From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

The distance from Carson City, NV to Santa Nella, CA is 240 miles.  We started out early for us, a little past 10 AM, and arrived at 5:15 PM. It was a long, long drive.  We took Highway 50 into Lake Tahoe then hooked up to the I-5 near
Sacramento. It was sad to see the sign that said, "South to Los Angeles," because it meant that we are really on the way back home.

The first part of the drive today was really beautiful, with mountains to climb, lots of green pine trees, and then along the shore of Lake Tahoe.  Once we hit the I-5 things turned golden brown with the exception of an occasional grove of fruit or nuts trees and vineyards.

Our home for the night is the very, very old Santa Nella RV Park, which as you can see is right at the intersection of the I-5 and Highway 33.  We can see Pea Soup Anderson's out our kitchen window.

Up early tomorrow to Wine Country RV Resort in Paso Robles for the next two nights.

Carson City/Virginia City

We arrived in Carson City, Nevada yesterday afternoon after a long boring drive down Highway 95 and 395.  We are here for two nights.  We explored Carson City a little and found the Target, Costco, Staples and all the other comforts of home.  They even have a Trader Joe's.  The Carson Comstock RV Resort is OK, but we are packed in like sardines.  We had to squeeze into our spot, and Kathe is a little worried about squeezing out tomorrow when we leave for Santa Nella.




My biggest worry is the wide open dog run.  I almost got my head bitten off this morning by a "sweet" pit bull.  We aren't taking anymore chances, we are just going to walk around in the RV park and avoid disaster.  Speaking of disaster, I ripped the ear off bunny this morning and thought he would have to be sent to Grandma for repair, but Kathe sewed it back on and he's almost as good as new.






Kathe and Jim drove to Virginia City today. They took a trolley ride around the town and learned all about the Comstock Silver Lode and the many historic buildings in the area.  They toured the Fourth Ward School, a four storied wooden school which was built in 1876 to accommodate the over 800 children that were living here at the time.

After the tour, they had lunch in the Palace Saloon, did a little gambling, and toured the Nevada State Fire Museum.  At the "Silver Queen" Hotel they saw a painting of the "Queen" with over 340 silver dollars decorating her gown.  There was so much to see and do in Virginia City that we will have to come back here again and stay at least a week.

Over the Mountains...

Today we had to leave McCall.  We had such a great time.  Wish that we could have stayed longer, but we didn't want to wear out our welcome.  Next time we will have to book at least a week here.  Kathe and Jim went to the Shore Lodge for dinner with Richard and Darlene on Wednesday and from the picture they took it looks like they had a wonderful time.  They didn't invite me to come along.





Thursday morning it was time for us to head out to our next stop, Caldwell, Idaho.  We drove down Highway 55 along the beautiful Payette
river.  The pine trees disappeared as we got closer to Boise and Caldwell.  They were replaced by fields of corn, wheat, and potatoes on both sides of the road.

After spending the night in Caldwell, we were up early and out on the road again.  We drove almost 200 miles today and tonight our home is Winnemucca, Nevada.  It's hot, dusty, and dry here and we really miss the trees!  We can't wait for the sun to go down so it will cool off a little.

We will leave tomorrow for Carson City, Nevada where we will stay for two nights.  Can't believe that we are finally heading south and west, we are on our way home.

Enjoying McCall Idaho

Today is our last day in Idaho, and believe me all the days have been FULL!  Kathe and Jim barely have time to walk me and feed me because they are doing stuff everyday.  Most evenings they get home too late or they drink too many Margaritas to help me with my blog.  So today I wanted to write it before they go out to dinner, again!

Yesterday morning we were out having coffee, and I was minding my own business when a bald eagle flew right by and landed in the pine tree across the river from us.  It was very exciting, but now Kathe is watching me like a hawk while the "hawk" is watching me.

I have been trying to make friends with the little black dog next door, but so far he just stays in his yard and just stares at me.  I asked Jim what breed he was, and I found out he's a "ceramic."  I guess those aren't a friendly breed.

Jim and Kathe went for a hike yesterday on the Lily Pond Trail in Ponderosa Park.  It was quiet and peaceful in the shade of the Ponderosa pine trees. After the hike they found a huckleberry patch and picked enough berries to make a cobbler for dinner.

