Mal and Connie's Cross Canada Adventure 2.0

We left Quèbec City at 730am, gave our destination into the GPS lady, who mentioned that some of the roads on our route had insufficient detail and asked us if we were accepting of the route. Well, how does one one respond to that? I said yes and pointed toward New Brunswick. The roads were mostly straight and smooth, except for a short stretch on highway 85 after Rivière du-Loup (the place of birth of Connie’s grandfather Lindsay Jarvis). Zach was encouraging us to pronounce it correctly (Rivee-air de loo) , even though I remember Lindsay pronoucing it ‘river de loo’.

Between Quèbec City and Rivière du-Loup the highway (20) follows the St Lawrence and often we could see the river from the highway. The country is wide open, the grasses green and covered with farms of (I imagine) all sorts.

About 30 minutes after turning on to highway 85, I decided to stop to top up the tank in the Tundra and grab a Tim Horton’s coffee. As I waited, with the truck and trailer poking it’s back end into the entrance way, for the gentleman in the high visibility vest fill up his jeep and gerry cans with gas and then run into the store to pick up a 6-pack of beer (yes it was mid morning), Connie was kind enough to run in and buy me a large dark roast coffee. When the gentlemen finally moved his jeep, I pulled up and began to fill the Tundra with gas. After inputting my credit card, the screen displayed a number of options in French, to which I responded, what is this crap? Zach laughed and said, just pick the last option ‘non merci’. Apparently, the locals were collecting for some charity.

When she returned I had mostly filled the Tundra. She had a big smile on her face and said that was the most french place she’d been in yet. After she ordered, she listened intently for the coffee to be called out because she wasn’t certain she’d be able to understand which order was hers. After pulling away from the pump, I was able to navigate a turn around in the local motel parking lot and soon we were back on the highway headed towards New Brunswick.

Just before noon we crossed the state line (I mean provincial line) and jumped ahead 1 more hour (4 hours ahead of home) and shortly thereafter through Edmunston (where we will stay on our return). Zach’s friend Nathaniel told him it wasn’t much of a place – basically a truck stop where one tops up before entering Quèbec but we found it to be a bustling little town. As we continued down the highway we stopped at the turn off to Grand Falls, topped up the Tundra (I know this is a bit of a theme) and had a bite of lunch. The air was cool and the wind was blowing. Clearly we are in for cooler temperatures.

Once back on the road again, Zach decided to take a nap in the back seat and although Connie offered to drive, I told her I was good but in all honesty I had a tough time staying awake. Too cool to have the air conditioner on and too warm not to have the windows open, I cracked open the sunroof and plowed ahead. At one point Connie poked me in the arm and said ‘don’t close your eyes’.

After an hour or so nap, Zach plugged in his iTunes, I opened the sunroof completely and we cranked up the music. After playing our theme song, we listened to Huey Lewis and the News, the Bee Gees, Loverboy and some other good old rock n roll and soon I was wide awake.

We found the highway in New Brunswick straight and smooth but from time to time I would start to wander outside my lane. Zach was frequently saying, ‘no swerving Dad – straight as the gays aint’. At one point he suggested if I was really tired, I could give the wheel to Jesus. I don’t know where he comes up with this stuff but it keeps us laughing and passing the time.

As we got closer to the campsite, Connie fearful of how the driver might respond to sketchy directions from the GPS lady, decided to consult a second electronic GPS lady on her iPhone. Now which one to follow? We chose the iPhone thinking it would be most up to date. Well, it would appear neither GPS lady knew where they were going and once again we headed in the wrong direction. Through deductive reasoning, we turned around and headed in the correct direction, eventually finding our new camping spot just outside of Moncton.

After getting set up, Connie and I headed to town to get groceries and Zach stayed behind to work on his bike. While in town I decided to top up the Tundra (I know!) and get a car wash. I chose the deluxe version for $6.95. It was thorough – I think we were in the touchless car wash for about 15 minutes – and when we emerged the truck was about as clean as it was when we entered (minus a few bugs). I will say it had an impressive bidet feature – perhaps the most powerful one I’ve ever experienced!

After returning to the campsite Connie barbequed our fresh Atlantic salmon – very tasty and we sat by the fire as the temperature dropped to 18 celcius. Soon the mosquitos were joining us and while they seemed more interested in the food, we did get a few bites.

Off to visit the Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy tomorrow. It should be a good day.

