Road Trip - long

Tdog · Aug 11, 2008

I am almost half way through my little jaunt to Calgary. I am currently in Kalispell Montana - - got here from my home in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana via Dallas Oklahoma- Kansas-Colorado-Wyoming-Montana, a little over 2500 miles so far. The change in temperature is welcome, the changes in the agriculture is fun to observe, not to mention all the great scenery. It was strange to see corn just 4 tall or so in Colorado when mine at home has been finished since mid July. And the fields of sunflowers are just plain stunning.
My wife and I are essentially ç§Ÿrive-by tourists, spending only one night at each of our stops as we need to be in Calgary by Tuesday. Since leaving the Dallas area last Monday, we have been through the following National Parks: Rocky Mountain, Grant Teton, & Yellowstone. Tomorrow we will drive through Glacier NP and enter Canada. We will spend tomorrow night in Canadaç—´ Waterton Lakes National Park. Then finally on to Calgary Tuesday to visit my daughter. With her in tow Banff and Jasper are scheduled. Then all I have to do is drive back home - - we should get there sometime in the last week of the month. Wish summer would be over by then, but no chance.

Other random [subjective] observations - -
Wyoming must have the highest ratio of horses to people in the country.
Iè‡´e learned to be careful when stopping for gas. Regular does not always mean 87 octane - - I have seen 83 and 85 å–ªegular? You have to move up a grade to get 87.
It is hard to get a good cup of coffee consistently.
Whatç—´ not to like about Wyoming and Montana? Great scenery and speed limits. In fact some of the roads I took from I-90 to Kalispell were posted at 70, but that was a little too much for me.
I think there ought to be a law to make farmers post signs showing what they are growing next to the highway. I see lots of fields in cultivation & have no idea what it is.
Ate my first huckleberry today - - it was good, a lot like blueberries.
Produce section of supermarket was interesting - - nice fruit & veggies. Nice looking corn 3/$1. Okra was $4.49/lb! Huge yellow & red bell peppers.
I have not missed my Kubota yet, but that will not last.
I do miss our dogs, placed in a kennel for their longest stay ever.
Moose Drool beer was PDG!

Hope I didn't bore you.

Jack

Chuck52 · Aug 11, 2008

Jack,

We've done those long drives, too, and always talk about going back to the more interesting spots along the way to get a better look. We've done a couple so far, but most will have to wait for retirement.

Sunflowers....I remember driving into Colorado in the morning and seeing a whole hillside covered with sunflowers all pointing right at us, or at the sun from their perspective I suppose.

Chuck

Bird · Aug 11, 2008

Yep, Jack, that's some pretty country you're seeing. And I, too, wondered what some of the crops were.

EarPlug · Aug 11, 2008

Tdog said:
Ivｴe learned to be careful when stopping for gas. Regular does not always mean 87 octane - - I have seen 83 and 85 蝟ｪegular? You have to move up a grade to get 87.

Jack - Don't worry about the octane rating. Here in Colorado, 85 is Regular due to the altitude.

The following is from Wikipedia -

Regional variations

Octane ratings can vary greatly from region to region. For example, the minimum octane rating available in much of the United States is 87 AKI and the highest is 93. However this does not mean that the gas is different.
In the Rocky Mountain (high altitude) states, 85 octane is the minimum octane and 91 is the maximum octane available in fuel. The reason for this is that in higher-altitude areas, a typical combustion engine draws in less air per cycle due to the reduced density of the atmosphere. This directly translates to reduced absolute compression in the cylinder, therefore deterring knock. It is safe to fill up a car with a carburetor that normally takes 87 AKI fuel at sea level with 85 AKI fuel in the mountains, but at sea level the fuel may cause damage to the engine. A disadvantage to this strategy is that most turbocharged vehicles are unable to produce full power, even when using the "premium" 91 AKI fuel. In some east coast states, up to 94 AKI is available [2]. In parts of the Midwest (primarily Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri) ethanol based E-85 fuel with 105 AKI is available [3].

EddieWalker · Aug 11, 2008

You're seeing some awesome country!!!!

In Washington State, we saw that they had signs on the crops along the highway. Only place that I've ever seen that.

Eddie

czechsonofagun · Aug 11, 2008

Enjoy! Some amazing country. We done it last summer - from Virginia to Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and via Chicago back.

Tdog · Aug 13, 2008

Thanks for the octane info - - I've been using 87, but now I know that may not be necessary.

True to form, we spent 1 night at the vintage 1927 Prince of Wales Inn in Waterton on the 11th, which just happened to be our 39th anniversery. It is a beautiful facility. We were lucky to get a room & were on the 5th floor - - there was an elevator - - that ended on the 4th floor. One more flight of steps to get to our room. No TV, no internet, no AC [did not need it], etc. And, they serve High Tea at 3 PM each day - - we went to the lounge instead. As much as we liked the place, got to say that whoever owns/operates it should be shot. The staff was great, but the facility is deteriorating - - rotting window sills, wood in need of paint, etc. To be on the list of national historic sites, it sure has not been maintained. Still, I'm glad we could stay there.
One more thing I intended to say in my original post is that damage from pine bark beatles is extensive in almost all forests. It's a real shame to see entire mountain sides brown, instead of green.
In Calgary now. Our other daughter will fly in here today & we are all taking off for Banff, Jasper, & Lake Louise. They will have to go some to beat Glacier, my favorite park so far.

Jack

Bird · Aug 13, 2008

Jack, when we came down through Banff, Jasper, and Lake Louise in 1990, it was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed it. But of course, we were in an RV, enroute south from Alaska, so we stayed in campgrounds. But then when we got to Glacier National Park, we spent a couple of nights, just west of the park, in what was at that time the highest priced RV park we'd ever seen. And when we drove up into the park, it was so foggy that day that we couldn't see anything. So we've visited Glacier National Park; just have never seen it.

Tdog · Aug 16, 2008

Bird - - you missed some incredible scenery. If you drove the Going to the Sun Road without being able to see the sights, you were cheated. I envy your making the trip in an RV. My wife's version of camping is staying in a Motel 6 [NO offense intended here]. [My version is no internet]. We've stayed in a couple of places where there was no AC - - Canada or not, it was hot.

I'm back in Calgary this afternoon, after doing Jasper, Lake Louise & Banff since last Tuesday. We start back tomorrow, sorta - - I thought I'd start by going the wrong direction, through the Canadian Glacier National Park before we head south.

I almost miss my Kubota now. Really miss our dogs!

Jack

Bird · Aug 16, 2008

Yep, Jack, we stayed in an RV park in West Glacier, then drove up to the Logan's Pass Visitor Center on 7/27/90. And we did see some beautiful scenery in places, but the higher we went, the worse the fog got.