Tuesday, August 13, 2013

SOMETIMES THERE'S BUMPS IN THE ROAD



Yes there have been bumps in the road, but  we'll get to that later in the blog. 
After the Bear tour we stayed one more night in Wrangell, then the next afternoon we took the ferry out and headed to Prince Rupert B.C.  Since it was going to be almost a 16 hour ride we decided to get a cabin.  Here are some pictures of the ferry and the cabin.

                                                




 
We paid the extra 5 bucks for a window but it got covered up when we went to bed


                                   He lost the flip of the coin & ended up here (no not really)
                 

 
We did sleep really good and didn't get up until it was almost time to get off the ferry.  We could have overslept real easy.
After getting off we headed into Prince Rupert.  We were hungry so we found a McDonalds and got some grub.

 
 
The drive down through Prince Rupert was really pretty in the first part of the drive.  I could not take enough pictures.  Then the further we went it got not so pretty and we saw a lot of fields of hay.  Hay must be a big crop in that area cause there was a lot of it.   The last part of the drive was so dry and looked like a desert.  So here are some pictures from each area.
 
 


 
Someone relaxing and taking a break amongst all the beauty
 
 

 
 



 
And there are sooooooooooo many more
 
 We did get behind this car and obviously they had already done Alaska and was heading south, but Why didn't they take the sign out of the window ?
 
 
 
 
This is not one of the big big fields but there were fields of bales all over for quite a lot of miles.  There was one place that was maybe a 40 acre field or more just all one solid field of hay.

 
We came to a town of West Quesnel B.C. and there was a wooden bridge so we stopped to see what that was all about.  It says on the plaque that it is the world's longest wooden truss bridge.  So we walked over and back, so now we can say WE DID THAT.
 



 
Another big industry in the B.C. is logging****Lots of logs
 

 
Stopped in Houston for a photo shot
 
 
Largest fishing pole ?

 
Stopped to take some photos
 
 
After taking this picture we both stepped on this cactus & I looked down & had a little ball of it on my leg.  That sure came off hard and it hurt taking it off.  Kents was on his shoe (sandal) and I liked to never get it off.  Using bare fingers to boot to take it off...DUH (well I had nothing else at the moment)




 
We FINALLY made it to the border YEA!  We are back in the USA!
We drove to Bellingham, Washington and stayed the night in the Walmart parking lot along with about 10 other campers.  The next day we met & made some New Friends.  They are Gary & Diane and they are Super good friends with Kent's sister Marsha & brother-in-law Don.  They said we could  not be that close to The Knutzens' and not stop.  So we gave them a call and we met up with them and they are such hospitable people.  They have a cottage or (cabin as they call it) so we went out there and Gary was going to set crab pots because Shaun their grandson was coming the next day and he would pull them back out and take the catch to eat.  Good thing about all that was he shared them with Kent & I.
 

 
This is Gary & Diane
 
 
Thank you so much Gary & Diane.  The invitation to visit & stay with you was so nice.


 
This is Shaun


 
These were the Freshest crap we have ever eaten.  By the time he brought them in from the cages he pulled out of the water and back in to shore He  cleaned*cooked* and ready to eat in 25 minutes.  Thank You so much Shaun!  Delicious!   Also I want to thank Kathy, Shauns' mother.  She baked cookies for Shaun since he was coming from 3 hours away and I guess he gets a batch of cookies when he comes, so anyway she shared some of his cookies with us.  Thank you Kathy they were scrumptious!  Sorry Shaun.

 
Beautiful Sunset out at the Cabin
 
 
Leaving there we stopped in Everett, Washington & toured the Boeing plant.
 

                                                         Fuselage section of a 767

 
The Dream Lifter is a specially designed plane to haul parts from Europe for the 767



 
Then the next day to Seattle, and the Space Needle
 

 
 
 
Mt. Rainier
 
We caught this picture just as the cloud was around the mountain & within 3 minutes of taking the picture the clouds engulfed it.  I just thought the picture was so pretty.
 

 
Now back to the title of this blog
We have traveled many bumpy roads on this trip and were doing so again yesterday (Monday) so with bumpy roads you must go slower, just a constant slow up speed up a little, tight turns, etc.  Well yesterday we were going to see Mt. St. Helen and we did not make it.  We started loosing transmission fluid and we could not go on up the mountain.  Since there was no cell service some nice people behind us took Kent to the ranger station and after 2 hours finally came back.  The truck was ON THE ROAD & with a steep drop off on our side.  The guys blocked the tires but I was so afraid if I got in the camper I could make it shift & roll back.  Never happened but I was afraid to move the slide out or anything.  We waited for 5 hours before the tow truck came.  He was very nice and he got us towed to a Ford dealership.  We are getting another transmission put in as we do not want to break down on the way home.  So we took the camper off the truck and the back lot of the dealership is going to be our home for a couple days.  They have been very helpful.  They have worked us in and have let us plug in to their electricity while here.  They even have free Wifi.  Can't beat that.   Some pictures of the dilemma.
 



 
The transmission is out & hope the replacement arrives in the morning

 
This is Dave & Trevor the Mechanics working on the project** I told them they just made my blog.
 
 
 
 
Well I have been  a bit long winded but there has been so much to share, so I hope you enjoy
 
 
 
Until next time
Kent & Martha
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2 comments:

  1. Wow that Mt Rainier was really beautiful like you said. The other pictures are really pretty to look at also except for the "trouble" along the way. Hope you get it fixed quickly and will be on the road again to another fun adventure. I just know you both would have rather been climbing into that "Big Yellow Bus" this morning. Hope you continue to have "lots" of fun, Love Ya both Bunches, Love Shelly

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  2. The school bus garage called here this morning because they thought we would know how to get a hold of you. School started here on Wednesday, 8/14, and they need you back ASAP on your bus routes. They want you back so badly that they will double your old salary. Just thought that you might want to know. :)
    Dave & Cheryl

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