This stop was a treat. Our first stay of two nights allowed us to sleep in this morning. After a leisurely morning (except for Connie who made sandwiches for lunch), we left for old Quèbec at about 1130. Zach drove into town guided by the GPS lady.

We parked the Tundra in a spot designed for a smart car and headed off to explore old Quèbec. Once again, Zach was our tour guide having visited the city 8 years ago (in the winter). Connie and I did our very best to keep up – not easy to do with this tall guy with the exceptionally long stride. Below is a photo of me trying to keep up with Zach and Connie trying to keep up with me.

Before leaving on this trip, I decided to try intermittent fasting. This means I don’t eat anything except water (and coffee) after 8pm and before noon the following day. This meant I was hungry shortly after we arrived, so I began looking for a place to find something to eat. This perturbed Zach, who wasn’t holding back on what he thought of my dumb fasting idea. ‘Why on earth didn’t you eat something before we left?’. There was a Starbucks in the Chateau Frontenac so I ducked in there and told Connie and Zach to keep going and I’d catch up. How on earth I thought this would be possible is beyond me but I was a man on a mission – to fill my growling stomach.

As an aside, I’d heard that Quèbec wasn’t always friendly to English speaking tourists but I found quite the opposite. Every one was friendly and happy to converse with me in English.

After grabbing my everything bagel and coffee, I reconnected with Zach and Connie and we headed toward the Citadel de Quèbec. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the prisoners as there were renovations underway. As we made our way past the Citadel, we looked over the Plains of Abraham, where there was a large stage set up for the St Jean Baptiste celebration.

For the next few hours, we visited many tourist sites in old Quèbec and made our way back down to the truck for lunch. There is lots to see in this city and I took several hundred photos. Here are a few samples.

At one point we ran into three parks Canada employees dressed in age appropriate garb who were about to put on a show. Connie thought she was taking a video of them but when we returned to the campsite she discovered she was actually taking photos of random people’s rear ends and feet. I on the other hand did manage to get a video and a photo.

After returning to the truck we collected our sandwiches and headed down to sit by the water to enjoy our lunch. As we were sitting three scooters drove by. The first was ridden by a somewhat large woman sporting a few tattoos on her bare arms, while her stereo blasted out a rock n roll song. Everything was in order except that she really needed to be driving a Harley rather than an electric 3 wheeled scooter.

After finishing lunch we headed out to explore the rest of the downtown on the waterfront. We visited a Catholic Church where I removed my hat upon entering the door. Zach neglected to do so and received a lengthy talking to in French by a local. Connie wore hers (in front of me here) but it is acceptable for a lady to have her head covered in church.

I attempted to purchase a beaver tail (never had one) but the line up was too long and the poor young fella (with more nose rings than I’ve ever seen) at the till had screwed up the bill of the people in front of me so badly that he was urgently calling for help. I decided this was the subtle message to indicate that I didn’t really need a beaver tail all that badly, so we moved on.

On the way back, we ran into a little establishment where I discovered that I am a long lost patron saint.

Perhaps something I should consider in my retirement?

We returned to the Tundra and decided to top up the tank at $1.15 per litre. As the price of fuel is so low, it might explain why the roads are in such poor condition in this province.

Upon returning to to the campsite, we celebrated the rest of St Jean Baptiste day with a steak dinner and my own private label.

We are making it an early night tonight as we head out tomorrow for Moncton New Brunswick – an 7.5 hour drive.

I slept like a baby last night. Camping at Wesley Clover was much like staying in a BC Provincial Park. We heard little of anything until about dawn when the highway traffic volume started to increase. This didn’t get me out of bed though and I slept off and on until about 730am. Connie was dead to the world and Zach seemed so too, although later he showed me how his mattress cushions separated, so he spent most of the night sleeping on a board.

That being said, he woke up cheery enough and sang out in his falsetto vocal range ‘Baby…I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey’, which has become our trip theme song (Kissed from a rose by Seal). We must have listened to it 5 times throughout the day and tried to guess the actual lyrics.

Before pointing the truck and trailer toward Quebec City, we stopped by Canadian Tire – a Cross Canada trip wouldn’t be right without at least one stop at the iconic establishment. We needed to purchase some Alan wrenches (because I didn’t think I brought my set from home – Zach discovered later that I had), chain lubricant and a pair of scissors. Zach needed to tune up his bike and Connie broke our only pair of scissors the previous night.

