NOT SO MUCH TO DO

Another day in Great Falls at the not-so-great RV Park. This morning Warren and the Kathies went for a mega shopping spree at the Super Walmart. For sure now we have EVERYTHING we need! Jim stayed home to do some manly chores, more about that later. They bought cedar blocks for the closet moths.

Have I mentioned the moths? There's been a plague of moths in both of our coaches the past 3 days. I think we picked them up in Big Timber, but they are still coming out of the woodwork. They fly at us out of the bays, out from under the bed, in the bathroom and Kathy T had about 30 of them on her TV screen. Today there were only about 6 of them in our rig and a few more than that in the Taylors. They even had one in the Jeep this morning. So annoying! 

One of Jims chores this morning was to install the new double hitch that he had welded in Big Timber. In doing so he inspected the Roadmaster tow bar and found a problem. Apparently, a critical part needs to be replaced before we can tow the jeep again. Roadmaster will ship the part to us in Kalispell and Jim will fix it. In the meantime, Warren and Jim found a slightly used tow bar to use until we repair ours. It's always something!

This afternoon, after a haircut for Jim and pedicures for the Kathies they all went for a bike ride along the Missouri river before dinner.

NOT SO GREAT FALLS

So, the drive was great. There were some strong gusts of wind but nothing we couldn't handle. Lots and lots of green fields and hundreds of cattle. A short stop for some road work, but we made the trip in abut 4 hours. 

This RV Park is called Dick's RV Park, and it's nothing to write home about, so I won't.

Here's a picture that Kathe took as we were leaving the Spring Creek Campground. Last night we had three different thunderstorms. The first one came just about the time Jim was cooking the hamburgers. Dinner was fine but everything else got soaked. The second one came as I was taking my last walk around the park before bedtime, and I took my sweet time going inside. Rainwater is good for the fur. Finally, at about 10PM we had thunder and lightning and lots of rain for a long time. I slept through it of course, but Gianni and Bella kept the Taylors up for hours.

We are in Great Falls for 2 nights; Kathe promised me that tomorrow there will be something to write about.

TWO THINGS TO DO

That's right, there are only two things to do here in Big Timber. Naturally, they did both of them today!

First up was the Natural Bridge and Falls Scenic Area in the Gallatin National Forest. As you know, we are camped on the Boulder River, and the Falls was about 20 miles upriver. It was a wild and beautiful waterfall. They hiked across a bridge and up the trail about 1/4 of a mile to take pictures. At one time there was a natural rock bridge across the river, but it collapsed and now the water disappears under the limestone and flows out on the other side of the rocks. With the recent storms it was really a fantastic sight. After the hike they took a jeep trail up into the Gallatin Forest looking for animals. No animals, just some really beautiful vacation homes.

The second excursion of the day was a trip to Prairie Dog State Park. Yes, there is a State Park here in Montana just for the prairie dog. It was fun but very difficult to take pictures. 

There were lots of them running around, but as soon as they heard my humans, they started barking a warning and went running underground. This was Kathe's best picture!

Right now, we are having a thunderstorm its dark and gloomy, hopefully it will clear up soon so Jim can cook the hamburgers. Tomorrow, we move on to Great Falls. 

BIG TIMBER MONTANA

You can see how beautiful our campsite is tonight, we are right on the banks of the Boulder River. The drive today was over four hours long, but worth it. Montana is much greener and prettier than the parts of Wyoming we have been through on this trip. We passed cattle ranches and fields of hay and corn on the highway, and some of the cattle were right up to the sides of the road. We saw beautiful snowy mountains in the background for most of the drive.

Our campground was a little hard to find, we drove through the town of Big Timber on a one lane road for several miles. Then, the driveway into the campground was so dusty that both our car and the motor home are covered in a fine layer of dirt. Poor Jim, all that cleaning and now he can't do a thing about how the coach looks till we get back out of here.

