Faces, Caves and Buffalo..

We have passed through several more states since our last blog and driven over 2,000 kilometers. So I guess we are overdue for a report. Driving across country has been interesting and then really BORING at other times. (Could I be talking about Nebraska?) We have set into a daily routine. We get up, leave Dexter in the room, have breakfast, sneak him something yummy to eat, as we are now in Missouri, he get grits and sausage, pack up and head out for the day. We are driving about 4-5 hours each day with about the same number of stops; Dexter gets hot in the truck and needs lots of water and bathroom breaks.

We then have the task of finding the hotel I booked online the previous evening, we tend to stay in Comfort Suites. They come in about $110 a night and it includes breakfast for the three of us. Some of them want to charge $25 for Dexter; we sneak him in as I think that is crazy, I don’t mind paying a fee, but $25 is insane. We tend to stay on the main highways, we did try a couple of the scenic routes but after you’ve seen one town consisting of twenty seven people and nothing but closed rundown buildings, you’ve seen them all. Very sad really, not sure what these folks do for a living… After Yellowstone we travelled to Deadwood where we were greatly disappointed! There so much they could have done with the history of the area, a great opportunity was missed to make Deadwood into an authentic old town. Instead it was a small town with the focus just on gambling. There were instants of interest, especially in the architecture of the houses on the hills.

The Bullock building was the Van Buren House were especially interesting. After Deadwood we travelled south to Mount Rushmore. Craig went into the monument area as we were not able to take Dexter, we are finding that everywhere, so that has been difficult. He found it spotlessly clean and well laid out, but there wasn’t much to do other than look at the carvings and the avenue of flags of all the states. We were both surprised that it was much smaller than we thought it would be. The drive in was really spectacular with many different viewpoints of the presidents.

On the recommendation of a couple that I met in the parking lot from Ontario while waiting for Craig we went to the Needle Highway which was only a slight detour on our way to Custer, South Dakota. The Needle Highway had stunning rock creations, and took us up a snaking road to over 8,000 feet altitude. It’s called the Needle Highway because there is a remarkable rock formation that has formed a needle hole about forty feet tall. We are pleased that we took the couples advice and made the detour.

Back on track now and off to Custer, South Dakota. We went to our hotel, dropped off Dexter and headed for the Jewel Caves, but we were too late to get a tour for that day. Craig was really disappointed. We then went to see Crazy Horse and that was worth every penny. We had a brilliant time learning about its history and seeing the magnitude of the project. I’m in still in awe that a man who had little or no connection to the Native Indians decided that he would take on this project with virtually no tools, alone and worked that way for decades. It’s an amazing story and I’ve attached the link if you want to learn more; highly recommend it!

We drove south after that, still in South Dakota to the Wind Caves as Craig really wanted to see some caverns. I stayed back with Dexter. On the way there we were fortunate to see a herd of buffalo on the side of the road and got some great photos. The caverns were interesting in their complexity but only had two outcrops of crystals in the entire one and a half hour tour. He met some people from Iowa who had been to the Jewel cabins the day before and had said that they were spectacular. Heading south from there to Hot Springs, we had great Mexican food, observed interesting architecture and the weather was starting to feel like we were getting closer to the south. I was feeling bad for Dexter having to walk on the pavement, I worried about his pads. We saw Yellow Wing Blackbirds at the park where we had lunch, but no luck on the getting photos.

We saw some buffalo on our joueney and I was able to get fairly close to them to take some great photos.

Yellowstone Park - June 17th

So the day started off simple enough; just a short drive of 81 miles to the park entrance for Yellowstone and then a quick drive around to see the sites... Not to be. The drive down was quite nice, the highway to the north entrance of the park took us through a beautiful valley along the Gardiner River. The homes along this valley were well kept and many of them were quite large.

The highway was in great shape and Monster Truck had no problem doing 70 the entire way. There were many posted fishing sites and we had read that the trout fishing along the river was supposed to be good. We drove through a couple of small towns along the way and were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Gardiner itself. There were many old west styled buildings and several that looked to be from the turn of the century. Driving through town with it's many tourists, we turned the last corner and go through a magnificent stone arch that appears to have been built in the 20's or 30's.