We parked in the empty parking lot, collected our supplies and headed to the counter. While waiting in line, a young lady in training waved us over to her counter and a little old gentleman shot ahead out of nowhere and said to the young lady ‘did you call me over?’. She motioned toward me and I smiled and said ‘you go ahead’. I thought this is a nice gesture and what goes around comes around.

After we made our purchases we headed back to the truck and I jogged across the lot to Tim Hortons on the corner for another cup of coffee. Now being a good Canadian I lined up according to the sign that stated ‘line up here’. Unfortunately, the lady behind the counter was short of stature and didn’t notice me and I continued to wait patiently. Then a guy walks in behind me, ignores the sign that stated ‘line up here’, gives me a glance and then steps right up to the counter to give his order. ‘What the?’ I muttered under my breath. ’What goes around comes around eh?’ Incredulous I crossed my arms across my chest and huffed. I’m certain neither the lady of short stature or the guy gave me a second thought and I know this won’t matter in 10 minutes from now but hey I was seriously wondering whether being Canadian is the way to go. To add insult to injury the guy sits down at a table by the window. I thought ‘he’s not even in a rush!’ – I’m the one who has to drive for 5.5 hours.

After walking across the parking lot to the truck my mind went to more pressing matters, like entering the address of our destination in the GPS. Zach thought he’d get a head start on it for me but the GPS lady couldn’t find the address. We both thought the worst but then realized we neglected to change the province. Did that and voilà! Within minutes we were on the road again towards Quebec.

The road between Ottawa and Quebec was smooth, the skies were blue with some fluffy cloud. It was a beautiful morning. We crossed the provincial border just before noon and stopped at the first rest stop, topped up the Tundra and ate a bite of lunch.

On the road again, we began to see we were approaching Montreal. My last trip to Montreal didn’t end well. I spent the night in the emergency room at Notre Dame Hospital. If you are going to have an emergency in Montreal, I recommend you visit McGill University Hospital – just saying. My other recollection of Montreal is that highways were rough…at least riding in the back of the cab felt like we were in a chuckwagon.

As we approached Montreal, I soon discovered things hadn’t changed much. In fact, it is now my belief that the city of Montreal has invented a new game to help weary travellers pass the time. It is called how to dodge the potholes while driving 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100km per hour. Each speed is a level. If you succeed at 60km, you get to move to 70km, etc. You might think this would be fun. Well, try doing it towing a trailer!

This game didn’t help to lower my traffic navigation related stress level. I was soon tensed up, repeating what the GPS lady was saying and generally driving Connie and Zach off the deep end. They told me to relax. Exasperated, I defended my muttering stating I didn’t want to make an incorrect turn. Zach reminded me that I was on holidays so I should expect to take a wrong turn here or there and that I should enjoy the experience. Well…within minutes I did just that. I missed the turn off and ended up going some other direction. Through this the GPS lady remained calm and quickly adjusted to get me turned around and headed back on track. A slight delay but all was well.

We did have some fun reading the French road signs and having Zach interpret. My favourites were:

and a sign with what looked like a tin can with an open lid (or perhaps a very square fist and thumb pointing upward like a hitchhiker) and a red line through it. This one still has me stumped.

Our last obstacle to depart Montreal was a lengthy tunnel and the traffic was horrendous for a Saturday. Three lanes wide and bumper to bumper the whole way. When we emerged on the other side, the traffic thinned and we were able to pick up speed. However, the road conditions remained poor. Frustrated with the continuous bucking bronco motion, I muttered under my breath about the crappy roads. Connie then suggested Ottawa should increase transfer payments to Quebec so they could improve their roads. I responded with, Ottawa already sends plenty of funding. Zach started to debate with me about my bias against Quebec and I suspected I was going to lose this one, and I quickly decided to change the subject.

After Montreal was a good distance behind, the road conditions improved and the trip became much more pleasant. Zach played our theme song a couple of times and then switched to the Eagles and we all sang along. It was a happy time – at least for me.

We rolled into the KOA just outside Quebec City at about 4pm and set up. Zach began to tune up his bike and I sat down to have a refreshment. He then called me over to help him work on the shifter and within minutes I’d stabbed his foot with one of his front forks. Way to go Dad!

However, before long he did get the bike working fairly well and then Connie called us for dinner. Over dinner, we decided to drive to Quebec City and bike the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain. Before we left, Zach’s drink slipped out of his hand, hit the ground in front of me and exploded all over me and the chair beside me – pay back for the foot injury I guess. We all had a good laugh – sometimes laughter is the best medicine.

