Elkhart, Indiana

Chillin, in Elkhart. Why you may ask? Because DaGirls has a booBoo and is getting them repaired.

But wait you say, you were in Buchanan, MI. so what happen in Buchanan?
Well Susan’s Son and Daughter came out from the Chicago area and visited, She was able to get a cabin for 7 days. Dana, Mike & the Children came out for 4 days. Eric, Di and Faith came out for 3 days. All in all we all had a wonderful time visiting and checking out the sites.

Once that was done we packed up and headed out to Elkhart, were Susan found us a Airbnb o stay while DaGirls was getting fixed. In fact, at first it was going to take 2 weeks, but after discussion with Paul. We were able to pick it up on Friday, 5 days after dropping her off.

Since then we have been visiting the area, and being surprised by my best man from our wedding arriving who spent four days with us.

We stopped in at the MH / RV Hall of Fame Museum

Then on Thursday, Mike a old close work friend and former roommate stopped by on his way back up North. All in all it has been a fun and enjoyable stay.
On Friday, it was a day with the Amish community.

"That's my story and I'm sicking to it"

“SeeYa, Safe and Happy Journeys”

"DaGirls Rv, Me, Della, Susan & Tilly"

Sept 22_Traveling thru MT and WY

We left around 7:30 this morning with a stop at the Flying J for fuel and propane. Headed east on I-90 and then switch to I-25 at Buffalo, WY.

I started the drive the first 90 miles and then started looking for a pull out to switch. Wasn’t much of a pull out, but enough to switch, have breakfast and let Della and Tilly out for a walk. All in all this lasted about 20 minutes as we just take our time.

The day before during our travels, check out what we found out in the middle of nowhere in a grocery store at the intersection of 2 roads:

We found an Amish grocery store filled with goodies.

Once done shopping and eating our ice cream,  Susan slipped in the driver's seat and off we went. Along the way Susan kept making the comment, wow there are a lot of Prone Horn Antelope. By the time we switched driver's again, about 100 miles down the road, she must have seen over a thousand of the four legged animals, no kidding.

But at this pull out it was again lunch, snack, walk, water and hey, mom / dad don’t forget about our photo shoot. Remember you promised. Oh alright, girls, we remember, but this area is pretty bleak. Oh that's alright as long as Tilly and me are in the photo. 

Our destination was the city of Douglas, WY. About 50 miles south of Casper, WY. Where? you might ask, a little city park located on the North Platte River. Hover over the Blue for a Web Link.

Our spot for the night, Riverside Park in Douglas, WY.

We settle in about 3 o’clock after taking on fuel, OUCH diesel was $2.74/gal. What a jump from MT. prices. But it is still Way below $4.00/goal.

While DaGirls rested in the grass,

I settle down to get rid of the bugs off the front of DaGirls Rv. I started cleaning DaGirls windshield and front using my special windshield concoction mixture:

Ani't she pretty!

I use a special mixture of H2O and Dawn Dish soap and a window squeegee. Lots of H2O is the key to easy bug removal including the front cap.

We did manage to walk and ride around town to see the sights, or what small sites there are. Douglas, WY, seems to have made it big in the Hunting department. Seems that there is an elusive animal in the area that the town has made it’s mascot.

As you drive around town you see places, signs and statues in place. It is difficult to understand how this animal got here from Arizona. However it did, the town has embraced it and taken it to the Heart of the City. Susan and I managed to catch a photo or two of the signs and statue.

I did manage to get a night shot of the famous animal that is the mascot of Douglas:

It is called a Jackalope

               “SeeYa and Safe and Happy Journeys”

                "DaGirls Rv, Me, Della, Susan & Tilly"

Sept 22_Catching up with DaGirls

Wow what a whirlwind week, since we last posted. We have traveled from Calgary, CA to Red Deer and back into the good old USA.

We left Red Deer on the 20th and headed south, after spending a week with Susan’s first cousins from the area and her brother and sister-in-law from St. Louis. As Susan stated, we can’t let this happen again, not getting together in such a long time. So, watch out for the next family reunion.

