Don't blow your top!

Man candy time!   One way to wake the posse is to fill the rig with the sweet aroma of bacon!! 

Seattle has proven less than expected.  The culture is definitely in your face.  There is an arrogance and cavalier attitude that is much more aggressive than any place that comes to mind.  The city itself is fun, the people along the way in downtown are a bit over the top.

Consequently, I am in no hurry to rush back into the city today.  That is why I am the master candy maker; that is man candy!!  After a little bacon, I suppose we will go explore Mt. St. Helens and then weather the rugged terrain of downtown Seattle.

I hope I don’t offend you northwestern folks who love this town; maybe I just hit it on a bad day.  So far, my take is, give me New York anytime!  Cinnamonworks is the redeeming point of interest in downtown Seattle.  If you ever want excellent cookies, this place is the bomb!

The man candy is done as is my time with you.  I will see you after the big volcano exploration!

7/7/12

Back to the Emerald City

We left Anacortes with the primary objective of picking some fresh fruit!  We took off on a side road and within a mile we were at a huge fruit farm, with a smoothie bar!  Everyone departed the RV with the hopes of some fresh fruit, while I was having some caffeine withdrawals.

Schuh Farms was the perfect destination.  They had strawberry fields along with a coffee bar.  But it was the tayberries that caught the imagination of the Tyner's.  We gathered enough berries to make the journey to Seattle entertaining.  Caleb even found a friend at the farm that kept him entertained for quite a while.

We pointed the rig back to the interstate and were Seattle bound.  The Seattle KOA was south of town, so we made our way to the campsite and found a rental car to navigate town.  It was down near the piers that we were scammed by the parking.  There was a city parking meter right behind the car and it was the wrong one to pay!  Oops!

We explored Seattle and saw many of the sights that are fun; the gum wall, the fish market and mongers, the original Starbucks, the traditional mall type stores (Forever 21) and last but not least, Cinnamonworks.  Cinnamonworks has the best peanut butter cookies, possibly in the entire world.  A trip to Seattle without visiting Cinnamonworks would be like a trip to St. Louis and not seeing the Arch.

We were pleasantly surprised to see a celebration of Indonesia while in Seattle.  The celebration brought a smile to our faces as we thought of our great friends, the Pinkstons.

This is the parking scam location.

As the girls lingered in Forever 21, Caleb seized the moment to creep on Caitlin as she was texting her peeps.

Back at the campsite, we celebrated an amazing event, Kelly's birthday.  We had scored some surprise candles at Glacier National Park and saved them for this very moment.  They were the old trick candles that go out and then ignite again after they were seemingly out.  A word to the wise, these candles are a great idea and always a hit, but don't use them in an RV.  There is limited space and the reaction time to put them out without the smoke alarm alerting the entire park will likely result in burnt fingers!

Tree of Life

The Capilano Suspension Bridge (http://www.capbridge.com/) is a great time.  It is worth the train, bus and boat we used to get to it!

We had been warned to avoid driving the RV around town, so we opted  for an alternative method into Vancouver, and we parked at the Train Station in Surrey and hopped the subway there.  The worker was a great help planning our trip and providing the necessary maps to journey through town.  We left Surrey on the subway and arrived downtown in time to hop a ferry to North Vancouver.  There we grabbed the bus and were on our way to Capilano.

Capilano was the destination our friend Winston passionately wanted us to experience.

Capilano was an interesting destination because Kelly is mildly afraid of heights and the 450 foot long suspension bridge is only 230 feet above the river below.  I don't think the height was that big of a deal, but the swaying of the bridge would make the average person a bit nervous about their footing on this baby!

We spent a great deal of energy walking around the trees and enjoying Capilano.  One sign pointed out the significance of the Tree of Life.  I found the sign interesting as my narrow mindedness only allowed me to believe there is one Tree of Life!!!

The time at Capilano was awesome.  But once we returned to the RV, the entire family was more than ready to return to the US.  We had scouted out and knew the best place for us to cross the border was about 13 miles west of the coast.  The line out of Canada was non-existent and the only casualty of our return was our citrus fruit.  (You cannot bring fruit back into the US!)

The suspension bridge is suspenseful!

Walking through the trees.

Kristen has a pretty tight grip!

Kelly has a firm grip on things!

Kelly is missing in action!

An awesome sunset in Anacortes!

We made our way to Anacortes, WA to rest and relax at Fidalgo Bay Resort.  It was an incredible place to spend the evening and the entire family had a great time!

The Fourth

Traveling in the US on the 4^th of July without reservations is about as crazy as doing so on July 1^st in Canada.  But since the 4^th fell midweek in Canada, there were no problems getting reservations for the night, although we were uncertain as where we would land.

This was arguably the most unpredictable day of the journey so far.  Cory says, “You are only 25 miles from some of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of Canada.”

Seriously, I was simply looking for a place to park the rig.  After determining the small mountain roads are passable for a 36 foot rig, I pointed the buggy uphill towards them.  The enthusiasm within our 5182 cubic feet of occasional joy did not include that occasional joy one might hope for with such a discovery.

All the same, away we went.  There were bridges that didn’t seem reasonable for our RV to cross, but as the hip kids say, “yolo”.  There were canyons that mere words could not adequately describe and there were waterfalls galore.  But the mac daddy was the Helmcken Falls.  It was an amazing discovery!

Helmcken Falls is arguably one of the coolest waterfalls in Canada!  And Wells Gray Provincial Park could take a month to explore this place by itself.  We had a great time here and opted to make it a half day rather than explore more around the park.  On our way out, the bear I was afraid of the night before made itself known, by crossing right in front of us.  Another little hike or two and our city slickers were ready to tour lovely Vancouver.