I'm really going to enjoy this place, lots of green grass and lots of birds to chase. The humans are just going to chill tonight, set up the lounge chairs and pray that there are no mosquitos. Only mojitos!

SHOSHONE RIVER TRAIL

I'm going to make this short tonight. The Internet here is so bad that it takes forever to download anything and I'm very frustrated!

Today was a pretty boring day for me. I watched Kathe wash about 5 loads of clothes, and then I watched her read a book. I watched Jim cleaning the motor home again, and I took a nap. Told you it was a boring day.

While I was napping, Jim, Warren and Kathe went for a short hike to the Shoshone Riverway Trail. Even that was boring. A few pretty cactuses, a few cows, and a couple of river rafters floating past, but at least they were outside in the fresh air. 

All of us are ready to move on to the next adventure tomorrow!

YELLOWSTONE AT LAST

I was trying to sleep this morning when my humans made so much noise, I was forced out of bed at 7:30. I'd already been out at 5:00 for my walk, but I usually get to go back to sleep till at least 8 or 9 o'clock. Why were they up so early? ROAD TRIP TO YELLOWSTONE!

Yellowstone is now open on a provisional basis, only cars with license plates ending in an odd number were allowed into the park today. Since we are camped about 50 miles from the east entrance, they wanted to get an early start this morning. The weather here looked gloomy and there were dark clouds when they left.

The plan was to drive to Fishing Bridge and maybe see some critters and thermal features on the way. As soon as they had driven a few miles the skies turned blue, and it was a beautiful drive the rest of the day.

Kathy T brought her big camera and was able to take some pictures from the side of the road. They saw some bison and a moose as well as a bear. This brown lump is a picture of the bear which caused a traffic jam, everyone was trying to get a picture, even though the creature was so far away.

After Fishing Bridge, they drove to West Thumb Geyser Basin. There were lots of thermal pools, mini mud volcanos, and paint pots. There was also an elevated trail to the lakeshore geyser. The pools were steaming and colorful.

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to continue to Old Faithful as us doggies needed our afternoon walks and dinner. I made Kathe walk completely around the park after keeping me waiting so long.  

Shoshone River

Well, they have just about seen everything in the Cody Visitors Guidebook so there wasn't much left to do today. First, here's a picture of the Shoshone River that passes behind our site. The water has been muddy the whole time we've been here due to the flooding and run off from Yellowstone. We saw pictures of the river before the flood, and it was clear and blue. The water flows past us into a large reservoir then on to the Buffalo Bill Dam.

Next, are a couple of pictures of the dam. It is 295 high and provides power and water to Cody and the Big Horn Basin. At one time it was the tallest dam in the world irrigating 93,000 acres of farmland. The visitors center had a film that explained how the original dam was constructed and the improvements made in 1993 which increased the amount of water stored in the reservoir to 650,000-acre feet. That's a lot of dam water!

Speaking of water, it rained last night, and we have a threat of thunder storms this evening. All because Jim washed the motor home. Will he ever learn? 

EXPLORING CODY

It's so windy outside right now that I could hardly keep my eyes open. The Internet keeps going in and out, but I'll try my best to let you know what happened today.

The weather was cooperating this morning, so the humans went into Cody to do some shopping. With all the souvenir shops, they didn't come home with much, just some honey candy and a few things from the drug store. One of the nice things about Cody are the western themed bronze statues all around town like this one with a cowboy giving his horse a drink from his hat. 

The town is getting ready for the Harley Davidson parade tonight.  There are hundreds of motorcycles in town, and they plan to close the streets at 5:00 to automobiles. A good reason to get out of town early!

On the way back to the motor home they stopped at Old Town Trail, a collection of historic buildings and relics which have been reconstructed and displayed on the site.  There were three buildings which were used by the "Hole in the Wall" gang, several homestead cabins, a school and a general store. There were also several gravesites that have been relocated here including that of Jeremiah Johnston.

