The Stelzle's Trailer Travels: July 2009

July 27&28: Oregon Coast

We skipped over a couple states since the last post in Missoula. We left early to avoid the heat.....but it didn't work. We had a lovely and cool breakfast in Coer d' Alene, ID, but it was downhill from there. Eastern Washington is very desert-like anyway and at scorching temps we just kept driving (and sweating) with a few stops to let the engine cool down. We spent the night in a hotel (ahh... cold A/C!) in The Dalles, OR and left early the next morning to sprint along the Columbia River Gorge (again) to the coast in search of cooler temperatures. It felt strange to pass by Hood River and Newberg where we had been almost 6 weeks ago....feels like forever ago! We headed straight for Otis and the cafe we had gone to a few times last summer when we spent a week in Neskowin with the Nalley's. The weather was perfect and the food was as good as we remembered! We then headed down the coast and ended up in Waldport and had a great campsite right on the ocean. Highlights of this spot were Jake renting a three wheel bike, jumping off the cliff into the soft sand (joined by Clover)over and over again, a sand-spit full of seals, and needing a sweatshirt! Then, Tuesday morning, we were back on the road heading south along the gorgeous Oregon coastline. We have done this drive a few times now and we always love it. Oregon continues to be a favorite spot for us. We stopped at Heceta Head park and hiked up to the lighthouse. A great spot. We ended up spending our last night in Oregon near Gold Beach, although it felt like we were in Germany, except for the ocean views! The "Honey Bear Campground" was classic. The owners make every kind of sausage, wurst, wiener, etc and have a family style restaurant at the campground. After dinner, the owner entertains. Jake, in his usual fashion, was very involved and got himself invited up on stage to play the harmonica with him. It was a great spot and we hope to come back and spend more time.

Honey Bear Campground...Vintage Camping!

Jake the Entertainer

Heceta Head Lighthouse

July 23-26: Missoula, MT

Clover is exhausted from being a doggy-dog and a water-dog! Back to the usual grind for her.

We left Ashley Lake on Wednesday morning and drove to Flathead Lake and camped at a KOA. It was a very nice spot, but I didn't even take a photo.....we've gotten so spoiled on scenery. This was just a stop-over before heading to Missoula to see Logan on Thursday. We parked the kyper right in Logan's driveway. He lives in a great spot within walking distance to downtown and the University. Logan took us on a tour of town and the University of Montana. It is a beautiful campus. Logan has a great dog named Buddy, who goes everywhere with him. He and Clover got along great! We were lucky to arrive on a day that Logan had a gig. He is called Ironboard, and is starting to get known in the area. (www.myspace.com/ironboardmusic) It was an outdoor venue right on the river that goes through town. I guess those piano lessons have paid off! He got his name from the fact that he actually uses an ironing board as his music stand. On Friday, Logan took us on a new adventure....tubing the river. It was a blast! Even Buddy got to go (wearing his special doggy life jacket). We saw some bald eagles as a bonus. Logan had to take a test (he's doing very well in school), so we spent the rest of the day ourselves walking around Missoula. On Saturday, we moved to a campground called Lolo Creek Squaredance Center and Campground.....yes, I said squaredance. We were definitely the youngest by several decades in this spot! Logan drove us to Snowbowl Ski Area where he skis in the winter and we had their famous pizza and took the chairlift up the mountain. We could see the entire Bitterroot Valley from up there. The heat took it out of us (it's been a heat wave) so we headed back to the campsite and took the dogs to play in the river. Clover didn't even hesitate after her Ashley Lake escapades! It was a mellow evening at the campsite. We played a few cards and took a brief glance at the squaredance. Those geezers were having a good time! We said goodbye to Logan and he headed home. It was so nice to see him and see his life in Missoula. He loves Montana. It is a great place. We left really early the next morning in order to avoid the heat. The kyper gets hot really fast. We had planned a different route home (through Sun Valley, ID) but are opting to head straight for the coast!

The chairlift ride at Snowbowl

Getting ready to tube the river

Logan.....aka "Ironboard"

