Day 9 - Tues June 16, 2015 - Gold Mountain Campground - Hedley, B.C.

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This post was originally made in 2015, and was flagged as a violation of policy just recently, EIGHT YEARS later!

The message I got said the post was UNPUBLISHED, which would be ok, at least I could determine what the violation was, and correct it, but the entire message was deleted!

How am I supposed to remember what I posted here 8 years ago. The reason for posting it in the first place was so I could remember the trip.

 If I'm doing this wrong, please let me know, and if you can restore my post, and unpublish it so I can fix it, please do....

Day 8 - Mon June 15, 2015 - Gold Mountain Campground - Hedley, B.C.

Today was the day I've been waiting for, the Okanagan Valley!

It was 35 years ago, I was an adventurous lad, and spent 6 months hitch hiking across Canada (Toronto - Vancouver) twice, and a few other side trips..

I don't recognize 90% of what I'm seeing...

I was easily able to identify the tavern where I made some new friends 35 years ago, and other than that, the bandstand is still there.

Other than that, there is no sign of the little commune that once thrived on the beach, everything is now oriented toward tourists...  Sad to see, when I was here 35 years ago, it was strictly agricultural.

Pictures soon once I get them sorted out... :)

Rod

Day 7 - Sun June 14, 2015 - Revelstoke, B.C.

We slept in the tent last night, now it is all wet. We should have slept in the car instead...

We stayed dry inside, but now we have to pack up a wet tent :(

Time for a quick breakfast... then its time to go...

What an amazing day, driving through scenery only a god could create!

We drove back toward Calgary, then turned around and headed back into the mountains and I'm glad we did. We missed a lot of the scenery yesterday due to the clouds and rain.

There will be a lot of pictures from today, the mountains are beautiful!

Coming into Lake Louise...

Recognise this?  Lake Louise is an icon, recognised as one of the most scenic places in the world.

Look at that snow pack!

The Spiral Tunnels are a very popular stop along the highway in Yoho National Park. Rather than describe it here, check out this link for more information.

Time for lunch....   what a beautiful place for a picnic! This was just off the highway in Field, BC

Another stop along the way... Just a quick stretch way out in the middle of nowhere :)

Revelstoke has a siding on the highway made for truckers. There are bathrooms with pit toilets, and garbage cans for their garbage...  This was a perfect place to spend the night.

The ice cube maker we bought is working like a charm, it runs off the inverter while we are driving, and whenever we pull over for something, we empty the ice into a cooler.

Day 6 - Sat June 13, 2015 - Banff National Park, Alberta

Getting ready to leave... 

Before we were even awake, the tow truck driver was back and refilled the tire so we could drive to the tire shop! Awesome job! The old one could not be repaired, and we ended up with a brand new one from Larsons Tire Shop $119 total.

The car is in the shop getting a new tire....

And away we go!!!



It started out such a beautiful warm sunny day.... but the closer we get to the mountains, the colder its getting, and it's raining....

There they are, the mountains! Finally!

We have arrived!!

Arrived in Banff, and set up just before a big downpour.. It was freezing cold but the park was packed.  We were beat, and ended up going to bed early.

Day 5 - Fri June 12, 2015 - DJ Motel - Fort MacLeod, Alberta

What a long day, we got up and left this morning before the campground opened, so had a free night.

We drove and drove, through Manitoba, into Saskatchewan...

Through Saskatchewan and into Alberta....

Did I mention that Cindy drove the entire trip?  I'm not able to drive due to the meds I'm taking, but she really surprised me with he ability to go on and on...  Trust me, shes a much better driver than she is a passenger... :)

We made it all the way to Fort MacLeod, and then ended up with a flat tire.
Thank God we bought CAA before we left (thanks to Sean and Melissa for that one!)

Had a truck there within 30 minutes, and he could not get the spare down from the back, so he pumped the bad tire full of air, enough to get it to a motel.

