Homeward Bound

Dorothy has not written a word for the blog all year. Minutes after I posted this she emailed me this. 

Here is a synopsis of our trip from Dorothy’s point of view:  We left home mid-March in order to met up with friends.  Our first real stop was in Llano, TX so that we could eat at Cooper’s BBQ.  And eat we did - it was yummy! Then Terry & Betty joined us, showed us their new rig, and we all went to Cooper’s to load up on food to take with us.  We spent the night at a Texas rest area and ate bbq.  

Next we met up with Keith & Sandy and Ed & Carol in southern Utah and then moved to Moab.  We certainly enjoyed spend time with them as always.  After Ed & Carol left, we met up with Paul (Corndog) & Laurie.  We did a lot of Jeeping with them and had a great time riding over the rocks of Moab.  Keith taught us the card game, “Golf” and it has been fun, but I think Keith taught Don how to cheat - ha ha.  The weather in Moab was perfect.

Since the Jeep has been lifted the trails seemed easier.  But, I have had a difficult time getting in it, especially on the driver’s side.  We found a place in Logan, UT that would add electric steps.  This has made a big difference for me and it can still climb rocks without the steps being a hindrance.  But for Don it is too tall.  He has learned to duck his head.  Then we found the rain and a lot of it.  We had to stay in places with electric hookups because the solar panels might not get charged.  One of the places we stayed was Spanish Fork, UT at the city park.  Just looking,  the campground was just a parking lot.  Once you were in your site, there was grass and shade trees behind you.  It was just like a park.  We met some friendly people, Spencer & Lorraine and Dan & Carol, and we certainly enjoyed several Happy Hours with them.

We had many days boondocking.  It certainly lowered our camping fees.  We were gone for 122 days and spent a total of $853.50 for an average of $6.99 per night.  Amazing that I get so excited by having a low average.

Monday, July 8 - We continued south passing through Wind River Canyon which is even more spectacular than we recall from 2007. It gets our vote for the best canyon that you can drive through.

The canyon has an optical illusion. South bound you think you are descending at something like a 4% grade while you are actually going up. The river appears to flow north seemingly uphill. The RR  appears level.

                                 Wind River Canyon

We stayed in an RV park in Casper for AC. We resisted going to Safeway for a bag of fried chicken.

Tuesday, July 9 - Southbound to the hamlet of Encampment, where we parked in a city park with full hooks. I washed off some of the grime on KoKo. No need for AC, there was strong wind blowing.

Wednesday, July 10 - Our intent was to continue south to Buena Vista and do a little wheeling for 2 or 3 days, then head directly home. I checked the weather and found the highs were going to be in the high 80's - way too warm for our comfort. We choose to get on I80 and head east. The direct route to I80 from our location was WY130 through the Snowy Mountains. I knew it was scenic, but I had forgotten how high the summit is - 10,830 feet. That was easily the highest we have been on this trip. The top is granite with lots of lakes and reminds me of the the Rubicon Trail section of the Sierra Nevada.

We parked at Vedauwoo east of Laramie. We had not been here in a decade. It will be the last "rocks" we will see as we descend on the plains. Surprise, while it is mid-70's there is a light breeze and we had to put on long pants and sleeves to sit out. I expect this will be the last coolness we experience until October.

Thursday, July 11 - After six days of feeling pretty good, I woke up back in the ditch. I improved during the day, but my energy dropped at 7:30.

Vedauwoo is at 8,200. when we parked we were at 4,200. Slow downhill all day.

Our west bound friends met us at the city park in Brush, CO. What a busy place. Consolation that had a swimming pool so we cooled off there. A band decided to rehearse their act at the park. Damn good. They played mostly Beatles. Three old guys and a talented young vocalist.

Friday, July 12 - Our friends suggested we take US36 rather than I80 all the way to Illinois. We prefer such roads as they provide more interest than interstates. Sure you have to slow down for every town, but I feel that keeps the mind engaged. So far the road surface has been quite smooth.

We planned to overnight at a city park in Phillispburg, Kansas but the voltage was too low run the ac. There was not another RV park of any kind within 50 miles eastbound. I saw there was a COE CG to the north near Alma, Nebraska. So 24 miles off course we went. The CG was flooded. We perched in a CG in Alma. $28 is cheap to pay for electricity when it's 95.

Long day for us, 4 hours to intended destination, then another half-hour to an alternate.

Saturday, July 13 - Three hours brought us to the Washington, Kansas city park. Shade and electricity and a pool.

Curious to us, five birds, three today, rose from the roadside and flew directly into the windshield. It must be raccoon breeding season, we have seen dozens of road kills.

Sunday, July 14 - Four hours and my ass was hurting. We got to the city park in Brooksfield, MO. Electricity and a pool.