Today they packed a lunch and rented kayaks for four hours of fun on Lake Payette.  Darlene, Richard, Janet, and Dave knew exactly the perfect place to launch the boats.  Then they paddled upriver for a couple of hours before finding the perfect picnic spot.

Louie Lake

I don't care about biking, hiking, fishing, kayaking, or riding around the lake in a motorboat.  I don't even want to play ball. All I really want to do is chase squirrels.  I want to catch one and bite it's head off.  Kathe takes me for long walks and I see plenty of the furry little devils, but I can't seem to get close enough to get one.  This morning two of them ran right up the pine tree and actually laughed at me.  A sad state of affairs.  I am practicing killing them using my stuffed bunny rabbit, shaking it until it's neck snaps.  Just you wait, Mr. Squirrel!

Anyway, Kathe and Jim went off this morning and left me AGAIN!  This time they met Richard , Darlene, Dave, and Janet and went for a hike to Louie Lake.  It was a very steep climb, and the three guys went ahead of the gals and promptly lost the trail.  Luckily, Janet knew the way and everybody eventually got back together.  The guys brought fishing poles and the gals brought lunch.  Richard was carrying the beer in his back pack, and one of the bottles exploded and squirted all over the place.  Little Lake Louie was beautiful and quiet, there were only a few other hikers on the trail and hardly any fishermen.

Jim caught two rainbow trout and three rocks.  Dave caught five fish, so Richard owes them both five dollars!  None of the fish were large enough to keep so they will be cooking a pork tenderloin for dinner tonight.

McCall Idaho

Today we arrived in McCall, Idaho after a beautiful but challenging drive down Highway 95 from Grangeville.  The first half hour of the trip was a steep downhill grade of about 7% for nine miles.  It was very scenic, but looking over the cliff was a little scary for all of us.

We drove through an area called Hells Canyon Recreation Area along the Seven Devil Mountains. Then we followed the Salmon River into Riggins, Idaho and then down past Payette Lake and into the town of McCall.

It is so beautiful here.  Our site is right on the the river and it's one of the best sites in the whole resort.  One of these pictures was taken looking out the front window of the coach and the other is from our patio area.  The weather is great, clear blue skies and mild temperatures.  I'm glad we will be here for a while.

Kathe and Jim went to dinner with Darlene and Richard and then they went to listen to an oldies band outdoors at the opening of a new restaurant. I made them take me for a long, long walk when they got home.  It's a short blog, because Kathe had too much wine at dinner, again!

Watching the Hay Grow

Mountain Time, Pacific Time, how am I supposed to know what time it is?  I'm a dog for goodness sake.  I thought it was time to get Kathe up this morning and  boy was she crabby! Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go.  I didn't know it was only 5 AM here in Idaho, it felt like 6AM in Montana to me.  Everyone got up a little bit early thanks to me.  Now they tell me that the time will change back again when we get to McCall tomorrow.

Once Jim got up and saw that there were hard water spots on the motor home after the sprinklers came on, he was outside with his cleaning rags.  Get out the umbrellas folks, because this can only mean one thing--RAIN.  That's how we help the farmers here in Idaho, we wash the motor home, then go to the car wash, then it starts lightening and you know the rest of the story.

There isn't too much to do here in Grangeville except watch the wheat and hay grow.  We asked the local people what we should see in town and no one had any suggestions.  We found the Chamber of Commerce and picked up some information there, but everything they suggested was out of town.

We found an interesting Lake located 6 miles out of town in the middle of some hay fields.  Tolo Lake was once part of the Nez Perce home territory and a gathering spot for animals for at least 11,000 years.   In 1994 they drained the lake when completing a fish and game rehabilitation project and discovered a thigh bone of a Colombian mammoth.  In that summer of excavating they found nine mammoths and two bison.  Scientists believe that Tolo Lake may be the largest mammoth graveyard in the US with up to 200 mammoth skeletons.

We also visited the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho.  It's a beautiful stone convent built in 1907 on the Carnas Prairie by Benedictine Sisters from Washington.

