'24/#36 Let's Recap

 We are now settled in our home in Michigan and are looking forward to not traveling every couple of days. I can now sit down and recap the whirlwind of the last four months.

We started this trip with RV work done on the trailer and now after almost 10 thousand miles I can say that the suspension upgrade was worth every penny. Let's just say that it is easier to drive and making it much less stressful and fatiguing. We caught up with friends in Missouri, saw the eclipse in Arkansas, picked up our mail in north Texas, said a sad goodbye to a dear friend in south Texas, and a happy hello to another while making some new friends. It was then on to New Mexico to the White Sands, Arizona and Antelope Canyon, Utah and more old friends, and Idaho for some falls and Evel Knievel's Snake River jump site. That was the first month!

It was time to slow down a little. Next on the hit parade we saw Crater Lake in Oregon and on to a little off the beaten path campground just to chill for a week. Now that we were rested it was off to Washington State via Columbia River Gorge, Olympic National Park and Pikes Place Market in Seattle. After all this travel west it was eastward bound to Great Falls Montana and more quality time with a friend from the past. A little relaxing and preping the RV for the main event of the summer.

We headed north to hook-up with the RV tour we had booked to see the Calgary Stampede, Banff, and Glacier/Waterton Peace Park also known as Canada's Waterton Park and Glacier National Park in the U.S. Then it was back to Great Falls to unwind and make plans for the rest of the summer.

That led to the race east toward Michigan. We stopped in Sturgis SD for a night while the city was preparing for their annual bike rally and a stop in Mitchell SD with our third trip to the Corn Palace. Sounds a little hokie and it is but we like it. A few more nights on the road and here we are in St Ignace Michigan. 

There are new people at the park this year and they seem just as nice as the last group. We are looking forward to getting into a little routine working and still seeing some of the Upper Peninsula that we missed last year. As I've said before we will also put a little cash back in the savings account for future adventures.

I will sign off from our home, for a while, here in the U.P. because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#35 Piling On The Miles

 It has been a week since we finished the tour and we are back on the road making our own way. Our boss from last year offered us work to finish the season in Michigan and we took advantage of the opportunity. We need a break from all the travel. Since we left Florida on March 22nd we have traveled almost 9000 miles. We plan to sit still until sometime in October.

This summer's travel also took a dip out of our wallet and there is also the wear and tear on the truck and trailer after all those miles. We will be able to replenish some of that and pay for the maintenance working the rest of the summer season. 

Speaking of miles, just this past week we have driven right around 1500 miles. Six days of overnight stays and we will be looking forward to not traveling every day. It will be nice to set up our home for an extended stay. There will be pictures put up, clocks back on the wall, and knick knacks set out to make it feel like a home. We will also be sitting still long enough for our mail to catch up with us. And finally we will have a place for Amazon to find us. I am surprised that Amazon hasn't sent out a wellness check on us! 

Well tomorrow we will be setting down some temporary roots, but for today I will say goodbye from our home in Wisconson because ....

Home is where we park it, 

Frank and Mary

'24/#34 We Are Free To Roam The Country

 We made it across the border in what had to be the easiest crossing coming back to the states. Usually it is the  third degree and the fear of being detained while they search for something that is not there, just because they can. There was a line and a little wait but that was the worst of it.

The next stop was Glacier National Park. This is something that has been on the bucket list for quite a while. The tour we were with made all the reservations for the Red Bus tour on the Going To The Sun Road and the boat ride on McDonald Lake. Glacier implemented a reservation system several years ago to control the crowds and protect the park. No reservation, no trip up the Going to The Sun Road. It is inconvenient for impulse visits but a little planning and the park is all yours. 

The bus ride up the road was amazing. I could have done it with the truck but I would have missed all the breathtaking views. The road itself is a marvel of engineering and the constant maintenance shows. There are lots of pictures on Facebook from me and Mary. The next day was a casual boat ride on the lake with lots of information on the park's geological history and the people who have lived there.

This is the last day of our Fantasy Tour. We met a lot of nice people and we got to see some of the things we always wanted. But we are not tour people. We like to travel on our own, change plans as we head down the road, and explore whatever the road may put in front of us. This is probably our last tour. Tours are great for people who don't like planning all the details of a trip. It is a lot of work, but that is part of the experience. Also there are people who don't like to travel long ways in unfamiliar areas by themselves and tours are perfect for them. We are glad we did it but it just wasn't our cup of tea.

We are winding down for a couple of days back in Great Falls, Montana and will hit the road soon. Glad you could join us on our adventure. I will sign off now in our home in Great Falls because....

Home is where we park it, 

Frank and Mary

'24/#33 Glad To Be Going Home

 It's been twelve days on this RV tour and it is winding down. Today we are traveling back across the border into the U.S. Hopefully this border crossing is as simple as the one coming into Canada. 

