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We have the clear plastic 3M coating, factory installed and then part removed for paint repair and a mobile installer reinstalled the coating over the newly painted area. I've never seen the coating removed without destroying the paint beneath (have seen other rigs at body shops). This greatly increases repair cost when painting is required on the front end of the coach. Removing the coating takes extra labor and they have to remove all the coating to the next "edge" so it means more painting than just the area of the repair. The 3M coating with professional installation will cost considerably more than the do-it-yourself product you are describing. I suspect that inexpensive product will not be comparable in strength and durability. Yes, I have a few chips in the plastic cover but the paint stays there and it still looks good on casual observation. I see all the flaws when I wash the bugs off. The best solution may be to take the hits and then occasionally have the front end repainted. Under normal circumstances, you should get four or five years without an accident or major hit before the little chips begin to get under your skin. You'll pay the cost of a good plastic coating for the repaint. If you wait for a major hit, the insurance company could help you pay for the paint job.

From Niagara, we enjoyed a trip along the north side of Lake Erie. It would be a side trip but one of my favorite areas of Ontario is the area around Leamington. Hwy 3 along the lake is a nice drive, small road, not much traffic. There are several campgrounds along this highway that overlook Lake Erie. Point Pelee National Park is the Canadian equivalent of Florida. The National Park is the southern tip of Canada. You can walk to the tip of the peninsula and stand with the water lapping at your feet. There is an off-shore island, Pelee Island, which is the southern most land in Canada. You can take a ferry to Pelee Island. Many of the homes in the area around Lemington are beautifully landscaped. There are huge greenhouses in the area so they do love their flowers. Much of the area is strongly British from the days of the American Revolution. In fact, we got a laugh about one hero mentioned in a local museum (the Cheese Factory Museum near London). She informed the British that there were American revolutionaries in the area! I also recall an Iriquois village and museum somewhere in the London, ON area. We've always enjoyed the novelty of driving north from Windsor, Canada into the US on the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit. The Ford museum in Detroit is an excellent museum if you have time. Back into Ontario, we participated in a bicycle ride (happening this weekend in Cambridge). In Stratford we enjoyed strolling along the lake. There were several nesting swan pairs which were just hatching eggs. One clutch had just hatched, the second was several days old and we stood by and watched while the hen took the brood to the water and into the lake for a swim with the cob trailing behind. There is also a Shakespeare Theater and many interesting shops, stores and parks. I highly recommend a stop in Stratford, some of our favorite memories. East of town as I recall there is a butcher shop, The Best Little Pork Shoppe. We stopped and got some great pork chops and sausage. We saw ads for this when we were in town. From Georgian Bay west, instead of the Trans-Canada Highway, we took the slower and much more scenic route, Highway 17. That route takes you through Sudbury, and the nickel and gold mining area and closer to the lakes where you will find many waterfalls, scenic valleys and beaches. We enjoyed the nickel mining museum in Sudbury, appropriately called the Big Nickel! Continuing west, you will see some gold mines though they aren't labeled as such. One visitor center along the way described the gold mining in the area. Depending on your schedule you might be interested in taking a little more time to explore this area. At Sioux Ste. Marie there are excellent opportunities to camp in view of the Great Lakes on the US side. You can watch the shipping going up and down the lakes. There is a freighter that has been turned into a museum there also. The Algoma Railroad has a day trip from the Canadian side that goes north to Agawa Canyon and returns in the afternoon. I mentioned this trip to my mother and learned that I was the third generation of my family to take that trip. Great scenery, and an interesting trip. On the UP, we enjoyed the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. As sailors, you will no doubt find the history of shipwrecks in Lake Superior interesting and sobering. A number of wrecks are detailed including the Edmond Fitzgerald. The light house keepers home and grounds are available for touring. Be ready to dress warm no matter what time of year!