After cleaning that up, we loaded up the bikes and headed downtown. It was a beautiful and warm night and the scenery was spectacular. Here are a few photos.

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Shortly after 830pm, we stopped to take a photo of the sunset – for those of you who know me well, I love sunsets!

We had decided to head back because we’d been biking for about 45 minutes at that point but I thought we should ride just a bit further. As you can see from the photos, I’d been taking a few while riding – kind of like distracted riding. In any case, I was happily riding along taking a photo when out of nowhere a mobile metal post hit me on the front tire! The bike and I went down and were sprawled all over the wooden wharf. It must have been quite the site because two ladies in front of me were laughing. Connie said it looked absolutely hilarious. I got up and brushed off my skinned shin and knee, which were a bit sore but not as sore as my ego. Shortly thereafter, we road back to the truck and when we arrived it was dark. Fortunately, Zach who is always the most prepared had a head and tail light on his bike, so he guided the way and there were no further untoward events.

While driving back to the campsite, I once again took the wrong route and had to be returned by detour by the patient GPS lady. I really don’t know how she keeps so calm.

Tomorrow will be another adventure as we spend the day on foot in old Quebec.

PS. As I’m writing this, the neighbours smoke / carbon monoxide alarm is screeching loudly. Here’s to not having any further adventures tonight.

And there were three.

Today, Zach, Connie and I left Oakville at 7am toward Ottawa. The traffic was very busy on the 401 – Brian told us if we didn’t get away before 7, we should wait until after 10am. The traffic wasn’t quite as bad as Chicago but close. However, we made the best of it and cleared the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) at about 845am.

Once on the open road, I began to relax. I think I’m getting old as I never used to stress about driving in heavy traffic but I could feel the tension in my shoulders ease once things opened up a bit. Connie had a great time chatting with Zach about music, plays, movies, family and his attendance at UBC Vancouver this fall.

At about 930, we stopped at an ONroute off the 401 and grabbed a coffee and a bite of breakfast. The ONroute facilities are great and once again, BC could learn from Ontario. The one we stopped at had Gas, Diesel, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Burger King, among others. Soon after we were back on the road again.

We arrived at the Campsite just outside of Ottawa at about 1:30pm. It is a beautiful spot and reminds me of BC Parks, except there is power and water. After setting up we had a quick snack and then drove downtown (about 20 minutes).

Zach was kind enough to drive and give me a break. We parked downtown at about 3pm and then Zach took over. He was in Ottawa last year at this time for the Jazz Festival so he knew his way around. We stopped by the Parliament Building, which unfortunately is under construction, walked along the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal and through an open Market, where we ate dinner.

After dinner we headed back to the campsite and stopped on the way to get gas and groceries. We arrived at the campsite at 8:30pm unpacked and got ready for bed. All three of us were exhausted having had too little sleep this past week. We hope to sleep in a little bit tomorrow morning before heading out to Quebec City.

Once again we were up before 6am to head downtown Toronto for Zach’s convocation ceremony at the nostalgic University of Toronto Convocation Hall.

Hoping not to wake the Dias family, I quietly tiptoed downstairs to the front door and outside to fetch my shoes and belt from the trailer. Success, I didn’t wake the family puppy, Maple a Golden Retriever Doodle. As soon as I opened the front door, Maple barked! She’s very cute and always wanting to jump up and say hi. Way to go Mal! You were successful in waking the whole household. When I returned, Chris was up and made me a coffee. Zach had a quick bit of granola cereal with milk – he’s a pro at pouring milk from bags now – and we were out the door on our way to Bronte station.

Parking at the Go Train stations is free. This is a novel idea that BC should consider. If you incent people to park and ride, perhaps there will be fewer cars on the roads? We Boarded the 718am train – an express that only stopped at the Oakville station and then went non-stop to Union Station. Zach told us he’d only slept 3 hours the night prior but as you can see he looks pretty alert in the photo below. Connie and I felt like it was 430am, which of course it was back home.

From Union, we took the Subway to St George and then a short walk in the rain to pick up Zach’s regalia. He met up with a couple of his friends, Kieran and Noah, so Connie and I walked toward Convocation Hall thinking we’d stop at Starbucks for a coffee and a bite to eat (not me as I’m trying out this intermitent fasting thing). When we reached Con Hall at 830am, there was already a long lineup, so we decided to get our place in line. Since we were 90 minutes ahead of time, we got great seats but poor Connie had nothing to eat. Way to go Mal!

