Tonight we find ourselves parked amidst heavenly smelling ponderosa pine at the "Square Dance Center and campground" off hwy 12 west of Lolo and Missoula, Montana. The entire ride today had us in awe. From the huge grassy basins to the snow capped mountains in the distance. We've never been this far west in Montana, and it was incredible crossing the continental divide. I had been a little concerned about pulling through the mountains, but our wonderful truck is fully up to the challenge. Other than a drop in mileage, she pulls almost like there's nothing there. (smile) I just tried uploading photos again, and again the server refused them. I think I'll upload them from the computer to the tablet and try that. I'm finding the small screen size of the tablet to be awkward to impossible, but I'll get it. The energy on this side of the continental divide is tranquil. I don't know how else to describe it. The land here is older and weather worn; the mountains are smoother. The water is sweet and has a taste similar to the air which is also sweet and clear - lovely. Super tonight is rice and vegies with salad dressing as the sauce - it's really quite good. Not the steak John wanted, but it will do. We're both really tired - road wear, and altitude I think. Tomorrow we'll make Orofino and the Dworshak Dam - our final destination. The road is a twist curvy and the 140 miles could take 3-4 hours we're told. It will be beautiful:)
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Louisianna to Wisconsin to Montana
Wow, I'm finally catching my breath, and we have good wi-fi so here we go. Time to get caught up!
We spent 2 days at Poch's Fishing Camp and RV Park www.pochesrvpark.com/home
swimming, fishing, exploring and just relaxing. Although all we caught were some little bitty sunfish, we saw a couple HUGE catfish. We also had lunch at the Pont Breaux restaurant. The catfish and gumbo were wonderful. www.pontbreauxscajunrestaurant.com. Don't know what we were expecting, but the whole experience was very nice. The town and surrounding area was all neat and tidy, and the people were so friendly. Our noses were the only problem - allergies! BLAH. We had planned on taking The Great River Road north along the Mississippi River, but the radar and our allergies changed our minds, so we hopped on Interstate 55 and made it to Hugh White State Park in Mississippi http://www.stateparks.com/hugh_white_state_park_in_mississippi.html. There were only 3 RV's in the park that night, and it was full moon, and the trees were 100 foot tall. It was truely breathtaking!
I'll have to upload photos later, the server rejected them here.
I had several melodies coming to me also which I got on my little digital tape recorder, so when I have some time in Idaho, maybe I'll be able to finish them.
We awoke to stormy skies,so headed north. We got through Memphis just before the storms hit, and that was the story the rest of the day. A tornado touched down 40 miles behind us as we passed into Southern Illinois on Hwy 57, then slid over to Hwy 51 to make a straight shot to Rockford; unfortunately, the navigator fell asleep, and we ended up in Urbana Champlain instead of Bloomington, so we lost an hour there. We had planned on staying over one more night, but ended up driving straight through to Menomonie. Got back to the house at about 9:30 pm and planted ourselves in our driveway.
The next morning we went into the house for a look, and it's amazing what you see after being away so long, and being emotionally detached from it. Oh MY! We had 14 showings since last fall and no offers, and looking around, no wonder why. We took inventory, made a list and went for supplies. The whole upstaris needed painting, the summer sleeping porch needed finishing and painting, the yard we won't discuss...... two and a half weeks later (with a trip to Green Bay for my mom-in-law's 97th birthday party - which was simply wonderful!) we finished the painting, trimming, sun room, kitchen ceiling......... and the third showing brought us an offer!!!!!!!! We weren't as happy when we saw what the offer was, but it was cash, and they wanted to close in 2 weeks, so we countered back and forth, and in the end, we closed 1 week later. Then picked up our new 27' 2002 Jayco Eagle that has the most wonderful kitchen I've seen in any rig! It has one slide and the interior is in blues. 3 people could do chi gong in here at the same time! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.
