2069 miles!!!

Don wrote this blog:  Tuesday evening.  We got home about 4:30 pm.  It really rained last night in Salmon but was clear today.  We did not know so we put on rain gear.  It was cool but comfortable.  We took off our rain gear in Challis and our coats later on.  Had a great trip and saw lots of beautiful country.  Total milaeage was 2069 miles.  It was 1025 coming through Salmon.  Closer by 19 miles but slower.

Just want to mention the nice motel in Salmon.  It is on the south side of town and is called Sacajawea Inn.  Very clean and comfortable.  It is run by a husband and wife and would recommend it to anyone travelling that way.

Here are some pictures:  First one is Larry standing by his rig, second is the rig and the third is one of many drilling rigs that are drilling all over the area.  It is called the Bakken oil field and runs over into Montana, up into Canada and North Dakota and maybe even further south.

Big rig that Larry drives



drilling rig

Alfreda and mural in motel room in Salmon.  We really enjoyed the room.

I wish I would have had Larry stop in Canada and get some pictures of the coal fields but could not find a place to stop.

We really had a wonderful trip and glad that we got to see Larry for a brief time.  Alfreda was a trooper and endured the rain and the cold as well as the heat with no complaining.

Sunday worship

Yesterday we went to church with Larry in Williston, they had it in the park with a Bar-B-Q to follow, it was really a great worship service.  then we went back to larry's & packed up & left about 2, we had a really nice time visiting & sight seeing with him, a little bitty tear let me down as we drove off & waved.  We had a good ride in the afternoon, not too hot but we did run into a dickens of a rain & wind storm, but we were through it in a little while & got dried out.  We stayed in Lewistown at a nice motel.  Paco told me to gas up at every gas station we came to so I did.  Left this morning and ate breakfast at Big Timber.  Just before we got into Butte we got into another rain storm.  Sat out some of it under a bridge.  When it let up we drove to Wisdom, in the Big Hole country and had pie and ice cream.  It was cool today and we stopped before we hit Idaho and put on our heavy coats under our rain gear.  Came down Hwy 93 to Salmon.  Got a nice little motel room on the south side of town and then rode back down town to a Bistro for dinner.

Today we saw buffalo, deer, coyotes, elk, antelope, guess that is all.  Here is a picture of the pie we ate in Wisdom.

Saskatchewan Canada

Yes, we walked on the bridge, you have to, to go through the tunnel. 

Today we went to Saskatchewan, Canada.  We went north out of Williston north to Weyburn where we ate dinner.  The country remained pretty much the same as down south here at Williston.  It is also over the Balkan oil reserve and lots of oil drilling going on.  Talked to an older farmer and his wife at lunch and found out as much as I could about farming and oil.  They have had oil for quite some time but it was shallow and low production.  Now they are going deeper and lots more oil volume.  The farming is wheat, canola, peas, mustard, safflour, flax, some corn and I can't remember what else.  We came east to Estevan and south.  Estevan claims to be the energy capital of Saskatchewan.  The coal must be pretty shallow and not to thick a vein as the huge open pit drag lines drug the soil up and deposited it in rows like we see in Idaho in dredge mining and then they take out the coal and move over.  Leaves the ground in huge mounds that stretches for miles.  Sorry I did not get a picture of it as it would have been impressive.  Have let to get a picture of the oil drilling rigs and the pumps.  Sometimes there are as many as 6 pump jacks at one site.  Lots and lots of tankers, both rail and truck so they are moving lots of oil.

Weather today has been cooler.  There is a thick haze pretty much everywhere.  The gentleman farmer said that there was a huge fire way north and west by Edmonton, Alberta, nearly 1000 miles away that was funneling smoke down this way.

On our way north this morning we went by a historic Lutheran church and cemetery.  It's name is Bethesda.  It was started in 1915.  Here are some pictures.  One of the interesting pictures is of the outhouse.  It is cute as they have a place for little kids to go.

The Bridge

To add to the Bridge Story, you have to walk across the bridge to get to the tunnel,  The tunnel is 1,456 feet long and is built with a 3 degree curve so it is impossible to see straight through it from one end to the other.  It is 22 feet wide & 24 feet high.  the tunnel was built through an 80 foot hill.  It is completely lined with creosote treated timbers.  the tunnel was finished first & the track was completed through the tunnel on Oct. 30, 1913.The bridge & tunnel were used only by trains until 1926 when North Dakota 23 was built to the bridge.  It was then planked for motor vehicle use and became a toll bridge, with the railroad collecting the fees.
Larry is working nights, I'm going with him the first trip & Don will go with him a few, so this is all for today.

Yellowstone & Missouri Rivers

Friday, July 13, 2012.  Went today to Cartwright, ND to a bridge over the Yellowstone River.  It is about 6 miles before it joins the Missouri River.  The bridge and a sister bridge just up the Missouri about 8 miles away are lift bridges built to allow river traffiic.  The problem is that by the time they built them in 1912-13 river traffic on both rivers had ceased so the lift portion was never used.  Just east of the Cartwright is the only tunnel in ND.  It is 1,456 feet long.  Here are some pictures.

