We set out Sunday late morning from Red Deer heading for Lethbridge. We expected to cross the border first thing Monday and beat the coming cold and snowy weather by at least two days. So all was well with a great 40 km/hr tail wind........until we went over the bypass from Hwy 2 to the Stoney Trail just north of Calgary. Our friend the north tailwind quickly became the wicked witch of a cross wind. The wind caught some low and poorly attached belly cover on the trailer and ripped it down. The sickening scraping noise as ABS panels disintegrated on the asphalt turned a good day into a very bad one instantly.
So here I was parked precariously on the side of Stoney Trail, a brutally cold and high wind tearing at my light jacket, and a nice burst of sleet to add further misery to the unpleasantness. I'm on my back trying to place fiberglass insulation, wiring and plumbing in place, holding the panel up with one foot and trying desperately to fasten a couple of screws to hold the ABS underbelly in place. It didn't take this boy long to realize I was NOT going to get a permanent fix in place and that my only hope was to get things buttoned up enough to make it to an RV Dealer.
This was Sunday, so I knew we had to get off the highway and find temporary refuge from the cold and wind for the night and hopefully get repairs done Monday morning. The really bad weather was just behind us. Yuck!
As luck (if you can call it that) would have it I was about 2 KM from Rangeland RV, a Cedar Creek dealer, in Balzac. As well, the Century Casino and horse race track was just across the street from Rangeland. We stopped at the Casino and yes we could spend the night in their parking lot. It was only 2:30 in the afternoon so we enjoyed some early dinner and watched a few horse races. It was -7C plus a wind overnight so the trailer furnace ran a lot, but we survived and had the trailer to Rangeland by 8 AM Monday.
Monday, October 30
The good news was they could squeeze us in to repair the under belly. The bad news was it might be 4 PM before we got the trailer back. So we spent the day shopping at Cross Iron Mills and worried about how these delays were going to affect our well planned trip south......ahead of the bad weather.
Rangeland actually got us fixed and on the road by 2:30 PM. The under belly now very securely and correctly fastened. (I should explain that the reason for the under belly panels to come off was mostly because I had them off to do some repair work on the black tank valve. Subsequent work by another RV dealer meant they were off a second time and neither time were they replace correctly. Sorry, no pictures available to help explain this further.)
We made it as far as Six Flags Campground in Milk River at dusk. We really didn't feel comfortable going further in the dark on a road we didn't know. We would just get up very early and cross the border Tuesday morning. This also saved us a counted day in the US.
Six Flags is a good overnight stop. Power and water for $25, and only a few km's north of the Coutts/Sweatgrass border crossing. The picture above was taken about 6AM. Believe it or not we were not the first out of the campground that morning!
Tuesday, October 31
We got to the border about 6:30 AM. Were we catching the border guard coming off a night shift and grumpy, or were we the first people crossing for the day shift and an eager guard. The only question that stumped me was 'what are you bringing with you?' Really? Everything, would be the reply but he wanted specifics. After a few ramblings and bumbles on my part he let me go. You wouldn't think that was a hard question, but you try thinking about all the stuff you have with you when you are planning a nearly six month stay. And it was 6:30 in the morning!
We headed out on I15 South bound and made our first stop in Great Falls for fuel and coffee. Next stop was Butte for a fuel top up and a leg stretch. We really wanted to be at Fort Hall that night.
Lots of wind north of Idaho Falls off the Snake River Plain. Apparently this is a very windy part of the country. Lots of mountains and large plateaus as you head south. We had tail winds, head winds and cross winds. The later is no fun, the former I don't mind as much.
We stayed at the campground attached to the Fort Hall Casino. Full hookups for $22.50/night with Good Sam. The wind blew very strong overnight. The trailer shook and we began to think that we might have outrun the snow but we might get delayed until the wind subsided.
Wednesday, November 1
The heavy winds subsided briefly in the morning, just long enough for us to skedaddle out of the Snake River Plain. By the time we got to Pocatello (about 15 minutes) the wind was nearly gone. There were wind warning for the area north of Pocatello for the whole day so we were lucky to cheat the weather gods one more time!
The drive through Salt Lake City was 'interesting'. I got behind a Walmart truck and stayed there until we were past the worst of the traffic. We went through just before noon. We had considered stopping at Provo for the night but it was too early in the day. Stopped for fuel and lunch in Nephi (I think it was). The fuel pump was pushing so much foam I could only get about 3/4 tank in after 10 minutes of trying! I think his tanks were nearly dry although whatever the issue was it caused no problems for the truck, thankfully.
We kept going all the way to Cedar City. We definitely need to spend some more time in this area. Very pretty town and lots of things to see and do in the area. We stayed at the KOA. Nice pull through site. $40/night. Went to Walmart to stock up on stuff. Got fuel, and no issues with filling.
Thursday, November 2
I went to the Kane County Tourism office in the morning to see about Hwy 14. They said just take it easy and no problem taking fifth wheel through, even into Cedar Breaks. We left the KOA about 11. Drove up Hwy 14. Very steep in places and narrow. Turned in to Cedar Breaks, again very steep and narrow in places. Stopped finally at a pullout and viewpoint. Elevation was 10,950. Truck pulled very well going up. Going down is hard on brakes even with Tow Haul in manual and Engine Brake on. Just go slow. Incredible scenery! We would have liked to hung out there a while but it was only 39 F and a wind. As well we both started to feel the effects of 10,000 feet plus altitude.
More to come........
This was Our View From Here!
We loved the Cedar City area and stayed for several days exploring.
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