Canada Trip. Day, 31- 8/30

 

Elko to Sparks.

We left Elko, NV around 8:30 and headed west on I-80.

Our goal for today was to get to Sparks, Nevada where I wanted to stop at an RV park so we could dump and flush our waste tanks.That way the tanks will be clean when we get home and ready for the next trip.

The ride to Sparks was uneventful, fortunately, and took us about six hours. There was even some nice scenery along the way.

And a tunnel to go through.

Arrive at sparks.

While we were on I-80 we noticed a billboard that was advertising the Sparks Marina RV Park at Exit 20.

We pulled into the RV park around 2:00, after getting slightly lost and asking directions. We were in sight of the park but didn’t know it .
Once we were set up Patti called my nephew John who lives in Sparks . He was on his way home from work so he stopped by the RV park and we visited with him for a while.

Dinner at Applebee's

We made arrangements with john to meet him and wife Cindy at Applebee’s which is not far from the park.
Around 5:30 we met them and had a nice supper. After which they came to our place and we visited for a while.
They went home around 7:00

The last leg.

We will leave here tomorrow (Wednesday) and be home by supper time.

Canada Trip. Day, 30-8/29

Stuck in Elko, Nevada.

This morning as we left Jackpot I was thinking this was going to be a long boring ride.

We got to Wells, NV in about an hour and stopped to fill up.
Back on the road we headed west on I-80 expecting to make it to Winnemucca in about five hours.

About 20 miles west of Wells I noticed the RV shaking a lot. I thought maybe something might be wrong with one of the tires and figured that at the first chance I would pull over and take a look at them.
Not to long after that I heard an explosion and the RV lurched a bit.
I looked in the rear view and saw the tread of a tire flying across the road.
I pulled off the highway as far as I could and walked back to inspect the tires.
The drivers side outer rear tire had thrown its tread.

The tire was still intact fortunately the only collateral damage that I noticed was that when the tread came off it tore the tail pipe from its hanger and was laying on the ground.

It could have been much worse.

Patti called AAA and in about 45 minutes a repair guy showed up.
He removed the bad tire and replaced it with the spare. The spare was a year older than the motor home.

The guy also re-hung the tail pipe for me.

After the spare was on, we slowly made our way to Elko about 20 miles west .
When we got to Elko we found a Les Schwab Tire Shop around 2:00 and had them replace all four rear tires and the spare. They were done at 5:30 and it cost $620.22; a little less than what it cost us for 2 tires and a brake fluid flush in BC.

Now we have all new tires on the RV. Which Patti told me we should have done before we left home. Oops!

We are spending tonight at the Double Dice RV Park and will continue our ride to Winnemucca in the morning.

Not such a boring ride after all.

Canada Trip. Day 29-8/28

 

Boy Was I Wrong.

The plan for today was to drive to the small desert town of Jarbidge, Nevada.
For some reason I had it fixed in my mind that the road to get there was south of Jackpot, NV.
We went to the gas station to fill the jeep and around10:00, we were on 93 heading south.

I knew that the road we wanted wasn’t to far from Jackpot but nothing looked familiar.
Now, it’s been about fifteen years or more since I have tried to get there from the east side and my memory isn’t as good as it used to be so I continued to drive down the highway even though after a while I figured that I either missed the road or we were going in the wrong direction.

After about an hour we came to Wells, NV. I decided that I needed to ask someone for directions. There was a Sheriff and a State Patrolman sitting in a turnout so I pulled in and asked them where the road to Jarbidge was.
They told me it was 18 mile “north” of Jackpot. Oops! 

Okay. I guess I should have paid more attention to the maps we had instead of the faulty one I had in my head.

Heading north.

We got back on the road and headed north. As we drove we noticed the interesting rock formations on a couple of hills on the west side of the road.

As we drove further there were some of the rocks nearer the highway.

This one was particularly interesting.

Back at Jackpot.

When we got back to Jackpot we had to refuel the jeep as we had used a half tank to go to Wells and back. By now it was lunch time so we went to the RV and ate a some sandwiches.

