Leg 6, Great Falls, MT, to Lethbridge, AB - Jul 3, 2009

The First Beginning This marks the official beginning to the unofficial pre-rally trip to Dawson Creek, BC, where the caravan formally begins on July 8. Along with three other motor homes, we departed this morning at 8:15 AM, perhaps being the first subgroup to depart. After a “top-off” fuel stop in Shelby, MT, where we purchased our last USA-priced gasoline for the next 20 days, we reached the US-Canada border at 10:46 AM, and waited in line about 50 minutes to cross.

US-Canada Border Crossing

Two vehicles in our caravan were detained, one to go through immigration, and the other for a random search; otherwise, the crossing was about as smooth as could be expected. We anticipated all kinds of questions with respect to guns, beef, fresh fruits and vegetables, and pets and dog food, but all we got were questions regarding where we were from, how long were we going to be in Canada, did we have guns, and what was our license number. After all the big ‘hype’, we didn’t even have to show them our passports; amazing. Another stop followed in Lethbridge for a visit to the tourist office,

Our Mini-Caravan

then to the campground and our parking site for the evening, Bridgeview RV Park. Tired from 9 days of travel, we walked the grounds, took long afternoon naps, and met other caravan members at 7 PM to discuss tomorrow’s travel to Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

Kay’s Take BTW, we did see a motorhome from AR on our walk, and of course, I had to knock on their door to say ‘hello’. It was a very nice couple who used to call Cabot home. They were up here to go to the Calgary Stampede. Donald wants to do that some day.

Campground Bridgeview RV Park, Lethbridge, AB. Expensive, big, clean, but with pay showers and no internet, though wi-fi was advertised as being available; this park is part of a resort system.

Driving Statistics

Beginning Mileage: 11,068.9

Beginning Time: 7:15 AM MDST

Ending Mileage: 11,256.0

Ending Time: 1:30 PM MDST

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 187.1

CUMULATIVE MILEAGE FOR THE TRIP: 1,864.5