August Road Trip

The plan for our August road trip was to take 7 days traveling across Canada and down into Oregon USA to spend a couple of weeks with our friends (Diane and Ron).  We left home on 4th August driving to Sault Ste Marie, where we spent 1 day and 2 nights. Our free day was an awesome train ride 183kms down into the Agawa Canyon then back out again, 8 hrs on the train and 1 1/2 hrs to sightsee. The day was very relaxing and the sights were gorgeous. The next morning we headed out for our destination of Thunder Bay, a 706kms drive mostly along the coast of Lake Superior which was really pretty.  Day 4 was supposed to be another 703kms to Winnepeg in Manitoba but we were feeling okay and it was still light so we kept on driving until nightfall when the bugs came out by the thousands making it hard to see so after driving for 1527kms we checked into a great motel in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. On day 5 after a quick breakfast we had to put the car through the car wash so we could see through the windscreen, we decided again to keep driving until we were tired, the closer we got to Oregon the further we pushed on, after another 1572kms we arrived in Redmond at midnight. In 5 days we drove a total of 4,487kms in 46hrs crossing 4 Canadian Provinces and 3 American States. 

 

 

The tallest self supporting illuminated cross in the Western Hemisphere is in Sault Ste Marie

Lake Superior coastline

Large geese in Wawa

The bear on which Winnie the Pooh was based, was born in White River

Summertime is construction time                                                                                                 An unusual bridge

Kenora Ontario

Our welcome to Manitoba was a couple of deer running across the road in front of us.

Grain silos and dusk

Sunset in Swift Current Saskatchewan.   (Taken an hour apart)

Leaving Swift Current and driving into a storm

Beautiful scenery in Alberta

Rocky Mountains British Columbia

Rocky Mountains British Columbia

Rocky Mountains British Columbia

Rocky Mountains British Columbia

In Redmond we helped Diane and Ron pack their house ready to move and spent a couple of days in Reno, Nevada. A short drive of 1340kms (round trip), thankfully we were just passengers for this trip (thanks Ron). Newton won a couple of dollars on the penny (1c) poker machine.  Had a quick trip to Lake Tahoe which was beautiful.

 Driving to Reno we saw stockmen shifting cattle, a couple of antelope and some awesome landscapes.

Freeway artwork

Lake Tahoe

After we had completed packing we visited the High Dessert Museum in Bend

Painting by local artists

An Owl, Otters and a Bobcat

This tree was struck by lightening - blew the middle out of it.

Once our two week vacation in Redmond was over we hit the road again to travel back to Canada, this time the landscapes were very dry and covered in sagebrush.

Dust Devils aka Willy Willies

A hint of green and a drop of water

Driving through Idaho

Standing on a section of the volcanic lava

Craters of the Moon and the Moon buggy

The Idaho landscapes are quite unique

   We have arrived in Wyoming - Jackson is a really neat town, just like the movies.

                                     Antler Arch

Wild Bison herd - some of them were so close we could've touched them.

Our exceptional accommodation for the night - a log cabin. The tepee is for parties.

Spectacular sunset

Our hand crafted metal wall art by Kathryn Darling

The South entrance to Yellowstone National Park was closed during the night due to a massive fire, we had two choices 1) back track for 3 hrs to the West entrance 2) miss Yellowstone altogether and keep heading towards home. We decided you only live once and 3 hours is not that long so we headed back the way we had come the day before. Boy, was it worth it!

Elk on the side of the road

Firehole River and a hot spring

A Bacteria Mat, Hot Spring, Jet Geyser and Firehole Spring run off

Old Faithful - This was impressive

Beautiful scenery driving through Yellowstone

Cody, Wyoming - Some of the art work around town

Sunset in Cody

A quick visit to see Buffalo Bill

Driving through the mountains in Bighorn National Forest

Shell Falls has an average water flow of 136274 litres per second and is 23 metres high

Devils Tower from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind - also a National Monument

From the movie

Some of the interesting random things we have seen

South Dakota and Mount Rushmore. The day we visited Mt Rushmore was the 100th Birthday of the  National Park Service so we were lucky enough to enter the park for free.  

                 Park Rangers having their picture taken for the birthday celebrations.

Stunning

More random sightings

Leaving South Dakota and heading into Minnesota

Iowa = corn fields

Mississippi River - it was too dirty to stand in

Three more States and something good to eat

Home - Markham

After a massive 67 day holiday we spent a total of 40 days on the road covering 9 Canadian Provinces, 16 American States, driving 18,600kms and stayed in 22 hotels/motels/Inns.  The other 27 days were spent sightseeing/relaxing somewhere in Canada or America. We played I Spy whilst traveling but it was really easy to guess - potatoes, corn, trees, cattle, sagebrush, rocks and sky.  We have seen some of the most incredible countryside and some really interesting things. We had a wonderful break.