We have met a lot of nice people on this trip and seen some wonderful things but it will be nice to get back on our own schedule. I don't think...I know we will not do this RV caravan thing again. Between the rush, rush, rush and the camping they chose it is not for us. The first camping was a temporary set-up in a stadium parking lot with limited facilities. We were aware of this going in so it was not too much of an issue. 

The next campground was a privately owned. This campground is not one we would have chosen. Tight turns, limited electric and sewer hook-ups, and the number of permanent residents is not what we expected on an organized RV caravan. There were a number of RVs that had electrical issues. as we did, and all the campground owner could say is that we were using too much electricity or that we had issues inside our rigs. I expected that for the price of this caravan to be in campgrounds that could accomodate the number and types of RVs that participated.

Almost everything is raedy to go so I will sign off for the last time from our home in Canada because.....

Home is where we park it, 

Frank andd Mary

'24/#32 After The Parade

The day after the opening day parade we went to the first day of rodeo competition. The competition will go on throughout the 10 days of The Stampede. Needless to say there was quite a crowd. Several years age we spent the summer in Cody Wyoming and went to the nightly rodeo at least once a week. We have seen enough rodeo to last us the rest of our lives.

 This rodeo is more than that. This a rodeo and state fair all rolled into one. It is billed as The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth. We joined in the sea of cowboy hats and enjoyed the show. 

Tomorrow we will go to the Heritage Village and check out life on the Canadian plains in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Then there will be more rodeo.

Until then this is goodbye from our home in Calgary because.....

Home is where we Park it,

Frankand Mary

'24/#31 It's Stampede Time!!!

 Being Americans we watched some of the 4th of July fireworks on TV and called it an early night. The 5th of July is when everything starts here in Calgary. The Stampede Parade starts at 9am but we had to be there before 7:30 when they start closing the streets. 

Find us with the satellite dish

Our bus left the campground (big parking lot) at 7am and dropped us off at our reserved seats. Then we were served coffee and donuts from Tim Horton's (Canadian Dunkin' Donuts). This is why we signed up for this guided RV tour. All the routes, reservations, and some meals are all prearranged and paid for in advance. Our job is to have fun. 

After the parade we took the train down to the Stampede grounds. Admission was free for a few hours and the crowds were insane. I bought a T shirt and magnet and we called it day. All the festivities and rodeo events will start tonight and continue until July 14th. 

Train friends?

The day before we had breakfast at the Sky Tower and checked out the view from the observation deck with some of our new friends. The rest of the day was a "free" day so we walked around town and checked out the city's preparations for the Stampede. It's like a US city getting ready to host the Super Bowl. Then it was on The CTrain back to the campground. Again train tickets are all provided so we can get around easily.

Rally Friends

We still are living in our home so necessary chores need to be done. Mary found a laundromat nearby and all our clothes are clean again. We should be good until this tour is over. This afternoon we have tickets for the rodeo so I will sign off now from our home in Calgary because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#30 Eh?!?

 We made it! We are in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ride up from Shelby was an easy and scenic drive drive through the northern farmlands and oil fields of Montana. We made friends in Shelby who were also going on this RV tour and decided to caravan together. One stop at the border and one more for the others to let the dogs out and we were settled in at the rally gounds by three o'clock.

 That's us in the middle

The customs check at the border was so much easier than we expected. A few questions about booze, guns, pepper spray, and ammo and we were on our way. Our past experiences crossing into Canada were just as easy, but this is our first time with the RV. Our past crossings back in the U.S. were not as easy. We are not looking forward to what may happen on our return to the U.S. with the RV. We will plan for the worst and hope for the best. That is kinda our S.O.P.

Well the weather is poopie as Mary might say. Since we got here a day early we have nothing to do until tonight's orientation. We are looking forward to all the activities planned for the next two weeks. 

We did go shopping for a few essentials we couldn't bring into Canada and filled the truck with diesel. Fuel is dispensed by the liter and not the gallon. After all the conversions and calculations we paid $6.09 a gallon in Canadian with the exchange rate equaling about $4.48 in U.S. dollars. Still a little higher than we pay in the states but acceptable on this once in a lifetime adventure.

Well I am going to relax under cloudy skies until tonights festivities begin in our home in Calgary Canada because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#29 A Big Drop In The Bucket

 We are ready for the highlight of our Bucket List Tour. Today we head into Canada and on to Calgary. Our cell phones will work but our data will be limited so we may be incognito for the next two weeks.

Our time here in Shelby Montana has been busy getting the RV ready for Canada. What can we bring? What can't we bring? What documents do we need? Also there was preping the rig for extended periods without full utility hook-ups. We will be on limited water usage and low electric at times. This is nothing we haven't done before but it takes a little preparation.

We are almost ready to hit the road. Several others that will be meeting in Calgary for this tour had the same idea of using Shelby as a jumping off spot. So we will be traveling with a small gourp of like minded RVers. I call it the precaravan for the Calgary Caravan.

Well it is time to hook everything up so we will be ready when the others are. So I will say goodbye from our home in Shelby because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary