Betty Brewer
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2005
- Posts
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Alaskan Log
Dear Friends,
Today was DAY 1 of our summer odyssey trip to Alaska.?
DAY 1? ?May 24, 2006 Clark Fork, Idaho through the Canadian border to Canal Flats, Canada
We left the cabin with Russ in the lead at 7:30 am.? This was one full hour ahead of our scheduled departure so I guess we were excited.? We needed to top off fuel in Sandpoint and make a quick run to the ATM machine.? So we unhook the car at the Conoco station and guess what?the car won?t start.? Loose battery cable?Terry fixes and I?m off to the bank.? Guess what ATM machine is out of order, bank is not yet open, but I walk up to the drive-up window and get more cash than my debit card could have allowed.? We meet up with friends Ned and Lorna, and? Russ pose for pictures with our passports. WE get our walkie talkies ready to communicate while on the road and we?re off for Canada!? Oh yes, Terry left his full coffee mug on the dash so the first few feet of the journey I spent scrambling to mop up the coffee from his GPS cords, computer cables, the dash, the floor. Boy this is fun!
Beautiful scenery and a beautiful day for driving.? With? 75,500 miles on our motorhome we arrive at the Canadian Border Crossing at Eastport, Canada which is north? of? Bonner?s Ferry,? Idaho. It?s a short line with only our 2 friends in front of us.? They are both stopped, asked the usual customs questions and instructed to pull over for a search.? Our turn through the narrow gates. ? Please turn off your engine sir.?? Terry? answers the usual questions.? How much alcohol do you have on board?? Answer 6 bottles of wine.? Question: any beer?? Oh yes? 2 cans.? What size are the wine bottles?? Terry answers, the size you get in a restaurant.? Question: is that the 720 ml size?? Answer yes I guess so.? Question: How many beers do you have.? Answer 2.? Question: how much cash do you have on board?? Answer about a thousand dollars. Question: Do you have more than $2,000 cash on board?? Answer NO.? We are instructed to pull over and wait for what we assume will be our inspection but the lanes in front of us are filled with our friends and their big rigs so we pull in front of them and manage to block the truck lane.? Officer instructs us to pull up on the other side of the yellow Welcome to British Columbia sign and wait.? We do.? We watch as friends behind us now are searched, slides opened, cupboards opened, drawers opened.? They are cleared and we wait for someone to come look at us. No one comes, so Terry hikes back to the customs office and we are told we cleared.? No one came even to speak to us. The sad part of this is that while waiting I figure out that with the partly opened bottle of wine in the refrigerator I actually had 7 bottles and did not want to be caught with any untruths.? ?So I poured ? bottle of wine down the sink while we waited for the inspection which did not occur.? Sigh?..(should have drank it)
First stop in Canada is a tourist information center under some trees.? Before Terry? follows others into? the parking? lots he radios, ?Is there room for me??? Yep is the answer. However when we drive down the hill and through the narrow lot, I hear a terrible sound.? Have you ever heard the sound of an aluminum can crushing?? I look for the trash can we most likely hit, or the car to be smashed on a rock.? Terry thinks he has knocked the antenna off the top by the overhanging tree branch. Terry decides this is not the place he wants to stop so we drive off on our adventure to Alaska, alone.? Several miles down the road we pull into a beautiful rest stop and to survey the damage to the rig.? He circles the rig, climbs on top and? can only find dirt.? No damage.? Whew, we seemed to have dodged this one. A lovely travel day though scenic drive with snow capped mountains, green grass, raging rivers and a beautiful rest stop. We are ?In? for the night.? I went for a walk and discovered Columbia Lake just over the ridge from our parking spot.? Information kiosk reveals this is the source of the Columbia River which is the 4th largest river on the continent.? It empties into the Pacific Ocean? at Astoria Oregon. I?m impressed.
As I contemplate dinner, our friends pull up with a crock pot full of pot roast so we dine at the picnic table along the road overlooking the mountains. (No wine with dinner) However we have good TV signal, good internet connection and a good start to the trip.? Next stop:? Banff.
Statistics:? Miles driven? 199
? ? ? Wildlife sightings:? two deer, humming bird, robins, chipmunks at rest stop.
Camping:? boondocking at reststop? ?No cost.
