Cochrane, AB Canada

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Up the Cowboy Trail

We headed north on Highway 22 known as “The Cowboy Trail”. We are now out of the mountains and into the rolling hills. There are many cattle ranches all along the way. Our destination was Cochrane, AB just west of Calvary.

On the way to Cochrane we stopped at the Bar U Ranch Historic Site. They had a very impressive statue on the lawn. The Bar U works in cooperation with Parks Canada to preserve and present ranching history.

They had several horses that both Chica and Sadie were very interested. The breed was a Percheron, which are draft horses almost like a Clydesdale. They were very friendly and almost wanted to play with the dogs.

Here is Chica barking away at them. She thinks she is just as big as them. HA!

Sadie is trying to figure them out as well. Our should I say they are trying to figure out Sadie.

Lots of kids

Just after we got there a school bus drove up with a bus load of kids. They were Mennonites children of all ages. They all jumped out at once and were very well mannered and polite. That was a pleasant surprise with so many kids.

The ranch had a small horse drawn wagon which Chica really enjoyed. Do you think she may have been brought up on a ranch rather then the back alleys of Mesa, AZ? She was right at home.

Bow Riversedge RV Park

We had made reservations for one night only at the Bow Riversedge RV Park. We had full hook-ups for about $35. It is right next to the Bow River on the edge of town in Cochrane, AB. I would highly recommend it.

Just after arriving the clouds opened up and we had a good rainfall. Then it cleared up in time for our happy hour. Then it rained again for a short time right around dinner time. Thus far we have had great weather throughout the trip. It is nice and warm in the sun and then it cools down at night making for great sleeping. This pic was taken a couple hours before sunset.

Off to Banff in the morning

Tomorrow we will have a short trip to Banff where we will spend a couple of nights. It should be a very easy day driving.

Crowsnest Pass

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Our first overnight in Alberta

We stayed at the Crowsnest Pass RV Park for two nights. That gave us time to do some sightseeing in the area and washing dirty clothes as well. We have been doing a lot of driving everyday and a break in that schedule sure is nice. It gives you time to relax a bit.

Frank’s Slide

We drove over to the Frank Slide Interpretive Center. Frank’s Slide is Canada’s deadliest rockslide. It occurred on April 29, 1903 when 30 million meters of limestone from the summit of Turtle Mountain came crashing down on the town of Frank. It covered much of the valley below and many people were killed. These are pics taken from the Interpretive Center.

This is a great view of a snow-capped mountain in the distance. No I have not painted my LD. It was another member of our group.

We saw two movies in their theater. One covered the history of the area and the other was all about the slide. They were both very interesting.

Hillcrest Mine Disaster Cemetery

Then we were off to the Hillcrest Mine Disaster Cemetery. This was a very large cemetery for all the local people. It also paid tribute to the many miners that were killed in the coal mining mishaps.

This cemetery has been here for a very long time and many of the very early grave-sites were caving in.

Washing clothes and relaxing

Then it was back to the rig where we washed clothes and just plain relaxed. I am not sure what the temperature was but it was very nice out in the sun. I looked at our mileage since we left Salida, CO and John, Linda and I have traveled 1,788 miles. Much of it was day after day so it felt very nice to just sit and gab.

The RV park only has two washers and two dryers so everyone was busy. We had to get change as the washers took two loonies ($2) and the dryer took one loonie and two quarters($1.50). I am not sure why they were using quarters for the dryers, but that is what it is.

Starting to get used to some of the exchange rates and the Canadian currency, but still have a long way to go. I will probably have it figured out by the time we leave Canada. HA!

Cochrane, AB

Tomorrow we will be traveling up Highway 22, which is known as “The Cowboy Trail” to Cochrane, AB. It is only a short trip of 141 miles so should get there in no time. We will be in cattle country.

Start of the Canada Trip

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Good bye Baker City, OR hello Winchester, ID

We started our trip into Canada at Baker City, OR. We went through Hell’s Canyon on the Salmon River. What a site! Sorry but I don’t have any pics as my co-pilot (Chica) was too busy sleeping. It is a place I would love to return to some day.

One of two stops before crossing the border was Winchester Lake State Park. It is a beautiful spot and would be a great spot in the summer months where you could enjoy the lake. Day 1 – 268 total miles.

I got confused and went down a frontage road used by the park crew. There was no place to turn both my rig and the toad so it was the first spot I had to disconnect in order to turn my rig around. Fortunately I have got the process of connecting and disconnecting down so it didn’t take me long at all.

This is a pic of my campsite and a another of several LD’s in their sites.

Chica was cold

It was cold out so Chica wore her stylish leather coat. It helps to keep her warm and she does not object too much when I put it on her.

We took a walk down to the lake and Chica even went out on the dock. However she does not want to go near the water. I can’t really blame her as it was very cold.

Second Day – Farragut State Park, ID

Our second day we drove to Farragut State Park just south of Sandpointe, ID. This was a huge state park with lots of loops and campsites. Most of us were able to park in the same loop. Day 2 – 179 total miles.

Once I knew I was going on this trip I made reservations for the Idaho State Parks since we were going to be arriving there on Memorial Day weekend. It is a good thing as both parks were filling up. At Farragut State Park there were a lot of families pulling in with all the kids bikes and toys. Canada celebrates their Memorial Day at a different time so we did not have a problem with reservations at any of the Canadian parks.

I only got one pic of my campsite at Farragut.

Crossing into Canada

On Saturday we crossed into Canada. During our meeting at Baker City we had all discussed what we could and couldn’t bring across the border. I was a bit worried that I had too much wine since John, Linda and I had bought wine at all the wineries on the way to the rally. We were going to split up our wine with some others who were not carrying any, but decided at the last minute that we would just chance it.

The line at the border was very short. I was right behind John and Linda. I was asked if I had any liquor and I did tell her I had 4 bottles of wine. She did not even ask me about Chica (who was sound asleep on my lap), but I had her papers to show just in case. The crossing was very easy and took less the five minutes. The customs people were very friendly.

Just after crossing the border we decided to stop and take a break and let the dogs out. We were now in British Columbia.

I bought Chica a new coat at the Petco in Lewiston, ID. She really doesn’t like it since you have to put her legs through it, but I’m sure she will get used to it eventually.

Crowsnest Pass RV Park

After crossing we drove to Crowsnest Pass outside of Bellevue, Alberta. Most of the time we were in British Columbia until we hit the Alberta border. The Rocky Mountains up here are spectacular and there is no way to describe it. I will get many photos of it before we leave so our first priority was getting to our campsite as it was a very long day. Day 3 – 255 total miles.

The GPS had us driving through the center of Coleman which is right next to Bellevue. We finally found it and got settled in.

Happy Birthday Nikki!!

It just happened to be Nikki’s birthday so we celebrated with a cake and ice cream. It was the first time we all got together as a group on the road and it was a lot of fun.

That is Nikki in the middle cutting the cake.

We will be here at the Crowsnest Pass RV Park for two nights so we plan on seeing some of the sites and museums in the area. This area is know for coal mining and includes some natural as well as man-made disasters. It should be a fun day.

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