About a quarter of a mile past the arch we got to the ranger's gate and paid our 25 dollars for a 7 day pass good for both Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

The road then follows the Gardiner River up a narrow valley, climbing steadily all the time. We rounded a few corners, passed a few campsites and then all of a sudden entered the main complex at Allbright right beside the Mammoth pools. We found a parking spot right at the boardwalk for the pools and prepared to start the trek up the stairs. That's when we noticed one of the two things that would dampen our day a bit; Dexter wasn't allowed to go near any of the thermal features in the park. We also weren't allowed to leave him alone in the car, nor, of course, tied up outside it. Linda volunteered to stay behind while I climbed the stairs and took lots of photos. To keep them entertained an elk was grazing about 50' off the parking lot. I was quickly reminded that we were at a fair altitude (8260') when I made my way up the stairs and soon was gasping for breath. Ok, in through the nose, out through the mouth and don't push it so hard... The steam pools were amazing. The chemicals and minerals made all kinds of shapes and several colors that delight the eye. I was pleased to see several different species of birds and enjoyed seeing the swallows performing their aerobatics in and around the mineral formations.

Well, enough of this, better get back to Linda and Dexter... Everyone piled back into Monster Truck and we headed further along (and up). Once around the corner and about 200' higher, Linda was able to get out and see the wonders of Mammoth from above. It was starting to rain so she quickly got back in and we were off around the park. It was just after 10 and I figured we'd have no problem meeting TJ from Autodesk's 3DRV and his family at Old Faithful about noon. What we didn't count on was the enormity of this park and how many stops there were to make. We drove slowly through the road construction near Roaring Mountain, stopped at the Artists Paintpots, did a no no by leaving Dexter alone in the truck while we explored the pools and geysers near the Celestine Pool and watched a herd of buffalo just past Madison Junction.

We finally got to Old Faithful around 2:00. TJ and company would have been long gone as they had a tour at Mammoth at 2:30. We took Dexter into the lodge, Linda found a good seat and I picked up some lunch for the three of us. We waited patiently for Old Faithful to do it's thing and had a great view for this world renowned geyser. The lodge itself was full of that 1920's charm and made a lovely place to witness the show from. Once the crowd had cleared a bit, we were back in the truck and headed the rest of the way around the loop that circles the park. We drove along the shore of Lake Yellowstone for miles and was constantly surprised by the views. Lake Yellowstone is the largest lake at elevation with 141 miles of coastline and 132 square miles of surface. Turning at the Fishing Bay Visitor's Center we had to wait while an elk made it's way slowly across the road. It's as if the animals know that they have the right of way and they want to exercise their power by making you watch them take their time...

It was just after this when the second thing happened to shake up our day. We were headed along a short straight stretch of road when one of the on-coming cars swerved over into our lane. I locked up the brakes on the Monster, but a 2 ton truck doesn't stop that quickly. Luckily the other driver realized what he was doing a corrected just in time; we missed each other by just a few feet. It would have delayed our trip a bit, but his car would have been totaled as it was a small import and would have stood no chance against the Monster. After catching our breath, we continued on our way, arriving back at the Allbright Center at 6:30. We took a short break, used the facilities and finally made our way back out of the park. It was a quick 1 1/2 hour drive back to Bozeman and McDonalds for dinner. All in all, we spent 8 hours in the park and just touched the top of the many splendors there are to see. With over 2,200,000 acres to cover and most of it over 7500' elevation it's a wonderful place we are glad to have visited. One of the things I enjoyed was crossing the Continental Divide 4 times with the highest at 9680'. Mark another of the world's volcanos off my list to visit, this one being the largest! Linda here now, while Craig was exploring the Mammoth Pools, I noticed various yellow flowers growing in the area.

Yellowstone was a great place for observing license plates; 14 new ones. Day 3's Plates South Dakota, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, North Dakota, Georgia, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia, New Mexico, South Carolina. (14) Question; which one do you think will be the most difficult to still find? I've also developed allergies since entering the USA, some kind of hay fever. Never had anything like it before. What's that all about?

Heading to Bozeman for 2 Nights - Montana

We Packed up the truck early after coffee and left over dessert from the previous night; with strict instructions from Jeff and John to "drive safely kiddos," Not sure why we were called Kiddos because if you look at the photo with Craig and them they are not much older... Made us feel good anyway.

So we are now on the road to find breakfast and get 6 new tires on the truck, that's right there is no sales tax in Montana so this is the state to do it in. We arrive in Butte, Montana and head straight for Costco. We are lucky they can do it right away, 6 BFG all terrain tires for $1084. Happy with that!! Off to IHOP for take out, our eating habits have changed since we have to take Dexter everywhere. This IHOP must be used to people doing this because they had a take out counter; perfect. It's not long before we are on the road again and heading for our 2 night stay in Bozeman. This is where we will spend 1 day exploring Yellowstone National Park. Day 2's Plates Arizona, Utah, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Iowa. (6). Slow day.