A jazz quartet entertained us while we waited. Nick Donovan, who Zach went to New York with a couple of years ago, was playing drums. We read the program cover to cover and before long the graduates entered the building, followed by the honor troop (Chancellor, President, etc). The entire ceremony wrapped up within an hour and we stepped outside to find the rain had stopped and a bit of sunshine. This was particularly appreciated as we were able to take photos on the grass across the roadway from Con Hall.

After taking some photos, we attended a luncheon with all the Music Program graduates and family/friends, then left Zach to hang out with his friends before meeting up with him mid afternoon to head back to Oakville.

We arrived at the Dias home to find Margaret (Chris’s Mom) had prepared dinner for the whole gang of us. Brian (Michelle’s Dad) also popped by to say goodbye. This family is pretty special. Zach is going to miss them.

After partially packing up the trailer – it’s raining hard tonight – we visited with Chris and Michelle, Zach played Mario Cart with the kids, and we said our goodbyes and goodnights, as once again we move on tomorrow.

On to the next leg of our journey and adventure…Ottawa.

We left snowy (cottonwood snowy) Port Huron this morning and within 10 minutes were across the Border to Sarnia Ontario. Made a quick stop at Tim Hortons for a coffee – much better than yesterday’s Dunkin Donuts branch water – and we were on our way to Niagara Falls.

While only a 3 hour drive, we took our time, went through some road construction and arrived at Niagara Falls at noon. While the GPS lady got us to the general location, she was not very precise and we had to rely on our street smarts (or lack thereof) to find the RV parking lot. As we pulled in, we noticed it looked rather empty and soon discovered it was closed. Fascinating!

Leaving the parking lot, the driver made an incorrect turn and headed down the Niagara Falls Parkway in the opposite direction of the Falls. Finding a turnaround spot for the truck and trailer was a bit challenging but we managed to get ourselves pointed in the right direction. As we approached the Falls, we turned into a parking lot and nose first, rolled into a ‘buses only’ spot and parked. I thought to myself…”let them try and get a tow truck to pull us out of that spot”.

We then walked toward the Falls, which were magnificent. Here’s a couple of photos we snapped.

Shortly after 2pm, we headed toward Oakville to meet up with Zach and his second family. We managed to park the truck and trailer on the drive (car’s aren’t permitted on the street overnight in their neighbourhood), freshened up, and took a short nap before dinner.

The Dias and extended family came together to celebrate Zach’s graduation and we were privileged to be a part of it. These folks are very special people…so warm and inviting and we are so thankful they were kind enough to allow Zach to be a part of their lives over these past 4 years. Here’s a photo of Zach with all the kids.

Tomorrow, we will be up at the crack of dawn to drive to Bronte Station and take the Go Train to Toronto and attend Zach’s convocation.

We were so tired last night, we only heard the train once during the night. Up at 530am CST we got an early start to another 8.5 hours of driving and once again we lost an hour as we moved into the Eastern time zone driving through Michigan. A word of advice – don’t estimate how long it takes to drive across this continent and I recommend if you are driving a Toyota Tundra, you don’t apply a heavy foot!

It was a calm, cool and dull morning as we left Wisconsin Dells. First we went to top up the tank (thirsty Tundra) and purchase a Dunkin Donuts coffee – I don’t recommend it!

When we reached the I90, the lady in the passenger seat calmly informed me that she was no longer taking on responsibility for navigation. She reminded me of our conversation last night when she asked me to look at the big paper map (yes we have one of those Lauren). Unfortunately, I was too tired after writing the blog entry (as evident by my misspelling of occasionally – thanks Zach – I take such pride in my good spelling) that I didn’t look at the map and was too busy tearing down and packing up in the morning that I simply ran out of time to look at the old fashioned map. It would be up to me and the GPS lady to find our way today. When we reached Chicago, it became abundantly clear why the dear lady in the passenger seat stepped aside from her navigation duties. More on that later.

As we entered the state of Illinois and the land of Lincoln, we were amazed by the amount of road construction – miles and miles of it – and we soon learned how they are paying for it!

