Day Eighteen of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

Today marked the beginning of the home stretch for our 395, Trans-Canada, and Lincoln Highway road trip. So far we have travelled about 6,800 miles and coved a lot of road. We have seen prairies, mountains, fall foliage, and grain silos. We have had an accident with our 2001 Toyota Van and completed the trip with a new Ford Expedition from Enterprise Car Rental. To date I have posted 937 photos — about 40% of the total I have taken. For the most part the weather has been clear and mild.

On this 18^th day we travelled on US 50 from Wendover, Utah to Reno, Nevada. US 50 follows the trace of the Lincoln Highway and is known as the loneliest highway in the United States, and believe me it is. It goes southwesterly from Wendover to Reno and crosses some of the most desolate lands in Nevada. The road is good and mostly straight. It goes through a few towns like Ely, Eureka and Austin before reaching Fallon, Nevada. We were lucky to find a café in Austin that offered good, inexpensive food.

Outside of these few towns and an old pony express station it was a very boring, uneventful drive. We arrived in Reno at 5:00 pm, checked into our hotel, and jelled out for the night.

Tomorrow we will climb the Sierras on I-80 to Sacramento and then on Thursday we will head for home on I-5. Kathy and I are now looking forward to getting home. We have a lot to do including swapping our rental car for a more economical vehicle and buying another van. We will have a busy weekend.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till Wednesday night.

Days Sixteen and Seventeen of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

Day sixteen took us through Nebraska and into Wyoming. It was a Sunday and the day dawned clear and cool. Traffic was light and we left Ogallala on Route 30 and headed west through the fields of corn and numerous grain silos. There was not too much in a historic nature to see except a renovated 1930’s service station on Ogallala and an old hotel in Big Springs.

As we were breezing along on this beautiful morning listening to our Sirius satellite radio looking forward to listening to the NFL games including the Rams-Packers game we got a shock. The radio lost reception and a message flashed on the information panel that we needed to call Sirius. We pulled over in Chappell, NE and called the 800 number indicated. We were told that the free introductory period had run out and we would need to buy a subscription to continue to enjoy the radio programming.

The customer service representative was very helpful and after several minutes of negotiation we were able to purchase a one month subscription for $10.00. This we did and continued on our way along the Lincoln Highway with the NFL station booming away. Of course the Rams lost to the Packers but it was nice listening to the games while driving the interstate. It relieves the boredom.

The scenery did not change much as we entered Wyoming at Pine Bluffs but we began to lose some of the original Lincoln Highway and had to jump over to Interstate 80. There was not too much to see except trucks and there were plenty of them. We did pass the big Sinclair refinery at Sinclair, WY before joining Interstate 80.

We reached the Continental Divide around 3:30 and took some photos of the Henry Joy Plaques at the Divide. Henry Joy was the president of the Packard Motor Company and big advocate of the Lincoln Highway. From the Divide we battled the trucks to our motel in Green River. At green river we ate at an authentic 1950’s diner.

Today we were on the road by 7:30 am and heading for Utah on Interstate 80. Our first stop was for a good cup of coffee at Little America on I-80. This is a complex of a service station, trading post, truck stop and motel that was rebuilt after the original Little America, on the Lincoln Highway, burnt to the ground in 1970.

We breezed through the rest of Wyoming and crossed into Utah and I-80. One of the things I like with Utah is their rest stops. They are clean and always allow you a chance to walk about and enjoy Utah’s magnificent scenery. We bypassed Salt Lake City on I-80 and followed along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake passing the 1,125 foot high smoke stack of the Kennecott Copper Company’s copper smelting complex and the Bonneville Salt Flats on our way to Wendover, UT.

After we checked into our motel we made a visit to the U.S. Army Air Force Base at Wendover. It was at this base that thousands of young men were trained to fly and navigate B-17, B-24, and B-29 bombers during World War II. It was also the base where Coronel Paul Tibbits trained his crew to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

The base is no longer operational and there is a small museum where you can see some of the memorabilia and models of the base, the Enola Gay B-29 and the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. As I had relatives and friends who were trained at his base it was quite an experience to see where they learned to fly those flying fortresses.

