Heading Home

Our rest stop place on Good Hope Lake. Here we met, Stephan a native from Quebec who we shared travel stories and things we need to see when we come back to Canada. 

We also met Richard (from Michigan), a  participant in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, a motorcycle endurance race that takes riders from Key West, Florida to Homer, Alaska. he route will take riders through more than 62 mountain ranges, 33 Indian reservations, 26 national forests, 8 deserts, 6 national parks, and 4 swamps. The challenge is designed to test riders' physical, mental, and emotional limits, and to simulate the conditions that Lakota Sioux riders faced during treks forced by U.S. treaties. The event's name comes from a Sioux Indian rallying call, and net proceeds benefit residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation.

The morning sun shined across the Cassiar Mountains as  we continue down the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. The Stewart–Cassiar Highway scenic route, is also known as the Dease Lake Highway and the Stikine Highway as well as the Thornhill –Kitimat Highway from Kitimat to Thornhill, is the northwestern most highway in the Canadian province of British Columbia

This BMW looked like a casualty of the Cassiar Highway, up on rocks and needing two rear tires. 😅

On today's ride we saw a young black bear  near Pine Tree Lake (unfortunately no photo) and momma moose with a calf in the waters near Lower Gnat Lake. 

Bell II Lodge - a place to stop, eat, and rest before we take off for Hazelton in the morning. Freyja 😸 sent me a double rainbow, which made my heart warm and fuzzy. 

Exceptional views, of the mountains, river, and canyon from the 1931 basic structural bridge with only single lane traffic getting by.

Greg knows the pecking order for camping chairs, Lisa 1st chair, Benny 2nd chair, Greg in the dog's chair. 🤣 

It was a great day for sangrias on the River House Restaurant patio at Northern Lights Winery on the Nechako River. There was a delicious sandwich called Spicy Italian Stack: Calabrese Salami , Capicolla, Hot Genoa Salami , Arugula, Red Pepper Jelly, Monterey Jack, on a Ciabatta Bun.

Time for some Hot Shots...Galliano, Coffee, and Whip Cream, Yum!😋

We stayed in sites #24 & 25 . Many of the sites are small and have a bit of slope to them. It was nice to have 30amp electric and water, a rarity in the provincial parks. While there is little to no cell service, we were happy to have Starlink in order to help fellow camper who needed an ambulance via wifi calling. 

A view on the Thompson River with the railway about half way up the mountain. The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada.

Along the Okanagan Highway  (Hwy97) there are many beautiful lakes, this one happens to be in Lake Country, BC.  If the sun were on these lakes they would have been a very turquoise color. 

Lunch rest stop on the way to Midway on Monte Lake. 

Tucked into sites #5 & 6 for a couple of nights. 

Sunset from the Florence Street bridge in Midway.

Wow, all our ducks are in a row. 

If Lars had his choice of boats, this would be his. 

The FLoating Boardwalk was completed in April 1985, it is the world's longest of its kind at 3,300 feet long, 12 feet wide and 10 feet deep, with a 60-foot-long bridge on the west side.

Sites #49 & 50

Views from the campground. We were in sites #33 (back in)  & 36 (pull through).

There was quite a haze on the mountains today probably due to the wildfires in Idaho - Wapiti & Nellie are the two largest at the moment, but there are other smaller wildfires around as well. 

Mammoth Hot Springs has two boardwalks along the terraces. Approximately 50 host springs lie within the area. 

Mammoth Hot Springs is made of travertine, a type of limestone formed from calcium carbonate. The travertine was created over thousands of years as hot water from the springs cooled and deposited calcium carbonate.

Opal Pool is a hot spring in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Opal Pool usually has a temperature of approximately 132 °F

Excelsior Geyser Crater, a dormant geyser, now a hot-spring pool known for bright blue water, heavy steam & colorful surrounds.

Read the heroic journey of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians on the Travel Wyoming website. 

Dead Indian Hill Road near Paint Creek. 

The chill in the air was enjoyed with Hot Shots, a little Galliano, coffee, and whip cream, made by the Swede. 

More of our four-legged neighbors in the campground. 

On our ride we took a little detour to Keystone to avoid the rain coming back to Hill City, but still got caught in it briefly on the Old Hill City Road.

I was reading about the scenic drives in the area and we have completed all of them several times, except for one, Skyline Drive near Rapid City. Unfortunately the north end of the Skyline Drive was closed due to construction. 

Since coming to the Black Hills area, we have always liked the little town of Hill City and today we took the eBikes on the Mickelson Trial to the Caboose Coffee House .

While riding through town, we took a few minutes to watch the Black Hills of South Dakota 1880 Steam Train getting ready for its travels between Hill City and Keystone.

While a little blurry due to the amount of zoom in this photo, it's definitely a different view point of Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Both were taken from the Mt. Coolidge Lookout & Fire Tower.

One of Custer State Park’s unique and stand-out features is the Cathedral Spires – a group of granite pillars located in the Needles that have been designated a National Natural Landmark.

Sunset train coming across the prairie. 

The sunset is reflecting off the RV (Site #51) with the near full moon in the background. Sunday's are always peaceful in the campgrounds. The King loop has 77 sites and there were only 8 campers tonight. 

Full moon rising after a great day of riding. 

Site #40

View from site #213, not quite what we were expecting. 

View we were hoping for, but only the seasonal sites are along the Mississippi River. 

We visited Spruce Creek Park, situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, just north of town.  All sites are first come first serve for $25 a night. Sites have 50amp electric, a water fill station, and dump station. This view is of site #5.

More sites along the river at Spruce Creek. 

Dynamite shrimp tacos, a spicy mango margarita and views of the Mississippi for lunch today. 

Lunch view for Off Shores restaurant and bar. 

Today we took the ebikes to Bellevue State Park along the banks of the Mississippi River just south of Bellevue. The park lies in two separate tracts. The Nelson Unit is at the immediate south edge of Bellevue on U.S. Route 52 (The Great River Road), atop a 300ft  limestone bluff. The Dyas Unit is 2 miles farther south on U.S. 52 and has a campground with electric for $20 a night (water and dump station available). 

The lunch view was from River Ridge Brewing where we had excellent flatbreads and apple pie cider. 

Our site was #8 with a nice view of the river. 

Early morning barge coming up the river.