Missoula MT

Seems to be a nice little town.  Well, "little" as in about 75,000 people! 

Looking for something to do, we found the Smokejumpers Visitor Center (link Missoula Smokejumpers  ) These are the first in line guys and gals who parachute out of planes to fight fires in remote places.  The fires have to be about less than 1 acre when they take the responsibility for the fire.  The Smoke Jumpers jump carrying about 80 pounds of gear and then have chainsaws, food, hatchets, etc, dropped in to them.  THEN they have to carry all of this stuff around plus haul it out when they are finished - that can increase a pack load to about 120 pounds!  We tried lifting an 80 pound sack - no go... About 60 men and 5 women work out of this facility.  Their average stay once they jump into a fire area is 3 weeks.

Here is the line where they pack their parachutes (the experts to this until each jumper learns). Actually, they all learn to sew, too.  They have to make their own jumpsuits, make and repair packs, etc! They work from May through October, and are off for the balance. What do you think they do in their spare time? Maybe hunt?  Look at that wall....

And, unbelievably,  here is the 1930's DC3 that they jump out of! First introduced in 1936, many of these relics are apparently still flying. This one is modernized with turbo-prop engines.

After our tour at the Smoke Jumpers, Luke was lead to the Museum of Mountain Flying.  A small hangar, it houses a number of old aircraft.

In the 50's, a devastating fire started near Missoula.  15 smoke jumpers went in, but the fire turned on them and only 2 returned.  Here is the actual DC3 that they jumped from.

At the advice of the girl in Wal-Mart, we ventured into town today for the Wednesday lunch at the park.  There is a nice park along the river.  Each Wednesday, multiple food vendors come out to offer lunch.  Luke had a spring roll and pot stickers.  I had a pita with falafel.  yum!

Lots of small shops, restaurants, and art galleries in downtown Missoula.  A nice leisurely walk-around in the area.

Tomorrow we hope to drive northward and see some more of the lakes in northern MT - supposed to be beautiful.  Actually, we'll be just southwest of Glacier NP!

to Missoula, MT

New campsite, with Smoke and Luke out for a walk.

And our new campground...

Yes, that's an RV service shop....After a couple of days of odd smells near the frig and constant warming of said frig, we stopped here to have it checked.  The cooling system is dead.  So, we are waiting for about 3 days to get a new one shipped in and replaced. On the bright side, the folks here at the RV center have free spaces available with electricity and water for the RV's waiting for service or parts.  So, this was  not our plan, but I guess we'll see Missoula!

Idaho and back to Canada for a day

We drove to Coeur d'Alene, ID, actually so we could drive back into Canada to visit boating friends Conny and Alvin.  Unfortunately, Conny wasn't' home, but we did have a great visit with Alvin.  It is only 100 miles from our WM in ID to their house.  Creston is a beautiful valley, tucked between mountain ridges.  This "garden" area in the picture is the nursery that Conny and Alvin used to own.

We could really watch this storm rolling in!

In fruit season, migrant pickers arrive.  Many are collage kids who live in tents and consider it a great adventure for the summer.  After work, they often go to this deep gorge to cool off.  Look carefully and find the 2 chairs on the ledge on the right!

Today we drove in the tourist town of Coeur d'Alene.  There is an enormous resort there, right on the lake.  HORDES of sunbrella covered boat slips.

In addition to boating, you can play on the beach, get a seaplane ride...

Or go parasailing.

No exciting plans for tomorrow.  We hope to make it to either Bozeman or Billings, MT, making progress eastward.

A little more Canada, and then back to the USA!

The town of Summerland has a  mountain in the middle of it - Giant's Head. We drove up the narrow, winding road to almost the top.  Got a great view of some of Summerland's vineyards and orchards from there.

From the top, we could also see our "campground".  That's us in the middle of all of the other white RV's.  That is Okanagan Lake behind us.

Pardon me, Roy, is that the Chattanooga Choo-choo??

