Issue 24 Happy Fathers Day Guys

Diary published weekly since 2001
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Hi All: To all the Dads out there, we wish you a day of pampering, where you will be able to be your own boss, have the last word and do your own thing. I too will give Sunday to John and he will not even have to cook dinner that night (FYI, I am spoiled because John does 90% of the cooking in our Household). Cool

Have a very "Happy"


OUR MEMORABLE TRIP WEST

This trip has been one of our most enjoyable adventures. Border crossing a week ago was intense – and he had our passports for about 3-minutes before he came into the coach. By the way the beef ban is on again, but he let us go with our 2-pounds of beef that I cook for Katie. No further searches and as he said have a good trip, we were off. Interesting – on our return to Alberta tonight our very pleasant young border guard again had our passport at the computer for another 3- minutes. Guess they are really checking who we are. It is possible that border crossing comings and goings may have been moved from the previous second or third page to the first one. I don’t know, but since everyone can only legally visit another country for 6-months per year without a special visa. Maybe??? the officials are checking this bit of info more closely. Who knows? Cool



We travelled this route in 1998, but I don’t remember the scenery to have been as awesome, especially when we entered South Dakota. The hilly terrain resembled many large ‘bubbles’ of land – I relate to it as a rapidly bubbling pot of water that had solidified into terrain. There were trees – mostly 20-30 feet high – but in the distance. Unfortunately my camera does not take good panorama shots so the awesome beauty my eyes saw is not translated into my photos. When we entered Wyoming the area beside the highway seemed to flatten out with gentle foothills in the distance. Now that we are in Montana I know why they call it Big Sky country. On today’s (Sat) drive we begin near the mountains north of Yellowstone. That section of highway snakes in and around some awesome hills. None of the climbs were intense – just an incredible picturesque drive. Cool



The route we took each day was more beautiful than the last. I wrote this diary as we travelled. We have been on the move since 7AM because it is bright out at 5AM – by 8AM as the sun broke through the clouds we’ve left the curvy road that twisted among gentle peaks. A wide-open area greeted us in Bozeman, MT (Hwy 90). We must have been on a tabletop area – however I do not know what our elevation was. A ridge of snow-covered mountains surrounded us in the distance. Cool



At Three Forks where Hwy 287 turned north, we stopped for a muffin and coffee plus some specialty breads at the famous WHEAT MONTANA – a neat bakery. From there the spectacular hilly scenery changed once again to expansive flat land that stretched for miles before it reached more mountains. Three hours later we again climbed and descended more hills – some of them steep and long. On this portion, the highway has been cut through massive rocks. An hour later we were back to high grass covered pointy hills. A hypnotic river meandered from side to side on the highway to add to the vista. That section looked like another tabletop but this time with no visible ridge of mountains. This terrain resembles cattle country of southern Ontario. No more mountains till we reached Canada Cool

Such changeable beauty makes you stop and think about this wonderful world we live in. Our journey through the central states alongside rivers and forest was equally impressive, but driving the mountains is not something we do every day and that is main reason we are finding it so breathtaking. Cool
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WEATHER AND COST

We have been blessed with fantastic driving days of 3-400 miles – clear and sunny (Passport America or Happy Camper – 50% discount clubs) – the regular rate in one park was a low $17.00 – w/Good Sam discount thabut not too hot – for the most part the roads have been good as well. However day two in Mitchell it rained overnight and a light drizzle continued till noon the next day. The parks we’ve stayed at have all been in the $15.00 range (as members of t equaled $15.53. Fuel is still under $3.00 per gallon but it is slowly rising as we head west and gas is approximately $3.10. Our main ‘eating out’ has been breakfasts at the Flying J’s and with our fuel and senior discounts they have cost approximately $12.00 for the two of us. Soooo in a word – it is enjoyable trips like this that is the reason we chose to follow the RV Lifestyle. Even with the increases in gas/fuel it has been an inexpensive getaway. So all in all – after a week into our trip, it has been a fantastic adventure. Cool
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THE ENCHANTED WORLD DOLL HOUSE MUSEUM AND A FEW MORE STOPS