Monday, July 15 -  Another four hours brought us to a delightful city park in the corn fields. The Sherwood Forest CG near Hillsboro, IL.  Almost every space is taken for the season by locals who use the lake. Only $1,100 for the season which includes W&E. We paid $10 also a deal.


A little cooler here and much more humid.

Tuesday, July 16 - How long did we drive today? Four hours of course. It would be nice to drive longer, but we just can't. Let's see we were in Missouri, we went east into Illinois, then south into Missouri. Gas is 50 cents more in bankrupt Illinois.

We intended to park in a city park in Thebes, IL, but the bridge over the Mississippi was closed, so we are at The Little Old Opry CG for the low price of $15. $10 a night if you stay three nights.

Wednesday, July 17 - 3.5 hours south on I55, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and finally Mississippi. We parked at a COE CG under shade trees. It's only 88. The ac is set to 77 but it has not turned off in the three hours we have been here.

The guys are probably dead, but the idiots who thought running interstates through downtown would be a good idea should be flogged.

Thursday, July 18 - Three hours brought us to a COE CG near Westpoint, MS. We should be home be lunch tomorrow. Crossing from Montana to home in 13 days.



Adios
 

Final Days In Montana

Tuesday, June 25 - We drove MT 200 through some Big Sky country to the town of Lincoln. Another long one-hour driving day. I would have loved to stop and take some pictures of the green wheat fields with mountains in the background, but pull outs are rare in Montana.

Wednesday, June 26 - Today's goal was to get to Fort Benton. We stopped in Great Falls for groceries. While getting gas I asked the women next to me if there were really any great falls in Great Falls. But of course there are. She told me to go to the interpretive center. So we did. We spent 2.5 hours at the center and among other things learned that Lewis and Clark were rather distressed to find not just the single falls the Indians had mentioned but five falls. They had to portage 18 miles, pulling two thousand pound pirouettes over some pretty rough terrain. So a one day delay turned into two weeks.

Anywho the center was an unexpected treat. By the time we were ready to leave it was mid-afternoon, so we opted to stay at Wally World and continue to Fort Benton tomorrow.

We had a fine lighting show around dark-thirty.

Thursday, June 27 - Since we were at Wally World, we had the oil changed. Also found a leaking valve stem on the Jeep. Even though it was overcast, we took a detour to Ryan Dam which is Great Falls. Its's a nine-mile pot-holed road through wheat fields with no turn around for the rig.

We finally got to Fort Benton at noon turning a 30 minute drive into three hours. The BLM Ranger at the Interp center was most knowledgeable about the Missouri Breaks. He mapped out a route that will keep us mainly on paved roads and to two campgrounds - campgrounds that had not shown up on any of our resources. Always good to talk with someone who has been in the field.

The famous White Cliffs area is accessible by water only, but we will see what we see.

We had planed to stay one night at the Interp Center, but the Ranger said this was the big weekend of the year for Fort Benton. They have their Summer Celebration the week before the Fourth and go to Great Falls for the Fourth. We decided to stay and since the skies remain overcast we opted to stay at the Fairgrounds with electricity.

So here we are in a little town on the way to nowhere and there are over two dozen RV's here for the weekend. We learned that Fort Benton was the terminus of paddle-wheelers on the Missouri and was a really big deal trading center.

From Wikipedia:
Established in 1846 the original Fort was the last fur trading post on the Upper Missouri River,the fort became an important economic center. For 30 years, the port attracted steamboats carrying goods, merchants, gold miners and settlers, coming from New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, Hannibal, Bismarck, Kansas City, etc. As the terminus for the 642-mile-long Mullan Road, completed by the US Army in 1860, and at the head of navigation of the Missouri River, Fort Benton was part of the overland link between trade on the Missouri and the Columbia River, at Fort Walla Walla, Washington. Twenty thousand migrants used the road in the first year to travel to the Northwest. It became an important route for miners from both directions going into the interior of Idaho, and north to Canada. Steamboat travel to Fort Benton from St. Louis, Missouri helped broadly fuel the development of the American West between 1860 and 1890, when it was supplanted by railroad transport. The river was an important route for miners to the newly discovered gold fields of southern Montana at what became Bannack and Virginia City beginning in 1862, and Helena, beginning in 1865.

Friday, June 28 - We went into town and enjoyed the free pulled pork lunch served by one bank and ice cream by the other bank. Walked around town soaking in history and chatting with the locals.

Small Town Fourth Celebration

 The Dog!

