We are at the Bozeman KOA finally after driving from Sundance, WY this morning. We got lost because the Trailer Life Directory to this C/G had poor directions and it was dark by the time we got to the Yellowstone area. We drove the seven mile stretch of 85 three times because we couldn't find a place to turn the camper in the dark. The roads all looked like they went nowhere and there were no lights. There was a lot of traffic too behind us which is always stressful. The Irish was quite stressed but he is feeling better after eating the rest of his chicken strips we got at KFC in Crow Agency, MT at 2 pm today. It was nearly 70 this afternoon; I can't believe this gorgeous weather.
We spent two days in Sundance, WY at the Mountain View C/G there. It was beautiful, clean, pleasant and the trailer wasn't a rockin' and a rollin' from 71 mph wind gusts all through South Dakota and western MN.
Yesterday we unhitched the truck and drove to Devil's Tower in WY and a few other places in a 100-mile circle. It was gorgeous again. The Irish had wanted to see a Buffalo Jump all his life and he finally did. We hiked down into the Vore Buffalo Jump in Beulah. Unfortunately we really couldn't see anything but I could certainly imagine the Sioux ancestors herding the buffalo into a narrow channel at top speed. They were going too fast to stop and ended up falling down into the 80' hole. The women of the tribe would then go down and take care of the cutting up of the meat. There are layers and layers of bones in that Jump.
There is a larger jump called Buffalo Smashed in Head in Alberta that we are going to try and see. One part of me can feel the panic of the herd; the other admires the smart solution the First People devised in order to stay alive. Every single part of the buffalo was used: meat, hide, bones and fat. It wasn't til the white man came along that the buffalo almost became extinct. White hunters would slaughter the buffalo for the hide and leave the meat to rot. The natives practiced Green Living hundreds and hundreds of years before it became trendy.
The Irish had never seen Devil's Tower before. This was sacred to the Natives as well. I took some great pictures and visited the Trading Post there where I used to peddle my wares. We had a hard time finding something to buy there. The economy has hit inventories hard and business owners can't afford to carry expensive inventories. (That's one reason we had to travel all over creation in the NEK to find a cap for the truck. All the cap carriers now order their caps when they receive a customer order and payment.)
The high point of the day for me was a visit to Sand Creek near Beulah, WY. My good friend Susan (who is now in MI) introduced me to this spot. It is idyllic, off the beaten path, and unknown to all highway travellers. Eleven years ago we went camping here. She and I found wild plums there that we picked and made into jam late in the season. Anyway, I almost can't believe I found our way back there. It is still just as gorgeous but the couch by the crik is gone and there is now a designated area for campers. I suppose 'they' are protecting the area, but it's not quite the same. Sandstone red and white cliffs surround a series of campsites nestled by the river. In the evening you can hear coyotes howling, echoing off the cliffs. So Susan, this post is for you!!! It was warm enough for the lad to remind me to watch out for rattlers, but they probably have gone to ground even though it is quite warm.
In Sundance, we picked up some great steaks, a salad, and boiled some Yukon Gold potatoes at our spot in Mountain View R/V C/G. We have to use up all our vegetables and meat. The bathrooms there are spotless, the fixtures above average, and Joanne and Bernie, the hosts, helpful, courteous, and thoughtful. Bernie walked me through signing on to WiFi. There were quite a few long termers there finishing up there working seasons with the oil wells and coal companies. They have big rigs, mostly 5th wheels with slideouts for comfort.
I have to say our lovely 26' Dutchman gets crowded with the two of us and Pak and Larkin. It is supposed to sleep six; I never want to have that many people sleeping in here!!! Also I have to remember that we are moving, not camping, so when we do go camping, we will be much much lighter!
We are getting better at our get 'stowed for sea' routine. When we are underway, there is a 17" tire on the floor, a huge white plastic bin beside it, and the garbage can containing the pet food, and two coolers that we have to hop over if we want to use the bathroom or get into the fridge during the day. When we stop for the night, all those things have to go into the truck. The cat carrier comes in the trailer and Larkin gets to stay in the bathroom so he doesn't get lost until we are set for the night. (BTW, this is the very C/G where Buffy's cat went AWOL for a few days in 1990. They had the whole C/G out looking for her! Please, may this not happen here with Larkin!!!)
We now have a stick-on thermometer for the outside of the window. We need this to tell us when the temps will dip below freezing. At some point in Canada, maybe even as soon as Jasper, Alberta, we are going to have to drain the water and sewer and dry camp which will not be as fun. So we have to remember to take that off the window before we get going or it will fly away.