Day 4 - Thurs June 11, 2015 - Spruce Woods Provincial Park, Manitoba

We decided either to continue on, or go back and look for my CPAP, but if we went back, we would head home, since it was such a long day of driving yesterday.

Long day of driving again today...   We left Kenora this morning, where we ended up spending $110 for a room plus 15 or so at McD's for dinner.

Quick stop along the highway just inside Manitoba.

We also stopped at a little park along the highway, Cindy fell in love with all the prarie dogs here along the driveway...

Quick stop at Seton Provincial Park to stretch....  There's no camping here, just a little picnic area...

We ended up in Spruce Woods Provincial Park, got in around 8pm, and slept in the tent again.

Day 3 - Wed. June 10, 2015 -Days Inn - Kenora, Ontario

Long day today...

Started off with a fantastic view of two moose on the side of the road. We circled back to get video...

NOTE: The date in the video is wrong, it was actually shot on June 10, abut 9am.

Just after this, we say a baby bear on the highway, he scampered away when we got close, no time to get video...  We also saw 2 more moose standing on the side of the highway, munching away...

It was a long day, we covered over 800km, got into Kenora around midnight, so just got a room at the Days Inn for a good night sleep, no bugs, and a nice hot shower...

When we got here, we realized we have lost my CPAP machine, and have a choice, go back and look for it, or continue on...  If we go back, then we pretty much have to give up and go home, so we decided to continue...

So, On to B.C.!!!

Day 2 - Tue, June 9, 2015 - White Lake Provincial Park, Ontario

Today we left early, and along the way, we came across one of the small parking areas right on the beach, so we stopped at it and dipped our feet in the water. The sand felt great on the feet.

We spent the night sleeping in the car. I swear that bed looked bigger when I first built it!

Day 1 - Mon June 8, 2015 - Chutes Provincial Park, Ontario

And we're off!!!

Originally, we left the house planning maybe a 4 day shakedown trip, somewhere local, just to make sure we had everything, and everything was working. Within an hour, I knew this was it, we're on our way to British Columbia!

After driving about 450km, we stopped at Chutes Provincial Park. This is one place I remember staying when I was 16 or so, and my Mom and I, along with my best friend at the time, Greg, and his mother stayed on a cross Canada trip with a tent trailer...

Spent a good night with the tent pitched, sleeping on the cots. The mosquitoes are vicious.... 

We got up in the morning and had bacon and eggs before getting under way about 10am or so.

Go!!!

And we're off!!

Get Set!!!

Packing, trying to find everything, what did we forget?

Last minute packing...  Whew!


We'll be leaving tomorrow sometime..

On our marks!

Doctors visit for my physical is complete, now we have nothing holding us back

We picked up a roof rack to carry stuff we only need at a campsite with tents, cots, etc...

It will be nice to get it out of the apartment...

We just make up a jug of "trail mix" after a visit to the Bulk Barn

I figure two days to sort things out, get packed, and get going....

We are "On our Marks"

It's official, Road Trip 2015 is on!

As I posted in the past, our trip depended on getting Ontario Disability Support for Cindy and I, and while I am still waiting, and will need to go to a tribunal, Cindy has been approved.

This gives us a little more financial support than we've been living on, and is enough that we can go ahead with some travel plans.

One of our goals while traveling throughout Ontario this summer will be to find a new place to live. We gave 2 months notice to our landlord, so now we need to find a new home 

Another goal is to take Cindy to the west coast, she's never seen the mountains... That trip will come in July I think.

We also want to get to visit her Mom in Missouri.

Should be a fun summer!

Second Battery Maintenance

This is my Electrical Panel to maintain the house batteries.

It charges the house batteries from the cars alternator, and also allows charging via solar panels.
It includes an Ammeter Shunt, Circuit Breaker, Dual Voltage Sensing Relay, Solar Charge Controller, a cigarette lighter plug, and a set of USB plugs for charging phones etc.