Lewis, Clark, and Annie

Well, I said goodbye to Yogi this morning and we headed out of Missoula on US 93 to pick up Highway 12, the Lewis and Clark Scenic Byway and then crossed into Idaho.  We drove for over four hours through the Clearwater National Wilderness following the "Wild and Scenic River Corridor," which was the same route taken by Lewis and Clark.

We climbed up Lolo Pass and down the 8% grade winding, winding and winding, until we finally reached our destination, Grangeville, Idaho.

The road had so many twists and turns that our cabinets and drawers were flying open and my water bowl flew across the room.  I almost tossed my dog cookies!  But the trip was so worth it!  Jim is a very good driver and the scenery was so beautiful that he even enjoyed the trip.  He said he'd like to try it again, only next time in a Porsche.

Our home for the next two nights is Bear Den RV Resort.  Didn't see any bears, but I did see a Saint Bernard.

Jellystone Park

We woke up this morning to sunny skies and took advantage of our last hours in Polson.  We sat outside after breakfast and had our coffee on the patio over looking Flathead Lake.  We really enjoyed our stay here even though we had a few little thunder showers yesterday.

By 11:00 we checked out and got on the road. This time we had a very short drive of less than 70 miles to reach Missoula, Montana.  We checked into our home for the night, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park.  It sounds kind of funky, but it is really in a beautiful valley surrounded by the mountains of a National Forest.  We were even invited to an ice cream social hosted by none other than Yogi Bear.

There are museums in Missoula, but Kathe and Jim are still in relaxing mode and didn't even get out the guide books today.  That's great for me because they play ball and stuff and I can usually get a few extra treats by begging them when they sit down to start reading.  I can be pretty annoying when I want to be.

They went into "old town" Missoula for lunch, but both of the recommended restaurants were closed. After driving around for about a half hour they gave up and went to the Cracker Barrel. The town was very confusing, too many one way streets and streets closed for road construction. They say Montana only has 2 seasons, winter and road construction and I believe it's true.

After lunch they put on their bathing suits and spent the afternoon at the pool.  It's 97 here today and the pool was refreshing.

Yogi came by after dinner tonight.  I barked at him and scared him away, so only Kathe got to have her picture taken with him.

Lazy Day in Polson

We spent a very lazy day here in Polson today. No one got up this morning until 9:30, so by the time Kathe took me to the dog park, showered and ate breakfast it was 11 AM.  Kathe suggested that we go to the museum here in town, but Jim said he has seen enough pioneer artifacts for a while.

It looked like it might rain today, but Jim took a bike ride anyway.  Kathe did a couple of loads of wash, wrote in her journal and played games on the computer.  I took a nice long nap.  All this traveling is getting to me and it was nice to have a day of rest.  Jim returned an hour later just as the rain was starting.

When it cleared up Kathe and I went for a walk around the grounds and we sat outside and enjoyed the view from our patio of Flathead Lake and the Rocky Mountains.

Just another day in paradise!

Polson Paradise

We arrived here in Polson, Montana at about 1:30 this afternoon.  We left the rainy, gloomy Glacier area this morning and drove along beautiful Flathead Lake for several hours before reaching our destination, Polson Motorcoach Resort.

Flathead Lake is a calm, clear blue lake that is 28 miles long and 15 miles wide.  Our space is on a
rise above the lake and we have a great view of the lake and the Rocky Mountains all around us. This park is absolutely beautiful and has all the amenities for humans and TWO doggie parks.  It is an ownership park similar to Outdoor Resorts so all the sites have built in patios, furniture and landscaping.

There are lots of Fancy McDancy RVs here so I had to get a bath as soon as we arrived so as not to embarrass Kathe and Jim.  I admit that after all the rain in Glacier I did look a little scruffy,  We sat out on our patio and relaxed this afternoon until Kathe found out there was a Walmart in town and off they went to fill up the fridge.

We watched the sunset this evening and saw the sky turn pink and blue before the sun fell behind the mountains.  Wish we were staying here for weeks, but we will only be here in Paradise for two nights.

Pictures Worth 1000 Words

We have been in a dark, dark, hole for two days, no cell service, no Internet no Direct TV and worst of all no doggie park.  We just spent two days in Glacier Meadow RV Resort and Train Depot.  The trains went by every hour on the hour all day and night long.

