September 26th, 2 days later than I had planned to begin my drive back to Mexico.
I have been mired in a long and far too drawn-out court case with an ex-employer and after the trial, I had to wait until the 26th for the verdict, which I was granted attendance by phone, thankfully.
I won and did so without question. And with that, I was gleefully on the first leg of my journey.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day at the lake. The lake where I spent my summer living in a small trailer on my parent’s property. The lake which I call “home”, no matter where I am.
Mom had gone into town early that day, and when I left, Dad gifted me a bottle of wine from the top-shelf Winiski Collection. I was sad to leave, especially on a perfect day, but the most grand adventure was ahead of me.
As expected, I did leave a bit later than I had planned, but still had enough time to take the cats to get their vet exam and health certificates, as well as a quick visit with a friend.
Good thing I only planned to get as far as the border at Osoyoos!! The vet’s office was quite busy that day, and my visit went a bit late because I miscalculated the coffee shop’s location. Haha!
Feelin like a million bucks, I rolled into Osoyoos around 10pm, found a rather quaint motel that cost WAY more than I expected, drank some wine, then went to sleep.
Wait – that last part is a lie. There was no such thing as “‘sleep”. Nope. Both cats paced and meowed
ALL
NIGHT
LONG!
Bubba was even so kind as to walk over my pillow a few times, stomping on my hair and dragging his primordial pouch across my face. The bed was uncomfortable anyway. Early start the next day.
Cats & gear back in the car and I was off to get Canadian cash (for what reason, I don’t know), a Lottomax ticket, and a Tim Horton’s coffee.
For those who know me, are thinking “But coffee gives you B.O.!” – Yes, it did, but I have reason to believe that might not be an issue anymore (read: I stink no matter what – LOL!). Still a tea-girl, just had to try a Timmy’s after all this time before leaving Canada for an extended absence.
At the USA border, I had the most pleasant and chipper border guard! She scanned my passport and asked if she could take a quick look as she waited to find out if I needed to pull ahead for a full search.
SURE!
Now let me tell you – Milton was packed to the TITS! And I have become quite good at maximizing space! The lovely lady opened one door at a time and placed her hand on a box or bag and inquired as to what was inside.
We were on a roll! I felt like I was on a gameshow and was about to win a prize!
When she got to the roofrack, she asked about the big plastic covered roll to which I gleefully informed her it was a lime-green shag rug!!
She kind of fumbled with that. Not sure if it was judgement or envy – probably envy. LOL!
No further inspection required and I was off to Montana!!
Now let me start now by warning you – doing this route in fall is quite possibly one of the most spectacular trips I have ever done. So be prepared for a lot of exuberant descriptions of it!
My first stop was in Heron, MT. I was invited to stay with some friends I met on a flight to Mexico a few years ago. We had such a great time on that flight that we stayed in touch and it was so exciting to get to see them and their beautiful log home!
Once over the border and through Tonasket, I had the first of many “OH HOLY SHIT” moments. Maybe it was the thrill of being on my way since the area is really not all that different than what I’m used to.
I was unable to connect my Mexican phone to any USA networks, so when I stopped in Republic for a nap, I had no way to get ahold of my hosts to inform them of the delay.
Ok – again, the drive was just amazing! Not a lot of traffic, lots of weird little towns that seem so entirely unlike the ones in Canada. Driving in the USA really does feel like driving in a Hollywood movie.
Once I reached Sandpoint, Idaho I was about 45 minutes from my friend’s house. I somehow had cell service there, which was more of a treat than the chicken McNuggets I also had, so I was able to call my hosts for directions. Super!
I should have asked for an address for Google Maps. While the directions were good, I failed to notice, and therefore mention, that I had already driven through Sandpoint, so I got back on the highway and started driving in what I thought was the right direction.
Would you believe I drove 45 minutes in the WRONG DIRECTION???
I had ablsolutely no clue I was heading straight North until I saw a sign for the Canadian border. Haha! I had no cell service, but had thankfully already loaded google maps for Heron (no, I wasn’t using it because I didn’t think I could possibly get lost) but I had no way of contacting my friends to tell them I fucked up and would be over an hour later than planned.
It felt so good to have arrived, FINALLY, and was greeted with hugs, cold beers and a lovely backyard fire with the most stunning background of nature and sky.
After a wonderful visit, a comfy sleep, and a hearty breakfast, I was back on the road for the 7 hour drive to the Yellowstone border, with a small detour along the way.
Gardiner, MT is a really nifty little town – it’s very rustic and rich with historical charm. Still no damn cell service, though!! I had hoped that being such a major destination, there would be cell service near the park.
Nope!
Good thing I planned for this and took screenshots of directions to some free campsites near there.
Now THAT’S something you don’t see in BC – free campsites that are easy to access, right outside of town AND that have plenty of spots right at the gates of a National Park!!!?!?? WOW!
It was late, it was dark and I was beside myself with excitement being so close to actaully finally seeing Yellowstone Park. I needed to find of these spots to settle in for the night.
Unfortunately, after driving up the hill to investigate these little gems of campgrounds – I found both too be just too dark and creepy for my comfort. Great little spots, but in bear country and without other campers, I decided to pass. I went back down to a little pullout near the town. There were 2 RV’s there so I opted to camp there in the car.
Car camping isn’t exactly new for me, but camping in a car that is crammed full plus 2 cats is whole other kinda challenge – especially trying to arrange things without a cat escaping into the night!
I got all figured out, settled in, cats fed, wine-in-hand and a tiny movie on my phone to watch.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – car camping is all fun & games until someone craps in the litter box. Yeah – that does make things a bit more challenging, especially with Bubba Chunks and his OCD about scratching in the litterbox for 5 minutes after and somehow in that time, never actually covering his shit!
I woke up to sub-zero temperatures after a surprisingly long sleep – possibly due to early onset starvation because planning or food isn’t my strong suit,. Another challenge – it’s a lot harder to discreetly get changed on the side of the road in the daylight. And peeing just ain’t gonna happen!
A quick stop at a gas station for a quick snack and I was off to check Yellowstone off my bucket-list, and this is just the beginning!