Lets Try This Again.

After lunch we got back in the jeep and headed north to the little town of Rogerson, Idaho, about 18 miles north of Jackpot. Here we turned west on the road that goes across the Salmon Falls Creek Dam.

A Shaky Dam.

Each time I have crossed this dam I am amazed that it is still here.

The concrete on the dam looks like it is crumbling away.

There is water coming out of the rocks on the back side.

We got across the dam and continued on the paved road toward Jarbidge about 60 miles further.

My old mans memory didn’t remember this much pavement on the road.

The pavement continued until we came to the Murphy Hot Springs air strip, then the road changed to dirt as we started down into the Jarbidge Canyon.

Murphy’s Hot Springs.

Murphy’s is where all the green is at the bottom of the canyon. The east fork of the Jarbidge River comes in on the left.

Here is a closer picture of Murphy’s

East fork of the Jarbidge River.

The road flattens out as it follows the east fork through the canyon.

There are several nice camp spots along the river and the river looks like it would be good fishing.

The main fork of the Jarbidge River.

Eventually we came to where the east fork and main fork come together.
 

The Jarbidge River is popular for white water kayaking in the spring.

There is a put in place where the two forks come together.

The Main Fork Canyon.

The drive toward the town of Jarbidge follows the main fork up stream.

A Family of Birds.

As we drove along we saw this family of birds running across the road. At first I thought they were Mountain Quail but after looking closely at the picture I think they may be some kind of Grouse. They don’t have a topknot like a Mountain Quail.

Rock Formations.

There are a lot of interesting rock formations along the canyon.

Here is a balanced rock.

Can you find the old Indian's face in this picture?

These hoodoos look like an old gothic castle.

The town of Jarbidge.

Eventually we get to the town.

We slowly drove through the town. taking pictures.

Here are a few.

Unfortunately every town has some.

Main street, there’s only one street.

There are a lot of neat old houses in the town. some date back to the mining days.

We had planned to stop at the Red Dog Saloon but it is closed until the first of November.

We stopped at the OutDoor Inn instead.

Inside they have a really nice bar.

As you can see in the above picture the walls and ceiling are covered with patrons names and other scribblings.

Here is the town motto.

OR

We spent some time talking with the bar maid and having a soda.
We found out that the Outdoor Inn, The Red Dog Saloon, the hotel and the RV park are all for sale. After 48 years the owner is ready to retire.

Okay that was our ride to Jarbidge. It was fun once we finally got there.

Back In Jackpot.

When we got back to Jackpot we went to the Mexican Restaurant at the HorseShou Casino. The food was very good and reasonably priced.

Patti tried a little more Black Jack at Cactus Pete's but lost this time.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow we head for Winnemucca.

Canada Trip. Day 26-8/27

 

Challis, Idaho to Jackpot, Nevada.

We left challis around 9:30 and headed south. Our goal today is to make it to Jackpot, Nevada where we plan to spend two nights.

South of Challis we drove through a mixture of Sage Brush and fertile farm land.

A slot canyon.

As we continued south we could see that we were going to go through some mountains.

What we didn’t know is that the road actually goes through the Mountains in a neat slot canyon.

The walls go straight up as the road snakes its way through the canyon.

One thing that I noticed is that there is no creek or river going through the canyon. It must have been some kind of upheaval that created it, not erosion.

Cows on the road.

After leaving the canyon we  entered a section of range land. At a few places we had to be careful not to run into cows that were grazing along the highway.

A couple even crossed in front of us.

Smoke on the horizon.

As we continued south we could see a lot of smoke in the air.

We found out later that there were a couple of wild fires burning back in the hills.

The Idaho Lava Flows.

There is a large section of Idaho that is covered in ancient lava flows. Highway 93 goes through part of it that is called The Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Historical accounts of the Pioneers mention that these flows were particularly difficult to get through and were an obstacle on the trail to Oregon until a mountain man named Moses “Black” Harris found a way to bring wagons through the flows.

Arrive at Jackpot, NV.

