Ahhhh…..Back in the USA!!

Day 83 – Tuesday, September 4

It was weird waking up today without our fellow caravan crew, and not having a travel briefing to outline the route.  It was a reality check that we’re back on our own again!  But, it was another beautiful drive today, even though there were a few sprinkles here and there.  I kept thinking we should see a rainbow, but didn’t catch it.   This leg of the trip was about 400 miles, from Quesnel, BC to Ferndale, Washington.  We thought we had left the scenic views behind….but, not at all.  We weren’t prepared for the great (but busy for Jim) drive today.   The road followed the Fraser River much of the way, twisting and winding, going up and down, through some neat looking little towns.   At least the road was paved, and we didn’t find any frost heaves, but there were plenty of “dangerous curve” signs.  We saw awesome views of the Fraser Canyon and Thompson River valley.  We didn’t make many stops for photo ops, but I was able to get a few through the windshield. 

The railroad followed the highway, and you could look straight down the canyon and see railroad tracks and bridges below.  It was a pretty neat sight. 

We went through 7 different tunnels…including Hell’s Gate Tunnel (named by the highway and railway construction crews for the difficult terrain ), and the China Bar Tunnel, which at 1,200 feet long, is one of the longest tunnels in North America! 

We made it through customs, with just a short wait…it was a small station with lots and lots of cars.  There was a special line for RV’s, and it took about 30 minutes to get through.  We had to give up our lemon, but other than that, things went smoothly and the customs agent said “Welcome Home!”  It is such a good feeling to be back in the USA!   We didn’t realize how much we missed our phones and wifi.  I spent almost two hours on the phone with kids and mom just catching up from being unconnected for the past week or so.

We are at The Cedars in Ferndale, Washington.  It is a really nice RV park. Neither of us have ever been to Washington state, so it is another “first” for us.  The raspberry bushes are everywhere, and raspberries are ripe right now.  We also were able to pick up some freshly picked Honeycrisp apples!  Spot was glad to stop and “smell the roses!”

And, we’re seeing a different kind of eagles here watching over the campground. 

We weren’t parked in our spot very long when there was a bang on the door---two RV’s from our caravan showed up at the same RV park!    They are headed to California, and just decided to make the stop here.  What a coincidence.

Yes, it’s good to be “home”.   Now that we have connectivity, we will plan our route for the next few days and see what additional adventures we can stir up.