It ended much better than it started. Last night after a small dinner, Bob started feeling. nauseous. It was really hot and we were still pretty high up. I suggested that he go outside and got him a chair to sit in the shade with the breezes. We put a wet cloth over his head. He started feeling better.
It was looking pretty dark and stormy in the south. We could see lightning. Then the rain and the wind started. We got into Betsy quickly and closed the doors and windows. The wind was fierce. Worse than when we were in Gillette. It was coming right at the front of Betsy. Then it swirled around. We were shaking back and forth. (I think that the semis on either side of us helped save us.) then I looked up and saw that the vent above the bunk bend was torn, then the wind got it and it was gone. By now it is hailing. The hail is the size of big marbles. It is really loud as it hits the roof. And it is coming in the hole where the vent used to be. We tried towels, but the rain and the hail just soaked them. The mattress and the sleeping bag were getting wet. Then I thought of the wash basin that I use to keep our maps in. I cleared the area, threw out the maps and held up the basin. It wasn't big enough, and the towels were not good enough. The pieces of the vent that were there were making the rain and the hail splatter everywhere. Bob pulled them off and that was better. Then I remembered that I have a plastic tablecloth. I pulled it out, pulled out the mattress, and put the tablecloth all over everything. Then we set the basin down on the table cloth. (This took less than five minutes.) The rain continued at a fierce pace for about an hour. Then it finally let up and we could see the clear night sky.
I looked at Bob and said "I want to go home." Bob agreed. But we also agreed to think about it. I decided that if we could get it fixed I just wanted to go to warm sandy beaches. Not the blistering heat of Arizona and New Mexico (over 110). Bob went to bed. I tried and could not sleep. I got about 3 hours of sleep.
Before I went to bed I got on line and learned that there were two different Camping Worlds near us and both had their body shop open on Saturdays. We got up early, had a quick bite to eat and were off to the closest camping world. The sign on the door said that the body shop was not open on Saturdays. We started to drive away to the other, but I got smart and called first. The voice message said that they were not open on Saturdays. So we went back to the first one and were pouncing when they opened. I explained our problem (and the fact that the forecast was calling for more thundershowers today. He said that there was no one in the body shop and they were really busy anyway. He gave me a number to call. I called and they said that their body shop was closed. They had the part and might be able to find someone to install it, but gave me another number to try. That number led me to phone transfer hell, where I kept being told to leave messages. So I called back the second guy and he agreed to put it on for us.
He did and it is better quality and very nice. We decided that we wanted to go to the California beaches. But this weekend is a holiday. I called several places that looked good, but they were full. They told me that generally everyone in the area was full. So I scoured the map and we decided to go to Las Vegas for a couple days and then to California after the holiday. I got inexpensive reservations at a place that bills itself as within walking distance to the strip. We can also spend a few days driving around the area. It will be hot, but we will have electricity and air conditioning - and despite my reluctance I will use it.
So we started heading out. going a longer way to avoid the 11,000 foot altitude of the shorter way. This was only 8000 feet. At about 3 pm the clouds started to form. They got big and black. There was lightning. We had decided to stop at a Walmart. When we were about 25 miles from it the wind came up. bob had a very hard time holding on to the wheel and keeping us in our lane. The semis were roaring past us - apparently trying to outpace the storm. It was a very very long 25 miles. We finally got to the Walmart. then the weather started clearing up. No rain. The winds died down. the sky cleared. What a relief.
We had a nice small dinner and met another couple staying in the Walmart. they are from Australia and have been in the southwest and are heading to the Tetons and Yellowstone. They were very interesting. They are on a 6 month trip. If our experience is any indication, they will be exhausted by the end.
It is now nicely cool, Bob is in bed, and I am going to finish my book and go to bed. Glad today is over.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Back on the road
For the last two days Bob and I just relaxed. We went to the pool - but the water was too cold to swim. Did I tell you I got sunburned? It is still hurting. I must have done a good job. But we got a few things done on Betsy. We washed the awning, which was really dirty and a little moldy. In the process, Bob squirted me with water. To be honest, it was hot enough outside that it felt good. It was so hot that we have to be careful about our refrigerator /freezer. The way we were parked, the sun was shining right on the system. So, Bob said to use gas rather than electric, because gas is better at cooling in these refrigerators. Who knew? The guy who was parked next to us did not. His refrigerator got so hot, it just stopped. Bob went over and took a look. It did work with gas only. The guy did not even know that he could switch the refrigerator to gas. So we put up the awning (newly washed) to keep the sun off the refrigerator as much as possible. But it started to get very windy. Choices - do we risk the awning getting damaged? or the refrigerator overheating? We chose to risk the awning. It is old and will have to be replaced in a few years anyway.
We also fixed the tow dolly again. Bob was having trouble straightening it out. One of our neighbors saw the trouble and came over. (Campers are usually amazingly helpful.) He gave it a few good kicks and it was straight. We cleaned it real well and greased it again. Now it is working perfectly.
Last night we met neighbors who were just there for a day. They had a rig almost exactly like ours, but newer. I must admit that I don't like their layout. They have a slide that opens up the kitchen, but with the slide in, you cannot reach the sink and some of the drawers. As much as we stop at rest areas and Walmarts (without opening the slide) it would be difficult for us. Once again, I am very happy with Betsy. This couple was from Sweden. She had a great need to dominate the conversation. I asked her a lot of questions about their lives. I cannot remember them asking us even one. They did like our tow dolly and the fact that our rig was a little higher off the ground so that it would miss more bumps and stuff. They are interesting people though.
Up early this morning and we went to the "all you can eat" pancake breakfast. Good pancakes for cheap and I did not have to cook or wash dishes before leaving. The highlight (besides the great taste) was that it was an all you can eat and I went back for more. The cook told me to stand about two yards away and hold my plate out. He then threw two more pancakes at me and they hit my plate almost perfectly. I was laughing so hard that I almost dropped the pancakes. Fun. So then lots of people wanted seconds so that they could catch the pancakes - especially the little kids.
Then we took off. We are not sure where we are going or what we are going to do. We are rethinking things because many of the places I want to go, such as Albuquerque and Taos are between 6000 and 7000 feet. We have not decided and will wait and see.
We are now in northern Colorado. The drive took us through western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. The drive started with some very steep narrow roads. Up and down and up and down and around. It was pretty, but hard on the driver. Over the course of the drive today, the landscape changed a lot. There were start rock formations, then rolling hills, with very few rocks. The earth at first did not support much growing, then we started to see grass, and then higher grass, and then finally cultivated crops, like corn. The further south we went, the more cattle we saw. This was all with the Rockies firmly in view - first in front of us and then along side of us (we are east of the Rockies). They are quite a sight. (I can see them through the back window of the rv as I am blogging and they are amazing. Think of what the pioneers thought of them as they walked with their covered wagons. Speaking of pioneers, Wyoming is so starved for tourist spots that they actually have a tourist site of Oregon Trail RUTS. That's right, the ruts of the wagons have been preserved and are part of a National Monument in Wyoming. Now I do love to learn about the pioneers, but I found that viewing the wagon ruts was a must miss.)
We stopped for lunch and then again once we had cell phone coverage. Bob got caught up on his books, checked our accounts, and I checked our email. It was so nice to click on an icon and have something happen right away and not have to wait for half an hour. (It took half an hour to upload the pictures in my last post.) Bob had so much fun with the responsiveness of the internet with our jet pack that he was actually giggling. While we stopped we check out the various Walmarts to decide where to stay. The one in Cheyenne does not allow overnight parking. But we found a wonderful rest area in Colorado - just outside Fort Collins. There is a visitor center here and they are so nice. But everything they suggested involved walking and Bob just can't do it. We will keep trying. More driving tomorrow.
It is very hot now in this rest area. Our refrigerator is handling it, but barely. It is also very dry. I am looking forward to the sun going down and having it cool off. (Bob says amen.)
We also fixed the tow dolly again. Bob was having trouble straightening it out. One of our neighbors saw the trouble and came over. (Campers are usually amazingly helpful.) He gave it a few good kicks and it was straight. We cleaned it real well and greased it again. Now it is working perfectly.
Last night we met neighbors who were just there for a day. They had a rig almost exactly like ours, but newer. I must admit that I don't like their layout. They have a slide that opens up the kitchen, but with the slide in, you cannot reach the sink and some of the drawers. As much as we stop at rest areas and Walmarts (without opening the slide) it would be difficult for us. Once again, I am very happy with Betsy. This couple was from Sweden. She had a great need to dominate the conversation. I asked her a lot of questions about their lives. I cannot remember them asking us even one. They did like our tow dolly and the fact that our rig was a little higher off the ground so that it would miss more bumps and stuff. They are interesting people though.
Up early this morning and we went to the "all you can eat" pancake breakfast. Good pancakes for cheap and I did not have to cook or wash dishes before leaving. The highlight (besides the great taste) was that it was an all you can eat and I went back for more. The cook told me to stand about two yards away and hold my plate out. He then threw two more pancakes at me and they hit my plate almost perfectly. I was laughing so hard that I almost dropped the pancakes. Fun. So then lots of people wanted seconds so that they could catch the pancakes - especially the little kids.
