Well, we are back in Edmonton. Wouldn't you know that the only bad weather (except for winds) that we encountered was on entering Canada!
Customs agent was more interested in whether we had had any repairs done on our vehicles in the U.S. than anything else. Guess you have to pay GST and duty on repair work! When entering the U.S., border agents come out to your vehicle and talk to you politely, and welcome you to USA. On entering Canada, fat agent sits in booth and is barely polite.
Things we have noticed along the way:
1. Americans seem polite, quick to talk to strangers, and generally helpfull;
2. American truckers have better road manners than Canadian truckers;
3. A lot of people in US seem to be nervous about Obama health plans;
4. Despite recession, people in both countries are still spending plenty on entertainment;
5. Cost of living in US cities we visited is lower than in Canada (a lot lower).
Now we will start planning our next trip, and settling on our business ideas. Will also see how difficult it is to settle back into living in one place with Miranda.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Return
Last night we stayed at the Walmart in Pocatello, Idaho. Not much to report except that the parking lot was very small for a Walmart, and we had to squeeze ourselves in. We did buy a cheap microwave, and a nice toaster/ convection oven, so now Marlene can cook a full repetoir of recipes again!
We arrived in Great Falls, Montana a couple of hours ago. This Walmart has a huge parking lot, and there are a lot of RV's here tonight. Marlene cooked minestrone soup, lasagna, garlic toast, and salad.
Expect to hit the border tomorrow morning, and be back in Edmonton Friday a.m.
We arrived in Great Falls, Montana a couple of hours ago. This Walmart has a huge parking lot, and there are a lot of RV's here tonight. Marlene cooked minestrone soup, lasagna, garlic toast, and salad.
Expect to hit the border tomorrow morning, and be back in Edmonton Friday a.m.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Yesterday was our last day on the salt here at Bonneville. We watched the action on the courses from about the 2 mile marker of the long course, and had a great view. There were quite a few 300+ mph runs.
Ben seemed to get a lot of attention, which he liked of course, including having his picture taken, being coddled, petted, and OOOHHH'd over! Since Ben has now been to Speed Week, he is officially a "salty dog".
We walked through the pits one last time, and bought some tee shirts. Many of the competitors have left, if they have set a new record, or realized that they weren't going to this year. They'll head home and work on improving their cars for next year.
We are also heading for home today. We hope to be back in Edmonton on Friday afternoon. Hope we have no more mechanical trouble. Yesterday our convection microwave oven quit working, and our batteries are not taking a charge properly. One of the things we've decided is that before we hit the road in October for the winter, we will install 5 new batteries, and a solar panel. We are going to replace the convection/ microwave with a separate convection oven and microwave setup, so if one dies the other will still work.
If service is available, we'll log on from Idaho next. Stay tuned...
Ben seemed to get a lot of attention, which he liked of course, including having his picture taken, being coddled, petted, and OOOHHH'd over! Since Ben has now been to Speed Week, he is officially a "salty dog".
We walked through the pits one last time, and bought some tee shirts. Many of the competitors have left, if they have set a new record, or realized that they weren't going to this year. They'll head home and work on improving their cars for next year.
We are also heading for home today. We hope to be back in Edmonton on Friday afternoon. Hope we have no more mechanical trouble. Yesterday our convection microwave oven quit working, and our batteries are not taking a charge properly. One of the things we've decided is that before we hit the road in October for the winter, we will install 5 new batteries, and a solar panel. We are going to replace the convection/ microwave with a separate convection oven and microwave setup, so if one dies the other will still work.
If service is available, we'll log on from Idaho next. Stay tuned...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A Day on the Salt
Today the sky was clear, and we expected it to get hot. After applying plenty of SPF50 sunscreen, and packing a lunch and lots of water, we took Ben and drove to the track, arriving at about 9:00.
This time we set up our little viewing area near the 3 mile marker of the long course. Plenty of 250-300 mph runs expected today. We weren't sure how Ben would take to the salt, but he did O.K. His biggest problem was that with no grass within 30 miles he didn't have anywhere to poop! At least he had no shortage of tires to pee on.
The sun reflected off the salt is blistering, and we were glad we'd brought our sun umbrellas. Interesting that the salt itself is cool to the touch.
After we got settled in, plenty of people arrived and set up around us, including a group of bikers from England who built a sun shade out of tarps and extending poles. They were travelling 150 miles each way daily to see the races. Not a bad bunch of guys, we had some fun with them.
After about 5 hours of watching the cars roar past, we had enough, plus we really needed to find a porta potti that wasn't overflowing, so we took the car and cruised along the pit area. Lots of cool cars to see today. Tomorrow we'll set up near the start lines. The speeds at the start are slow, but it gives a better chance to see the competitors up close while running.
Tonight the annual 200 mph club party took place at "the bend in the road". There were free burgers, but we decided to forego the long line-up and make our own dinner. There are some young "rat-rodders" from Alberta nearby, but their rowdy friends from Utah are a bit vulgar and Marlene's delicate sensibilities made us decline their invitation to party with them.
After dark people started setting off fireworks all around the encampment. It was a spectacular display that went on for over an hour. These folks really like their fireworks! This temporary camp has a population we estimate at over 3000 people. At the hotels in Wendover, Salt Lake City, and other nearby towns there are probably 20,000 people all here for the racing. We're posting lots of pictures, but not all that we took. Hope you enjoy them.
This time we set up our little viewing area near the 3 mile marker of the long course. Plenty of 250-300 mph runs expected today. We weren't sure how Ben would take to the salt, but he did O.K. His biggest problem was that with no grass within 30 miles he didn't have anywhere to poop! At least he had no shortage of tires to pee on.
The sun reflected off the salt is blistering, and we were glad we'd brought our sun umbrellas. Interesting that the salt itself is cool to the touch.
After we got settled in, plenty of people arrived and set up around us, including a group of bikers from England who built a sun shade out of tarps and extending poles. They were travelling 150 miles each way daily to see the races. Not a bad bunch of guys, we had some fun with them.
After about 5 hours of watching the cars roar past, we had enough, plus we really needed to find a porta potti that wasn't overflowing, so we took the car and cruised along the pit area. Lots of cool cars to see today. Tomorrow we'll set up near the start lines. The speeds at the start are slow, but it gives a better chance to see the competitors up close while running.
Tonight the annual 200 mph club party took place at "the bend in the road". There were free burgers, but we decided to forego the long line-up and make our own dinner. There are some young "rat-rodders" from Alberta nearby, but their rowdy friends from Utah are a bit vulgar and Marlene's delicate sensibilities made us decline their invitation to party with them.
After dark people started setting off fireworks all around the encampment. It was a spectacular display that went on for over an hour. These folks really like their fireworks! This temporary camp has a population we estimate at over 3000 people. At the hotels in Wendover, Salt Lake City, and other nearby towns there are probably 20,000 people all here for the racing. We're posting lots of pictures, but not all that we took. Hope you enjoy them.
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