Sept 23 - We've been out of touch for awhile, mainly because for the last three nights we've had no wi-fi. Gotta have it to do this little blog thing. But tonight we are in Holland, Michigan, in a nice spot, so have the necessary tools.

Catching up won't be too tough, as a lot of the time for the last few days has involved driving across a lot of country that doesn't really have many highlights. At Sioux Falls, we went to the central Falls Park, and had a very nice walk-around. They have done a great job highlighting the history of the area, and displaying from many angles a very nice waterfall series. Best of all, it was a very pleasant day.

But that contrasts with two nights in a row when we received prodigious rainfall. The first was also accompanied by major lightning, creating a sky that didn't dim for minutes at a time. Chain and heat, on and on. And poured! The second night, however, was even heavier, when we were in Wisconsin, the rains resulting in school closures in 10 counties because of flooding. We went for breakfast that morning as a reward for surviving, and our server showed us a picture her daughter had taken north of Dodgeville, where we were, showing a car sitting nose down in a sinkhole. Fortunately, none of that where we were, so we were able to proceed without incident.

Along the way, we stopped to view the Jolly Green Giant, a 60 foot statue placed in the town of Blue Earth, Minnesota, to 'honor' the relationship of the area with the company. As I say, highlights aren't easily found across southern Minnesota and Wisconsin. We did enjoy SE Minnesota, as it's a lovely area of great farms, neat and tidy and well developed, with a large Amish community at the core. Even saw a couple of buggies driving down the shoulder of the highway, transporting couples to town. Farms are so neat and tidy, they reminded us of Germany, where every square inch is so well tended.

We decided, after following along the Mississippi for an hour or so, to avoid Chicago, so we went south, then east, and ended up last night in a remote camp far from the madding crowd. Took us forever to find it, but talk about peaceful. No one around, a nice little lake in front, total quiet. Today we went across the busy strip of Indiana east of Chicago, and decided to come up to Holland, a lovely city of 30,000 originally settled by... guess who? The buildings in the core of town are definitely of Dutch style, and we visited the Windmill Island Gardens, where they have the only functioning original Dutch windmill in the U.S., imported from Holland and restructured for the community. We toured the windmill, and learned a lot about the mill and how it processes the grinding of grain. Well done, very interesting. They even have the only Dutch-certified Mill operator in the U.S., a female, again a first. Bought some Dutch cookies and flour which was ground in this very mill. Life doesn't get any more exciting than this, folks.

I have to mention the highways. At times they are just fine, smooth and enjoyable. But too often they are made of concrete, or less often, are paved. But our poor r.v. has been jostled, battered, pounded, by potholes and ridges beyond imagination. We have our famous County Road 49, voted worst road in Ontario, proudly taking truck traffic from our local cement plant and port away to places unknown. But 49 is nothing compared to what we've experienced all the way across from South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Obama...please cut your defense budget by 10 percent and redo your countries infrastructure. It's in bad shape. I forgot! No worry. The Donald will make America great again.

So we're now within striking distance of home. Straight across to the east, and we'll cross at Sarnia. May stop off at Stratford for a look around before putting our nose to the wheel and beating it for home. Should be back by Sunday or Monday, unless we stay here another day. May do, as it's near Lake Michigan, and we badly need a hike.

Miss all of you. More later. Stay tuned.

Further to our plan to see Buddy Guy on stage, we saw him from afar, from the balcony of the Holiday Inn across the street from the venue. Worked out fine, as his show was only an hour, and we had no interest in spending the whole day on the site. He was okay, but not dazzling. He worked the crowd pretty well, so everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

Anyway, we can cross Buddy off our bucket list. Always wanted to see him in person.

