Highways and Gravel Roads: Volume II Continuation of an entertaining travel diary

By Monika von Borthwick

MoWuKnuffels
That is the name of the lovingly combined crew of a mobile home, consisting of two devoted dog queens and a lady of an advanced age.
Are you talking about a woman alone? In a camping car? With two dogs? About to cover more than ten thousand kilometers of highways and gravel roads?
Vancouver, #1 Dream Road, West Coast USA, highlight San Francisco, Baja California, circuit of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida.
Follow the MoWuKnuffels on their journey from Canada to the Tropic of Cancer in Mexico and back home! A travel report for camper friends, dog lovers and self-sufficient women! In her diary, the author describes her daily experiences in a continuous and comprehensive manner, while reflecting on her thoughts about the host country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Feb 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9783750458277

Monika von Borthwick

Monika von Borthwick belongs to the older generation and lives in culturally rich Upper Bavaria. In addition to her professional work, she looked after bus travelers as a tour guide in the European region. Even then, she wrote down her experiences of the country and its people in more or less detail. After the death of her husband, she shifted to traveling alone and explored numerous areas in Europe and North America on her own with her newly acquired motorhome and her two dogs. In the process, she discovered a love of storytelling and sent detailed reports home by email. These documents form the basis for her personal stories from each host country.

Book preview

List of contents and travel listings

October

1700 km (1063 miles)

Vancouver

West Coast of the USA

Dream Road of the World

HWY #1

San Francisco

November – 1st half

Main stop: San Francisco

November – 2nd half

1920 km (1200 miles)

Dream Road #1

Joshua Tree NP

Tecate/border crossing

Ensenada

Bahía de los Ángeles

December

1280 km (800 miles)

Southern point of Baja California

Cabo San Lucas

Long-term stay -

Los Barriles

January

Long-term stay: Los Barriles

February

4640 km (2900 miles)

Whale watching (Lopez Mateos)

Arizona (Saguaro NP -Chiricahua)

New Mexico (White Sands)

Texas

Louisiana

March – 1st half

2500 km (1560miles)

Louisiana intensive

March – 2nd half

2400 km (1500miles)

Crisscrossing Florida

Epilogue

MoWuKnuffels?

That’s the name of the lovingly combined crew of a mobile home, consisting of two devoted dog queens and a lady of an advanced age.

Are you talking about a woman alone? In a camping car? With two dogs? About to cover more than ten thousand kilometers of highways and gravel roads?

Vancouver, #1 Dream Road, West Coast USA, highlight San Francisco, Baja California, circuit of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida ...

Follow the MoWuKnuffels on their journey from Canada to the Tropic of Cancer in Mexico and back home! A travel report for camper friends, dog lovers and self-sufficient women! In her diary, the author describes her daily experiences in a continuous and comprehensive manner, while reflecting on her thoughts about the host country.

Monika von Borthwick belongs to the slightly older generation and lives in Upper Bavaria. In addition to her professional activity, she took care of bus travelers for years as a tour guide in Europe.

After the death of her husband she moved on to individual travel and explored numerous regions in Europe on her own with her newly acquired motorhome and her two companions. Armed with these experiences, a few years ago she ventured the jump across the Atlantic with an organized group. During this five-month journey from Washington to and through Mexico, the decision was made to try it again on her own. She discovered the love of storytelling and sent detailed reports home by email. These are now compiled and tell this journey for the first time.

Introduction

We had done it!

The journey of the three MoWuKnuffels across the North American Continent had succeeded and demanded continuation. At the end of September, I finished my first diary of pictures and experiences. The trip took us four and a half months, from New York to the Yukon, the Arctic Circle and to Alaska. We had to deal with one problem or another, marveled at great landscapes, met nice people, saw a lot of wildlife and gathered many different impressions.

For those who do not know us yet:

We are a group of three in a medium-sized motorhome, consisting of mum Monika, a mixed breed of dog (Wuschel) and a spirited little-four-legged friend, called Knuffi. Our mission was to conquer a part of the huge American continent on our own.

Anyone who has followed the MoWuKnuffels during the long journey on Highways and Gravel Roads may be interested in how our onward journey has developed. After all, the tour on the continent had not ended yet and our hometown in Upper Bavaria was unusually far from Alaska.

After going from the East side to the West side, the direction from the North to the South was in demand, as a well-known song says! In other words, we went from the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Cancer, from Alaska to Mexico, from the cold to the warmth ... and back to Europe.

