Day 28 to 30, Sunday June 17 to Tuesday June 19

Sunday we arrived at KOA West Yellowstone where we stayed three nights. The KOA is quite nice for a KOA however it is close to the highway and our site was one of the closer ones. Not much of a problem in an Alto since it is very good at blocking noise. What was a problem is that it started to rain shortly after we arrived and our site was pretty much flooded out by Monday morning. The picnic table and fireplace were in a swamp when we woke up and they remained unusable for the rest of our stay. The KOA tried to pump out the sites on our loop but it was a losing battle. Our site might have been the worst.

We spent each day exploring the park. A lot of driving and beautiful scenery interspersed with showers. Busy on the roads through the park and this was not the height of the season. We saw very little wild life in the park - a couple of Elk and a few Bison/Buffalo. This was disappointing. We did the lower loop road which has the geysers and hot springs. Old Faithful was a bust. We arrived shortly after it had spewed forth and were not willing to hang around the crowded tourist trap surrounding it for ninety minutes to see it spout so we just continued on. We had intended to do the upper loop of Yellowstone on Tuesday but we got mired in a traffic jam headed in that direction. After waiting in the jam for over an hour we threw in the towel and headed off to Grand Teton National Park. We were quite impressed with the Grand Teton mountains. We learned later that evening that the traffic jam going to the upper loop was caused by a herd of about thirty bison planted on the road and refusing to move. The person who told us this waited in the traffic jam for three hours and the bison were about four hundred feet off the road by the time he passed them.

Day 27, Saturday June 16

We crossed over to the States at Carway Alberta. Very small crossing point leading to hwy 89 in the US. We found a KOA near Helena MT at which to overnight. Nothing much to recommend it on the scenic side since the whole thing was just gravel. However, the staff were very good, washrooms were good and there was a nice little swapping library. We did get a couple of requests to see the Alto. People were friendly. The highlight was a small band of about 20 Prong Horn Antelopes in a field just across the road from the KOA. There were a number of very young antelopes and Tricia was able to get some great photos both near and far. I'll try to post some pictures later. Aside from that we found the scenery in Montana to be BEAUTIFUL with rolling hills surrounded by mountains but we couldn't see Glacier National Park because they were obscured by rain and fog in the distance..

Day 23 to 26, Tuesday June 12 to Friday June 15

Tuesday evening we arrived at Fairmont Hotsprings around dinner time. We setup and met with many of our fellow Altoistes including a few that we had met before in North Carolina. It made for a fun but long day.

Wednesday was a leisurely day of socializing with Altoistes including touring the Altos which took over two hours. We had a potluck dinner and conversation around the fire.

Thursday, the weather turned against us and it was lightly raining as well as cold. We spent most of the day cozied in our Alto, reading and napping (me). We were also trying to get rid of the cold that is plaguing us both - no real success there. In the afternoon we chatted with various Altoistes and in the evening we managed another potluck dinner although it was very lightly raining for the latter half.

Friday morning we broke camp. Most of the Altoistes were leaving to carry on their own trips or return to home base. We headed off towards Yellowstone which would take us a couple of days to reach. Tricia found us a camping spot near Pincher Creek Alberta. The camp is called Waterton Reservoir Recreation Area. Very small, with no services which made four days of boondocking. Things were looking good there until we finished cooking dinner at which point a storm rolled in. The winds were freezing cold although the rain was not too heavy! We ate our dinner in the Alto and that night we actually used the furnace to heat us up a bit. The next morning we would cross the border into Montana.

Day 20 to 22, Saturday June 9 to Monday June 11.

On Saturday we delivered tomato plants from Campbell River to Andrea (daughter of Jim and Jeannie) and Alex. We had a short outdoor visit with them but we could not get too close due to carrying an ugly cold which we have picked up on the island early in the week. Still great to visit and finally see their two daughters (1 1/2 and 3 1/2 years old) as well as how the house that they built in Victoria has turned out. They were just starting the family and the house the last time we saw them in 2014. All quite lovely.

After visiting with Andrea and Alex, we dropped in to see Tricia's cousin AK. AK bought and is busy renovating a little cottage in the same area that Andrea and Alex live. It has a wild garden in both front and back and Tricia says it reminds her of one of her favourite books, The Secret Garden. Between the reno and the gardens, AK has her hands full but she is slowly but surely winning on each front.

Sunday, we went to a "Pops" concert in the afternoon, with B&F and friends Virgina and Allen. We had met Virginia in Ottawa. a few years ago, when she gifted our church Bazaar with furniture and collectables prior to moving out to Victoria. After the concert we all retired to Virginia and Allen's for a great roast chicken dinner at their condo in downtown Victoria. The condo is beautiful, with an outdoor patio on the third floor and a view of the harbour including the Victoria legislative buildings which are decorated with lights at night. All very striking.