It was an intense drive through the mountains and about as scenic as you could ever imagine.  This is an incredible drive.

But Cory had given me one more little surprise for our day.  The Othello Tunnels were supposed to be an old rickety gravel parking lot that would require one to squeeze through a poorly locked chain link fence that would offer a fun afternoon activity.  Unfortunately, when we rolled into the park, it was legitimate.  A true parking lot, no “No Trespassing” signs and even a welcoming park employee were the marks of this place.  Oh well, a great time was experienced by all.

It turns out the Othello Tunnels are unbelievably cool.  If you find yourself near Hope, BC, do yourself a favor and stop at this provincial park!!

Escargot

Finally, we made our way to Surrey where we camped at Tynehead Campsite.  I don’t know if me running over the electrical pole or the pay showers freaked the kids out the most.  I know I had to repeat, “Serenity now” a couple times after taking out the pole.  But a quick shower in the pay shower helped the blood pressure and the peace of mind!

Magpie and Stump

Banff was much more interesting the day after Canada Day.  Traffic was light, parking places were available, even for a 36' RV.

Caleb was excited to spend some time in a natural hot spring much like the one in Glenwood Springs, CO and so Banff was our destination for the day.  Before the hot springs though, we opted to check out the town and grab a little lunch.

Magpie and Stump was our selection due to the TexMex menu and budgetary acceptance.  The name was funny for the joint, evidently the commoners in London were called Magpies versus the attorneys who were known as Stumps.  I would say an RV full of Tyners would definitely qualify us as Magpies.

After lunch, we made our way back to the RV and journeyed up the mountain to the hot springs.  Initially it appeared we would not be able to play due to limited parking.  But there was a single RV spot that was perfect for us to back into.  After parking, changing and walking to the pool, we paid the admission and entered the pool!

To our surprise, it was about the size of our closet.  Well, it might have been a bit larger, but if you have ever been to Glenwood Springs, you would have significant expectations on a hot springs pool and Banff's was small, crowded and hot on a hot day.  Needless to say, we were only there for a few minutes before retreating to other activities.  (Evidently, the women's changing room presented some more entertaining moments than the men's!)


We journeyed back to Lake Louise campground and took care of some paperwork and set up camp for the night.  Some of us went to hear camp stories at the amphitheater and after realizing we were a bit young for the message, went back to camp.

Oh Canada....

Enjoying my version of Oh Canada...

Oh Canada, Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide....

We arrived at Banff National Park on Canada Day!  It was awesome, we received free admission, Canada flags and pens and a great sense of the Canadian patriotism.  Our limited memory was evident as the only words we heard from our RV in regards to their national anthem were "Oh Canada....." and it usually sounded like my voice.

I had too many questions and too little time for the park entrance attendant.  She wanted to know how many days we were going to be in the park and I had no idea.  I made a guess and hammered her with other questions.  She told me the charge, I paid her cash and continued with my questions as cars lined up behind us.  In the rushed dialogue, it became evident a couple hours later, I had forgotten one important element, the   tag or receipt from my entrance fee.  (Later the next day the rangers at the Lake Louise visitor's center would have a good laugh at my expense as they created a tag for us to continue our journey through this amazing park!)

Have you ever been to the town of Banff?  It is hard to find a parking place for a punch buggy on a normal day, let alone a 36 foot RV.  I had been there and kind of knew that, but had an idea where I might park the rig.  One thing I had never done before though was visit Banff on Canada Day right before their annual parade.  There was a good possibility our rig was going to be front and center in the parade if I didn't figure a way out of town.


It was so crowded we literally burned an hour and a half simply driving into this small burg and trying to get out of it!




Safe and sound at the Lake Louise campsite, we walked to the entrance area where a shuttle bus took us up to the Lake and hotel for a fun exploration.  Caleb was committed to falling into the glacier runoff filled lake and freezing his little toes off.  His escapades along the side of the lake finally caused be to believe the only way for him to learn his lesson was like the little boy we saw who happened to accidentally get soaked in some runoff water.  But boy wonder had more balance and grace than I gave him credit for, and thoroughly enjoyed the lake without totally experiencing it!

Everyone was ready to sleep after this long day!  The view from our RV was incredible, my photography skills don't do justice, but trust me on this!

Big Detour

The size restrictions on the Going to The Sun Road forced us to leave West Glacier and go east.  The rugged 18 mile stretch of the road compelled us to drive an extra 75 miles to get to the east gate area of Glacier National Park.  It was a scenic and relaxing drive, the kids were asleep when we left camp, so it was a bit shorter for them.

A ranger earlier in our Glacier explorations told us Many Glacier Road was worth our visit.  It was a little treacherous, but an amazingly beautiful road.  Since I was behind the wheel, and the kids are slow to share the photos, you will just have to trust me on this one.


This was the road that led Kelly to one of her new passions, becoming a Junior Ranger.  We are so proud of this accomplishment!  Who knew?


As we were leaving Many Glaciers, Caitlin found a spot she wanted to snap some photos and we stopped the RV on this fairly desolate road.  It was at this point that one of the funniest things I have ever seen occurred.  A Honda Accord, we had crossed paths with along the way had a massive dog co-piloting it, passed us.  I don't know if it was a Mastiff or a Saint Bernard, but it was massive!  It was Fred Flintstone flip the car over huge!

Simultaneously, as we sat idle a pedestrian came strolling up the road with her two fairly large dogs.  The dogs spotted the Honda with the monster dog and literally cornered it and forced it to stop until they had given it its right of passage.  My photography skills were too slow to capture the exact moment, but it was awesome.

After this little entertainment opportunity, it was time to leave the country!  The Canadian customs folks welcomed us with open arms.  Who wouldn't like those people?