The Rolling Home

We left Dawson Creek on July 17th, stayed one night at Whitecourt, Alberta with the Holders, stayed in south Calgary, Alberta, the 18th  and arrived in Great Falls, Montana the 19th. We crossed the US- Canadian border at Coutts and were once again stopped, but this time by our very own US customs. They asked if we had registered our shotguns before entering Canada and wanted the serial numbers. We did not know we were suppose to pre register them at US customs. There was no indication of such a requirement in any of the material we had read in preparation. There were no serial numbers and once they found out they had been John's father's guns and were very old they let us continue on our way.

July 19th through July 23rd we stayed in Great Falls Montana for a little R&R. We were very tired from our somewhat speedy travel and departure of Alberta. We were anxious to reach the lower 48. We caught up on movies that we had not seen and took some time to clean "Big D" inside and out and to pamper the Tracker. Both were required a great deal of our attention after spending two months traveling through British Columbia, Yukon territory and Alaska.

   July 24th we stayed at the Tennis and RV Resort in Lima, Montana. There isn't much in Lima except for a great group of people that belong to the tennis club. Harmon and Dot Prine were our hosts and made us feel most welcome. They charge $15 per night for full hookups and we feel that is most reasonable for this lovely setting. We were the only RV in the park.

We crossed into Idaho on I-15. South of Idaho Falls we entered an area called Blackfoot. As we approached Blackfoot I-15 lead us into an area of lava formations on both sides of the road. We stopped at the rest area and learned that the lava flows came from a crack in the earth located about 17 miles northwest of our location. Basically there are small hills of uplifted and cracked lava that you just can't take your eyes off of. This was an interesting and fun stop.

July 25th we arrived in Brigham City, Utah and stayed at the Golden Spike RV. This is a lovely park just off the interstate with plenty of shade. We locked ourselves out of the RV and a locksmith had to be called. He was absolutely wonderful and only charged us $25. John gave him a little more and the gentleman gave us an extra door key.

We had planned to proceed to Moab, but the "D" kept overheating no matter what we did to resolve the problem. We decided to go directly to Grand Junction to Freightliner. We even unhitched the Tracker so that we could drive them separately into Grand Junction. After making an appointment with Freightliner for the next day, we checked in at the Junction West RV Park just down the road. We found out the next day, July 27th, that the problem was caused by all of the mud, dirt and general grime becoming clogged and baked into the radiator as a result of traveling the Alaska highway.   After they cleaned the radiator, we took it for a good test drive and all was OK. There were at least 4 to 5 other motor homes there with the same problem. We will now hose down the radiator as part of our monthly maintenance.

  July 28th we drove 23 miles along the Rim Rock Road, which takes you on a spectacular trip along theColorado National Monument.     It covers 23 acres of geology, rock formations, arches, canyons and exposed areas of earth. It is a sight to behold. It makes you feel like you are driving through a mini grand canyon. It is a fabulous drive and highly recommended. The visitors center shows a video on the hour and half hour that is quite nice and they have a section that takes you through the history and geology of the park and area. This monument is a must see.

Monday, July 31st, we drove to Moab for our mail and took a tour of Arches National Park. If you drive all of the paved roads it takes about 4 to 4 ½ hours. There are many stops along the road to taken in the spectacular views and to hike to certain arches that are not visible from the paved road system. My favorite area is one that is referred to as the courthouse. There are many arches, but I think the colors of the rocks, the shear walls and the different erosion designs in the rocks is just beautiful. I was not aware that Moab, Arches and the surrounding area is on top of a salt bed that was deposited by an ancient sea. The salt is 1,000 feet deep in some areas. This is a beautiful place and one that we will visit again.

Camping Fees for July  $481 or $15.51 per night

Fuel for The Rolling Home  $607.49

June and July were the most expensive months for both fuel and camping fees due to our Alaska adventure.  We spent about a third more for campgrounds and at least twice as much for fuel.