RV Date 040799
Happy 4th of July!
Came through more rain yesterday on the way to Seattle. Went by the town that had damage from the earth quake yesterday. We felt it but didn't realize what it was until we watched the news. It was nothing more than bouncing around of the trailer. First time for that.
Since we never travel on holidays, it never dawned on us that we would have trouble finding an RV park for the weekend. Eight calls later we ended up in the suburb of Bothell which is in the Northeast part of Seattle. Very nice with all the RV's parked around two little lakes. It actually stopped raining once we got here.
Since Mack's wish was to sees the fireworks from the Space Needle, we went downtown to see the sights. Everywhere we went there we lots and lots of people. We stood in line for the Space Needle. It was great at the top since it was another beautiful, sunny day. It was while standing in this line that we found out that the Space Needle has fireworks on New Years Eve - not the 4th of July!
We took the monorail down to the wharf area. We went through the public market there. None of the fishmongers were open, but all the flower people were there. They make absolutely gorgeous, huge bouquets of fresh flowers in all colors and styles for a maximum of about $15. We had never seen anything like it. There are also all kinds of shops with every kind of junque imaginable.
We went to the Seattle Aquarium. Since we have now visited three of these attractions we feel like we're sort of experts. This aquarium had the best "deep sea" tank which included benches to sit on so you could watch the fish as long as you wanted. The rest of the exhibits looked old and tired. The aquarium in Monterey definitely has the best fish of any of the three. The Colorado Ocean Journey is the newest and has the best exhibits. It also has the most imaginative displays.
We had dinner at a place called the Crab Pot where they lay out butcher paper, throw out bowls of shell fish on it and give you a hammer and board with which to crack it. It was a great meal.
Then we went out and sat on the wharf waiting for the fireworks to start. Seattle has two big fireworks displays - one on a lake a little north of town and the one we watched where they anchor two barges out in Puget Sound and fire off huge aerial displays. Have you ever seen fireworks from an airplane? It was amazing! We thought someone was up there kicking them out the door of the plane. It looked like sparklers in the sky. We along with several thousand of our closet friends watched a great show. Of course, we all left at the same time so instead of finding a cab we ended up walking up about 10 flights of stairs to get back to the street. Then we had to take the monorail back to the Space Needle and walk back to the truck. Then we had to drive back to our RV about 20 plus miles. It was well after midnight when we finally got back home.
RV Date 050799
Another bright, beautiful, sunny day. The locals are starting to offer us money to stay here to keep the rain from falling!
About 3 days or so before we left Denver there was a huge hail storm which broke our air vents into little pieces letting in water all over the coach - including chairs, couch and carpets. It also pounded the air conditioner shroud and the trickle charger for the battery as well as all awnings and the metal roof on the slide out. Because there had been so many hail storms already in the metro area, we could not get some replacement parts there. We decided to go to Camping World to replace more pieces parts.
Seattle has less population than Denver - about 1.7 million, but since it is strung out along Puget Sound and Lake Washington, it takes forever to get anywhere going north and south. The Camping World is in Tacoma - 44 miles from where our campground is.
On the way back we stopped at the Museum of Flight. This wonderful place has life size models of very early aircraft including Wright Brothers gliders, and a Flying Jenny. Plus they have all variety of real aircraft hanging from the ceiling and sitting on the floor including Steadmans, a Piper P3 Cub (which Mack soloed in), and lots of military stuff including a Blackbird and a Navy Blue Angels plane. Mack went in the simulator and then we went up to the traffic controller simulation. Very interesting and informative.
The highlight for Mack was the B-17 sitting outside. Although we couldn't get into it, it was great to see it. There also was the Air Force One used by every President since Eisenhower - at least as a backup plane. Then there was a B-29 which was also sitting outside. It was well worth the time.
We went out to Snoqualmie Falls which is about 30 minutes east of Seattle. On the way there we got a great view of Mt. Rainier. It is beautiful - a giant, white massif that appears and disappears from sight almost like magic. We couldn't see it yesterday from the Space Needle because of the clouds. This mountain is completely different from the ones in Colorado because there doesn't appear to be any other mountains around it. It just seems to be by itself. We hope we got some good pictures.
The Falls are higher than Niagara. The little town has created a park where lots of folks were enjoying picnics. Everywhere we went in Seattle we saw people of every creed and color. We heard lots and lots of different languages. The Falls were no different. It didn't matter how anyone was saying it, they were all enjoying a beautiful day with their families.
Tomorrow we head to Canada - at last.
RV Date 080799
Left Seattle the morning of the 6th thinking we would have a quick trip to Vancouver and sight see in the afternoon. See what happens when we start thinking!