Next day we headed back up to route 90, and made our way to Wall, where the famous Drug Store of the same name can be found. We even found the drug store component of the sprawling complex, so it's still performing that service. There were loads of people there, out in the middle of the big SD spaces, 'cause everyone wants to see all of the stuff on offer. I was last there 33 years ago, and if memory serves, the town has expanded considerably. Seems to me it was the only store on that street, but now there are several others across the way. You can buy almost any souvenir ever invented, plus western clothes, cowboy boots, and all manner of other things. There is also a big cafeteria, very busy, so we had lunch with the hungry hordes.

On to the Badlands. There's a route that leaves the 90 at Wall and goes south through the National Park. Many viewpoints, lots of information, and splendid sights to be seen. This is a most unusual terrain, carved by Mother N for the last 50 or 100 million years. Interestingly, there are various layers of different hue,  deposits of various time periods, all in consistent horizontal display. No tilting, all consistently horizontal. Usually with layers like these there's some indication of tilting or upheaval. Not so here.

Lots of pictures! A most enjoyable area to visit. But our (my) decision to head east on a secondary route was a big mistake. Turns out this area of ND doesn't get much attention. Not surprising, as there are so few people out here, given the huge ranches that have taken over smaller spreads. Anyway, route 44 is to be avoided unless you're driving a Sherman Tank. Horizontal slashes, probably caused by frost upheavals, abound across the highway, were constant, and shook the poor old r.v. to death. Even where there had been an attempt to patch the crevices, the failure was evident, as our teeth rattled in our heads, the contents of the fridge were jostled hither and thither within, and various items were tossed to the floor. We reached Indian River, and decided to head back to the 90, thinking we'd get some relief. But the road north was just as bad. Jarred and jostled we were when we finally reached Murdo and found a quiet rv park.

So we stickin' to the 90 for the time being, and followed it faithfully today. Across the Mighty Missouri we went, where there's a great viewpoint, and a brand new very attractive huge statue of a Native Woman, all metal and at night flashing lights, which has been called 'Dignity'. It was just unveiled two days ago, and will be a long-time feature at this site, adding to the fine display about the Lewis and Clark Expedition that is housed in the nearby information center.

Our final major treat of the day, besides the colorful sunflower, corn and soy crops we whizzed past, was the Corn Palace in Mitchell. It's the last of it's kind, has lasted for decades, and is quite a marvel. Every year the exterior is redone with tens of thousands of ears of corn in several natural shades, which are split in half and nailed into position, depicting a different theme each year. Costs more than a hundred thousand to redo. This years' theme is Rock and Roll, so there are figures on the exterior depicting Willy, Elvis and others. You really have to see it to believe it. And inside, a terrific auditorium, where they've been hosting shows performed by famous people for years. There's also a great basketball court contained therein as well, so local teams have a great court for their games.

Too much!! So on we went, and now we're here in Sioux Falls. More later! Stay tuned.

Sept. 17 - Yesterday went as planned, mostly. Except for a problem in the parking lot of Mount Rushmore. Spaces were squeezed to the max, so we in the smaller r.v.'s weren't given much room, side to side. We were crammed in between two others, in other words. In extracting my rig from my space after our visit, I managed to clip the bottom of my neighbour's awning mount, pulling away a screw from the frame of his camper. Also left a wee gouge in the rear of my baby. The van, not Gail.

Not a good thing. And my fault entirely. Gail was giving me directions, capably as always, and I seemed to decide not to follow, so cut the back-up a little too sharply. You may recall that when we have made mistakes in the past, we say we're 80 percent stupid. This time I get 100 percent. The other party was nowhere in sight, so I left a note on his window, and will likely hear from him with some unpleasant news in future. Guess for all of the miles we do in this sizable unit, the occasional thing like this is going to happen. Doesn't feel good when it does, however.

Aside from that, we had a very good visit at the Crazy Horse Monument, which is quite something. It will truly dwarf the guys at Mount Rushmore. Seems the Americans love carving up mountains to create monuments to their great ones. Makes for interesting tourist attractions, and certainly feeds the fire of nationalism, particularly Rushmore. It's good that the native Americans are doing their part to emphasize their importance as part of the American culture. It's not just the huge carving of Crazy Horse, which has been going on for decades and will continue for many more. It's the display of Native culture on the site that has a more lasting impression. They've done a great job of displaying their history, arts, music, and daily life. Well worth the time to visit if  you're in the neighbourhood. Don't drive on by. We almost did, and were very glad we didn't.