In VT while we were parked on the street, one of my undergarments showed up in the outdoor cupboard and we couldn't figure out how it had gotten there. Sure, we had been living on the street for over two months! Bulky Day was August 11 and we threw out our bed that day and it wasn't until October 20 that we finally got under way. I tried to be careful transporting things to the washer in the house and back out but was mortified when we discovered that in the cupboard. I thought a kind and conscientious neighbor (maybe Laura) had picked it up off the street and stuffed it in the cupboard to avoid embarrassment.
Yesterday the mystery was finally solved. The bathroom has three drawers containing HBA, underclothes, and fragiles. The drawers are open to that outdoor cupboard and occasionally things, especially if stuffed in there, fall through. This morning the Irish found a make-up item that had fallen through. So mystery solved!
We did get caught in the winds and the big storm in western MN and almost all of SD. The Irish absolutely hates the wind, hates concrete roads which are a poor material for the roads (bump and buck, bump and buck), and never ever wants to drive through SD again. We had two terrible nights in SD when the wind was blowing more than 50 mph and gusting to 71.
The first night was in Sioux Falls. We had wanted to stop in Worthington Travel Plaza in MN but it was too crowded and the parking lot was unsafe and dangerous in the driving rain and wind. We ended up driving to Sioux Falls and pulled into a Flying J Travel Plaza. It was of course flat. We had dinner at a Denny's (my first ever and the Irish's first in 20 years) and retired into the trailer where we spent an uneasy night listening to the wind and rain beat on the camper. Truckers pulled in all night and left their engines idling. More and more pulled off the highway to wait out the wind and rain.
In the morning the Irish had his first experience with a trucker's shower. I went in first and paid for them, then was directed to the trucker's lounge by a surly clerk. I had no idea what to do, so waltzed down to the showers and cut the line. When my code didn't unlock the door I went back and was told how things go by a trucker. I sat in the TV lounge and watched part of a James Bond film. When my number was finally called, I discovered we could have easily fit two in the shower (which would have made me feel more comfortable as it is still not a usual thing to see a female in a trucker lounge), but we didn't want to leave the animals or belongings unattended.
We got a late start for the short run to Mitchell. The wind was absolutely incredible and the Irish could not get over it. Ridiculous, unbelievable, were his comments. The Irish was standing on the pedal to go 40 mph into a 60 mph headwind. How do people live out here? Why do people live out here? Anyway, when we arrived in Mitchell, we went to RonDee's C/G and found it was actually the back side of a Day's Inn and was indeed closed which was not what the Trailer Life Directory said.
We headed over to Cabela's where I was disappointed with their Bargain Cave. 11 years ago, in a newly opened store I found some incredible deals. This was not the case the other day. It was full of hunters for their Pheasant Classic and few deals were to be had. I did finally find a sunglass case for my Calcutta which the Irish bought me for fishing. They were getting beat up and we had been unable to find a case big enough for them. I also found a pair of Oxfords: Just what I had been looking for for this trip: sensible for walking. The lad got a Cabela's windproof jacket and a hat for his friend Mikey.
We chose to stay in the Cabela's parking lot after scoping out the WalMart parking lot whihc afforded less protection from the wind and was more crowded. There were already two RV's in Cabela's battened down for the night. We slid between them, but still had no protection. Not being able to plug in, we discovered the trailer battery does not charge with the truck engine so we had no lights, just saved our power for the furnace.
During the night which was absolutely awful, the back end of the trailer lifted four times. I thought we were going over for sure. The wind sounded like the noise you have when you haved phlegm in your throat that you can't reach x 75. I could not even hear the furnace (which is loud) kick on over the wind. In my head, I had the clean-up scenario all worked up: the one where we would have to clean up from truck and trailer going on its side after being tipped over from the wind. It didn't help that we read that a tractor trailer in FL that previous day had flipped over on the highway onto a car from the wind. Also, we were reminded about the lowest barometric pressure in the MidWest at this time of year in history. So I jumped for the door a couple of times: I am not ashamed to admit it. If you knew how loud the furnace was, this would not surprise you.
The other ominous thing we heard from the Day's Inn people was that there was a blizzard warning for ND.
The next morning I fell asleep when it got light at 5:50. We had decided to stay right there until the wind died down, playing cards as the clerk in Cabela's had suggested. We thought we might be there for another night.
So I went on automatic when the Irish said after walking Pak, we have to go, the blizzard is here.
OK, so this isn't really a C/G picture, but I couldn't resist!
Swiss chard