Just relaxing now, but it's still too windy to eat dinner outside. 

BUFFALO BILL

While I'm happy to enjoy the peaceful setting of this campsite, everyone else wanted to go on an adventure in Cody. Today they decided to visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It's really 5 museums and a research library with artifacts and art of the American West. The complex is so large that it takes a couple of days to see everything. They only visited three and tired themselves out.

Kathe and Jim spent time in the Buffalo Bill Museum which was a showcase for the famous Wild Bill's Wild West Show. There were many films, costumes and photographs that helped understand his life and times as well as the character he created. They also attended a really in-depth lecture on the life of the sharpshooter star of the show, Annie Oakley.

There was also a very interesting Plains Indians Museum where they saw beautiful examples of costumes and artifacts displayed. Jim spent a lot of time in the Cody Firearms Museum where there were over 7,000 firearms and over 30,000 related artifacts. One section had an exhibit of the guns used in TV shows like Gunsmoke, Longmire, and Bonanza. 

This Bear was on display in an area about hunting.

Everyone is so tired I doubt if they go out tonight as planned to the Irma Hotel for dinner. Irma was Buffalo Bills daughter! They are supposed to have a gunfight out in front of the hotel every night. 

SORT OF YELLOWSTONE

Tonight, we are outside of Cody, Wyoming. Sort of, kind of, on the way to Yellowstone National Park. The RV Resort is called Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV Resort, but its many miles from Yellowstone. 

It doesn't really matter anyway as much of Yellowstone is closed due to massive flooding. We are going to spend some time in Cody and when the National Park is open to us, we will probably spend time there as well. The drive today was short and very beautiful. Probably only would have taken less than 3 hours if we hadn't gotten lost trying to find a fuel station. This is the beautiful view from our campsite 

Lots of mountains and very large cattle ranches along the highway. We had to go through 3 tunnels to get to the campground. Kathy T took this picture of us driving through one of them.

WHY THERMOPOLIS?

The world's largest hot springs, that's why. Everyone knows that I'm not very fond of hot water, usually because it comes with soap and a blow dryer, but it seems everyone else couldn't wait to jump into the smelly water here in Thermopolis. 

This morning after breakfast the humans went for a drive to Hot Springs State Park. First, they drove to the eastern limits of the park where Bison roam free. They hiked all around the area where natural hot springs flow up into bubbling pools.  Jim walked across the swinging bridge to see the mineral formations that have built up over the years. The mineral pools flow into the Bighorn River leaving colorful mineral trail. 

The State Park has several hot mineral pools that visitors can enjoy at no charge.  The pools are about 104 degrees and Warren and the Kathies had a nice long soak.

After lunch they visited another of the Thermopolis areas famous sites, Wyoming Whiskey. They sampled several of the premium Bourbons that are made from all locally sourced ingredients. It was a really interesting and informative afternoon, and they came away with several bottles of very strong whiskey. 

Tomorrow morning, we head to Cody Wyoming.

DINOSAURS AND MORE PETROGLYPHS

Really busy day today. Who knew there were so many interesting things to do here in the Thermopolis area? Our morning was taken up with chores, laundry and then a bath for me, but by early afternoon the humans were ready to explore the area. Kathe took me for a walk in the sunshine to dry my fur, so I was content to stay home while they went out.

Today the first destination was Wyoming Dinosaur Center and Dig Site. Over 15,000 dinosaur bones have been found in this area of Wyoming. Ranchers are discovering fossils from 150 million ago. This picture is of a Camarasaurus that was excavated in 1993 here in Wyoming.  There were many other fossils on display. Paleontologists from all over the world come here to see the specimens that are here.

Later in the afternoon they traveled about 20 miles out of town to the Legend Rock State Archaeological Site. Here they walked about a third of a mile to see 17 different petroglyph panels. There are at least 283 glyphs on 92 rock panels that date back 10,000 years.  The area is administered by personnel from Hot Springs State Park to discourage vandalism. There was a helpful brochure to help discover what each of the drawings represented.

