Trip back home to Illinois

Received this e-mail from Chuck Childs concerning my question on the ORANGE bus.....

"That's a German Bus.  The man outside is cooking their meal.  They sleep in individual apartments like being in a morgue where they place the bodies.  Slid in an out.  The other side is big windows for them to view.  No bathroom so they look for trees.  I have seen several of these and one time at Devil's Tower they pulled up and stopped and the people came out running looking for a tree....finding none they just went."
So now you know...

Day 107  Calgary Alberta to Swift Current Saskatchewan....late start due to all the stories we heard about Calgary's rush hour.  We are still without cell service and the Wi-Fi at the campground was not reaching us.  Maybe today will be a better communication day.

 Canada Olympic Park

 Across Alberta and into Saskatchewan

 Looked alot like the prairie states in the USA

 Wheat and Barley

Day 108  Swift Current to Minot North Dakota

63 degrees this morning and the decision has been made.....we are headed to the lower 48......

 Wheat and harvest trucks

 They are busy in the fields

 White Sands Bird Preserve

lots of small towns 

Weyburn....grain capital of Canada

 Canadian/US customs stations in North Portal ND

 Big place which surprised us

 They let us back into the lower 48

Bugs and all

Day 109  Minot ND to Ashby MN.....I didn't compete with the bugs today

 Early in North Dakota

 Evening in Minnesota

Small quiet park

Day 110  Ashby Minnesota to Madison Wisconsin...54 degrees this morning...want to arrive in Minneapolis after rush hour....

 Minneapolis here we are

 Traffic is good

 Into Wisconsin

And the KOA in Madison Wisconsin

Day 111.....we are headed to Marion Illinois....435 miles away......Labor Day weekend.....September 3rd is a big day as Dorie turns 9 years old and is starting school Monday as a 4th grader.  She is at the beach with friends and having a big time....

 leaving Wisconsin

 Hello Illinois

 we were on the boat the last time we saw the Illinois River

Just carry your BUD with you

We are home.....111 days on the road.....5,514 miles on the truck and 10,440 on the coach......

We loved our trip!!!!!!!!  And, I think I will leave it at that..... 

Thanks for watching my blog..... 

McBride BC to Calgary AB

Starting the day at 57 degrees.....heat wave....summer is here.....8AM and we are headed to Calgary...on the Yellowhead Highway....commonly known as Highway 16...

 McBride is located in Robson Valley by the Fraser River

 Agriculture is a main stay of the local economy

 we have rain and low clouds but it isn't snowing

 coming into Mount Robson Provincial Park

 and the visitor's center

Mount Robson  12,972 feet

 highest peak in the Canadian Rockies

and the mountain is hiding

 Moose Lake

 And Yes....it is raining

Beautiful lake even in the rain

Mount Fitzwilliam

Yellowhead Pass  3,760 feet

 leaving Mount Robson without seeing the mountain

Oh Me!!!!

 Entering Jasper National Park

 Turn South on the scenic Highway 93 (Icefield's Parkway)

 to Columbia Icefield, Lake Louise, Banff

 and Trans-Canada Highway 1 to Calgary

 We are on our way to view ALL the scenic sites

 one of the most scenic drives in North America

 park campgrounds open from May thru September

 depending upon snow levels and bear sightings

wherever you look there is something different to see

glaciers everywhere

waterfalls coming down the mountains

Glacier Skywalk leads to a glass-floored observation platform

918 feet above the Sunwapta Valley

 Captain and Saddi said "No Way are we walking out there"

on down the road to Columbia Icefield

 The glaciers are fingers of the giant Columbia Icefield

which covers 241 square miles

something to see

 you can see people at the toe

 Columbia Icefield Discovery Center

 Look at all the tour busses

summertime very busy with tourist traffic

and there are people everywhere....it's a zoo

 Sunwapta Pass  6,676 feet

 second highest point on the Icefield's Parkway

that's our road ,,,,,down there

down we go

 weeping wall

Some color

 coming up Bow Pass

 Bow Summit  6,849 feet

highest point on the Icefield's Parkway

Bow Lake

 turquoise-colored waters

Pulpit Peak  8,940 feet rises above Bow Lake

 we are bypassing Lake Louise today

too many cars for a coach towing a pickup truck

 large animal crossing....parkway fenced

 Banff National Park established in 1885

 This resort town attracts 2.5 million visitors every year

Trans-Canada Highway 1

Canadian Rockies meet the prairie in Calgary

climate with the most sunny days of any major Canadian city

Calgary is the gateway to the Canadian Rockies

no reservation as we have no cell service

what a charming day

the first time we visited this area was 25-years ago in the Southwind

Enough Enough.....we stayed at Calgary West Campground....30 Amp....no cell service.....no Wi-Fi at our site and that's my story....

Tomorrow we head across Canada on Trans-Canada Highway 1......8,177 miles at this stop.....

This is my last hurrah on my Alaska Adventures......One more post when we get home