Mcvan

This is my last blog as all good things must come to an end. Bill and I are heading home after five weeks on the road and after travelling well over 10.000 km. We have journeyed through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri as well as Alberta and British Columbia. We have seen most of the popular tourist areas in each of these states and provinces, as well as some remote areas as we took one too many forks in the road. I asked Bill what his favourite place was and he replied, “Our stay in Deadwood South Dakota and visiting Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Spearfish Canyon and the Badlands” For me, the journey down the pacific coast highway, especially through ... read more

Bill and I have had two adventure filled days travelling in Idaho and then through Yellowstone Park in Montana and Wyoming. After spending the night in Twin Falls, Idaho we got up early and arrived at the Shoshone Indian Ice Caves, just outside Shoshone, of course. This area of Idaho is very much influenced by the historic Shoshone tribes who made their home along the Snake River. In the early 1900s the tribe was moved off their land to a reservation. These caves are spectacular to tour. The fee was 10 dollars and worth every cent. I expected underground caves with hieroglyphics instead; we travelled through a lava field and entered the largest cave by stone steps. The cave was accidentally discovered in1860 by a young child. So what is an ice cave? According to the ... read more

We have spent the last two days in California. Although I think the nickname “The Golden State” comes from the fact that gold was discovered here, it is also descriptive of the rolling hills covered in yellow poppies. When you look at the hills from a distance, they appear gold in colour which may also be due to the drought the area is experiencing, but it is “golden”. We arrived in Redding after a drive through the mountains east from the Pacific Coast Highway. Of course, by now, we are very accustomed to driving through mountain ranges and in fact, Bill has become an “expert” at negotiating the hairpin turns and steep slopes! As long as there are no high bridges, he drives these roads like he is racing in the Grand Prix. Now it is ... read more

Bill and I have had two adventure filled days. We are still on the Oregon coast but planning to be in California by Friday. Yesterday, we began our day by driving to Newport, a small town on the coast. We went to Yaquina Head to see the sea lions, the many bird species and the biggest lighthouse on the coast. This morning we were up early to take a walk on the beach. Bill was determined to swim in the Pacific Ocean and so he put on his bathing suit. He walked out, up to his knees, and then, due to one large wave was soaked up to his waist! At that point, he turned around and scurried back to shore. So much for a dip in the ocean. The sea lions are abundant in the ... read more

I have lots to tell you about. We drove from Vancouver to Seattle to visit the Space Needle. It was interesting but the view from the Willis Tower was better and higher. From the Space needle we drove to Arlington Washington to spend the night and left early the next morning for our trek up to Mount St. Helen’s. (part of the Cascade mountains) Now this is worth a visit! The park is free except for the observatory at the very top; however, you do not need to go there is the mountain is quite visible from many of the turnouts even on a cloudy day, which we had. There was a free lecture giving the details of the eruption in 1980. If you were born in the 50’s or early 60’s you most likely will ... read more