We've been getting a LOT of hits on the old blog in the last while. Here is a greatly abbreviated list of some of the locations that visited. I edited out most of the common locations, but left the more exotic locales like Eskilstuna, Sodermanlands Lan, Tartu, Tartumaa, and Dodsland, Saskatchewan! Even Casablanca visited!

France Bziers, Languedoc-Roussillon
United States Palmyra, Virginia
United States Brooklyn, New York
United Kingdom Northampton, Northamptonshire
Taiwan Taipei, T'ai-pei
United Kingdom Nottingham
United Kingdom Leeds
Taiwan Chutung, T'ai-wan
United States Aspen, Colorado
Spain Sevilla, Andalucia
Slovenia Celje, Brezovica
Bulgaria Pazardzik, Pazardzhik
United States Hagerstown, Maryland
Brazil Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Sweden Eskilstuna, Sodermanlands Lan
Indonesia Surabaya, Jawa Timur
Brazil Curitiba, Parana
Brazil Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
United States Surprise, Arizona
Portugal Lisbon, Lisboa
Greece Athens, Attiki
United States Satellite Beach, Florida
Hungary Doboz, Bekes
Morocco Casablanca
United Kingdom Derby
France Roumazires, Poitou-Charentes
Spain Madrid
Canada Nipawin, Saskatchewan
United States North Las Vegas, Nevada
Canada Denare Beach, Saskatchewan
Romania Bucharest, Vaslui
Germany Hamburg
Australia Melbourne, Victoria
United States Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Canada Brandon, Manitoba
Brazil Braslia, Distrito Federal
Singapore Singapore
Spain Zaragoza, Aragon
United States Lincroft, New Jersey
Canada Savona, British Columbia
Canada Bridge Lake, British Columbia
Canada Dodsland, Saskatchewan
Spain Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana
Portugal Prime, Viseu
United Kingdom Bristol, Bristol, City of
Italy Rome, Lazio
Mexico Mexico, Distrito Federal
Estonia Tartu, Tartumaa
United States Mesa, Arizona
United States Las Cruces, New Mexico
United States Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Netherlands Terneuzen, Zeeland


Here's a couple of shots of where we camped at Beverly Beach, and one of the common tsunami signs that are everywhere.



And here are the camping rates - roughly half the price of Canadian national parks for three times as much. No wonder only the rich can afford to camp in our parks.

We stopped for gas in Newport, and someone had to put on a performance on the dash of the truck!



Tonight should be our last nite in Oregon as California is now only a hop, skip, and a coffee further down the coast. According to GasBuddy.com, the gas prices are about the same as here - hovering around the $3. mark. Still cheaper than at home, and with the almost equal exchange rate, it is a better deal than last year.

Check the map at the top of the post for our estimated location for tonight - though I suspect we will be in a certain high-elevation viewpoint over the ocean. It has been windy, so we'll be looking for some cover, but I'm pretty sure there will be no internet of any sort there.

But I'm sure the satellite radio will be working just fine - especially now that I have it connected to a bit of an on-board sound sysem! And it's almost time to finish off that can of cat food, and maybe go eat some grass and look for frogs!

What a great day! Hung around downtown South Bend most of the morning.

Watched a few oyster boats coming in to unload at the seafood plant.


They have an on-board conveyor system that dumps the load off the front of the boat - into a connveyor leading into the plant.


Drank some coffee while watching a little colony of shore birds sleeping en-masse on the shore right in town. Took a few photos,

then headed south at a leisurely pace, soaking up all the scenery and wildlife along the way. Nice herd of elk were grazing not too far from the road.
We crossed the mighty Columbia river into Oregon, just as a freighter passed under the bridge.

The weather was on and off with sun and showers, which resulted in some great rainbow action around Nehalem Bay.


The warm, moist sea air is certainly a change from the cold dry at home. No more sparks from touching the cat!
We went by Tillamook, Or, home of some famous cheese, and also home to a huge blimp hangar and museum. I think these were the largest wooden structures in the world. The second one burned to the ground just a few years ago.


Saw a 'first' along the way. Some of the power poles here are wooden. I know that that is not unusual, but these are square or rectangular,
made with laminated wood.


Nice to see and hear some red-winged blackbirds.
Decided to stop for the night at Beverly Beach State Park - where I also stopped last year. For only $18, you get an electrical site, with water, sewer,
and cable TV. This compares to around $35 in Lake Louise - where you get ... ... ... ... electricity.
Not that I cared, but I got in in time to watch the last half of the Superbowl. I know I saw signs in McDonalds in Washington in Spanish, but I was surprised to be watching the Superbowl in Spanish in Oregon! Must have been an audio glitch, as it reverted to English before the end!
I wasn't sure it was legal; watching American football, in Spanish, while drinking Canadian beer.
But alas, no internet access in the park!
Small price to pay for no snow, no cold, no chipping ice and snow off the windshield in the morning.

