Out and About
September - October, 2007

Our day started with the sad news that Marg and Amanda had been left with no choice but to say goodby to Tux, another great BT gone to the bridge. There must be something big going down. Hope it is nothing to do with all the Halifax rats that Roger has sent to the "promised land". After meeting Fred & Marnie to drop off Normie the cockateil we had a nice drive along the river. Unfortunately our evening plans went astray. It seems the motel I pulled from THIS year's Sudbury KC Premium List and made reservations at has not accepted dogs for the last five years and has been telling the show committe for the last five years!!!! Fortunately, they were very helpful and directed us to Carol's Camping. A great spot on Lake Richard, where we proved that our camper can sleep four adults and nine BTs in reasonable comfort.

Tonight's campground and comments: Carol's Camping, Lake Richard, ON - pretty campground by small lake, adequate space, clean showers

A later start than anticipated as we "shake down" our morning routine and a long day's drive with miserable weather much of the way saw us fall short of our intended destination and we called it quits for the night in the K-Mart parking lot in Ironwood, MI. High point for the dogs (and probably the humans) for the day was a walk along the blustery shores of Lake Superior.

Tonight's campground and comments: K-Mart Parking lot, Ironwood, MI - not recommended

A very chilly morning and lack of facilities encouraged a speedy start to the day. In the half-light of dawn Chris walked to Burger King for coffee and suprised a deer in downtown Ironwood! As we travelled through Wisconsin into Minnesota, the weather took a turn for the better, still cool but brilliant sunshine. On reviewing our progress, we decided to stay on the more northerly route along Highway 2 towards Minot ND rather than head down to Bismark. We opted to end our travel for the day at Graham's Island State Park. A beautiful location accessed via a causeway across part of Devil 's Lake. A warm sunny evening, a great supper cooked by Anna and nice campground showers helped us all relax, while the use of a cabin as well as the camper for sleeping gave the BTs a chance to unwind as well.

Tonight's campground and comments: Grahams Island State Park, Devils Lake, ND - Lovely campground on the lake, nice cabins and good showers, friendly staff

The wind really came up overnight and the temperature went down. With 12 hrs drive to get us back on schedule we were on the road in good time. For the first time we felt we were really "somewhere else", the North Dakota landscape being very different from anything we had passed through so far. Cornfields, sunflower fields and wheat fields interspersed with grasslands and barren expanses. As we entered Montana it was easy to see (no pun intended) why it is called "Big Sky" country

Tonight's campground and comments: Havre RV Park , Havre, ND - Sardine like arrangement in a parking lot type setting but level parking and ample facilities

From the wide open spaces and wheatfields of Montana we headed North to Alberta seeing incredible changes in scenery in very short distances. A left turn in Medecine Hat and we were back to flat sparse grasslands, hayfields and wheatfields as we rode the Transcanada Highway into Calgary.

Tonight's campground and comments: "Chez Miners" - excellent hospitality, highly recommended

Both Banff and Lake Louise were very touristy and busy despite being well into the end of the summer season. This made parking "BBC" (Border Base Camp) for the purposes of sightseeing problematic and frustrating. None-the-less we managed and were rewarded with some great photo ops and great conversations with visitors from "away" as well as transplanted "locals". We also met up with Tony, Beth, Gizmo and Gremlin thus completing the JJ Westawrd Ho Convoy

Tonight's campground and comments:

Another fairly long day, by the time the Border guard processed the fourth vehicle in our group he probably knew more about the BTCA National Specialty than he ever dreamt of. Today's travels also saw dramatic changes in landscape from the footills of the Rockies to the barren, dusty expanses of the Columbia Plateau.

Tonight's campground and comments:

Yet another day of changing vistas through the Columbia River Gorge. Rugged bluffs, desert like barrens, sage brush and gorse occasionally patchworked with the brilliant green of vineyards and then giving way to almost New Jersey-like foliage for the final run from Portland to Albany. Here we were met with the poignant news that Donna M-L's beloved husband Paul had passed away. For those of us who knew Paul and saw the devastating effects of his illness on himself and Donna, the news was heartwrenching. We will treasure the memories of the good times shared.