Farmland, Badlands, Rivers, and Streams

From Don: The country is beautiful and changes every few miles.  From farm land to badlands and rivers and streams.  Lots and lots of oil wells and new ones being drilled every day.  Lots of trucks on the road hauling gravel for new pads and buildings.  Mancamps every where.  Costs $750.00 a month to park a trailer on a little spot with hundreds of others.  Costs about the same to live in a one small room in a row apartment type buildings.  Interesting place a boom town.  In a few years it will be bust town and a lot of empty buildings but it is good while it lasts.

Ft Burford

Yesterday we went to see the confluence of the Yellowstone & Missouri Rivers, we walked through Ft. Burford & looked for a railroad bridge over the Yellowstone that had a section in it that raised straight up to let the steam boats through, it was never used except in the test to see if it would work???  We did find it, we walked through  Ft. Burford & came back to Williston then we went to the car races on a dirt track but it got rained out :( our money was refunded so we went to Larry's favortite Pizza place & the pizza & salad was really good.  There was a cloud burst maybe 2 in. in abut 20 min., when we got home it hadn't rained as much here so our tent trailer was dry. 
This morning we went to Watford City & had breakfast then on to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park & drove through it, saw one buffalo & no big horn sheep but some real pretty & different country, the bad lands of ND.  We drove through Killdeer, on to New Town & back to Williston, another really good day.  God IS good.

486 very hot miles!

We made it to Williston last last night, we went 486 very hot miles, we were glad to make it safe & sound, another answer to prayer.  God IS good.  Larry worked last night, they are working right now at night because there is road construction & at night there isn't traffic.  Don went with Larry on a couple of runs & I went with his friend, Darren & it was fun.  The run takes about 1 1/2 hours so is close to where Larry & Darren live.  Today we are going sight seeing.  

North Dakota

We left Hailey yesterday morning, went by Carey to see the job that Troy is working on, it is for the school & this job is cement & paving, only one or two buildings they are building so a different kind of a job for Troy.  We ate breakfast in Arco & started on north, if you are ever in Dillon, MT at lunch time the Milk Pail, sure that is the name of the place, has a really big, good sandwich for 5 bucks!!  We made it to Bozeman last night, stayed at a really nice campground & are ready to go on to Williston today, think it is 468 miles so we need to get on the road.  The temp never got higher then 92 so some cooler then home.

We are headed to North Dakota to see Larry, we left yesterday & it was really hot before we got to Mt. Home, we made it to Hailey in fine shape to see Troy & Emily.  They are buying their first home & we are so excited for them, at least they are not 60 years old like Troy's parents. :)  Today we are headed north, it is a beautiful day & we praise God for ALL His  blessings.  We have 4 wonderful children & families, God IS good.

We're Off Pictures

After holding hands and praying for God's protection over them, we let them leave. 

~ The Preacher and His Biker Babe's Daughter~

We're Off!

Trailer loaded - check
Trailer lights work - check
Church, Potluck and Business Meeting over - check
Laptop working and blog refresher course done - check
Ready to roll!  Check!

We're off to see Troy & Em in Hailey where we will spend the night.  We will have another stop tomorrow night (Monday) before reaching Larry; our stop for the week.

Joy & Roy and their kids are here to see us off.  I'm sure she'll post pictures of our departure soon.  We have to actually leave before that can happen. 

Let's Roll!
~ Biker Babe

North Dakota Bound

Tomorrow we leave for ND, & I am excited.

Saturday, July 17th

I will tell you about yesterday, July 16th, we left Omak, WA & saw some beautiful country, some of it kind of looked like MT & some of it like WY between Larmie & Cheyenne, it is interesting how some of this cournty looks alike. We stopped in Colfax, WA to see Darlene & Mike Kroll, Don worked for Darlene's dad drilling water wells when he was in seminary. It was really fun to see them, they have been friends for about 46 years.

We traveled on to White Bird, ID, which is on the beautiful Salmon River & all the way through WA & into ID it was beautiful, it was also very warm but we drank a lot of water & made it to Donna Gabica's in fine shape. She was in our Star church & we have known her for 32 years. She has a lovely home & it was really fun to stay with her. Her son Doug & a couple friends came from Ferdanand, ID for supper & we had a great time visiting. It was my birthday & Donna knew that & had a birthday dinner with cake & all, it was lovely. This morning she took us for a drive to the "top" to see where their cattle run, & OH MY it was beautiful up there. I hope Don's pictures does it justice. Donna is an excellent driver & I wasn' t even scared. :) We got back to her home abut noon & we left for home & she went to help a cowboy move some cattle.