This was 14 000 km/ 8750 miles approximately. Much could happen. Some magnificent highlights were on the way: Vancouver, the city with the supposedly highest quality of life; San Francisco with its bridge, Baja California with its cactus deserts and the crystal-clear sea, State Parks in the middle of deserts, the Gulf of Mexico, the mouth of Old Man River (Mississippi), alligators and swamps in Louisiana, the rich State of Florida, ...

Let’s get started! Because:

Your future is whatever you want to do.

Future means doing.

(Patrick Victor White, 1912-1990)

We wish all readers a lot of fun and entertainment in reading of our little adventures and hope to motivate the one or the other to dare as well.

Bavaria/ Germany, autumn 2018

Monika von Borthwick

Knuffi and Wuschel

Month of October 1700 km (1063 miles)

Vancouver

West Coast of the USA

Dream Road of the World -

HWY # 1

San Francisco

Vancouver, BC - The city with the highest quality of life in Canada

October 1st

Arrival in Vancouver

Wow! Temperatures in Vancouver in the double-digit range! We started early in Cache Creek. I wanted to be on my way to Vancouver by noon! But, for the first time in many days, I had lost my way and got the wrong #1. That’s why the road passed through Kamloops and we lost an hour. However, I would like to say that it was an interesting landscape, with mountains (no snow) and beautiful views. After Kamloops, the landscape was alpine and rainy – to say it slangy: piggy (awful) weather – raining cats and dogs! The road was good (four to six lanes) and I could keep a good average speed. Halfway there I had to pay ten dollars toll fee for my camper. Fortunately, the controllers overlooked the extra axis; otherwise I would have had to shell out twenty!

We arrived at the campsite at around two o’clock with two short breaks. It was located several kilometers outside of Vancouver, in the district of Burnaby and it offered a lot of comfort and was suitable for a longer stay. Interested parties can look on the Internet at www.bcrvpark.com. The single nights were very expensive though. As I intended to be here for two weeks, I paid around sixteen Euros per night including all the services. Comparable places in Europe cost twice as much. The connection with public transport to the city center should also be reasoable! Only the pitches were a bit small! What the hell? I would not be here for a long time each day, anyway!

October 2nd

Lost in Burnaby

The day was dedicated to my household. Therefore, I was not sad that the rain kept pelting down. During the night it poured out of all buckets and I woke up several times because of the drums on the roof. Even my Wuffis (dogs) were only briefly persuaded to a pee-walk. Quickly, they both moved home again. Among other things, I took the time to get in contact with several Canadian friends. Some of them answered me immediately.

Now I have an invitation for Thursday (Joanna and Ian) and I’m seeing Dave and Sheila on Saturday. They informed and motivated me to drive the Dempster Highway. I look forward to seeing them all again!

In the evening it stopped being wet and I went for a walk with my loved ones in the nearby park. Why should I take a map with me? I had the geographical plan in my head. Here a turn, there a loop and suddenly it took us out of the direction. I had to ask some joggers for the way back. It turned out that we were too much on the right and we had to walk all the way back bordering the water. It was getting darker now. I did not like that! Athletes were no longer on the way! We started to rush, because in the dark I had little desire to stumble through a forest that was unknown to me. Thus, the planned hour turned into two hours! Finally, the route was familiar, and we reached our camp just before nightfall! I drove thousands of kilometers through a wild area and got lost in the city park! Typical! At least our location was surrounded by many hiking trails.

October 3rd

First contact with Vancouver

Today, the girls had to stay alone for a few hours without me. First, I needed tickets for the public transport. They were only available at Safeway, at our nearest SkyTrain station. On the other hand, I needed a better city map with detailed bus lines. This I got downtown at the tourist information center.

I took my first steps in Vancouver by bus and train. It worked perfectly, but from the campsite to downtown I needed total of one hour driving time. In theory, the SkyTrain offered a fantastic view of Vancouver’s location. Not today! Everything was gray, black clouds, down to the water! Never mind, I still had almost two weeks left!

I strolled through the city’s landmark, Canada Place, which looked like an oversized sailing ship. I explored the entrance to the IMAX Theater and the adjoining luxury hotel. Considering my watch, I decided it was too late for Stanley Park. Instead I went to see the Art Gallery with works by Emily Carr. In the meantime, I had been able to learn something about this Canadian artist and was curious about her work.

Unfortunately, not many of her exhibits were on display in the museum. A supervisor told me that her works were scattered in museums throughout the world. What a pity, I would have liked to see them. The artist had painted many pictures around the culture of Indians, and she portrayed with expressiveness their way of life in a personal style. Probably a little bit like Van Gogh, whose works you must also search everywhere on the globe.

Behind the building, I discovered a time machine that ran backwards! Vancouver was qualified for the Winter Olympics, and the city fathers have set up a clock behind the art gallery that showed the time remaining until this memorable event.