Nope, it's the Spirit of Summerland!

We took a scenic ride on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. (click for a link)  The 10 mile ride was along the only preserved section of the original Kettle Valley Railway, which was built through the Kettle and Okanagan Valleys between 1910 and 1915.  The advent of rail played an integral role in the development of BC's southern interior.

As evening nears, long shadows in a vineyard.

Nearby Pendicton, the town at the south end of the Okanagan Lake, offers a beach!  Full of hot tourists and locals.

Finally, after 3 weeks, we crossed back into the States!  The customs agent asked his usual questions (alcohol, tobacco, and taxable purchases)  and then we were diverted to a parking lot for RV's.  The nice customs lady came "aboard" and checked out our frige.  Luckily, the only quarantined produce that we had aboard were some tomatoes and 2 lemons.  All of our local cherries, apricots, and peaches were safe!

We took the afternoon and visited the Grand Coulee Dam. (click for a link) The dam is one of the largest concrete structures in the world.  500 feet wide at the base, it is almost 1 mile across the top.  This monster generates more power than a million locomotives (6 Giga watts).  It was originally planned to simply provide irrigation to the arid region, but was later used more for hydroelectricity.  The project took 12 years to built.  Unfortunately, at a 500 ft maximum depth, and a 150 mile long Lake Rosevelt behind it, it also flooded several towns.  Additionally, it destroyed the salmon waterfalls used by the local tribes to stock for winter and covered native cemeteries.

Here are some of the pumps used to move water for the pump storage irrigation lake above the dam.  They may look small, but are 5 stories tall under what is visible! 

The visitor center is built to look like the top of a turbine!

It's late - time to go to bed here in our Wal-Mart campground!

Same day, second post

On Wednesday, we left the national parks and headed southward towards the wine and produce country, the Okanagan region. This region is aptly named after a 90 mile lake running N S through the area - click on this link . Before we left, we did do 2 more short hikes.  One was the Cedar Trail, full of ancient cedars, some 500 years old.  They are massive.  (BTW, see, we still had on jeans, tennis shoes, and sweat jackets - still in the high altitudes!)

 

The second hike was along the Skunk Cabbage Trail.  This is a marshy area with lots of skunk cabbage plants, found only in British Columbia.  These rascals have giant leaves, are as tall as 4 feet and they do smell like cabbage!

 

The area also has little streams running all through it, supporting tall marsh grasses.

 

You know what lives in tall marsh grasses?   BIG tadpoles!

 

We had to stop at Dutchmen Dairy en route to Kelowna.  Know for their wonderful ice cream, and the reputation is well deserved! Luke says their ice cream is so rich, it makes the Homestead Creamery (very good ice cream place near home) ice cream taste like frozen yogurt.

The road to Kelowna slowly changes from high mountains to a lake region, full of wineries and fruits such as cherries.  Here is a link to the town of Kelowna – interesting, as it is the 22nd largest town in Canada.  Click here to link to it.  It has a long, five lane, floating highway bridge across Lake Okanagan between Kelowna and West Kelowna!

 

Hot again today!  We spent the morning at "BC's most visited" winery, Summerhill Pyramid Winery.  Here is a link.  It's a certified organic winery, including all of their processing and labeling.  A beautiful setting, of course....

Tomorrow we hope to visit one for their winery tour.

 We are in our new "campground" for the next 2 days. Not a real campground, but a spare parking lot of a motel. We have full hookup's, especially important being the electricity so we can offset the 103 degree day!!!!  Can't believe it got so hot!  Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler.  The sun has set now and a breeze has come up, so we have our windows open and the fan running.  A nice combination. 

 

 

 

Glacer and Mt. Revelstoke, British Columbia

Off to explore Canada’s second national park – a very small one – Glacier.  Our campsite was small, too, but we fit well into it and had a wonderful private spot.  Smokey liked it – she went for many walks around the RV.

