On the Road with Fred and Barb - Newsletter #1
May 15-17,2003 Las Vegas to Great Falls, Montana
After
months of planning and work, we are finally on the road again. Mammoth
(our 35 ft. Safari motorhome) is packed to the gills. This year we left
the mopeds and bikes at home but we've added a portaboat on top of the
car. Fred is determined to catch some Alaska Salmon, trout and whatever
else will take his bait. Most RV's our size don't come with a spare tire
because the tires are so large they would be too hard to change. But there
was no way we were going to attempt a drive to Alaska without one. So
when we bought 6 new tires this year we kept the 2 best old ones as spares
and are carrying them on the moped rack. Would you believe a fully inflated
spare weighs 180 lbs.! No way we can change a flat but at least we'll
have the spare for roadside assistance to do their thing.
We
are traveling with one other RV. Robbie and Steve Grange, along with their
2 Shiatsu's, GG and Gizmo, are in a 35 ft. Winnebago Adventurer. Barbara
worked with Steve at NCR back in the 70's. They moved to Vegas the same
month we did and we renewed our friendship. They have been taking long
RV trips for the past 2 years just like us. Decided it would be fun to
join up for this adventure. Like Fred, Steve is an Engineer so the two
of them are having fun keeping the rigs in fine shape. Both Robbie and
Barb are the mapper/planners and seem to think alike on where to go and
what to see.
This
year Fred was inducted into the Elks so we have an additional source of
camping spots. Many of the Elks clubs across the country have parking
for RV's. Some even offer electric, water and sewer hookups. Besides the
low cost to camp, the Elks Clubs offer very inexpensive and delicious
meals. We stayed at the Elks Club in Provo, Utah the first night and in
Idaho Falls the second night. To our delight, Idaho Falls Elks had a country/western
band that night so we got to practice our dance steps.
While
in Idaho Falls, we took a nice walk along the Snake River to view the
falls.
Then visited the famous T-Rex dinosaur, Sue, which was on exhibit at
the local museum. This is the largest, most complete T-Rex ever unearthed.
Idaho
is famous for potatoes so we thought it appropriate to stop at the Idaho
Potato Expo in Blackfoot, ID. Blackfoot is the Potato Capital of the World,
producing one-third of the potatoes grown in the US. A very informative
video explained the big business of growing, harvesting and delivering
potatoes. The expo is also home to the world's largest potato Chip according
to the Guinness Book
The drive from Idaho Falls to Great Falls, Montana on I-15 was very scenic.
The mountains are still snow covered. And the newborn calves and lambs
dotting the countryside were so cute.
This
morning we woke up to SNOW! About an inch covered the ground and it is
still coming down . Good thing we had planned to stay an extra night here
before crossing the border into Canada.
Next stop: Edmonton, Alberta
LESSONS LEARNED: Yes, we've already had one! Leaving the Elks Club in
Idaho Falls, we discovered too late that the driveway out had a big dip.
It was either unhook the car and back up to get to another exit or take
it slow and hope we didn't scrape bottom. Unfortunately we chose the latter
course of action and despite careful, slow driving, hit bottom. Wouldn't
have been too bad except the wiring cable connecting the motorhome and
car lights got caught between the pavement and the tow bar and was severed.
Fred must have had a premonition this morning because he had put on his
Mr. Fix-It T-Shirt. Fortunately, he was able to splice in some new wiring
that will get us by until we can find a new cable at the next RV parts
store. Guess we should have unhooked! Better yet, check out the exit choices
beforehand.
Steve and Robbie also had a "lessons learned" experience. Leaving
Provo, their refrigerator door opened up, spilling contents onto the floor.
The worst was the orange juice container. They are still finding sticky
spots!
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