Scenic Drive Movie - Col du Petit St. Bernard, Italy & France - Oct. 2012

Better late than never (yes, I am way behind in my posts but now that we are sequestered away in our charming Paris flat, I should begin to catch up!) 

A scenic drive across the Col du Petit St. Bernard from Italy into France, including a quick look at a mobile milking station!

-K

Scenic Drive - Slovenia

Despite sitting outside Cinque Terre (in the lovely town of Levanto), thought I'd throw-back to August and post a short scenic drive video filmed as we entered Slovenia.  

-K

DITL & Scenic Drive - Hondarribia, Spain & Fundao, Portugal, April 2012

Better late than never, I guess!  A combination scenic drive and day in the life video from three weeks ago.  (It is difficult to find a good WIFI connection from which to upload these gems.)

-K

B.C. to Alberta, Canada - Dec. 9-11, 2011

More Pictures!


Fortunately, our longest drive day yet (340 miles!) was also one of the most beautiful.  Unfortunately, Bloggie ran out of juice half-way through the trip!  But here's a quick scenic drive, Nelson, B.C. to just before Banff, Alberta:

Our lessons are coming in handy now -- as long as we remember to practice them!  But we did on this trip; calling the SpringHill RV Park in Cochrane on our way to make sure that they were open.  "Indeed we are!", replied the very helpful Bonnie, but they need 24 hours notice so they can clear a site.  


This information came to us in about hour 7 (and 300 miles), I'm sure Bonnie could hear disappointment in my voice.  But she was a doll:   She went outside in the dark, cold night to see if one of their sites might be cleared of snow thanks to the wind--and sure enough it was.  So we headed her way as fast as we could. (By the way, this was the last time we gave thanks to that Cochrane wind!)


We arrived just as she was locking up for the night, but that didn't stop her from welcoming us, showing us around and making sure we got settled into our pitch.  A warm welcome like that after so many hours on the road was delightful.  (Please visit the campground page at the top of the blog for specific information about the park, but click here for a photo of our pitch, and here for a photo of the park--remember it was December!)


Our time in Calgary was family related so we didn't do any tourist-y things, although we did enjoy a nice walk along the river in Cochrane, where everyone let their dogs run free.  Also, if you happen to be in the Marda Loop region, check out Phil and Sebastian Coffee (unbelievably good coffee in a great setting) and the wine store in Mac's shopping center (helpful staff and tons of great wines.)


What we did was spend an inordinate amount of time trying to keep Salt from freezing.  The Airstream comes with heated tanks, so they were o.k. but the lines exiting the coach (oh yes Kim, I wrote "coach!") are unprotected.  Further documentation of our freezing and de-frosting will be covered in the "Great Falls, Montana" posting.


-K

Scenic Drive - Coulee Corridor, WA, USA

A brief look at portions of the "Coulee Corridor" along Highways 17 and 155-N in Washington, USA.

Also posted on our Movies! Page

Moses Lake, WA, USA to Grand Forks, B.C., Canada – Dec. 1-2, 2011

Such amazing scenery!  We have travelled from Seattle to Canada many times before but never have we come this way—it is highly recommended!  We selected this route in anticipation of 1) enjoying the sunshine of Eastern Washington and #2) seeing the Grand (emphasis intended, as Alan keeps reminding me) Coulee Dam.  What we didn't anticipate was the beauty of the drive from Moses Lake to Grand Forks.

Starting out in Moses Lake, we hopped on the “Coulee Corridor” (Scenic Drive Movie coming soon!), Highway 17 North toward Soap Lake.  The beauty really does start at Soap Lake—driving through the coulee (which Alan learned is an ancient river bed formed by melting ice from the Ice Age) is quite impressive.  Just open, rolling hills above you as you drive near the bottom of the coulee—it’s like driving through the bottom of the Grand Canyon but on a smaller scale.  A must stop is Dry Falls, and you all know me, I am not fond of tourist-y stops, but it really is something to see.  (It is filmed as the ending of the Scenic Drive, but the light was getting low so I don’t know how much of the grandeur made it through the lens.)

After all this natural beauty, the Grand Coulee Dam, although enormous, was a bit of a let-down for me.  It is not pleasing to the eye like Hoover Dam, having at least four different sections with variable-looking concrete finishes.  Not pleasing to the eye at all.  But the Visitors Center is worth a stop to see all the photos from the 1940’s and the equipment used to build the behemoth.

After that man-made marvel (ahem), we set out along Highway 155 north to Nespelem where Simon (our GPS unit) directed us onto a questionable looking road:  The cut-through to Highway 21 (cuts through the Colville Indian Reservation.)  This stretch was sketchy—a nice road, but this time of year it held a bit of ice and snow so it was slow going.  But I love, love, loved the area leading out of Nespelem:  So gorgeous with their soft amber hills beautifully defined by the occasional copse of pine trees. 

Once we joined up with Highway 21 North, it became quite tree filled (i.e., can’t see much) until you leave the Reservation, then you are treated to some of the most gorgeous river-side farm land I have yet to come across.  There is not much in terms of services up this way, so make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave the Grand Coulee Dam area.

Our second day (Coulee City to Grand Forks, B.C., Canada—my homeland!) we drove 120 miles, arriving around 3:00 p.m. at the Victorian Motel and RV Park, whose highway-front sign promised, "The most friendly staff.”  They did not disappoint (although try finding an unfriendly Canadian!  Even the border patrol was nice.)  The water is turned off at the pitches this time of year but the electricity, showers and bathrooms, as well as the fly-fishing store, are open year-round.   

Since we left Coulee City with a full tank of water and an empty grey tank (yes, we are learning!  See Carpe Diem posting) we were good to stay with just electricity.  We pulled in (over the ice and snow berm), turned the heater on, took the dogs for a short walk (along the Trans-Canada Trial in which Alan refuses to believe--yes, despite signs--won't he be surprised by that link!), then returned to a toasty Salt for sun-downers and chips to celebrate Salt's foray into a foreign country.

I do love my homeland.  I’m just saying.

-K 

Scenic Drive - The Farm (Northern Oregon)

Thanks again to Sue and Rick for their wonderful hospitality (and their permission to post this video!)

-K

Scenic Drive - Oregon Coast - Nov. 19, 2011

Rainy but still interesting . . . .

Also available on our Movies! Page