We continued south with no real delays through Twin Falls, Idaho and arrived at Jackpot, NV around 1:30. Not a bad ride.
We got setup in the Cactus Pete’s Hotel and Casino and RV Park; $22.00 per night.

An Early Supper.

Once we were set up, we decided to go to the Casino for an early supper. We ate in the Desert Room. The Saturday special was Prime Rib so that was what we ordered. The rib was very good but the baked potatoes were hard and not very warm and the Broccoli was just barley cooked.

Patti Plays Black Jack.

After supper Patti went back to the Casino to try her luck. She mostly played Black Jack and after about three hours came back only $12.00 down. Not bad for three hours of entertainment.

Easy ride.

It was a comparatively easy drive from Challis to Jackpot.

Tomorrow (Sunday)

We are staying here for two nights.
Tomorrow we are going to take the jeep and drive to the small town of Jarbidge, Nevada.   

Canada Trip. Day 27– 8/26

From Seeley Lake, MT. to Challis, ID.

We left the campground at Seeley Lake around 9:45. We stopped at the RV dump station in town to empty our waste tanks and fill up the fresh water tank. After that we stopped at a gas station to top off the fuel tank.
By 10:30 we were on the Hwy 83 heading south. At the intersection of 83 and 200 we turned west and headed for Missoula, MT.

The road crosses the Blackfoot River. There were some fishermen drifting the river.

Brake Trouble.

We were coming into a small town and when I put on the brakes I heard a high pitched electronic sound. I noticed that the lights on the tow brake controller were flashing, then they went out.
WTF?

We pulled into a large parking area at a gas station where I could check things out.
It turned out that a power lead in the jeep had shaken loose. Once I reset it everything worked fine.

The Radio Dies.

When we left Seeley Lake the radio was not working right. The sound was very garbled. I remembered that we had a small Boom Box in a side compartment so when we stopped to fix the brakes I got it out and plugged the XM into it. That solved the problem. I guess I’ll have to buy a new radio. That’s ok, I didn’t like the old radio any way.

Following the Salmon River

We eventually got to Missoula where we got on Hwy. 93 heading south. The highway follows the Salmon River.

I would do more fishing if you didn’t have to buy an expensive out of state fishing license for every state you go through.

As we get further south the forests disappear and we get into more high desert like country.

Arrive at Challis, ID.

We were getting tired of driving so when we got to Salmon, ID

we stopped at a small RV park but it was kind of shabby and we couldn’t find anyone to check us in so after a while I decided to get back on the road and head for Challis, ID.

On the way Patti called ahead to an RV park we found in our Passport America book. We made reservations with them. Being a PA park and as we are PA members, we got a 50% discount.

Another un-good Restaurant.

We arrived in Challis at 5:15 and got setup by 5:30.
Around 6:00 we went to a restaurant recommended by the lady at the RV park called The Y; it wasn’t great.
Patti had fish and chips. The fish was like Gorton’s frozen fish sticks. I had a chicken Chimichanga that I think was frozen from Costco.

Okay that’s it.

Today (Saturday) we are going to try and get to Jackpot, Nevada.

Canada trip. Day, 26 - 8/25

 

Another Day at Seeley Lake.

We decided to spend one more day at Seeley Lake.
Patti wanted to do laundry and they have a coin op laundry in town.
In the morning we took a ride into town to make sure there was a laundry and to get a few things at the market.

Down town Seeley Lake.

When we got back to the campground we stopped to get a picture of the lake. The lake is a few miles long so of course you can’t get a picture of the whole lake unless you are in the air.

In the afternoon Patti went back into town to do the laundry and I did a little house work.

Around 5:30 we went back to town to have supper at the Filling Station, a Casino, Restaurant and Bar. They had a limited menu so I had an open faced hot beef sandwich and Patti had a burger.
The food was okay, the service was good and the price was cheep.

That’s all we did today.

Friday morning we will pull out of here and continue our journey.

Canada Trip. Day, 21,22,23, 8/22–8/23–8/24

 

Day 21- 8/22

A couple days at Lethbridge, Alberta.