After touring the base we ventured over the state line to West Wendover and the Montego Bay Hotel and Casino where we enjoyed a great buffet dinner and Kathy did some gambling while I watched the Jets-Dolphins game in the sports bar.

Tomorrow we will head south to Reno, Nevada and then on to Sacramento.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till Tuesday night.

Day Fourteen and Fifteen of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

After a good night’s sleep at the Comfort Inn in Dixon, Illinois we were on the road by 7:00 am and heading for Iowa. The two things I had to do today were to forget about the accident with our van and get used to driving the behemoth Ford Expedition. The toughest thing to get used to was getting in and out. You need a step ladder to climb into the driver’s seat. Once on the road it is not too bad to drive, especially on the Interstates. You also have to get used to parking it. Another annoying thins is pulling up to the gas pumps. The vehicle is longer than you think and I have to pull past the pump farther than I am used to get the hose into the filler spout, which does not have a cap. It is designed for the new nozzles and you just insert the gas nozzle into the filler spout.

Iowa is flat and devoid of many trees. There is, however, a lot of corn. As we drove along the Lincoln Highway, Route 30, we saw fields and fields of corn. Some fields were being harvested while others were still waiting for the harvesting machines.

We only had a few miles left in Illinois until we reached the Mississippi River and crossed over into Iowa. But before we crossed we stopped at the Dutch windmill on the banks of the river. This windmill is there because a Dutch fellow with a love of windmills built it. It is a working windmill and one of the workers opened it up and gave us a tour of the interior of the mill. We saw the workings and how it ground the grain into flour. Due to the mills height above the river I was able to get some good shots of the river.

The Iowa DOT does a good job of marking the Lincoln Highway. It was very easy to follow the route with the numerous signs along the road. There was nothing really spectacular in Iowa except the section of the original brick paving on the Lincoln Highway and the numerous grain silos.

We reached Carter Lake, Iowa and ended our day of travel across Iowa at the Nebraska border at Omaha and the Missouri River. Much to our chagrin our motel was by the airport and there was a marked lack of restaurants so we went to the local Subway for dinner.

Today we were up early and ready to meet Nebraska. The Lincoln Highway in Nebraska pretty much follows Route 30. The day was clear and warm with a high of 85 degrees. Nebraska has more corn fields than you can imagine. All along the route there are fields of corn, farms and grain silos. It is amazing how much corn is grown here. We were also following the route of the Union Pacific Railroad and we saw at least twenty trains of 80 cars or more containing tank cars loaded with ethanol, corn and coal. Where the coal was coming from I don’t know, but there was plenty of it.

Along the way I stopped by a dealer selling farm machinery and talked with a young man who was fixing a harvesting machine. Los Angeles has their BMW and Mercedes dealers. Nebraska has their John Deere, Case, Massey Ferguson, GMC, and Ford dealers. Almost everyone drives a big pickup truck and I found out that most of the farmers own their farm machinery.

These harvesting machines are like luxury cars. The cabs are air conditioned and equipped with radios, GPS and other comfort items. A Gleaner harvesting machine runs about $250,000. This is quite a pop for a corn farmer as he also has a $100,000 tractor and several other expensive pieces of equipment. The farms also have a complex of silos to store the grain.

People, especially the elite, laugh at these farmers. Because they do not have a degree from Princeton, Harvard, Yale, or Columbia those who do look down their noses at the people who feed us. These farmers work dawn to dusk seven days a week to plant, fertilize, care for and harvest the grains and beans we buy at the supermarket at the lowest prices in the world. They fight the government, taxes and the weather to give us our daily bread. They are generally conservative, patriotic and good care takers of the land God gave them.

