Friday 6th

Anne had slept badly but Les slept really well and had to be woken. As soon as we were dressed we ate the bowl of fresh fruit that we bought yesterday. We decided we didn't really want breakfast but strolled across to Ralph’s Grocery to get fresh coffee and some water.

We didn't have much to do in the way of packing as everything was ready so we took our time. Tried to Skype Tracey but failed. We got everything together and went to the foyer where our car had just arrived. Fairly easy drive to the airport. There were a few bits of heavy traffic but it was still quicker than we had been told. You’re not allowed to be dropped off at the car rental so we were dropped at the terminal and immediately got on a shuttle bus to go the shared car rental facility. The bus is easy because they have people to load and unload your cases. There was quite a long queue at the Alamo desk but no queues (and no customers) at any of the others - does this mean Alamo are the best value?

Once we got to the desk it was extremely quick. We were given some paperwork and told we could simply pick any Standard SUV in the car park. Instead of going straight there we sat and had coffee. When we got to the car park there was only one Standard SUV in the bay - a Dodge. We spent sometime putting our luggage in the boot and generally footling around. We couldn't see how to flatten the back seats and couldn't find the key (which turned out to be lying on the dashboard). While we were doing this an Alamo driver parked a Santa Fe in the next space so we simply moved our luggage across and took that. Not exactly the same as ours but quite familiar and we were happier than we would've been with the Dodge.

Leaving the airport and Seattle was a lot easier than we feared and although there were a few bits of heavy traffic (as we had to head back towards the centre of Seattle for the first bit) we soon found ourselves heading for Spokane. After that it was all very easy taking turns driving.

We stopped for lunch at the Parkside Cafe & Turtle Lounge at Easton - shared a very nice cod and chips. Stopped at a viewpoint over Wanapum Lake on the Columbia River. Other than that we just stopped at rest areas to swap drivers. There was some lovely scenery, going over a mountain pass, alongside lakes and reservoirs, but it was difficult to take photos through the windows, and there were almost no places where you could pull off.

Arrived Comfort Inn, Spokane Valley around 5.30pm. Very nice and we were given a welcome goody bag with cookies, nachos and water. Put washing on and then sorted out our luggage and put shoes and coats back into the car where we’d laid the back seat flat. While we were at the car we walked back to the nearby junction to look at what restaurants might be available. We saw Applebees and had a quick look at the menu to check there was something for Anne. At the time they were queuing for seats but the ‘greeter’ told us that it would be much quieter by 7.30-8pm. We came back and transferred the washing to the drier and did a few other bits in the room. By 7.20pm the drier was still going but all the washing was virtually dry so we took it back to the room and walked across to Applebees.

As promised it was much emptier. Had a very nice meal - Anne had a salad of strawberries and avocado with salmon and Les had prawn linguine, both washed down with Sam Adams Summer Ale. As we ate we were entertained by the young girl in the adjacent booth. She was about 5 and was there with her mother. She seemed very au fait with her mother’s iphone. Mum will probably be a bit surprised to find a close up picture of Les on the phone. Hope it doesn't cause problems with her husband. Quite an interesting chat with the mother as she’s planning to visit her sister in London in November.

Back to the motel to type this up. This is twice we've walked to the shopping centre and back from the motel. This is obviously a strange thing to do as we haven’t seen a single other pedestrian. As we typed this up the air ambulance came to the adjacent hospital.

Saturday 7th June

Bed was really comfortable and we slept well. When we went down for the inclusive breakfast it was really crowded - probably because there’s a wedding party staying. Breakfast was great. All the usual American stuff, plus two girls cooking omelettes, scrambled eggs and mushrooms to order.

Have to say this is probably the best value place we’ve stayed. As we type Anne is writing postcards to use up the rest of the US stamps, so they can be posted before we go into Canada. Anne also solved the problem of programming the satnav, which had been frustrating Les.

Left about 9.30am. Went straight to the gas station across the street. Lots of problems - to pay by card at the pump it asked for your zip code which of course we couldn't put in. Les went to the pay desk. First of all they assumed we were Canadian and gave us a code based on a Canadian zip code. When she finally understood that we were British we agreed that she would hold the credit card and driving licence while we filled the car. The irony was we then paid by cash in order to use up our US dollars. Unfortunately you can’t do this in much of the US - you have to prepay which is fine if you know how much fuel to put in or how much it will cost.

