The Top 10 List for April 30th!

10. Spectacular Snow covered views.
9. Lake Couer d'Alene in Idaho
8. Prairie Dogs at picnic area lunch stop
7. Snow everywhere "EXCEPT" on the roadway
6. Sparkling mountain rivers and streams
5. 100's and 100's of train cars
4. Clark Ford River in Montana
3. Romantic dinner at Hay J's Bistro in Spokane
2. Beautiful crossing of multiple mountain ranges
1. Just one more day til Chilliwack, BC, Canada
Today was a spectacular day for us. For the last 2-1/2 days we have had steady rain and snow and average temperature in the low 30's. We started out in Billings in the low 40's and finished our day in Spokane, Washington at 73 degrees. The sky was a clear blue with visibility of many miles. We couldn't believe how the terrain kept changing. One minute there were rolling hills and the next massive snow capped mountains. We were also amazed with how much snow was still on the ground, often right up to the highway. I would expect it will be at least another month before most of it is gone. We also found out that our route around the Cascade loop will need to be cancelled due to snow and slides. They expect to have the route open by May 15th! Tomorrow, we will travel to Chilliwack in preparation for our trailer orientation and "phase 2" of our great trip. So, until next time..........

Driving through the Badlands

Well, we sure were hoping the rain and snow would have stopped by this morning, but no such luck. It was still snowing when we pulled away from our hotel. There is a lot of farming land in N. Dakota and everywhere you look it is so flat for miles and miles. But all of sudden you start seeing small buttes which is the start of the Badlands. We took some pictures from the car, but they do not do the scenery any justice. We also passed Chase Lake which is a National Wildlife Refuge started by Teddy Roosevelt. It has the largest breeding colonies of American White Pelicans. It looks so strange to be driving along an interstate in North Dakota and seeing hundreds of Pelicans. Our first National Park stop was at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Lots of great Teddy Roosevelt history. Did you know as he was giving a speech in Syracuse, NY a man jumped from the crowd and shot him in the chest. It was not serious because he finished his speech before getting medical treatment. The shirt that he wore with the bullet hole in it was on display. Just a little trivia. We were well into Montana by the time we drove out of the snow. The sun was actually trying to break through the clouds when we pulled into Billings.Posted by Barbara. More tomorrow...

Day 3 - AM Electronic Aids, PM Snow!

On day 3, we drove from Eau Claire, WI to Bismarck, ND. We got up to cool and rain and the weather did not get better. As we drove in the morning, I realized how much we can do while on the road. Barbara was driving and the rain kept coming down - thus not much scenery. So, I'm on Facebook finding out that my niece in Japan is having a boy, my niece in NC is completing a kitchen remodel and my grand sons in Texas are in shorts digging in the sand. With a couple hours til lunch I opened up Trip Adviser and found us a great place to have lunch in Fargo, ND. Another great find that I wouldn't have had a chance of finding without the assistance of the various electronics we're carrying! In the afternoon, we had about 200 miles to drive from Fargo to Bismarck, ND. We weren't expecting heavy snow on the 28th of April, but..... Definitely a challenging drive! Luckily, we arrived safe and sound and glad that we didn't have to deal with the deadly tornadoes that the south is having today. To unwind, I went down to the pool and soaked in the whirlpool

tub - two evenings in a row, I'm enjoying this retirement thing!!! Then, we walked next door to a supermarket to pick up a beer, but, I guess that North Dakota doesn't sell beer in supermarkets! Tonight, Barbara and I will resume learning how to play Cribbage, a game that we used to play before we got married 39 years ago. Hopefully, tomorrow won't see a lot of snow!

Windmills to Toll Booths

Today, we could really see that we were leaving "the South" and heading to new areas. Last night, we sat outside (without jackets) and enjoyed our dinner. This morning, we woke up to cooler weather and started heading north. (on the road by 7:10 again!) As we moved north through Indiana, we couldn't get over the steady wind trying to push our car off the road. Then, we started seeing windmills - 100's and 100's of them. They really made you feel that you were in the 21st century - harnessing the wind for power. But, then we were getting closer to Chicago. Our welcome to the outskirts of Chicago were the toll booths - seemed like hundreds. What amazed us was that the cash

booth (yes only 1 per exit) that took cash. You literally had to hand feed coins, one by one, into a slot. What happened to the old basket where you threw a hand full of change and it would sort through them? But, we made it through - to the tune of about $14! Driving through Chicago really had us thinking about why people live where they live. A book by Rand McNally summed it up very well. Normally, you live where you live for 1 of 3 reasons: you grew up there and that's where your family is, you followed a job there, or that is where you decided that you wanted to be. In Barbara and my case, we settled in WNC after a lot of research. It is where we decided we wanted to live and we have been very fortunate to find a place that fits us so well. Well, it is almost 6 AM and time for breakfast. Should be interesting to see what today brings!