Most of our stops were for one night, but John planned a two-day rest in Rapid City, SD – just so the LUXOR, John, Katie and I could enjoy a break. What a fascinating time we had in that unique town – it has so much to offer. We toured the ENCHANTED WORLD DOLL MUSEUM [/color]that featured 4800 dolls from 127 countries in 345 lifelike settings. Miniature furniture displays and a complete Doll House Room added to the mix. Although the museum opened in 1982, many of the dolls date back to the 1800’s. As a avid doll collector – I have 120 dolls that I collected from the markets round the world during my military days have been in storage for the past 22 years, so I was in heaven in this Doll Museum from the moment I entered the castle shaped building – what an awesome adventure down memory lane. My pictures are not great so please go to www.enchantedeworlddollmuseum.com for details. Cool






If you are in the area, why not take time to visit the courtyard of shops next door to the Doll Museum – we had one of the best ice cream cones we‘ve tasted in a long time. Across the street is the [color=blue]CORN PALACE Auditorium[/color] – another ‘don’t miss’ tour. I didn’t know there was so many ways to use corn. www.cornpalace.com Cool



On previous trips we toured, Wall Drugs, 1800 Boomtown, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and on the Needles Highway our tour bus drove through the narrow eye of a needle (a natural hole through a giant skinny rock). So we did not stop at these places this excursion. We did however drive up to Deadwood when we were at Black Hawk, SD but although the drive was spectacular climb of a few thousand feet we didn’t stop because we are not into the Wild West or Gold Panning experiences. There were also many casinos in the area but I spent my gambling allowance in Sarnia, Ont. Nearby Sturgis is the motorcycle capital early August; so all campground sites in this area will be booked.
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CAMPING SPOTS

On this trip we saw red earth, jet-black earth, oil wells, giant windmills and an abundant amount of campgrounds. All along highway 90 there are numerous tourist attractions or a groupings of eateries or unique campgrounds offering level sites with good full hook-ups – frequently they offered cable and free WiFi. The parks we stayed at were members of the Discount camping clubs, which helps to stretch camping costs. Cool

Sunday we stopped at HICKORY HOLLOW RV PARK IN UTICA, IL – this brand new full amenity park is designed for futuristic Big Rig RVs. It was built from scratch 6-years ago and an absolute perfect stop, complete with camping cabins and apartments.
On Monday we moved to PARKWAY CAMPGROUND IN AVOCA, IA, again with all amenities – plus super Internet reception on my valuable Dish. Guess the storm in London did no permanent damage. Tuesday we stopped at RONDEES RV PARK (PART OF DAYS INN) IN MITCHELL, SD (near Sioux City); it was so windy I chose to connect using the free WiFi from the Days Inn rather than set up the Dish – it was not as secure as my Dish but it made it easier for an early start. Wednesday & Thursday we were at THREE FLAGS IN BLACK HAWK, SD (NEAR RAPID CITY) again free WiFi was included in our price – low signal but again good reception; and on Friday we pulled into the aesthetic and



quaint OLD WEST RV PARK AT REED POINT MT (west of Billings – WiFi $1.00 p/day). Since we left at 7AM each morning, it was easier to limit extras we had to disassemble no matter ho simple they are. Today Saturday we are en route to Alberta, Canada. Stop tonight is at 8 FLAGS RV PARK AT MILK RIVER, AB (12 miles north of the border - $7.00 per night, for a pretty pull-thru site without hook-usp) – a pretty stop within walking distance to town. Our Dish reception was great on both TV & Internet. Tomorrow we have one more overnight in Canmore before we settle into Kelowna for a week.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

So all in all, if John and I ever had any doubt why we chose to travel by RV – after a week like this one, we know why – the magnificent scenery has been our destination. Happy travels everyone. Take care P&J Cool Cool Cool

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TIP OF THE WEEK

KEEP IT SIMPLE – When you are on a trek with many overnights, long days and early getaways, life is more enjoyable and easier if you limit equipment set-ups.