All in all, our little visit to Wisconsin turned into 6 weeks, but the house is gone, and we are truely full timers now! The door to door moving took us over 4 hours! I was trying to put things away as they were brought in, and all in all, we're pretty well moved in. The underbelly needs a bit of work, but the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are in real good shape. Still need to get rid of the books. We picked up a Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Tablet through T-Mobile and got a $100 rebate so we now have secure internet. We're a little disappointed with the battery charge time, and there's much to learn in running it, but John has a new favorite game (aha, there's the battery life problem!) and I loaded out a few helpful apps: mileage, finances, chess, spider sol - um, yeah, I like games too, and a calorie counter, chromatic tuner and metronome.
The house closed on Friday the 11th and we couldn't pick up our new rig until the 16th, so we moved out to the Highland Ridge Campground near Spring Valley. This is a Corps of Engineers park, and it's beautiful! We stayed there 5 nights, and had the best family picnic (mothers day) that I think we've ever had.
We finally hit the road on the 16th around 3:30 pm. 4 hours later than planned, and we made Alexandria, Minnesota the first night. We stayed at the Alexandria shooting Range and RV Park www.alexandriashootingpark.com. There wasn't a tree in sight, but the folks in the club house were very friendly, and we had our choice of all but one campsite which was occupied; so we pulled up close to the shower house, hooked up, set up, and hit the sack. It was peaceful and we slept like rocks. The new mattress has a pillow top, and it is very comfortable!
Nights 2 and 3 were spent at Theodore Roosevelt National Park www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm ! Dry camping. Bison walking past the rig, wild horses walking through the campground, prairie dogs, sage brush, and a little bit of heaven every which way you turn! It was remarkable! We stayed at the Cottonwood Campground in the Southern Unit. John used his Golden Age Pass for the first time, and it got us into the park for free and our camping was $5 per night! Yesterday we took the 20 mile loop through the southern unit. It was simply spectacular. Again, pictures later. We met some wonderful people, and we all shared a venison dinner, along with a chocolate cherry cake that I made. The new kitchen is great!
This morning was a bit interesting. Our Rig battery was dead. Seems it wasn't a 2012 model - 2008 is more like it, and it was deader than a doornail, so, our slide wouldn't come in. I got out the book, and slid underneath and unlocked the brake on the motor, but the little ratchet we have wouldn't even budge it, and we couldn't push it either. I had the pleasure of sitting on some ground wetted by a passing bison, so had to go change pants - lol! Thank goodness for good neighbors. The couple across the way had a generator, and that did the trick! We finally found a Walmart in Laurel, MT (just west of Billings) and got a new battery, and tonight we're in a cute little RV park that honors Passport America in Reeds Point, MT. It's called Old West RV Park and is just off exit 392. Clark, the owner just purchased the park a couple weeks ago, and it looks like we'll be stopping by here on the way back through! :) stay tuned!!
We spent 2 days at Poch's Fishing Camp and RV Park www.pochesrvpark.com/home
swimming, fishing, exploring and just relaxing. Although all we caught were some little bitty sunfish, we saw a couple HUGE catfish. We also had lunch at the Pont Breaux restaurant. The catfish and gumbo were wonderful. www.pontbreauxscajunrestaurant.com. Don't know what we were expecting, but the whole experience was very nice. The town and surrounding area was all neat and tidy, and the people were so friendly. Our noses were the only problem - allergies! BLAH. We had planned on taking The Great River Road north along the Mississippi River, but the radar and our allergies changed our minds, so we hopped on Interstate 55 and made it to Hugh White State Park in Mississippi http://www.stateparks.com/hugh_white_state_park_in_mississippi.html. There were only 3 RV's in the park that night, and it was full moon, and the trees were 100 foot tall. It was truely breathtaking!
I'll have to upload photos later, the server rejected them here.
I had several melodies coming to me also which I got on my little digital tape recorder, so when I have some time in Idaho, maybe I'll be able to finish them.
We awoke to stormy skies,so headed north. We got through Memphis just before the storms hit, and that was the story the rest of the day. A tornado touched down 40 miles behind us as we passed into Southern Illinois on Hwy 57, then slid over to Hwy 51 to make a straight shot to Rockford; unfortunately, the navigator fell asleep, and we ended up in Urbana Champlain instead of Bloomington, so we lost an hour there. We had planned on staying over one more night, but ended up driving straight through to Menomonie. Got back to the house at about 9:30 pm and planted ourselves in our driveway.
