Three Mini-Road Trips in Under an Hour!

My laptop is back up with a new hard disk and Windows 10, so I was able to put together the video from our recent camping trip to Bella Coola. Jay is always responsible for the camera work.

Our Canon camcorder can record output as mp4 files, but the individual files for each shot are saved into daily folders on its SD card. I must move them all to a temporary folder and use a free program called Mp4Joiner to paste them all together. I never bother with any editing. We like the raw footage and often skip around when playing back. I don't think we make these for others to view but just for our own recall. You, however, are invited to take a look at them right now.

When I get the resulting, large file, I upload it to YouTube. Just to keep track of the details, I generally use YouTube's online Creator to add a few beginning titles. It is not a hard process but something that requires a bit of time. That's why the blog entries for a trip are posted nearly live, but video footage takes a while to get online.

This is how I celebrated my recent birthday.

Bella Coola or Bust, 21:06 minutes, July 20 to 24, 2015


When putting this online, I thought about the last few summers. That was back when I was working, and our trips had to be scheduled for when I wasn't teaching. I'll add them here too. For the last couple of years, we ended up visiting friends in Washington State.

Last year, we drove down to Oregon in order to view the Columbia River Gorge. We returned home though the Tri-Cities and Yakima.

Mini Road-Trip 2014, 16:01 minutes, Augst 22 to 26. 2014

In 2013, we travelled through southern BC and down into Idaho before returning through Central Washington State.

BC/ID/WA 2013 Road Trip, 21:41 minutes, August 23 to 27, 2013

Road Trip Ends after 1126 Miles - Day 5

Today we travelled the final 268 miles of our trip. We got up at a reasonable hour and ate breakfast at the house. Joel and Lynne are on their way east tomorrow so wanted to stay up at their Kachess property. It was on our way home as well. We didn't go in caravan. We left a bit earlier and mosied along at a steady 60 mph to the east side of Snoqualmie Pass. Soon they arrived and we got a chance to see not only the grande old cabin but ongoing work too. I'm always impressed by Joel's need to be constantly building things.





The drive from the pass was easy as the traffic was light. We didn't even bother with 405 and decided to go right into Seattle and get on I-5 there. We made pretty good time. We ate in Bellingham and did some shopping before coming back across the border. Going 1812 kilometers didn't seem like too much as it was divided over four days of driving. Still, I don't think I'd be cut out for any sort of driving as a profession.

Zero Miles for My Truck - Day 4

Although there was a bit of rain last night, the morning arrived with the sun. Breakfast is a treat at this house with the pool beckoning in the back. Jay busied himself playing fetch with Macie and petting Annie. I cannot help but think the first dog is slightly mental. They do help to make this oasis interesting though.







We went over to Ellensburg, so our hosts could have their new student tenant sign some paperwork. We went in Joel and Lynne's truck and I did not even start my own truck today. While in town, we had a great lunch at a restaurant called, The Yellow Church. As you might have guessed, the building once housed congregations. I really like the city perhaps because it is a college town. On the return back to the house, we took a side road up and over some roads into the local hills. That geography is such a contrast to the other, wet side of the mountains.



We had dinner and drinks. I took the devil's advocate in a discussion about the importance of books. I proposed that all good ideas or important topics should be able to be completely dissected in ten pages or less. I cannot say that I really believe that reading is a waste of time. I do honestly believe in a bit of my argument though. The general idea does fit into my work with students. I try very hard to encourage my BCIT students to write clearly and concisely in technical and business English communication.

Sandpoint to The Wenas - Day 3

We again got going a little late this morning. We checked out of the Meandering Moose at around 9:45. We were actually right on US Route 2 which could have taken us into Spokane. Yet, we wanted to drive through Coeur d'Alene. Being Sunday, the area of downtown near the water was mobbed with folks out enjoying the weather.



We got on I-90 and drove to Spokane, Washington. Neither of us had ever visited the city itself. We drove through downtown, to the north side of the river, and parked. We didn't know about Expo '74. The fairgrounds, right along the river, were amazingly scenic. We took a gondola that gave a little better peak at the lower falls.



Eastern Washington is dry, flat, and rather boring. We took an exit to see Sprague. We hadn't eaten and therefore stopped at a Subway in Ritzville. The miles continued and eventually we approached Ellensburg. Some frantic texting let us connect with Lynne and Joel both of whom had been in the town. The quickest way to get to their desert home involves driving more than a half hour up a dirt road into the dry mountains.



It was great to see them. Getting here a day earlier than anticipated means we will have the entire day free tomorrow!

An Evening in Idaho - Day 2

We rolled out of Grand Forks, BC a little later than I might have expected. Still, this is vacation, right?

We continued east on Highway 3. It was not far to Christina Lake. In BC one can often travel a few hours without passing any house or people. We continued along the highway and took the turn off to take 3A. In this way we were able to go through Rossland, Trail, and a few smaller towns.



I'm not sure how many summits one must climb and descend crossing southern British Columbia. I do know my truck is a little under-powered as there were some where I had to not only drop back to fourth gear, but even third.



We stopped at a Subway for sandwiches in Salmo. Later, we rejoined Highway 3 and arrived in Creston, BC. It was early enough to head into the US. We crossed the border and into the Idaho Panhandle. We're now in Sandpoint for the night. This is a cute little city with an amazing city beach front. Of course the beach is great during August evenings. During the winter months the area is more set up for skiing, I guess.



I got a text from Lynne and Joel so we're going to drive to their place outside of Ellensburg, Washington tomorrow. Rather than just one night, we'll stay two there.

Go East Young Men - Day 1

Without getting on a BC Ferry it is hard to go much west from New Westminster. We are taking advantage of a few days off for a road trip.

We got off at about 9:20 this morning, and have stopped in Grand Forks, BC in a motel. That's only about 328 miles but Route 3, the Crow's Nest Highway has a few very steep and curvy sections.



It was a pleasant if uneventful drive. We had thought we might stop in Osoyoos but it was only around 3 o'clock there so we came along another few hours. We stopped for lunch at a riverside provincial picnic area. I am still thinking about it as we packed sandwiches from home. A wasp flew between the bread slices and chicken pieces when I wasn't looking. He stung me on the tongue! That's something I wish I could forget, but it is something I had to live with all afternoon and it's still a little sensitive.



We found the Imperial Motel, near the river here. The days of $50 a night hotels are gone, I guess. It's been a while since we've stayed at Canadian motels on a road trip. Still, the feeling is magical being at home. British Columbia is big, even across its southern-most route.