Dear Friends,
Today was DAY 1 of our summer odyssey trip to Alaska.?
DAY 1? ?May 24, 2006 Clark Fork, Idaho through the Canadian border to Canal Flats, Canada
We left the cabin with Russ in the lead at 7:30 am.? This was one full hour ahead of our scheduled departure so I guess we were excited.? We needed to top off fuel in Sandpoint and make a quick run to the ATM machine.? So we unhook the car at the Conoco station and guess what?the car won?t start.? Loose battery cable?Terry fixes and I?m off to the bank.? Guess what ATM machine is out of order, bank is not yet open, but I walk up to the drive-up window and get more cash than my debit card could have allowed.? We meet up with friends Ned and Lorna, and? Russ pose for pictures with our passports. WE get our walkie talkies ready to communicate while on the road and we?re off for Canada!? Oh yes, Terry left his full coffee mug on the dash so the first few feet of the journey I spent scrambling to mop up the coffee from his GPS cords, computer cables, the dash, the floor. Boy this is fun!
Beautiful scenery and a beautiful day for driving.? With? 75,500 miles on our motorhome we arrive at the Canadian Border Crossing at Eastport, Canada which is north? of? Bonner?s Ferry,? Idaho. It?s a short line with only our 2 friends in front of us.? They are both stopped, asked the usual customs questions and instructed to pull over for a search.? Our turn through the narrow gates. ? Please turn off your engine sir.?? Terry? answers the usual questions.? How much alcohol do you have on board?? Answer 6 bottles of wine.? Question: any beer?? Oh yes? 2 cans.? What size are the wine bottles?? Terry answers, the size you get in a restaurant.? Question: is that the 720 ml size?? Answer yes I guess so.? Question: How many beers do you have.? Answer 2.? Question: how much cash do you have on board?? Answer about a thousand dollars. Question: Do you have more than $2,000 cash on board?? Answer NO.? We are instructed to pull over and wait for what we assume will be our inspection but the lanes in front of us are filled with our friends and their big rigs so we pull in front of them and manage to block the truck lane.? Officer instructs us to pull up on the other side of the yellow Welcome to British Columbia sign and wait.? We do.? We watch as friends behind us now are searched, slides opened, cupboards opened, drawers opened.? They are cleared and we wait for someone to come look at us. No one comes, so Terry hikes back to the customs office and we are told we cleared.? No one came even to speak to us. The sad part of this is that while waiting I figure out that with the partly opened bottle of wine in the refrigerator I actually had 7 bottles and did not want to be caught with any untruths.? ?So I poured ? bottle of wine down the sink while we waited for the inspection which did not occur.? Sigh?..(should have drank it)
First stop in Canada is a tourist information center under some trees.? Before Terry? follows others into? the parking? lots he radios, ?Is there room for me??? Yep is the answer. However when we drive down the hill and through the narrow lot, I hear a terrible sound.? Have you ever heard the sound of an aluminum can crushing?? I look for the trash can we most likely hit, or the car to be smashed on a rock.? Terry thinks he has knocked the antenna off the top by the overhanging tree branch. Terry decides this is not the place he wants to stop so we drive off on our adventure to Alaska, alone.? Several miles down the road we pull into a beautiful rest stop and to survey the damage to the rig.? He circles the rig, climbs on top and? can only find dirt.? No damage.? Whew, we seemed to have dodged this one. A lovely travel day though scenic drive with snow capped mountains, green grass, raging rivers and a beautiful rest stop. We are ?In? for the night.? I went for a walk and discovered Columbia Lake just over the ridge from our parking spot.? Information kiosk reveals this is the source of the Columbia River which is the 4th largest river on the continent.? It empties into the Pacific Ocean? at Astoria Oregon. I?m impressed.
As I contemplate dinner, our friends pull up with a crock pot full of pot roast so we dine at the picnic table along the road overlooking the mountains. (No wine with dinner) However we have good TV signal, good internet connection and a good start to the trip.? Next stop:? Banff.
Statistics:? Miles driven? 199
? ? ? Wildlife sightings:? two deer, humming bird, robins, chipmunks at rest stop.
Camping:? boondocking at reststop? ?No cost.
Just want you to know we're wearing shorts now. ;D
