Day 1: Fort Langley, BC to Missoula, Montana
Day 1: Monday, July 28, 2008
Fort Langley, BC to Missoula, MT (well actually Clinton, MT - Beavertail State Park)
I woke up at 6:30 this morning to shower and pack all the toiletries and rest of the stuff that I had forgotten to pack last night. After making sure everything was ready to go (and cutting up veggies for snacks), Daryl and I headed into Langley to pick up our rental car from Avis. We were all set to go and the girl was just doing a check of the exterior of the car (a Hundai Elantra) with us, when I suddenly remembered to ask her if it was a non-smoking vehicle, based on our experience LAST time with them. She said that all the cars were supposed to be non-smoking bit sometimes people smoked anyway. She had done her best to get the smell out and had left the windows open to air it out but I could smell it and see what I thought. I sat inside the care for 3 seconds, with the door open and I was absolutely disgusted! It reeked and there was NO WAY we were going to take that car. She offered us a Mazda 3 which smelled great but hadn't been cleaned since being returned. She offered to vacuum it out but it wasn't too bad and we didn't want to waste any more time so we took it and headed back home. The only gross thing was a giant toe and footprint on the passenger side of the windscreen which I swore i would clean off when I got home but promptly forgot. Daryl packed up the car professionally while I sorted out the house and cleaned. We were on our way with me at the wheel by 9:00. We headed for the Aldergrove border crossing and only had to wait about 10 minutes. The border official was young and nice so I chatted him up and we were over with no problems. At the first rest stop, we switched so Daryl drove and I played on my DS. There was a lot of traffic outside Bellvue and Renton which surprised us for a Monday morning/afternoon but we got through it and headed toward Spokane. We stopped for lunch in a little town called Cle Elum at a very expensive BK. It was in the middle of a mountain pass so I guess that's why. It was PACKED. BK is so much more popular in the States. Just outside of Vantage, we crossed the Potholes Reservoir and went to a look out rest stop. There was a wild horse monument at the top of what looked like a small hill. We decided to check it out so we went towards it. I wasn't wearing the best shoes (or outfit) and halfway up there, we realized it was quite steep and rocky. I refused to give up so we clambered up the side of the hill/mountain and got to the top where the view was fantastic! Unfortunately punks had spray-painted all over the horses. We took some crazy pics (as usual) and headed back down with Daryl holding my hand tightly so I wouldn't fall. We stopped for gas at Moses Lake and were able to get it cheaper cause we paid in cash. It's weird but it usually saves you about 10 cents per gallon if you can find it. We drove a lot today and crossed both the Idaho and Montana State lines. We lost an hour when we crossed into Mountain Time so we didn't get to Missoula until about 9:00. It was getting dark so we grabbed Wendy's for dinner and ate on the road so we could get to Beavertail State Park, just outside of Clinton. We had to set up our tent in the dusk in the very first campsite we found (funnily enough it was site 1). This was the place where we stayed at the end of our last trip so it was kind of neat to start out our trip there. We had to pay $10 of the $15 camping fee in Canadian because we didn't have the right change. To tell you the truth, I don't even think the guy checked the deposit box but it allowed us to sleep more soundly. It was very quiet and there were tons of mosquitos so we went to bed at 10:30 so we could start early the next morning.
Wild Horse Monument from the bottom of the hill.
Me from halfway up the hill to the monument.
Daryl from the top of the monument. To the right, you can see the parking lot where we started from. The water is the Pothole Reservoirs.
Daryl getting kicked by one of the horses.
Daryl riding one of the broncos!
Me and Daryl at the top of the hill.
Me with our rocking rental vehicle - a Mazda 3!
Daryl and our campsite at Beavertail State Park (we took this in the morning so you can actually see it!)
Fort Langley, BC to Missoula, MT (well actually Clinton, MT - Beavertail State Park)
I woke up at 6:30 this morning to shower and pack all the toiletries and rest of the stuff that I had forgotten to pack last night. After making sure everything was ready to go (and cutting up veggies for snacks), Daryl and I headed into Langley to pick up our rental car from Avis. We were all set to go and the girl was just doing a check of the exterior of the car (a Hundai Elantra) with us, when I suddenly remembered to ask her if it was a non-smoking vehicle, based on our experience LAST time with them. She said that all the cars were supposed to be non-smoking bit sometimes people smoked anyway. She had done her best to get the smell out and had left the windows open to air it out but I could smell it and see what I thought. I sat inside the care for 3 seconds, with the door open and I was absolutely disgusted! It reeked and there was NO WAY we were going to take that car. She offered us a Mazda 3 which smelled great but hadn't been cleaned since being returned. She offered to vacuum it out but it wasn't too bad and we didn't want to waste any more time so we took it and headed back home. The only gross thing was a giant toe and footprint on the passenger side of the windscreen which I swore i would clean off when I got home but promptly forgot. Daryl packed up the car professionally while I sorted out the house and cleaned. We were on our way with me at the wheel by 9:00. We headed for the Aldergrove border crossing and only had to wait about 10 minutes. The border official was young and nice so I chatted him up and we were over with no problems. At the first rest stop, we switched so Daryl drove and I played on my DS. There was a lot of traffic outside Bellvue and Renton which surprised us for a Monday morning/afternoon but we got through it and headed toward Spokane. We stopped for lunch in a little town called Cle Elum at a very expensive BK. It was in the middle of a mountain pass so I guess that's why. It was PACKED. BK is so much more popular in the States. Just outside of Vantage, we crossed the Potholes Reservoir and went to a look out rest stop. There was a wild horse monument at the top of what looked like a small hill. We decided to check it out so we went towards it. I wasn't wearing the best shoes (or outfit) and halfway up there, we realized it was quite steep and rocky. I refused to give up so we clambered up the side of the hill/mountain and got to the top where the view was fantastic! Unfortunately punks had spray-painted all over the horses. We took some crazy pics (as usual) and headed back down with Daryl holding my hand tightly so I wouldn't fall. We stopped for gas at Moses Lake and were able to get it cheaper cause we paid in cash. It's weird but it usually saves you about 10 cents per gallon if you can find it. We drove a lot today and crossed both the Idaho and Montana State lines. We lost an hour when we crossed into Mountain Time so we didn't get to Missoula until about 9:00. It was getting dark so we grabbed Wendy's for dinner and ate on the road so we could get to Beavertail State Park, just outside of Clinton. We had to set up our tent in the dusk in the very first campsite we found (funnily enough it was site 1). This was the place where we stayed at the end of our last trip so it was kind of neat to start out our trip there. We had to pay $10 of the $15 camping fee in Canadian because we didn't have the right change. To tell you the truth, I don't even think the guy checked the deposit box but it allowed us to sleep more soundly. It was very quiet and there were tons of mosquitos so we went to bed at 10:30 so we could start early the next morning.
Wild Horse Monument from the bottom of the hill.
Me from halfway up the hill to the monument.
Daryl from the top of the monument. To the right, you can see the parking lot where we started from. The water is the Pothole Reservoirs.
Daryl getting kicked by one of the horses.
Daryl riding one of the broncos!
Me and Daryl at the top of the hill.
Me with our rocking rental vehicle - a Mazda 3!
Daryl and our campsite at Beavertail State Park (we took this in the morning so you can actually see it!)