I have to add this one. We went to Alaska in 2006. Along the way, we stopped at many informational pull outs on the Alaska Highway. We were in Yukon when we pulled off at a roadside stop. I went to read the information boards. Louise saw a man coming out of the woods with a shotgun. She elected to stay in the motor home. The shotgun was broken open when he exited the woods. The gentleman was in the process of discussing the gun with another tourist when an RCMP patrol car went by, made a quick U turn, and lights flashing, pulled up to the gentleman with the gun. I heard him say to the officer that he had a permit. We packed up and left as the officer was entering the 5th wheel trailer of the gentleman with the gun. I don't know what came of this encounter but I suspect it was not good. I believe the one requirement for carrying hunting weapons into Canada is that they be out/in use only in the presence of a registered game guide (my terminology here may not be correct). The point is that if you decide to take a hunting gun into Canada be sure to read their regulations carefully. You don't want to be the person we saw. At the least, their trip would be greatly delayed. If he had the proper permits he might get off with a warning or a fine. I suspect a complete search of the trailer followed. Who knows where that led? We saw many bears while in the US and Canada. We were always cautious and never had any problems even though in some cases we were amazingly close to where the bears were (Hyder, AK). We have never traveled with a gun and in 10 years full time have never felt the need for one. We haven't even ever wished we had one on board.

We just came through the route to Limon about a month ago. The rough road still persists south of the Texas/Oklahoma border. There are additional rough patches and some road work south of Limon. Still, we prefer the route for its shorter distances and lighter traffic. If you enjoy mountain driving and scenery, take the interstate.

Thanks for the pictures. During stormy weather there is not substitute for a sturdy shelter. These pictures are from an open area. There are also dangers in forested campgrounds. Over the years I've read many stories about trees being blown down onto tents and campers. A good size tree or tree limb can do serious damage to RV's. This is another good reason to flee to safer locations when severe weather is forecast. I'm up early this morning monitoring approaching storms. These look to be benign but I watch for the watches and warnings to pop up as the storms develop. Last week we bailed out at about 5:00 a.m. I got out of bed when I heard the rain hitting the roof. Needless to say, everyone in the mid-west has been on pins and needles since the Joplin tornado. We've had no shortage of strong and severe thunderstorms this spring. Anyway, when I got the WeatherBug up it indicated right away that there was a severe weather warning. That turned out to be a tornado warning so I woke Louise and we headed across the driveway to my daughters home. They leave the basement door unlocked so we have access during just such incidents. Louise had the flashlight and I brought the computer so we could monitor the situation. Once in the basement we picked our way through toys in the kids play room and found chairs to settle into. About that time, the alarm in the house went off. It seems that my son-in-law had heard voices in the basement and then saw the flashlight beam. He set the house alarm and then set it off to scare off the intruders. Louise went upstairs to inform them that it was us in the basement. They shut off the alarm. The alarm company called and they assured them that it was a false alarm. Then everyone joined us in the basement. We've been laughing about it ever since. Stay safe!

I've had Pressure Pro for four years. The alarm goes off well before you hear the thump-thump-thump! The one tire failure I had with Pressure Pro I was able to pull off the highway to a safe stopping spot, get out and hear the tire that was punctured. The tire wasn't flat, but it was well on its way. I had a tire fail without the Pressure Pro several years before I got the system. I checked pressures in the morning with the tire gauge just as I always had done. It caused over $1000 damage as the tire began to disintegrate. So I consider that the Pressure Pro system has paid for itself. Besides saving the damage to the coach, there is a safety factor that is priceless! With our 40 foot motor home and toad, I do have difficulty picking up readings from the tires of the toad on occasion. I will add a repeater unit to resolve this issue. Several years ago the display unit quit working. I sent it to the factory for assessment. Though it was out of warranty, they offered me a significant discount on a new replacement unit. I consider their customer service to be excellent. With the unit I can do my morning pressure check from indoors. If there is a discrepancy I can check with a tire gauge to verify and then adjust tire pressure. Adjusting tire pressure is easy, take the unit off, adjust pressure, replace the unit. When the sensor has been off the tire for 60 seconds it resets the set pressure to the new pressure to which you have inflated the tire. If you use the sensor on tires with rubber tire valve stems, you will want to replace those with steel tire valve stems. I used the system with rubber valve stems on our toad until I changed tires and then had the steel tire valve stems installed. They function with the rubber stems but you are twisting against the rubber when you tighten them. Also the weight of the sensor likely flexes rubber tire stems.

