1st long trip,Colo. to New England to Nova Scotia and back.

You didn't state your planned route but if you're getting tired by the time you hit Michigan, the Upper Peninsula and the lower, northern part will be beautiful. If you can make it to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore around Traverse City, Michigan, it is breathtaking beginning Oct 1.

Keep in mind also that the colors and leaf drop depends on the weather. Sometimes those leaves drop very fast.

I don't know if you'll both be driving but if you're getting tired, slow the pace and don't try to cover so much territory. You'll be seeing fall colors wherever you go. Also, I wouldn't recommend making lots of reservations. Just take your time and enjoy.

Have fun on your trip...and 77 is not old. :)

Hi, folks. Wow, so much information and so many great ideas. Thank you, and please write more! I'm thinking this will be the trip of our lives!

Susan

OK, if you want to know about Canada, go to Canada.

1. www.google.ca means searching in Canadian sites. Search "name of province & tourism". Do at least Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Ferry from Maine will stop in very early October. You will have to go through New Brunswick.

2. Go to section of this forum, called RVing in Canada and Alaska. Browse for threads on these 2 provinces. Search all stickies for relevant border crossing information.

3. Check with local sources in person for camp grounds that may be open to serve folks living in an rv and working in that city.

Atlantic Canada (NS, NB, PEI, & NL) have a long fall. Yes, there may be some frost, but days can be quite nice.\

The Fortress at Louisbourg in Cape Breton Island is an unusual reconstruction for Canada and well work checking for opening times in the fall.

:B

You can make up a couple of days driving by getting across the plains quicker than the 237 miles per day someone quoted. I would also take warm clothes since you may get a shot of snow. If you have a toll road pass, like I-Pass from Illinois, you can take the toll roads E of the Mississippi on the same Pass. That saves a lot of time to get you to your destination quicker. As a fellow who goes to Canada frequently I use Credit Unions and their ATMs for the best rates. I usually have $100 Canadian at home for the start. I am going in a couple of weeks myself.

Jim Shoe wrote:
... And finally, Tim Horton's is the Canadian Starbucks, and they're everywhere. ...

Semi-humorous note about Tim Horton's... I am a big coffee drinker. When we went to the Canadian side Niagara Falls we stopped at a Tim Horton's for a "regular" coffee. It comes in something like an 8oz cup -- which looks smaller than a "child" size cup down here in the States. Basically, it is an actual "cup" of coffee, as opposed to our "mega multi-gallon super-size" containers that we are used to drinking out of.

Good coffee, just be ready for realistically sized cups!

thank you, thank you, thank you. Please keep 'em coming!

Susan

Get some Canadian cash before you cross the border. Either an American Express office or your local bank, though that might take a day or two. Once you're 20 or thirty miles from the border, businesses won't know the exchange rate, any more than you do on this side of the border.
Check the US and CN customs sites for current info on what you can take and what you can't. DON'T lie to the customs inspector. If they ask you a question, they already know the answer. On my way north, I crossed at Sweetgrass, MT. and the customs inspector asked if I'd ever been fingerprinted. I told him maybe when I joined the Navy, but I couldn't remember. DUH, my fingerprint was on my passport that he had in his hand.
Since my RV already had miles and kilometers on the speedometer, I wasn't too concerned. Until I stopped at a deli and everything was sold by the gram. So I ordered 8 slices. And I still don't know the conversions. Or the yards/meters conversion. Going thru Calgary, I came to a bridge with a vertical clearance posted. So I pulled over and did the math. I was OK. BTW, crossing into and out of Alaska and back into the US at Sweetgrass, I barely had to slow down before being waved on thru.
Gasoline in Canada is sold by the Liter in Canadian Dollars , so unless you know those conversions, just ask them to fill it up. Attendants pump the gas up there anyway. No choice. Your credit card company will do the converting. And finally, Tim Horton's is the Canadian Starbucks, and they're everywhere.
One other thing. My RV is 30 AMP, but some CGs in Canada had only 20 and 50 Amp outlets. Glad I had pigtails with me.

Good plan. With Verizon you can add Canadian phone only access for $15/month additional. Call before you cross the border and after you return. Data is expensive and we do OK on WiFi but don't access financials. We always carry proof of insurance for Canada which we have not needed, just figure that if something happens we'll have it.

We leave 9/28 after doing the garlic festival for GASPE', New Brunswick, PEI and southern NB and home through Maine.

CHECK the night temps, watch for any possible precipitation (thinking any ice or possible early snow). We have our passports, Canadian, Non-Resident interprovince motor vehicle Liability insurance card (which quite honestly I don't know how necessary this is). We checked wunderground.com for last years weather and record lows to see what we might experience weatherwise. We are not prepared for ice, snow but could wait it out if need be...but don't think that will be a problem (we hope).

We will mostly be boondocking. We have checked sanidumps.com for possible places to dump and take on water. Our trip should be about one month long. We use allstays camp & rv ap for our ipad and iphone (don't expect to use the iphone $$$) to find walmarts to overnight in a pinch, LP, etc.

This is our first time in gaspe', pei, and eastern NB...looking forward to it immensely...it was a spur of the moment trip.

Susanka, while it will be a lot of miles per day you really mention the NE and Nova Scotia as the destination.
If you hot foot it out of CO and both drive, ie like 16 hrs per day, you can reach the east coast in 2-3 long days. Not much to see between CO and NY in my opinion anyway, other than the leaves should be getting good towards the NE.
Doing this will give you 3+ weeks in your destination area which is really what you're after. Just don't get sidetracked at every attraction along the way and try to time your travel thru big cities NOT during rush hours. That and save the fuel econo driving for the tourist part of your trip and put yer foot in it on the "commute". The extra fuel $cost will save you a couple days overall.
Have fun!