Rushmore? Again, a marvel of engineering and artistic accomplishment. Quite astounding what well-placed dynamite can do, along with an array of mining equipment manned by experienced miners. The center is very attractive, the ice cream is good, following Thomas Jefferson's formula, and the figures on the mountain are quite something. The parking lot? That's another story.

On we soldiered to Deadwood, trying not to be too upset by my mistake. We found a nice camp within walking distance of town, so did just that after a bite of supper. It's a town of history, and has turned to gambling as a way to pay the bills. Every hotel and restaurant along the old Main street has slots by the score, the larger ones also hosting blackjack and poker tables. Didn't see any of my favorite, roulette. Good thing after my earlier bad luck. There's a big music event happening this week-end, so the whole town, small as it is, reverberates with the massive volume of guitars, lead and bass (pronounced 'base'). (Speaking of 'lead', there's a town only 3 miles from here called Lead. We thought it was likely pronounced 'led', as this is mining country. Turns out it's pronounced 'leed', for reasons we're not sure of. Sort of like the capital of the state, Pierre, which is pronounced 'Peer'.

Anyway, we enjoyed wandering about, had a beer in a great old bar called Wild Bill's Bar, in which there were lots of images of the famous man. Later, we caught the shuttle bus, which for a buck apiece, delivered us back to the r.v. park. Talk about good service.

Only a little more. Today we walked our bleeping bleeps off. Into town, up the gulch slope to the cemetery to see the gravesites of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, back down to wander the town, and then off on a walk of another two or more hours on the Mickelson Trail (no Kathy, not named after Phil, but rather a former Governor who promoted this wonderful Rails to Trails track). Five and a half hours on our feet. But we needed it, as we've been doing the road tourist thing for a couple of weeks, and hadn't done any hiking. Feels good to be physically zonked.

This music event going on in town features, if you can believe it, Buddy Guy, tonight. Tickets for the day are $45. So we may take the trolley into town, and go to the big Holiday Inn across from the venue, where they have a heated outside bar, and listen from there. Could have quite a few drinks for the 90 bucks saved. All this supposes we have the energy for such a venture.

That's it. More later. Stay tuned.

Sep 15 - We have now moved out of Wyoming, leaving behind broad expanses of range land, oil patches and coal fields. On the way through, we saw great long trains of empty coal cars, heading west to fill up at a large coal mining area which we drove by, a surface mine with a visible seam that was being attacked with rigor by heavy equipment. Sad to see such massive use being made of this polluting fuel. But when you see the level of the industry, you realize that many jobs and much money is involved in this industry. No doubt there is a large lobby to keep it going.

Anyway, so be it. We passed over the border into South Dakota, and were in the Black Hills. Soon we were at the entrance of the Jewel Cave National Monument. We hadn't done a cave for some time, so decided to give it a go, and were glad we did. This cave is the third most extensive in North America, and despite 30 or 40 years of exploration and mapping, mainly by amateurs, it is still largely unmapped. We did an hour and a half tour, reaching a depth of some 350 feet below the entrance, passing through chambers large and small, narrow channels, all on safe walkways and miriad stairways. We had a good young guide, so learned a lot, and once Gail got over her nervousness, we enjoyed it. Splunkers paradise.

Shortly after leaving we ran into a group of about 20 big horns, so watched them for awhile, especially enjoying their climb up a rock face. Then to Custer, where  we found a nice r.v. park. It's in town, so we strolled along the main street, taking in the fascinating mix of motels and restaurants. This is clearly naught but a tourist town. Had a beer in a neat place called Bitter Esters Brew House, and wandered back. Tough life, you must agree! More later, as we go on to Crazy Horse's monumental mountain carving, and Mount Rushmore, with a goal of camping in Deadwood tomorrow night. Hope we don't get into a gun fight. More later. Stay tuned.