We stopped for gas mid morning and once again, I had to go inside to explain to the clerk that I was from Canada…blah, blah, blah. However, this time was different. She apologized profusely. I was shocked! Are you Canadian I thought – only we apologize that much.

As we continued down the I90 towards Chicago, I was feeling good about the traffic – sure there were a lot of lanes but hey they were mostly empty – smooth sailing.

However, it wasn’t long before I was reminded of the earlier conversation with the former navigator.

The GPS lady served us well and we made it through the insane traffic and 5 or 6 toll booths – this is how they are paying for these many construction projects! I love the US. In some ways it is so cutting edge and in other ways so archaic. A few times we had a self-serve toll, which took debit/credit and other times, when the station had an agent, we needed cash. The highest toll was leaving Illinois to use the new bridge to Indiana. The lovely lady at the booth, stretched her head out the window and looked back, then said that will be $25. I responded $25! Thanks so much!

Our short lived Indiana experience was memorable. Stinky and drab but memorable. After passing over the bridge, this was the scene.

The roads were crappy, the air stinky and well, overall a big disappointment. I’m sure other parts of Indiana are lovely…just not these. In any case, after a couple hours of bumper to bumper Chicago traffic, the Dunkin Donuts and bottle of water resulted in nature calling and we looked for the first available place to stop for a bite of lunch. I took the first exit and thought I’d pull into a gas station to top up the thirsty Tundra and hoped to find a spot where we could park and enjoy lunch in the trailer. No such luck!

The station I pulled into was tiny. Who designs these things anyways? I pulled in behind an older gentleman on a Harley – he was there with 10 of his friends – and he looked rather perturbed at me as I waited for him to move his butt as mine was blocking all traffic in front of the convenience store. To top it off, there was a guy delivering groceries to the convenience store and he had strategically piled his empty plastic crates – you know the ones the bakers use for buns and bread – in front of his loading ramp at the back of his truck. These were piled about 8 feet high. After topping up the Tundra with gas, I pulled back out of the gas pump area – asking the lady in the passenger seat to get out and check to see that I not clip the pumps with the back end of my trailer. All clear! Missed it by at least 12 inches.

The lady in the passenger seat hopped in and I continued my second tour around the tiny station and as I pulled wide to go around a car at the corner of the building, we heard a crash! Oh crap! I knocked the tower of plastic crates to the ground. I looked back to see the poor fella as he looked in dismay at his tumbling tower masterpiece lay scattered across the parking lot. Now under normal circumstances I would have stopped to help him reassemble the tumbling tower but today I couldn’t. There were cars in front and behind me and I had to pull on to a busy street, so I left the poor man there to pick up his mess. I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically and as the tears ran down my cheeks, the lady in the passenger seat gave me a lengthy lecture.

I protested. “I had no option! I would have stopped to help but there was no way to do so safely”. I quickly embarked onto the freeway on-ramp to make a quick get away. Within 5 minutes, what did I see? A large red sign that stated: “Driving recklessly will land you with a $3500 fine and 5 months in jail”. Upon reading that, I put the pedal to the metal and headed for the state line. In a few minutes we were in Michigan and on Eastern Standard Time.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, apart from a brief stop at a rest stop when a semi almost ripped our slide off when he pulled up beside us – I was immediately reminded of the tumbling tower. We drove through Flint and considered stopping for a glass of water but thought the better of it. There too I read another sign: “Prison Area. Don’t pick up hitchhikers”. I think that’s where they put the reckless drivers.

As we approached Port Huron on the Canadian Border, I began to tire of the bumpy roads – they are bad here. How they can make roads out of concrete so bumpy is beyond me. I commented to the lady in the passenger seat that in all my years of operating heavy duty equipment, I never experienced anything like this. She responded by asking “what time is it?”. Her answer, “Oh yes it’s grumpy time”.

We arrived safe and sound in the campground at 630pm. We set up the trailer and I then washed the windows in the Tundra. Shortly thereafter this happened.

I’m pretty certain it was the delivery guy’s bird.

Awoke to the alarm at 5am today. It was a beautiful sunrise in Rapid City South Dakota.

After a quick tear down, we were on the road at 550am and headed for Minnesota. The navigator said Google estimated 10 hours but the GPS lady said 11.5. Guess who was right? Before we get to that, there are a couple of items I forgot to mention yesterday.