Monday we were up bright and early to catch the 9:00 AM ferryfrom Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen on the mainland. From there we were off to Salmon Arm to pick up our trailer. We made it to the RV storage place almost an hour before closing. Tricia, was talking to the staff and they recommended a nearby campground called Salmon Arm Camping Resort just east of town. This campground was quite nice, with full grown trees on and between sites. One of the best overnight site that we have stayed at during the trip so far.

I'll have to update with pictures when we can find some WiFi.

Day 17 to day 19, Wednesday June 6 to Friday June 8

We spent the last three days in Campbell River being spoiled by our friends Jim and Jeannie. This bed and breakfasting could dissuade us from camping in future. If we had more friends and relatives throughout the continent this could well be true.

We caught up on families and friends and did some touristing around Campbell River including driving up to Mount Washington to check out the little resort area. Unfortunately, we are just on the cusp of the season so we could not take the ski lift up to the top of the mountain since it was undergoing maintenance for the coming summer tourist season. There was still a little snow and the resort area and the mountain top was covered in clouds.

We also hiked out to the relatively new suspension bridge at Elk Falls. Lovely sight and the bridge is well built to latest standards. Of course, latest standards include wire mesh sides that are at least five or more feet high - way overdone! Everything must be done to protect people from themselves. I get a little sick of the our Nanny culture.

Pictures have been a little lacking of late.

The Horticultural Center of the Pacific - Japanese garden in Saanich with relatives Brenda and Francois:

Elk Falls, Campbell River:

On Friday we headed back to Victoria and arrived well in time for dinner with Brenda, Francois and Tricia's cousin AK and uncle George. Great dinner provided yet again by B&F and we had a nice visit with the rellies.

Day 16, Tuesday, June 5th.

We are on the road again, heading to Campbell River to visit with our long time friends Jim and Jeannie. We will be in Campbell River until Friday, catching up since our last visit four years ago.

Day 14 to Day 15, June 3rd to June 4th.

We stayed at Brenda's Place, a favourite B&B in Saanich BC. We picked up our dog on Sunday from the emergency Vet. Repairs seem to be holding.

On Monday we were able to visit with fellow Altoistes Laurie and Kathy who live in Saanich. We had a lovely one hour visit which somehow stretched to three hours! Really great to meet with our Altoiste friends in person.

Day 13, Saturday, June 2nd

While we are in the Victoria area we are taking our defective dog into the shop to be repaired. We had discovered a few days before we left on our sojourn that Tipper had a sizable bladder stone and a UTI. We really didn't have to time to have her operated on so we left Ottawa with special food that was to dissolve the stone and antibiotics for the infection. However, Tipper has only got worse during our travels. This might have something to do with the fact that she decided after a week that she didn't really like the special food or any dog food in general for that matter. So off to the emergency Vet in Victoria today. She is scheduled for an operation either this aft or this evening.

Tonight we are having dinner with friends Lorie and Russ whom we haven't seen since 2014.

Day 12, Friday, June 1st

We drove from Kelowna to the Vancouver ferry terminal in Tsawwsen where we took the ferry across in to Saanich on Vancouver Island. Saanich is a suburb of Victoria.

We met up with Saanich relatives Brenda and Francois at the ferry terminal since they had to come to Vancouver to pick up a new electric bike which they purchased in Ottawa on their last trip and had shipped to BC. We are now staying for a few days with Brenda and Francois before heading north to Campbell River where we will visit with old friends. We have some more friends and relatives in the Saanich area so that makes a very nice base of operations.

Day 11, Thursday, May 31st.

We dropped the Alto off in Salmon Arm and proceeded to Kelowna, BC. We had decided that there was no need to take the Alto to Vancouver Island since it would be superfluous while free-loading from family and friends.

On the way to Kelowna, we stopped in Revelstoke to visit one of our favourite craftsmen, Trevor Kehler. Trevor is the owner/operator of U.S.E.D. (recycledseatbelts.ca) and he makes things from recycled automotive seat belts. Years ago, when Trevor was still doing the crafts fair circuit, I purchased one of his handbags for Tricia and nine years later it has a worn spot. This is after seeing daily usage over those years so we are not concerned with the quality of the handbag whatsoever! However, we decided it might be time to look into a new bag of some type. Trevor is mainly selling online now and never gets to the craft fairs out east anymore so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to drop into his shop. We got a tour of his workshop - he doesn't have a store front - and a demonstration of his craft since he insisted on repairing Tricia's old handbag because, well, he couldn't bare to see it out in the world with a worn spot. The magnetic clasp also had to be replaced since it wasn't quite up to snuff in his opinion - repairs for free. Did I mention that he is a craftsman? At any rate we left with a new handbag, essentially the same style as the old, and the old one in "like new" condition. Thank you Trevor!

From Revelstoke we proceeded to Kelowna and camped out at a Best Western. Our "campsite" was very well appointed with lovely shower, king size bed and WiFi that worked properly! It even came with a buffet breakfast.