We spent time in the beautiful West Glacier area for the last two days, but I was unable to write about the experience.  Jim did, however take lots of pictures which he wanted to share with you. This is what it was like when they were driving on the "Going to the Sun Road" the day before yesterday. There were mountain goats clinging to the cliffs and scenery was unbelievable.

Yesterday they took a hike to Lake McDonald Falls and John's Lake.

The blog won't let me post more than four or five pictures, so you will have to wait till we get home and then we can bore the heck out of you!

Magnificent Glacier Park

There is only way to describe this place.  Magnificent!  It is the most beautiful place we have ever been.  The guide book says that this park is one million acres of the finest mountain scenery in America and it's so true.

Kathe and Jim went off this morning to explore the East Glacier side of the park leaving me with my new friends Jodie and Ken for the day.  It's a good thing I had a baby sitter because Kathe and Jim didn't get home until 7 PM.



We plan to stay in the Glacier area for four nights, but it really won't be enough time to see and do everything.  Today Kathe and Jim concentrated on the East Glacier side of the park.

First they drove to Many Glacier to see the lodge which is designed to look a Swiss Chalet in the "American Alps."  It is in a beautiful setting by Lake Sherburne.  There are thousands of wild flowers everywhere along the roadside.  The trees, the mountains, the lakes, it is impossible to explain what it is like here.  Never have we been anywhere as beautiful as this.  The pictures can't capture what our eyes have seen today.   And we can't even download them because we have no cell coverage.

At St. Mary a bear ran across the road right in front of the car.  There are warning signs about the bears everywhere, but we never expected to see one right on the entrance road.

Kathe and Jim drove several miles on the "Going to the Sun Road" stopping for a picnic lunch at Rising Sun. They took a three mile hike to Virginia and Saint Mary's Falls and were surprised to see that it was already 5 o'clock and time to head back home.

I've gotten kicked off the Internet twice now so I better hurry and post the pictures I was able to download before I  have to start the whole thing over again.

Another Long and Winding Road

This may be a short story today as I don't know how long the Internet will be working here at the Glacier Meadow RV Resort.  There is no phone reception unless you go the one cell phone booster and they warned us that Internet access will be limited.  We are really in the wilderness.

We had a little trouble getting started this morning because we had way too much fun with Al and Fran last night.  We drove for 5 hours today to get here, so let's just say we are chillin' tonight.  The drive was really beautiful beginning with the mountains outside Helena, then fields and fields of grasses and grains, then into the green trees of the Glacier area.

We will go out tomorrow on the East Glacier side of the Park to the area of Many Glacier and Saint Mary.  We just want everyone to know that we are settled in and enjoying the beautiful trees.

Last Day in Helena

It's really sad, but today was our last day in Helena.  We have had a great time these past three days only because Al and Fran really know all about the fun stuff and the natural beauty of their new home town.  And they have shown as much of it as they could in our short time here.

I mentioned yesterday that everyone here was tired out from all the sight seeing, and this morning it finally caught up to them.  They took their time eating breakfast and didn't leave me alone until after lunch.

Al wanted Kathe and Jim to see the beautiful Indian artifacts at the Montana Historical Society Museum.  There were more than 200 artifacts, photographs, and documents at the museum that trace the history of Montana.  Kathe and Jim especially liked the beaded leather clothing and moccasins displayed.  They also enjoyed the exhibit for children, a collection of toys and household items used in the early 1900's.

This Museum has a large collection of the paintings and drawings of Charles M. Russell, Montana's most well known artist.  His grasp of the light and color of the Montana sky in the beautiful landscapes he painted brought to life the history of the early days of the state and the people who settled here.  Unfortunately, Jim was not allowed to take any photos of the paintings.

Jim was however, able to sneak a picture at closing time of the Museum's claim to fame, "Whitey" the buffalo.  Although he was not a true albino for his eyes were slightly pigmented and he had tan hooves and a top knot of dark brown hair, he was still considered "big medicine" by the Flathead Indians.  He lived for more than 26 years and was given to the historical society upon his death.

This evening they drove about 40 miles north to a restaurant near Wolf Creek called Issac's for a very delicious farewell dinner with Al and Fran.

We enjoyed our stay here in Helena so much, we hope to come back again soon.