Tonight's campground and comments:

Medrick made his AKC Debut at 15 years young a successful one by qualifying in IQ. Hazel and Zeke earned additional Senior Legs (they already have their titles) and Gunter stepped back into Junior for a refreshingly easy frustration release.

While Colin and Teazle turned their appearances in Obedience into successful "penance" for their less than stellar earthdog perfomances with qualifying scores in Novice B and Pre-Novice respectively, several of the gang headed to the coast (Boomerang should have been doing penance but... well.. you know Boomerang!!!!)

Wow - what a nice day. Roger took a respectable third in Veterans Sweeps (10-13 yrs) while Medrick took FIRST place in 13 yrs and over beating two American Champions who were both two years younger than him. He moved round that ring like he owned it - way to go Medrick!! On the younger end of the scale, Teazle took a very nice fourth place in the 18-21 months class. Friend Devlin also had a good day going Best Senior in Puppy Sweeps. Our sweeps judge was Linda Cribbs.

Roger was the only one to be succesful in his ring appearance today, repeating his third place finish in 10-13 yrs veterans - this time under Leslie Gosling. He did his usual "float" onto the table act but must have landed badly when he "sailed" off the table as later in the afternoon he came up lame.
Zeke made a very pretty picture in working dog but just does not sparkle in the ring the way he does in the field. Free was also entered in Veterans and looked like she had a good time with Donna.
In the evening, JoAnn won a beautiful full size quilt in the raffle and Tony and Beth picked up a souvenir in the silent auction.

Tony and Beth took Gremlin and Gizmo to the Earthdog Test then headed south to California and the giant redwoods. Medrick also went to the Earthdog Test ut it appears as he may have been sulking over not having been entered in Regular veterans as he went "on strike". Colin made the first cut for Best of Breed but that was as far as we went. However, Spunly's photo won the Veteran's class in the Specialty Photo Contest.

While Free, Colin and Medrick went back for one last attempt at Earthdog, we packed up the "extensive" version of Camp Jansim and headed North arranging to meet Donna and Anna at Ainsworth State Park, Bonneville and with hopes of seeing Mel and Marion at Craters of the Moon on Tuesday. Enroute to the campground, we stopped at Multnomah Falls and hiked the one-mile switchback path to the top with Gunter, Zeke and Boomer. We arrived at the campground almost the same time as "Baad Dog" van and set up. The campground was beautiful with lots of nice hiking trails. Anna once more served up a gourmet supper.

Tonight's campground and comments: Ainsworth State Park, OR - beautiful state park with water and electric hook up. Lots of very nice trails in the park.

Back to dramatic and changing landscapes, we retraced our drive through the Columbia River Gorge then hit new territory as we headed to Pendleton home of Pendleon woolens where Anna went shopping!!! There is also an underground town in Pendleton which includes buildings from the pre 1900's "red light" district such as a saloon, brothel, etc, etc. Unfortunately we were too late for the last tour but you can see what we missed here. We then continued a spectacular run into Baker City passing vistas with snow capped mountains in the distance.

Tonight's campground and comments:

We paused to take some photos of the really neat campground we stayed at then headed out meeting up with Mel and Marion at the World Center for Birds of Prey near Boisie, ID. This is an interesting facility doing important work rearing and releasing two endangered species.
From there we drove past Craters of the Moon and into Arco where we set up for the night enjoying a great supper Anna whipped up from left overs.

Tonight's campground and comments: Landing Zone RV Parc, Arco, ID - Reasonable campground, clean but nothing spectacular.

Although we were only staying one night we paid for two so that we could leave the camper at the site while we went sightseeing. Mel, Marion and Medrick joined us for breakfast at the camper and we were all set to pull out when we ran into our first hitch on the trip - Donna's van had a flat tire thanks to a very nasty nail. We were very thankful that it had gone down overnight and not on the road. The guys had the wheel off in no time and it was quickly fixed and we were off to Craters of the Moon. What an incredible area this is. There have been multiple eruptions there approx 2000 years apart and it was fascinating to see the differences from oldest to newest formations. It was impossible to see eveything before we had to head out for West Yellowstone. We pulled into the Brandin' Iron Motel and Campground pretty late and settled on Pizza for supper.