Here is a discussion of border crossing regulations which includes links to the official Canadian and US Customs web sites. Take a careful look at both, when you cross into Canada you will be dealing with Canadian Customs regulations. When you return you will be dealing with US Customs regulations. Don't assume that as a US citizen you will be welcomed back into the US without question!

It has been two weeks since my last entry. In that time I've made great progress in my recovery. I had doubts about the wisdom of doing the recovery from my knee replacement while living in the motor home. After two weeks any doubts have been erased. Actually I believe that the recovery has been easier in the motor home than it would have been in an actual home. From the time I opened the door and faced the five steps to get into the motor home I found everything worked very well. There are grab bars on both sides of the entry stairwell so it is easy to find something to hold onto. While holding the grab bar on the dash, I was able to also brace myself against the floor in front of the passenger seat. Then I could use the seat and the dash to steady myself. Once inside, my recliner was just a few steps away. The walker I was to use was pretty much unnecessary in the interior of the motor home. I had a cane also and with it, I was always within reach of a counter, chair or table to steady my other hand. So getting to the toilet was about eight steps from my recliner and the bedroom another three. I could prop the cane against the wall by the bed within easy reach. The trip from the bed to the toilet was a three step dance. Even getting onto the toilet was easy. Cane in one hand and the other braced against the magazine rack. There are built-in courtesy lights in the bathroom and the kitchen so I could get up at night without turning on the overhead lights and still see to get around. My knee is healing nicely. The staples have been removed and the incision looks clean and infection free. Swelling and bruising are both in serious decline and I have recovered full range of motion. There is still some discomfort when I sit in one position too long and walking isn't completely pain free. Each day brings noticeable improvement. I'll see the surgeon in less than a week for my first follow up visit. I'm almost ready to take on the replacement of the other knee! The motor home has been a great place to recover!

Here is a source of information about 30 Amp and 50 Amp service for RV's. RV Electric Service If you aren't comfortable working with the electric, consult an electrician and use this site for your reference in discussing the installation with the electrician. Don't assume that they understand the requirements for RV's. Unless they have experience working with RV's, they may not understand what is required for a safe RV service.

There are a number of things you can do to reduce the load on your air conditioners and thus make them more effective. 1. If possible park the coach with the windshield facing north. This will minimize the amount of sunlight coming in the windshield and side cabin windows. (Of course the obvious answer would end here... Drive in the direction you are facing until dark. Repeat until the daytime temperature is below 90 degrees! ) 2. Request a shady site to minimize the amount of sun affecting the remainder of the coach. 3. Use all your awnings whenever possible. The large awning may not be useful in high winds but the smaller awnings should be used anytime the air conditioners will be operating. The above are all no-cost items that you can do to reduce the impact of the sun on your coach. Here are a few more no-cost items. 4. Cook outdoors or use the microwave when possible. Eat cool, no cook meals when possible. 5. Shower at the campground showers and hang all wet clothing and towels outdoors until dry. 6. Keep lights, TV's and other electronics off during the heat of the day. 7. When parking after a day of driving, open the engine cover to allow maximum ventilation to the engine compartment. Do the same for the generator if you have been using it while driving. You can close these after sunset or the next morning if you are in a secure area. Now for a few items that will cost you money but will further reduce the heat load on your air conditioners. Start working on these after you have done all of the above you are able to do. 8. If you have any large windows without awnings, install awnings on those windows if possible. Awnings are one of the most effective ways to reduce heat coming into your coach. If your slide outs don't have awning covers, consider installing those as well. 9. Purchase a set of external sun screens for your windshield and cabin area. These are usually a set of four sun screens that cover your biggest heat gain windows. Use these screens whenever you are using your air conditioners. Any time you are parked with a view anywhere other than north, these screens will be highly effective. External screens are significantly better at reducing heat as they stop the heat before it comes through the window. Internal screens are more convenient but not as effective. 10. Purchase and use external sun screens to cover any other windows on the coach that do not have awnings covering them. Windows on the end of slides usually have no awning cover. They are usually small but still allow a significant amount of heat when the sun shine into the window. All windows without awnings should have sun screens. 11. Purchase foam board art panels (in the art supplies at Wal-Mart). Cut them to fit your windows. We cut several to height for a window and then stack them side by side, overlapping a little as necessary. Put them in the inside of the window valence during the day. Use them in rooms when you are not in the room. Put them in the windows when you leave the coach for the day. They will provide some additional insulation for the windows. 12. You can use the night to cool the coach to a much cooler temperature. This will get you off to a good start for the daytime temperature battle. Run the air conditioners through the night to bring the coach temperature to 65 degrees or cooler. It may mean living with cooler than comfortable temperatures at night and in the early morning. Keep the temperatures as low as possible during the morning and into the afternoon.