Then we took off. We are not sure where we are going or what we are going to do. We are rethinking things because many of the places I want to go, such as Albuquerque and Taos are between 6000 and 7000 feet. We have not decided and will wait and see.
We are now in northern Colorado. The drive took us through western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. The drive started with some very steep narrow roads. Up and down and up and down and around. It was pretty, but hard on the driver. Over the course of the drive today, the landscape changed a lot. There were start rock formations, then rolling hills, with very few rocks. The earth at first did not support much growing, then we started to see grass, and then higher grass, and then finally cultivated crops, like corn. The further south we went, the more cattle we saw. This was all with the Rockies firmly in view - first in front of us and then along side of us (we are east of the Rockies). They are quite a sight. (I can see them through the back window of the rv as I am blogging and they are amazing. Think of what the pioneers thought of them as they walked with their covered wagons. Speaking of pioneers, Wyoming is so starved for tourist spots that they actually have a tourist site of Oregon Trail RUTS. That's right, the ruts of the wagons have been preserved and are part of a National Monument in Wyoming. Now I do love to learn about the pioneers, but I found that viewing the wagon ruts was a must miss.)
We stopped for lunch and then again once we had cell phone coverage. Bob got caught up on his books, checked our accounts, and I checked our email. It was so nice to click on an icon and have something happen right away and not have to wait for half an hour. (It took half an hour to upload the pictures in my last post.) Bob had so much fun with the responsiveness of the internet with our jet pack that he was actually giggling. While we stopped we check out the various Walmarts to decide where to stay. The one in Cheyenne does not allow overnight parking. But we found a wonderful rest area in Colorado - just outside Fort Collins. There is a visitor center here and they are so nice. But everything they suggested involved walking and Bob just can't do it. We will keep trying. More driving tomorrow.
It is very hot now in this rest area. Our refrigerator is handling it, but barely. It is also very dry. I am looking forward to the sun going down and having it cool off. (Bob says amen.)
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Busy
Bob was navigating and I had told him that I wanted to see the badlands. We drove, and drove. At first it was pretty. Then it was a little boring. I kept thinking this is not so bad. Then we got to this spot (where there is a picture of me). It is really bad, and amazing. At the top of the cliff was a small rough structure and an old Indian woman was sitting there with a table and trying to sell jewelry. She gave me this story about how she had to make money to pay a fine. I was not interested in any of it and walked down about a hundred feet to the edge of the cliff. Apparently while I was gone, the woman told Bob that she was just doing this for fun. She has enough money.
Anyway, I was awed by the badlands and would have stayed longer, but, guess what, it was lunch time. So we drove, and drove. There was nothing. We finally found a small family restaurant. The waitress who seated us was very hard to understand. So I gave her my pitch about having old ears and asked her to speak slower. She told me that she did not speak English well since she had only been in the US a couple of days and this was her first day of work. She is from Ukraine and we had a short discussion about the fact that my family was from Kiev. Lunch was okay, not great. (This was the first time we made a choice that was not great.)
Then we headed off toward Custer state park. (No idea why it is called that or if this is where Custer had his last stand. We could not find any info.) As we started the drive there were lots of signs that said that this was not a drive for trucks or rvs. We started up a steep and windy road and found (guess what stupid people) an rv on the side of the road. There was no way that rv could continue up, and no way it could turn around to get back down. I have no idea what they did and drove by just shaking my head.
The drive up was beautiful and there were some amazing tunnels (see picture above). You could also see Mount Rushmore through the trees in some places. And we met some interesting people when we stopped at the scenic areas. And, once again we saw buffalo. This time there was about thirty of them on the road stopping traffic. They came right up to the car. I had the window open and was taking pictures, but decided that maybe I should close the window for a few minutes. They finally, slowly moved on and we were on our way again. We did get to Custer park and found that it was not that interesting. We did not want to pay the entrance fee just to drive through, so we headed back to our camp.
Great dinner and nice evening. I walked around a while and even found the local entertainment (a cowboy poet). Then once again early to bed. (I have decided that I am so relaxed that I get sleepy earlier and easier. No problem sleeping here and now.)
Today is a lazy day. It takes a long time to download pictures so I don't know how often I will do it until we get back to where we can use the jet pack. Having a great time. Wish you were here.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
A cloudy day
Yesterday was a good day. We got an early start and headed for the little town of Hill City, about 6 miles away. In the hardware store we got everything we needed, included the pin for the tow dolly, a small step ladder to wash the awning better, and a small electric heater (here they don't just stock for the season?). Then we went next door to the market and got everything we needed in food. A quick trip back to the rv to put away the food and make sure that the pin fit. It did. So off we go.
We drove about 40 miles to Deadwood. It was a fairly busy back road, and the landscape was very green and all of the property was very well maintained. Lots of touristy stuff and there is also apparently a pretty good winter season here. No question that tourism is the main product of this area.
Deadwood is a small community whose claim to fame is gambling. We parked at a casino and had a great breakfast buffet. The people there were very nice. Then we play the slots for a few hours. We had some fun and won a little and lost a little. It was a nice way to spend a few hours. One of the best parts is that Deadwood is quite a bit lower in altitude so Bob spent the time breathing better and got energized.
We left Deadwood and headed north to Lead. Lead, despite its name, is a gold mining community. It is built in a canyon and up a mountainside. It reminded me of Bisbee Arizona. (With the traveling we have been doing it seems that more and more I am saying that one place reminds me of another place.) We then took a three hour ride in the black hills. I never knew why it was called the black hills until yesterday. We were driving along and I saw a sign to a scenic overview. At about the same time Bob said "wait until you get around this bend, the view will be great." We pulled into the overview and the view of the valley was spectacular. (It was so vast that it could not be taken in pictures - besides, I was driving and it was harder to jump out.) Then we pulled forward to the historic marker which explained that it is called the black hills because of the huge carpet of pine trees that covered the hills that make it look black. When we looked, you could see that it was true.
Again the area looked lush (wonder what it will look like in August when there is less rain). By then there were huge clouds on the horizon and moving toward us. These clouds were not as big or moving as fast as we had seen in Gillette. It was fascinating watching the cloud formations along with the rock formations. There were a couple of formations that really struck my eye (dangerous when I was driving on ess curves up a mountainside.) But you could see the layers of geological history. (Can't wait to get to the southwest and see more of this.) There was no place to pull off and get pictures, alas. Bob and I did discuss the fact that it might be interesting to take a geology class when we get back home. Hmm.
We stopped for dinner in Custer SD at a steak house. They had buffalo on the menu. I was not really in the mood for meat, but I had to try buffalo. I got the BBQ buffalo brisket. I must say that all I could taste really was the bbq sauce, which was good. I could tell that it was not beef somehow, not sure how, but it tasted fine. Glad I tried it. The best thing there was the peach flavored green tea. Yummy.
We missed any rain while we were inside eating. Bob was by now exhausted because the last few hours were at a really high altitude. So it was home and very soon to bed. Betsy ius very comfortable and we are quite happy.
The campground here is very full. Most of the campers are families with numbers of children (some are grandchildren and some look to include the neighbors kids - who could have six kids?) The rvs here are more varied than we saw in Gillette. All we saw in Gillette were large bus units called class A's Here there is everything, including tents, and they are all sizes. The kids get a little noisy, but, they are all quiet by 10 pm, so it is not bad. It is fun watching them run and play. We will have to bring the grandson here (and maybe his parents).
More sightseeing today. It is a little cloudy now, but will be getting sunny soon and for the next few days.
Our Verizon cell phones and thus the jet pack do not work here. So I am dependent on the campground's wifi. It is very slow and sometimes impossible. If I don't blog for a day, you will all understand, but I will keep trying.
We drove about 40 miles to Deadwood. It was a fairly busy back road, and the landscape was very green and all of the property was very well maintained. Lots of touristy stuff and there is also apparently a pretty good winter season here. No question that tourism is the main product of this area.
Deadwood is a small community whose claim to fame is gambling. We parked at a casino and had a great breakfast buffet. The people there were very nice. Then we play the slots for a few hours. We had some fun and won a little and lost a little. It was a nice way to spend a few hours. One of the best parts is that Deadwood is quite a bit lower in altitude so Bob spent the time breathing better and got energized.
We left Deadwood and headed north to Lead. Lead, despite its name, is a gold mining community. It is built in a canyon and up a mountainside. It reminded me of Bisbee Arizona. (With the traveling we have been doing it seems that more and more I am saying that one place reminds me of another place.) We then took a three hour ride in the black hills. I never knew why it was called the black hills until yesterday. We were driving along and I saw a sign to a scenic overview. At about the same time Bob said "wait until you get around this bend, the view will be great." We pulled into the overview and the view of the valley was spectacular. (It was so vast that it could not be taken in pictures - besides, I was driving and it was harder to jump out.) Then we pulled forward to the historic marker which explained that it is called the black hills because of the huge carpet of pine trees that covered the hills that make it look black. When we looked, you could see that it was true.
