#Project365: Whatshan Settlement

I discovered the area where my friend, Leon, lives to be very peaceful and truly enjoyable. His front yard consists of his garden, orchard, hoop houses, solar array, and a forested area where an art studio stands. It was so peaceful, in fact, that it took me a while to adjust to the quietness. An unexpected treat awaited me, as Leon is a good cook and made several meals.

The hoop house:

The orchard:

The river:

These two greeted me every morning and are very loving:

The solar array:

The river:

The forest close to the river:

I feel very lucky to have been able to spend four days at Leon's. I felt truly rested when I left there; and almost wished I didn't have to leave. However, I was due at Anchorage, Alaska, in two weeks and needed to continue the journey, as I had a long way yet to go.

#Project365: Crowsnest Pass, the mighty Columbia River, and Whatshan Lake

Today wraps up the first leg of the story of my voyage, ending at a friend's farm in British Columbia and giving me some rest from driving. After crossing the seemingly endless hay fields surrounding Pincher Creek, Alberta, I came to an interesting historic place called, "Leitch Collieries," which used to be a coal mining operation. The operation came to a halt during WWI due to financing issues.

You can learn more about this park here: http://history.alberta.ca/leitch/

As I continued up to the pass, I discovered more interesting sites (including the Frank Slide [http://history.alberta.ca/frankslide/]) and came upon this old mining building:

In fact, I am still learning more about this trip even now. As I traveled through the Crowsnest Pass, I went from Alberta to British Columbia.

I continued through Salmo and many other small towns along the way.

Eventually I made it to Nakusp and the Columbia River where BC 6 turns south and heads to Fauquier where the ferry crosses the Columbia River.

This was the first time I had been on a ferry, so it was a unique experience for me.

Once I was across the river, it was a short drive to my destination near Whatshan Lake where my friend lives. What an adventure this had been so far!

#Project365: Chief Mountain, Crossing the Border, and Pincher Creek

So far, my trip had been pretty tame and on fairly familiar ground; as I had already been in every state I had traveled through. As I wound my way up US 89, I recognized the familiar towns of Browning, Kiowa, and St. Mary. My excitement was building as I was entering the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

As I entered the mountains, I came upon Chief Mountain; a grand sight indeed:

As usual, it felt great to be back in the mountains. Knowing that I would spend the next 4 weeks traversing mostly mountains, I was entering a new realm. I was about to experience quite the interesting time at the border....

Unbeknownst to me, apparently guns are big issue with regard to crossing the border. What held up my crossing had more to do with a lack of border agents where I chose to cross and the fact that the couple in front of me was found to have a gun in their car without declaring it. Furthermore, when asked why they didn't declare it; their stories apparently didn't hold up. Luckily for me, an agent quickly got to me after finishing up with their vehicle and asked me a few questions and told me to enjoy my stay in Canada without ever searching the van.

I arrived safely at Pincher Creek about an hour later and discovered that the campground had a lovely flower garden where I took these pics:

The only problem I had encountered was the fact that my phone no longer worked in Canada...ack! Tomorrow I shall describe my most exciting day yet.

#Project365: Where is Downstream Campground?

Today we continue further west to see some more sights along the way. I decided to stop in Williston, ND for lunch and spotted a nice park to eat. Harmon Park provided me with a nice view while I ate and chatted with a friend on the phone about how much the landscape in North Dakota had changed over the past few years. For those unfamiliar with North Dakota; prior to the fracking boom, it was mostly rural farmland. While it is still rural farmland for the most part; the western part of the state has become dotted with drilling rigs, flaring stacks, storage wells, and power lines strung all over.

So, where is Downstream Campground? It is located at Fort Peck, Montana at the base of the Fort Peck Dam. Fort Peck Dam is the world's largest hydraulically-filled dam and is massive; extending almost four miles across the Missouri River valley and standing over 250 feet high. The dam from the campground:

The dam is humongous and quite a sight to behold. This picture shows the campground from the top of the dam (the area with trees next to the body of water):

The dam from the east end:

A couple of shots looking out at Fort Peck Lake:

More tomorrow! 

#Project365: Turtle River State Park

As promised yesterday, here are some sneak previews of a couple more projects we will be featuring at upcoming shows. The theme of these particular projects is:

Just ignore that domino charm in the upper left-hand corner...

So, where is Turtle River State Park? Well, it is just west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and that was where I spent my second night on my journey to the Great White North. While I have been in North Dakota before several times, I hadn't previously traveled this far north in the state.

North Dakota is pretty flat and there isn't a whole lot to see as far as scenery, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western part of the state doesn't get much better unless one enjoys looking at hundreds of fracking sites, gas flares, and power lines strung along the countryside. Tomorrow we'll continue further west!

#Project365: Wandering North America

Yesterday I mentioned that we have some new artwork pictures of items we are working on, so I'll get to them first. Do you need something to hang your herbs on to dry out?

Here are some domino charm pendants:

I will have more pictures tomorrow of more new creations. Meanwhile, this van was my home for 5 weeks last summer for me. I outfitted one of our vans for camping by insulating it, installing a freezer, coolers, microwave, fans, lights, power inverter, and an air mattress. Hooks and holders were mounted for everything including duffel bags, can opener, coats and jackets (it gets cold in the mountains; especially in Alaska), coolers, and all the cords. While I have traveled fairly extensively in the western U.S., I had never camped on any of those trips. 

The picture above was taken at my first night's campground at Sidie Hollow Campground outside Viroqua, Wisconsin. The scenery was great as shown below.

As it turned out, camping was much more comfortable than I had thought it would be. 

Along State Road 131 in Wisconsin:

I found a nice rest area along I-94 just outside of Black River Falls and discovered a trail leading up a large hill, so I decided to hike up it.

At the top I was rewarded with this view:

Until tomorrow......