We crossed the border with no problem. Our first stop was in Cochran. We spent 2 nights there. We rested and stocked up on some groceries. Again we had a few snow flurries. We stayed at Bow River Edge Campground (very nice RV Park).

Next stop beautiful Banff. What a beautiful sight, the snow covered mountains were spectacular. We stayed in the Banff National Park. We were visited daily by Elk. We saw deer everyday in town on residents front lawn. We walked downtown and took a few hikes. We visited Lake Louise and stopped by the two beautiful resorts in Banff and Lake Louise. We hiked the trail to the back of Lake Louise to where we had to stop because of possible avalanche. We also hiked the trail to Johnson falls plus several other trails. We saw some beautiful waterfalls. The Gondola ride was great (www BanffGondola.com) .

Unfortunately Blazer had a little accident, he was playing with a stick, caught it by the end and punctured his esophagus. He spent 3 days at the vet. We were very lucky. The vet was very nice, they said he was a really good boy. He is doing much better now. He is afraid to drink, but he sure loves the meatballs we have to make for him. The meatballs are about the size of a nickel (so he can swallow them whole),and loves being hand fed. He will chew a whole tray of the little ice cubes. No more sticks for Blazer.

From Banff we went to Jasper National Park. This was also a spectacular place to visit. We saw Elk,Mule and Whitetail deer, Caribou, Moose, Mountain goats, Bighorn sheep and 1 black bear walking alone some railroad tracks. These two parks where the most spectacular we ever saw, the mountains, the trees, the wildlife, and the fresh air, just great. We will upload photo’s when we get a better connection. Check out the map, we updated it.

Red Willow SRA, May 2009

A really nice campground.

Clay pigeons

The term "clay pigeons" is attributed to Buffalo Bill. In his wild west shows the "Shooters" first used live pigeons. This didn't go over to well. Next they used red glass balls(see photo) made in the mold shown in the photo. This didn't work out to well as the audience was showered with glass. Then using the same mold they took chicken feathers and compressed them and covered them with clay and compressed them in the mold. Then put them in the sun to dry. Now when throwing them in the air and the "Shooter" hits them the feathers float down for a great effect with no loss of life.

Buffalo Bills place

Blazer making friends

Hey guys back off.

The land of OZ

Linda and her friends in OZ

Our traveling companion

Lilly is getting a little gray. She is pushing 15 and is having some rough days. She loves her baby. Blazer is saying what are you waiting for throw the toy already.

Johnson Creek RV Resort, Ingram TX

The nicest RV Park we ever stayed at. These are pecan trees. The dogs love to run in the orchard. The clubhouse in super.

From Bandera we went to Johnson Creek RV Resort in Ingram TX. This is one of the nicest RV Park’s we’ ve stayed at in over 40 years of Rv’ing. We spent a restful week . The dogs love running in the pecan orchard. Although Lilly doesn’t do much running anymore. From here we headed north to start our trip to Alaska. We went to Abilene TX for an overnight. Then on to KS.. While in KS we learned one of the couples we where meeting for the trip had a medical problem and cannot make the trip. We will be going with another couple, we hope to meet up with them this week in SD. Then it’s off to Alaska.

We spent 2 days in KS. Liberal, is the home of the “OZ” and the Dorothy exhibit and Coronado Museum. Interesting but we would not go out of our way to see it. Then we went to Red Willow SRA. This is a super State Park on a picturesque lake. A very very pretty park. Next we found ourselves in North Platte and Scout Rest Ranch home of Buffalo Bill, a NE State Historical Park. A very beautiful home and interesting tour. We would recommend this place. Be sure and check out our Google Map to follow our travels with additional information.

We did a overnight in Valentine NE. Then we went to Badlands Ranch & Resort. www.badlandsranchandresort.com This park is just outside the Badlands National Park in SD. www.nps.gov/badl/ We toured the park for 2 days and went for a very exciting horse back trail ride. This was a trail ride, up and down hills and around rocks and washouts in the badlands, but just outside the parks boundaries. We really had a few great laughs as Bob’s horse cut a new trail down a very steep hill with Bob hanging on for dear life. Then Linda’s horse cut her a new trail and went around the hill. She did catch up with us a little later.

We then went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in ND. www.nps.gov/thro This is a very neat park, a little similar looking to the badlands but with a lot more color. We also saw a lot more wildlife. The RV Park is in 5 miles from the entrance. On the way in we saw many buffalo and deer. The buffalo and deer come right thru the campground. The weather took a big dip. Two weeks ago we where in the 90’s in TX and now its in the 40’ with a 30-45 mph winds. We had about 6 hours of snow showers with the winds. The next day turned out great, bright and sunny. We met up with Bill and Barb our traveling companions for the next couple of months. We left ND and are now in Montana. We will cross into Canada tomorrow, stopping near Calgary for a couple of days. We’ll keep you posted. MT is our 38th state that we slept in for at least one night. We don’t count a state until we spend a night. Look for photo’s.