Canada Bound

Still another resolve – a moratorium on the mundane chain motels that have multiplied in the past decades.  Farewell Fairfield Inn; sayonara Super 8; buh-bye Best Western; later La Quinta; toodle-oo Travelodge!  

Hello Mom and Pop!  What a joy to stay in locally-owned inns. No one pressures you to join the loyalty rewards program when you check in; toddlers are not necessarily flinging Fruit Loops all over the floor as you glop your own tasteless breakfast onto a styrofoam plate; and more often than not, the proprietor takes a personal interest in your satisfaction.  

When we need WiFi or crave a long hot shower, we will stay at a B&B or roadside motel rather than the trailer.  Have found great places (with the assistance of Trip Advisor), and they have been amazingly clean and comfortable….. and often had unusual or interesting features.  In Springerville, AZ, Reed’s Lodge had an art gallery featuring local talent.  At the Konkolville Motel (Idaho), the original owner started a cook-your-own steak dinner tradition for his guests that continues today; there is actually a plaque in his memory at the entrance.

The ambiance at the Creston Valley Motel (British Colombia) was charming and the owners so helpful and friendly.

In Boston Bar (BC), the Canyon Alpine Motel is quaint, the grounds maintained lovingly.

In larger towns, it’s almost impossible to avoid the big chains, but in isolated communities there are wonderful opportunities to experience something different.

Back to the travelogue, after a quick visit to my cousin John and his wife Joann in Sandpoint, ID….

We are finally in Canada!  O Canada…. oh boy!

We crept along the southern border of British Colombia, spending a hopeful night at an airstrip in Osoyoos….

Unfortunately, the wind prevented flying there.  But we did get to visit the amazing Osoyoos Desert Railroad display, the most expansive and detailed model train exhibit ever…..  a couple of the scenes below.  The creators of this lilliputian world are immigrants to Canada who installed it in an industrial park on the outskirts of town among fruit orchards and vineyards.  To give a sense of scale, the human figures here are less than an inch tall….

One of the scenes even includes a teeny tiny bordello (complete with arresting cops)!

Brilliant!

From here, we press northward through BC toward the Yukon.  Phone coverage is already sketchy; internet service may be scarce; we will try to update as we can.