Good Ol' USA

Las Cruces is somewhat of a sister city with El Paso as they are close together and connected by the interstate. The movie “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” was shot in Las Cruces but we could not find any information about which bars and stuff were used during filming. Brenda was feeling extra tired the next morning so we decided to stay an extra day so she could rest and be ready for the road the following day. As it turned out she slept almost all day and was fighting a bit of a cold. I on the other hand did a little touring around town, but it was uneventful to put in kindly.

Over the next couple days we rode to Tucson AZ and then North into Phoenix. We no sooner had our helmets off when we looked at each other and said “Did the trip really happen or was it just a dream?” The simple answer is “Both”.

Norm and Shirley were gracious hosts as our 'couple of day' visit turned into a 10 day stay. There is always something on the go in Phoenix, so we just enjoyed the atmosphere and re-entered North American living. We also were anxiously awaiting Russ and Edna’s return to Phoenix from Winnipeg so that we could have our official welcome back party with all our new friends. Hats off to Russ, Edna, Dave, and Sharon for putting together another wonderful evening of food, drink and conversation. The party was fairly busy and we did not get to talk to our hosts very much, so the next night we returned to give them a private overview of the trip. I was a bit embarrassed that I did not have a proper presentation prepared and feared I may have been boring them a bit with details and searching for photos. I will have to work on my presentation in the coming weeks to make it a more enjoyable experience for those who ask to see it.
We also got caught up in the vacation home ownership enthusiasm, as housing prices are very cheap compared to Alberta and who can complain about the constant warm weather. We looked a bunch of places but in the end did not make a move on any, just too much to quick, plus we have not even made it home yet. The house became even more active when Nadine, Norm and Shirl’s daughter, and her two adorable children came down for a visit. The kids were very entertaining as kids usually are, and of course the endless energy. Anna, 6yrs, is quite the little fish and was having a hard time staying out of the pool. Max, 3yrs, is an avid golfer and push bike rider, yes GOLFER, he hits balls for at least one hour every day and has quite a good chip shot. Self taught style, he may be the next Arnold Palmer.

Ah, but all warm things must come to an end, so on Mar. 5th we headed out of Phoenix for the Great White North. We stopped in at the Hoover Dam to take some pictures of the new bridge that diverts traffic off of the dam on over the canyon.


We had intentions of staying in Vegas for the night but as with the rest of our trip, plans are meant to be changed. It was the first day of Spring Break and Vegas was hosting a Nascar event. Basically, complete chaos and no vacancies until we got out of Nevada and into St. George, Utah. From there it was pretty straight forward, we spent the last night on the road in the same hotel room we spent the first night. Boulder Montana, the same little hotel across from the bar in #103. We even looked forward to seeing if the little girl in the Lady bug costume would be at the restaurant in the morning, unfortunately they were closed for the day so we will never know.

Area in Montana with no snow.


More typical scenery.



We managed to avoid any severe weather, not just on the drive home but on the entire trip really, funny how that worked out. Yes, we had a few days of rain, and a few cold riding days, but nothing we would consider extreme or severe, just uncomfortable or less than ideal.

Welcome Home!!