I don't have the same equipment you have but I use plastic and also brass ball valves. When these don't close it is usually manufacturing defect. The root cause is usually because of faulty placement of the stop for the lever that operates the valve. If the lever can't turn the valve all the way closed because the stop prevents it, the stop or the lever could be modified. I've never tried to repair these as the ones I use are for hose connections and cost very little so I just trash them if they don't work. Look at the stop for the lever that operates the valve. If you can get a file or other implement in the space near that stop, file off a little of the stop or notch the lever to see if it allows the lever to completely close the valve. If not, you may want to just have the valve replaced.

Wal-Mart is good in most places. We've also stayed on Sam's lots from late evening until early morning. My policy with both of these is late in and early out. This usually gives me an easy parking place to park and assures I'll be out before being parked in by a customer or employee. What is early or late varies with local conditions and my level of alertness! We usually drive until shortly before dark and leave before 8:00 a.m. FMCA Atlas has locations of Wal-Mart shown on the atlas. You can also get locations at www.walmart.com We have on occasion parked at other retail establishments with large parking lots. I always ask at Wal-Mart or any other store. I've never been turned down at Home Depot or Lowe's. We stayed at a Bed-Bath and Beyond lot one weekend evening. We were lost in the dark the night before and finally took shelter there just to get some rest and a chance to try to find our way in the morning light. Early Monday morning, the manager asked us to leave as we were in the employee parking area. He also gave us some local traffic information that helped us get through the NY City area without rush hour delays. He was friendly, asking questions about our travels. We occasionally park on the lot of a vacant store or shopping center if they aren't posted. Once in a small town we parked on the lot of what looked to be a small abandoned factory. I regard these as the least desirable due to the lack of activity on the lot, possible poor lighting and a tendency of these lots to be hangouts for ruffians! I don't go out at night in these locations unless necessary. We've parked at rest areas. Some states allow overnight parking, others prohibit it. Even where they prohibit it, you could get some sleep until someone in authority challenges you. They usually allow at least 8 hours parking. I keep the rig locked up tight and don't go out in the dark in these areas unless absolutely necessary. Rest areas are noisy and sometimes not close to level. The worst for noise are those that are close to the highway. Highway maps will give you locations of rest areas, though these days you may find many rest areas closed due to economic conditions. Wyoming has nice large, unpaved truck parking areas. Some of them are large enough for you to get away from the highway some distance. One gave us a really great experience early in our travels. As we sat inside eating dinner we were watching a herd of antelope gather together and then graze their way across the hills as the sun set. Many truck stops will allow overnight parking, but these are so noisy as to be our last choice. Casino's are a hit-and-miss proposition. Many have their own campgrounds and discourage or prohibit parking on their lots. Still, there are some that are quite welcoming. They are generally safe, secure, patrolled and well-lighted. You can sometimes get a good inexpensive breakfast as well. How do you find all these areas? As indicated above, there are maps that show locations of some. One useful source we use is The Next Exit. This is a book that is available at truck stops and RV supply stores. It is useful for interstate highways and lists all kinds of commercial locations at each interstate exit. It also gives information on rest areas. It is published annually but you won't miss much with a copy that is 1 or 2 years old. My brother-in-law was showing me an app for his i-phone that does the same function -- the data is always current using that method. Sometimes we just start cruising for a place to park sometime about an hour before sunset. This method definitely works best in daylight. I've occasionally found a place after dark (see Bed, Bath and Beyond above), but it is much easier to assess the entrance, exit and security of a parking area in the daylight. As full-time travelers, there are some routes we've traveled many times and we know the parking areas along these routes. As we travel we project about where we'll be when we are ready to quit for the evening and then search our experience database and discuss the best spot to park for the evening. We do this relatively frequently as we travel from one location to another and have found it to be easy to do. Give it a try; a couple of stops will tell you what you are comfortable with and what places you don't like to stay.

