Hungry Horse

We drove through rain and wind to get here but we made it! Hungry Horse is a little, bitty town of about 900 people. It is close to the West gate to the Glacier National Park so there are lots of tourist places and rv parks in the area. Bill has a cousin here that he hadn't seen since they were kids. She is the daughter of Ruthann, who came to Janette's wedding. We went out to dinner last night

This is Vickie and Frank standing at the Hungry Horse Dam with Bill. They have been so wonderful to us! She fixed us huckleberry pancakes for breakfast this morning before we set off to see the Glacier Park. They were delicious!

THE Great Falls

Ever since we arrived here we have wondered where THE Great Falls is. Every historical sign and museum talks about Lewis and Clark arriving at the falls and quoting Lewis as saying "...the grandest sight I ever beheld..." and he describes it in great detail. We wanted to see that grand sight for ourselves. We searched and searched for something that said where it is and couldn't find a map leading to it. There are 5 falls along the river but we wanted to see the GREAT falls! Finally we found it and were disappointed to find that a dam had been build just above the falls and it was no longer great or grand! The dam was built in 1915 so maybe they didn't know back then that they might be better off to leave some things alone! At the Black Eagle Falls there was also a small dam built just above the falls. We don't have the heart to search out the other 3 falls. It's still pretty to see but nothing like the sight that met the expedition. Oh well. Tomorrow we may go to the State Fair. We passed by the fairgrounds today and it looks like there are animals and real fair activities and not just a carnival. We'll check it out tomorrow.

Lewis & Clark

Today we went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. I have never seen a museum laid out quite like this one and it was wonderful! You walked through room after room laid out with pictures and artifacts of the expedition and if you read all the articles you knew a lot about the trials they experienced. At the end we watched a movie and listened to a volunteer tell stories. It was entertaining and informative. There was to be another movie we could have watched but instead we bought it (and the one we had just watched) in the gift shop so we could share it with you all.

This is a sculpture that was beautiful. I wasn't familiar with the sculptor so don't remember his name but he truly captures the main characters of the expedition.

At the entrance is the top if this boat and the men pulling it. This is how they transported the boats with all their stuff when there wasn't a water way. The things they started the expedition with would FILL 3 semi-tractors of today. It weighed several tons! Imagine that!

I also bought a book telling stories about the expedition that are little known. It turns out that I knew most of them already because I've read a lot about them but it's a great book anyway. I'd love to share it with anyone interested!

Another really cool thing was that our National Parks Lifetime Pass got us in to the museum free! Man, was that $10 well spent or what!!

Great Falls

We went to the C. M. Russell Museum this morning and it was just wonderful! Magnificent Western art by a number of artists but mostly about Russell. There were Indian costumes, headdresses, displays of buffalo and original letters that Russell wrote over the years with illustrations on the pages. Awesome and a morning well spent.

We were driving along the river and saw this historical marker. If you click on the picture the words will be large enough to rea

d but I'll tell you it is a story by Lewis about an eagle who built her nest on an island in the middle of the river making it safe from predators. He was impressed by that and so am I.

Here is the island where the Eagle built her nest. Pretty smart Eagle!

We moved to a new RV park this afternoon. It turned out that there were just too many downs to the military site! No showers, no wi-fi, no TV and barely cell service and worst of all the 30 amp service wasn't enough to power the air conditioners and it is 95 degrees. When Bill went to the pharmacy he learned that his prescriptions won't be ready till Monday so we just didn't want to deal with all that so long. We called another park and they said we could have a spot till Tuesday! Great!! We packed up and came right over. Turns out that they may have made a mistake. The Fair starts tomorrow and they aren't sure we can still have a spot after tonight. We took it anyway and figured we could always go back to the base if we need to. In the meantime, we are happy with all the amenities here! Tomorrow we will go to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and find out what that means. My friend Sandy told us that the interpretive centers are great so we will see for ourselves tomorrow (thanks, Sandy!)

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow unless we are back on base in which case you will have to wait till we can find a wi-fi spot or until we move on. We miss you and love you!

Top of the World

Yesterday we went to the top of the world! At least that's how it seemed to us. We went for the drive that was supposed to be wonderful and at the beginning of it we saw a sign for Chief Joseph scenic drive. We figured it would loop around and we could do both drives. It worked out great except that it more than doubled the miles driven and time it took. It was late when we got back last night but well worth the time! Both drives were awesome and I would hate to have missed those sights.

We saw just about every type of terrain from arid, flat to lush green (irrigated) fields to high, HIGH mountains! We were above the snow line and the clouds! Yesterday was the first day I didn't take jackets along and the first time we needed them. Oh well, we just toughed it out and made our snowballs really fast and jumped back in the car.

You can see by the windy GPS road that it was quite a drive up the mountain (actually we climbed two mountains). What you can't tell by the GPS is the altitude we gained by each switch back! We wound up at 10,947 feet according to the sign at the top of the mountain. Our GPS read 10,940 but that's close enough. My picture was taken just before we saw the sign.