Eventually got going. A very brief run down the hill from the motel and straight onto the I90 heading East. We were a bit confused by the satnav and the exit number it was showing as it was suggesting we had about 250 exits to go. What we didn't realise was that the numbering restarts at the state border. Les had looked at the car manual to try and find out what the XM radio was all about. It turns out that these are satellite radio broadcasts. You can seek by category and we eventually found classical music and are now tuned permanently to an excellent classical music station - no adverts.

We crossed into Idaho and stopped at a Welcome Centre/rest area and picked up some leaflets. Carried on and our next stop was where we turned north onto the 95. Went through Sandpoint where the satnav got confused as there’s a major new bridge over the lake/river. Stopped briefly to take photos at McArthur Lake. As lunchtime approached we pulled into a petrol station that had a cafe. Turned out to be very nice. We shared a cheese & mushroom omelette - Blue Heron cafe. Nice view overlooking lake.

Carried onto the Canadian Border. Thought it would be very quick as we could only see a couple of trucks and lorries ahead. For some reason there was a long delay and then everybody started going through very quickly. We pressed on thinking we had a long time to go but suddenly realised that the satnav had picked up Mountain Time (1 hour ahead). We altered our watches but didn't think to alter the cameras.

We stopped at a Tim Horton's at Cranbrook for a cup of tea and a biscuit and then pressed on. Lots of impressive scenery with the mountains in the distance getting closer. Our only other stop was at a point overlooking Columbia Lake. At one point a small animal trotted across the road in front of us. Anne was driving and Les was too surprised to grab the camera. It was about the body size and shape of a beaver but with almost no tail and with quite longish straight fur. It was carrying something in its mouth - prey? We've looked since and we are absolutely certain that this was a (rare) sighting of a wolverine.

Finally got to the BW at Invermere about 6.30pm. Sorted ourselves out and went straight out to eat. Had hoped to eat within walking distance. BW restaurant wasn't open. We had high hopes of a Middle Eastern restaurant opposite but it turned out to have closed temporarily. Got in the car and drove back to the start of the town where we’d spot a Huckleberry's - another chain but quite good. We noticed the British style influence in that the restaurant seemed to be staffed by 15 year old children rather than adult professionals as you’d get in the US. A nice meal nevertheless with pasta for Anne and ribs for Les.

As we sat a deer wandered across the road outside and started grazing the tree in the field opposite. The only other incident concerned tipping. We weren't sure what the norm was for Canada and as we were seated close to the cash desk Les approached an elderly couple who were queuing to pay. They had no more idea than we did as they were Danish but this did result in us having quite a long conversation with them about various things once we’d explained Anne’s Danish connection.

After this Les asked a Canadian group - they said 15% was the norm but one man said don’t go to Australia - Les explained that we knew all about tipping in Australia being generally regarded as an insult. The other three Canadians were quite surprised when their man agreed with me. Les also pointed out that it’s an offence in Singapore.

As we drove back to the hotel we noticed the local small supermarket was still open so we went in and bought a pack of a dozen bottles of water. Works out very much cheaper than buying them one at a time.

Back to the hotel and an early night. Extremely frustrated by not being able to finished Telegraph prize crossword on the ipad.

Sunday 8th

Up around 7.30am and down to breakfast. When we were ready to leave we loaded the car and then walked a little way up the street to take some photos. Unfortunately as it was Sunday, everywhere was closed. We stopped to take a photo of the outside of Huckleberry's and as we pulled away we realised there was a gas station next door so we filled up. Much easier because Canada seems to have switched completely to chip & pin for card payments and we were actually able to pay at the pump.

We headed back to the 95 and went north. We stopped at Radium Hot Springs and went into the Visitor Centre. Had a long chat with the people there and bought our NP passes. After we’d bought them we managed to get a rebate as seniors.

Turned onto the 93 to go north towards Banff and were amazed as we went into the Kootenay NP. You start by going up a very narrow gorge (The Slot) and then go over a pass and then finally parallel to the Kootenay River on the way up to Kootenay Crossing.  Our mistake was that we didn't grab a coffee in Radium as there is almost nothing on the road and we kept stopping for views and photographs.

Eventually stopped at Kootenay Park Lodge at Vermillion Crossing. The restaurant wasn't open for lunch but we managed to get a small snack in the park shop. Carried on parallel to the Vermillion River and then turned east across towards the 1. As we did this we crossed from BC into Alberta. The speed limit is 50 or 60kph but it’s very noticeable that almost everybody ignores it. A strange change because generally the speed limits in the US seem to be obeyed.