Westward Ho!

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July 2010 - we rented an 8' camper trailer and headed west - destination, Calgary to celebrate Pat's 30th birthday and see as much as we could on the way there and back.

In 4 weeks we covered 10 000km, saw lots of the US and Canada, experienced many highs and a few lows. We'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Highs? ...
Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park. Taking a small bus instead of driving it.... a spectacular ride but a white knuckle drive for sure!
Camping on Racehorse Creek with Pat and Claire - fishing and admiring the pristine Rocky Mountains.
The Calgary Stampede & rafting down the Bow River with Kim, James, Lukie, Pat & Claire - great hosts Don & Peggy, Cara & Aunt Marg.
Yellowstone Park - with its mountains, animals, thermal areas and rivers - 2 million acres of diversity.
Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody, Wyoming.
Crazy Horsy Monument, South Dakota.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota - a beautiful small city - safe - unexpected treasure.
Mackinac Island - a no car haven - the Chicago to Mackinac Yacht Race arrived just as we did.

Lows?...
Breakfast in the Two Bit Saloon, Gardiner, Montana... owner confronts a young man.. ""Get the F#*@K out of here or I'll shoot you!" - he meant it!
Lunch in an Amish Roadside Diner.. we ordered chicken salad on a croissant.. after 45 minutes. just before we were about to walk out, the waiter appeared with ham and eggs on a croissant with a heap of fried potatoes... when we pointed out the problem he said "But it IS a croissant!"
French Creek campground, Custer, Wyoming - the gun toting owner, wearing a jester's hat, offered to park the camper into an impossibly tight space, but decided he was too drunk...we found another campground.
..small problems..

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Photos

ready for the road
with our 4 cylinder engine we were limited to an 8' trailer (about 1200lb) - it worked out well although it lacked many of the comforts of Gust O'Wind

old grain elevator - Montana
we booted across northern US so we could have more time in the mountains - the grain elevators here were much like the Canadian ones we remembered from a previous trip west.

ominous warning
this sign caught our attention - shortly after we left, a man was killed and 2 others were mauled by a grizzly near Yellowstone

Glacier campground
we spent 3 nights here near the east entrance to the park

Going to the Sun Road, Glacier
this has to be one of the most stunning drives in North America - right there with Banff to Jasper. Luckily a free shuttle bus was available to take as the often one lane road without guardrails would have been the ultimate white knuckle experience.

Racehorse Creek campground
our favourite spot of the trip - 200' of private creek frontage - true backcountry camping

Pat lands a nice cutthroat trout
unfortunately this trout was too big to haul back up the hill for our dinner...really!

Peter Lougheed Park
just west of Calgary - lots of rubbernecking as we were admiring the scenery and looking out for animals on the road.

rafting down the Bow
this was the extent of our boating for this trip - a very calm float down the Bow River through Calgary.

Bow Valley campground
another great spot west of Calgary - all set to grill some prime Alberta beef.

chuckwagon races Calgary Stampede
luckily we were in Calgary for the Stampede - Lukie's favourite event was the chuckwaggon races - 4 teams in a suicidal dash to the finish.

Luke meets Luke the horse
one of the Bud clydesdales was also a Luke.

Moraine Lake
we had a great day touring the area near Banff and Lake Louise with family - unfortunately Claire had to work that day

Yellowstone thermal area
after Calgary we went south to big, busy Yellowstone - the undisputed king of National Parks.

inside the camper
a bit like living in our dinghy (it is longer!)- but being outdoors was the whole point.

Old Faithful, Yellowstone
a must for every visitor to Yellowstone - the only predictable geyser in the park.

bison
this big boy started to amble towards Marlie as she was getting the shot - she was quick to get back into the car!

Crazyhorse
this is an image of the final sculpture superimposed on the progress so far - a massive mountain being turned into Crazyhorse - a Little BigHorn warrior- 60 years of work with just his head completed!!

a work in progress...
chiefs of the Lakota Sioux asked the sculptor to take on this work because they wanted to show the whites ..."that we have heroes too..." he began in 1948 with a pick and ladder.

Buffalo Bill
we were lucky to find this great museum (known as the Smithsonian of the west) in Cody, Wyoming.

Badlands
a popular area of South Dakota

Grand Hotel
we spent the last 3 nights near Mackinac Island and took the ferry out for the day.

Macinac Island transport
no motorized vehicles on the island but you are just as likely to get run over by a pack of bicycles or a team of horses!

Macinaw campground
many nights we enjoyed a campfire - we took our music but didn't use it once all trip.

Comments

[Anne]

Better and Better
Hi Marlene and Ian, gawd, I LOVE your blogs. Wonderful to see Lukie in the pics along with the grown ups. So many of the places you described in words and pics, I have seen too and it's wonderful country, so sharp and sculptured. Geology is the best architect, geology and time. I had to laugh at the antics with the camper and the wild cowboys along the way, funny from my vantage point. All the best. Party on... xo's Anne

[Judi/John]

Travel time
Someone said "It is better to travel than arrive". Keep travelling as we enjoy your journeys almost as much. Perhaps we could fit a round of golf in when you have rested and recovered.

[Ruth & Jim Dunlop]

Perfect Summer for this Adventure!
Hi Ian and Marlene,....Wow! it looks like you had a great time....and the weather this year couldn't have been more conducive to at trip like this.....great to take your time and actually see things on the way...too many times we travel to get there ....and then get back....with out enjoying the things on the way.....Retirement allows us to savor the small things.....so glad you did...... Love to see the pictures ....and read clips of your travels....gun toting cowboys and all...lol.....we are really enjoying this great summer on our deck....usually we are out west and try to get all our traveling in before I head back to school....Take Care...Ruth & Jim

[Eugene Madden]

A slice of life!
What an experience! I guess the" highs and lows" are really just reality otherwise you've got Utopia. You'll remember those experiences for a long time. I would enjoy the retelling of them. Let me know when you're in Mississauga - we'll do lunch, hopefully. Eugene Madden

[Jean & Peter]

Westward Ho
We enjoyed your trip. Obviously you had a blast. Keep us posted re future activities. Cheers, Jean

[Bonnie Bunkis]

Great photos and looks like a great trip! The lows are sometimes the funny things you remember for the longest time! We just got back from the beach...whole family was there for two weeks....busy, busy! We have four grandchildren now..1, 2, 4 and 6 years old! Steph and Ian were with us from Cayman...on their way to moving to Calgary! No more great winters in Cayman for us, I guess! I spent 5 weeks there this spring! But then, there is always skiing near Calgary. Glad you had a good trip! Take care.