Hyder to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

25 July - Leaving Hyder/Stewart

     We departed Hyder/Stewart area officially leaving Alaska and on the way back to the lower 48 states but a few days drive to get there. Ironically we spent two days in Hyder looking for bears eating Salmon and found none (bears - there were lots of Salmon) - but on the way out of town we found a black bear on the roadside that seemed oblivious to us or any others around him. Kathy and I both had a few shots at him before we had to move from blocking oncoming traffic.

Roadside Glacier as we were leaving Hyder

Bear foot

     The weather was absolutely beautiful....clear skies and the temps got as high as 72 degrees (and sunny) as we drove through British Columbia. It was probably the best weather day yet and the scenery was quite nice....a lot of farm land with mountains in the background.

     We were not sure how far we would go or where we might end up spending the night but we knew that the town of Smithers was a possibility. When we arrived there (around 1:00) we needed lunch, gas, groceries, and propane so planned (initially) to get those and get back on the road. Over lunch we talked about the possibility of just staying here and maybe playing some golf. A quick call to the Smithers Golf Club firmed that up. They had a place for us to park our trailers AND spend the night (for free) which helped make the golf a good deal.

Camping at the Golf Course

Nice Course - Very nice folks!

     By the time we had lunch, got gas, propane and groceries and moved over to the golf course we were around  4:00 teeing off.....no worries, they are open  until 9:30 P.M. A friendly bet between the guys and the gals did not end well for the guys :-(  nuff said!

     The golf course was really nice, set at the mountain base but not a mountain course - it was very well maintained and a pleasure to lose our match on. Since we had a late lunch and finished golf about 8:30 dinner was off....nothing special.

     We had a good nights sleep at the golf course and were ready to head out the next day.

26 July - Travel to Valemount

     We left Smithers (a very nice town) and headed across British Columbia on highway 16 (A nice Canadian Highway) in the direction of Jasper but before we got there we took a turn to the south on highway 5. We travelled farther than we planned to this day and end up in a town called Valemount at a park that offers some pretty nice views. After a nice dinner (thanks to Kathy and Kay) we enjoyed a cool night out at the campsite talking and admiring the mountain views and firming up our plans.

Canoe River campsite view

     We are now heading for the lower 48 (plan to enter in Washington State) and then over to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho where Ed and Kay's son, Josh (and wife Becky), are headed for a business trip.
The plan is for us (Kathy and Darrell) to spend two nights there and Ed and Kay will stay for three (or maybe more). We plan to part company there as they are on a slower track home than us.

27 July - Valemount to Vernon

     We pulled out of Canoe River RV park in Valemount headed toward the larger town of Kamloops in B.C. but didn't plan to stop there. Passing through there the scenery changed a good bit....from previously lush green mountains to what looked more like California dry mountain areas there....very different than what we'd been seeing. We stopped in a grocery store there to get some supplies we needed to fry some fish tonight.

     We moved on farther south to an area called Monte Lake, very small and not really a town there, just a park we had targeted to potentially stay in. As it turns out the park was either closed, or we read the literature wrong but we were not tired so another 40 miles gets us to the town of Vernon.

     Vernon is in the Okanagan Valley and on a lake of the same name. The scenery going into there was very pretty....beautiful valley farmland with mountain backdrops. We saw large fields of a crop we couldn't recognize but Kay learned that they were apricots....and lots of 'em. Vernon is a town of about 30K people, so substantial in size....especially compared to where we'd been lately. We read about a park there on the Okanagan Lake called Ellison park that sounded good....and camping is first come first serve.

Okanagan Valley Scenery

     Part of what we like about this trip is NOT having reservations and being flexible and on our own timeline....sorta flying by the seat of our pants. Well, Ellison Park looked good to a lot of others too (and a lot of locals I think) as it was full. After talking to few folks and making a couple of phone calls it became clear that there was nothing available anywhere close by so we did what campers do - we headed to Walmart. A big sign greets us as we enter the Walmart parking lot saying absolutely no overnight parking.....hmmm, what now?