I had to start driving home early, because Ian wanted to stop by after work, and we wanted to confirm our appointment for tomorrow. I tried to take a different exit and found that I could walk there from the campsite with no problems. Therefore, I was not dependent on the bus, which only ran every half hour. Smarter again!

After the hearty lunch at three o’clock and the after-dinner conversation I walked again with my dog ladies yesterday’s park distance in the daylight. We met another dog owner; and so, five ladies went together through the city park of Burnaby. Now my dogs are dead tired and will sleep until tomorrow.

October 4th and 5th

Cat friends

I have not seen much of Vancouver so far. Yesterday, the morning was too short for a trip to the city center, since I was supposed to be picked up by Ian at two o’clock. After all, I only belong to the early birds in case of emergency. I strolled with the Wuffis a little in the city park and took the bus for shopping in Safeway. I did not want to start my visit empty-handed.

At half past three my chauffeur and host arrived. It took about half an hour to drive to the suburb of Pitt Meadows. My two pooches were allowed to join, although the hosts had three cats. However, we found a solution so that they did not get in each other’s way!

It was a nice afternoon and evening. Joanna was a warm person. She spoke a bit much and fast. But that was an advantage for me because I did not need to say so much. She was a great hostess and served garlic chicken with lemon! Excellent! About half of the conversation I could follow, a quarter I guessed, and in the remaining quarter I nodded in agreement, giving the impression that I had understood everything. I learned all about kids and cones, cats and hobbies, as well as all sorts of other two and four-legged friends. Both friends were great animal-lovers.

When we finished looking at mine and their pictures of our Alaska trip, it was almost midnight. Dogs and the woman quickly packed in the car and back to the campsite. Ian had to work tomorrow. It was well past midnight when I could finally go to sleep.

Today we were supposed to enjoy sunshine and a blue sky. Unfortunately, I did not get up until nine o’clock. See yesterday! Despite the nice weather, I drove to the Royal Columbia Hospital to finally check my arm and hand. Otherwise, I would have had to wait until Tuesday, because on Monday only one emergency service was on duty due to Thanksgiving Day.

The next clinic was conveniently located near the campsite. The procedure took about six hours with driving, X-rays and essential waiting times and cost me six hundred dollars in advance. Various personnel took a million X-rays of the entire back, neck area and shoulder. It was comforting that neither a bruise nor an obvious source of tingling seemed present. On the negative side, the problem had to be self-evident. The doctor diagnosed an over-exertion of the shoulder and arm sections, probably due to the ultimately extreme driving of recent weeks. It was true: I drove more with the left part of the body (hand and shoulder) than with the right one. I noticed that in the last days. The doctor told me to give my arm a longer rest. I would have that anyway. Maybe that was why I might extend a week. It was ok with me. The doctor said I should really enjoy the rainy Vancouver! Joker!

Later, there was a walk in the city park for my two darlings, who had waited so patiently for me.

I think that after this diary entry I’ll go for a swim so that everything relaxes a bit!

October 6th/7th

An artist couple

The swimming was excellent. That’s why I went yesterday after breakfast again. The weather was miserable, and we had our scheduled meeting at two o’clock at Dave and Sheila’s place in Richmond, at the other end of town.

Unfortunately, I had to dismantle the whole camper to be roadworthy again. This is the disadvantage of such a compact model! It took a little time. We started in the late morning – again with an intermediate stop at Safeway – towards the city center. Big traffic on Highway #1! Since Stanley Park was on our way, I wanted at least to see the modern Totem Poles today. It did not rain, it p...! Vancouver in the most wonderful weather! Nevertheless, I drove the park loop to orient myself for future days. I stopped and got out only at the attraction and to see the Canadian wild geese. Noteworthy: despite the wet day, tourists were all over! Then we had to hurry to be on time in Richmond. We made it with a half hour delay, because the way led us (unfortunately) through the center with the heavy traffic.

I was warmly received by the two friends from Dawson City. Downer: The Wuffis had to stay in the camper, since their apartment was not suitable for dogs and was too well maintained for my understanding! All right, I could always check and go for a walk with them. Their terraced house was in a private settlement at the seaside, from which I (due to weather conditions) saw nothing. We got along great, and they drove me through their fishing village which had already annexed to the greater area with Vancouver and had a lot of newfangled things to offer. Many different faiths coexisted and apart from Hindu temples one found synagogues as well as Chinese places of worship.

We were talking a lot, because both were professionally wonderful photographers and Dave talked a lot about his work and his various trips to the Far East and Africa. While I later took my dogs for a walk on the dike, both prepared a top-class dinner. Two exquisite and talented hobby cooks!

