Lovely photos -- enjoying traveling along with you.
Mark
Printable View
Lovely photos -- enjoying traveling along with you.
Mark
DAY 26: WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK, CANADA
Compared to Glacier National Park in the US (Montana), the sister park, Waterton Lakes National Park is pretty small. It can pretty much be seen in one day; more if you want to enjoy some of the hikes or are prepared for inclement weather hikes.
Our day began in the park before 9 am, at the park Visitor Center. Akamina Parkway, one of the two "main" scenic roads, is under construction this summer and not available to private cars. To get to any of the trails along Akamina, one must sign up for a (free) shuttle out to your trailhead and sign up for the return shuttle. The weather was looking pretty crummy, so we decided not to take the shuttle out and hope that we'd not get rained on. Or, worse yet, not make it back in time for our return shuttle. It simply wasn't that important to do specific trails.
We found parking near Cameron Falls, which are right next to Waterton Village. Looked and photographed the falls, then hiked UP the stairs and trail for a "brink of the falls" view.
https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8803/2...f8f3620c_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 124 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8856/2...e0e215f1_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 137 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
We walked all over the Village, looking into the little shops more than we had the day before. Stopped and had coffee at one of them (no, it wasn't Starbucks). Walked down by the Lake in a different area.
While in the Village, one deer came up and helped himself to the leaves on the branches of the tree right next to the Waterton Historical Society building. Tourists: "click, click, click." Another mama deer and her baby Bambi went trotting across the lawn of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police building. Tourists: "click, click, click". Yet a different deer decided to make lunch of Zum's flowers and potted evergreens, sitting outside their restaurant. Tourists: "click, click, click". Yes, me too. The photos just haven't been uploaded to the computer yet, still on my camera.
We had lunch at Zum's -- fried chicken, yum! A little later, we had drinks on the patio at the Bayside Inn, watching the boats go up and down the lake, and the hotel folks were setting up for a 2 pm wedding (that was probably pretty windy).
https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8662/2...4b48d936_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 155 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Our last stop was to go up to the Prince of Wales Hotel. It was REALLY gusty up there.
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8679/2...32bbcb63_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 158 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
The view from outside the building was beautiful!
https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7449/2...e40b99c4_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 166 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Drove back to Pincher Creek trying to decide how to tackle the next day's driving, as it would be more of a driving day than a sightseeing day.
For dinner, we went to A & W. It was right next door to the motel, and we hadn't been to one in several years. The only place we'd "done" an A & W was in Yuma, AZ. Well, this is a true A & W, and they still do real A & W root beer in real frozen glass mugs instead of the paper cups that the Yuma A & W uses. What a pleasure, making me really sorry that I hadn't ordered a root beer float!
Donna
DAY 26 in PHOTOS:
Gutsy deer eating the Historical Society's tree leaves
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8808/2...5526e139_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 152 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Bambi and his mama run to the RCMP office to sample their lawn
https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8628/2...6d4c3592_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 151 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Maybe I should look both ways before crossing this street
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8701/2...286f851a_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 150 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
This evergreen is mighty tasty!
https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8670/2...74452ea0_n.jpgIMG_4038 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Tourists: "Click, click, click" (including me)
https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8757/2...1ef8c7ef_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Glacier Waterton 154 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Donna
DAY 27: PINCHER CREEK AB to COEUR D'ALENE ID via BRITISH COLUMBIA - 280 miles
We set out at 8:20 that morning, oblivious to the fact of a time zone change a little later in the day. AB-6 took us to AB-3, which we were on for most of the day until we headed for the US border.
Stopped at Coleman, AB, for a bit of breakfast. The place wasn't busy at all. It hadn't been the one I was looking for -- evidently that one was in town, not on the highway. We noted that fuel was running 90.3 for diesel in that area of AB, but later jumped to 106.9 in BC. Since there was absolutely no one else in the restaurant when we went to leave, we chatted a bit with the waitress.
One thing Canada has going for it: when you go to pay the bill at a restaurant, the wait staff will bring you a wireless device in which you insert your credit card, then it will print a receipt for you to sign. (We ran into a couple of places where Chip-and-pin was okay for Americans, but most places are chip-and-sign for American cards.) For security, you never let go of your card, so I hope that the US will adopt this as a general rule rather than the occasional place that has it.
The highways were in great condition, for the most part. Though most were two lanes, each side would take turns being given a third lane for passing. Rest areas varied between full facilities and pit potties, and AAA maps were not always correct for which ones were which!
The drive was very scenic, and with light traffic, we enjoyed the Canada portion of our trip. To my surprise, we changed back to Pacific time zone when we were in British Columbia. It made me check all the maps, and realize that Idaho is half Pacific time (northern half) and half Mountain time (southern half).
