Missoula to Edmonton
Ok, so it’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog, but that’s due to lack of an internet connection. I have been writing faithfully on my laptop, though and just need to upload a bunch of entries. Keep checking over the next couple of weeks and, hopefully, I’ll get caught up. I’m still working on getting the pictures uploaded, too.
Sept 1-3
After three active days in Yellowstone, we needed a break before heading up to Glacier National Park. We drove as far as Missoula, Montana and found a great KOA campground with a nice pool and pedalcars (Simon was ecstatic). The weather was hot and sunny so we decided to spend the next day doing a whole bunch of nothing. It was so nice to just sit by the pool and read a book and not be in constant motion. It was the first time on our entire trip that we stayed in the same place two nights in a row! After our little vacation from our vacation, we were excited to head to Glacier and drive the “Going to the Sun” road. We got there about noon and sat in line for 15 minutes to get into the park, only to be told that vehicles over 21 feet in length were not permitted to go through the pass – the only way to get to Canada through the park. So be warned, if you want to do the “Going to the Sun” road, you can’t do it in an RV. I wish someone had told us! We ended up have to make a huge detour around the park while gazing longingly at the mountains we were supposed to be driving through.
Since we’d missed out on Glacier and we’d get to Waterton Lakes too late to do a hike, we decided to skip the park and make a run for Edmonton where we would stay with our friends, Mark & Amy. That day turned out to be our longest driving day with 14 hours spent on the road. Surprisingly, we survived it in good humour and the kids were as good as gold. We spent the next two nights at Mark & Amy’s and did a ton of laundry and caught up on our email. We got lots of advice and travel tips from Mark and Amy who did their own RTW trip a few years ago. Looking at their pictures and hearing their stories really got me excited about our upcoming adventures.
The night before we left Edmonton, we decided to open a bottle of wine that we’d been carrying with us for our entire trip. It was a 1978 Spanish wine that had been given to us for our wedding by Carlos, Claude’s old roommate in the military. We had decided to drink it on our tenth anniversary and, since we were moving on our anniversary, we ended up bringing it with us in the RV. Since Mark also knew Carlos, we thought this would be a fitting occasion to drink a toast to Carlos. With much pomp and ceremony, Claude uncorked the bottle and we got our first clue as to the state of the 28 year old wine after 10 years in our wine cabinet and three weeks getting jostled around in the back of our RV. As the rotten cork disintegrated in his hands, Claude passed me the bottle and I took a whiff of what smelled like port. I poured a little in my glass and it had a funny brownish tinge to it. Mark gallantly offered to snap a photo as we tasted this symbol of our love after ten years of marriage. I felt a little like I was on Fear Factor. Cheers, Carlos, wherever you are, your gift will never be forgotten and I’m sure there will always be a bare patch in Amy’s garden where Mark disposed of the evidence.
Tags: Travel, Wine
tambour
I posted an excerpt and link on the campground review site.
http://www.vacationrace.com/campgrounds.aspx/MissoulaKOA