Just a short note tonight, as it's time to start thinking about nothing. Thinking does occupy one's time on these trips, as you have to do a fair bit of planning. For example, tomorrow we will head on to South Dakota, and soon will be in the Black Hills, where we'll find Crazy Horse's enormous statue, and of course, Mount Rushmore. From there, it'll be over to Rapid City, and that'll be enough for one day. But it takes some planning, some map study, some reading of CAA books, and so on. Not complaining, 'cause it's part of the fun. But now it's time to think about nothing. Except...

Today, we stopped by the nearby Thermopolis State Park wherein lies the largest hot springs complex in the whole wide world. We did a walk around, and it truly is quite a sight. We were so impressed, we decided to take advantage, so had a lovely soak in 104F waters. Cleansed and relaxed. May have even helped my cold, although as Joy Vance says, it takes 7 days or a week to get over most colds.

From that pleasant experience, we headed east, into the wild and wonderful Big Horn Mountain range. It has many fine views, and consists of various rock/mineral formations that date from 300 million years ago to 2 billion years ago. Oddly enough, the oldest formation was at the top of the pass. How do we know this? Because the State of Wyoming has signs along the way that tell you the age of the formations you're driving by, by gosh.

And what a climb. Seemed we'd never get to the top. Met some folks from Holland at one of our viewpoint stops, who were doing a three week trip from New York City to Las Vegas. Havin' a good time. We finally hit the peak of the pass at 9,666 feet. And then we had to get down, with warnings about runaway truck catchments, the need to gear down, the need to mind the sharp upcoming curves. But the old van managed. And then, once on the relative flat land, we had an hour across the open barren spaces with major winds blowing at us.

But here we are, safely tucked away in Gillette, Wyoming. That's all for now. Stay tuned. And don't be shy. Drop a not of reply if you've the time. Love to hear from you.

As you may have guessed, my praise of William E. Cody resulted from our return to the Buffalo Bill Museum, a most wonderful facility, with first class displays, interactive materials, videos, the whole nine yards, in 5 distinct areas. When you buy a pass, it's for two days, so we were pleased to go back to see the Buffalo Bill display, and the Native American area.

Another couple of points. The town of Cody is named after said gentleman, because he was instrumental in the development of the area. He was a Congressional Medal of Honour recipient, yet when he was in dire straits in his old age, his application for a 10 dollar a month pension was turned down by the government because he was no longer a member of the military. Fame doesn't always bring just rewards.

We got saturated on info, halfway through the Native American display, so hit the road towards Thermopolis. Here they claim to have the largest hot springs area in the world, and have been making it available to the public free of charge in the State Park for decades. Butch Cassidy and his Hole in the Wall gang, Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, and of course, Buffalo Bill, are just some of the celebs who've enjoyed the facility.

As it happens, we found the Fountain of Youth R.V. park, which has it's own hot pools. Three of them are on the property, one mild, one medium and one severe. We enjoyed the first two, and hope it had a positive impact on colds and other ailments. We may stay another day, although it's showery. So more later. Stay tuned.

This writer has a new hero. Not of this time, but of a time long past. He  started at age 11 as a helper for a wagon transport company in the American West, forced at that early age to go to work because of the death of his father. He soon graduated to driver of teams pulling large cargo wagons across the prairie. Then he graduated to scouting, did a stint as a Pony Express rider, but became famous as a leading scout, serving the Union Army and other parties needing someone to guide them through frontier territory.

He went on to form the most famous touring Wild West show the world has ever seen. In all probability he was the most famous person in the world during the height of his success, as his amazing show took him to all 48 states, and to many Canadian cities, as well as numerous European centers. But most noteworthy was the fact that he included many native Americans, plus a wide range of other nationalities in his show. Not only that, he had a herd of buffalo, numerous horses, and a total entourage of several hundred that had to be fed and housed every day.

