Glacier National Park, Montana

June 15, 2014

I am sitting in the trailer on a frosty, cold morning in majestic Glacier National Park. Yesterday we drove past Flathead Lake that runs for over 40 miles. What a gorgeous view, simply magnificent. After filling up with propane, shopping at Wally World in Missoula and checking in at the park we both dumped the waste water and filled up with fresh water. At that point my shoes were soaked and I was freezing.

It took two tries to get into my camp site before I decided to go back and ask the ranger for another spot. This one was simply too short, steep and curvy to accept the Casita. What an ordeal that makes one feel the complete fool. Trying to get in, several people helping all at once, pointing different directions and at the same time blocking all traffic put me in a mildly frustrated frame of mind. Now I am safely situated in a new spot, however, the Casita is noticeably loosing power. Of course, that means the battery has not been charged properly. For once I knew the problem . . . . the blown fuse under the hood of the Ridgeline. Fortunately, a little foresight had provided a new set of fuses safely stored in the tool box. At this time the engine is running charging the Casita battery. In about an hour Carol and I will take a drive up Going to the Sun road with Casita so it can charge and we can take photos. Later in the day I should have wonderful photos to post!

Lunch at MacDonalds Lodge. Beautiful hanging lamps.

 

 

 

 

 

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LOST CREEK CAMPGROUND

 

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June 13, 2014 Later in the day

After leaving Dillon, MT we made our way to Butte, MT. This part of Montana shows off soft, green, gently rolling hills behind which snow covered peaks look down on Prong Horn sprinkled throughout the valleys . Occasionally, a small herd of deer is visible from the highway. The landscape exudes peace and tranquility. Mostly ranching country, towns are far and few between. In Butte I had to stop at a CVS pharmacy to have a couple of prescriptions filled necessitated because ObamaCare makes me use that pharmacy and they do not exist in Colorado or Wyoming. I could have found one in Idaho but not in any of the towns I had to pass through soooooooo Butte was my first option. With the Vet and pharmacy stops we were now about 2 hrs behind schedule.

We had made plans to overnight at Lost Creek State Park. Certainly not a misnomer. It was another hour drive to the park up a very narrow and curvy gravel road and just as I ran out of hope there it was exactly as nuvi had said. I noticed a vintage 70s Winnebago parked in the host site. As we were backing in our chosen sites a very large Montana Bubba emerged from the Winnie. He ambled over to me and with a big, toothless smile informed me that blue birds were nesting in the tree stump where I was about to park. Still smiling, he allowed that about a mile up the road were more sites right by the "not to be missed" waterfall. That sounded like a good idea to us so as we pulled out Bubba hollered "I'll be up to check on things in a bit."

We selected sites next to the fast flowing Lost Creek amid a stand of lodgepole pines and aspen surrounded by high rock walls. All in all, a lovely camping spot for the night. It didn't take long to get set up before Bubba came cruising by to make sure all the campers (us and one tent) had filled out the proper forms and secured one to each site post. I noticed when he pulled up in front of my trailer and got out of his car that Bubba had donned his official "ranger" shirt, however, failed to button it correctly allowing for a portion of his generous belly to "air out." Later, telling Carol about Bubba and his shirt she thought maybe he was a "pretend" ranger and the forest service only let him think he was the real thing. We dubbed him the "Faux Ranger." Fortunately, Bubba Faux Ranger, did not reappear the rest of the evening (which was short considering the hour I turn in for the night.

After a dinner of Honey Bunches of Oats sprinkled with a mixture of sliced almonds, dried quinoa, chia seed and fresh blackberries, I settled down to blogging. Fox is snoozing on my new 8" foam double bed and I am listening to the creek rushing down the mountain. All in all a very peaceful evening. Shortly, I will move the Fox over to his side of the bed as I climb in my side. If I could only stay up until it gets very dark I am certain the stars would blind me. Ah well, I'll see them at O'Dark Thirty as usual.