I tried to find the names of the parks where we stayed at each venue but only came up with the Banff National Park at Lake Louise and Mountain View Farm Campground east of Calgary. Both were suitable campgrounds for our stay. We had pull through sites at both with full hook-ups. We did make reservations for the National Park as we found arriving same day we ended up in the generator only area at Jasper NP. With the reservations we were able to get a full hookup site at Lake Louise. Both campgrounds should be able to accommodate your rig.

As you can see from Desertdeals69 post, these memberships can pay off. We've never been able to make it work for us. We travel for exploring remote parks and find that most membership parks don't match where we want to travel. Others are happy to have a nice park to stay and the park becomes the focus of their travel. We tend to be in the park only when we aren't out exploring so the park isn't a big deal. I would not want my travel decisions based on trying to get as much as we can out of a membership. Rather, I want to go see places we want and we'll take the parks that are available along the way. It's just a difference in the focus of our travels.

I'll be following this topic to find out where you finally find those fuses. Several years ago we were at Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge, CO. I had visited with a neighbor casually off and on during our stay. As we werepacking up and unhooking, preparing to depart, he was out working around his motor home. I guessed that something was wrong as he had run the generator several times for short periods. I started a conversation and told him that we were leaving. He asked me if I knew where the fuse panel for their coach might be located. I confidently assured him that though I wasn't familiar with his coach, I should be able to find it. After all, I've been poking through coaches at RV shows for years. His coach was not from a manufacturer I had a lot of experience with. Even so, I began looking in all the usual places. One by one we eliminated locations. We looked near the batteries, under the drivers seat, all the basement compartments. Then we went inside the coach and began looking in cabinets, the closet, all the places I'd seen fuse and electrical panels in other coaches. I finally gave up and told him I was completely puzzled. There had to be a panel but I couldn't locate it. Be sure to let us know the results of your scavenger hunt! Good luck. One thing you might try if a reply here doesn't help would be to call Monaco Technical Service. Monaco acquired Safari and Beaver around 2002 and even though they didn't manufacture your coach, they have records and techs from those manufacturers. The phone number is 877-466-6226. Give them a try Monday morning.

Welcome to the FORUM, Jack and Kay. Sounds like you are having a great time RV'ing. We'll look forward to your participation in the FORUM. You might also want to start a blog relating your experiences and activities as you travel, etc. Enjoy your travels.

If you are using your roof air conditioners and still not getting the cooling you desire, you might check the ceiling vents. Our coach has vents which can be rotated in different directions. When we are parked, the roof vents are turned to direct cooling air toward the couch, recliner, etc. which are in the slides. When we bring in the slides to travel, those vents are now pointing at the top of the slide. With four slides, you could have all your ceiling vents aimed at the top of the slide which makes it very difficult to circulate the cool air that you desire. When we travel, I aim the vents toward the center line of the coach and the front ones are all pointed forward toward the driver's and passengers seats. While the rear air conditioner doesn't supply cool air directly to the front of the coach, we'll still run it as it does help to reduce the overall temperature in the coach. Both our AC's feed air to the vent system in the roof. If both are running it increases the amount of cool air that comes from each vent. Having cooler temperatures throughout the coach means that the warm air returning to the AC unit will be cooler which makes the output air from the AC a little cooler. For this reason, we run both AC's and we don't close any vents, just aim them into the active portion of the coach as we drive.