The corn we saw looked like it was dead, but upon closer inspection it was not. Most of the corn we saw is used either for cattle feed, corn syrup or ethanol. Corn leads all other crops in value and volume of production. Here are some more interesting facts about corn:

• Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota account for over 50 percent of the corn grown in the U.S.
• Corn is a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, snack foods and soft drinks.
• Each year, a single U.S. farmer provides food and fiber for 129 people - 97 in the U.S. and 32 overseas.
• In the U.S., corn production measures more than 2 times that of any other crop.
• Over 55% of Iowa's corn goes to foreign markets. The rest is used in other parts of the United States
• The United States produces 333 million tons of corn each year and the closest competitor is China at 163 million.

As you can see corn is a very important crop in the United States and the farmers of Iowa and Nebraska make a major contribution

Our last stop on the Lincoln Highway was Buffalo Bill’s house in North Platte, NE. Unfortunately the house was closed and we did not get to go inside. The house was built in 1886 and is quite ornate and picturesque.

Our stop for the night was at the Super-8 motel in Ogallala, Nebraska. Tomorrow we will head west through Nebraska and enter into Wyoming.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till Saturday night.

Day Eight and Nine of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

These would be two days of visiting my niece Cindy and her husband Vic and son Paul at their home in Cicero, New York. We had been looking forward to this visit for the last five days and were anxious to spend time with them and catch up on family issues.

Before we arrived at their home we made two stops. The first was to visit the 1812 battlefield of Sackets Harbor just east of Watertown and the second stop was at an urgent care center. I’ll begin with the visit to Sackets Harbor.

This day was day was another gorgeous day with clear blue skies and mild temperatures. Sackets Harbor sits on the southern shore of Lake Ontario and was the site of a land and naval battle between the U.S, Navy and the British and Canadian forces in the war of 1812. Sackets Harbor is also the site of some beautiful homes, pleasant streets and a marina.

Kathy and I spent about an hour walking the entire state park and taking photos of the historic homes, monuments, informational plaques, and the burgeoning fall colors. The red barn set against the blue sky and lush green grass was especially impressive.

After leaving Sackets Harbor we wandered the back roads of Jefferson County past the farms and neat homes along the country roads. The fresh air and smells of freshly cut grass brought back memories of living in the outskirts of Cleveland and wandering the roads of Cuyahoga County in the autumn. It was a great experience.

Returning to Watertown we stopped at a Target store to see if the pharmacist could give Kathy something for her eye that was irritated and red. The Pharmacist told her eye was infected and she needed to see a physician. But, before leaving the store I picked up a calculator so Kathy did not have to long hand division to calculate our gas mileage and one of those magic window cleaners to keep our windshield sparkling.

Thanks to the GPS we located an urgent care facility in Watertown and after navigating the meandering city streets we found the urgent care facility. We walked in and were greeted by a helpful receptionist who took down all of Kathy’s information and medical insurance information. We had no problems with the medical insurance and after about a 20 minute wait we saw a physician’s assistant named Kerri who immediately diagnosed the problem as an eye infection (red eye) and prescribed some antibiotic eye drops which we purchased at the local Walgreens pharmacy for $40.00. Kathy has to use one drop in each eye three times each day for eight days and make sure she keeps her hands clean with antiseptic hand cleaner. After one day I can already see an improvement in her eye.

We left Watertown and drove for just over an hour to Vic and Cindy’s home in Cicero, NY. They have a great home on 12 acres right off State Route 31. The home is set back about 100 yards off the road and is surrounded by big trees.

Vic, Cindy and Paul greeted us with enthusiasm and made us feel right at home. When we arrived Vic and Paul were building their hot tub enclosure at the rear of the house. Vis is a military engineer who works on defense projects for Navy, but he finds time to serve as a Boy Scout Leader, volunteer fireman, carpenter, brick mason, tile layer, and general all around handyman. He has boundless energy and, along with Cindy and Paul, he has built most of his house. I envy him his talent and energy.

Vic is not only a great builder he also does a lot of the cooking and baking. He made us delicious lasagna on Saturday night along with an apple pie from scratch. This morning he got up early and whipped up some omelets for us. I always knew Cindy married well.

