Day 10 - July 6, 2008

A long drive from Great Falls and home by supper. Only to spot a funnel cloud over Crossfield on our way. Made our home coming a little interesting. Large hail and lots of rain. We had the best road trip ever.

Day 9 - July 5, 2008

We are now getting closer to home, at least back into Montana where we are only one state away from Alberta. We drove to Great Falls, Montana, did some shopping and spent the night. The weather is still excellent and the sights are awesome.

Day 8 -July 4, 2008

Well it is the 4th of July and we worried about getting a camping spot, but we carried on toward Idaho. We thought no better spot than Idaho Falls for a 4th of July celebration. We got the last camp spot in town and were within walking distance of the river where they set off the best fireworks display that I have seen. 45 minutes steady. Again, unbelievable!!

Day 7 - July 3, 2008

After a good nights rest and some gingerale, Mike was ready to carry on through California towards Nevada. Maybe the thoughts of gambling revived him. We stopped at a Pistachio farm for a snack and then carried on to Reno Nevada. Did a little gambling and drove to Virginia City for lunch at the Bucket Of Blood Saloon (the oldest city in Nevada).Now, on for an never ending drive through the desert. Next stop Winnemucca, Nevada. Camping and resting after a couple of long days.

Day 6 July 2, 2008

Woke up and got ready for our tour of San Francisco. Back to the Golden Gate Bridge and down to the Fishermans Wharf for breakfast. Then on to the famous Pier 33 for our trip over to Alcatraz. After a short boat ride we arrived at Alcatraz for a guided walking tour. It was excellent. We met Darwin Coon, an inmate that actually did time in Alcatraz. He wrote a book and was signing autographs while we were there. We spent the morning walking around Alcatraz Island and then back on the road to Six Flags amusement park. This truly is an action packed holiday. It makes me tired thinking of all the things we did in such a short time. lol. Luckily the park stayed open late, so we had time to ride all the coasters. Yes all the coasters. Ask Mike, it was his turn to be sick. He couldnt even drive when we left the park, so we stayed at another hotel nearby.

Day 5 -July 1, 2008

Well we should be heading north, but we have made it this far and we are not going to turn around until we see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz! Therefore on into California we go. I decided we should continue on the scenic highway along the coast. No one told me that it would be the longest, windiest highway of my life. I was green and barfing before we got off the road. Dont get me wrong, it was a beautiful drive, just real crazy. The California redwood forest was another highlight, where we actually drove the car through a tree. Appartently it is only the crazy Canadians that do it, we had to push my mirrors on the van in and they still rubbed as Mike drove through the tree. The on-lookers cheered and wished us happy Canada day as we did it. Hurray!!, by dusk, we were at San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Melissa was some excited. Tonight we stayed at a motel so we could get an early start for our tour to Alcatraz. My biggest highlight....

Day 4-June 30, 2008

We drove along the Oregon coast and stopped to draw a Canadian Flag in the sand. It was cool and foggy along the coast, but the scenery was again unbelievable! Tons of rock and lush green forests. The Pacific Coast Scenic Byway curves along the ocean for several miles. We stopped to watch the sea lions at the Sea lion Caves(worlds largest sea cave). Then we carried on to Brookings, Oregon to camp. Before we set up camp, we stopped down at the pier and bought some fresh crabs and shrimp to cook over the open fire. What a feast. The most beautiful campground on our holiday. Huge forests and right on the coast. We have been on the road for 4 days and havent gotten to San Francisco yet. We only have 10 days and are getting a little worried about getting back home in time to go back to work. Soon we will have to stop going south and head north, but today was not the day..lol. We have a bridge to see.

Day 3 - June 29, 2008

Day 3 began again by packing up the tent and moving on down the road towards the mountains. Stopped for a rest at Clear Creek Falls and down to Toledo for a beer. On to Mt St. Helens, which was one of the highlights of our trip. Unbelievable!! Spent the better part of the afternoon looking around at the monument and tourist centre. Took lots of pics. Now on to the coast and Portland,Oregon. The mountains have become very tropical and with lots of growth. We set our tent up at Lincoln City after nearly running out of gas, because Mike always like to live on the edge.. and tries to see just how far the van will go. Stopped for gas at a little hole in the wall gas station in the middle of no where and found out later it was the best gas we bought all trip, giving us the best gas milage.lol. Also the most expensive campground on our trip...$40+/night for a small tent site-no hookups...

Day 2- June 28, 2008

Up early and packed up, back on the road through BC towards Idaho. (Yes Billy there is a time zone change and you will look cute painting my fence in your moo moo). Down through Idaho, picked a few rocks for our flower bed at the wild horse scenic byway and always had time to stop for a cold beer on the side of the road. A short drive through Idaho and on to Washington. 96 degrees farenheit today. We saw miles of flat dry farm land with little twisters in the fields. We drove through Coulee City on our way to Dry Falls.(The worlds greatest waterfall - without water!)The country side went from farm land to desert within only a few miles. Then before you know it we were at back in the lush green landscape again. Yakima, Washington was our next camping spot.

Day 1- June 27, 2008

At 4:00pm we had the van packed and Mike, Matthew, Melissa and I started on our summer 2008 road trip. It was going to be quite an adventure. We had 10 days to travel and no itinery to follow. We headed towards the mountains and stopped on our first night at Radium Hot Springs, Canyon Creek campground. We spent the evening visiting with Billy Lightle. Keep the beer coming! Oh, and the weather was beautiful!