Tonight's campground and comments: Brandin' Iron Motel and Campground, West Yellowstone - Another parking lot affair but with the advantage that Mel and Marion could walk from their motel room to the camper (and back). Clean showers in a nice warm building

This is where we changed from our original plan of spending one full day in Yellowstone then part of the following day in Yellowstone then heading south to Jackson through the Grand Tetons. Instead we decided to do the lower loop of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons - however, there are so many "must see/must photograph" opportunities that our progress was very slow albeit enjoyable. As a result we did not make it all the way down to the Grand Tetons but called it quits at the visitors centre and headed back up to complete the lower loop of Yellowstone at dusk - wildlife everywhere. During the trip between us we saw Bison, Elk, Mule Deer, Coyote, Red Fox and more Bison. Sadly the last one we saw was killed on the road just in front of us about 8 miles before leaving the park. He was on the road and all the outbound traffic had stopped, unfortunately someone who had just entered the park didn't take the watch for wildlife signs seriously and didn't have the sense to slow down when he saw the stopped traffic. The driver was unhurt but his van, like the Bison, was not going anywhere. We got back to the camper very late and shared take out Chinese for supper.

Although Mel, Marion and Medrick were also doing the upper loop of Yellowstone, they were going clockwise versus our anticlockwise direction so we said our farewells and parted company. To shave some time off our trip, we took the Northeast exit from Yellowstone vs the East exit. We were able to add Prong Horn Deer and another Coyote to our sightings as well as the inevitable Bison and Elk but sadly no Bear. This route took us along the Beartooth Highway and down through Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. Scenic was an understatement. The drive presented many breathtaking views and several places where we just held our breath as we went around hair pin bends on steep gradients. We switchbacked our way up and through Dead Indian Summit (8060 ft) and finally down the other side to Cody. The "short route" took way longer than planned but was worth it though we still don't know if Chief Joseph was the "Dead Indian". We set up at yet another nice campsite and enjoyed "home cooked" spaghetti courtesy of our on board chef.

Tonight's campground and comments: Ponderosa Campground, Cody, WY- very nice set up with old west buildings also wish we had more time to explore Cody

The decision (mainly my doing) to deviate from the route originally planned by Donna (with RV friendly as part of the equation) now presented us with a minor dilemma, how to get over the Big Horn Range with the camper. Our experience with Dead Indian Summit had wised us up some and we knew from the map that either route to Gillette was going to take us through a 9000 plus foot pass. The locals said either would be doable with the camper but suggested the shorter northern route up to Sheridan. The trip did not disappoint. The views as we approached the mountains then entered the gorge were spectacular but almost impossible to capture. The huge plateau of meadow at the summit of Granite Pass (9033 ft) was unexpected, the switchback ride down the other side was as hairy as the previous day's run. There was a 15 degree (Celcius) temperature difference between base and summit. As we took I-90 to Gillette the scenery changed back to barren or tree dotted foothills.

Tonight's campground and comments: Green Trees Crazy Woman Campground, Gillette, WY - the only campground in the area and the only one on our trip that made us feel uncomfortable

We were definitely glad to pull out of last night's campground. Not only were we anxious to get to Custer but it was also the least hospitable of campgrounds we have stayed in to date. The area around Gillette is reknowned for energy production: gas, oil and coal and much of the landscape reflected the industry. But we were soon into South Dakota and pulled into our campground around noon. Once we had set up, Chris, Anna and Pam headed for a tour of the Jewel Caves while Donna dog-sat, Then it was Donna's turn to go into Custer itself with Chris and Anna.