Again the area looked lush (wonder what it will look like in August when there is less rain). By then there were huge clouds on the horizon and moving toward us. These clouds were not as big or moving as fast as we had seen in Gillette. It was fascinating watching the cloud formations along with the rock formations. There were a couple of formations that really struck my eye (dangerous when I was driving on ess curves up a mountainside.) But you could see the layers of geological history. (Can't wait to get to the southwest and see more of this.) There was no place to pull off and get pictures, alas. Bob and I did discuss the fact that it might be interesting to take a geology class when we get back home. Hmm.
We stopped for dinner in Custer SD at a steak house. They had buffalo on the menu. I was not really in the mood for meat, but I had to try buffalo. I got the BBQ buffalo brisket. I must say that all I could taste really was the bbq sauce, which was good. I could tell that it was not beef somehow, not sure how, but it tasted fine. Glad I tried it. The best thing there was the peach flavored green tea. Yummy.
We missed any rain while we were inside eating. Bob was by now exhausted because the last few hours were at a really high altitude. So it was home and very soon to bed. Betsy ius very comfortable and we are quite happy.
The campground here is very full. Most of the campers are families with numbers of children (some are grandchildren and some look to include the neighbors kids - who could have six kids?) The rvs here are more varied than we saw in Gillette. All we saw in Gillette were large bus units called class A's Here there is everything, including tents, and they are all sizes. The kids get a little noisy, but, they are all quiet by 10 pm, so it is not bad. It is fun watching them run and play. We will have to bring the grandson here (and maybe his parents).
More sightseeing today. It is a little cloudy now, but will be getting sunny soon and for the next few days.
Our Verizon cell phones and thus the jet pack do not work here. So I am dependent on the campground's wifi. It is very slow and sometimes impossible. If I don't blog for a day, you will all understand, but I will keep trying.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
The sun is out.
Bob and I are so funny when it comes time to leave some place. We were both aware that there were something like 4000 rvs getting ready to leave Gillette. We didn't want to get caught in a traffic jam, so we decided that we would take our time and let most of them leave and then leave around noon. After all, we only had about 150 miles to go. We got up at our usual time - 6 am. Made coffee, had breakfast, showered, did the dishes, and it was only 7:30. We sat for a while and watched other people leave. We started to do things slowly. It didn't matter how slow we wanted to do this, we were still ready to leave by 10 am. Such is our way.
Bob was very nervous, afraid of all that traffic. It was not bad until we got to the gas station. Then it was crowded and tight. But we managed to get gas and be on our way without any accidents or scrapes.
The terrain through eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota is very interesting. It was very green because of all the recent rain. But there were lots of rock formations, with lots of color. (I kept thinking that this was the right place to film a movie.) The traffic was easy, but every other vehicle was an rv. Most of them were going a lot faster than us. We do take our time. We stopped for lunch and did not think that it was Sunday in the bible belt of the mid west. The restaurant was packed. But they moved people through quite quickly. They also served us quite quickly. Best of all, the food was terrific. It was a chain - Perkins, but it was great.
We went through downtown Rapid City South Dakota, but it was easy because it was Sunday. Then we started up into the hills. It was an easy drive to get to this destination rv resort, about 2 miles from Mt. Rushmore. We registered easily, parked easily, and got settled easily. But it is still over 5000 feet, and Bob does tire easily. We lost the pin to our tow dolly and will have to find one tomorrow. Probably will be easy at a hardware store. We put up the awning. This is the first time that the awning has been up in a year. It was quite dirty and moldy. So I got out our mop and started washing it. It wasn't too hard and looks much better. We will let it dry thoroughly and maybe even wash it again.
Meanwhile, the weather here is sunny and was very warm until the sun went down. We pulled out our chairs and sat outside and watched people. There is a darling little girl (about 2 or 3) right across the way, and it is great fun watching her.
Tomorrow the weather is predicting scattered thunder showers, so we will probably do laundry, run errands, and view the sites from the safety of our little car. Then when the weather gets nicer, it is pool time.
Bob was very nervous, afraid of all that traffic. It was not bad until we got to the gas station. Then it was crowded and tight. But we managed to get gas and be on our way without any accidents or scrapes.
The terrain through eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota is very interesting. It was very green because of all the recent rain. But there were lots of rock formations, with lots of color. (I kept thinking that this was the right place to film a movie.) The traffic was easy, but every other vehicle was an rv. Most of them were going a lot faster than us. We do take our time. We stopped for lunch and did not think that it was Sunday in the bible belt of the mid west. The restaurant was packed. But they moved people through quite quickly. They also served us quite quickly. Best of all, the food was terrific. It was a chain - Perkins, but it was great.
We went through downtown Rapid City South Dakota, but it was easy because it was Sunday. Then we started up into the hills. It was an easy drive to get to this destination rv resort, about 2 miles from Mt. Rushmore. We registered easily, parked easily, and got settled easily. But it is still over 5000 feet, and Bob does tire easily. We lost the pin to our tow dolly and will have to find one tomorrow. Probably will be easy at a hardware store. We put up the awning. This is the first time that the awning has been up in a year. It was quite dirty and moldy. So I got out our mop and started washing it. It wasn't too hard and looks much better. We will let it dry thoroughly and maybe even wash it again.
Meanwhile, the weather here is sunny and was very warm until the sun went down. We pulled out our chairs and sat outside and watched people. There is a darling little girl (about 2 or 3) right across the way, and it is great fun watching her.
Tomorrow the weather is predicting scattered thunder showers, so we will probably do laundry, run errands, and view the sites from the safety of our little car. Then when the weather gets nicer, it is pool time.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
We find adventure in the most amazing things
Let me start with last night. The entertainment here was a dance. I had convinced Bob that we should go, even for a short time. He had agreed. We were sitting here reading when there was a knock on our rig. It was the woman who joined me at the entertainment the night before. She had remembered my description of our rig and wondered if I wanted to go to the entertainment with her again. Bob was very happy that he did not have to go.
There were about 2000 people in a very large room, first eating cake. Then music provided by a deejay. Some were dancing. Most were talking. I was standing around watching people and talking to my new friend when I saw the man who had camped next to us at the last rally that we attended. I went up to him and he remembered me and we sat and talked for a long time. Then he left and there was another couple who sat down next to us. They were almond farmers from Modesto California and very interesting to talk to. I am meeting so many people here.
When I got up this morning and went on line, the weather report indicated rain most of the day, especially in the mid afternoon when Bob and I were supposed to be driving the carts. I was worried because those carts are pretty open and Bob was still feeling pretty congested. We decided that we had already put in a lot of hours volunteering and I called the captain and told him that we could not do it. So we had the whole day. We were thinking of leaving here early because of the rain, but the weather reports said that it would be just as bad, or worse in Rapid City when we got there - the storm was going east. Besides that, there was really no good place to stay and it is only 120 miles from here to where we will be tomorrow night. So we decided to stay here.
It rained in the morning, then the sun came out. We took a walk. Then I took a longer walk. I was just getting settled here and looked up at the sky and there was a HUGE black cloud just to the south of us. You could see the wind swirling around in it. I went on line and learned that there were tornedo warnings here until 6 pm. The wind started first. It was ferocious. Bob thinks that it got up to 80 miles an hour. We watched peoples' flagpoles get ripped off their rvs. (We had already taken ours down and folded it and put it away.) Then the rain started. It was a driving rain in the wind and was really scary. We were watching everything go flying past us and decided that we needed to put in the slide and make sure that all the windows were closed. (This all took about 3 or 4 minutes.) We then pulled out a bottle of wine and watched and listened. The sounds on the roof were really loud and the rain drops were huge. The windows fogged up and I took a towel and dried a couple so I could see what was happening. There was a river of water running through the gravel on both sides of us. It looked like it was moving the gravel.
There is a mobile service here that comes to the rvs and washes them with power jets. They had just started to wash the rv two doors down when all this started. These guys tried valiantly to continue washing in the pouring rain. They got wetter and wetter. They finally gave up. But an impressive try.
Our car was parked a few feet away and it looked like their were mounds of white gravel on top of the regular red gravel. When the rain stopped and I had a chance to look out, I realized that it was not white gravel on top of red gravel. It was huge mounds of hail alongside each car. That was why it was so loud on our roof.
The pouring rain lasted about 30 minutes. Then it started to subside and was just raining, without much wind. Rvs started to come out of their muddy parking lots and move onto the gravel and the paved parking lots. People started to walk around again (there was one lady walking her dog even in the worst of the storm)
It has now stopped raining completely. I went outside and found a laundry basket, an empty garbage bag, and a pair of eye glasses. I dumped the garbage bag in the trash, moved the laundry basket to the common area, and put the glasses out of the way, but in plain sight. Wow.
As this was all happening, I kept watching to see if there were any leaks. There were none. I am relieved, especially after the leaks we have had before. But I sat here with my glass of wine and watched. At a certain point Bob said, you know, this is actually fun. It is an adventure. As long as we are safe, dry, and warm, it is an adventure. More adventures to come.