I had the feeling I was being watched as I stopped at the campground kiosk. Sure enough, a racoon was staring at me from his hideout under the eaves!(Click on any photo for a larger version)

I also watched 'Corner Gas' on WGN TV last nite (cable tv in the campground). Good to see the Saskatchewan culture is spreading across the US. Brent Butt and I share the same home town, you see!

There was just a little snow on the ground in Abbotsford in the morning, so that made picking a direction of travel easy - SOUTH. We crossed the border at Huntington, and headed south to Bellingham. A few stops were required to fill the wallet with US cash and hose some of the Canadian dirt off the truck and camper.

That completed, we go on I-5 and headed south. We had planned to go over to Whidbey Island, then take the ferry over to the Olympic peninnsula, but found that the ferry to Port Townsend was not taking any vehicles this week. With our choices narrowed, it as decided that we would take Seattle head-on, right down I-5. At least it was mid-day, on a weekend, and not during rush-hour.
Even so, it was 'sleepless in Seattle' for Harley! See video below.




More of our plans were thwarted. We turned off the interstate at Chehalis, and headed for the coast. A nice state park - Rainbow Falls - looked like it might be a good place to stop for the night. But when we got to the turnoff, there was no road. Or, more correctly, there was no bridge, or road.

The very recent storms and flooding had done a lot of damage in this area, with many roads and bridges washed out, and heavy equipment still working to stabilize land slide areas.

No matter, we pressed on for the coast at Raymond, and found a suitable spot at the boat launch (with wi-fi) just outside South Bend, Wa. At night we were serenaded by gulls and geese and a bunch of herons arrived in the dark to stake out their spots on the shore as the tide came in.

RoadTrip - day ONE, for real this time! Here's the back yard - hot tub and picnic tables almost covered in snow.
At 9:30 in the morning we had all the ducks in a row and we headed west.


There was some trepidation for a few miles as the road conditions and visibility were very poor. We did note that almost all the previous day's wreckage had been removed from the highway. Fortunately, the challenging conditions did not persist and by the west end of Yoho park there was even a bit of blue sky showing through.
Rock cut for new bridge in Golden canyon.



Made a designated stop at Tim Hortons (sorry Walter, didn't have time to call you) in Golden, and carried on west. Rogers Pass was not too bad either, and we set all the clocks back as we entered Glacier Park. Alan wasn't home or answering his cell phone in Revelstoke, so we visited the Tim's there and carried on. (We have to take advantage of this Canadian icon while we still can, as tomorrow we may be in the States and relegated to Starbucks)
Grabbed some gas in Salmon Arm and visited a snowmobile dealer there. I have met the owners twice down in Baja, and sure enough, they are down there again now!
On through Kamloops and then the Coquihalla highway.

Coquihalla toll booths - weather deteriorating.

Conditions crapped out on top and coming down the far side was dicey with ice, snow, slush, and poor visibility all the way past Hope.
We found and visited the 13th annual Early Bird RV Show and sale in Abbotsford, and drooled at some of the classy units they had there. Not surprisingly, they allowed me to camp for the night in the parking lot.

Well, we have reduced our living space to the truck and camper for the next few months, but we have expanded our horizons to any place there are roads, scenery, and the occasional ocean or desert! Oh, and we have gone from -20 to around 0C in the first day!

Surprisingly, gas prices were only a bit higher in BC, but they were less than home in this area! Gas is selling for under a dollar in this area! Not that it is a bargain, but is better than we have seen in a while.
Wildlife of note: A bald eagle was seen near Kamloops and a nice coyote along the first part of the Coquihalla. And a cute cat in the camper. He expressed a few 'opinions' for a while, but I think he realizes that we are headed to warmer places with grass, and mice and bugs and seagulls!

Managed only a weak wi-fi signal here at the airport, so will try this first without photos, then add some if possible.

Day One - RoadTrip '08!