 Tke Kids Had Squirt Guns and Everyone Got A Little Wet

 Can She Sit A Horse

Back at the fairgrounds they had two road patrols getting as much of the mud out of the arena as they can for a rodeo this evening. It was the third day of sheeting rain and we will be lucky if it does not rain again today. This affects us as one of the roads we want to drive through in the Breaks Monument are dirt and gravel. Fine for the Jeep, may not fine for KoKo.

We watched a bit of the rodeo from behind a fence. The $15 entry fee seemed steep for the limited time we would watch it. Dorothy's foot is pretty much toast after an hour of not being elevated and my back hurts after a long period of no back support.

There must have been over a 100 stock trailers, most everyone with accommodations for humans in the front.

We are only 60 miles from Saskatchewan. I guess that's why they fly the Maple Leaf flag here and we see more than few Saskatchewan license plates.

Saturday, June 29 - NO RAIN forecast for today and tomorrow. Yippee!

We toured one of the five museums! in Fort Benton, ate too much for lunch and finished the day watching a suburb fireworks display.

Sunday, June 30 - Into the Breaks. Our camp is on the Missouri. A small pristine campground. The drive was through rolling farm country. One car passed us, on the way out with his kayak. There were several tenters who were floating the river.

Monday, July 1 - We took an hour drive on the road we will use to our next campground. It's was along a ridge about 1,000 feet above the valley of the Missouri through rolling hills with wide vista's and far horizons. The hard packed gravel was smoother than most of the asphalt roads in Montana. The paved roads tend to be wavy and we feel each wave when the Jeep comes out of the depression.

On the first day of July, it's seems summer has arrived in Montana. Temps are in the upper-80's in the late afternoon. Too hot. Some people can not be happy.

What We Did NOT See

The White Cliffs in the Breaks - Access By Water Only

Same Formations Found on Lake Powell

Things We Did See

                                         The Breaks

                   It's a Noxious Weed, Not a Crop

Tuesday, July 2 - We continued on county 236 to the town of Winifred. We did not expect much. Surprise, it's almost booming. New construction of apartments as the kids are staying in Winifred and not moving off.

We stopped at the grocery to inquire about road conditions and good thing we did. They considered continuing on 236 foolish and advised us to take the longer paved road. They described the last few miles of the road as overgrown with trees and the road was like "gumbo" if wet. I saw the road after we got to the campground and "gumbo" was an apt description.

The threat of rain cooled it off, back into the mid-70's.

Our last campground in the "Breaks" was great. This one not so much. I doubt the grass has ever been cut, all natural. The water had not been cut on so, we could not stay for that reason. That and no scenery or cell here will push us south hoping to find a place to hole up for the holiday. This section of the state is not RV friendly, no private campgrounds and only two public ones.

Wednesday, July 3 - We plopped down in a Kiwanis park in Lewistown. Other than a KOA, there is really nothing between here and Billings. It's level, fairly quiet and has water.


I had NO energy and spent 12 hours in bed. Mostly asleep

Thursday, The Fourth of July - To celebrate we did laundry. The laundry was housed in a former car dealership built in 1952.  We parked inside in the former service bays. The town had a parade, but it was not much. Everyone stood when the colors passed. Oh, the sun made an unexpected appearance from 9 to 2.

Friday, July 5 - We drove to Billings. I was ready to have a doctor examine me. My usual loss of energy has been even lower in the last 2/3 weeks. I picked the Billings Clinic. Good choice. Walk-in's can schedule a time to be seen. Then next available time was 5:20. I took it. They were ready to see me at 5:20. The usual history with an LPN and then the doctor was in right away. We went over my complaint and she was all for doing a CAT scan right then. I put it and all other tests off until the next morning, as I was toast and Dorothy's foot was really swollen. I could tell she was concerned.




Saturday, July 6 - I had the CAT scan and more blood work done the next morning. Less than an hour after the scan the doctor was explaining the results and her concern was even more evident. Bottom line, stay and get a definitive diagnosis or head home now and get it done. I hope I made the right choice going home and will get as good as care I was getting in Billings.

I am thinking the reason for my chronic fatigue the last five years is finally known. The exact diagnosis is not known, but I know ballpark. I will not go into it until I know more.

Sunday, July 7 - We drove south from Billings to Worland, WY. The temp is 92, so we found a RV park with shade and electicity.


The landscape changes dramatically when you get to Wyoming on 310. Not just the terrain changes, but the roadsides are junky, abandoned drilling equipment, etc. Then you come to the town of Crowley that has sidewalks, a center turn lane and all the businesses are fluffed and buffed. Then we see the LDS church which explains it all. They always has a positive effect on the culture. 
Towns named Fort so-and-so are everywhere in Montana. Did you know most forts were privately built?

Winco is a great supermarket. Love the bulk foods. That allows us to sample things like coffee beans. Found a great one Chocolate Cherry.