If you remove the awning there will be openings that have to be sealed. Things like bolts and screws that hold the awning on your unit will leave openings for water and/or insects. You may also find the paint or surface beneath the awning to need some attention to make it blend with the appearance of your motor home. Sealants like caulking or gaskets may have to be removed. By removing the awning, you lose the ability to shade a significant portion of that side of your motor home. Shade provided by the awning can significantly improve the ability of your air conditioner to keep the motor home cool and also its cost of operation. If you are not using it for this purpose then this would not be a factor. I consider this a primary function of that awning. Even if you are plugged into campground power, some of the cost of operating the air conditioner for a longer time will fall on you as greater use will eventually contribute to the repair or replacement of the air conditioner. Consider the weight of the awning. Ours is almost 30' long and weighs about 300 pounds. That represents less than 1% of the weight of our motor home. Aerodynamically, it would likely contribute about the same percentage of the motor homes air resistance. Don't expect to notice that suddenly you are getting better fuel mileage. Finally, how will removing the awning affect the trade-in/resale value of the motor home? Do you plan to store the awning for eventual re-installation before selling or trading your motor home? When you put it back on, it's paint or surface may not match that of your motor home. Storing it means finding a place where it won't be damaged and ensuring that all the connecting parts stay with awning.

That would have worked. I just didn't think of it. I was too excited about getting that cabinet out of the way!

Our travels after Denver were easy to plan. We drove about three miles from Golden Terraces RV Park to I-70, headed east and stopped when we got to Foristell, Missouri. Another three miles south of I-70 and we were at our daughters' home where we are parked for an extended period of time. Our activities since arriving here have included a dance recital by our granddaughter, a barbeque on Memorial Day weekend which included several killer games of croquet, and now a brand new knee for me! We've visited with my mother, both of our children and their families including our four grandchildren in the St. Louis area. Our granddaughter loves to dance and it shows. The dance school has a huge performance about this time each year. The participants range from 2 and three year old dancers up through high school and beyond. The really young ones are cute beyond description. The older dancers have amazing ability. Our granddaughter is somewhere in the middle. She does love to dance and it shows in her performance. The show starts at 1:30 and runs until 4:30 for a full afternoon of dancing. We treated everyone to ice cream at Fritz's, the local ice cream shop. The next week included hitting the doctor's offices including getting surgery for my knee scheduled. Louise has had a persistent cough, ear congestion and swollen glands. The doctor diagnosed a sinus infection and bronchitis. She is now on the mend. My orthopedist scheduled my knee surgery for June 2. This set off a series of visits for tests and exams at the GP and a pre-surgery visit at the hospital. As part of my pre-surgery routine, I set about getting everything top shape on the motor home. I had no idea how long it would be until I was able to work on fix-its after my surgery. One of my projects was to install the day/night shades from MCD Innovations which we ordered on our way out of Texas. The shades arrived on Friday after our arrival in Foristell. I had them installed by the following Monday. So now we have first class shades in the motor home. Louise loves how dark the night shades are. She has been sleeping late trying to shake off her bronchitis and sinus infection. At 5:30 a.m. on June 2, I reported to the surgery unit at St. Anthony's Hospital. Two hours later I was in the operating room and two hours after that I was waking up in the recovery room. It is now the 4th of June and I'm resting comfortably at home in the motor home. My orthopedist prescribed a rigorous pre-surgery exercise and conditioning program and it has paid off by getting me home quickly. Now I'll continue with the follow-up therapy. Once this knee heals, I'll have the other replaced. I thought perhaps I didn't need to have the replacements but a week off the pain medication I've been taking for the last several years settled that issue. Once both knees are replaced and healed completely, we'll break camp and head down the road for more motor home adventures. In the meantime I'm really ddddddddddddddddrowsy. Those hospital beds aren't all that comfortable. I only got about six hours of sleep the last two days. It turns out I'll be enjoying those MCD Innovations shades also!