Paul is an Eagle Scout and a senior in high school. He hopes to get into Ohio State to study aerospace engineering. I am sure he will do well in whatever he does. He is a great young man who is well grounded thanks to the great parenting of Vic and Cindy. I wanted to mention he should look into civil engineering due to his love of building stuff and Ohio State has a good CE program. That will be up to Paul to figure out and I am sure he will choose his passion.

After a very hospitable stay with Vic, Cindy and Paul (oh I almost forgot Midnight, their black Lab) we departed for York, Pennsylvania at 10:00 am. Our first stop was a car wash to get all of those Canadian bugs off of the car. Then Dunkin Donuts for a coffee for the road. We took I-81 south and headed for York, PA. The drive was easy, but the traffic was heavy, it looked as though everyone was on the road this Sunday, Perhaps it was the weather and the thought that this might be the last good weekend of the year. On our drive south on I-81 we passed two Tim Hortons in New York, I thought we saw the last of them in Canada, but obviously the Canadians have invaded New York once again. No, we did not stop at Tim Hortons, we had enough of them. Instead we stopped at a Subway for a meatball sandwich for lunch. Fortunately I had loaded up with antacids for the trip. The sandwich was good, but it lasted for a long time.

The fall colors are just now coming into full bloom and we are finally seeing the reds of the oaks. When we crossed in Pennsylvania we began to encounter the usual construction zones with their forest of orange barrels. If you want to make some good investments look for companies that make those barrels. You will not go wrong. When we got around Harrisburg it got squirrely with the construction, detours and constant turnoffs. Vic warned me that road work in Pennsylvania was never done and he was right on.

We arrived at our Super-8 in York PA at 16:30 and got settled in before looking for a dinner spot. The Indian desk clerk recommended the Round the Clock Diner just up the road from the hotel. The food was good and the prices very reasonable. After returning to the hotel we watched the Cardinals and Jets lose and now I am watching the Packers and Falcons. I think the Falcons will win, but you will know if I was correct when you read this blog. Since this was a bye week for the Rams I did not have to get frustrated today.

Tomorrow (Monday) we will begin our trek along the Historic Lincoln Highway. I hope we have the same weather we have had so far and I have good luck finding the historic places I have marked on my maps.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till Monday night.

Day Six and Seven of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

I did not post a blog yesterday as we got in to our hotel at Lake Kirkland late. We left Thunder Bay at 7:30 am and after a few stops for sightseeing and a picnic lurch we did not arrive at Lake Kirkland until 8:30 pm. It was a long drive but the weather was fantastic and scenery in northern Ontario was great.

It was an uneventful day. No car problems, just numerous road closures where we were diverted to those one-lane deals due to road construction. It seems that the Canadians are working feverishly to complete all of their road repairs before the first snow fall. Believe me, many of their roads need these repairs. The heavy truck traffic is had on these two lane roads.

Canadians are lousy drivers. they either drive too fast or too slow and the trucks are always driving over the limit. I had a conversation with a fellow this morning in the breakfast room of the Comfort Inn and he told me that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will normalcy ignore 10 to 15 kilometers per hour over the 90 k/per hour limit on the open roads. So I drove 10-15 kph over the limit. I did not see one OPP car until I reached Ottawa and it was going in the opposite direction.

The two-lane roads have 1 or 2 kilometer passing lanes about every 20 kilometers or so and this is where you get around the trucks and slow pokes. Believe me, they are welcome sights.

Just outside of Thunder Bay is the memorial to Terry Fox, the fellow with one leg who ran across Canada to raise money for the fight against cancer. It was quite impressive. Terry lost his right leg to cancer with an above the knee amputation and decided to run across Canada to raise money. He only got half way before the cancer returned and he was not able to make it all of the way. He was awarded many international honors for his brave endeavor.

We stopped for our picnic lunch at a very scenic spot at Longlac in the community of Greenstone. These picnic lunch stops not only save us money but more importantly they allow us time to walk about and take photos after sitting in the car for several hours. As long as the weather stays like it has been we will most defiantly continue with these picnic lunch stops.