Day 10, Wednesday, May 30th

We are overnighting at Whispering Spruce RV park, Golden BC. Friendly staff but they are a little overwhelmed. New management are in the midst of renovating the washrooms and office etc. Ran into contractor delays on renovating the washrooms so they are far from complete for the start of the season. To top it off, they had a flood last night when their deep freeze in the office died and all of their bags of ice melted.  Someone said 200 bags. When we arrived today the office was torn apartment and workmen were installing a new floor. Total chaos. At any rate the place is full up and we are in the overflow area with 3 or 4 other campers, mostly German tourists. Not the best but we have had worse.

We stopped of at Lake Louise on the way here. Early season, cold - some snow on the ground from the previous night - and still more tourists than we like. Not as crowded as it is in full season, though. Pretty soon they will Disneyfy the place and access will be by shuttle bus from far flung parking lots. It is the way of the world. No matter what, Lake Louise is still a beautiful sight!

Banff was going to be about 2C (34.6F) tonight so we decided to head to Golden which is going to be a cheery 6C (43F).

Day 9, May 29. Camped just east of Calgary AB

We are doing another one nighter, at MountainView campground just outside of Calgary. Again not much to write home about with this campground although it is a step up from yesterday. It is far enough off the highway that we don't hear the semis although they weren't really that noticeable last night - all these first world problems to contend with! The campground is clean and maintained but the sites are packed in like sardines with very few trees in the campground proper. We have left the heat behind us. Today it was in the low 20s C for most of our traveling versus the 28 to 30 C of the last couple of days. Currently 12 C going down to 10 C tonight with light rain which has just started. The weather in Banff is forcast to be chilly with lows of 3 or 4 C and maybe some light snow so we have decided to push on to Golden BC tomorrow. We met a German couple (Wilfred and Annalise) who have been camping from Vancouver Island and through the Rockies for the last 3 weeks. We sat outside swapping stories until it got too cold. Unfortunately, our get together was a little late for starting a campfire. They both spoke excellent English. Tricia was happy that we spotted two Antelopes outside of Medicine Hat as we traveled.

Day 8, Monday, May 28th - Swift Current SK

We are camped at the Ponderosa RV camp just outside Swift Current. Not much choice of local campgrounds. The one we are in is pretty full up with a number of contractors who are working on a local power plant project. Anyway we are camped between Dustin and Grayson who are working on the project. Seem like fairly reasonable types. That is about the best to be said for the campground - basically it is maintained and reasonably priced.

We had a pleasant drive on highway 48 which passes through gently rolling hills. Saw both an elk and a Bison farm. Also passed by some salt flats associated with Chaplin lake which is a saline lake (sodium sulphate). Enjoyed the Big Sky as we drove along. Of course, we had to get a picture of the
big moose in Moose Jaw, SK as we went through.

Day 7, Sunday, May 27th.

We left Winnipeg for Moose Mountain PP, Saskatchewan this morning. Arrived fairly early around 3:00 pm. However, we didn't realize that we were an hour earlier than we thought  due to time change. We gained an hour and didn't realize it until after dinner! Spring is running a little late here compared to home. The aspens have just come out. We had one couple from Regina who admired the Alto and commented that we were pretty "far from home".  :)

Day 6, Saturday, May 26th.

We visited with Penny and Richard, Tricia's cousin and her husband. Did some laundry and found time to visit the Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. The museum building is a piece of art and while worth seeing in and of itself. The exhibits are well enough done but just too much. They become monotonous half way through. We know some people in one exhibit.

Day 5, Friday, May 25th.

We headed north and arrived in Winnipeg where we are staying at Penny's Place, a lovely B&B run by Tricia's cousin. We will be here until early Sunday, May 27th. We are parked in Penny and Richards driveway where we are using the BAL leveler for the first time on this trip. We will be coming back to Winnipeg on our way home because there are many great relatives that we must visit, more time permitting.

Day 4, Thursday, May 24th.

We continue across the Upper Peninsula. We tried to stay at a Corps of Engineers park at Grand Rapids (Pokegama) only to learn that it was full. A ranger suggested the Winnie Dam park on lake Winnibigoshish and we managed to get an overnight reservation online. Lovely little park run by the Corps, with only 22 sites which were all booked for the weekend starting the next day.

Day 3, Wednesday, May 23rd.

In the morning we visited a camera shop in town and then crossed the border bridge at the Soo to the USA We made it to Champion MI and stayed Van Riper SP.  Very clean comfort station. Still early spring here. At this point we have begun our trip across the Upper Peninsula. Roads are as straight as the prairies with woods to either side instead of grain fields.

Day 2, Tuesday, May 22nd

We stopped at Sault Ste Maria KOA. The park was just setting up for the season so not very full. Went down to about 4C (39F) that evening but we were quite warm just using a ceramic heater (electric site).

Day 1, Monday, May 21st, continued.

Our first stop is Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park (ON). This is only about 200 miles from home but that was far enough for our shakedown trip of the season.

Day 1 of our sojourn from Ottawa, ON to Vancouver Island and parts west.

 All packed and ready to go.

Our Alto #038, in the not so "wild"