There were about 2000 people in a very large room, first eating cake. Then music provided by a deejay. Some were dancing. Most were talking. I was standing around watching people and talking to my new friend when I saw the man who had camped next to us at the last rally that we attended. I went up to him and he remembered me and we sat and talked for a long time. Then he left and there was another couple who sat down next to us. They were almond farmers from Modesto California and very interesting to talk to. I am meeting so many people here.
When I got up this morning and went on line, the weather report indicated rain most of the day, especially in the mid afternoon when Bob and I were supposed to be driving the carts. I was worried because those carts are pretty open and Bob was still feeling pretty congested. We decided that we had already put in a lot of hours volunteering and I called the captain and told him that we could not do it. So we had the whole day. We were thinking of leaving here early because of the rain, but the weather reports said that it would be just as bad, or worse in Rapid City when we got there - the storm was going east. Besides that, there was really no good place to stay and it is only 120 miles from here to where we will be tomorrow night. So we decided to stay here.
It rained in the morning, then the sun came out. We took a walk. Then I took a longer walk. I was just getting settled here and looked up at the sky and there was a HUGE black cloud just to the south of us. You could see the wind swirling around in it. I went on line and learned that there were tornedo warnings here until 6 pm. The wind started first. It was ferocious. Bob thinks that it got up to 80 miles an hour. We watched peoples' flagpoles get ripped off their rvs. (We had already taken ours down and folded it and put it away.) Then the rain started. It was a driving rain in the wind and was really scary. We were watching everything go flying past us and decided that we needed to put in the slide and make sure that all the windows were closed. (This all took about 3 or 4 minutes.) We then pulled out a bottle of wine and watched and listened. The sounds on the roof were really loud and the rain drops were huge. The windows fogged up and I took a towel and dried a couple so I could see what was happening. There was a river of water running through the gravel on both sides of us. It looked like it was moving the gravel.
There is a mobile service here that comes to the rvs and washes them with power jets. They had just started to wash the rv two doors down when all this started. These guys tried valiantly to continue washing in the pouring rain. They got wetter and wetter. They finally gave up. But an impressive try.
Our car was parked a few feet away and it looked like their were mounds of white gravel on top of the regular red gravel. When the rain stopped and I had a chance to look out, I realized that it was not white gravel on top of red gravel. It was huge mounds of hail alongside each car. That was why it was so loud on our roof.
The pouring rain lasted about 30 minutes. Then it started to subside and was just raining, without much wind. Rvs started to come out of their muddy parking lots and move onto the gravel and the paved parking lots. People started to walk around again (there was one lady walking her dog even in the worst of the storm)
It has now stopped raining completely. I went outside and found a laundry basket, an empty garbage bag, and a pair of eye glasses. I dumped the garbage bag in the trash, moved the laundry basket to the common area, and put the glasses out of the way, but in plain sight. Wow.
As this was all happening, I kept watching to see if there were any leaks. There were none. I am relieved, especially after the leaks we have had before. But I sat here with my glass of wine and watched. At a certain point Bob said, you know, this is actually fun. It is an adventure. As long as we are safe, dry, and warm, it is an adventure. More adventures to come.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Rain, rain go away
So yesterday was a nice warm day. We spent part of the day looking at the stuff from the various vendors and then looking at the demo RVs. The one thing that we both decided is that we have the perfect rv for us. There were so many that were so expensive and had no kitchen counter space, or no second bed. They did have two bathrooms and a washer and dryer. So, we are happier with Betsy than before, if that is possible. Bob was tired from all that walking around, and decided not to make dinner. So we went out for Mexican food again. Once again it was very good.
I went to the entertainment here last night. Bob did not feel like it. I went alone, but met a woman in the parking lot as I walked over and we sat together. (It is amazing how that happens here. Everyone is so trusting.) The band (the Buckinghams) was from the sixties and was a group that I never heard of. The singer kept talking about their great hits from the sixties, but I don't remember any of them - I must have been too stoned. But once I stopped worrying about that fact and I just enjoyed. It was a nice evening.
At about 11pm last night it started with the thunder storms. HUGE. It poured and the lightning and thunder were loud and close. When I got out of bed this morning the parking lot that we were in was a huge puddle over the gravel. But at least it was gravel. Most of the rigs here are on grass. As you can imagine it was really muddy. The disabled carts were getting mired in the mud. The rigs were getting mired in the mud. Many people are leaving. Others are moving to various concrete parking lots. We are lucky because we are on gravel and, although it is wet, we are fine. It is still raining and the weather reports are for rain all day tomorrow. Hmmm.
I went to a couple of interesting seminars today. One was on a 7 1/2 week caravan offered by this group to go to Australia and New Zealand. It is spendy, but they provide air fare, rent motor homes, provide very thorough insurance coverage, and take you to all of the very interesting places that I would want to see. We are considering it for 2015.
I broke down and bought a really nice leather purse that is exactly what I have been looking for. It has a strap that can go across the body, two nice pouches on the outside, and is big enough for all the junk I carry. A little spendy, but you do get what you pay for.
Bob is finally starting to feel much better. He is still getting out of breath easily, but he is recovering fast and in between is feeling better. He and I both think that he had some sort of infection. But, as I said, he is better. He is using the handicap carts, so he is not walking much, and I think that is helping. but I think it is getting easier fro him to admit that he needs to use the handicap carts. We are starting to look forward to the rest of the trip. If it keeps raining here, we may even leave early.
I went to the entertainment here last night. Bob did not feel like it. I went alone, but met a woman in the parking lot as I walked over and we sat together. (It is amazing how that happens here. Everyone is so trusting.) The band (the Buckinghams) was from the sixties and was a group that I never heard of. The singer kept talking about their great hits from the sixties, but I don't remember any of them - I must have been too stoned. But once I stopped worrying about that fact and I just enjoyed. It was a nice evening.
At about 11pm last night it started with the thunder storms. HUGE. It poured and the lightning and thunder were loud and close. When I got out of bed this morning the parking lot that we were in was a huge puddle over the gravel. But at least it was gravel. Most of the rigs here are on grass. As you can imagine it was really muddy. The disabled carts were getting mired in the mud. The rigs were getting mired in the mud. Many people are leaving. Others are moving to various concrete parking lots. We are lucky because we are on gravel and, although it is wet, we are fine. It is still raining and the weather reports are for rain all day tomorrow. Hmmm.
I went to a couple of interesting seminars today. One was on a 7 1/2 week caravan offered by this group to go to Australia and New Zealand. It is spendy, but they provide air fare, rent motor homes, provide very thorough insurance coverage, and take you to all of the very interesting places that I would want to see. We are considering it for 2015.
I broke down and bought a really nice leather purse that is exactly what I have been looking for. It has a strap that can go across the body, two nice pouches on the outside, and is big enough for all the junk I carry. A little spendy, but you do get what you pay for.
Bob is finally starting to feel much better. He is still getting out of breath easily, but he is recovering fast and in between is feeling better. He and I both think that he had some sort of infection. But, as I said, he is better. He is using the handicap carts, so he is not walking much, and I think that is helping. but I think it is getting easier fro him to admit that he needs to use the handicap carts. We are starting to look forward to the rest of the trip. If it keeps raining here, we may even leave early.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Disabled cart volunteers.
Yesterday Bob and I spent 3 hours driving the disabled carts around. There was not much going on here, so the job was pretty easy. Most people just needed to get to the information desk to get their welcome packet. It was interesting meeting people and finding out where they were from and what brought them here. I had someone who twisted her ankle and had to take her to first aid. Bob had someone whose rv was parked way out in the hinterlands, in an area that we were not supposed to go to. But this woman was getting very sick. So Bob drove her there. People are so interesting. There was one couple where the husband could hardly walk. It took him five minutes to get from the door of his rv to my cart which was parked no more than 10 feet away. I am always so impressed when I see people with such limitations who are going and doing anyway.
By the time we finished our shift it was getting very dark. It looked like a huge storm was coming in. And come in it did. The wind was fierce. We were worried enough that we pulled in the slide. The rv was shaking. But at 5:30 was the dinner for the volunteers. It was about 400 feet to where we were to go, but the wind was really strong and it was starting to pour. I was going to drive the 400 feet (For those of you who know me, you know that my husband had to be very tired and the wind had to be very bad for me to be willing to drive 400 feet.) But as we got out of the rv a disabled cart drove by. They gave us a ride right to the door. Nice. There are about 750 volunteers and they all were there for dinner. It was actually pretty good. Steaks (what else would you expect in Wyoming?) and mine was even medium (I was afraid it was going to be well done.) The rest of the food was good too. We met some interesting people. The woman who sat next to us said that her husband died a number of years ago. She stopped traveling for a while because of the memories. Then she decided to get on the road again. She joined FMCA and is even on the board. Most of her traveling is from one rally to another. She says that she feels safe and well taken care of when she goes to rallies. She is probably about my age. I am so impressed. She has a big class A rig and drives it herself (with her dog). I don't think I could do that.