The Gates of the Mountains

I let Kathe write the blog yesterday because the two of them were so tired when they got home last night that they were just plain boring.  No body wanted to play ball or anything.  Jim was on the couch pretending to read  with his eyes closed and Kathe was on the computer, so I went to sleep and let her write the darn blog herself.  I fixed her this morning! I woke her up at 5:49 and started crying until she had to get dressed and take me outside.  I really didn't need to go out, I just wanted to remind her who's the boss around here.

This morning Al and Fran came over and took Kathe and Jim on an excursion to a place called,

"Gates of the Mountain."  It was a two hour boat trip on the Missouri River through majestic canyon walls.  In 1805 the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition named these 1200 foot limestone walls that push through the mountains the "gates of the mountains."  As you float down the river you could see places where it appeared that it was a dead end with a canyon wall right in front of the boat, but then as you got closer, the wall opened up and the river flowed on.  The captain of the boat pointed out the various formations and told of the historical significance of the areas.

The Cathedral of St. Helena is a Victorian Gothic structure which is modeled after the Votive Church of the Sacred Heart in Vienna, Austria.  A Montana millionaire who lost his wife and only child donated his fortune to build it in their memory.  The marble interior structures and the beautiful stained glass windows were magnificent.

Then it was on to the office of Fish and Game, which Al called the Fish Museum.  There was an exhibit of the incredible variety of fish in the Montana lakes, rivers, and streams.  Al and Jim are talking about catching some of them tomorrow.  The "museum" was a taxidermists dream.

My paws are getting tired of typing.  They did so much today that I'm glad I stayed home to rest.

It was two minutes to closing when they reached the State Capitol which was dedicated on July 4th 1902.  Because of the state's rich mining history, the capitol dome is made of Montana copper.  The building houses many historical sculptures and paintings including a 12x25 foot painting, "Lewis and Clark Meeting the Indians" by Charles M. Russell.

I'm out of space, I told you it was a busy day!

Queen City of the Rockies

We arrived at the Lincoln Road RV Park in Helena late this morning after a quick stop at Tim's Diesel Repair in Three Forks.  Luckily, our front wheel seal turned out not to be a problem and after a minor repair we were on our way to Helena.  We stopped at the Wheat Montana Bakery and bought cinnamon buns to celebrate! They had a sign in the front of the store that said, "We grow it, we sow it, and we dough it."  We looked across the street and saw the wheat growing in the field, they weren't kidding!


Helena, Montana is known as the "Queen City of the Rockies" and we have been treated like royalty here today.  As soon as we arrived we were invited to lunch by Jim's cousin Al and his wife Fran. We hadn't seen them in oh-so-long, and what a great time we had catching up.  We ate a delicious lunch while looking into their backyard garden. They have planted so many beautiful trees and flowers that it looked like a watercolor painting.

Fran had a list of things that she thought we might like to see and do while we are here in Helena and surprisingly, Kathe had made a similar list herself.  I  hope we get to do everything on that list in three days, but if we don't I guess we will just have to come back again.

The first thing on the list was the "Last Chance Tour Train" which we managed to accomplish this afternoon.  Helena was once named, Last Chance Gulch, because some tired old prospectors stumbled into a gulch and found gold in 1864, just before they were about to give up and return to home to Georgia.  It name was changed to Helena, but the Main Street where the gold was found is still called the "gulch."

The Last Chance Tour Train took us on an hour long trip through Helena's present and past.  We passed the Capitol Building, the Cathedral of St. Helena, and the Historical Society Museum, all places we hope to visit while we are here.  Our "Conductor" told us about the many millionaires who lived here in the early days and showed us the many beautiful Victorian mansions that still exist today.  We have a really good understanding of the history of Helena, I know we will have a great time here.

Missouri Headwaters

Today we arrived in Three Forks, Montana in time for a late lunch.  We drove over 240 miles on the I-90, passing cattle ranches and corn fields and a lot of wide open space.  Our home for the night is the Three Forks Camp, another beautiful campground in the middle of nowhere.  There are lots of shade trees here and large grassy picnic areas between the sites.  There are some chickens and a rooster nearby, I heard the cock-a-doodle-doo this afternoon.