Two things Canadians say a lot are “hey” and “for sure.” If you ask a Canadian a question like how far is the next gas station they will answer “ about a kilometer up the road hey for sure.”

When we checked into our hotel last night the desk clerk used about 25 “heys” and numerous “for sures.” It was driving me crazy.

Along the road to the border we passed Smooth Water Lake where the water was like a giant mirror with absolutely no ripples at all. I had to stop to take a few photos of this extremely picturesque spot. The reflections in the water were fantastic.

Today, according to the GPS we were scheduled to arrive at our hotel in Watertown, New York about 3:30 pm. We did not arrive until 6:30 due to two things. One was the numerous construction sites and the other was the border crossing at Ogdenburg and the Prescott Bridge. Things were going good until we arrived at the ICE check point and the customs officer told us we had been selected by the computer for a car check and told us to pull out of line and park in a designated area. We then had to go inside the building and answer a bunch of questions while the ICE officer went out and cheeked the vehicle. Obviously they did not find anything, but the entire procedure took about 30 minutes. I think I garnered his sympathies when I told him about the problem with the spare tire and fuel tank shield. He told us he had the same problem while on vacation in North Carolina last year, except he hit a 2x4 in the highway.

In our five days of driving across Canada we covered 2,637 miles and went through the provinces of British Columbia (partial) Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and most of Ontario. We stopped at Tim Hortons for lunch or breakfast five times and had two picnic lunches along the way. We saw a million birch trees in full fall color and learned a bit about the politics in Ontario where there were parliamentary elections on Thursday. We learned that the Liberals were the liberals, the Progressive Conservatives were the right of center and the NDP was really left of center.

We did not see any Mexicans, but we did see Indians (from India) and Orientals in the service industries, i.e. counter and restaurant staff. We heard hundreds of “heys” and “for sures” and meet a lot of nice people. We also drove through three time zones.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with Vic and Cindy LaRosa at their home in Cicero, New York and then on Sunday will drive to York Pennsylvania where we will join up with the historic Lincoln Highway and begin our westward journey.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till Sunday night.

Day Four and Five of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

I did not post a blog yesterday as we got in to our lousy motel late and I was too tired to blog so I am combining days four and five with this post.

Yesterday had us driving from Medicine Hat, Alberta to Winnipeg, Manitoba. We passed through the flat prairie lands of Alberta and Saskatchewan and saw lots of rolled hay, cows, and grain elevators. We had dual highway all of the way so we were not bothered by the millions of semi-trailer trucks on the road. We also had a speed limit of 110 kph through Alberta and Saskatchewan. When we entered Manitoba the speed limit dropped to 100 and I haven’t the slightest idea why. It was the same road with the same conditions. It’s seems Manitoba wants everyone to slow down. This did not bother the trucks as they kept going 110 and so did I

We stopped in Moose Jaw at Tim Hortons for lunch. There are Tim Hortons all throughout Canada. It’s sort of a buffet fast food joint and bakery where you get breakfast all day and sandwiches if you don’t want breakfast. We hit this Tim Hortons at lunch time when the local high school had let out for lunch and had to deal with the unruly and urchin looking Canadian high school kids. It appeared everyone in Moose Jaw bought their clothes at the local thrift shop and they never washed their trucks. Yes most of the people in Alberta and Saskatchewan drive pickup truck or SUVs. It’s farm country. No smart cars here.

After lunch we stopped at the information center and got some books on Moose Jaw and Saskatchewan, I also took photos of the 9-meter high moose. In the information center there was a replica of a Canadian Pacific locomotive made of Styrofoam. It was really quite fascinating how much detail the artist was able to get from the stuff coffee cups are made of.