Today the weather cleared up. It is sunny and warm, but still a bit windy. Bob went to a seminar this morning and was disappointed that it was essentially a sales pitch for a certain brand of tow bar. I cleaned up Betsy and then went grocery shopping in town. We then decided to go back and take a look at the various exhibits. But the exhibits do not open until tomorrow (even though the rally supposedly begins today).. Very disappointing.
In the meantime, we noticed that water was running out of our water tank - not a problem since we are hooked up to external water. But Bob checked on it and discovered that our water pump is not working so well. We could probably get by, but there is a company right on site with a mobile rv repair service. They will come by sometime before we leave on Sunday. Probably a little spendy, but very convenient.
In about an hour or so I have another shift of disabled cart driving. (It is actually Bob's shift, but we decided that it would make more sense for Bob to make dinner while I drove.) Right now Bob is taking a nap and just relaxing. I think tomorrow will be a busy day. Seminars, exhibits, a company is coming to wash our rv and another company is coming to dump our tanks. No volunteer work, just busy enjoying ourselves.
By the time we finished our shift it was getting very dark. It looked like a huge storm was coming in. And come in it did. The wind was fierce. We were worried enough that we pulled in the slide. The rv was shaking. But at 5:30 was the dinner for the volunteers. It was about 400 feet to where we were to go, but the wind was really strong and it was starting to pour. I was going to drive the 400 feet (For those of you who know me, you know that my husband had to be very tired and the wind had to be very bad for me to be willing to drive 400 feet.) But as we got out of the rv a disabled cart drove by. They gave us a ride right to the door. Nice. There are about 750 volunteers and they all were there for dinner. It was actually pretty good. Steaks (what else would you expect in Wyoming?) and mine was even medium (I was afraid it was going to be well done.) The rest of the food was good too. We met some interesting people. The woman who sat next to us said that her husband died a number of years ago. She stopped traveling for a while because of the memories. Then she decided to get on the road again. She joined FMCA and is even on the board. Most of her traveling is from one rally to another. She says that she feels safe and well taken care of when she goes to rallies. She is probably about my age. I am so impressed. She has a big class A rig and drives it herself (with her dog). I don't think I could do that.
Today the weather cleared up. It is sunny and warm, but still a bit windy. Bob went to a seminar this morning and was disappointed that it was essentially a sales pitch for a certain brand of tow bar. I cleaned up Betsy and then went grocery shopping in town. We then decided to go back and take a look at the various exhibits. But the exhibits do not open until tomorrow (even though the rally supposedly begins today).. Very disappointing.
In the meantime, we noticed that water was running out of our water tank - not a problem since we are hooked up to external water. But Bob checked on it and discovered that our water pump is not working so well. We could probably get by, but there is a company right on site with a mobile rv repair service. They will come by sometime before we leave on Sunday. Probably a little spendy, but very convenient.
In about an hour or so I have another shift of disabled cart driving. (It is actually Bob's shift, but we decided that it would make more sense for Bob to make dinner while I drove.) Right now Bob is taking a nap and just relaxing. I think tomorrow will be a busy day. Seminars, exhibits, a company is coming to wash our rv and another company is coming to dump our tanks. No volunteer work, just busy enjoying ourselves.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
volunteer security
In the meantime, we are sitting watching the coaches come in. There are thousands. Yesterday about 1500, today about 1000. Then tomorrow the rally actually begins. The coaches that are coming in are, for the most part HUGE. They are big and expensive. And they are towing the most amazing stuff - cars, of course, but scooters, motorcycles, pickups holding motorcycles, and stuff that I just cannot recognize. But the parking staff are doing a great job of getting them parked quickly.
We are in a disabled lot and there is still almost no one else in the lot with us. I assume that by the time they get things full that our lot will be full, and cannot understand why no one else is here yet. Bob and I took a walk to one of the outer lots this morning. It is huge (has to be to hold thousands) and really far away. Most of the folks have no water or electricity, but they are only here for four days and most of these rigs can get by for a lot longer than that. They have trams that go to the outer lots to bring people into the activity center (?). this is quite a thing to organize.
Last night there was a nice sunset. Bob claims that I am a sucker for sunsets, and maybe he is right. but this looked nice enough to take a picture.
Well, time to log off and go drive the disabled carts.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Chill day
Got up early again this morning. I gave Bob his father's day card. He was surprised and pleased. Made me feel good. We found a good laundry in town and did our two loads of laundry. We didn't need it so much now, but I know that we will be busy later this week, so today was a good day to get it done. This was the cleanest laundry I had ever been to. There was an attendant who showed us which machines to use and helped in every way that she could. It took less than an hour to get two loads washed and dried. Then off to Walgreen's to get a refill on prescriptions. Again, I don't really need the refill now, but I don't know when we will be near a Walgreen's again soon. So this seemed like a good idea.
Then back to the rally site. We did a nice Skype with daughter. Grandson was bored once we stopped talking about him. Skype is a wonderful thing to help keep us in touch.
I took a long walk around so that I know where we have to be at 7 am tomorrow morning for security. Easy walk from here. And because we are doing it morning and evening, not in the heat of the day, it won't be too bad.
Then Bob and I put up our chairs next to Betsy and sat and watched the rvs come in. We probably saw 300 come in. It may have been more. (There will be thousands by the time the rally starts.) About 95% of them were the huge ones that were 40 or 45 feel long and must cost several hundreds of thousand of dollars. Bob thinks that there will be half a billion dollars worth of rvs here by the time that the rally starts. Betsy is so small compared to most of them. But I don't want anything bigger. It was great watching them come in and commenting on them. We felt like we had a ring side seat.
We went out to dinner at a BEEF place. This was a place that I found when we were parked at the Wal-Mart the other night. The owner had been so friendly to me when I peered in the windows that we decided to try it. The Bob had prime rib and I had lamb chops. It was expensive, but very very nice. We drove around town before we came back to the rv. There is not much to the town. One thing Bob noticed was the amount of places that have their own generators. The power must go out here a lot.
Now we are back in the rv, reading and resting and getting ready for a busy day tomorrow.
Then back to the rally site. We did a nice Skype with daughter. Grandson was bored once we stopped talking about him. Skype is a wonderful thing to help keep us in touch.
I took a long walk around so that I know where we have to be at 7 am tomorrow morning for security. Easy walk from here. And because we are doing it morning and evening, not in the heat of the day, it won't be too bad.
Then Bob and I put up our chairs next to Betsy and sat and watched the rvs come in. We probably saw 300 come in. It may have been more. (There will be thousands by the time the rally starts.) About 95% of them were the huge ones that were 40 or 45 feel long and must cost several hundreds of thousand of dollars. Bob thinks that there will be half a billion dollars worth of rvs here by the time that the rally starts. Betsy is so small compared to most of them. But I don't want anything bigger. It was great watching them come in and commenting on them. We felt like we had a ring side seat.
We went out to dinner at a BEEF place. This was a place that I found when we were parked at the Wal-Mart the other night. The owner had been so friendly to me when I peered in the windows that we decided to try it. The Bob had prime rib and I had lamb chops. It was expensive, but very very nice. We drove around town before we came back to the rv. There is not much to the town. One thing Bob noticed was the amount of places that have their own generators. The power must go out here a lot.
Now we are back in the rv, reading and resting and getting ready for a busy day tomorrow.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
We got to the rally
We both got up early this morning. I was up by 4:30. I slept well and had had enough sleep. Bob got up by 5:15. It was a little chilly, but our heater worked good. (We have an electric heater that worked good when we are on electric and it broke. So we thought, just pop into Wal-Mart - after all we are in their parking lot. Well Wal-Mart considers heaters a seasonal item and does not reorder them in the spring until September. Can't find one. We'll probably find one when we get to Arizona where it is not seasonal - just not needed.)
Anyway, we are volunteers at this rally and have been assigned to early security. Our instructions said to get here on Saturday between 8 am and noon. We got here at 8:05 (that is probably the latest we have ever been.) There were no signs, no people telling us where to go. There were however, thousands of very large rvs parked here. After driving around in circles, we discovered that there is another rally that is just ending. The folks from our rally "were a little behind" in getting things set up. I finally found the main office and the guy did not know where we should go. He said he was from the main office in Ohio and just got here yesterday at 4 pm. He looked over our stuff and agreed that it did not tell us where to go. He called someone who said that they would come get us in a few minutes. Thirty minutes later we were still waiting. So I went back to the main office. He called again. He finally decided to look for a map and find out where we should go. Just as he did, Bob called and said that they had come to get us. We went to the "holding area" and they tried to decide where to put us. They saw Bob's disabled placket and suggested that we go for the disabled lot. They put us right in front and center. There is no one around us yet, but it is easy access to everything. And we have power and water. (We can pay to have someone come dump our holding tanks.)
I took a walk around the area and then it was lunch time. I suggested that we have sandwiches and offered to go into town and get potato salad. I got lost. Wound up going down the Interstate in the wrong direction and couldn't get off for more than 10 miles. Finally got back with potato salad and cole slaw and we had a great lunch.