Weather here is great, hopefully tomorrow they can visit the natural hot springs.

DRAMA

We started off this morning right on time. No problems, and no traffic leaving the Sweetwater Complex. Our first stop was the Flying J for some diesel fuel before the long drive to Thermopolis. The station was crowded with big rigs, and it took a long time for our turn to fuel. Jim happened to walk behind the coach and found that the weld on our double bicycle hitch had broken. It was on the ground and the bikes were leaning against the Jeep. This was very bad situation! Kathe, Jim and Warren rushed out and unhitched the car from the motorhome, the bicycles from rack, and pulled the bike rack and the tow bar off of the broken hitch. What a production. All this while the big rigs were trying to fuel up in the bays behind us. Next, they attached a shorter hitch to the car, remounted the bike rack, loaded the bikes, and attached the tow bar and the Jeep to the motor home. By this time, it was noon. Everything worked out, but our early start was history. 

Once we got on the road again, the drive was awesome. Beautiful prairie for the first hundred miles, then some very steep canyons with red rocks. As we approached the town of Riverton, Wyoming we drove for miles along a river with steep mountains on either side of the highway. We were so engrossed with the scenery that we missed the turn off for the RV Park. At last, we are checked in, hooked up and starting to relax. 

ROCKS IN ROCK SPRINGS

This is our last day here in Rock Springs. There were still a couple more seminars that Kathe and Jim wanted to attend. Jim took a class on common RV problems, and Kathe took one on tips and tricks for making the best use of storage space. There is always something they want to learn.

After lunch it was time for another off-road adventure. Poor Jim, he just got the jeep washed after the last adventure and now it's all dirty again.

There are some petroglyphs about 17 miles out of Rock Springs. There really wasn't much information about this area, but they followed the BLM signs and drove a well-travelled dirt road to the site. They walked about a mile up to a mountain to find the petroglyphs. It was very disappointing to find that much of the art was defaced by vandals. Kathe took some photos, but many of the petroglyphs were painted with white lines. Very sad.

Tomorrow morning should be very interesting. We are leaving the Fairgrounds along with more than 600 other very large motorhomes. There are only 3 exit gates, and we are expecting a huge traffic jam. We are heading to Thermopolis, Wyoming for 2 nights. 

SO HOT

Now everyone's complaining about the heat. It's way too hot. Today it's calm and in the high eighties. No wind at all, and I think it's beautiful. There is a lot of static in the air making my hair a tiny bit fly-away, Kathe says I look like a zombie puppy.

Today was a little like the other days here in Rock Springs. Kathe went to a seminar on how to use the motorhome washer and dryer. She said it was so lame that she walked out before it was over. They couldn't figure out how to start the video, so the presenter just started reading her handout. Jim had better luck at his seminar on the Cummins engine. They also spent some time looking at the new coaches but so many have been sold there wasn't much to see. They sold 19 coaches here yesterday! 

This afternoon they had a craft show/swap meet with a bunch of stuff that I guess my humans didn't need as they came home empty handed. I was hoping they would buy me a new toy or a crocheted doggie sweater. Maybe a new hairbrush?

WILD, WILD HORSES

Much better weather today! The sun is shining, and the wind has stopped. It's almost 65 degrees out and everyone is breathing a sigh of relief. All of the guys went to seminars this morning. Jim and Warren went to back-to-back classes. Learning about the Allison transmissions and HWH leveling systems. Kathe and I stayed home and relaxed. 

At about 12:30 a whole bunch of humans decided to take an off-road trip and explore the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop. They drove the 24-mile gravel loop looking for the wild horses that are living in the canyon. The area is managed by BLM, and it was wild, with sage brush and beautiful wildflowers along the road. At first the only wildlife they spotted were some antelope. They kept going down various side dirt roads until they finally spotted some horses. There are supposed to be about 250 horses running free here and they were very happy to find 5 of them. 