We (I) saw a big grizzly in Montana right on the side of the highway. I am certain of this from my early years in Northern BC and the Yukon. She (or he) was a big fella (gal) munching on something just down the bank off the I90. Along the side of the road we’ve seen more than a fair share of road kill. Mostly deer but a few skunks (and you know what, it actually is a skunk rather than weed, which we smell at home) and coyotes. Today, since we have changed terrain, we saw a few dead deer but also some possum and armadillo. Honestly, I would have preferred to see them alive but not bounding infront of our gas guzzling Tundra.

Once again we visited 3 states. After leaving Rapid City, we waited with great anticipation to arrive in Wall the home of the famous Wall Drug – there must have been 1,000 signs between Montana and Wall like the one below.

We had virtually no head wind as we passed into the central time zone, a nice change until we reached Murdo where we stopped for gas. Really cheap gas – I was able to fill 3/4 of my tank for $52. The guy in the station was a simple sort but very friendly. Being from Canada, we can’t pay at the pumps because they keep asking for a zip code. I only know one – 90210 – and it never works. So I went in to ask him to preauthorize my card for $75. He said, “let me save you some money by just starting the pump and you can pay when you fill. We do that for the locals”. I said thanks but I couldn’t help wondering because I looked nothing like a local. Here’s me in my shorts, t-shirt and flipflops surrounded by boys and gals in blue jeans, cowboy boots and hats. Got to love these Americans!

While I filled the tank I listened to the local gal, telling her friend about a fight her beau was involved in on the night prior (Sunday). I gather he was quite a site based on her witness of the event.

I went in to pay and thought I’d grab a coffee (no Starbucks in these parts) and I drained the pot only to receive a 1/3 of a cup. My new friend at the counter brewed me a fresh pot and didn’t charge me. Another great morning I thought.

After leaving Murdo, I headed for the I90 but the navigator (not the GPS lady) corrected me and suggested I turn around and follow route 90. I obediently navigated a u-turn. As it turned out, route 90 is an old highway and not the direct way to I90. Of course being the obedient driver that I am I fully committed to the new route while steaming on the inside and occaisonaly on the outside, mumbling about how it’s not like we have oodles of time today. The navigator was apologetic and suggested I turnaround but being the stubborn male that I am, I pursued the new route with passion, while smoke exuded my ears and my finger pounded on the poor GPS lady’s screen as I expressed my extreme disatisfaction with two navigators who led me astray.

After a short detour we arrived at a cross roads, where we were able to reconnect with the I90 by turning south and driving for 2 kilometers. All was well again…such a relief.

I apologized to the navigator and after some time she fell asleep as we headed down the road towards Minesota. We encountered a strong headwind as we drove by Kennebec (home of the famous fries?) and the bridge over the Missouri River, by De Smet the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie) towards Mitchell, where we stopped for gas and decided to grab a subway sandwich (to save some time). I haven’t had Subway for years but a footlong sandwich between us came to $5.91!

The navigator and I switched spots because I needed to do some work in preparation for a Board committee meeting I needed to attend via video in the afteroon.

The navigator did great, although she complained that she couldn’t see behind the trailer because of the mirrors…not an issue for me! Shortly after we passed through Sioux Falls, we stopped on the side of an exit ramp to swap jobs. I was driving again!

We quickly passed into Minnesota with the ‘odeur de Chilliwack’. Just before 3pm CST, we stopped for gas (I tell you this Tundra guzzles the stuff!) and switched spots so I could attend the Board meeting by video. The Directors all got quite a chuckle as they thought it looked like I was in a helicopter.

For 2.5 hours I don’t remember a thing about the trip. The navigator (now driver) tells me it poured rain as she pulled the truck and trailer through Minnesota. I have to take her word for it.

The navigator pulled over into a rest stop and we switch roles once again. It rained off and on until we reached Wisconsin and the Mississipi River.

Despite construction delays, we arrived at our campsite in Wisconsin Dells at 8pm – 12 hours of mostly driving! We enjoyed a fine steak dinner, the first real meal we’ve had since Friday last week.

Tonight we will sleep with the sound of frogs (millions of them!) and the occaisonal train that vibrates the ground underneath the trailer.

Tomorrow is expected to be another long day…an estimated 9 hours (not sure you can believe Google) as we drive through Chicago and end up in Port Huron before departing the US on Wednesday morning.

You know what they say about good intentions…”the road to somewhere is paved with them”.