The next morning we went into the house for a look, and it's amazing what you see after being away so long, and being emotionally detached from it. Oh MY! We had 14 showings since last fall and no offers, and looking around, no wonder why. We took inventory, made a list and went for supplies. The whole upstaris needed painting, the summer sleeping porch needed finishing and painting, the yard we won't discuss...... two and a half weeks later (with a trip to Green Bay for my mom-in-law's 97th birthday party - which was simply wonderful!) we finished the painting, trimming, sun room, kitchen ceiling......... and the third showing brought us an offer!!!!!!!! We weren't as happy when we saw what the offer was, but it was cash, and they wanted to close in 2 weeks, so we countered back and forth, and in the end, we closed 1 week later. Then picked up our new 27' 2002 Jayco Eagle that has the most wonderful kitchen I've seen in any rig! It has one slide and the interior is in blues. 3 people could do chi gong in here at the same time! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.
All in all, our little visit to Wisconsin turned into 6 weeks, but the house is gone, and we are truely full timers now! The door to door moving took us over 4 hours! I was trying to put things away as they were brought in, and all in all, we're pretty well moved in. The underbelly needs a bit of work, but the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are in real good shape. Still need to get rid of the books. We picked up a Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Tablet through T-Mobile and got a $100 rebate so we now have secure internet. We're a little disappointed with the battery charge time, and there's much to learn in running it, but John has a new favorite game (aha, there's the battery life problem!) and I loaded out a few helpful apps: mileage, finances, chess, spider sol - um, yeah, I like games too, and a calorie counter, chromatic tuner and metronome.
The house closed on Friday the 11th and we couldn't pick up our new rig until the 16th, so we moved out to the Highland Ridge Campground near Spring Valley. This is a Corps of Engineers park, and it's beautiful! We stayed there 5 nights, and had the best family picnic (mothers day) that I think we've ever had.
We finally hit the road on the 16th around 3:30 pm. 4 hours later than planned, and we made Alexandria, Minnesota the first night. We stayed at the Alexandria shooting Range and RV Park www.alexandriashootingpark.com. There wasn't a tree in sight, but the folks in the club house were very friendly, and we had our choice of all but one campsite which was occupied; so we pulled up close to the shower house, hooked up, set up, and hit the sack. It was peaceful and we slept like rocks. The new mattress has a pillow top, and it is very comfortable!
Nights 2 and 3 were spent at Theodore Roosevelt National Park www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm ! Dry camping. Bison walking past the rig, wild horses walking through the campground, prairie dogs, sage brush, and a little bit of heaven every which way you turn! It was remarkable! We stayed at the Cottonwood Campground in the Southern Unit. John used his Golden Age Pass for the first time, and it got us into the park for free and our camping was $5 per night! Yesterday we took the 20 mile loop through the southern unit. It was simply spectacular. Again, pictures later. We met some wonderful people, and we all shared a venison dinner, along with a chocolate cherry cake that I made. The new kitchen is great!
This morning was a bit interesting. Our Rig battery was dead. Seems it wasn't a 2012 model - 2008 is more like it, and it was deader than a doornail, so, our slide wouldn't come in. I got out the book, and slid underneath and unlocked the brake on the motor, but the little ratchet we have wouldn't even budge it, and we couldn't push it either. I had the pleasure of sitting on some ground wetted by a passing bison, so had to go change pants - lol! Thank goodness for good neighbors. The couple across the way had a generator, and that did the trick! We finally found a Walmart in Laurel, MT (just west of Billings) and got a new battery, and tonight we're in a cute little RV park that honors Passport America in Reeds Point, MT. It's called Old West RV Park and is just off exit 392. Clark, the owner just purchased the park a couple weeks ago, and it looks like we'll be stopping by here on the way back through! :) stay tuned!!
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