At the Border Crossing Eastport/Kingsgate (US-95 and Can-95), we had to wait about 20 minutes. While we were in line, another lane was opened up, which lessened our wait, I'm sure. When we pulled up, we handed the CBP officer our passports. He asked us to take off our sunglasses (of course), shut down the diesel (sure), asked us what we were doing in Canada (sightseeing Waterton Lakes), where we were headed (home to California eventually, Coeur d'Alene for the night). Asked us what we were carrying in the back (luggage and other trip necessities.) He started to say that the US considers everything being brought across the border as Canadian, so I told him, "I have a list of everything we brought with us, electronics and medications." He changed his stance then, softening, telling us he didn't need to see the electronics list, but were all the medications prescriptions? (Yes). Did they have our names on them? (Yes.) OK, did we have any fruits and vegetables with us? (No.) Guns, weapons, ammunition? (No.) OK, have a great trip! We told him, enjoy your day, to which he smiled, motioned around him and said, "with all this beauty? Beats duty in Nogales!" We nodded and said, yes, we travel along I-8 and 10 in Arizona, said good-bye, and moved on.
The drive in the US -- well, hubby was relieved not to have to constantly check to see if he was going 100 kmh (62 mph), 80 (48 mph), etc. I was relieved not to multiply km by .62 to get mileage.
We pulled into Bonner's Ferry and found a diesel station with a reasonable price of fuel. "General Lee" (truck) was very thirsty, down to about 1/4 tank. (We had not filled at ALL in Canada.)
Continued on into Coeur d'Alene. We got divided highway, almost freeway quality, about 15 miles north of CDA, and sailed into our hotel --- the last Super 8 of this trip (to hubby's relief - he no longer likes Super 8's).
No photos for this portion of the trip.
Donna
DAY 28: COEUR D'ALENE TUBBS HILL and VICINITY
Despite the weather looking just a wee-bit dreary, Coeur d'Alene's McEuen Park and its Tubbs Hill beckoned. Our hope was for some good views of the Lake Coeur d'Alene, a good hike, and some looks at local housing.
McEuen Park is located in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Our GPS took us right to the parking for the park, and immediately put us into a dilemma: fancy parking meters and no exact cash. One of us noticed that you could park for 2 hours for free, so we just figured we'd stay no longer than 2 hours and that would solve the entire problem!
The perimeter hike around Tubbs Hill answered all of our desires. The views out onto the lake were beautiful, even with the weather playing games.
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7494/2...b7f19607_n.jpgIMG_4044 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
What wasn't great was the signage. At one fork in the trail, we went to the right, thinking it would keep us on the perimeter trail. Instead, we found ourselves nearing the 10th Street Pier.
https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8582/2...b6c4fbfc_n.jpgIMG_4049 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
After finding ourselves at the piers, we sought the spur back to the main trail, and continued on towards the 3rd Street Pier.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8841/2...c9b5a9f9_n.jpgIMG_4048 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
All in all, it was a great 2.4 mile hike, completed well within the 2 hour limits of our parking meter slip.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent relaxing and going out to dinner. We were back in "civilization" for a night, so we took advantage of the many offerings that CDA had for dinner -- knowing that the next night, we might not be so lucky!
Donna
DAY 29: COEUR D'ALENE to DONNELLY ID - 276 miles
It was a very late start from CDA that morning. I had a special deal for IHOP that we wanted to take advantage of, before it expired, and there was one just down from our hotel. So we left the Super 8 just after 9 am, and left CDA just after 10 am.
Once again the weather played games with us. We'd drive into the sunshine, then into a bank of clouds that would spit at us. We headed down US-95 again. That route was listed as "Scenic" by the AAA maps, but it wasn't much more than very pretty farmland once we left the shores of Lake Coeur D'Alene.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8827/2...7a2e2a53_n.jpgIMG_4052 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
We pulled up a long grade to the top of a pass where one could get a scenic view of the valley around Lewiston, and just as the road sign said "Scenic Overlook, 1000 ft", the truck began to buck again. There were TV/radio antennae to both sides of us and close to the road. Needless to say, we passed up the scenic view. As soon as we were away from the antennae, the truck was fine. It's definitely some sensor that gets false readings from those antennae.
The road began to get more and more scenic as the day went on. Around Riggins, where we lost that hour and went back to Mountain Time, we stopped at a rest area/picnic area along the Salmon River.
Views as we drove alongside the Salmon River
https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8642/2...19bfa5d6_n.jpgIMG_4057 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
The Salmon River at Skookumchuck Picnic/Rest Area, where we walked down to the river and stuck our hands in.
