Adventures in Azalea

09/13/2026

Thought I would fill everyone in on a little situation this weekend. We took the van on a trip to the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky Wednesday to Sunday. Wednesday and Thursday at Charlestown State Park and hitting Wh***ey Row in Louisville on Thursday and Friday. Friday night we hit up Wh***ey Thief Distillery just west of Frankfort where we were staying Friday night as they are a Harvest Host. The most awesome distillery on the trail in my opinion. Saturday was going to be in Bardstown for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival (every September). However, about 10:00 pm as we were settling in, Amy was complaining of abdominal pains. I said if it gets worse let me know. It did. Lucky we were only 12 minutes from a hospital in Frankfort. Long story short, good thing we went. Amy had Acute Appendicitis and had surgery on Saturday morning. Stayed in hospital until today at about 1:00. Drove home and she is in bed. All went well. Doctor said it was pretty nasty and good thing we came in. Listen to your body. That's all.

07/21/2026

Parks Canada Red Chairs

In 2011, one of Canada’s national parks placed 18 sets of red Adirondack chairs around the park in lesser but as beautiful spots. The national parks system loved it so much that they adopted the Red Chairs in all their various parks properties. Currently, there are 400 sets in 100 parks.

Michael had a few saved before we started the trip and we found a few of them by happenstance while we searched out others.

It was definitely fun to seek them out, and the next time we go to Canada, we will search more out.

07/17/2026

When we started the adventure west’s and north we were excited to see wildlife!
Here is a list of what we saw in those 36 days

ANIMAL COUNT

Bunnies 🐇+15
Ground squirrels 🐿️ - innumerable
Prairie dogs - innumerable
Fox 🦊 - 3
Deer 🦌 - stopped counting
Elk +20
Moose 🫎 17
Caribou (Reindeer) 5
Mountain Goats +30
Big Horn-Rocky MountainSheep +40
Black Bears 30
Cinnamon Bear 1
Grizzly Bears 2
Porcupine 1
Coyote 1
Otterss 🦦 0
Bald Eagle 🦅 18
Woodchuck 1
Pheasant 1
Swans 🦢 5

Bigfoot 🫈 0

We were really hoping to find 🫈BIGFOOT 🫈

07/17/2026

07/17/2026

Days 34, 35, and 36- July 14, 15, and 16, 2026

These were all travel days.

Tuesday, July 14
We drove the quiet roads of North Dakota around Theodore Roosevelt National Park and had lunch in Medora at the same restaurant we ate at in summer of 2025 while we were in the area. We did not take in the national park this time though. Heading on towards home, we enjoyed more terrain changes and a couple of the HUGE sculptures on the Enchanted Highway. After the previous night of loud train horns, we decided to get a campsite at the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, ND. When pulling up, we spotted a BEYOND!! So after some mutual sleuthing, The Mastersons finally met the Littles!! What a great visit with Ken and Karla!

The next morning, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, we met back up with Ken and Karla before heading on our separate ways.

While we had tentatively planned to hit some attractions and sights on the way back home through Minnesota and Wisconsin, the smoke from the Canadian wildfires filled the air, making it impossible to spend time outside. We made the drive through Minnesota and just into Wisconsin before we called it a night.

Thursday, July 16, 2026
Wisconsin- still smokey so unable to hit the dells…maybe next time . We avoided the path through Chicago and made our way south in Illinois until we hit the interstate to bring us into Hoosier land!! HOME!!

Our trip was 36 days, and to be honest, we were ready to come home, and yet if we were still in Alaska or Alberta, I’d be okay with that too!! There is so much to see, and we barely touched the surface. The beauty is unspeakably gorgeous, diverse, intricate, and complex all at the same time.

Thank you for following along with us!!

07/16/2026

Day 33, July 13, 2026
Monday

Wilder Calgary Zoo. What a pleasant morning we spent at the zoo. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!! And gorillas, gibbons, cranes, otters, porcupines, wolves, polar bears, camels, and many more. We appreciated the exceptionally well-maintained grounds and the large display area for the animals to roam about. The conservatory with beautiful flora and butterflies reminded us of our own home zoo in Indianapolis.

Tool Shed Brewery. When a guy starts brewing b**r in his tool shed, it becomes popular with his friends. He creates a full-on brewery, helps change laws in BC for brewing, and starts a restaurant to serve others - we win!! The b**r was crisp, light, and very drinkable. The smoked pulled chicken salad sandwich was AMAZING!! Our servers were delightful and gave us a quick tour of the facility.

Travel time. We got a great view of Calgary’s skyline with the mountains behind it (the mountains were a bit cloud-covered) as we left the city. As with most major cities, road construction is prevalent.

Border Crossing. While the actual entry into the US was pleasant and the guard check very quick, the time in line was not. We spent an hour in a long line with semi-trucks and other cars going down to one lane with one guard. As I said, he was pleasant and friendly, and we were through the border and back on US soil. Hello Montana!!

Chester, MT. We had originally planned to camp off-grid; however, with the time of day and the need to still empty tanks, we found a great spot in Chester, MT. The Lions Park. This little side park/rest stop had a free dump station and potable water as well as a large parking area that we decided would be good for our dinner spot and to sleep for the night. There are several picnic areas and a dog park there as well. The only unfortunate part was the location of the railroad tracks and the many overnight trains. But we made it work for us!

07/16/2026

Edmonton

07/16/2026

Day 32, July 12, 2026

We are truly heading home with the main excursions and sightseeing over. However, today we decided to take in North America’s largest mall by number of stores. West Edmonton Mall - It has over 800 stores, 2 levels, 2 designated food courts, so many restaurants of various food types, a complete wing of Asian stores and food, a pirate ship, a sea lion exhibit, an ice hockey rink, a water park, a car dealership, and at least 2 hotels connected to it. What did we buy? A magnet! Yep, a magnet, to commemorate our voyage into and through Canada 🇨🇦.

Traveling on over to Calgary, we called the security team at a different mall parking area, and they welcomed us to sleepover in the lot. There were 6 other RVs/cars/vans doing the same.