The show ran for more than 20 years, and eventually ended up bankrupt, leaving William J (Buffalo Bill) Cody pretty much broke. But consider where he came from, losing his father at age 11, and his mother only about 4 years later. Hardly any formal education, but a lot of life learning at an early age, accumulating skills we can only marvel at as horseman, scout, marksman, and leader.

These are not the main reasons for admiration, however. He became a leading proponent of Women's rights. All women in his troupe were paid the same as the men. And he marched with women to promote their right to vote, long before they finally achieved that franchise. He also learned of the greatness of the native peoples that he had once done battle with, coming to appreciate their culture and values, becoming an advocate for their rights. Further, he brought many cultural groups together in his troupe, fostering the idea that people of different races and backgrounds could work and live together harmoniously. Ahead of his time? Indeed.

Finally, he was a great entrepreneur. He invested in many ventures, with the aim of opening up the west, particularly in Wyoming, so that people could live and prosper in a new west. He invested in irrigation developments, tried drilling for oil, got into the development of hotels, and other progressive ventures, most of which failed and ate up his large profits from the Wild West Show. He was an easy mark for people with high ideas, and although his ventures may have failed, he showed a willingness to stick his neck out and give it a shot, paving the way for others who followed to be successful.

He died a near pauper, with a failed marriage only resurrected in his latter life. He saw three of his four children die early deaths. But he maintained his positive attitude to the end, and had thousands attend his funeral, had dozens of tributes from the well-known and the ordinary citizen.

He was a true renaissance man, highly successful, but also well failed, yet never lacking confidence to try new ventures. Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Edon Musk, raise a glass to the forerunner of your daring and your success. William J Cody.

We are back in the land of wifi and t.v. Sorry to learn of Hilary's illness. Sorry that CNN will beat it to death. So we watched Shark Tank for an hour, and that brought reality back into our lives.

What to say about Yellowstone Park? One of the true natural wonders of the world. And we reached that conclusion after only two days of taking it all in. Man, I gotta tell you, we saw things that make your head spin...geisers, boiling mud pots, beautiful aquamarine pools emitting clouds of steam, runoff from pools pouring into the surroundings in shades of orange, rust, pink. It's all another world, one of the most amazing places in the world. We also managed to view Old Faithful, along with several hundred others, and he/she kept us in suspense for about 20 minutes past scheduled time, finally letting it all out. Doesn't want to be taken for granted.

Not just the thermal marvels, but the scenery, the rivers, the lake (highest/largest fresh water lake in NA), the waterfalls, the magnificent Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the wildlife. Best of all, we had two sunny and warm days to enjoy it all. Have to admit, the altitude had some effect on my feelings of health, as we're up at around 7,000 feet for most of it. My cold prevails, but we mucked our way along, even doing the 300 steps down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to get a great view of the lower falls. Spectacular rock formations in pinks, reds and of course yellow hues. Takes your breath away. Didn't see any mooses or bears, but lots of bisons, elk, deer, antelope, a coyote, even a chipmunk or two.

Could go on for pages. But let's just say that if you haven't been there, put it on your bucket list. And be prepared for interesting developments. We were planning to leave today by way of the south gate, into the Teton Park. Yesterday, the gate was closed due to a big forest fire. In addition, the West gate was down to one escorted lane to get in or out, again because of another big fire. The Grant Village was being evacuated. The air was very smoky as we did our tour, so it is not small fires we're talking about.And this morning, we learned that the north gate was closed because of snow. We awoke to snow floating down in large soft flakes, and a temp of about plus 2, Canadian Celcius. Fortunately, the snow was not accumulating, but it was a concern, and certainly pushed us to make our exit. Hopefully, the snow had some impact on the fires.

