First Motorhome trip to Canada...eh?

We started our 50 mile trip from Chewelah, Washington to Grand Forks, BC after a wild weather night. The campground casino where we stayed lost power three times during the night. As we drove past Kettle Falls about 38 miles to the north we saw that even at 11:00 pm that morning the whole town was still without power.

It's good to have a 7.5 KW generator on hand!

I remain amazed at how healthy the forests in Northern Washington and Canada look. California, just now is under attack by horrendous fire storms...partly do to the Japanese Pine Beetle, global warming and the USFS misplaced past attempts to squash any and all forest fires...even the good ones. 

Here we are approaching the Canadian border entrance at Cascade, BC. I was prepared for the questions on handguns, ammunition or rifles but was taken aback at the pepper or bear spray? I don't have any of the above but going into grizzly country without spray just seems a little crazy to me.

The Kettle River starts way up here in Canada before flowing across the border into the USA.

The Cascade Water, Power and Light Company had a dam and plant here in the early 20th century. It was also here that Nicola Tesla tested his 3-phase 60 cycle-power, Which I'm sure means something to an electrician, but to me it's all bla bla bla!

Okay, time to start mentally changing MPH to Km's, fahrenheit to centigrade and the first gas station I came across showed a price of $1.39...cool, I'm filling up here. Then I saw that it was for one liter...of which nearly 4 make a gallon. OMG, over 5 dollars per gallon? I wonder why all of Canada is not driving Toyota Priuses?

Five miles into Canada one of the greatest routes abruptly ends. I can say that I have driving US 395 from bottom to top. Starts near Hesperia in Southern Cal, running through Nevada, Oregon, Washington and a few miles into Canada...I have been on every one of the 1305 miles. (or 2100 km if you are Canadian) It used to run to San Diego before the I-5 replaced it...and I drove that section too!

Grand Forks City Hall.

We took a auto tour near Grand Forks of the North Fork of the Grandy River. The black slag pile along the river is all that remains of the largest copper smelter in the British Empire from 1899 to 1920. The slag is now used as an abrasive for sandblasting and roofing granules.

The slag that remains looks very much like the black sands we encountered on Hawaii... Walking on them in Birkenstocks wasn't my brightest idea, not sand at all but very sharp granules of jagged metal...ouch!

This beautiful valley was once a lake for the smelters down river. It was abandoned in 1946 and two years later the dam collapsed freeing up hundreds of acres of farm land.

I kid you not! From a 1/4 mile away I thought these were those large round bales of hay until one moved. With binoculars and my strongest camera lens I see huge beasts. Long horns, long hair on the head and ears and look to be at least as big as a bison. I had no help in town identifying the breed but will keep trying. Not Texas longhorns unless they average 2500 lbs or more and not Scottish highland cattle either.

Yesteryear the economy was metals now a-days lumber fuels a lot of these small towns which is good...except when the mill closes. 

While Donna and I drove the backwoods, 25 Km auto tour, we were anxious to see some wildlife and saw none other than some big bovines. We then took a bike ride around town and saw no less that 8 deer grazing nonchalantly in the local 'burbs. We even witnessed a doe standing curbside on the main street waiting for traffic to stop, then waiting for opposite traffic also to stop before leading her fawn across the road...cheers to all the people who were patient. 

Donna and I stopped at a local clothing store and asked about the winter weather. The girl behind the counter said they were in the sun belt of Canada which is mild. Only gets a week or two of 30 to 40 degrees below zero, other than that it is nice at around 10 below. Either centigrade is different than I think it is or mild to this girl is a popsicle stuck up the bum?