If you plan it they will come... day nineteen

Tuesday October 15th

Frosty morning in Buffalo WY

It was quite chilly when we woke up this morning, chilly enough that I had to scrape the windows before we left the campground. Noticed on the way into town for breakfast that it was only 35ºF/+2ºC! Our dining choice for this last day of the road trip was the Busy Bee Diner attached to the Occidental Hotel on Main Street. The Busy Bee has a long history in the town as does the hotel.

If you plan it they will come... day eighteen

Monday October 14th


 

Monday morning moon-rise over the Rocky Mountains.

Part of our original plan for today was to leave the RV at Bass Pro and take a run up Pikes Peak which would have taken about four hours. This has been on my bucket list for quite some time. But.... we learned from Stewart yesterday that due to construction of a new visitor center at the top the road was open only part way up and you had to take a shuttle from that point on. So with that in mind and considering that the car wasn't running that well we decided not to go and came up with a new plan. 

First things first... we went for breakfast at a great little place called C&C Coffee Kitchen not too far from our overnight spot. The place was clean, the staff cheery and helpful and the food was very good; highly recommended!

Our breakfast provider..

Breakfast done, we refuelled the vehicles and headed north to Denver. Our destination, Hammond's Candies. Hammond's started as a small family business about 100 years ago  with a loyal local following, it has now grown into an iconic brand with international distribution. We arrived about ten minutes before one of their scheduled tours which we joined. Learned about the history of the company, watched candy being made, watched it being packaged, then received a sample as we exited the tour into the gift shop! 
 

At Hammond's Candies.

Some of Hammond's Candies....

We continued northward on I-25 stopping in Loveland CO to pick up groceries and gas. Andrew had to slow his pace in the RV a bit because this stretch of highway was very windy.
Our stop at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Centre just south of Cheyenne WY was a welcome stretch of legs and quick check on e-mail etc. 

Phyllis braving the wind at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center

We turned off the interstate just north of Cheyenne WY to make our way to the Fort Laramie National Historic Site. The same weather system that brought the cooler temperatures had dumped quite a bit of snow here a few days earlier. It was a bit of surprise to still see some of that snow on the side of the road! 

Snow!

Fort Laramie was originally established as a private fur trading fort in 1834, which evolved into the largest and best known military post on the Northern Plains. It was abandoned in 1890 and nearly succumbed to the ravages of time. In 1938 it became part of the National Park Service and restoration projects have been going on since.

At Fort Laramie

Sharon, Andrew and Phyllis enjoying a windy lunch.

After a picnic lunch we took a walk around the buildings, some of which have been restored, others left mere shells of their original. One building that really portrayed the life of the soldiers that were stationed here was the Cavalry Barracks. Rows of single beds lined the outside walls of the upper floor either side of the central stairwell. There was no privacy and very little space for personal items, just a simple box at the foot of each bed and a couple of hooks to hang coats and guns!

Upper floor of the Cavalry Barracks... not much in the way of privacy.

Cavalry Barracks at Fort Laramie.

We headed west to rejoin the interstate then headed north to our next overnight at the KOA in Buffalo WY. It was still fairly windy so that held Andrew up a bit. The Festiva continues to have a miss but we are still maintaining highway speeds.

Heading north

We arrived at the campground just after dark, made our supper then went over our plans for the next day, which was going to be a long one!

Approximate route for today's drive.

Thanks for following along! Please let us know your favorite things about Wyoming in the comments section below.

If you plan they will come... day seventeen

Sunday October 13th


Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone
Everything that I've got, is just what I've got on...

Started humming that one yesterday and it's still in my head! Another sunny day and we're looking forward to what the day has in store for us. If ten Cadillac's partially buried nose down in the middle of a field sounds odd you'd be correct. But Cadillac Ranch  as it's call is an iconic Route 66 landmark, only twenty minutes from our overnight spot and on our route. It's just a short walk off the highway across a field... if it's been raining prepare to get muddy or wear some good boots! What makes this even odder is that you are allowed to spray paint the cars to your hearts content so that even if you go regularly it will never be the same twice.

Cadillac Ranch from the road side.

If you plan it they will come... day fourteen

Thursday October 10th

Rather than make our own breakfast we decided to try out the ubiquitous Waffle House. The nearest one was about 30 minutes west of our starting point so we didn't have to wait too long.

On the way to Waffle House... renovation debris in front of a lot of houses!

