Prince Rupert to Alberta - Aug. 1-3, 2014

The ferry stopped for 4 hrs at Ketchikan.  It was only 2 miles from city center (unlike the 14 to Juneau) so it wasn't so stressful.  There was bus service but it only ran every hour so we chose to take a cab.  A curious thing was that it cost $10 dollars to take it in and $12 to come back.  There also was several cruise ships docked right at the town center area but didn't seem so crowded as in Juneau.  Ketchikan has many totem poles in various spots in the area.  We did a walking tour and saw several on them, watched the salmon in the river that runs through the town, and had ice cream before returning to the ferry.

We couldn't decide whether it was worth trying to sleep with the docking time at Prince Rupert so we basically just dozed without actually returning to our room to go to bed.  That may not have been the best decision.  It was 1 a.m. by the time we got off the ferry.  The first stop was just blocks from the dock at a Walmart parking lot to sleep until daylight to begin the journey home.  It turned out to be a long day as we ended up driving almost 600 miles.  It was a Canadian holiday weekend and I don't think a single Canadian stayed home.  There was an unbelievable  number of vehicles in Banff and Jasper National Parks.  Our fuel was getting perilously low so we drove into the town of Banff to find more people in one small area than we have ever seen and back ups at the small gas stations that we couldn't have gotten into with the rig anyway.  It was a relief to get out of there and we made it to the next exit.  We finally found a rv park with space for us and I ask what the holiday was.  Her reply was, "I am not sure, I think it is just for the government workers to have another day off." Lol  It was located at McBride, BC.  In the meantime, we needed more fuel and paid the most we have paid on the whole trip - $2 a liter.

Sun. we got a fairly early start and drove almost 500 miles to Fort McCleod, Alberta.  We called ahead and they said they had one space left.  Four years ago, we hardly ever had to make reservations.  It has been a very different situation this trip so we are assuming there are many more people traveling.

Today, Aug. 4, we crossed the border into the lower 48 and are now at the most expensive RV park we have stayed in.  It is in Billings, MT.  They must be very proud of the park as it cost $72 dollars a night.  You would think for that price, the wifi would be fantastic.  Not so, so I don't think I will even try to load pictures.

This will be my last entry into the blog this trip as tomorrow will be traveling flat none scenic roads.  It has been a fabulous trip and we are still speaking to each other.  Actually enjoying each others company.  I could not love anyone more than I love and enjoy being with Gary.

Thanks for all the readers of this blog.  I hope I haven't bored you too much.  It has been hard for me to determine how many were reading it each day.