Summer Adventure 2018 Days 75 & 76

These last days have been spent just driving home. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary or really very interesting that we passed during the drive. I was happy to cross the bridge into Kentucky, the roads improved dramatically and "there's no place like home" even though we had another 70 miles to drive.

This was an awesome, summer adventure.  We traveled with 2 fantastic couples, even though the fisherman, Don, ditched us for the fishing. Bill, the explorer, kept us busy exploring something new everyday.

The Summer Adventure 2018 spanned 10,272 miles in the motor home, 76 days, 2 countries - USA and Canada, 3 provinces - Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon Territory and 11 states - Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho and Washington. I snapped more than 4,000 pictures while Ray shot over 200 gigabytes of video.

We loved our adventure and traveling friends. I hope you enjoyed reading of our escapades as we traveled this beautiful land.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 73 & 74

Before starting the daily drive, we had breakfast at Perkins Family Restaurant in Spearfish. Our next stop was 250 miles east on I-90 at the Chamberlain, SD rest area to get some pictures of new statue, Dignity. At our fuel stop in Mitchell, we also got our dinner at Marlin's Family Restaurant. We were just a short distance from our stop for the night a Camp America in Salem, SD. We found a gem there. The owner was a lovely woman, so friendly! Her campground is clean and well-kept. The lot was level. We wish this place was somewhere in Kentucky so we could just go camping there anytime. Bill and Pam are still visiting friends near Seattle while their motorhome is being repaired.

The drive today continued east on I-90 into Minnesota to I-35 near Albert Lea, then south into Iowa. Here we are again in Iowa. We are heading home. Our stop for tonight is at Newton KOA, another good place to stay. Friendly people, clean, well cared for campground. We learned the folks who arrived just ahead of us are also going home from a two-month trip to Alaska and we are here at the perfect time. Beginning tomorrow there will be 20,000 bicyclists here for a huge bike across Iowa rally and the campground is completely booked. Bill and Pam expected their motorhome repairs would be finished today, but that didn't happen, so they went sightseeing to Whidbey Island.

During the drive I took a few pictures of the sight I saw yesterday and today.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 72

Another day closer to home! We finished the drive through Montana, then across Wyoming before ending the day in Spearfish, SD.  Even though it's Sunday, there were very few sites available for us tonight. Gone are the days of driving until suppertime and pulling into the first campground for the night. I started calling the RV parks this morning just after checkout time to secure a site for tonight. Our first choice was booked, then I was able to book a suitable site at the KOA. We had dinner at Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant nearby, then picked up a few groceries.

Bill and Pam went to Seattle today to visit their friends. Don and Lora left Valdez, and went to Palmer / Wasilla area. Lora will fly home for her mother's birthday while some of the family flies in to go fishing with Don.

Summer Adventure 2018 Days 70 - 71

Day 70 was spent traveling from Oroville, Washington to Alberton, Montana. Our stop for the night was at River Edge RV Resort / Steakhouse. What luck! Ray's favorite. When I checked in I met the owner, who was very friendly and all the staff we talked to were just as friendly. She invited to come in for dinner at the steakhouse, use the wifi there and stay for the entertainment, a music duo. We did go for dinner and music. Surprise! Ray ordered fried chicken. The RV park was small, but there were lots of campers from tents to big rigs. We had a nice long pull-thru with full hook-ups in the shade looking toward the river.

Today we are still in Montana, stopping in Columbus at the only RV park with an available site in this part of the state, I called every one,  and we got the last one!  Whew, we just made it. I'm glad I have the RVParky app on my phone. Before sunset, a bit of a wind storm blew through here. We thought rain was coming too, but it never did. We watched from supper time up until dark as numerous rigs pulled in to find a place to park for the night and were disappointed. They may be parked at the truck stop just down the road.  We heard from Pam and Bill this morning, the service shop is getting the EGR valve, so they are going by car back to Canada today to Whistler, BC for the day.

When they returned from Whistler, they had been locked out of the service shop's lot. They lock up everything when they close on Saturday evening. They tried to get a hotel, but no rooms are available. There are some tournaments in town where they are. They are driving further south is search of a room.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 69

This morning we are going in different directions.We went toward home while Bill and Pam went toward Seattle. We've spent 62 days travelling together all the way from Alaska's smallest town, Chicken, to its largest city, Anchorage with all sorts of fun and interesting exploits all around the state and some of Canada, too. I imagine if you are reading this, you have already read about the things we've done on this adventure.

Our trip is south on 97, 97C, 5A and 97 again before reaching the US border crossing at Oroville. We were on the steepest descent we had during the entire trip, 10%. An interesting place we passed had the look of Destin Beach, white sand and beautiful water, but there were large pipes and heavy equipment nearby. Then we drove by a sign for Highland Valley Copper Mine and we don't know if it was natural or a by-product of the mining. Maybe I will do a little research.

At the border crossing one RV was pulling away and another was just ahead of us. Both of them pulled to the side and a border patrol officer boarded. We also had an officer come aboard and check our refrigerator for forbidden fruit. Both officers we spoke with were quite friendly and one even told us where to watch for the signs to the RV park we were headed. We may have missed it, not expecting it to be so near the border.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 68

The drive continues through British Columbia up one side of the mountain and down the other.  Our overnight stop was at Willow Springs Campground. Bill decided since the Service Engine light continues to glow and the coach seems to not be running at full power, they will go on to Mt. Vernon, WA to have the EGR valve replaced.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 67

An uneventful day of driving. The mountain views are giving way to farmland. We had a delicious dinner at Mr. Mike's Steakhouse Casual in Prince George, BC.