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Winter 1997-1998 6/4/79 to 6/20/79 It seems that we have travelled most of the highways in making our annual trip to the Northwest. This year we planned a less direct route trying to hit some areas we missed a little south and west of home and then swung North into Canada. We headed west through Pennsylvania, W.Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri. We made a short visit to Gettysburg and saw the Cyclorama, and walked up to the gate of Camp David. The Marines didn't allow a closer look and I believe they didn't allow pictures although I got one of the gate. We made a stop at a Shrine of Lourdes in Emmitsburg Md. Our route made it possible to visit interesting Civil War locations such as, the Antietam battlefield, Harper's Ferry, and Lincoln's birth place. As we travelled westward we stopped to see the gold deposited at Fort Knox, Patton's Museum, and I stopped at the Louisville Rohm and Haas plant for a short visit. St. Louis We had visited the St. Louis area on a previous trip and we repeated some of our site seeing this time. I'd like to add a few comments regarding the Arch and Brewery. We travelled up into the Arch on a conveyor which followed the curvature. It was very interesting, there were many pictures and a good dialogue which explained the construction. The Arch is located in a park like area on the Mississippi River and we visited one of the several old river boats anchored at the river bank. Another attraction was the Budwieser brewery where we took the tour. There were several well preserved old buildings; especially a beautiful old stable where the Clydesdale horses are kept when they are not on the road. St. Louis was also a significant spot on our trip since we now turned north to head into Canada. Bamff, Lake Louise, and the Canadian Rockies were the main reasons for planning this route to Orcas. The drive north through the Dakotas was uneventful except for considerable wind. We passed through Minot and enter Saskatchewan on Rt.39 to Weyburn Sask. and then followed the transcanada highway Rt.1 through Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, and finally to Calgary, Alberta. It was a beautiful sight to see the Canadian Rockies in the distance. The Canadian Rockies Of all our trips I feel that the area around Lake Louise, Bamff and north to Jasper and Lake Lucern is without doubt the most picturesque. It is my favorite scenic area and one I could visit many times. We had visited the Canadian Rockies on our return from Orcas in 1975. We repeated most of memorable experiences of that trip and followed a somewhat different route. We visited the Chateaus at Lake Louise and Bamff, walked over some of the trails and then drove north to Jasper. The mountain ranges were beautiful and came right down to the highway. We stopped at the Columbia Ice Field again and enjoyed every mile of the beautiful scenery on the way to Jasper. We finally headed for Kamloops, through the Thompson and Frazer River canyons. At Hells Gate it was particularly interesting to see the rushing water through the narrow gorge flanked by railroad tracks clinging to the cliffs on each side. We finally reached Orcas and West Beach. Later we decided to move the trailer to Ed Jr's Yard which was to become it's home base until it was sold it to friends in February 1989. |