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Dillon, Montana - June 13, 2014

A STOP ALONG THE WAY

I am here in the parking lot of an IGA at one of two exits in Dillon, MT. Beautiful country, in fact the drive from Idaho Falls was truly spectacular - a gift from the Gods. Carol is seeking out a vet to get meds for her pup, Dottie, that she forgot to bring with her. We enjoyed a nice lunch and have about an hours drive to Lost Trail State Park where we will spend the night. She and I are still pretty tired.

The second day out we camped outside of Gypsum, CO on Forest Service land. Not too inspiring but we needed the rest. Next day we headed to Dinasour National Monument where we took the next morning to visit the quarry. Quite impressive. Again, the country was lovely, high desert and very green for any time of the year. All the rivers we crossed, Arkansas, Colorado, Eagle, White Mountain and Green River were full to brimming. Still, the mountain tops had white peaks. Our next stop was Rock Springs, WY. A beautiful drive until we had to stay in the KOA Campgrounds. My least favorite place to stay but the only thing in town. Speaking of the town it was abombinal, full of oil rigs, trucks and hugh storage tanks. A God-forsaken place to live. As you have probably noticed I'm cramming the last few days into one entry because I just got this blog up and running. It took me a couple of times through the "help" video to get it and I still don't know much. Since I use my Ipad for most of my computer work now, I needed an app to help with blogging. Always something new, useful and slightly frustrating to learn about. At least now I will be able to write along the way and post to my blog when I have intenet.

Last night we stayed in Idaho Falls which was crowded and conjested with traffic. Happy to get on the road this am. I am enjoying a strong cup of coffee designed to keep me awake for the rest of the drive today.

An aside. . . Driving through the countryside has always been restful and meditative for me. Perhaps, because my family moved so much during my childhood and we always seemed to be taking road trips. Those were happy times because I remember the closeness and security of family. Since those days, whenever I feel down, a ride by myself in the car does the trick. There were many times I just wanted to keep going but the love for my children kept me at home. Even today, I am safest in the car. Now I need to get going.

Pictures are of Dinasour National Monument

 

 

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NORTH TO ALASKA Summer 2014

 

June 8, 2014

Getting ready to get out of La Veta was a major task for both Carol and me. At the last minute she discovered a honey bee hive in her attic and had to arrange for that to be attended to. After several nights of restless sleep I decided that the twin bed I had in the Casita wasn't going to hack it. Sooooo, I arranged to get back the double bed size 4" foam I had given to Nancy Klinke. She wasn't using it so that worked for both of us. However, remembering why I got rid of the double bed foam in the first place (it didn't hack it either), I went to Walmart in Trinidad to get another 4" piece of memory foam. My dear friends, J and Denny, who own the RV park had been helping me prepare for the trip all week. Of course, poor Denny got stuck with removing the twin bed (which I gave to them). Due to the configuration of the Casita, I had to cut two ends to round them off. That meant laying the foam out on J's living room rug to get the proper cut. Finally, at 10 last night my bed was made and ready for me to fall in.

It bears mentioning that J's spare bedroom is stuffed with 2 suitcases, a box with a raven sculpture missing its wing, my oxygen concentrator and a TV set. I cringed every time I took something else to store in her house. Finally, after dumping gray and black water, filling up the water tank, hooking up the trailer and checking everything the Fox and I were ready to head out.

I met Carol at her house and helped her finish packing her Roadtrek. Then we grabbed a bite to eat at the new bakery and drove out of La Veta at around 1pm. One quick stop to check my trailer brakes and we were on our way. Me to the tune of Northern Exposure on my CD player.

We hit a wicked rain storm over La Veta pass and on into Fort Garland. The sky was simply spectacular sporting both dust and rain storm. Once again I marveled at the beautiful landscape as we drove to the Great Sand Dunes.

It didn't take too long to set up, pay our registration fee (%50 off for old ladies) and for me to get a pot of chicken soup going. Soup was a good choice since it just rained and hailed leaving the air rather nippily. Since we are both tired I suspect it will be an early night. Right now I am celebrating the fact I'm in a hard sided trailer and not freezing my buns off in a wet tent. Oh, and I even have a toilet and hot water in my cozy little Casita home. Life is GOOD!