First in Glacier, we did a boardwalk called the “Rock garden”.  

 The rocks there tumbled to their present location about 10,000 years ago.  Look carefully;  you'll see Luke in the rocks.

 

Now, they are covered in lichens that are hundreds of years old. 

 

Also on the forest floor are “dogwoods”.   They looks almost like the Virginia state flower, but there beauties are only about 2” off of the ground, in individual plants.

 

A grand old hotel used to be at the Glacier Park site...

The grand hotel complex...

 

All that is left now are bits of foundation.  The grizzly bears like the area - we were warned to watch for a mom with her two cubs!

 

Next day, next National Park.  This one is only 30 miles from Glacier.  Mt. Revelstoke is at the center of the park.

 

The road designers used an idea from the railroad (who used the idea from the Swiss).  Avalanche sheds are built in avalanche prone spots to prevent disasters along the roadway.  These sheds create tunnels that protect cars or trains.

 Loved this sign at the base of Mt. Revelstoke….

 

The campgrounds and picnic sites in the parks all have cold weather picnic facilities.  These great huts are built to provide a warm, dry place to cook or eat.

Inside, there are log picnic tables, a wood firestove, wood, and a hatchet.  Eveything you need but the food!

 

At the peak of Mt. Revelstoke you can see forever.  Here are the flowering fields, mountain peaks in the background, and in the middle, the Columbia River.

 

The panorama views are spectacular, all 360 degrees!

  

Here us Luke, trying out an old surveying tool like the ones used to survey the region in 1807.

 

Unfortunately, the beautiful views were not the only things at the top of the mountain.  Mosquitoes!  black flies!  horseflies! In massive swarms, constant swarms.  I had to leave after 30 minutes or so and take the shuttle back down to the car.  Luke braved it out another hour or so.

We rewarded ourselves that night with the first fire of our camping trip.  Both the American and Canadian national parks charge for a fire permit for each fire.  Now, you do get the firewood, too, but $9/fire isn’t doesn’t make us feel much like making a fire each night.

 

We have traveled 164 miles south - to the Okanagan Region, a wine and fruit region.  Very different and very much like the New York State Fingerlakes region!

Unfortunately,  the lower altitude and more southern location also brings higher temperatures.  We’ve been wearing jeans and sweatshirts,  lows in the 40’s at night, highs only in the low 70’s.  It was a stinking 95 when we got here! (“here” is a Wal-Mart parking lot).   60 tonight, 97 tomorrow. I think we’ve found summer.

 

 

 

AMENDED! HERE ARE THE PICTURES....well, crap...

Now I'm sitting in McDonalds at a Wal-Mart (I feel a love/hate relationship with WM...) in Kalowna, wine country instead of mountain peak country!  Here are the pictures.  Hope to finish up the mountain part of the blog tomorrow.  Hope to find some wineries tomorrow!

From yesterday.....

We are an hour from the RV, sitting at a Tim Hortons (Canada's version of Krispy Kreme!) and I left my flash drive with the applicable pictures in the RV... so here is a teaser, without pictures.  Pictures to follow when I find internet again (maybe a few days).  Having a great time, though!

More exploring…. How about stupid tourists?  Ones who really don’t think elk bulls are wild?  No way I would be in the road with this guy.

 

Now these tourists do it right – take Fido with them!  She was so darn cute, goggles and all.

 

More wildlife – mama and her 2 little ones.

 

Who knew there are water lilies in this part of Canada? Beautiful

 

 The lake itself was beautiful, reflected in the still morning water.  This little lake is on the border of British Columbia, as we were leaving Alberta Provence. 

 

 Waterfalls!

 

This waterfall rushed under the observation deck we were standing on.  Quite a feeling.  The local rafting companies took their customers down to this point, pulled out the rafts, walked around the falls, and put back in again.

 



 

On Sunday we left Jasper and drove to Glacier National Park in Canada.  It’s a small park, but aptly named!