The drive out of the park was great, both within the park and along the way to Cody, where we are hunkered down tonight. The route runs through a range of volcanic peaks and ridges of weird formations and fantastic shapes. No wonder the stretch of road between the east gate and Cody has been called one of the most amazing drives in the U.S. We stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center, before reaching Cody, and found it well worth the stop, despite a raging wind and frigid temps. We were ferried to the center on a golf cart from the parking area, and froze our butts off. But it was worth it, as the history of the construction of the dam is most interesting. Three companies went broke doing the development, putting up the highest dam of its time, early 1900s, in the world.

Cody is a bustling tourist town, with loads to do. We soon found a good r.v. site, only 3 blocks from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Excellent!! There are 5 museums within the complex, and the ticket of entry lets you have two days to do it all. We did the Natural History section today, which was great, and will go back to do two more, probably the Native American section, and the Buffalo Bill museum. There's also an excellent photography area and a local Art area. It's a terrific site to visit.

So there you are. We're getting bored with the overplay of CNN of Hilary's health. Time for something more entertaining. Meantime, we may head on to a little town called Thermopolis, which is a major thermal hot springs area. Maybe a good long soak will cure my cold, and fend off the twitchy throat poor Gail is experiencing. Meantime, we rely on a little dram of Scotch.

More later. Stay tuned.

Another long day on the road! But very enjoyable, as we passed through a very interesting variety of landscapes. Leaving from central Washington, where we stayed at Moses Lake, you enjoy prairie terrain, with large farmlands producing a  variety of crops...corn, grains, potatoes, hay. Lots of irrigation evident, so we're talking large commercial operations.

From there we moved into hilly, sometimes mountainous country, going from no trees to lots of them. We passed through Spokane, after stopping for a big breakfast that cost $5 for the two of us. Don't know how they make any money at that rate. Spokane is certainly a lot larger than when I last passed through 60 years ago. Sprawls over a broad valley ringed by lovely hills. From there, we got into steep stuff as we passed into Idaho and the beautiful Coeur D'Alene area. It would be great to spend a few days there, as there is beautiful scenery surrounding the large lake of the same name. No doubt there are lots of trails to explore. Perhaps another time, as I'd love to come back to Montana and Idaho to do some serious exploring.

That topography prevailed in Idaho and on into Montana, but gradually things opened up, and we were flowing through a broad valley, good range land, and big sky. The hills were covered in light brown grasses, which gave a certain glow in the afternoon sun. I'm sure the cows appreciate the ambience. We forged on through Missoula, also much larger than 60 years ago, full of the usual American (and Canadian) fast food joints and commercial outfits. And finally we pitched our tent, so to speak, in the countryside, near Anaconda, not far from Butte. Nearby are hot springs, which we would jump into tomorrow if we but had the time.

But it's on to our main destination, Yellowstone, We'll get another early start tomorrow, and try to get a half day in the park before setting up camp. We could only get two nights in the RV park, so will have to make the best of our time, unless we dry camp in one of the other parks, if we can get into one.

All of this pales into nothing, as we received news today that our wonderful friend, Naomi Lacroix, has passed away. We feel so badly, as she was such a terrific person, much loved by everyone who knew her. We will miss her so much. Our thoughts will be with Pat and family for many days to come.

On that sad note, I will again put this treacherous cold I'm harboring to bed. Maybe it'll be better tomorrow. Stay tuned.

We're back! We didn't have much wifi in Tofino, so couldn't report on our various activities there. But we truly enjoyed the area, as there is great beauty on the far side of Vancouver Island. Tofino itself has refined itself from humble fishing town to busy tourist attraction, with lots of Artsy shops and restaurants. There's a fine harbour, the focus primarily on seaplane flights, whale and bear watching excursions. and recreational fishing charters. We sat in a bar called JACKS, and watched one of the charter captains clean a half dozen beautiful salmon. (We had to have a beer there, as son Jeff and family use the acronym to define their family...Jeff, Anna, Claire, Kate and Sharon...get it?)