There were also many scenic overlooks along the drive providing the opportunity to see some really interesting features of Wyoming. Here is a picture of the Pilot Butte. Some day we may come back to this area for a second look.

STILL WINDY

All I can say about today is that this afternoon it is a tiny bit less windy than it was yesterday. Not so this morning. And last night was horrible. It was so windy that the slide toppers were banging and then it started raining. When I took Kathe out this morning at about 6AM the rain had stopped, but the wind was so intense that I could hardly stay upright. Not to mention that any of the doggie smells that I needed to find seemed to have blown away in the night. Kathe kept telling me to hurry up, but it took me a really long time before we could go back to the warm coach. Finally, we both went back to sleep for a couple of more hours.

The wind continued most of the day, so Kathe and I stayed in while Jim went to a couple of interesting seminars. Kathe started a new needlepoint project and did some wash, but I just curled up on her down jacket and slept. In the afternoon the sun came out and the winds slowed down enough for them to go to explore the new coach displays. Tonight, there is an ABBA concert in the main tent. Some people are looking forward to that!   

 

ROCKING SPRINGS

We are finally here in Rock Springs, and it is WINDY! It's so windy that no one, including me wants to go outside. It's blowing so hard that the motor home is rocking. It's 47 degrees right now and with the wind chill it feels like it's below zero. Even my fur coat isn't warm enough. I guess I was wishing for cooler weather too hard, now I'm wishing to see the sunshine again.

There are over 600 motorhomes here. We came in this morning, and it took over an hour to get parked in our spot. We are at the farthest possible space away from all the action. Don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. The dog park is miles away but there is a nice open space near us if I don't get blown away trying to get there. We will make the best of the situation. 

We just found out that all roads into to Yellowstone National Park are closed due to excessive rain and flooding.  The pictures of it on the internet look terrible. I guess the Kathies will have to make some changes to our plans.

TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE

What's new? Another long driving day. Today we drove from Utah into Wyoming. We're almost to Rock Springs, but tonight we are camped in Lyman, Wyoming. We drove out of Springvale on highway 189 and skipped the I-15 so that we could drive the scenic route to I-80. We climbed up and down the mountains, passing several beautiful lakes. We could see snow-capped mountains in the distance, even though it was 90 degrees outside. The road was very curvy and several times we had strong winds through the passes. The I-80 actually follows the Mormon Historic National Trail, and it's hard to believe that they climbed these mountains with hand carts. We had enough trouble in our motorhome.

Lyman, Wyoming isn't much of destination, so it's a good thing we are only here for the night. I am enjoying the open space here for my walks, but I have to watch out for the sticker bushes that get stuck in my fur. Kathe pulled a foot long blackberry stick out from under my legs and got the stickers in her fingers. Ouch!  We are being much more careful where we walk now.

Tomorrow morning, we are driving the last 70 miles to Rock Springs and plan to arrive at 9:00 AM. It's my job to wake everybody up early. I'm very good at that.

ONE NIGHT STAND

I'm feeling a little better today, still don't feel like eating anything but grass.  I'm definitely on the mend. Maybe some chicken and rice for dinner?

We had another long driving day.  All four coaches left at about the same time, but everyone traveled at their own speed.  We followed lead-foot Kathy Taylor at about 64 MPH all day. We still weren't the first ones to arrive at the KOA in Springville because we had to stop for fuel on the way. Everyone is here now, and we are scattered all around the place.  It took forever for us to get set up only to find that we had a broken water pipe and a big mud puddle. Then we had to move to another site. 

This is not the most scenic RV park we've ever stayed in. There is a train track on one side of the park, a farm full of cows on another side, and the I-15 freeway in back of us. At least we aren't in the mud puddle anymore. Good thing I can't hear a thing, I might be the only one who gets a good night's rest. If you enlarge this picture, you can see lots of cows under the shady tree.