Because of the late evening I did not want to drive all over the city anymore. I spent the night undisturbed at the roadside in Richmond! Absolutely no problem! In the settlement itself I was not allowed to park with my box. That would have messed up the entire look of the housing complex! It is an elite of its own that lives here! Under such circumstances, a RV is gold worth.

My morning showers failed, because first the Wuffis had to go out and second at eight o’clock both hosts picked me up for a breakfast in downtown. They often did that on Sundays, so I also enjoyed it. Besides, I could also get information about Vancouver and see something of downtown.

Back home, my pictures from the Dempster Highway were examined professionally and I could look at some really selected objects from Newfoundland. Here you saw the difference between amateur and professional! Extraordinary views that hostess Sheila produced. Both experts gave me some tricks. But I could only put that into practice if I had a better camera!

At noon I was finally allowed to leave. The weather had not changed a bit! My intention was to avoid the darkness so as not to get lost. What I did today thoroughly in the daylight: The #1 was so badly signposted from my direction that I ended up stuck in the rush hour in the suburbs. Only the direction was right! And this at stop, stop, stop and go! It took me two hours to arrive to the campsite – normally I would have done that in one hour.

After a reward walk for my two patient friends, I went to the swimming pool and hot tub. I felt that this was good for my arm! Well, maybe the therapy will start if I swim a little bit daily and take a hot water bath! Anyway, I wanted to park the camper the next days and use the SkyTrain! Now it had cleared up. Tomorrow open air or museum?

October 8th

Thanksgiving Day with sunshine

Unbelievable! The sun was shining when I left for the morning walk! So, it was open air and I chose the Capilano Suspension Bridge. My book guide said it was an expensive treat, but while in Vancouver ... Later I should not blame me for having missed something. After our walk and several laps in the swimming pool without Wuffis, I took the SkyTrain, the Seabus and the regular bus to the other side of Vancouver. That took two hours like yesterday – but had the advantage that the means of transport knew the right direction!

Because it was a holiday with sunshine, many other tourists and locals also came up with an outing idea. The ferry (Sea bus) drove only every thirty minutes, therefore the masses gathered in front of the entrance. In the waiting period I could conduct intensive character studies. All kinds of Asian facial features were to be discovered, many of them Indian. After all, the Asian continent was closer to Vancouver than to Europe! As Dave told me yesterday, the Indian intelligentsia was becoming more and more prevalent in this city, as Canadians were often too poorly trained!

Of course, I was an ant among many in the park facility. It was amusing to cross the long and swinging bridge and feel like a squirrel in the treetops on the other side. The operators have designed attractive panels and some explanations about the rainforest I could follow.

Two hours were quickly over, and I made my way home. My girls should not be alone for more than six hours. As the sun was shining, I could hardly believe that bad weather had been announced for tomorrow. But if you could rely on something, that was the prediction.

On the way back there were a lot of people on the road and many had used, among other things, the free time to go shopping in oversized shopping centers (malls). Although my feet ached, my two could linger again in the city park. They should also have their right.

When they go to sleep after dinner, I’ll go for a swim again. The baths are open until eleven o’clock! The weather tomorrow determines the program!

October 9th

Anthropological Museum

Last night I was among the top ten thousand – for one hour I had my own swimming pool and jacuzzi! Between nine and ten in the evening I was alone in the bathing area! It was terrific and relaxing!

However, suddenly another problem had to be solved: a technical one! I did not get my bank details! Everything was locked! I quickly got an answer and with the help of my postal administrators at home and modern communication technology a solution was found in the course of today. Now I was not behind in my payments anymore!

The weather forecast was right! Rain travelled inland overnight. So today was the due museum visit. The building was located on the city’s spacious university campus. Our students at home could only dream of a facility like this, in view of the spaciousness and design of the buildings. It was a city that was attractively designed. I had trouble not getting lost! I looked at the faces during the tour and I noticed again the predominant Asian character. I would like to estimate that nearly two thirds of the students I met have at least one Asian parent.

The museum itself was housed in a very modern building, and the content was appropriately designed. Lots of light, the high construction was modeled on the beams, so that a large part of Totem poles could be shown in full size. I think that I have seen the best exhibits here so far. By chance, I was able to join a guided visit, which opened up a few details more. I thought it was great that the museum made the entire collection accessible, with brief descriptions of all exhibits that were well arranged in catalogs and in PCs. It is often the case that you find only a few items in the museums. The others are stored behind closed doors. Not here!

Since I had to walk with the dogs for at least an hour after my return, my energy was so low that I felt no desire for further activities, neither for shopping nor for swimming.