Nova Scotia and we're out of there

You can guess it wasn't one hundred percent so we made quick work of it.  What happened you may ask? We had rather weird weather, fog and extremely warm weather and lots of wind.  Nevertheless we did get to Peggy's Cove and my pictures are great and glad to share them  Cut to the other side of the island and visited Annapolis Royal, a quaint and scenic little town and then we ran for the border. 

The truth is that we are finally hooking up with my Brother Rick and his wife, Holly.  On to the fabled leaf peeping of New England and the weather is projected to be good which is a big relief.  Onward and upward.

RV heaven really isn't all Perfect

Had a little trouble with the RV and some gas.  Eight hours later and a big bill we are on our way.  There are many unknowns on the road and it is a challenge trying to adjust to the set backs, challenges of wrong information, a new place to stay each evening, and the hours of driving.  So far we have driven 5000 miles and we're only in Nova Scotia.

Much of the Canada we drove through was rather uninteresting and yet we did really come to appreciate

the Great Lakes and the millions of additional lakes in this region.  Many had no cabins and looked rather

forlorn, perhaps they are really happening places in the Summer.  We followed the St. Lawrence River for

many miles and I have to say it is astonishing huge, broad, and  magnificent.  I'm going to have to look up how it compares to the Columbia but it looked a lot bigger to me.  We camped on its banks last night and almost blew away.

My brother and his wife had a big mess up with a passport and couldn't enter Canada and have had to change our year long plan to meet them in Nova Scotia.  Instead we will meet up with them

on the other side of the border and travel through Leaf Peeping in New England.  We hear the weather is going to be good.

And finally the roads in Quebec almost drove us nuts what with the all French signage, poor signage,

terrible conditions on their highwasy, and etc.  Was mighty glad to move on and even Quebec city could'nt

make peace with us.   Upward and onward.  Tomorrows another day. PS  I'm still having trouble with

formatting.

Michigan

Not much to report and so we're rolling along when all of a sudden I see a sign advertising smoked fish.  I  have been talking about smoked fish for a long time as it was one of my favorite foods when we lived in Milwaukee and I was hoping.  We made a quick U-Turn and arrived at a very cute country store and cabins.  Hog Island Country Store and Cottages made my day. The owner was sitting in front and

sunflowers inviting us in.  They did indeed have smoked fish, pasties (pastry filled with meat, potatoes, and etc.), great fudge, and packages of local wild rice. I'll post pics. soon.

Next, down the road was the famous Mackinaw bridge and city.  This location is historically rich with history for the US., French, and English.  Early settlers traded furs, had intrigue, and in general settle the
borders between our two countries...US and Canada.Lots of tourist entertainment and also ferries over
to Mackinac Island where they limit transportation to carriages and your good feet.  The most notable and

beautiful building on the island, The Grand Hotel, with one of the longest porches in the world and a hundred  rocking chairs all matching.  I hear it's quite a site.  Didn't get to go but did learn a little being in the area. Enter Canada tomorrow at Sault Ste. Marie,  Soo St. Marie in other words.

Crazy  Horse in South Dakota



Ed and me in LaCross



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Isn't he a beaut?

More Pictures

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Krissy and Dave Morrell's foal in Montana

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Going to the Sun in Glacier-looks like a cake mix

Ed's Reunion

We made it and I'm so glad we did.  How does 55 years slip by and yet when you look into their eyes its like those years are yet to come.  Everyone was teasing Ed and saying how they loved to skate with him and some of the girls even held his hand.  He coerced some of the guys to sing in the Sunday service and they sang very softly and Ed sang with gusto and in great voice.  It was joyous

La Cross, the Wisconsin town of 60,000 is truly amazing with great Hospitals and Clinics, an active downtown, large shopping mall, and very well kept homes.  The idyllic moderate sized, mid-west town and it appears to maintain its wholesome ways.  Isn't it great?

Pictures explained and our Adventures in Wyoming and N. D.

 Still struggling with pictures but trying.

Wyoming has exceeded our expectations, especially the Northwest and North Central area.  We have been awed at every turn.  Upon approaching the Big Horn Mountains we were introduced to the most jagged and wild canyon, so narrow I couldn't really photograph it but it is in my memory forever.  We climbed on and on to 9200 ft.  I  thought the RV would over heat and so we turned off the AC-what?  That was an exciting drive as we arrived on the high plain with herds of cattle, cowboys on horse back, and their powerful pickups on the roadside. 

Into South Dakoda which has more man-made attractions with Mt.Rushmore and Crazy Horse mountain
sculptures.  I have seen Mt. Rushmore over the years and the improvements they have implemented are impressive.  The visitors center and other buildings are well conceived and really added to our enjoyment as they had many displayed items telling the stories of the presidental sculptures and why they were choosen for this display.  It is so very well done.  On the other hand Crazy Horse is not progressing as well and their visitor center and etc. was marginal so on we go.  The Badlands are beautiful and mysterious.  See the pictures.  The next 8 hours of driving  won't be so interesting but we're almost in Wisconsic and the reunion.

More Pictures of South Dakota



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More Rushmore



The Badlands are wild and fun

Wyoming, Mt. Rushmore, and the Badlands

On the edge of the Wyoming Big Horn Mountains meeting the Plains

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Mt. Rushmore

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More Pictures now that I know how?