The orientation for our early security assignment was this afternoon. It should be really easy. We just sit there and tell people not to bother the exhibitors while they are setting up. The most important thing for us is to remember to take chairs, water, and reading materials. Even so, we don't have any duties until Monday, so we have all day tomorrow to get laundry done and take a look at the town. We might even go out to a nice prime rib dinner. In the meantime we have a huge welcome packet of information to go through and then leftover Mexican food for dinner tonight.
The weather is definitely better - i.e., the wind has died down. Apparently while we were going through the wind storm in Cody, they had a tornedo warning here in Gillette. But the predictions are that the weather will be nice for the week that we are here. Also, because we are under 5000 feet in altitude (like probably 4500) Bob is feeling much better. He can actually walk without pooping out. (There was a point when we were at 8000 feet and wanted lunch, we found a parking spot about 100 feet from the restaurant, and we decided not to go there because Bob could not walk the 100 feet.) Also, I think he had a touch of the flu and that is over also. So, on to this part of the trek.
Anyway, we are volunteers at this rally and have been assigned to early security. Our instructions said to get here on Saturday between 8 am and noon. We got here at 8:05 (that is probably the latest we have ever been.) There were no signs, no people telling us where to go. There were however, thousands of very large rvs parked here. After driving around in circles, we discovered that there is another rally that is just ending. The folks from our rally "were a little behind" in getting things set up. I finally found the main office and the guy did not know where we should go. He said he was from the main office in Ohio and just got here yesterday at 4 pm. He looked over our stuff and agreed that it did not tell us where to go. He called someone who said that they would come get us in a few minutes. Thirty minutes later we were still waiting. So I went back to the main office. He called again. He finally decided to look for a map and find out where we should go. Just as he did, Bob called and said that they had come to get us. We went to the "holding area" and they tried to decide where to put us. They saw Bob's disabled placket and suggested that we go for the disabled lot. They put us right in front and center. There is no one around us yet, but it is easy access to everything. And we have power and water. (We can pay to have someone come dump our holding tanks.)
I took a walk around the area and then it was lunch time. I suggested that we have sandwiches and offered to go into town and get potato salad. I got lost. Wound up going down the Interstate in the wrong direction and couldn't get off for more than 10 miles. Finally got back with potato salad and cole slaw and we had a great lunch.
The orientation for our early security assignment was this afternoon. It should be really easy. We just sit there and tell people not to bother the exhibitors while they are setting up. The most important thing for us is to remember to take chairs, water, and reading materials. Even so, we don't have any duties until Monday, so we have all day tomorrow to get laundry done and take a look at the town. We might even go out to a nice prime rib dinner. In the meantime we have a huge welcome packet of information to go through and then leftover Mexican food for dinner tonight.
The weather is definitely better - i.e., the wind has died down. Apparently while we were going through the wind storm in Cody, they had a tornedo warning here in Gillette. But the predictions are that the weather will be nice for the week that we are here. Also, because we are under 5000 feet in altitude (like probably 4500) Bob is feeling much better. He can actually walk without pooping out. (There was a point when we were at 8000 feet and wanted lunch, we found a parking spot about 100 feet from the restaurant, and we decided not to go there because Bob could not walk the 100 feet.) Also, I think he had a touch of the flu and that is over also. So, on to this part of the trek.
Friday, June 14, 2013
In Gillette
What a day. But let me back up. Last night we were in a Wal-Mart parking lot. At about 11 pm wind started. It came in gusts. Sometimes the gusts were so strong that the rv rolled back and forth. I was asleep and it woke me up. Bob kept telling me it was fine and I knew that we had gone through wind storms before. It finally stopped at about midnight and I went back to sleep. But it started again in about a half hour. This time I was awake and was imagining all sorts of horrible things. So I got up. It was interesting. In the main part of the rv I could barely feel the wind, but I knew it was there. Everything was fine. I did not want to go back to bed and just lay there, so I read until the wind stopped at about 3 am, and then went right to sleep. Bob was so tired from his day of driving that he slept right through it, except when I was there and grabbed him so tight that I woke him up.
We were up early and off to an early start. Cody is a cute, but small town. Very quickly we were out on the back roads of Wyoming. It looked just like what you would expect Wyoming to look like if you have watched many Westerns. It is a high plateau and very grassy - open range they called it. I knew that there were a lot of cattle around, but I did not see any. There were many flat topped mesas just waiting for Hollywood Indians to come swooping down.
It was more and more impressive as we got closer to the mountains. This is the Big Horn mountain range. (I had never heard of it before. If I did, I though it was made up.) There were huge mesas and the mountains were red. Everything we passed had a western ,i.e., cowboy theme. Then suddenly we were in this huge canyon, with very steep side and amazing rock formations and various strata. (See pictures below.) Bob stopped long enough for me to take some pictures. I was amazed at how beautiful this was. We had come close to this area four years ago, but had taken a different route to Yellowstone. This just proves how much there is to see in this country and you cannot see it all.
Anyway, after a brief stop for pictures, we started again, and we started to climb. It was very long and very steep. The pass was at 9033 feet. Betsy took it well, that is after we stopped for another break. There was a car in front of us that kept speeding up and then slowing down. Betsy was not able to go at her preferred speed and she started to heat up. So we stopped for more pictures and then started without anyone in front of us and Betsy did just fine. When we got to the top it felt like we were on top of the world. Amazing.
We went a few miles at the top and then went down - 5000 feet down in 12 miles - and it was very very very curvy. We could just about see our behind as we went around the curves. Bob put Betsy in very low gear and we did pretty good. We had lunch at a very cute Mom and Pop diner - Bob wanted something hot rather than sandwiches. Then more high flat plateau. By now we were on the Interstate and it was easy driving, so we listened to our audio book and finished the story. It is a good way to spend the time when there is not much scenery to see.
We got to Gillette early and moved into the Wal-Mart parking lot. By now we were at 4500 feet and Bob was breathing better, but he was very very very tired from the long uphill and the long downhill. He said that his arms were sore from the stress of gripping the steering wheel so hard. It took quite a while for him to recover. So I went for a walk and scouted the area. Again Bob did not want to eat our food. He liked the idea of the little Mexican restaurant right across the street. So we went there for dinner. It was very good. Now we will relax and go to bed early so we can show up at the rally site and find out what we have to do.
We were up early and off to an early start. Cody is a cute, but small town. Very quickly we were out on the back roads of Wyoming. It looked just like what you would expect Wyoming to look like if you have watched many Westerns. It is a high plateau and very grassy - open range they called it. I knew that there were a lot of cattle around, but I did not see any. There were many flat topped mesas just waiting for Hollywood Indians to come swooping down.
It was more and more impressive as we got closer to the mountains. This is the Big Horn mountain range. (I had never heard of it before. If I did, I though it was made up.) There were huge mesas and the mountains were red. Everything we passed had a western ,i.e., cowboy theme. Then suddenly we were in this huge canyon, with very steep side and amazing rock formations and various strata. (See pictures below.) Bob stopped long enough for me to take some pictures. I was amazed at how beautiful this was. We had come close to this area four years ago, but had taken a different route to Yellowstone. This just proves how much there is to see in this country and you cannot see it all.
Anyway, after a brief stop for pictures, we started again, and we started to climb. It was very long and very steep. The pass was at 9033 feet. Betsy took it well, that is after we stopped for another break. There was a car in front of us that kept speeding up and then slowing down. Betsy was not able to go at her preferred speed and she started to heat up. So we stopped for more pictures and then started without anyone in front of us and Betsy did just fine. When we got to the top it felt like we were on top of the world. Amazing.
We went a few miles at the top and then went down - 5000 feet down in 12 miles - and it was very very very curvy. We could just about see our behind as we went around the curves. Bob put Betsy in very low gear and we did pretty good. We had lunch at a very cute Mom and Pop diner - Bob wanted something hot rather than sandwiches. Then more high flat plateau. By now we were on the Interstate and it was easy driving, so we listened to our audio book and finished the story. It is a good way to spend the time when there is not much scenery to see.
We got to Gillette early and moved into the Wal-Mart parking lot. By now we were at 4500 feet and Bob was breathing better, but he was very very very tired from the long uphill and the long downhill. He said that his arms were sore from the stress of gripping the steering wheel so hard. It took quite a while for him to recover. So I went for a walk and scouted the area. Again Bob did not want to eat our food. He liked the idea of the little Mexican restaurant right across the street. So we went there for dinner. It was very good. Now we will relax and go to bed early so we can show up at the rally site and find out what we have to do.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Cody Wyoming
Long hard day. We left Victor Idaho this morning. We got up at our usual time and were ready to go at about 8 am. But it started to pour. Bob was unhooking the sewer and came in the rv and waited for it to stop. When we pulled the car onto the tow dolly, the dolly was stuck sideways. Bob tried to move it and could not. He bought some grease yesterday because he had noticed it was happening, but the altitude made him so tired that he did not want to try. I think he may also still have some of my flu. Anyway, he started to leave with the car not completely on the dolly. I told him I thought it was unsafe. He came out and looked and agreed. But he felt so bad from lack of oxygen and maybe flu that he could not think of what to do (maybe the first time I am aware of that happening). Just then a car drove up and the driver asked if we needed help. I told him what was wrong and he knew immediately what to do. He got a long piece of wood and pried open the pieces of the dolly that were stuck together. It took 3 minutes. I thank the rain, because if we had not waited, the helper would not have been there. Everything happens for a reason.