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8691/2...08048f22_n.jpgIMG_4058 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Our night's stay was at the Long Valley Inn at Donnelly, ID -- a very tiny town with only one motel. It looked decent from the photos online but it was the lowest point on the trip as overnight lodging goes. The bed was a 4 poster with knobbed wood, and comfortable, but that was the nicest thing about it. The wifi was non-existent on our end of the motel. The shower was good, but the tub had black mold -- not a good thing. I'm glad it was cheap or I'd have felt gypped.
Dinner, OTOH, was at Cougar Dave's Bar and Grill -- locally recommended. The special was prime rib and really delicious! (I had thought about cooking at the motel but on what? There was no table space except a tiny desk, which was rickety. So we went out.)
Donna
DAY 30: DONNELLY ID to TWIN FALLS via SAWTOOTH NATIONAL RECREATION AREA - 278 miles
We were anxious to get on the Scenic byways that morning, but not so anxious to skip breakfast for either us or our thirsty truck. In Cascade, a Shell station took care of the truck's need for fuel, and just down the street was an inviting little place called "Gramma's Homestead Restaurant". In that place, we had a delicious breakfast, but also a nice conversation with the lone man at the table next to us. He had duty on some of the remaining Fire Lookout towers. I had been concerned about one of the byways we were planning to take, because of a reported fire, but he assured me that the fire was out and the road was open.
We headed down ID-55, also called the Payette River Scenic Byway, to Banks. We turned left there on a "farm-to-market" road called 24 on the map, but locally called the Banks-Lowman Road. It's also known as the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway. Unfortunately we saw no wildlife, but we drove along good road right next to a rushing river. At points, the rapids were really rough.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7531/2...aa138907_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Idaho 001 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Rushing rapids
https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8892/2...d7994b7a_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Idaho 003 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
Calm river - pretty much
https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8856/2...39ff107a_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Idaho 007 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
At Lowman, the byway stopped, so we turned on "north" ID-21. I use "" on north because it was technically north, but you twist and turn going around mountains and up the Banner Summit (7200') that you never really know which direction you're going. Finally you get to Stanley. Before Stanley, you get an indication about what's coming up when you get on ID-75 going south:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8885/2...0171d084_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Idaho 015 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
We drove through the Sawtooth National Recreation Area on ID-75. This too is a lovely drive, the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. There were many campgrounds in the area that were pretty underused, but this was not a weekend. There were roads leading to fishing and boating areas.
View of the Sawtooth Range
https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8749/2...4e879198_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 iPhone Dump Idaho 030 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
About 20 miles before you get to Ketchum/Sun Valley, you climb a pass (Galena, I think). We stopped at the turnout at the top and were rewarded with this view:
https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8899/2...bbcba112_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Idaho 027 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
After Ketchum and Sun Valley, the road was no longer quite so scenic. We were ready, by then, to call it a day. We had reservations at Twin Falls, so that's where we headed, to a lovely Quality Inn there. Checked in, had a swim in one of their 2 indoor pools (and hot tub), and went to dinner.
From dinner, we walked over to the Snake River Canyon's Perrine Bridge Lookout point.
Perrine Bridge
https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8774/2...0a4d3d30_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 iPhone Dump Idaho 035 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
We got directions to the Shoshone Falls, which were somewhat of a disappointment. They have been controlled because of the addition of a dam, but also the season of the year makes a big difference in how they look. To a July visitor, they weren't running as much as a spring visitor might see -- much like the falls at Yosemite, probably.
https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8645/2...b125e347_n.jpgDonna Summer 2016 Idaho 040 by jeanniesisters, on Flickr
At that, we called it a day. This was the last real sightseeing day planned for the trip -- it was time to start heading towards home a little quicker.
Donna
DAY 31: TWIN FALLS ID to ST GEORGE UT - 520 miles
Knowing we had reservations on the other end, and all freeway to drive, we set out later than we often do on long mileage days: 8 am. We hadn't seen much in the line of freeway since Three Forks MT (only a little between Helena and Great Falls). We took I-84 all the way down to I-15 in Utah, and took that in to St George.
Salt Lake City and vicinity stretches out for over 120 miles, beginning at Brigham City in the north, and ending after Provo to the south. Somewhere in there we stopped for lunch, getting a bit lost trying to locate the place, but the GPS (finally charged up and ready for use) got us back on track.
It took us a while to figure out what caused it, but the transmission was heating up quite rapidly. The weather outside was in the lower-90s (according to the Weather app) and the climbs were gradual, so we were puzzled. Stopped at two separate Flying J's for a rest area stop. Finally after the 2nd one, hubby dropped his speed from 76 mph to 75 mph -- and the tranny temp dropped. We remembered that 80 mph had heated it up, a couple of years ago, but didn't think there'd be such a drastic difference between 75 and 76 mph, especially with the cruise control on.