The drive was uneventful but we did notice that in one stretch of the highway there were piles of what appeared to be garbage stacked in front of a lot of houses, some of which looked like remnants of renovation projects. Got us wondering if there was some kind of incentive to do renovations at this time of year or if there had been some kind of garbage strike. We learned that there this was the aftermath of a severe storm causing widespread flooding that had passed through the area a couple of weeks prior to our visit.

If you plan it they will come... day thirteen

Wednesday October 9th

One of the things we were concerned about for our visit to New Orleans was parking. We had decided to purchase tickets for the City Sightseeing Hop-on Hop-off tour bus and discovered that there was a parking lot right next to the Basin Street Station on the edge of the French Quarter. We took advantage of the discounted tickets available at the campground, plugged the address into our Garmins and headed into the city.

Our spot at the New Orleans KOA

The twenty five minute drive in took us past the Mercedes Benz Superdome, home of the NFL's New Orleans Saints. Once parked, we checked the payment booth and discovered there were three rates posted: cars, 12 hours, $5.00; cars 24 hours, $10.00; and RVs 24 hours $35. Seeing as we were parking less than twelve hours we picked the $5.00 option for both the car and the RV.

If you plan it they will come... day twelve

Tuesday October 8th

We enjoyed the it so much yesterday we decided to get up early, head back to the beach and watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning with a light breeze and just a few clouds in the sky. Again, we were surprised by the number people out and about, some walking their dog, others just enjoying the dawn of a new day.

 

Here comes the sun.....

Sharon on the beach just after sunrise

One last look before we get on our way.

We made our way back to the RV Park, had breakfast, packed up and headed westward along highway US 98 before turning north to rejoin I-10.

If you plan it they will come... day eleven

Monday October 7th

It's beach day! It's also Andrew and Phyllis' wedding anniversary! Our KOA had a complimentary breakfast so we took advantage of that before heading off for the day. 

Anniversary breakfast for Andrew and Phyllis!

Our first stop would be Jacksonville Beach, about an hour away. Our route took us over the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge, one of the largest cable stay bridges in the USA.It's also know as the Dames Point Bridge.

A soggy morning drive.

If you plan it they will come... day ten

Sunday October 6th

Our previous road trips have been quite structured in that we had hotels booked for every night so that we knew where we had to be and when. 

This trip is different... we only had hotels booked for our three nights is Washington DC and for another two nights upcoming in San Antonio, TX. Our original destination for this day was the Montgomery AL area then Pensacola FL the next. Andrew said that he'd like to head to a beach on the Atlantic so that meant an adjustment.

This is where travelling with an RV is an advantage as we rejigged our route so that we would end up close Jacksonville FL and start our next day at the beach.

Getting ready to say goodbye on Sunday morning.

We bid farewell to the Madness crew and made our way to to I-95 via I-440 and I-40. The drive south was fairly uneventful with no planned stops other than for fuel and refreshment.

If you plan it they will come... day eight

Friday October 4th

Early in the planning for this trip we were going to spend the morning in DC before heading on the four and a half hour drive to Raleigh NC and our rendezvous with the Festiva Madness crew. Instead we decided to leave after breakfast and spend a bit of time in Richmond Virginia. After breakfast we left the hotel, filled up with gas and headed out on I-495, joining I-95 at Springfield VA. 

Crossing the state line into Virginia.

From there we headed south and other than the expected weekday morning commuter traffic it was as pleasant a drive as can be expected on a major highway. Our first pit stop was at the Virginia Welcome Center near Fredericksburg.

At the Virginian Welcome Center, Fredericksburg, VA.

We got separated from Phyllis and Andrew at some point after that but weren't too worried about it as we had both entered the same end point address into our GPS's.

If you plan it they will come... day five

Tuesday October 1st

Our day started with cloudy skies but fortunately the rain had stopped. I don't think we've had a day yet when we haven't had to use the windshield wipers! Today's drive will take us off the turnpike and away from the tolls that go along with it. We continued eastward for fifteen minutes and turned off at exit 180. 

Ready for another day on the road at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza

Once we left the turnpike the driving became less stressful and more enjoyable. We were now on a rolling two lane diving through valleys and climbing over passes. The clouds hadn't lifted and the fog lingered. And yes, we had to use the wipers. 

On highway 30 east of Mcconnellsburg PA

Our destination this morning was the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum.

