Special places and people
After our spring visit to Yellowstone, we continue driving west. We have traveled via Harvest Host booked an overnight stay at Bridger Brewing in Three Forks. This brewery also has a restaurant for which people queue. We think the food is pretty ok, but to queue for a wrap and chips......we wouldn't do that.
The brewery is located along the motorway, which means you're back on the road quickly the next day. Disadvantage we do find 24/7 traffic noise.
So funny!
Robert fixes all destinations and attractions on the Google maps map. It has happened a few times, that we drive to a place, which we have not booked or where we have already been once. The markers work great, but if you don't use them or have already been there, it's better to remove them.
So we drive to Bridger Brewing in Bozeman. When we arrive, the instructions don't match reality at all. We arrive at a mega crowded car park and see no RV spots at all. Enquiries inside the restaurant reveal that we must be at Bridger Brewing in the town of Three Forks.
We can always laugh about it! Google maps works great, though. We had a subscription to RV life, but found it not nearly as clear as Google maps. You do have to download the maps in advance, as we didn't have a data plan for travelling.
Missoula
The next day, we want to spend the night at a brewery again. This host is unresponsive. We can go there on the bonnet, but see a little later that there is also a Cracker Barrel in Missoula is. Cracker Barrel is a restaurant chain, where they serve cheap and reasonable food. What Ingrid especially likes is the small shop that is attached to it.
They have parking areas for motorhomes where you can stay for free. We have sometimes asked if it is ok to stay, but usually they are surprised we ask. In Yellowstone it was around freezing at night, in Missoula it is 31 degrees during the day. What a difference!
Wallace
We rijden naar het oude zilvermijn stadje Wallace. We logeren bij Gwen & Bob, een heel aardig stel dat niet zo lang geleden een klein huisje in dit plaatsje heeft gekocht. Ze reizen zelf heel veel met hun camper en vinden het leuk om mede camperaars een overnachtingsplek aan te bieden.
The pollution from silver mining here is so bad that they are still working to tackle it. We can imagine that in the heyday of silver production, this place was very flourishing. Now it is mostly past glory, but still charming. We eat delicious Mexican food there.
We may stay longer, but choose to move on.
Trinity Gardens Lavender farm
If you book an RV spot through Harvest Host, you will stay overnight at a farm, church, brewery, golf resort, etc. These businesses offer you a free place and in return you can buy something. This place is so much fun! They have a very small shop with homemade products made from lavender. We buy deodorant, lavender leaves and lavender oil there. Really delicious!
We imagine that spending the night here will be even more beautiful when the lavender is in bloom.
Beautiful overnight stops
Next, we spend the night in Washington state with three couples in their yards. The first couple lives in a beautiful residential area in the woods (Bellevue). The second couple lives in a very quiet village and has made a nice sitting area for RVers (Mount Vernon). The last couple lives on top of a mountain where we have beautiful views of the valley (Everson).
Lynden - a piece of the Netherlands
We are tipped to drive through the town of Lynden (in Washington state). A good number of Dutch people emigrated here in the early 20th century. They still have a large Reformed church community there. We don't see the latter, nor did we (look) for it.
What we find special is the main street, with a windmill at the beginning and halfway through. You feel like you are walking down the Zaan bend in Wormerveer. There is even a Dutch Bakery in the street. They sell poffertjes, different kinds of Dutch pastries, bread, and sprinkles, among other things. Really funny!
Crossing the border into Canada
If you are going to America from Vancouver Island, US Customs will check the motorhome for the presence of vegetables, fruits, etc. If you have this produce in the motorhome, they will take it from you. We cannot imagine them throwing it away.....but instead coming home with a free fruit and vegetable basket every day ?
When we crossed the border from Waterton Lake (Canada) into Glacier National Park (America), there was no check at all. Things seem to be different everywhere. We can't remember if Canada also has these rules, but we will soon find out.
On arrival at the Canadian border, a not-so-cheerful Canadian customs officer sits behind the counter. The first thing he does is shout to let us know that we should drive through. He then asks for our registration certificate. When we show him the small card, he says, ‘I don't understand how the US border guard accepted this’. Then he does it himself and lets us through ?
Campbells Honey Farm
Our first overnight stop in Canada is at Campbells Honey Farm in Abbotsford. We are so looking forward to going here. We love honey and love it so much when you can buy it directly from the farm.
As soon as you arrive, you immediately notice the cheerful red house with its cosy painted windows. Upon entering, we are surprised by the many types of honey and all other products related to bees. What is also surprising is the price! A Canadian dollar is ? 0.67 and therefore you feel like you are buying everything at a discount. The honey is not expensive at all anyway. We buy 6 kg of honey and a bottle of honey wine.
What nice people are here! The owners have always kept bees and started this lovely business after retirement.
A customer asks us if we are from the Netherlands. Robert says: ‘Did you see our Dutch number plates?’ ‘No, I didn't. I heard it from your Dutch accent,’ he replies. His father emigrated to Canada from Westzaan, so funny!
Motorhome storage
In Houston last year, we rented a covered enclosed motorhome storage facility. This storage was for our motorhome only and was equipped with a trickle charger. In Vancouver, this type of storage is almost impossible to find. We still have over two weeks before we fly back to the Netherlands and decide to look for it locally.
At one point, we find a storage offering the first four weeks for free. When we go to take a look on the spot, we see so many bums hanging around at the storage place. Are we going to leave our ‘camper child’ there? No!
Peace Arch RV Park – Vancouver – Surrey
On the internet, we read that Peace Arch RV park also offers a motorhome storage area. As soon as we arrive, we find it already looks cosy and well cared for. In no time, we have everything booked and can leave the camper behind with a good feeling.
The people are so nice here too. We see that this campsite is booked a lot by Dutch people who have to return their rental motorhomes in Vancouver. There are also many permanent residents at this park.
The place is lovely. The pool is as warm as a hot-tub, there are lots of blooming flowers and clean sanitary facilities. Vancouver city centre is also easy to reach by public transport. You do have to walk a bit to the bus stop for that.
Beautiful people
Before we crossed over with the motorhome, we also had to get insurance. Now we know there are three insurers are those that offer this, but that was not clear at the beginning of our search. At the time, we were tipped to contact a Canadian ANWB or something similar. Through the internet, Robert ended up with J. J. immediately started calling all kinds of companies and put in a lot of effort for us. It didn't work out in the end, but J. immediately invited us to visit him and his wife in Vancouver.
Last year we didn't drive to Vancouver, but now we are! We get an invitation for lunch at their home and J. even wants to pick us up. We accept the invitation, but drive to their beautiful home ourselves with the camper. We had such a nice day with these special people. J. is a former speedboat racer and a huge enthusiast and collector of vintage cars and other special items. His wife has also acquired part of the collection by searching all kinds of markets.
These lovely people have such nice and interesting stories. For example, they own the Honda NSX car of Paul Walker, the deceased actor from The Fast & The Furious. The Formula 1 car that Stirling Moss lost with several times is also in the garage. Every time Stirling Moss and his wife came to visit, he was reminded of the defeat. Every car and every part in the garage has a beautiful story.
It would be great if we could bring all the nice people we met together. We know for sure that they will all get along. J&K will always have a place in our hearts and it all started with a question via email about insurance!
Next stop
The Netherlands!!
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