We got home about 6:30, Joy, Paco & Javi were here with Elmer & Louella to welcome us & it is great to be home. Elmer & Louella are going to stay in our home while we go to OR next week for Yearly Meeting. God has blessed us with a wonderful family & friends & I say it again God IS good. We rode the motorcycle 7113 miles and drove Susie's car 945 so we travelled 8058 miles. Quite a trip.

Pictures: Railroad trestle heading south out of Lewiston, Gabica cattle, Donna Gabica's lovely house, Alfreda and outhouse in mountains, alfreda's 69th birthday party at Donna Gabica's.

Friday, July 16th

We are ready for a hot day today, water bottles are filled as we've been told it will be hot from here on home. This will be a pretty drive today too, the drive into WA is really pretty, orchards from this great valley that produces fruit they send every where. We plan to make it to Donna Gabica's home tonight, she lives by Grangeville. I don't think she has internet so will have to catch up tomorrow on the way home.

Don said last night when we came back from eating a bite that it was the first time he had drove in the dark in a month!! I liked all the light they have up north right now but I know I would NOT like all the dark that they will soon have. Idaho here we come.

Thurs. night July 15th

We have had another awesome day. We left Williams Lake & south to Spences Bridge, then went east to Merritt, then Princeton , & crossed in to the USA at Osoyoos. It was such a pretty drive across there, we saw high desert, sage brush, green hay fields, green pasture with cows & horses in them, high mountains, rivers, lakes. What a beautiful drive it was. It is very warm now, I'll not complain if I turn into a grease puddle. :) I think it will be hot all the way home now. We are in Omak, WA.

Pictures: Road on way from Spences Bridge, Okanagan valley and mining ruins ant Hedley. We could have taken a tour of the mines but decided to pass.

Williams Lake Wednesday night 7-14

We have had a wonderful day of very good scenery. We have seen a lot of the logging industry, saw & pulp mills, cattle & horses, the first since we went north. Some farming, haying I should say, it is so pretty to see the hay fields & then go right back into the forest. We are sure in civilization now going from one town to another with out too many miles between. Gas has come down in price, the cheapest we have had in a very long time & it was still 3.70 a gal. It has run into the 6-8 dollar a gallon. Anywhere from 1.o7 to 1.89 a liter and it takes 3.7 liters to make a gallon.We are in a camp ground right next to the rodeo grounds, so kind of glad there isn't a rodeo tonigth. :)

We called home & Joy had to have a root canal today so we are sure sorry about that. :( This will be our last night in Canada so home is getting closer. We went 386 miles today. A beautiful day & I didn't have to wear all the clothes I own to keep me warm.

I(Don) took along my camcorder and have been using it to take the pictures. It works better than my camera as it will zoom to 40X and take the pictures as fast as I can click the shutter so my regular camera has stayed in the trunk. Pictures: Williams Lake, we are camped in the valley beyond the building, water wheel at Quenel used to pump ground water from the mines, delicious lunch just before Prince george, Frazer river where the river boats could not go any further downstream because of the rapids and canyon, country side west of Prince George. Small hay fields and cattle.

It is taking some getting used to having the sun go down so early. It is 9:50 Pacific time and the sun is down. We are used to it not going down until midnight and rising at 3 in the morning.

July 14th, Wednesday

Boy, a person can almost loose track of what day it is but I do know today is Erik & Mandy's anniversary, so happy anniversary.

We are up & going, looks like a beautiful day for which we are thankful. So thankful for all the blessings our wonderful God gives to us in our journey of life. God IS good. Will report tonight if we have wifi, I have been amazed at how even far remote places has it.

Tuesday Night

We are in Smithers, BC we have had a really good riding day, the sun finally came out & it was really nice. I saw a black bear swimming in the river, we turned around & went back & he was looking at us so cute, but when we stopped, he ran in the trees like a scared bear & no chance for a picture.

We are in a motel tonight, day for allergy shots & glad that is over for another week. We ate at Boston Pizza, split a very good meal & then split a cho dessert & that was super good. Breakfast is served at 7 so we plan to be ready to eat then & get down the road. Even though we went 380 miles today, we are still a long way from home.

Took this picture of a billy goat statue in Smithers. This may be the closest we will get to one. The picture of the River is the Ness river. Sorry there are two of the same one. This is about 100 yards from where Alfreda saw the bear swimming across a pond. The picture of the mountains is looking toward Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska is. If we would have had more time we would have went the 45 miles west and saw the glaciers and the brown bears catching salmon. Maybe next time.

Tuesday July 13th

Hello from a little place way out here in no where but lo & behold they have wifi free, & no password. We left camp about 7 & thought we woud have to go 3 hrs till breakfast but we came upon this little cute place. They have 2 camps here, one drilling & one geology. I talked to a young looking kid & he said he was the pilot to helicopter, I thought OH MY then I found out that he is 22 & has a year experience. I thought right then that I wouldn't ride iwth him unless it was life or death. :) Don is ready to put some pictures on here. He says we have to make good time today. Seen this neat bike and sidecar and a stuffed moose. Have not seen one like this in the wild yet.