North Bend St Regis - Montana

The second day of our journey started in North Bend, Washington as this was the first place we could find an empty room. Note to self; book ahead, especially on weekends. Dexter was happy to be out of the truck as was I. My first job was to find somewhere to stay when we stopped for breakfast at the Summit Pancake House, a beautiful skiing resort.

Thankfully, the restaurant had free wi-fi, a must on our trek across the vast USA. We have discovered that T-Mobile doesn't work ANYWHERE!! So once Craig had determined how far we would be going that day, it was my job to find a bed for the night that accepted pets. We were heading to St. Regis, Montana which meant leaving Washington and passing through Idaho. I almost immediately found a 'Dinner and Bed' hidden in the hills of St. Regis. It was run by 2 gay guys, John and Jeff and had all 5 star reviews on Tripadvisor. I called, praying they had a room as I had my heart set on it after seeing the photos on their website and knew Dexter would have lots of space to run around. They did have a room and dinner was included, hence the name 'dinner and bed; no breakfast, although we did receive coffee and left over dessert from the previous night. I told them we would arrive early evening and was told "pork tenderloin for dinner and drive safely kiddo." On our journey I have decided to record the different state plates we see, I'm hoping to see all 50 before we hit Miami. Day 1's Plates Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois, Idaho, California, Montana, Tennessee, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Alabama, Indiana, (16) Did I mention there are NO rest stops in Idaho? not very thoughtful for those with weak bladders, poor Dexter! Good thing we drove across the skinny part. So far there have been so many interesting things going through Montana... One thing Craig and I really enjoyed was driving a 14 mile stretch where they have posted signs along the side of the farmers fields telling you what they are growing. Now I know what potatoes, corn , peas and alfalfa look like before they get too big.

We also saw the Wild Horse Monument, they looked like they were life size metal statues of horses on top of a high ridge overlooking a spectacular river valley.

Dexter really enjoyed being off leash and having a great run. We also came across numerous wind turbines, they truly looked magnificent against the arid landscape.

We finally reached Jeff and John's place after traveling about a mile up a dirt road. It took my breath away, the perfect location to spend after a long day on the road. As I'm a couple of days behind on my posts, I will just post photos of the location except to say we enjoyed our exquisitely cooked port tenderloin dinner with tantalizing conversation with 2 very interesting men!!

The Journey begins... At least we try!

It is the middle of June and the house has been packed up by Williams moving company and we are ready to start out trek across the USA to Miami where we will ship Monster Truck to Haiti.

We have just left the Travel Lodge in Langley where we spent 2 nights as the funds from our house sale were delayed for various reasons. We are now heading to Coquitlam to pay for the containers that will hopefully show up at our new home in Dame Marie in the coming weeks. We thought our belongings would fit nicely in a 40 foot container: not to be, we had to add a 20 foot for a total cost of $30,000. YUK! Our journey to Miami hopefully will start later this afternoon after a last lunch at Whitespot. Yum! The anxiety level is raising, we are both exhausted, there have been so many details to take care of to get this far and now we are ready to go. Finally at the border. Not long now... Very excited. Will they search the truck? Will they ask how much cash we are carrying? Sweating now... 20 minute border wait... Really trying. Didn't ask what we where carrying or if we had cash; all good. In the USA

OMG! Do I have lots to share...

So it is now June 2014. Our Christmas trip was amazing, so much so that we decided to buy a house there right on the beach. It's in a small cove that is protected from the hurricanes, so no worries. In fact, the fishermen bring their fishing boats to the cove to be protected from bad storms; not something we have experienced yet! We bought the house for $35,000 USD in January and made a return trip in late March to do some work on the property and check on our "boss." Everyone has to have a "boss" guy, ours is Robinse and we love him. He is our translator as they speak Creole in Haiti and he does pretty much anything else we need. Anything we want done, we tell him and he finds someone to do it, or does it himself. From cutting down huge trees, to finding a housekeeper, to finding transpotation, to finding me lobster for dinner. Anyway more on the house later... So now we have sold the house in Canada, said our farewells to all and are making our way across the USA to Miami in Monster Truck! We bought a F350 Super Duty, extened cab, 4x4 truck. Once in Miami we will ship it to Haiti. Anyway, that's the plan!!

