Canada Bound

Did we tell you how beautiful the gardens were at the Estero Beach resort in Ensenada?

Ah! The things you see when you have a camera!

Skeena (Corner) and her new bestest friend Cindy!

Yes, well obviously we were in the US of A!

A very cool statue in Soap Lake, Oregon

Skeena and Cindy on one of our frequent pee stops.

This is our 'Calypso'. Home is where we park our trailer.

The problem with all great adventures is they must eventually come to an end. So our trek back to Canada began on March 22. We picked up a hitch-hiker in Ensenada - just kidding. Our good friend Cindy Allan travelled with us from that fine Mexican city to Revelstoke. She was a delightful companion that kept us entertained and stole the affections of our dog by smothering her with love and attention. 

Coming across the border at Tecate was a wise move. It isn't nearly as congested nor complicated to get in and out of as Tijauna is. A minor stop in secondary inspection to rid ourselves of the forbidden dog food was a blessing because it was horrible stuff. Mental note to self - take plenty of your own dog food as the crap in Mexico is, well, crap. Towing a trailer through the rat maize of a border crossing is not for the faint of heart. From there it was on to an Indian casino where we stopped for our first good burger in months. Susie and JD can now say they've been to a casino, didn't play any slots though. For the most part driving through Nevada on the Great Basin Highway was a whole lot of miles and miles of miles and miles. We're sure there are some interesting areas there but not when it's at the start of your journey homeward. Our first night was spent in Searchlight, Nevada. Apparently if we'd have hung around for the next day we could have had tea with Sarah Palin who was on a campaign through the state. Uh, no thank you we'd rather go home.

We continued on through Lost Wages not even stopping to try the slots. Oh well, next time we will take in some shows and try the slot machines. None of us could get over how nice it was to drive on roads where you didn't have to dodge pot holes or topes along the route. Our second night was spent at Wells, Nevada in a casino parking lot that was obviously popular with the truckers which was packed by morning. That proved to be our coldest night with temperatures dipping to -8C. Didn't think we'd have to dig out the down duvet that soon but it sure was cozy.

The next day we did a pit stop at Sierra Trading Post in Boise, Idaho where we made some lunch and perused the store for some good deals. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the Blue Mountains were behind us and we descended into Pendleton, Oregon for the night. The KOA proved to be the most expensive campground experienced so far. Lovely people with neat and clean facilities but they sure aren't shy about charging top dollar.

Pendleton to Revelstoke was a very long day, not recomended but it can be done as we proved on our final day. Crossing the border into Canada was certainly a different experience than we expected. Instead of 12 foot high walls topped with razor wire, surveillence blimps/helicoptors, border guards by the hundreds, infra red scanning devices, and dozens of workers milling about like bees which was encountered at the US crossing. Canada had one lonely, frazzled dude who politely asked us to put our lettuce in the freezer out back. In the future Canada may have to build a wall and hire some guns and helicopters to keep the Americans out. Cindy and Susie broke into a rousing rendition of 'Oh Canada' as we drove down the road through Osooyoos. Don't kid yourself when you return to your own country it is a glorious feeling!

Coming back to Revelstoke leaves us with conflicting emotions. Reconnecting with family and good friends is certainly the highlight of our return. And where we go from here...well, you'll just have to stay tuned!