Once on the road again we had a long haul to Winnipeg and the only hotel we could get reservations at, A Howard Johnson with a restaurant. Due the time change from Mountain Standard to Central we lost an hour and got to the motel at 20:30 hours. We checked in and had the usual second floor room with no elevator. I hate these second floor rooms. The restaurant was supposed to be open until 10 pm, but when we attempted to open the door we found it was closed. I guess the staff decoded to go home early.

The room was big but that’s the only positive thing I can say about the Ho-Jo hotel. Oh, I forgot to mention that everything was in English and French. It looks like the pea-soupers in Montreal won the dual language battle.

As this hotel did not offer breakfast for the $96 dollars per night we had to get up early and go over to the Tim Hortons for a breakfast sandwich. The breakfast set us back eight bucks for the two of us and it was not bad. I would not recommend the Winnipeg Ho-Jo.

We were finally on the road to Thunder Bay, Ontario at sunrise. We were breezing along the Trans-Canada highway on a beautiful morning when disaster struck. Clipping along at 110 I hit the remnants of a truck tire on the road. I attempted to avoid it but I ran over one chunk of the tire and heard a bang under the van.

When we stopped at the border of Manitoba and Ontario I check under the car and saw something hanging down and driving on pavement. It looked like the plastic shield over the gas tank. I knew I had to get this thing looked at as I would be dangerous to drive with this piece of the van dragging on the ground.

Fortunately about thirty kilometers down the road we found a Toyota dealer in Kenora, Ontario. We pulled into the dealer and explained to the service manager what had happened and he told us, after twenty or so “heys” he would be able to fix it. He told us to go across the street to Tim Hortons and get a coffee while they put in on the lift.

It took about an hour to for the mechanic to remove the damaged shield. But while doing so he discovered our spare tire was dangling loose and he could not tighten it as the little winch that raises and lowers the tire was broken. As it would be extremely unsafe to drive with the spare tire in this condition he suggested he cut the cable, put the tire in a bag and we could carry it in the van. We now have one more thing loaded in the van, our spare tire. Oh, well such are road trips.

The folks at the Toyota dealer were very nice and helpful and the total bill was $91 dollars. Once the van was fixed and the tire secure we were on the road again. Since we had lost time we decided to stop for our picnic lunch at Vermilion Lake, a very picturesque location in the Ontario Lake District.

We had our ham and cheese sandwiches and spent some time using the facilities and taking photos. The gold and yellow of the birch trees were great. This was a lovely place for a lunch stop.

The speed limit in Ontario is 90 kmh. It seems the more east you go in Canada the slower the limit. Trucks, however, still do 100 or 110. I held it at 100 so I would not encounter another deputy Mobley.

We lost the dual highway in Ontario and for the 375 kilometers to Thunder Bay we had a single lane highway with frequent passing lanes. There were also two construction sites where they hold up one lane of traffic to allow the other lane through. One took about 15 minutes and the one going into Thunder Bay took over a half hour — ugh!

We finally arrived at our Comfort Inn in Thunder Bay at 8:15 pm and ordered a pizza delivered to our room so I could get the photos up to my gallery and write this blog while watching the D-Backs and Brewers.

Tomorrow we will explore Thunder Bay and head east to Kirkland Lake.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till tomorrow night.

Day Three of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

Today, October 3, 2011 was the third day of our Lincoln Highway Road Trip. We got a late start today, but the breakfast was good at the Comfort Inn. I would compare the CI to a Hampton Inn for room amenities and breakfast.

We started off and somehow got off the track on 395 and ended up heading towards Idaho. We had plugged the Medicine Hat destination into the GPS and it routed us away from 395 over to 95 and Idaho. As it was all Interstate we really didn’t care as we had enough of 395.

It was fun driving through Idaho and I got to go through Sandpoint where I had done an airport survey about 12 years ago. I always liked Sandpoint. When I was there in 1999 you could buy a great house on the lake for about $250k and the town was peaceful and conservative. I was quite surprised how it had changed. Houses were much more and the congestion was horrible. It looked like the libs in Southern California had discovered Sandpoint and brought their money and politics to another conservative area like they did in North Carolina. I wish they would stay home in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. It seems that they mess up their cities than take their money out of their expensive homes and head for another place to mess up.