If you plan it they will come... day four

Monday September 30th

Foggy start to our day....

Woke up to a foggy, muggy morning at the Knute Rockne Travel Plaza. Other than driving there wasn't much planned for the day. After our breakfast we hopped back on the turnpike with the plan to stop for a break at the Wyandot Service Plaza in Ohio. The drive was fairly uneventful for us but Andrew discovered that he hadn't closed the outside cover for the RV's fridge properly and it decided it wanted to stay in Indiana.

If you plan it they will come... day three

Sunday September 29th.

Sunday morning dawned cool and crisp after a night of rain. As we were planning the trip from the comfort of home we had decided that 7:30 would be a great time to hit the road. We have quickly learned that 8:30 is much more realistic! 

Almost ready to hit the road

Today is to be another long day of driving with only one tourist type stop. That stop is the Field of Dreams movie site just outside of Dyersville IA. But before we reached Dyersville we took a break at the Top of Iowa Visitor Center just across the state line near Northwood. It's very clean and well maintained and the staff we met were very knowledgeable.
 

At the Top of Iowa Visitor Center near Northwood IA

If you've followed our past road trips you may remember this map with the yellow states being ones we've been in or through...

If you plan it they will come... day one.

Friday September 27th.

The day started out a little chilly with the Calgary weather forecast calling for snow!!!!

Fluids topped off, luggage, tools and parts all packed. Ready to go!!

The roads were familiar as we have done this route a number of times in the past. It was raining on and off for the whole drive to Moose Jaw.

Alberta prairie views

Welcome to Saskatchewan

We made a detour to Gravelbourg SK. This prairie town is renowned for its brick  homes, the Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral and its Francophone heritage.

If you plan it they will come.... day zero

We are about to embark on will most likely be our longest road trip to date! It's been a bit of an adventure already with a number of mechanical issues that needed looking after with the car... new head gasket and valve seals, replaced the turbo, and a new front crank seal to name a couple. I also had the wheels rotated and balanced and did an oil change.

This trip will be a little different than our previous ones in that we will be travelling with Sharon's sister and her husband. We will be in the Festiva and they will be in their class C motor home. This allows us a bit more flexibility as we don't have to rely on hotels for our accommodations! We do have a few hotel nights booked though.

Here's a general overview of our trip:

• 2 provinces
• 22 states, 12 of which we haven't been in before
• approximately 11,000km / 6,800 miles
• 20 days
• 1 Festiva meet!

 

Approximate route

A few of things we're looking forward to:

• Time in Amish country
• Two full days in Washington DC
• A return to Festiva Madness! Our last visit was back in 2011
• visiting the towns where a couple of our favorite HGTV shows are based
• New Orleans
• Pikes Peak

I'm going to try and post updates daily but it might end up being weekly, that will depend on access to wi-fi.

What are your favorite road-tripping hacks? We'd love to hear from you so leave your comments below.

WESTIVA X... Three weeks and counting

For those of you traveling to Westiva from the south I would like to share one of my favorite local drives. I wrote about some of this route a few years ago but it bears repeating.

It starts at the intersection of Alberta Highways 3 & 22 reached from the west through Fernie and the the Crowsnest Pass and from the east through Fort MacLeod and past Pincher Creek. From there the route takes you north along the Cowboy Trail to Longview, west to Highwood House and then north again over the Highwood Pass to Wedge Pond.



The first leg up to Longview takes you over 110km of rolling, meandering two lane blacktop through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Westiva X

It's that time of year again!

Artwork courtesy of Ben G. Rogers

Westiva is very casual, informal event originally geared towards owners, fans and fanatics of both the Ford Festiva or Ford Aspire with invitations extended to owners of other econoboxes from the late eighties and early nineties such as the Dodge Colt, Chevrolet Sprint, Geo Metro, Suzuki Swift and Nissan Micra.

"Remember not to be a fool"

As I write this post it is less than a week until spring "officially" starts. To look out my office window to see a foot of snow on the garage roof you wouldn't think so. However it does bring to mind a couple of things. First, when should I take of the noisy studded winter tires and  put on the summers? Second, where will road trips take us this year?

All decked out for winter!

Lots can be found on the technical aspects of the correct timing for the summer/winter tire switchover.

Westiva 2017... three weeks to go!

As Westiva 2017 draws closer things are starting to get more exciting.