Victor is a very nice touristy town. Driggs Idaho is about 8 miles down the road. It is a little bigger and has lots of hotels and restaurants and bars. Almost nothing else. It is a cute nice town and would be a nice place to stay if you drove here in a car and wanted to stay in a hotel to visit the Tetons.
We then took back country roads, heading for Yellowstone. Eastern Idaho is much prettier than western Idaho. We drove along a high plain. It was about 6200 feet. It was flat and very green- I think grass, alfalfa, or hay. It was green for miles - up to the edge of the mountains.
We had been to Yellowstone before. It is still beautiful, but not so much for the mountains. There are amazing cliffs and rock formations, beautiful lakes, herds of buffalo, sulphur springs, and hot springs. However, there were lots of tourists and many of them were really stupid. They would park their car (or worse their rented rv) along the side of the road, but not completely off. It would slow down traffic for miles. We actually did not stop anywhere, until after we actually got out of the park. These pictures are from the road between the park and Cody. (The buffalo was right in the middle of the road and all traffic stopped and waited for him to slowly saunter off the road.)
Coming out of Yellowstone on the east end, the road climbs pretty high - to about 8650 feet. By now Bob was really having a hard time breathing. We went down over 1500 feet in about 10-15 miles (my eyes were shut so I am not sure how far it was.) And to make it worse, we got behind a trailer and the driver was riding his brakes the whole way down. When our brakes started to grab, we pulled off the road and just waited for a while. Once we were not behind him any longer, it was easier.
We are now in the Cody Walmart. We had a great dinner of chili that Bob made before we left. The altitude is only about 5200 feet and Bob is breathing better - not great, but better. Tomorrow we head for Gillette.
Victor is a very nice touristy town. Driggs Idaho is about 8 miles down the road. It is a little bigger and has lots of hotels and restaurants and bars. Almost nothing else. It is a cute nice town and would be a nice place to stay if you drove here in a car and wanted to stay in a hotel to visit the Tetons.
We then took back country roads, heading for Yellowstone. Eastern Idaho is much prettier than western Idaho. We drove along a high plain. It was about 6200 feet. It was flat and very green- I think grass, alfalfa, or hay. It was green for miles - up to the edge of the mountains.
We had been to Yellowstone before. It is still beautiful, but not so much for the mountains. There are amazing cliffs and rock formations, beautiful lakes, herds of buffalo, sulphur springs, and hot springs. However, there were lots of tourists and many of them were really stupid. They would park their car (or worse their rented rv) along the side of the road, but not completely off. It would slow down traffic for miles. We actually did not stop anywhere, until after we actually got out of the park. These pictures are from the road between the park and Cody. (The buffalo was right in the middle of the road and all traffic stopped and waited for him to slowly saunter off the road.)
Coming out of Yellowstone on the east end, the road climbs pretty high - to about 8650 feet. By now Bob was really having a hard time breathing. We went down over 1500 feet in about 10-15 miles (my eyes were shut so I am not sure how far it was.) And to make it worse, we got behind a trailer and the driver was riding his brakes the whole way down. When our brakes started to grab, we pulled off the road and just waited for a while. Once we were not behind him any longer, it was easier.
We are now in the Cody Walmart. We had a great dinner of chili that Bob made before we left. The altitude is only about 5200 feet and Bob is breathing better - not great, but better. Tomorrow we head for Gillette.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Quiet day
The weather here looked pretty bad this morning and Bob was feeling pretty tired from so many days at 6000 feet, so we stayed here and just hung out. I went for a long walk and bought some groceries. We also took a short ride for Bob to get some grease that he needed to oil something(?) The weather was not very nice. At one point it was hailing pretty heavy. Those of our neighbors who were on the mountain said that there was several feet of hail on the ground before the hail stopped. So we are happy that we did not try to go back, beautiful though it was.
Tomorrow we leave here and start heading east. First through Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming, then on to Gillette and the rally. The road we have finally found is not quite as mountainous as most of the roads around here. It will be a short day tomorrow, but nice going through the park.
Tomorrow we leave here and start heading east. First through Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming, then on to Gillette and the rally. The road we have finally found is not quite as mountainous as most of the roads around here. It will be a short day tomorrow, but nice going through the park.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
What a gorgeous day!!!
We both got a great night sleep last night!!! It is kind of sad when that is an important aspect of your trip. But, that is the way it is. Anyway, got up late and had a great shower. Very clean shower rooms. Nice.
Then we took the drive to the Grand Teton National Park. It is only 25 miles from here, but a tough 25 miles. It includes 5 miles of a 10% grade going up and then 5 miles of a 10 % grade going down. My little car did most of the up in second gear. Going down was a little scary until I remembered that I can put the car into manual transmission and put it in a lower gear.
Got to Jackson Wyoming at lunchtime. We stopped at the first restaurant we saw and it was great. The waitress was exceptionally helpful and the food was generous and delicious. The owner even stopped by to tell us what to see in the Grand Tetons (we had asked for info). We then spent the day at 7000 feet. Bob could not get out of the car much. He was having a hard time breathing even just sitting in the car. But the sights were gorgeous. We had been to Yellowstone and this is so much better than Yellowstone. The mountains rise up right out of the valley, there is no gradual increase, just sudden sheer, steep, saw tooth mountains. There is lots of outdoor activity here. We saw many people hiking and on bikes. What we did not see at all was any wild life, even though there were signs all over warning us to be on the lookout.
When we got back to the rv we had a decision to make. We had planned to take that very steep road going to Gillette. We had both decided it was too steep for Betsy. So we sat for a while and came up with an alternative route, going through Yellowstone. It will be a nice trip and not as difficult on our wonderful Betsy.
It is a lot cooler today - only 79 degrees - and quite breezy. I may take a nice long walk before dinner. What a joy.
Monday, June 10, 2013
We are in Teton Valley Idaho.
Bob had a really tough night last night. He started to feel sick again. And he started to get really bad tingles. He went to bed at about 9pm. It was still 95 degrees in the rv. I sat up and read a while. I finally decided that I needed to get to sleep even though I was not sleepy. I got in bed and lay there for about an hour. Could not fall asleep. Bob was having the same trouble. He took some of his pills (which he was afraid to do because he was going to be driving the next day) and I got back up. I sat up and read until almost 2 am and finally went to bed, but woke up to all of the noise in a Wal-Mart parking lot at 6 am (5am my time). So I didn't get much sleep.
But Bob woke up saying he felt so much better - and he has continued to feel pretty good all day today.
We got another early start, filled the gas tank and got the tires checked before we took off. We had a little spat because Bob turned left when I told him turn right. Then his seat belt thingeee noise went off I told him to put his seat belt on. He didn't say anything, so I thought he didn't hear me. So I really yelled at him to put his seat belt on and he got made because I was yelling at him. That did not get us off to a good start. I was pretty anxious all day. I don't know if it was because of the spat, or maybe something else, but I don't like being anxious.
Well, the trip - I must say that western Idaho is really ugly and boring. Very hardscrabble existences and not much to see in the way of scenery. So we pulled out the audio book that we started listening to on our way back from Pendleton three weeks ago. We couldn't remember anything about the story, so we started listening to it all over again. It makes the time go by much more quickly.
Once we got past Idaho Falls, we got off the freeway and started seeing some really beautiful country. First it was very very very green fields. (My guess is alfalfa.) Really pretty. Then we started up the mountains. Betsy is pretty big and pretty heavy. The going up is slow because of the size of Betsy and pulling the car. The going down is also slow because of the size of Betsy and pulling the car. So we pulled over a lot to let people pass, but going slow felt really nice.
The Tetons are gorgeous so far. We are still in Idaho in a small campground. Very friendly, very clean. Great views. It is 8:30 and still over 80 degrees outside. We tried sitting outside after dinner. The wind was picking up so Bob took off his hearing aid and set it on the small table. We went for a walk. When we came back, hearing aid was no where to be seen. After about 20 minutes of crawling around on the grass on our hands and knees, we finally found it. I can't imagine going for two months without Bob having a hearing aid. My throat would be raw.
But all is now well. The two laptops are working well, as is the Jet Pack. Yeah. More happening tomorrow.
But Bob woke up saying he felt so much better - and he has continued to feel pretty good all day today.
We got another early start, filled the gas tank and got the tires checked before we took off. We had a little spat because Bob turned left when I told him turn right. Then his seat belt thingeee noise went off I told him to put his seat belt on. He didn't say anything, so I thought he didn't hear me. So I really yelled at him to put his seat belt on and he got made because I was yelling at him. That did not get us off to a good start. I was pretty anxious all day. I don't know if it was because of the spat, or maybe something else, but I don't like being anxious.