We reached the US/Canadian border around 11:00 and then waited. They were building a new facility and the whole place was a construction site with flag persons holding those “Stop and Slow” flip signs. This border crossing gets around 500-1,000 cars each day and our government is building a new multi-million dollar border crossing facility. I guess this is one of those shovel ready jobs.

Anyway the border crossing was a breeze. The Canadian officer asked a few questions and we were on our way. We did notice a car that was pulled over and the trunk was open for the customs inspectors. The trunk was loaded with tomatoes. I guess you can get good tasting tomatoes in Idaho. I don’t know if the Canadians confiscated the tomatoes. I hope not.

Once across the border we changed $400 US in Canadian dollars and walked out with $390 Canadian. I remember when the Canadian dollar was worth about $0.75 US. Those days are gone.

Driving through British Columbia was quite enjoyable. The weather slightly overcast and the temperature in the mid-60s. The roads were good but we had to change the GPS to read in kilometers. Canada uses the metric system for everything, gasoline, speed limits, bridge clearances, and highway information signs. The usual speed limit on a provincial highway is 100 km/hour (62 mph) and 110 km/hr. on the interstate limited access roadways (68 mph).

It would be 490 miles (788 km) to our motel in Medicine Hat, Alberta. This took us quite a while as we stopped a bit along the way for gas, photos, snack at the Safeway, coffee and lunch. Our lunch was at Kelvin’s Kitchen in Fernie, BC. I had a BLT and Kathy a Monte Cristo sandwich. Her sandwich had mayo and mine did not. When we asked the Thai waitress why the mayo on the Monte Cristo and no mayo on the BLT she relied the people around her like it that way. I guess we had to surrender to local taste in cuisine.

The drive across the Continental Divide was quite lovely as we passed through pine forests and birch trees with their yellow and gold autumn leaves.

We finally arrived at our Super-8 in Medicine Hat at 8:30 (We lost an hour to time zone change from PST to MST) and I heard my first “hey” from the Canadian person at the desk. Now I knew I was in Canada.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here. Don’t forget to click the “Slideshow” button at the upper right to view the largest image.

Till tomorrow night.

Day Two of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

Today, October 2, 2011 was the second day of our Lincoln Highway Road Trip and it began at 06:30 when we went for our meager “continental” breakfast at the Super-8 Motel in Alturas, California. It appeared that it would be a great day for traveling and it was. The temperature was in the mid-60s with clear skies.

We were about 40 miles from the Oregon border and after we filled the tank we headed north on US 395 for Oregon. As soon as we entered Oregon we noticed a change in the speed limit from 65 to 55. The only road we found a 65 mph limit on was the Interstate. All other state highways were posted at 55 mph, even the most deserted, desolate sections of 395. I guess people in Oregon like to go slow. I set my cruise control for 70 and watched for cops.

Another annoying thing in Oregon was the filling stations. First they had no ice as this was the opening day of hunting season and the hunters took all of the ice. The second is that you are not allowed to pump your own gas. The station has an attendant who pumps the gas and inserts your credit card into the pump. You can clean your windows though. I guess this helps unemployment in Oregon.

Our trip on 395 started very nice. No traffic, straight road, and nice scenery. We passed a big lake and a geological marker about this being a rift valley covered with basalt rocks. The maker was next to Lake Abert.

After the rift valley 395 turned into one straight two lane highway that seemed to stretch on forever. We soon discovered this would not be the case as we entered the national forests and the mountainous sections of 395. For the next 5 or 6 hours we would navigate curve after curve with recommended speed limits of 45, 35, or 25 mph. Curve after curve, right and left. Up and down. It was nor pleasant driving this stretch of the road.

We decided to eat our lunch in the park using some of the vittles we brought with us. This was a very nice break from the mountain driving and our ham and Swiss sandwiches were just the thing. After about a 45 minute break we were back on the road again driving more mountain road.