OUTSIDE– if we are on level ground, John chooses not to use the jacks, nor do we unhook the car (we asked for pull-thrus when possible). If free WiFi is offered, the Dish stays in its travelling mode in the car – after all, each stop covers about 12-14 hour period and 6-8 of those we were sleeping.[/i]

INSIDE – I limit displaying ‘extras’ such as photographs and niceties that make our RV a special home. We treat it like a mobile motel room. I don’t set up the steering wheel table or turn the chairs around either. Since we eat breakfast around 10AM; we eat dinner at home. John pre-cooked and froze many meals and he serves them on fancy disposable plates – less wash-up. We only hook-up the sewer every second stop to do the laundry. A shower anytime is not a problem. We can get dressed, feed Katie, make the bed and be on the move within 45 minutes from the time we rise. When we’re fully set-up we allow 1.5 hrs from living mode to on the road.

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BE AWARE OF POSSIBLE DANGERS

Recently good friend Rodney observed that if an ‘add-a-room’ was set-up to keep the cold out with plastic sides and lower vinyl walls – it could spell danger for RVers when furnace vents, water heaters, fridges and other appendages were vented thru their patio wall. Due to various floor plans, your unit may and may not have these items on the patio side. If yours does, think before you add an airtight ‘add-a-room’ – the enclosed space can easily fill with carbon monoxide fumes.

When Rod heard that a fellow camper had passed out in his enclosed ‘add-a-room’ while smoking a cigarette, he decided to share the info with me so I could add it to my ‘Diary’. This camper’s wife had the furnace going to keep warm inside – he felt comfy in his ‘add-a-room’, unfortunately it was filled with carbon monoxide.

I sent the info to LES DOLL, working RV Tech and webhost of www.rverscorner.com and to MARK POLK, President of the comprehensive RV Info site at http://rveducation101.com/cart/shopaff.asp?affid=12

Both of these techs agree with Rod and all three of us have decided that although the chance was small, this could happen to an RVers who was unaware of the danger. It was definitely worth getting the word out.

MARK RELAYED that any fuel burned, such as propane creates high levels of carbon monoxide, and of course is much worse in smaller areas, like an add-a-room. He feels there are probably warnings on the add-a-room literature but not everyone reads or heeds such warnings. Mark suggested that manufacturers should be asked to add permanent eye level warnings to the ‘add-a-rooms’

LES RELAYED the same dangers for unsuspecting RVers - Maybe only 1 in 50 RV's have ‘add-a-rooms’ and maybe only 1 in 5 have appliance vents on the awning side and maybe only 1 in 10 can be closed up tight .... that still leaves many unsuspecting people in potential danger.

LES goes on to explain that any un-vented propane appliance (the RV stove/oven, for example) should also be used with caution and never as a space-heating device. These appliances use inside air for combustion and the exhaust gasses are vented into the interior of the RV. This also is true of catalytic type heaters.

So ADD-A-ROOM USERS beware – if you have vents on the patio side of your unit, PLEASE do not make your ‘add-a-room air tight.


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PROMOS THIS WEEK

RV TRAVEL TO CANADA 2007 E-BOOK WENT ‘LIVE’ 6 JUNE
John spent the week running all the ‘get-ready’ errands, so I could catch up with stuff on the computer. Finally after a frustrating week of ‘if it could go wrong it did’ plus dealing with one screw-up after another, this updated e-book is finally ready for orders
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BONUS OFFER

I am offering a complimentary 2007 copy to anyone who has bought this ebook since October 2006. The offer will run until the 20 June. All I ask is that buyers send me an email with proof of purchase (email or invoice #) from any website. The 2007 issue includes the latest passport info, how to find sanidumps.com; new insurance benefits for FMCA and Good Sam plus an updated list of websites and phone numbers. Order your copy today.