A blog about exploring North America in a Camper Van and a Sailboat.
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Selkirk Loop Closure
7/15/2019 With a goal of finding a dentist to look at my broken molar, we called our friends in Montana and asked for a recommendation. Finding that their dentist could see me tomorrow, it was time to leave British Columbia and head south. Unusual for us, we used interstates to quickly cover the 384 miles…
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Top of the Loop
7/14/2019 Drove down to the Nelson, BC waterfront before the shops opened. Nelson has a Streetcar line along their waterfront park. Found the streetcar barn door open. Peeked in and a volunteer showed us the cars and the shop. This locally made maintenance car was unique. The wooden cab had very simple controls. A brake wheel on…
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International Loopiness
7/13/2019 Fully committed, you might even say bullishly so, to the Selkirk Loop plan, we set off to move from Idaho through a bit of Washington, and into British Columbia today. Shortly after leaving our Idaho campground, we crossed the Pend Oreille river into Washington, where we stopped in the city of Newport (pop. 2,120). Downtown Newport…
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Gold Rush and Landlocked Navy
7/12/2019 Lots of sleep interruption by trains overnight at Thompson Falls, though it really is a scenic campground. The BNSF main line train horns echo across the Clark Fork canyon. Today’s goal will be finding a quiet place to spend the night. We crossed back into Idaho through Thompson Pass which was high, but a…
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Dipping into Idaho
7/11/2019 We left Smith lake at 0729 for a short drive into town where we stopped again at the Bonner’s Ferry Visitors Center. Bonner’s Ferry also has a small museum in the same parking lot, but they weren’t yet open when we stopped. The logo at an adjacent pizzeria tempted us to stay for lunch,…
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Starting the Selkirk Loop
7/10/2019 Trains didn’t blow their horns overnight so it was quiet at Blackwood Flats. The day started out overcast, so the sun didn’t wake us when it rose a little after 0500. Two of the trailers parked in the seven sites were not occupied. The camper truck next to us left at 0630 and the…