Once again the gentleman in this duo forgot to leave the iPhone close where the alarm could be heard. Instead of getting an early start, we slept in until 630 MST. I scrambled out the door to hook up the truck and we got on the road at 730am.

Shortly after leaving Butte (anything but beautiful), we crossed the Continental Divide…I always think of John Wayne and beer when I cross it…if you aren’t a Jimmy Buffett fan, you likely won’t understand this one.

I am amazed at the speed limits in Montana…Doug you’d love driving here! I tried to get up to 80 but the trailer starts to sway.

Before leaving Montana, we made a short stop to visit the location of General Custer’s last stand and the monument at the Battle of Little Big Horn. It is beautiful country and quite amazing to see how all these soldiers died in very close proximity.

Driving through Wyoming was uneventful. So much so I kept asking Connie if we were there yet.

After checking in at the campsite in Rapid City, South Dakota we headed up the highway to visit Mount Rushmore and take a selfie before dark.

I’m thinking if Trump is going to commission his head here, it would need to go behind Lincoln – I can even visualize the hair.

Well enough for today, tomorrow will be the longest day yet. We hope to reach Wisconsin Dells in 11 hours and 30 minutes and we lose an hour.

Ciao for now.

We got on the road at 710am today, 20 minutes behind schedule.

After a quick stop at Starbucks for my morning espresso clover, just for fun I dialled in Butte Montana on the GPS. The GPS lady suggested we drive to Osoyoos but we headed towards highway 33. She complained bitterly telling us at every intersection to complete a legal u-turn (I don’t actually think u-turns are legal in BC). In any case before I could turn her off, Zach called and because I’m so technically challenged, I couldn’t figure out how to turn her off without disconnecting the call with Zach. This became a big source of frustration for the lady sitting in the passenger seat and for Zach whose patience finally ran out – “don’t you know how to get to highway 33 without a GPS?!”. The lady in the passenger’s seat finally figured out how to suspend the GPS lady and we moved along chatting with Zach until the cell service dropped on the other side of the Big White turnoff.

After dropping the call with Zach, the GPS lady directed us to take highway 33 to highway 3 and a right turn to Osoyoos. She is definitely stubborn! I proceeded to turn left on highway 33 towards Midway. At this point, I think the GPS lady gave up because she stopped talking for a long time and while watching the screen, it appeared she was having a crisis.

We arrived at Midway and turned right towards the US border crossing at Ferry Washington where the road was blocked by a Red Racer wagon with a stop sign mounted dead centre. I wanted to take a photo but after looking at the border agent, decided no…taking a photo is likely going to result in a delay. After a quick check inside the RV, grumpy told us to have a nice day and rolled the Red Racer back to let me through.

We enjoyed the drive from Ferry to Coleville where we stopped for gas and a washroom break. It was there that I encountered this sign…

and just in time mind you! I disposed of my chew appropriately and we headed down the road to Safeway for groceries.

After loading up the RV, we thought we’d stop for lunch at a rest stop along the way but wouldn’t you know it? There were no rest stops. So on we drove to Spokane where I noticed a Camping World beside I90 and then it dawned on me…I forgot the chairs! The lady beside me was gracious. She just looked at me, smiled and said. “I asked you this morning if you put the chairs in the truck and you responded with ‘yes’. Were you not listening to me again?” Busted!

I had given up on the GPS lady, so thought I’d ask Siri where the next rest stop was. She told me it was at Liberty Lake 22 kms away from the I90 and asked if I’d like directions. I said no. To which she responded – there are no others. I swore she was incorrect but decided to turn off the I90 and park in the Cabella’s parking lot for a bit of lunch. This turned out to be serendipitous because Cabella’s sells fine camping chairs. We purchased 3 new chairs and a can of peanuts (this was an important decision in hindsight).

After leaving Cabella’s we got back on the I90 and 5 minutes later there it was. A rest stop! Stupid Siri!

We kept on and stopped for gas in some God forsaken place where Connie held the door open for a lovely older woman who asked her if she was travelling somewhere. My first thought is ‘no this is our final destination’. Not! Connie said we were on our way to eastern Canada, to which, she received a funny look. The woman said, “oh that’s nice. I was in Nova Scotia once but I flew there!” She then asked where are you headed tonight and Connie said Butte. “Oh dear, you do have a long drive ahead of you”. No **** Sherlock!

At long last we arrived in Butte at 9pm. We are in the KOA where the mosquitos are plenty. Off to sleep now as we have another long day tomorrow.