We did several good hikes, despite cloudy, rainy and cool weather. Typical West Coast stuff. There's a nice walk through woods down to a beach in Tofino, as well as several good hikes between Tofino and Ucluelet. The latter town, by the way, also has its charm, despite having transformed from a timber town to a commercial fishing center. Along the shore at Ucluelet there's an 8 km. seaside walk which we did part of. a section called the Wild Pacific Trail, Many spectacular views. But no whales in sight. Seems to be our plight.

Just as we entered the trail, we met a couple coming the other way. We got talking, and it turned out they are Edmontonians. When we told them we were from a little town in Ontario they'd probably not heard of, the response to "Picton" was "Oh, you're County people." Turned out two of their best friends are people we know quite well, Tom and Nancy Fenora. Cool coincidence.

We also did two or three walks along the beaches, watching the surfers, who were there by the score. Labour Day week-end had any beach with any measure of wavy water packed with people trying their hand at catching a wave. Not too many looked like they knew what they were doing, which is fine. Give them credit for trying on a cool cloudy day. Wet suits and boards, determination, and lots of tumbling in the surf. There are miles of beaches, so no lack of space for the large numbers.

We also did a bog hike, and a rainforest hike, exploring two contrasting areas on the coast. The latter is an ancient forest, with moss-covered, vine-wrapped old growth and huge fallen logs, much of the forest in the final stages of development, with ferns and undergrowth in abundance. A truly ancient rainforest, many tall cedars and their cousins reaching a hundred feet above the damp floor. The walk was mostly on boardwalk, as it's the only way you could get around the area because the ground is completely sodden.

Similarly, the bog is only walkable on a boardwalk. There we found dwarf trees, many only 2 to 4 feet high, despite being up to 300 years old. The bog permits only miniscule growth, but somehow these small trees survive, growing on hummocks of meters-deep sphagnum. Another contrast area we found on the way back to Nanaimo was the Cathedral Grove, where there were giant Douglas Firs and Cedars growing up to 250 feet tall, some of which were over 800 years old. Reminded us of our treks through the giant redwoods in California. Humbling, when you consider the size of these wonderful miracles.

This adventure to the coast was shared with Dan and Dianne, Gail's sister and her husband. They drove their car, so we had wheels to get to the various hike sites, and they shared our r.v. for meals and sleeping. Four in the van worked out fine for the four days of the trip. We had three nights in Tofino in a great r.v. park, and a fourth night in Nanaimo, where we had a chance to visit our niece, Dan and Di's daughter Allie. Hadn't seen her for several years, and it was good to see that she is doing okay after some tough times.

We took the ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, after saying goodbye to Dan and Di, who took an earlier ferry. We emerged from the ferry on the other side into a downpour and major traffic along highway 1. But we finally got to Don and Joy Vance's, where we had a lovely evening. Joy did her usual magic in the kitchen, and Don made sure there were sufficient libations to make us forget about the rain. This was the third time this year we've seen these good friends, so mark 2016 down as a banner year.

Today, we got off to an early start, the writer harbouring a major head cold, which has somewhat lessened thank to Joy's provision of various remedies. After 8 hours on the road we gave up, dripping nose and sagging eyelids in need of rest. We're in a nice campground at Moses Lake, Washington and hope to make good time tomorrow so that we can get to Yellowstone in timely fashion on Saturday.
Yep, that's where we finally decided to go, after much indecision (par for us). Alaska, the Peace River country, Edmonton, Vernon, all were given agonizing consideration, but we decided to head south to warmer climes in order to fulfill Gail's desire to see Yellowstone.

One final little incident. We stopped in Coombs, on the way back to Nanaimo, a very different little touristy town on route 4. Famous for having goats on the sod roof of the main restaurant, and tons of Chinese sculptures all over the place. But also a great book store. As I purchased yet another James Lee Burke, the owner mentioned how busy he is keeping the store going. "Keeps you out of the pool hall" was my response. "Yeah, I play quite a lot. But my brother's better. He's a pro pool player." Turns out both men have competed in the World 9 Ball Championships in Las Vegas, the brother with considerable success. Simple comment on my part let to an interesting result. Gotta love it!