     Next plan is to just head farther south on the highway and look for a rest area which is not an uncommon camping option in Canada and Alaska. As we started out, Ed said "let's check with the Home Depot store just down the street, sometimes they allow overnight parking". I called and they said sure....we were pretty happy because at this point we were pretty road weary/tired and ready to put 'er down for the night.

Home Depot girls

     And, you guessed it, we fried fish in the parking lot of Home Depot in Vernon, British Columbia.

Fish Frying operation

28 July - Headed to the lower 48

     While heading south the weather has gotten notably warmer. In Smithers a comfortable 72 and very cool in the evening. Valemount and Vernon in the mid 80's....still feeling pretty good.

     Checked out of Home Depot after making a few maintenance related purchases (felt somewhat obligated to shop) we head farther south with plans to enter the lower 48 at the Ferry, Washington. As we head out of the Okanagan Valley there are several fruit stands along the road so we decided to stop and try some fresh cherries and other fruits and veggies. We weren't even thinking about the border crossing and what may not be allowed.....more later on that!

     The drive was very pretty all through British Columbia and continued to be good in Washington State. The surprise was the temps....in Washington State (Kettle Falls) as we rolled in was 97 degrees....that was more than we'd seen in awhile and more than we expected that far north. At least the humidity was not bad.
    
     At the border, the agent asked if we had any fresh fruits or vegetables....I told him we had cherries and peaches, to which he responded "you are from Georgia, why peaches". His comment distracted us and we forgot about our corn and tomatoes. He went into the camper and looked through the fridge and saw the corn. Turns out all of those are okay (except the tomatoes he didn't see them in the cabinet). He confiscated tomatoes and limes from Ed and Kay.  They have had trouble at the border crossings before ;-)

Back in the lower 48

     After crossing into Washington State we traveled over the Sherman Pass of the White Mountain Range on our way to Kettle Falls, Washington where we set up for the night. Kathy and I made a run through town to have a look and buy a couple supplies while Ed and Kay took it easy. After returning to camp we enjoyed a grilled steak dinner, bottle of wine and another (probably our last on this trip) game of cards.....the guys won.

Canada - What a great country with beautiful scenery and wonderful/friendly people. We traveled through Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon provinces/territories and it was a great experience.
We are now back in the lower 48 and headed generally in a homeward direction with probably another couple weeks at least ahead of us depending on stops.

29 and 30 July - Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

     We headed for Coeur D'Alene for a rendezvous with Ed and Kay's son Josh and his wife Becky who were there for a conference for his work. We rested a bit in the afternoon and had plans to do dinner with Josh, Becky and Josh's boss Bill. They made reservations at a floating restaurant in Coeur D'Alene called Cedars. It was a great restaurant and we thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and meeting Josh, Becky and Bill.

Culpepper's - Kay, Ed, Josh, Becky

     Coeur D'Alene is a great little town on a huge lake that is absolutely beautiful with lots of boats, kayaks, and Jet Skis everywhere. This is a very popular town for locals, vacationers and a travel destination for hosting conferences. Ed and Kay joined Josh and Becky for a boat tour of the lake while Kathy and I hiked around part of the lake....everyone had a good day.

Coeur D'Alene Lake View

     After the hike, Kathy and I went to the Coeur D'Alene Resort golf course to have a look and see what all the fuss was about. We tried to book a tee time a few days earlier but I told Ed then that I had good news and bad news - the bad news was that the green fees were $250 per person for 18 holes, and the good news was that they didn't have any tee times available. After seeing the course however, Kathy and I both agreed that it might be worth that, absolutely beautiful! They have one hole that is a floating green (par 3) that has a boat (called "Putter") that takes the golfers to the green....very unique and pretty. They can move the green to different distances and a young man in the pro shop said the wind on that lake really make it a challenging hole.

Floating Green

     Back to camp for our last dinner with the Culpepper on the trip. Ed grilled a pork roast and Kathy and Kay added all the fixings....another great meal shared with great friends. We have a toast and reminisce about the trip and all the fun we've had and make plans to move eastward on separate schedules leaving open the possibility of meeting again along the way......maybe for more golf before we make it back to Sun City.