Fast Forward... In Haiti for Christmas

We arrived in Port au Prince on December 12th after 3 flights originating in Seattle, WA. We flew Seattle-Denver, Denver-Miami, Miami-Port au Prince; the flights were great, all ran smoothly. The only tense moments were when I had to leave the airport in Miami with less than an hour to spare to meet my brother-in-law, Marceau; he had some paperwork me and other items to take to Dame Marie. He runs the charity Solidarity Dame Marian. Craig was extremely nervous that I would miss the flight, I was made to get a new boarding pass which caused me moments of anxiety, but in my usual form I found a way to get to the front of the line and get it done fast. The plane landed in Port-au-Prince(PAP) on time and we followed Leslie's instructions very carefully as to how to go through the process of leaving the plane, getting through immigration and then it was time to get our luggage. I paid my $4 US and got 2 carts for our 6 suitcases and headed over to the carrousel where Craig was waiting chatting to a pastor that he had just met. It is 9:30am and we can already feel the heat, it's 28 degrees but not too humid so we don't need our sweat rags just yet! We filled up our water bottles on the plane; glad we did that... Luggage started coming very quickly, this is it, we will be on our way soon. The staff there pull off the suitcases and put them to one side so the carrousel doesn't get congested, I would keep checking that pile while Craig watched the carrousel. There were so many people around us, some Caucasian, mostly Haitian, and from what appeared to be all walks of life. Well, we waited and waited and no luggage; uhhh! Everything was almost perfect, again we followed Leslie's instruction and knew exactly what to do as this happens often. To cut a long story short, they said it will be on the 11am flight and we can come back and get it then.
Now onto the challenge of finding our way out of the airport, you see no one is allowed in unless they have a ticket, so all the people wanting to "help" can't get you until you step out. Luckily we immediately saw Leslie and headed straight for her and I think because we only had our carry on not too many "helpers" gravitated towards us; however we did have to use a few firm "non." Leslie grabbed us and we headed to the car park, if you can call it one; I think if you looked at it from above it would look like someone took a pile of cars and dropped them. Still, Leslie was able to maneuvers her way out. I felt like we were sardines in a can fighting for air, for survival, loved every moment! We spent the next couple of hours doing errands around PAP, meeting various people, some with security, some on the street, there was so much to take in. I snapped lots of photos, making sure not to offend anyone... Driving in PAP is a very stressful venture, cars are side by side touching each other, cutting in front of you, motos (motorbikes) weave in and out, people drive on any side of the road, any direction. Craig and I were not worried for a second, we completely expected this. Craig describes the journey as chaotic, honking everywhere, so much noise, people everywhere, all with a purpose, somewhere to go. Peddlers on every street, motos, with several people on them carrying anything from huge bunches of bananas, gas, water, and goods to sell. Then there are the Tap Taps, trucks brightly painted as the main means of transport; locals pile into the backs of them and tap the side when they want to get off. It's highly recommended that foreigners never ride them as they are totally unsafe.

We arrive safely at Leslie's and Chris's home, Clean Water for Haiti. Chris is at work but their 2 children Olivia, 5 and Alex, almost 3 are home.

Their compound is a couple of hundred feet off the main highway and is situated on either side of an old railway right of way. There are no tracks and the right of way acts as access for the locals to get to the beach as well as their neighbour's driveways. The part of the compound on the highway side is where Chris and Leslie produce the Biosand water filters with their staff. The main part of the compound has the guard tower, the main house and dormitory and the round house. The roundhouse is literally that; a circular building of two floors with the bottom housing the kitchen, dining room, sitting area, bathroom, work space and a bedroom. The top floor is a loft with plenty if room for the bed, small seating bench and a table. Ventilation is excellent with windows at the quarter marks and really neat shutters that remind us of old Spanish fortresses. The round house was built in 1976 by the Mission and Chris and Leslie lived in it until 2009 when they built the main house. The new house is two levels and has dorms for people coming to learn how to build the filters on the bottom floor and the family's living space on the upper floor. The roof top is where Chris is busy cultivating trees and plants for the new property the mission has just purchased a few miles down the road.

They had an American architect design their home so it is well constructed from concrete and has lots of rebar in it. Most houses in Haiti are built from concrete blocks. The grounds for the compound are mostly grass with many trees planted that produce mangos, coconuts and papaya. There is chain link fencing all round with barbed wire on top for security they have an armed guard 24 hours a day. Once they move to the new location they will not likely need the guards. The ocean laps at the wall of their compound and there is a rocky beach about 20 feet wide right there. It's a public beach so you need to have the guards watch if you go to swim. Chris has set up a large solar system for power and they have an industrial generator because they do welding as part of the filter production. The water filter plant is a fair sized operation with quite a number of employees. They produced anywhere from 100 to 300 water filters a month dependent on the amount of donation they receive. There are filters in all the locations where people stay and work around the property and we didn't have any issues about drinking the water from them right away.

We had a fantastic visit with them but were anxious to get on our way to Dame Marie. I am updating this now in June of 2014 and LOTS has happened and we are in Wyoming. Keep reading to find out more...