Enough already. My eyelids are dropping onto my cheeks. Time for bed. More later. Stay tuned.

September 3 - Talk about a long day on the road! We were up before 7, to catch the ferry from Pender Island to Sydney, on Vancouver Island. We are travelling with Dan and Di, Gail's sister and her husband, on our way to Tofino, on the west coast of Van Island. Travelling in tandem is always tricky, but going this route with an rv and a car is not always easy. Dan and Di are driving, because we don't know where each couple will be going once we finish this little adventure. And it'll be nice to have a car to get around once we get set up in our r.v.
After getting groceries in Sydney, we promptly got lost, trying to pick up Highway 1 to go west, thanks to our famous Lucy, voice of our satellite tracker. She decided it would be shorter to take the ferry across to Mill Bay, so had us going down all manner of side streets, only to get to the ferry to find it was full, and not another for about 3 hours. So we had to go the long way around, which cost us about an hour. Love the gps system. Works most of the time, but not always.
Anyway, we found the main route, towards Nanaimo, and found the traffic extremely heavy, with traffic signals every couple of miles, most of which were red when we hit them. Slow going, to say the least. We finally got to the cutoff, where we had agreed to meet Dan and Di, highway 4, at Coombs. The place was jam packed with people enjoying the market and the other highlights, including goats on the roof of the local restaurant. I'm not kidding. Look up Coombs on the internet!!

But no parking, so Gail grabbed some food for lunch, and we carried on. And on. And on, along route 4. Scenic, but winding, up and down, with narrow roads. Safe enough, so long as you keep you eyes open, so a nice drive. But slow, The kilometer signs seemed to hardly change after a half-hour of driving. But we finally got here, to a very nice r.v. park, and had a lovely walk on the beach. We've also extended for a third night, so will have two days to explore the area. Being as far west in Canada as you can get is pretty neat.

We stopped for some groceries in Port Albernie. While Gail was in doing her duty, I met a very interesting fellow in the parking lot, a local physician. His father and son are also doctors. The father still works at Vancouver General at age 96, along with a few other docs his age, and won't quit until placed in a box. "What should I do at home, get in my wife's hair, and who needs that after 70 years of marriage?" His son, the man I was talking to, was an emergency accident surgeon in Vancouver for 40 years, retired, and soon got bored, so came to Albernie to work in Emerg. No quit in him either. His son, on the other hand, want to work only 5 days a week, from 9 to 5. That's it! The new generation of physicians. Sound familiar?

More later. Stay tuned.

God forbid, it's the first of September. In our previous message, it was mentioned that the weather on the West Coast might be capricious. In other words, not the steady heat and good weather we've had in Ontario. Sure enough, we are here to witness the beginning of fall, as the temps are in the mid-teens, and it's mostly cloudy, with bits of rain. Sister-in-law Diane is complaining rather loudly, as though it were here fault. We are not dismayed, however, as the coolness is a pleasant change, particularly as we made our way up and down the hike up Mount Norman, then down and along another several kilometers on the William Walker trail. My fitbit tells me I've done more than 11,000 steps today, so time to grab a book and relax.
Our trip out on Tuesday was a long one, as we were 18 hours from the time we left Picton until we reached our first stop, on Pender Island. We did car, bus, plane, car and ferry, then car, to get here. A dram on Scotch helped bring on a good crash in the sack. Good to be back with Dan and Di, and to see our faithful r.v. waiting for our next road adventure.
After much mulling and pondering and checking mileages and weather, we decided to go to Vancouver Island on Saturday to go to Tofina. We've always wanted to go to that side of the island, so Dan and Di will come with us for a few days. Should be fun. Four in the van. We'll see how that works out. In the old days, we did trips with 4 adults and 2 kids in a VW camper, so this should work out.
So stay tuned. Adventures await.