Logan's House

The University of Montana

July 20-22: Ashley Lake, MT

We said goodbye to Canada on Monday, July 20th and crossed the border in Eureka, Montana. We were looking forward to hanging out with the Gilbert's and very excited to see Logan in Missoula after that. We met Lorne and Lisa Gilbert back when I worked at Turley. They would drive all the way down from their home in Calgary to pick up their wine allocation. Scott and Lorne got along from the start and Lorne would bring him Canadian beer whenever they came through. Last time they were in town, they came by Venteux bearing beer gifts and we got to talking about our upcoming trip. They invited us to visit them at their property in Ashley Lake, MT and they showed us the most amazing time! We met at Moose's Saloon in Kalispell, a classic great old bar complete with the swinging saloon doors, before heading out to the lake. Ashley Lake is beautiful....it's the most amazing green, crystal clear water and very private. Lorne and Lisa have a trailer there and their property is awesome. We spent the first afternoon going on the SeaDoo and then getting a wild ride on the tube. This was a first, first of the day for Jake. His second first was going snorkeling. He loved it! But, really the most exciting event of the day was Clover taking her first swim. She has always been afraid of the water. But after seeing us in there, she finally went for it and swam all the way out to us....we were so impressed....and boy was she hyper after that! Lorne and Lisa grilled some amazing ribs for dinner and then they surprised Jake with a bag full of novelty candy. Lorne is an artist when it comes to building bon-fires. Jake got to stay up extra late because they also had a huge bunch of fireworks planned. All this plus a fair amount of booze throughout the day made for a very late evening and a bit of a hangover for me the next day. Scott and Lorne went waterskiing the next day. Scott hadn't been on skiis in about 10 years, but he did great. We had another great dinner, this time lamb chops and another fantastic bonfire that night. It was a great time for all of us and we had so much fun laughing and getting to know Lorne and Lisa better. I'm telling ya...these are good Candians! We all had an absolute blast!

Lorne is a master of a great and artistic fire!

Yummy Lamb Chops!

The boys enjoying some Cubans and Scotch.

Clover taking the plunge for her first swim EVER!!!

This is Clover thinking about going for it.....

July 19: Fairmont Hot Springs, BC

On Sunday morning, we left Banff and drove out of Banff National Park and through the Kootenay National Park, heading back into BC for one last night in Canada. We stayed at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort RV Park. We arrived early and took advantage of the Hot Springs Pool three different times. The therapeutic waters are odor-free and supposed to be the cleanest in North America. Jake' is still learning to swim, but when he saw the diving boards, he was encouraged to learn fast! He even entered the splash contest and won a free ice cream cone. Another exciting day for Jake! This kid knows how to have a good time. The hot springs spill over into some waterfalls on trails within the park. It was so neat to go in those warm pools. They were beautiful. So, the day was all about the therapeutic waters....and getting a sunburn. Oh, and we did a new thing on the raclette. Instead of using the usual bacon as the "grease", we marinated everything in garlic and olive oil first, then squeezed lemon over the veggies and thin pork chops while grilling.....fantastic and much healthier! The lemon is the key...just not so good with wine. But, we are in Canada.....gotta drink the beer, eh!

Jake at the bottom of the waterfall

The top of the waterfall

The drive through Kootenay National Park

July 17&18: Lake Louise and Banff, Alberta

View from Tunnel Mountain Campground

We left Golden and headed into Banff National Park and Lake Louise. I remembered it being a pretty place from when my parents brought us here when I was a kid. I'm here to report that it is still stunning! The glacial lakes, rivers and waterfalls are everywhere. The very distinctive green color tells you it's glacier water runoff. After checking out the lake, we headed to Banff and to our campground on Tunnel Mountain. We did the usual, set up camp while Jake rides off to find a friend. This time a boy from Calgary named Noah. He had fun with him and his family both days. Jake also has gotten addicted to playing cards and is constantly begging us to play Go Fish. I don't know where he gets this obsession! But it's definitely not Scott! I couldn't be more proud of my little card shark. Then today, Saturday the 18th, we took the bus into the town center and checked out the town (mostly touristy shops) and had a late lunch. We've been sleeping in when we don't have a time crunch to get anywhere and we've been staying up late. We went into mountain time, so things are lighter even later. Jake is really going to have to be reprogrammed before school starts. Speaking of program, tonight at the performance in the campground theater, Jake was asked to participate. He got the only laugh of the evening! Scott and Jake saw a wolf while they were playing football tonight in the campground.

Downtown Banff, St Paul's Presbyterian Church

LAKE LOUISE

July 16th: Salmon Arm to Glacier National Park, BC

Salmon Arm's marshy bird sanctuary

Jake's newest trick....he's getting strong!

The temperatures were rising and we knew it would get worse as we headed back towards California, so we spent most of the day in Salmon Arm on Thursday getting a new a/c unit installed in the kyper. This is getting to be a drag....all the new parts are the ones that are failing. I guess they just don't make things like they used to. We kept ourselves busy by going down to the local pier and watching Jake climbing his first pole and visiting a local farm stand with a petting zoo. Salmon Arm is a big spot for bird watching and we saw all kinds of them. By late afternoon we were headed towards Banff, not knowing how far we would go that night. We drove through Glacier National Park, which was beautiful. We made it as far as Golden, a nice town almost to the Alberta border. The campground was full, but they let us dry-camp and use the showers, just one loonie! We are starting to get the lingo down in Canada, eh?