First Trip to the States

August 31 2010

Loaded with a trailer full of containers with hasmat residue headed to Fontana California. It's cold outside, looking forward to the warmth in the states. It's now official Buddy and I are becoming travellers. Headed down highway 2, spending the night in Nanton Ab. Stopped in Claresholm Ab to mail a letter, what a cute town, I want to go explore it sometime.

September 1 2010

Whoo hoo the border!! According to the information from JR's company, I am 110 years old. LOL They had my  birthday as December 31 1899!! Even the fellow at the border said I looked good for my age. hee hee. Now I have to figure out how to fit a rocking chair into truck.
Stop at the duty free to grab smokes, $37.50 for a carton of Canadian smokes.

The Border at Coutts

Secondary Radiation Sensor

  The northern half of Montana really reminds me the the area around Drumheller, coulees, and kettle and drum hills. Cattle, grain and pumpjacks. The pumpjacks here are baby ones, about a third of the size of the ones in Alberta. Lots of wind power farms around too. Those things are huge! All the access roads have Texas gates where they hook up to the interstate..Don't want those cows getting on the highway. Grey and raining out, where is this warm weather I was told about??
  Great Falls Montana. Stop for fuel and a quick walk for Buddy and a smoke for me. This only being able to smoke every 3-4 hours is going to kill me. South of Great Falls, the geography really starts to change. On one side of the road is the Big Belt Mountains, the other side of the road is the Rocky Mountains. The colors of the rock is amazing. They are totally different than 'our' mountains in Alberta. Terrible to see the damage done by the Pine Beetle. Whole mountain sides that should be green with Pine trees are full of dead brown trees.
Up one mountain and down the other side. My ears are popping from the difference in altitude like popcorn. Hope it's not bothering the dog like it is me. I play tourist all day looking out the window, taking pictures and checking the big atlas book to see where we are and what is all around us. They sure like their flags here! It seems every second house has a very large American flag flying in the yard. Drive by a little town that claims it is the opal capital of the U.S... One of theses trips we will have to stop and check it out.

Big Belt Mountains

   Dillon Montana. It's official I now know I am in the states. Stop at a store, walking around exploring the store. First thing I notice is that you can buy liquer in the store. I start giggling when I see in this same store you can buy guns and the ammo to go with them. Talk about your one stop shopping!! LMAO!!  Seems very odd to see Spanish on everything instead of French.

Notice the shotgun blasts through sign

On into Idaho where we spend the night in Blackfoot, just north of Idaho Falls. JR wants to show me the lava flows where he usually stops for a walk. In the parking lot of the rest area where we stay is a truck haul one blade for a wind farm turbine. Holy crow! It's well over 75 feet long and about 8 feet tall and the circumfrence was about 12 feet where it would attach to the rest of the turbine.

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Wind turbine blade