 

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We left Cherry Creek at around 11am, an hour later than expected.  Our route took us to I25 all the way through Denver and on up to Cheyenne.  The traffic was horrid and it was a most stressful drive. Once we hit Wyoming most of the cars disappeared and we settled down for a nice cruise.  Our plan was to stop at Lost Springs, population 4, and stay the night in their Town Park.  So far so good.  It proved to be a lovely park complete with green grass, outhouse and jail.  Note pictures.  Pete and I walked around taking pictures then I went back to fix dinner.  Half way through dinner Pete came by to report that we had been evicted due to fire bans.  Of course, we had no fire, but the woman Pete talked to said it was a country ordinance and that 2 police officers kicked out the campers the night before.  So, reluctantly, we broke camp and drove on down the road to Lusk, pop 1010.  We are in a nice little RV Park complete with all hookups, albeit, expensive.  Oh well, I was more than ready to call it a night.

We are about 3 hrs away from Custer State Park so tomorrow's drive won't be too bad.  I am downloading an ap for pictures so I can load them on Google.  Hope that works.  After that i am hitting the sack.

Judy and the Fox (who is already sleeping)

Time at the Lake

This morning finds us about to break camp and head out to South Dakota and the Buffalo Roundup.  This has been a most enjoyable stay at Cherry Creek Park in the middle of the Denver metro area.  If you are able to tune out the constant hum of the traffic surrounding the park you will find a lovely spot in which to vacation.  Hard for me since I used to live here and the traffic and polllution annoys me to say the least.

Meeting the Casitans was fun, per usual, and the pot-lucks and get togethers were enjoyable.  Larry, the fix it man, put a new hot water heater in my Casita plus a couple of other modifications I needed. He and his wife, Debbie, are life savers not to mention just plain wonderful people.

Sat I went to grandson Jack's soccer game.  What a cute kid he is, 13 yrs old, and what a super soccer player.  Wow!  It is hard to explain his level of expertize.  You have to know soccer.  But this guy knows all the moves and where to be at any given time.  A joy to watch!

Before the game I went for a walk on the other side of the lake where the marina is.  Quite the walk.  I happened to notice a couple just off the trail in the woods.  They were kissing, and I do mean kissing.  Interestingly, they were an older couple, she with white hair and he with gray.  I noticed him because he had on a white shirt that stood out among the trees.  I found myself wishing it had been me he was kissing like that.  Oh well, one can dream can't one?

The sunsets here are breathtaking, partly due to smoke from forest fires to the north.  A walk on the beach revealed georgous pinks and purples in the water.  So Lovely!  Funny thing, that night I dreamt  I was in Africa at lake Victoria when a huge flock of flamingos darkened the horizon and landed on the lake.  One seemed to come very close wanting to talk  to me.  Their beautiful pink feathers seemed to blend with the sunset.  Wow, what a lovely dream.

Last night I walked to the beach to take sunset pictures.  A lovely sight greeted me. . . a young latino girl, dressed in a bright pink evening gown with tiers of flowing ruffles, was sitting in the water her dress bellowing up around her.  There were 2 men and another girl with cameras taking photos of this beautiful vision.  Her mother, standing on the beach, told me it was her Quintinea celebration of her 15th birthday.  This is a special celebration for Latino girls coming of age.  I watched for some time as she posed for her Quintinea photos.

My good buddy, Pete, and dog, Oscar, are here and we are travelling together to SD.  I brought along my Mother's harmonica and Pete is giving me lessons.  Truth to tell, I am not a quick study!  But it is fun.  I will debut Suawanne River sometime soon.

Little Fox is curled up beside me.  He is enjoying the trip, especially the many walks witih Oscar.  You don't realize it, but the pets make friends at rallys too and they don't forget them.  It is a joy to see them greet each other everyday.  It is not the same greeting as when they meet a new dog.  You know the routine, wagging tails, circling one another to get that most important sniff of the hind-end. Friends greet one another with wagging tails and a couple touches to the nose then it's time for the walk.  Gotta love them.

Time to get going on today's journey.