We got to the casino at Lethbridge on Monday, Day 21. The wind was blowing a gale with strong gusts as I mentioned in the last post.

Patti Gambling.

In the afternoon I laid down for a nap and Patti and Suzanne went to the casino. When Patti got back to the RV she had a big smile. She was happy because she was $270.00 ahead.

A Bad Meal.

We went to supper at a brew pub close by. The food was not good and the beer was just so,so. I had never had a hamburger that was that dry.

Day 22 8/23

The weather was very blustery with rain squalls off and on all day.
We just hung out all day taking it easy.

A Hot Air Balloon, In this Weather?

Patti watched some people unloading a hot air Balloon.

It took them quite a while to get it from one trailer to the other. The basket was huge.

I hope they aren’t planning to go up in it today. They will end up some where in Montreal with this wind.

Chinese. 

In the late afternoon we went out for supper at Suzanne and Roy’s favorite Chinese. The food was good with friendly service.

Patti Win’s Again.

Patti did pretty good at the casino, she ended about $240.00 ahead.

Day 22, 8/23

Good Weather.

When we woke up today the storm had passed. And the sun was out with not much wind.

Heading South.

Around 8:30 we said good by to Suzanne and Roy and started the homeward leg of our journey. Driving south through the Alberta farmland. We could see that the storm that went through Lethbridge was heading south also just in front of us.

Back In The USA.

The Plan.

Our plan was to drive south on Canada route 4, cross the border at Coutts, Alberta then continue south on I-15, eventually arriving in Idaho Falls, Idaho where we hoped to spend some time with Jo Ann and Dave.
Shortly after entering the US, Patti called Jo Ann.
Unfortunately they were on their way to eastern Washington to visit her son and some friends.

Okay, A new Plan.

As we drove south I got to thinking that there was no reason to go to Idaho Falls and it would make the trip a lot longer.
We stopped at a rest stop to look at the map and decide what to do.

We had already passed the turn off that goes west to Glacier  Park.
But we noticed that just north of Great Falls, Montana, Highway 200 went west toward Missoula, MT.
We could catch Highway 93 there and then head south to Twin Falls and cross into Nevada at Jackpot.

The storm follows.

We turned west on 200 and drove through more rolling prairie.

As we approached the foothills of the Rocky Mountains the clouds were getting thicker and darker.

No RV Parks.

Around 3:00 we started thinking about stopping for the day but couldn’t find any RV parks. On the map there was a camping symbol at Lincoln.
We drove slowly through Lincoln and at the west end I saw a sign that said RV Park so I turned in to the park. It has about five spots, Three of which were taken. There was no one around and no one in the office. We fooled around there for a little while but there was no one to check us in; I decided that we should just go on.
The place was so small that there wasn’t enough room to turn around. We had to disconnect the jeep to get the rig turned around then hook back up. Even after all the monkeying around,  still no one came out to see what we were doing.

Seeley Lake.

Back on the road we continued west Into the Rocky’s
Patti noticed  on the map was a rest stop at the intersection of 200 and 83.
When we got to the rest stop we pulled in to look at the map and decide what to do.
As it turned out 83 went north passed Seeley Lake only 14 miles away.
We have been to Seeley Lake twice before and knew that there was a good National Forest campground there so off we went to Seeley Lake. Just north of the town Is the Big Larch Campground.
We turned in there and got a spot.
As we were pulling into the campground we saw this beautiful buck grazing along the road.

There are no services but with the Golden Age Pass It only costs $5.00 per day.

The only down side to our spot is that there are so many trees that we can’t get any reception on our XM radio.

The Chicken Coop

After getting set up we decided to go into town to find a restaurant. We noticed a place called the Chicken Coop so we pulled in. It is restaurant and Bar There specialty is chicken although you can get burgers and other sandwiches.

Patti had chicken strips and I had a deep fried half a chicken. The food was good with friendly if slightly slow service.

While we were eating, the storm caught up with us. It was pouring down rain when we left the restaurant and it continued until we went to bed.

Okay, that brings us up to date.