Epilogue



Following a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, juice and coffee we said our goodbyes to everyone on the caravan and started the long drive back to Texas. Robert and Bet are going the same way, so we will travel together for the next several days. We left Vanderhoot around 9:00 and headed east on the Yellowhead Highway - Hwy 14 - toward Prince George.

We traveled almost 400 miles the first day as we progressed through the rest of British Columbia and entered Alberta near Jasper.

 

It was amazing how the landscape changed as we passed Jasper. The mountains looked at first as if they were covered with snow, and as we got closer they began to look like large sand-covered mountains.

 

Finally we got close enough to see that they were solid rock.

 

The landscape was also covered with large and small lakes that were very shallow. Our first night was spent at a KOA campground in Hinton, Alberta. Ron and Cindy pulled in around 6:00 and we visited with them for a while.

Early the next morning we set our for our next 400 miles journey. This took us across the rest of Alberta and into Saskatchawan. Once again the landscape began to take a noticeable change. We left the mountains and lakes behind and entered the rolling farmlands of central Canada. For miles we saw large fields of yellow-flowered crops that they use to make Canola Oil.

 

The sky was dark with rainclouds and made a beautiful backdrop for the yellow fields. Lots of hayfields were also scattered along our route as we neared our 2nd stopping point near Saskatoon. Robert had a blowout on his trailer about 50 miles from Saskatoon and that made it necessary to stop there to get a new tire. Our plan was to drop into North Dakota and stop in Minot. However, the clerk at the Canadian Tire Store told us that there was a lot a flooding down that way. I called both campgrounds in Minot and found that they were both closed for the season. Checking other campgrounds in northern North Dakota gave us the same result. Consequently, we decided to take Highway 2 and go on east into Manitoba to Brandon. This was our stop for the third night on the road.

55 miles south of Brandon we crossed the U.S./Canada border and started down U.S. Highway 281. The border guard was very friendly and wanted to know about our trip. He did go into the trailer and looked around, but we were soon on our way across North Dakota and down to Aberdeen, South Dakota. About 50 miles down into North Dakota we were stopped for road construction. The flagman told us that it would be a 10-15 minute wait for the pilot car. Shortly the pilot car came to lead us across. What we found was a freshly laid dirt road with long stretches of mud and ruts 10-15 inches deep. The trailer swayed back and forth in the mud, and I prayed that we wouldn't have to stop anywhere for fear that I would be stuck. About 5 miles later we got back on a good hard surface. It seems that they were raising the road 5 feet and moving it 70 feet west due to flooding. It was undoubtedly the worst road conditions we have faced on this entire trip. Add to that, our air conditioning quit working and we had to drive the next 300 miles without it. After driving a total of 400 miles this day we arrived in Aberdeen and stayed at the Wylie Park and Campground. This was a very nice campground located adjacent to a small amusement park. The drive across South Dakota was very nice. Everything was very green with fields of corn, hay, and soybeans creating a patchwork mosaic. It was beautiful.

Tuesday morning I was up early and off to the Chevrolet dealer to see about the AC. Shortly after leaving the campground, I turned the AC on, and it worked. I went on the to service department where they told me it was probably a low pressure switch. The service writer showed me what to tap on if it quit again and assured me that it would probably start working again. Sure enough, it continued to work without a problem. This day found us driving another 400 miles south on Highway 281 across the rest of South Dakota and into Nebraska. Our stop today was at the Prairie Oasis Campground just east of Grand Island, Nebraska. Nebraska's landscape was rolling and very green also. I was amazed by the amount of irrigation we encountered. Large irrigation systems were everywhere.

Wednesday morning we got up and around an prepared for out final 400 mile run into Oklahoma City. After saying goodbye to Robert and Bet we headed east on I-80 before stopping for breakfast in York, Nebraska.

 

The drive from York to Oklahoma City on Highway 81 and then Interstate 35 took us just under 8 hours with stops only for diesel and a couple of leg-stretches. We arrived at Dad's shortly after 4:00 and set the trailer up for the final time on this trip.

When we reach Corsicana we will have driven almost exactly 12,250 miles. I had estimated that we would drive 10,000 miles. I budgeted $5,000 for diesel fuel and so far we have stayed under budget. Diesel prices ranged from a low of $3.69 a gallon in Texas to a high of $1.82 a liter ($6.89 per gallon) at the Cold River Lodge in the Yukon Territory. This was exceptionally high - the next highest was $1.69 per liter but most of the time it $1.50 or less. I hoped to average 10 mpg, and as of today we are getting a little over 11 mpg.

Was it worth the cost? Without a doubt, this was the most amazing, funfilled, educational trip I have ever been on. We saw and did things I never dreamed of seeing or doing. The people we met and traveled with for 58 days were pleasant, entertaining and just downright fun to be with - we had a blast!!!

We arrived home about 2:30 P.M. on Saturday, August 13. That means we were gone exactly 75 days and 6 hours! It was a wonderful trip, but it is nice to be home.