We headed south on the QE II highway with the intent to stop just north of the Canada/USA border, however Sandra remarked that she would prefer to get back into the USA on Sunday after their ordeal getting into Canada.  With that in mind, we crossed into the USA and stopped at Shelby, MT for the night.

We left Shelby around 10 am on Monday to continue our journey south to Haslet, TX, with Sandy and Mike catching a flight out of Great Falls, MT, to head back home to St. Louis, MO. So we said our goodbyes as we departed not realizing that we would meet 1 more time while DaGirls was refueling in Great Falls.

Our goal for the day was to reach Billings, MT, where we planned to stay the night – dry camping, and then continue our journey to Haslet, TX.

Tuesday, we awoke early and proceeded to get on the road around 7:30 with a stop at the Flying J to refuel and take on propane. Diesel was $2.43 and with our $ .06 discount = $2.37/gal. Woo_Hoo we scored big time. Next we topped off the propane, paid and headed out.

Back on the road, we cross into Wyoming at 10:20 am. Making good time (62 mph or 1640 RPM) sweet spot for mileage.

One thing is nice, our communication system is up and running and providing access to phones and internet, even as we travel down the highways.
One thing I have noticed since entering WY, the highway is not as good as MT. But hey, Susan is driving while I write this up.

Currently we are traveling on I-90 heading east, we will transition to I-25 just north of Buffalo, WY. Some of you will remember our previous experience in the Buffalo area. That is where we had a shredded serpentine belt west of there in the mountains in the early fall of 2014. 

Our plan today is to reach Douglas, WY, where there is a Escapee Days End camping site. We have water, fuel, food and DaGirls on-board and we are good to go.

So, I leave you with this saying from DaGirls Rv.

“SeeYa and Safe and Happy Journeys”

From DaGirls - Me, Susan, Tilly and Della

Sept 6_Our Last Day in Lake Louise

Lake Louise sits in the Banff National Park of Canada. Our next stop will be in the city of Banff itself. Our stay here in LL, has been shall we say a little chilling and wet. Seems we failed to heed our own advise. Get out of Alaska and Canada by early Sept. Well as DaGirls say it is an adventure.
The temperature has dropped to the low to mid 40’s in the day time with last night temps in the high 30’s:

Traveling thru a National Park is exciting yet slow. A national park is a destination travel stop. It is a place to get out, hike, take a stroll, and see what this beautiful land has to offer. Be able to witness what this world has to offer. Sights such as the Glacier Ice-fields, Glacier Lakes, and other beautiful sights. Yet with every turn, hike, traveling on the highway, may bring a sighting of wildlife. My suggestion is while traveling thru be prepared to stop at many of the turn-offs as you may never no what weather changes are coming or if you will make it back as seen by the snap shots:

As we traveled down to Lake Louise

On our way back from Bow Pass to Lake Louise

While we are staying in the Lake Louise Campground, evidence of bears are all around us. Especially for the tenters, as seen by a electrified fence that surrounds the tenting area. But you never know if, or even when you will see wildlife in the area.

On Saturday we headed back north upto the Bow Pass with an elevation of 6800 ft, it made for a arduous climb for DaGirls Rv when we left Jasper. Our goal was to head back north in search of photo ops and the glacier lake in that area. We arrived after a short 30 miles or so, and after a short uphill hike (10 minutes or so), we reached the viewing area.

Our stay in the Canadian Rockies is closing to an end. We have traveled from one end to the other end. Our final stay will be in the city of Banff for a short 3 / 4 days in the campground there.

One of the best tools in our travels has been the Free Wi-Fi centers that we have come across. We have visited public libraries, visitor Centre's, and coffee shops just to name a few. Now, there is T-mobile’s new Canada & Mexico plan which was rolled out. Something to  think about on your journey.
So far today, the only snow visible, has been on the mountain's surrounding DaGirls Rv.  When I started writing this the temperature was 39 degrees. It has now risen 1 degree to 40.6 degrees F with 60% humidly. 

As Susan would say "SeeYa"

From DaGirls Della and Tilly