The day finally arrived! The camper was packed, the cat vacuumed, propane full, fuel full, tires checked, fridge loaded, snow brushed off. At the end of the work day we were to be headed west to put in a few miles before the day was done. But it was not to be :-(

Work interfered - in more ways than one. I got called out the night before to a gruesome wreck on the highway, just a kilometre down the road from home - the Fire Department requesting assistance. Four loaded semi-trucks had come together head-on, with disastrous results. It might as well have been a roadside bomb in Iraq; I'm sure the results look the same. It took about a half hour on scene just to figure out how many trucks were involved. Tangled, twisted metal, freight, wheels, clothing, tarps, frames. Engines sitting on pavement, ripped right out of the frame. And everything covered in diesel fuel and snow. Fortunately, there was no fire. It took over 4 hours to cut one driver free, and only after a huge crane was brought in to lift some of the wreckage, and another victim was not found till morning.Firefighters struggle to free one of the drivers, but other victims still remain missing. Even our search dog could not find them under tons of wreckage, snow, and diesel fuel.
One of the more intact trucks, in the harsh light of day - when most of the wreckage has been removed and hauled away.

The highway was closed, of course and it remained closed all the next day as lines of other trucks formed to cart all the pieces away. Flat decks, dump trucks, loaders, forklifts, and heavy tow trucks worked all day, but still the highway was not opened up when I had planned to hit the road. Having only managed two or three hours sleep, we decided that we did not wish to join the race with 500 more trucks who had been stuck on the roadside for over 20 hours waiting for the road to re-open.
So, better safe than sorry, it is one more night at home before the fearless feline and I head out to seek adventure - and warmth!
We are hoping to make it to the big RV show in Chilliwack or Abottsford for tomorrow nite.
Drive carefully and - slow down!

The countdown is on!


The reality of departure from this frozen, but beautiful land just got a bit closer today.

This is my last set of days off before the end of the month, and I had to take advantage of the relatively nice day to finally get the camper back where it belongs - on my truck!

Although sunny, the temperatures were a bit on the brisk side, and hot water had to be applied to the camper jacks to get the hydraulic fluid fluid enough to raise the camper.


I took my truck in after shovelling and chipping the snow out of the box and relegating the sand bags to the basement -hopefully till next fall - and gave it a good wash.

After loading the camper, I took it for a little test-drive to see how much of the snow could be blown off the roof. At least I won't have to shovel it any more. If it does snow before my departure, a short drive should take care of any fresh white stuff.

I will take great pleasure in watching the remainder melt off as soon as I am close to the coast.




A scenic shot for you taken just outside Lake Louise. This is some of the scenery I have to deal with on a daily basis on my 2km commute to work!Just so this entire post is not photos of the truck and camper, I thought I would include one of a prowler I caught checking out the hot tub one day recently. We had seen a number of tracks around, but just weren't sure who was making them. So, I grabbed a camera from work, and soon had the perpetrator identified.

And then there was the cat. He was trying to explain to me that we did not have any more cans of his favourite anti-diabetes cat food left. So he hopped into the box to show how empty it really was!



He has his favourite toys and catnip all packed ready to leave. I think he is looking forward to being outside again and having some green grass to munch on.
Till later.

Time sure flies around the end of the year and the start of a new one, but there has not been much to pass on here - at least not much that I can show the photos of.
I came back to work on Boxing day and was greeted by a four vehicle head-on collision; the next day was a simple roll-over; the next day a head-on collision at the same spot as the roll-over; and the next day was a double fatal head-on collision. So you see - no pics.

Then we spent a couple days out on the snowmachines checking out some back country cabins. I 'may' have taken some blackmail photos of someone else's machine in certain 'encounters' with terrain and vegetation, but alas, I was bribed well not to show them.

There were a couple more unfortunate collisions that I can show the photos of. Sadly, a couple of moose did not survive their night on the highway. The cow was picked up dead one night, and the next morning her calf met the same fate. The carcasses were saved to feed bears in the spring when they are used to keep the bears away from populated areas.



We did get another big dump of snow early in the new year. It was a surprise to wake up in the morning and find another 20-30cm of snow in the yard.

This contributed to some pretty nice wintery scenes in the area.






Of course this also served to increase the avalanche hazard again in the area.
I was on days off in the city when a young local man died in an avalanche on a mountain within view of the village. I was not aware of it till I was reading the newspaper the next morning having a coffee in town. Then I spotted at reporter in a CTV jacket just before the Global TV Uplink truck pulled up.


Across the street was the CBC satellite truck.



Another elk met it's end this morning while dining on spilled grain in the rail yards in Field, B.C.
It was also saved for spring time bear feeding with the moose.


Harley did not consent to any new video this week, saying that his writers were on strike.
But he does seem headed for more fame and fortune after we discovered that he has been featured in an international (?) e-tourism web site called the Jasper Journal! Check out the link.

Extra: Almost forgot to mention that the packing and organizing has started for our departure for the official RoadTrip '08 which is scheduled to start at the end of this month. Counting down the days!