Some time ago we had a discussion of some ways to improve fuel mileage and fuel economy. One of my points in starting this discussion was to highlight some driving techniques which can be used to maximize your fuel dollar. The main thrust of this idea is that with a few changes you can make improvements in your fuel mileage and these techniques are completely free. Well, not truly free as a few of them will cost you time. But the fact is that your driving habits can be changed and making a few key changes can result in better fuel mileage. What we were discussing in the days of high fuel prices nearing $4.00 still apply at today's prices! Food for thought!

RV Park Reviews has listings for Yosemite National Park campgrounds and also lists 10 cities within 30 miles of the park and has reviews on campgrounds. The link above will take you directly to the Yosemite National Park campgrounds and you can start from there. You are in a mountainous area and level, large sites are hard to come by. You may have to compromise and find a location further from the park. We stayed in the area in 2002 but I can't find a reference to the park where we stayed. I wouldn't recommend it anyway, we had to use a shoe horn to get our 38 foot motor home in and out of the park!

We traveled roughly this route several years ago. Instead of the Trans-Canada Highway, we took the slower and much more scenic route, Highway 17. That route takes you through Sudbury, and the nickel and gold mining area and closer to the lakes where you will find many waterfalls, scenic valleys and beaches. We enjoyed the nickel mining museum in Sudbury, appropriately called the Big Nickel! Depending on your schedule you might be interested in taking a little more time to explore this area for starters and if you like it you can stay with Hwy 17 or you can abandon it for the quicker tour on Hwy 101 or 11. Thunder Bay has a beautiful park and walkway along the waterfront. We enjoyed a day relaxing and strolling through that area. Out of Winnipeg we took Hwy 16 to Edmonton and then to Jasper. The drive from Jasper to Banff and Lake Louise is absolutely fantastic. As always, too much to see and too little time! You won't find too many Wal-Mart's in Canada. We didn't boondock except in a few cases. Our trip was more leisurely so we tended to drive a days drive stopping en-route at attractions and then park and stay several days in an RV park. Some days we made good distance, other days we only traveled a hundred miles or so. There are lots of snowplow turn-around aprons on Hwy 17 but the truckers tend to use these as rest stops. We didn't see many actual rest stops with restrooms. We were glad that we had a restroom with us. The truckers on the other hand improvise - and it isn't pretty. Nuff said! We found the RV parks to be reasonably priced. We even came across a lake-front site on Georgian Bay (Lake Huron). We found it advantageous to dip across the US border to purchase diesel - big price difference. We did that at Sault Ste. Marie and stayed several days to explore the US and Canadian sides of that community. There are excellent opportunities to camp in view of the Great Lakes on the US side. You can watch the shipping going up and down the lakes. There is a freighter that has been turned into a museum there also. The Algoma Railroad has a day trip from the Canadian side that goes north to Agawa Canyon and returns in the afternoon. I mentioned this trip to my mother and learned that I was the third generation of my family to take that trip. Great scenery, and an interesting trip. When we made this trip, we found the roads to be in excellent condition. I can't remember paying any tolls along the way. If there were any, they didn't make an impression. We'd go back and make the trip again without a second thought! Enjoy your trip! Start a blog to let us know what you do as you travel.

I detailed a number of attractions in my posting in response to a similar question, Canada/US Route Suggestions. The attractions around Calgary should all be within reach. If you have other interests, you might let us know what you'd enjoy doing. That should help us steer you to things that are of interest to you.

I'd check them out with the BBB before I entered into any contract. Get information about the date of business incorporation, etc. We're in the Wentzville, MO area. Perhaps you have heard of US Fidelis?? Their headquarters were here in Wentzville. They were big in extended auto warranties a couple of years ago, advertising on TV, NASCAR driver endorsement, it was a bogus operation... They went bankrupt, the owner took the money and ran with it. There was a big bankruptcy sale several months ago. They auctioned off lots of luxury items, Hummers, Boats, etc. The people who had contracts got pennies on the dollar if anything. The state of MO is considering regulating this kind of company, even with an R Governor! That's how bad it was... I'm not big on extended warranties. US Fidelis is a worst case example. I'd be very suspicious of any new entry into the business. If a deal seems to be good to be true, it probably is!