We are only here for the one night, so no complaining! 

SITES AROUND US

I wasn't feeling my best this morning, so after taking some yucky medicine I decided to stay home while my humans went out for a day of sightseeing around Cedar City.

First stop was a drive to the Parowan Gap to see the many Petroglyphs. The gap appears like a giant cut in the mountains, and it had great significance to the ancient people who once traveled in the area. Here were some of the most amazing panels of petroglyphs that Kathe and Jim had ever seen. There were at least six giant murals along the side of the road. Interpretive kiosks explained the meaning of most of the art. 

Then just about 2 miles down the highway, they explored an area with dinosaur tracks that had been preserved in the lava rock. Unfortunately, the tracks were not well taken care of, and it took a little imagination to see the footprints. Next stop was a quick lunch at Brian Head Ski Resort where the temperature was below 70 degrees. 

Then it was on to Cedar Breaks National Park. It looks like a mini-Bryce Canyon.

THREE STATES IN ONE DAY

It was a long drive today, but totally worth it. We left Las Vegas, Nevada at about 10:00 AM and arrived here at Cedar City around 3:00. We drove through Arizona into Utah and are now camped at a nice shady RV park with lots of green grass to roll in. The temperature is cooler here, and so cool that we might not even need the air conditioning tonight.

We lost an hour with the time change. So, it was really 4:00 and time for my dinner. By the time I finished my dinner, all of the couples gathered their chairs in a circle on the grass.  Time for cocktails! There are now 3 Kathie's traveling to the rally. There is Kathy T, Kathy H, and my Kathe S. Hope I can tell them apart.

Kathe took this picture while we were driving through a very steep canyon this afternoon. That's Warren and Kathy's coach in front of us. It was a magnificent canyon, which seemed to go on forever.

We are staying here for 2 nights. Tomorrow there are plans for a hike in Cedar Breaks National Park and maybe a trip to see some petroglyphs in the surrounding mountains. Me, I'm going to enjoy the beautiful green grass under a shady tree at the campsite.

HOOVER DAM

Sorry about last night, I completely forgot to blog! It wasn't a very exciting day, anyway. We drove most of the day and checked into the Las Vegas Oasis RV Resort. Then we just about melted in the heat. It's about 107 here and it feels like an oven to me.

Yesterday was the day that all of the humans realized what they forgot to bring. Hard to believe that they left anything home with all the junk they piled into the coach the last few days. Kathe forgot her vitamins but remembered mine! Warren forgot his electric razor. Luckily there are few stores in Las Vegas, and of course they all love shopping. 

Today was a little more exciting, they drove to the Hoover Dam. It's been a while, last time Jim had been there was when he was in Boy Scouts. Kathe had never been there.  The tour was very interesting, they got to go into the tunnels beneath the dam. They went so far underground that the temperature was 70 degrees. Wish I could have gone with them.

Right now, they are getting ready to go to Cesars Palace for some gambling and dinner. Tomorrow we leave for Cedar Breaks National Park, I sure hope it's cooler there.  

BARSTOW, AGAIN !

They get to go to England, France and Amsterdam but where do they take me? Barstow! It's the dustiest, dirtiest place on earth. Jim is not very happy.  After spending 3 days washing and waxing the motor home, there is dust everywhere. And it didn't help that the first site they assigned us had no power and we had to move to the other side of the park before we could turn on the A/C. More dust and more dirt. 

I'm just happy to be with my friends, Gianni and Bella again, and with my second favorite humans, Warren and Kathy T.  I know there are better days to come. We'll be on our way tomorrow, traveling through Nevada and Utah for the next few days on our way to a very big RV party in Rock Springs, Wyoming. There will be over 600 other RV's there, which means there will be hundreds of new doggies for me to meet and greet.  After that, it's on to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and about a million other fun places.