Our trip has been a "lollipop" trip. We start and end on the same highway (I-15), but looped around. This was the day where we closed the loop, when I-15 intersected with I-70 in mid-Utah. Hubby commented on how excited we were back then, to be heading out, but now we were excited to head back home, too.
We pulled into St George just before 5 pm -- not quite 9 hours later. The hotel had no problem finding our two night reservation. I was especially happy about that, as I had spent a half hour on the phone with Choice Privileges reservations back in CDA, trying to iron out one night paid and one night free (earned with points).
It was well over 105 F and our bodies were still trying to adjust to that heat. The weather had been considerably cooler up north -- jeans and sweatshirt temperatures -- and this heat was obnoxious. As soon as we unloaded our stuff into the room, we headed for the indoor pool. (We had tried to get into the Comfort Inn that had an outdoor pool, but they were full one night of the two we needed to stay.)
There were all kinds of choices for food within a half mile from the Comfort Inn St George North, including all sorts of fast food and a Texas Roadhouse. We drove down to one a little further away.
The Comfort Inn was excellent, with everything we needed (except towel bars). Since we were paying for one night, and using points for the other, we had to check out on one morning and check back in under points. They offered a hot breakfast, though hubby stated that the biscuits and gravy at the Quality back at the Lake of the Ozarks was better. :-)
Donna
DAY 32: LAYOVER DAY in ST GEORGE
During a last minute re-plan of the end of our trip, we decided to stay a full day in St George. There were things that looked interesting, to be sure, but the main reason for this day was REST.
Interesting things:
Red Cliffs conservation area - outdoors - too hot
Dinosaur tracks - outdoors - too hot
Virgin River Gorge, the hike we declined on our first day - outdoors - too hot
Staying in the room, sleeping, relaxing were the orders of the day instead.
DAY 33: ST GEORGE to HOME - 440 miles - a little over 7 hours
My hubby does not like driving in the heavy traffic between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, nor do either of us like the desert heat (even with an air conditioned vehicle). Our plans were to leave in the very wee hours of the morning again, the same way we started this road trip. That was the reason for the layover day: to give ourselves time to sleep, relax, and prepare for an early morning departure.
We were actually out before our planned "lift off". The hotel had suggested that we just leave our keys in the room instead of checking out, and offered to mail the invoice. Because we had paid for this second night with some of our accrued points, they can email it to us.
The drive was smooth. We stopped at the Flying J at Primm, near Whiskey Pete's, for more coffee and to use the facilities. California had the gall to close BOTH rest areas along I-15 north of Barstow. The Agricultural Inspection Station was lit up and cars were sent through one lane, but nobody was manning the lane. Stopped in Yermo for fuel, though we possibly could have made it down to San Diego County, then again in Riverside County for a pit stop.
We were planning our arrival time at home when all four lanes of I-15 came to a full stop, just short of the Deer Springs exit at the Welk Village Resort. We sat there for 20 minutes. While sitting, several CalTrans, two police cars, a big truck designed to move dirt and rock, and a tow truck went by. However, we never saw anything that indicated an accident *except* a long section of guard rail in the median strip was wiped out. It took another 15 minutes for us to get past the mess, and we had been about 1/4 mile back in line.
Arrived home, emptied the cab, went into the house, looked around, petted the cat a lot, put her outside, and we decided it was time to crash.
It had been a good trip, all in all. In the near future, I will post statistics such as mileage and costs, and reflections about what we'll do differently next trip.
Thanks for reading this!
Donna
On the last day of the trip, hubby and I usually muse about the good things and not-so-good things on our plans, and reflect on what not to do for the next trip. Here's some of our reflections that we made:
* Hubby was not happy with all the Super 8's. There was always something missing that he needed, or something was in poor condition.
* Stick to Choice properties (EconoLodge, Quality, Comfort Inn) where possible. Hubby liked them more than the Super 8's.
* Rethink bringing camping chairs and a large cooler on the trip. Just took up valuable space!
* Never forget an extension cord and an electrical strip. These come in handy at motels!
* Give more serious consideration to where we are on the 4th of July weekend. Places get full and are more expensive!
* We didn't need to stay two nights at Helena or Great Falls. We could have spent 3 nights at Great Falls and done the boat trip, Lewis and Clark from there. Be careful when planning short hauls and planning to stay 2 nights, that there's enough to do that interest us, in a given area. Same happened at Pincher Creek and Coeur d'Alene.
Donna