Celebration Day

Today was a very special day: 1st day of the "great adventure," 1st day of retirement and 39th wedding anniversary (as well as 39 years since our last trip cross country)! We really didn't set a time to be on the road, but after so many trips together, we were still on the road by 7:10 AM! It's always good to get an early start as the traffic is light and we are "raring to go!" We were kind of comparing the start of our trip 39 years ago from Long Island vs. this trip leaving from WNC. Back then we had to take the Southern State Parkway to the Goethels Bridge & then the Verrazano bridge. This time, within 45 minutes we were in Canton watching 3 hot air balloons over head! Then, of course, we were traveling through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Kind of like going from one beautiful place to another. We went through NC, Tennessee and made a short stop in Berea, Kentucky to visit the Kentucky Artisan Center. A short time later, we were in Indiana and made it to our hotel by 4 PM. Since it was our anniversary, I had done a bunch of research to find the perfect restaurant. We went to a place called Patrick's in Zionville. The street was quaint and paved with bricks and lots of restored older buildings and stores. The restaurant was celebrating Kings Day (Something about Denmark and beer) and they had entertainment and outdoor seating. Temperature was high 70's, we were surrounded by a red bud and some other flowering trees and couldn't have asked for a better setting. We enjoyed a light meal, shared a desert and had coffee. The even had a magician wandering around and entertaining us. Just a perfect ending to great first day!

Just 2 more "wake ups"

We are really getting down to the wire! As I got up this morning, it really hit home that the day after tomorrow we head off on this great adventure. After resisting, for what has seemed like forever, we started loading the car. It looks like an awful lot, but then I think back to others who have also headed up to Chilliwack to pick up their Escape Trailers, and they have talked about not being able to see out their back window. We are probably 90% packed with the last minute items to go in the area behind the front seats. Probably the most perplexing challenge is leaving a warm environment (up to high 70's over the coming weekend) to northwest US where the highs have been running to the low 50's with intermittent rain. I suggested that we go to Ingles and spend 10 minutes in the walk in beer cooler, and then run home and consider what would we like to have had on if that was going to be the temperature for the next 7 days! I did learn with my great hiking challenge of 2012, that it's all about layers and not about having one warm coat. The AT thru hikers experience that when crossing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during this time of year - having on every piece of clothing that they started out carrying. Barbara and I were discussing places that we will visit and possible "camp" on this trip. One of the organizations that we joined is called Harvest Hosts. They have arrangements with places like vineyards, organic farms, wineries, etc where you can stay. We've decided that the first one of these that we would like to visit/stay at is a lavender farm on the Olympic Peninsula. Well, I guess that it is time to continue our last minute packing.

Six days and counting!

Barbara and I have wanted to travel cross country again since we traveled from NY to California and back as part of our honeymoon in 1975. During that trip, we drove a Ford Pinto, stayed in motels (Friendship Inns and many others averaging $40 per night), burned $.40/gallon gas and had the time of our lives! We were fortunate to have 4 weeks off and covered 9,200 miles. We have dreamed about returning to the open road with a beginning and end with a very loose itinerary in between. In 2011, we started to actively look at small towable trailers. Since our daughter, Kelly, lives in Texas, we stopped by the Casita factory to check them out on one of our visits. The Casitas were OK, but..... when I asked the salesman about changing out lighting to LEDs, I was told, you can do that after you buy it. This just didn't seem right! Purchase something, then tear it out and throw it away. Over the next couple years, we read up on the Eggcamper, out of Grandville, MI and the Scamp out of Backus, MN. They were interesting, but not quite what we were looking for. Then in early 2013, we came accross the Escape Trailer, built in Chilliwack, BC, CA. The more we read, the more we liked it. There is a forum about the trailers called www.escapeforum.org. As I read the forum, something became obvious, Escape Trailers had Raving Fans instead of Satisfied Customers - we had found the company to build our trailer! We came to realize that every trailer that they build (5 models) is one of a kind. We didn't foresee having a lot of changes, but boy were we wrong! We saw our first Escape Trailer in April of 2013. Within 2 weeks of that we had a brand new GMC Acadia (the tow vehicle) in our driveway. Another 10 days and our 19' Escape was on order! Today is Monday, April 21st. This coming Saturday, our 39th wedding aniversary, we will leave for BC. It will take us 6 days and 3,000 miles to get up to Chilliwack. But, we will also be starting retirement at the same time, so the trip home is scheduled to take an additional 9 weeks! Due to the massive amounts of business travel I have done over the last few years, I have decided to keep the itinerary very loose - thus the title of this blog The Crooked Road Home! To plan out the trip, we have purchased a laptop and installed a DeLorme Mapping Program to "plan out" the big picture while using a Garmin GPS for the "day to day" travel. We expect to meet many travelers in our wanderings and tap into their expertise as to wonderful places to visit. The book of this travel will be "written" as we go. Looking forward to adding to this blog!