As we came into the town of John Day I somehow missed the speed limit sign and when I looked behind me there were the flashing lights of the police cruiser. Deputy Mobley approached our vehicle and politely introduced himself and informed me I was doing 60 in a 35 zone. He requested my driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance, which I gave him. He retreated to his car to check out my documents and when he returned he asked if we were on vacation. We told him we were heading for Washington and Canada and about our planned road trip. Deputy Mobley then told us he would not ruin our day with a citation and told us to drive slowly through the town. I thanked him and we went on our way sans a ticket.

After more tedious mountain driving and listening to the NFL scores and updates on ESPN radio we finally exited Oregon and entered Washington where the speed limit jumped to 65 of state highways and 70 on the Interstates.

We arrived at the Comfort Inn in Spokane, WA about 19:30, checked in and went out to get something to eat. We were recommended a Perkins Restaurant and Bakery about 10 minutes from the motel. The food was okay, but the service was really slow. I was getting very frustrated because I wanted to get back to the motel download my photos and write this blog before I got too tired, which I am right now.

Tomorrow we venture through the state of Washington and across the border into Canada. It should be fun.

You can see all of my pictures by clicking here.

Till tomorrow night.

Day One of Our Lincoln Highway Road Trip

Today, October 1, 2011 was the first day of our Lincoln Highway Road Trip. We departed our home in Menifee, CA at 5:00 am on the dot. At 5:30 we stopped at the San Bernardino IHop on 215 for a quick breakfast and by 6:00 am were back on the road again. We wanted to get an early start as we would be driving the longest leg of our 21-day adventure this day — a 633 mile jaunt to Alturas, California.

The day was perfect for traveling — blue sky and temperatures in the mid-70s – just perfect for travel and photos. After a quick stop for gas somewhere along 395 we reached Lone Pine where we stopped to take some shots of Mount Whitney. As always there was a brisk wind blowing and to get a good telephoto shot I needed the tripod.

Our next stop was the McDonalds in Bishop, California at 11:30 for lunch and gas again. It was here we calculated or gas mileage and found we were getting 26 miles to the gallon in our ten-year old Toyota Sienna van. That’s about 45% better than our Acura MDX. This was good news as we will be saving quite a bit on our gasoline bill.

Prior to leaving we had toyed with the thought of renting a SUV for our 8,000 mile trip. The best price we could get was about $1,600 plus tax for the four weeks. We decided to put the money in our van by getting it running tip top and having it professionally detailed. The van runs great and looks like new. So, rather than blow almost two grand on a rental car we put about $1,200 in the van. This is a much better return on our investment.

Also the van has GPS and satellite radio. The satellite radio is a must on a cross-country trip. You can listen to the station of your choice all day without losing a word or a note. We listened to Fox News in the morning, then Patriot radio until lunch. After Lunch we listened to the college football games.

The big excitement was Kathy almost hitting a deer crossing the road. We were cruising along about 70 mph through a wooded stretch of 395 where there were numerous caution signs warning to watch for deer. 99% of the time you never see a deer. This time was different. All of a sudden two deer ran out to cross the highway and Kathy had to slam on the brakes. We stopped in time but everything in the back of the van went flying. Fortunately I had my camera ready and got a shot of the deer crossing at his leisure.

We arrived in Alturas at 18:23 just as the GPS predicated after driving exactly 633 miles. Alturas is a town of 3,000 people mostly in the cattle and farming business. We are staying at a Super-8 motel that I would rate 2 stars. It’s old and mostly clean. It’s quiet because the town is quiet.

We had diner at Antonio’s Italian Restaurant where the food and service was good, but the décor sucked. Robert Irvine of the Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible would have his work cut out at Antonio’s.

Tomorrow it’s off to Oregon and Washington. It looks like we may encounter rain and cooler weather. We are targeting Spokane as our next stop. I hope to write more tomorrow night. I am tired and I had to set up my photo galleries tonight, which took some time over a slow internet connection. You can see all of my pictures by clicking here.

Till tomorrow night.