part is experiencing a different culture without having to fly anywhere, like Europe.  Montreal and Quebec City have lovely architecture and interesting historic sites.  We stayed in my SIL's timeshare in St. Anne de Beaupre and we liked it so much we went to a realtor to consider a summer cottage (we didn't buy it so now we have the cottage on wheels!).  If you go on a whale watching tour, and there are several options, we went on a large boat but there were people in something like kayaks, perhaps the boats were bigger,( i can't remember, but they were a lot closer than we were!) anyway, you will be in what, if i remember correctly, is the only fjord in N. America.  There are also some small islands in the middle of the river where people used to be stranded in winter and developed their own little subcultures, one of them is called Iles-aux-Coudres, that was my favorite.  As far as my kids are concerned the best part about Quebec is the poutine (don't eat any in Ontario, they just don't make it right), and i think they would go back just for that.

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures!

    We are crossing similar paths, but haven't met up yet.  We are now in Ottawa, staying with grand children, and putting up with their parents.  Spent the day yesterday taking things out of their storage places, doing washes, etc after having been in the coach for 6 months, and after having squirelled away little things for the kids.  Our plans for crossing Quebec are uncertain as to route or timing, other than we will be back in Nova Scotia by month's end.  Do you have an itinerary yet?  Donna has no french, and I've lost most of mine, but we do get by.  I am thinking of heading down the Gaspe as it has been years since we have gone that way, and it is drop dead georgeous country.
    Giles, we do have one thing that we will need to refresh!  ;D  We will stop by the traffic circle again and leave you both a hug, so don't forget to go get it.