Crossing the Border

6/3/13

We departed Great Falls in moderate to heavy rain that continued all the way to Calgary today.  Gusty winds made driving interesting in spots.  Stopped in Shelby, MT for final fuel at Flying J on east side of Shelby exit.  We passed through Canadian Customs at Coutts, Alberta without fanfare in about 10 minutes and continued north.

Arrived in rush hour traffic here in Calgary parking at Calaway RV Park on Canadian Route 1 about 8 miles west of the city.  We will do some touring in Calgary tomorrow.

RV Travel Report:

Divided highway all the way to Calgary generally smooth with some minor road construction underway just north of Great Falls for about 25 miles.  Highway signage is good on major highways.

Wide lanes at US/Canadian Customs crossing made RV travel through easy.

Average fuel costs today:             $4.48 Gallon (USD) / $117.9 Liter for diesel

                                                $3.85 Gallon (USD) / $ 1.03 Liter for gasoline

Finally, back on wifi

Sorry for not posting for a few days.  We hope to now finally have those issues worked out and will post again almost daily.

6/2/13

The morning started out quite sunny as we traveled north of Great Falls to visit the Great Falls.  Lewis & Clark faced one of their toughest challenges here as they had to build wagons for their three boats, pull them up the bluffs surrounding the Missouri River here and portage them about 18 miles overland before being able to return to the river in June, 1805.  Today the falls remain just below a modern dam and power station supply much of the electrical needs of northern Montana.

In the afternoon we visited the Charles M. Russell Museum.  If are an Old West aficionado you will recognize him as painter, photographer and sculptor of numerous famous art works detailing life in those times of westward expansion.  His expansive museum, home and studio are well worth the visit located in a quiet residential neighborhood on 5^th Street.