Tonight's campground and comments: Custer Crazy Horse Campground, Custer, SD - clean campground, site was close to road with no shelter from the wind (or noise)

Donna and Chris set off early (without dogs needless to say) to watch the last part of the annual Bison round-up in Custer State Park. When they returned (with pics and souvenirs but no Bison in the back of the truck) we all headed off (leaving Free, Harry and Zeke in the camper) for the underconstruction Crazy Horse Monument and then Mount Rushmore. The Crazy Horse Monument is a huge undertaking (no pun intended) and will not be finished in our lifetimes. The museum and information centre were well worth visiting. The original sculptor was the son of a Polish immigrant. No federal funding is being used in its construction. Mount Rushmore was nicely set up and we traded dog sitting duties with sightseeing. All the dogs we had with us posed for pics at Mount Rushmore. A shopping stop at a wool shop, quilt shop, Christmas shop and a winery on the way home completed the day

We made a fairly fast getaway and pulled into Wall just after noon. Anna, Donna and Chris visited Wall Drug - South Dakota's answer to South Carolina's "South of the Border". When they returned we headed for a loop of the Badlands that brought us round the West rim at sunset. The Ben Reifer visitor center is well worth a visit and there are some nice walking trails in the area. Most of the viewing points had Rattlesnake notices so we were extra cautious with dogs. Although we were late getting back, Anna had time to serve up a tasty chicken curry before we retired for the night.

Tonight's campground and comments: Arrow Campground, Wall - Some grass, some areas of just rocks. Lots of space all around us; which would not have been the case if they were full. just a walk across the train tracks to Wall Drugs.

Today saw a return to longer travel times with a seven-hour run from Wall to Garretson. Donna and her guys rode up in the truck while Pam and Anna took over the van. Despite departing separately and maintaining "radio silence" throughout the trip, both vehicles arrived at beautiful Pallisades State Park. at the same time. The speed difference being accounted for by a van stop for Bison burgers. Although Pallisades fills up at the weekend, being a week day we had the entire park to ourselves except for the raccoons (not seen) and a stray/feral black and white kitten. Supper was fittingly steak, salad, red potatoes and red wine. Next time you see Anna R, you might want to ask about the "Dizzy Duck"

Tonight's campground and comments: Pallisades State Park, Garretson, SD - Outstanding despite no water hookup, incredibly spacious sites, lovely trails.

Our morning routine was abruptly interupted at 8:30am when were advised that they were bringing in a new cabin and the entrance/exit road would be closed for half a day necessitating a hasty departure "sans" coffee and breakfast sandwich. We made up for it with a real "sit-down" breakfast at a family restaurant on the road to Sioux City. From there it was a long slog to Davenport, IA.

Tonight's campground and comments: Interstate RV Park, Davenport, IA - nice clean camp site

Another long and unremarkeable drive that brought us to a KOA campground in Toledo. Here we reconfigured the vehicles ready for Donna to "split" for home. An enjoyable supper courtesy of a "nearby" Indian Restaurant and good connectivity to do web and blog updates close out the evening (plus the news that "Tiger" a.k.a. Tony, Beth, Gizmo and Gremlin were home safe and thawing out nicely while we run the air conditioning in the camper)

Tonight's campground and comments: KOA campground

The climax of anticlimatic, even the appearance of a speckled hen pecking her way amongst the RVs did not seem remarkable as we completed the preparations for the split. We pulled out in good time with Donna, Colin, Free and Harry heading Southeast for a one-day drive to Maryland while Chris, Pam, Anna, Roger, Hazel, Maggie, Gunter, Boomer and Zeke all piled into the truck and headed to Toronto. We made good time and met up with Robert, Amber and the grandkids in a Walmart parking lot where we all had supper in the camper. Sarah also met us with "Bonsai Bob", Chris' ancient juniper that she so kindly "plant-sat" for us. After supper we completed the two-hour drive to the Flying-J in Napanee where we dry-camped for the night.

Tonight's campground and comments: Flying J, Napanee, ON - Safe location to dry camp, excellent showers and 24hr facilities

With the extra two hours under our belt last night we could afford a leisurely start and indulged in a sit down breakfast. It did not match up to the breakfast sandwiches Anna had prepared for us on the trip. We stopped enroute to meet Fred and Marnie and pick up Normie and finally pulled into our driveway around 4:40pm.

Although Anna, Roger, his girls and Zeke still face a 13hr drive home, they are breaking their trip "Chez Nous" for a couple of days so it seems appropriate to end the travelogue at this point. This page will be updated with maps, links to places we visited and hopefully campground comments and perhaps an additional photo or two but that is all. Thank you to everyone who travelled with us via this page you helped us keep in touch and retain perspective.
Until Texas 2008, this is "BBC" signing off.

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