Backroads of Wyoming, so beautiful

Yellowstone Lake

Pictures finally

Krissie and David's ranch in Montana

Paint Pot, YellowstoneOld Faithful Lodge

Yellowstone and Cody, Wy.

Of all the luck, we entered Yellowstone on a pristine day and were so jazzed we could hardly contain
ourselves. The geysers were puffing all over the landscape and we walked up to the very colorful
Paint Pot.  I tried to take great pictures and I'll attempt to  put some on this blog soon.  We then got
to Old Faithful and it performed as usual.  What was unique and dazzling was Old Faithful Lodge which
always takes my breath away.  It was grand, a fantacy that was created by the CCC corp during the
depression, and it remains today an inspiring lodge.  The Forked trees that they cut hold up the floors and
there are so many of them that create a vision that everyone seems awed by.

Overnight in the forest with the temp. at 39degrees, we were cold.  Jumped up, flapped our wings, and
eagerly drove to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It is eye popping and it was such a joy to visit it
once again.  The colors of the stone is a rainbow of mineral colors and I really can't recall such a
dramatic natural site.

The next big encounter was the ANIMALS.   I think we encounter every species in the park-no kidding.
Elk, deer, coyotes, black wolf, black bear,grizzly bear, herds of buffalo, antelope,and white storks.Perhaps
there are more animal at this time of year?

Headed to Cody the wrong way.  What I mean is we wanted to go through the canyons and instead we
went out the NE exit.  Although it was not our intended route there were some  benefits as there was lots    of wild beasts and the further we traveled the mountains and valleys were beautiful and as Ed says we better enjoy it as we'll never be here again, but what do we know?  Never say never.  By the way I can't
seem to overcome the format this blog insists on.  Sorry.
animals

ITINERARY

Where will we be when  Our itinerary is somewhat loose but I'll attempt to fill you in:

Sept.
10 and 11 we will be visiting Krissie Steudal Morrell and husband in Boseman, Mt.
12 and part of 13 will be in Yellowstone--the big lodge, paint pots, geysers, and hopefully lots of animals.
14-17 driving like the wind to get to Wisconsin and Ed's reunion.
17-20 Reunion.
20-25 up through Canada arriving in Montreal to pick up my brother and his wife for a trip together
          in Nova Scotia and leaf peeping in the North East
25-Oct. 3-4 we will savor every leaf and white chapel, clapboard house, and New England Village
Oct. 5 We're going to Boston to visit dear friend and out friend Bill is making tour packages for our pleasure
Oct. 10 down to Atlantic city to be with a class mate from HS.  He's planning a tour of Philadelphia
Oct. 13 or so visiti my former sister in law and then Gettysberg to visit with another friend who will be
           very helpful in the battle info.

Oct 15 or so we hope to go to Falling Water outside of Pittsburg, and upon leaving there were off
           to Monticello.

That's all for now but there will be a lot more to follow as soon as we get it on paper.

Big Sky Country

Montana does open up and expose more sky than any other part of the country.  A big globular glass of wine  and Big Sky both fill your senses.  I am enjoying taking in giant breaths of this wonderful, clean air.
What else is unique to this state?  Log cabins of every shape and description, casual living, pickups, and metal roofs are everywhere.  We're enjoying observing this part of the country.  Yesterday we were in Helena and they had a large Catholic Cathedral that we felt compelled to visit.  Upon opening the massive doors we were thrilled with the magnificent windows.  They were of very high quality, the art was European, and the stories were depicted in great detail.  I don't think I have seen  any finer and here it is in the center of Montana.

Going to the Sun

What a name and what a place.  We are in Glacier National Park, Montana.  We had one little window of opportunity as they say that the rest of the week will be inclement and so we hustled ourselves out of our
RV slot.  Quickly arranged for a rental car for this wonderful drive across the continental divide.  They don't allow anything over 21' so other arrangements needed to be made. Up, up we went, range upon range,
and the sharpest mountains I have ever seen.  Really raw in their power and beauty.  Since it was the middle
of the week it was still crowded, can't imagine how it would have been Labor Day Weekend.  Livable though.  The earths movement has pushed these granite, slate, and shale mountains up in visable striations that make the mountains striped and they are almost like a graphic design.  The magnitude of this range is
very large and the pass takes about two to three hours to cross and then you do it all over again the other way.  Two for one or even better as we have the Senior Pass to National Parks.  We did indeed go to the sun and I'm so  happy that we were able to see it in clear weather.  Took  soooo many pictures.

We're Off

Set out very modestly by driving to Seattle and camping out in Dan and Kim's front yard.  Had a great evening with kids and grand kids. Dan and Kim performed curry magic with catfish and we loved it.  Retired
early and left by 7:30 which is a record  for us.

Our goal was to see the beautiful North Cascades Highway and I must say it was in it's glory.  I do love
to soak in that alpine air and deep blue skies.  When I finally master the camera aspects of this blog I will
share them.  Arrived in Brewster, Wa. to celebrate my twin brothers birthday a month or so early as that's
the time we had.  My sister Karen, her daughter and son in law,  drove over together.  My brother Rex's
daughter and family came also so we almost had a quorum.  Partied a bit and then the next morning we
picked apples and pears in Max's orchard.  It was great fun as we had trucks, four wheeler, and other
vehicles.  Sunny, blue skies to cheer us on.  Afterward we went to the top of his property where some
old petrogliphs were on ancient rocks and slowly fading away. Great fun and we avoided the rattlers.