Well, the trip - I must say that western Idaho is really ugly and boring. Very hardscrabble existences and not much to see in the way of scenery. So we pulled out the audio book that we started listening to on our way back from Pendleton three weeks ago. We couldn't remember anything about the story, so we started listening to it all over again. It makes the time go by much more quickly.
Once we got past Idaho Falls, we got off the freeway and started seeing some really beautiful country. First it was very very very green fields. (My guess is alfalfa.) Really pretty. Then we started up the mountains. Betsy is pretty big and pretty heavy. The going up is slow because of the size of Betsy and pulling the car. The going down is also slow because of the size of Betsy and pulling the car. So we pulled over a lot to let people pass, but going slow felt really nice.
The Tetons are gorgeous so far. We are still in Idaho in a small campground. Very friendly, very clean. Great views. It is 8:30 and still over 80 degrees outside. We tried sitting outside after dinner. The wind was picking up so Bob took off his hearing aid and set it on the small table. We went for a walk. When we came back, hearing aid was no where to be seen. After about 20 minutes of crawling around on the grass on our hands and knees, we finally found it. I can't imagine going for two months without Bob having a hearing aid. My throat would be raw.
But all is now well. The two laptops are working well, as is the Jet Pack. Yeah. More happening tomorrow.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
we are on the road.
We left this morning at about 8:30 am. I cannot explain it, but it just was not as exciting as 4 years ago (yes it has been 4 years since the last great trek.) Maybe because it is not the first time? maybe because I am not been retired and am used to being able to do what I want to do and when? Or maybe because Bob was feeling pretty sick? But let me back up.
Last week I got the flu bug. It took about four days for me to get over it. I was worried that I was going to give it to Bob, and I did. He started feeling badly this morning. We had a lovely evening last night. We went out to dinner at the east side Spaghetti Factory (just as nice as the downtown one, but smaller). We came home and sat on the deck and finished our bottle of wine. It was nice enough that I almost wished that we were not leaving. But I know we will be back.
We had almost everything ready last night. We went to bed fairly early. I got up at about 7:30 am. Bob was already up, showered, and had eaten breakfast. Not because he was in a hurry, but because he was feeling so badly. I went through the motions of getting the final stuff done. I kept asking if he was all right and he kept saying yes. But I asked him to take out the three cans of garbage and he was exhausted by the time he finished. But he is nothing if not stubborn, so we left. (Yes, all that happened in about an hour.)
We headed out I84 along the gorge. Now this is a trip I have taken many times. But I am usually going some place and in a hurry to get there. This time it was part of the trek, so I looked at the scenery. Oregon is certainly beautiful. The clouds disappeared as we went that like look like a crumpled up bedspread on the other. And in between the shimmering Columbia river. The only word that Bob and I could think of was awe inspiring. I would take a deep breath and feel good. (This was especially nice because both Bob and I had some free floating anxiety as we left. It could have been because he was not feeling well, or it could have been because things have gone so wrong with the house for the last year. But the anxiety crept away as we moved east.)
As we drive the gorge I always think about the pioneers and how they had to work to get to the Oregon coast. I was especially in awe as we passed isolated houses (30 or 40 miles away from ANYTHING) and realized how organized they have to be to live their lives. They can't just run to the corner grocery or even drive a few miles if they run out of milk or building materials. Even worse, they have miles to go to get any medical help. They have to be hardy souls.
Once we passed the gorge, it was the usual gorgeous mountains and trees, so typical of Oregon. It is still early and everything is still green. Not too long before it all turns brown.
We are now parked in a Walmart parking lot. We were able to buy most of the things we forgot, but not all. Oh well. It is 98 degrees and the sun is getting ready to set so it will cool off soon. Looking forward to another nice day tomorrow and another 350 miles.
Oh, and Bob is feeling much better.
Last week I got the flu bug. It took about four days for me to get over it. I was worried that I was going to give it to Bob, and I did. He started feeling badly this morning. We had a lovely evening last night. We went out to dinner at the east side Spaghetti Factory (just as nice as the downtown one, but smaller). We came home and sat on the deck and finished our bottle of wine. It was nice enough that I almost wished that we were not leaving. But I know we will be back.
We had almost everything ready last night. We went to bed fairly early. I got up at about 7:30 am. Bob was already up, showered, and had eaten breakfast. Not because he was in a hurry, but because he was feeling so badly. I went through the motions of getting the final stuff done. I kept asking if he was all right and he kept saying yes. But I asked him to take out the three cans of garbage and he was exhausted by the time he finished. But he is nothing if not stubborn, so we left. (Yes, all that happened in about an hour.)
We headed out I84 along the gorge. Now this is a trip I have taken many times. But I am usually going some place and in a hurry to get there. This time it was part of the trek, so I looked at the scenery. Oregon is certainly beautiful. The clouds disappeared as we went that like look like a crumpled up bedspread on the other. And in between the shimmering Columbia river. The only word that Bob and I could think of was awe inspiring. I would take a deep breath and feel good. (This was especially nice because both Bob and I had some free floating anxiety as we left. It could have been because he was not feeling well, or it could have been because things have gone so wrong with the house for the last year. But the anxiety crept away as we moved east.)
As we drive the gorge I always think about the pioneers and how they had to work to get to the Oregon coast. I was especially in awe as we passed isolated houses (30 or 40 miles away from ANYTHING) and realized how organized they have to be to live their lives. They can't just run to the corner grocery or even drive a few miles if they run out of milk or building materials. Even worse, they have miles to go to get any medical help. They have to be hardy souls.
Once we passed the gorge, it was the usual gorgeous mountains and trees, so typical of Oregon. It is still early and everything is still green. Not too long before it all turns brown.
We are now parked in a Walmart parking lot. We were able to buy most of the things we forgot, but not all. Oh well. It is 98 degrees and the sun is getting ready to set so it will cool off soon. Looking forward to another nice day tomorrow and another 350 miles.
Oh, and Bob is feeling much better.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
We leave tomorrow!
OK. we leave tomorrow morning. We have loaded our clothes, our food, and most of our meds. We have our books in there, and our maps. We have prepared food for the next few days and lots of paper plates. Ready to go!!!
Learned a lot from the last trek. Paper plates is one of the most important. In Fanny, we didn't use paper because we did not have room for the paper and did not do our dishes inside anyway. Now that we have the big behemoth, otherwise known as Betsy, we do stay inside more and wash dishes in the sink. So paper plates work good.
I am amazed at how much storage we have. Both Bob and I put out all the clothes we thought we might need, thinking that we would take some back if there was not room. There was plenty of room and more.
We also have the Verizon jet pack, which I think will make things much better for us as we try to use the internet along the way. - And Bob has his own laptop now so we can both be on our laptops at the same time.
I was just thinking about our preparation for the last trek. We had to plan so carefully because we had so little room and because we had never done this before. Now that we have a whole lot more room and a few times under our belt, it seems so easy. I had my lists, but they were not overpowering. There was also not the big emergencies, like getting new batteries and trying to fit them on Fanny.
We did spend most of today buying stuff, filling tanks, and getting ready. The refrigerator in Betsy is full (and the one at home is empty). I have a real easy breakfast planned for tomorrow morning, then clean up the place, lock her up and we are gone on adventure #2.
Learned a lot from the last trek. Paper plates is one of the most important. In Fanny, we didn't use paper because we did not have room for the paper and did not do our dishes inside anyway. Now that we have the big behemoth, otherwise known as Betsy, we do stay inside more and wash dishes in the sink. So paper plates work good.
I am amazed at how much storage we have. Both Bob and I put out all the clothes we thought we might need, thinking that we would take some back if there was not room. There was plenty of room and more.
We also have the Verizon jet pack, which I think will make things much better for us as we try to use the internet along the way. - And Bob has his own laptop now so we can both be on our laptops at the same time.
I was just thinking about our preparation for the last trek. We had to plan so carefully because we had so little room and because we had never done this before. Now that we have a whole lot more room and a few times under our belt, it seems so easy. I had my lists, but they were not overpowering. There was also not the big emergencies, like getting new batteries and trying to fit them on Fanny.
We did spend most of today buying stuff, filling tanks, and getting ready. The refrigerator in Betsy is full (and the one at home is empty). I have a real easy breakfast planned for tomorrow morning, then clean up the place, lock her up and we are gone on adventure #2.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Getting ready
I have done this kind of packing often enough that it should be easy. But every trip is different. I started with my lists and thought that I had plenty of time. Good that I was planning so far in advance. I came down with some sort of flu bug and was out of commission for almost four days. I am feeling better today and am starting to check things off the list. Yippee. There is no pleasure like the absence of pain.
Today I am going to do the little things like pull the child seat out of the car and organize the pills. bob is still working on the deck and will be almost done by the time we leave. busy, busy.
Today I am going to do the little things like pull the child seat out of the car and organize the pills. bob is still working on the deck and will be almost done by the time we leave. busy, busy.
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