We hit the border and the customs guy decided we must be carrying weapons over the border. They stopped us and searched the RV from stem to stern - under the bed, in all the cupboards, up under the dash of the truck. An hour and a half later we left the border to continue into Vancouver. We're still trying to figure out what we did to make them think this - us with our friendly, smiling faces. We decided from now on we'll be known as "gun runners". It fits our personality we think.
That night the cat got sick again since her medicine had run out 3 days before so we were up most of the night with her. Early the next morning had her to the vet where he decided she needed stronger antibiotics - two more weeks of throwing stuff down her throat. Is she ever excited!
Finally we drive the truck onto the ferry to go over to Vancouver Island. We have taken ferries several times and think they are the only civilized way to commute. We drive the truck onto the ferry, get out and relax in comfortable chairs for an hour and a half and drive the truck off the ferry.
Our first stop is Butchart Gardens (no Page, it's French and pronounced BooShar). How to describe the indescribable. We have visited many gardens in our travels. This is far and away the best thing we've seen. Around every bend is a different type of garden with a riot of colors. Everything immaculately kept. Not a branch or leaf out of place. All different kinds of bushes and trees perfectly trimmed and placed. Lots and lots of water features with fountains, bridges and rocks. They print a guide to the flowers in color so you can try to figure out what they all are. And then there is the rose garden! Roses from lots of different countries that we had never seen before. The German roses in particular had the most vibrant colors. The roses from Denmark and Holland were unique with different color patterns on the petals. And in the middle of all this were giant delphiniums adding their beautiful blues and purples. Plus huge baskets of flowers hanging everywhere. And a hedge of baby roses about to burst into color.
Then you walk into the Japanese garden with all its bonsai and water features. Cool and lush after the rest of the gardens. Beautiful arched bridges, old tea rooms and stepping stones across ponds make this unique. Mack only took two rolls of film here plus we bought books of pictures. Hope half of them turn out.
We finally tore ourselves away and drove into Victoria - a quaint village that is immaculately clean and lots of fun. Drove down and around the bay where the cruise ships dock and had dinner on the inner harbor with the marina and smaller ferries from other islands. Even saw float planes taking off and landing. A most enjoyable day and evening.
This morning we left Vancouver to continue north. We started through Fraser Canyon - some of our guidebooks describe this as the most spectacular part of the journey. The Fraser River is at high flood stage. Many places it looks as wide as the Missouri River, but not nearly so calm. And since it is flowing down a mountain valley with steep canyon walls, it doesn't have anywhere to spread out. It just rushes down to the sea. Quite a sight.
Tonight staying in Cache Creek. Their local river is also at high flood stage. The owner here had her little bridge across the river wash out today. This place has an outdoor barbecue so tonight we had sirloin steaks, baked potatoes and coleslaw fresh cooked on their grill. We just had to bring our own plates and utensils. Not bad pickings.
Tomorrow on toward Dawson Creek - the start of the Alaska Highway.
RV Date 100799
Yesterday continued up the Fraser River. The scenery has changed to a lush valley with this huge river running through it. The main crop here is ginseng which they grow under black mesh tarps that you see in every field. It appears to be very labor intensive. No wonder your Ginseng fix costs so much! The river and all its tributaries are still at flood stage and are that cafe au lait color of brown. There is no fishing on this river at this time.
Stopped last night at Whisker Point Provincial Campground. The government of British Columbia provides these campgrounds. They do not have hookups but are incredibly nice and clean. Each spot, which can't be seen from any other spot because of trees and bushes, has its own fire ring as well as built up tent area. This one is on McLeod Lake so Mack again went fishing for our dinner. The two bites little trout he caught (1) were sure tasty. Everything tastes much better cooked over an open flame. When the park ranger came by to collect the fee she said only one other rig this big had ever parked there. They don't know what they're missing.
Continued this morning toward Dawson Creek. Ran into the first of what will probably be many road construction crews working hard and fast on a Saturday. We have to hand it to the Canadians, their roads are some of the finest we have traveled on anywhere. When they need to be repaired, it looks to us like instead of patching they take it back down to dirt and pave again. That is particularly true of the places that have frost heave. It has been a pleasure to drive these roads.
We got away from the Fraser River today. The rivers and creeks we crossed all looked like great trout streams. We didn't stop at any of them, but made note for future reference.
Stopped at last in Dawson Creek at the beginning of the Alaska Highway. We have been on the road for 12 days and we're just now getting to the start of where we're going! The major crop here is canola flowers which is what they make canola oil out of. There are acres and acres of these bright yellow flowers bordered by green fields of something else. It makes quite a picture. We'll stay here tomorrow to reprovision and prepare for the road ahead.
Monday we head for Alaska!