Because we arrived so late and are only planning to stay one night, we couldn't do too much sight seeing today.  We drove out to the Three Forks State Park to see the place where the Missouri River begins.  This is the confluence of the Gallatin, Jefferson, and the Madison Rivers.  All three rivers combine and the great Missouri begins it's journey to the Gulf of Mexico. The first written account of the formation of the Headwaters came from the journals of Meriwether Lewis in 1805 when Lewis and Clark were exploring the area trying to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean.

Today, being a warm Sunday afternoon, there were lots of people and dogs floating down all three rivers in rafts and inner tubes.  Wish we had more time here, it looked like a lot of fun.

We discovered a mechanical issue tonight with the motor home.  A seal on the front passenger wheel was leaking fluid.  We don't know yet if this is just a loose cap, or if the brake pads have been damaged.  We have an appointment tomorrow at 8 AM with the local diesel mechanic who seemed very helpful on the phone.  Keep your fingers crossed that we can move on tomorrow morning to Helena.

I don't think it looks like rain, but Jim is out washing the motor home again!

Happy Birthday Jim

Today was Jim's birthday so we just took it easy and relaxed.  Okay, so we were lazy bums today. We stayed in bed until 10 AM and then we ate cinnamon buns that Kathe made for breakfast. Jim received many telephone birthday wishes and wants me to thank everyone for
remembering him.

We didn't get going today until after lunch time, so there isn't too much to report about our day. We are still in Garryowen and the weather has been very,very warm.  I was happy to stay to stay home in the air conditioning and play with my zebra while Kathe and Jim went to the Custer Battlefield Museum.  They saw many of the artifacts that were discovered in the area when the National Park Service was building the Monument and Visitor Center.  Lots of interesting things were found like buckles, rifles, gun shell, and uniform buttons.  Some weird stuff too, like a chuck of George Armstrong Custer's hair that some one carried around in a leather case before giving it to the museum.  There were also some really great photographs of well known American Indians like Sitting Bull and other tribal leaders which were taken in the late 1800's.

After visiting the museum it was time for lunch in the Trading Post.  Jim had a buffalo burger and Kathe had chicken noodle soup with Indian fry bread and honey.

We have been on the Crow Reservation so long that we have taken Indian names.  They call me, "One who seeks shade" because every time they take me out to pee all I want to do is find a spot in the shade and sit down.  Kathe is called, "She who sweats," for obvious reasons.  Jim's name is "Eats Anything" because he has eaten Elk, Buffalo, and Kathe's cooking without complaint.


Here is a picture of the campground from the ridge above us.  You can see our coach with our Escape in front and the bikes on the roof.  It really was a beautiful place to camp.

Little Bighorn

After a 108 mile drive today we arrived in Garryowen, Montana.  We eventually found our destination for the next two nights, the 7th Ranch RV Camp.  It is named for Custer's 7th Cavalry. We are camped only 4 miles from the Little Bighorn Memorial.  It wasn't an easy place to find.  We had to drive past it, circle back on the frontage road for 3 miles, then drive about a mile on a dirt road, then turn at the fork in the road, and drive uphill before we found the Ranch.  It really was worth the effort, this is a beautiful place.

After lunch while I was napping, Kathe and Jim drove to the Little Bighorn Monument.  It was a very emotional day as they listened to a Ranger who talked about the historical events that took place here. Kathe and Jim came home with a better understanding of the motives of the Native Americans and the European Americans and how this clash of cultures came about.

Kathe and Jim first watched a film at the visitors center that helped identify where the various battles and retreats took place, as the battlefield looks today exactly as it did in 1876.

After watching the film they walked to the actual Monument which has the names of all of the men of the 7th who died engraved upon it.  There are also headstones marking the actual places where soldiers fell as well as recently placed markers of the Native Americans who also died in the battle.

They were able to drive a 5 mile loop around the valley and using their cell phones to key into the various points of interest and listen to a ranger describe the movements of the three columns of troops and the positions of the Indian camps.

Below the summit of last stand hill is a circular monument to the Native Americans who fought at the Little Bighorn.  As you walk through this memorial you realize the force faced by the 7th Cavalry. Not only were Sioux present in all their various tribes, they were joined by the members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho as well.  It is estimated that there were over 7000 Native Americans at the battle including 1,500 to 2,000 warriors in the encampment.