In the little town of Cooke City we decided to get some lunch. There was a BBQ restaurant with tables and chairs outside so Mindy and I sat down and Bill went inside to order. There was a screen door to go through and two dogs inside that lived there! We ordered brisket sandwiches and the cook came out the screen door to the BBQ grill outside and fixed our lunches. They were delicious! I have never heard of dogs being allowed inside a restaurant but I figure the health department hasn't been around lately! Especially since road construction started just outside of town and went all the way through town and out the other side! We didn't attach Mindy's leash to the table, thinking about Marley running off with the table in the movie! Of course, Mindy would

never do that, especially since we bought her a hot dog!

It was getting dark on the trip back and we saw this amazing buck grazing by the road. I took several pictures but they

are all a little fuzzy. I'm posting it anyway because he was so beautiful. Then we saw three does grazing in the yards where rangers live (I guess that's who lives in those houses close to Mammoth com

plex). We also saw lots of buffalo and two black bears. I didn't get pictures of either bear. Blast! One was little and down in

a gully too far away to get a picture. The other was much bigger but belly deep in grass and when we stopped to try for a picture a ranger came along and told us we would have to get off the road. There was no place close enough to get off the road and still see the bear so we moved on with wonder

ful pictures in our heads but none in the camera.

We passed the 3,000 mark for this trip. It's gone so fast and we have seen so much! Tomorrow we will move to Great Falls and spend a few days. Then on the Glacier!

Rocky Mountain RV

We are in a new park today less than a mile from the North gate to Yellowstone. We arrived intending to stay 2 nights but when we checked in the woman told Bill about a drive close by that is considered the #1 scenic drive in America. Well! We couldn't miss that so he signed up for another night so we can drive it. It's called the Beartooth drive and is highway 212 through the Beartooth/Absaroka Wilderness. Sounds like fun.

It rained today but looks like it is clearing now. We have been so lucky that the rain has come when we weren't trying to look at scenery. It has been in the late evening or when we are parked. All that good clean living is paying off!

Speaking of that...we had a stroke of good luck today! When we were coming through the mountains of Yellowstone we were on a very steep grade and smelled the brakes getting hot. We heard a whistling noise we couldn't find or identify. When we pulled into the RV park the owner came over to talk to Mindy who was in the drivers seat while Bill signed in and he said "Uh oh, you have a problem". Didn't like the sound of that! He said we had a flat tire but it was okay, he had a compressor and would pump the tire up enough for us to get in our spot and there is a tire repair place that would come out and change it and fix it. It turned out that there was nothing wrong with the tire at all. The tire monitor system that we paid big bucks for had failed and the caps on two of the tires had blown a hole which leaked the air out. One front tire flat and the other front tire low! Anyway, the good news is that the tires are fine so all we have to do is get them pumped up a bit more and we are in business. Needless to say, we took the other monitor caps off and will write a nasty email to Madison RV where we bought the system!

We will be here 3 nights and then head for Great Falls. We are still loving this trip (and each other!) This is really small quarters and we are together every minute but it's wonderful. Life is good.

Things we did right

Considering that we went into this project totally blind we did a number of things right. We picked the right RV. Our motor home is big enough to suit our needs comfortably and small enough to drive easily. We almost didn't get a vehicle to tow thinking we would just rent a car if we found the need. That would have been a big mistake! We have needed it almost every stop! When Bill told me he had found a Jeep we could tow I was skeptical. Well, I was wrong! The Jeep has been a blessing and it's easy to tow (we don't even know it's back there) and it will go any place we want to go. Mindy fits in the back and is happy there. Now that we figured out how to open the back without the window bar being in the way Mindy can jump right in. She has a pillow to lay on and a window to look out of. Life is good!

We replaced the vent fan in the bathroom before we left home and that has proven to be money well spent. It keeps the bathroom fresh and dry and helps ventilate the whole place. There is a skylight in there too that is great. Even without a window you don't have to turn the light on in the daytime. If we shower in there (and we do if there aren't showers or the showers aren't nice) there is light and air. Very nice.

We brought the right groceries! We will restock soon but so far we have had everything we've needed for quick breakfast or lunch and easy dinners if the need arises. We've eaten out quite a lot but we do that at home too so that's not a big deal. We've used the little grill that Wyatt gave us and love it. It has small bottles of gas so we don't have to carry charcoal and it does a great job. I forgot a grill brush to clean it but remembered that wadded up foil works and it does. Having a freezer is nice. I can grill chicken tenderloins or pork tenderloins (I bought the garlic pepper ones) and have dinner done in a flash.

Bringing Mindy was an excellent plan. She is the perfect travel dog. She doesn't bark, she sleeps all night, she either watches the scenery or sleeps when we are moving and she is an introduction to kids and strangers who want to pet her. She is learning the routine of walking on a leash all the time (or at least most of the time) and she is well behaved. She waits in the motor home when we are gone and doesn't bother anything or bark. One neighbor asked if she ever barks since they walked right under the window where she was and she didn't bark. I LOVE that dog!

Not having an itinerary has worked great. If we need an extra day or two we just stay on. If we decide to move on, that works too. We are moving slowly and taking our time. It's so nice not to have deadlines or obligations! We've only spent one night in a Wal-mart parking lot because we couldn't find a space but even that wasn't bad.

Just a few of the things we did right. This trip has been wonderful and we are looking forward to the rest of the journey!