Greg Williams is a writer for Driving.ca (among other things) who published an article about our first big road trip back in 2011. I've kept in touch over the years and he has always included Westiva in the 'upcoming events' section of his articles.

His latest article, published on-line just yesterday, features Ben Rogers of Lexington, Kentucky as he prepares his Festiva, named Frito, for an epic 6000 mile road trip that includes a stop at this years edition of Westiva. Ben's route will take him through seventeen states and three provinces.

Ben on his 2016 trip; photo by Ben Rogers

This won't be Ben's first big trip.

Falls into spring: day two

Saturday, April 29

The itinerary has us backtracking up highway 97 just a bit so we could take the scenic route down the west side Lake Okanagan down the appropriately named West Side Road. First stop... Fintry Provincial Park! The main attraction here is a triple water fall on Shorts Creek. The hike up is definitely that... up. There are more than 300 stairs leading to the uppermost viewing spot, but it is well worth the climb.

No shortage of stunning views along the way.

Some of the Fintry Estates' out buildings including an eight sided barn.

One of the three falls with a rainbow.

View from the top

Just another view

One of the unrestored buildings on site

Parts of this provincial park was originally the estate of Capt. James C. Dun-Waters. You can find out a bit more about the history of the property by following this link. The manor house has been substantially restored but unfortunately for us wasn't open for visitors yet. That is one drawback of traveling at this time of year... a lot of things aren't open until later in May or early June.

The Manor House

The Manor House

Waiting patiently for its passengers to return.

We drove back up the hill to the main road and turned to continue south. Next stop... Bear Creek Provincial Park, 27km (17 miles) down the road.  

The Festiva in its natural habitat.

 

A short stretch of construction... they're widening the road a bit.

We had a few stops planned for the day so our stop at Bear Creek was a short one and we elected to stretch our legs on the very short loop adjacent to the parking lot. When we were leaving a little boy, probably about six or so, told me he liked our car! Made us both smile.

Bridge over Bear Creek.

Sharon on the same bridge. Water was running quite high...

...as you can see here!

Westside Road winds for another 7 km or so south from Bear Creek. The whole length of this road is a lot of fun to drive, even with the relatively low speed limits: a highly recommended detour if you have a bit of extra time.

One advantage of taking the Westside Road is that you miss the drive through Kelowna. We rejoined Highway 97 just west of the City and proceeded south to our next stop... Peachland here we come!

Back into traffic.

What a contrast in traffic! Highway 97 is THE major route through the Okanagan Valley so it was considerably busier than Westside Road. Our overnight stop was to be in Penticton but we had a couple of stops along the way. First stop was at the visitor center in Peachland via another, albeit short, detour off the main highway. We stopped in to ask directions to our next stopping point, Hardy Falls, to tour the galllery, and to sit by the lake with a coffee and a snack. We also had the opportunity to take part in an ongoing Canada 150 event... painting a square in a large "paint by numbers" picture of a local scene.

At the Peachland Visitor Information Center

Canada 150 event.

 

Looking north up the lake from Peachland.

With directions in hand we were on our way to Hardy Falls. It's a very short detour off the highway with a very pleasurable 10 minute stroll across eight foot bridges to almost the base of the falls.  If you visit in September/October there is a salmon run up this creek.

Up the path to the falls.

Hardy Falls from the viewpoint.

Our next stop was Penticton. We were a little earlier than expected so we looked up the location of a couple of thrift stores and paid them a visit. Also hit up a local car wash. We had purchased a Groupon for a local burger place, Burger 55, so drove by it get our bearings. We knew our hotel was reasonably close and had already decided to walk both ways. Checked in and got freshened up then walked along the lakefront to our dining destination. It was a little cool but the rain held off. We both commented that in a few weeks this place would be hopping with people. A number of establishments were not yet open for their season. Burger 55 was a great experience. Our Groupon gave us basic cheeseburgers and fries. We were able to upgrade and add without any problems. The atmosphere was very casual with rustic wooden benches and tables. Being located in a former garage there was a larger overhead door that in warmer and busier times could be opened up to the patio. All in all we enjoyed it and would recommend it! 

Burger 55 exterior. Photo from Foodology.ca

After supper we strolled back to the hotel and settled in for the evening to watch a couple of our favorite shows and read a little.

Tomorrow will find us on two wheels! We brought bikes and we will be heading to a portion of the Kettle Valley Road.... more on that in the next post coming soon!

We'd love to hear of your experiences in this area in the comment section below.