Turkey Day

All day long today we were visited by turkeys.
I did my best to chase them away, but they kept coming back.  Jim was chasing them with his camera and finally caught a couple of them on the grass.

There were a dozen or so and they walked through our campground, then over to the farm behind us, then back through the campground again.  They made this trip three or four times today.  One of the our neighbors was roasting a turkey for lunch.  I wonder?

Jim spent the morning washing the motor home, then he took our tow car to the car wash thus insuring that it will rain today.  Like magic, it started thundering, then lightening, then the great downpour started just as he returned.

They toured the interior of the Occidental Hotel and the adjoining Saloon and Virginian Restaurant today, and learned quite a bit about it's history.  The hotel was first built in 1879 and it was the only first class hotel in Wyoming at the time.  Famous visitors included Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jame, Teddy Roosevelt and Butch Cassey and the Sundance Kid.  Owen Wister, the author of The Virginian, stayed here frequently and wrote about the hotel in his novels.  The hotel was restored in 1997 and it is now on the National Geographic Traveler Magazine's,"Must Stay List."

Kathe and Jim had a very nice dinner tonight in the Virginian.  Jim had a delicious Elk tenderloin, while Kathe stuck to the house special, beef steak. It felt to them that they were in an old western movie set, complete with the bullet holes in the doorway.

Tomorrow it is off to Garryowen, Montana and the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Buffalo, Wyoming

Today was another "driving" day.  We drove a distance of about 170 miles from Deadwood, South Dakota to Buffalo, Wyoming.  Here is the view we saw through the front windshield for most of the day, please excuse the bug guts! Lots of wide open space, grassland, a few cattle ranches with one or two small towns sprinkled in.  At least we are away from the fires and seeing some clear blue sky for a change.

Our home for the next couple of days, Deer Park, is a beautiful campground with lots of grass and mature trees.  When we pulled in and I went for my first walk, I saw a flock of giant turkey birds. I protected every one in the park with my loud bark and chased them out of the campground. They were gone so fast Kathe couldn't take their picture.

Buffalo is a small town of about 5,000 people that was founded in 1879.  It was mostly a ranching town and has a history as a cattle rustler's capital.  Also, many Native American battles took place in this area which is near the Bozeman Trail.

Jim and Kathe learned a little about this history when they visited the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.  This small museum once was the county library, but today it houses a collection of over 8,500 artifacts collected and donated by the Gatchell family.  There were many interesting historical photographs of native Americans and a large collection of firearms.

We are staying in tonight and I have my Thunder shirt ready in case of any fireworks.  Tomorrow we are going into town to see the Occidental Hotel which is the only fully restored frontier hotel in Wyoming.

Varoom, Varoom

Today we drove the car to Sturgis, South Dakota. This is the home of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, one of the oldest and largest motorcycle gatherings in the world.  Luckily, we will be on our way west when the 300,000 or so motorcycles scream into town during the first week of August.

The streets of Sturgis were quiet today, but there were still lots of bikers in town.  You could tell that the town was gearing up for the festivities. The T-shirt shops were ready and all the restaurants had "help wanted"signs posted.

One of the attractions here was the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame.  On display was a large collection of American and metric bikes dating back to the 1900.  In addition to all the rare, beautiful, antique, and unusual motorcycles there were historical photographs and memorabilia from the riders and rallies over the past 60 years.

Kathe and Jim selected their souvenir T-shirts and took a walk down Main Street to do a little window shopping.  One of the shops had the bike that Peter Fonda rode in the movie, "Easy Rider" in the window.  That was a highlight of the day.

On the way out of town they stopped at the Knuckle Saloon for a picture.  Jim didn't want to disturb the bikers, so they traveled down the road to the Dairy Queen for lunch.

Kathe and Jim had some luck in the Deadwood casinos last night and brought home $6.80 in winnings!

It is very smoky and sooty here in our campground tonight.  There is a fire close to us in Newcastle, Wyoming, which is burning about 60,000 acres.  The Governor has ask the citizens of Wyoming not to use fireworks this 4th of July.  We will head away from the fire tomorrow on our way to Buffalo, Wyoming for the next two nights.