Another New Place

This morning we left Missoula, MT and headed East on our journey. We are now in Livingston, MT and headed to Wyoming tomorrow. We have seen beautiful, beautiful scenery. Some things just take your breath away. So many rivers and endless fields, mountains and open spaces. The weather has been perfect and we are getting to be pros at setting up and taking down.

Livingston is where they filmed A River Runs Through It. It is also where they filmed The Horse Whisperer. It is also only about 50 miles from Yellowstone National Park. The town was founded in 1882 as a place to set up the railroad to go into Yellowstone.

We will be spending 2 days in Wyoming and then on to Rapid City, South Dakota.
Of course, Sturgis is just down the road from there and this is the week of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. And of course, David wants to go. I'll go but I really don't want to, too many people.

Molly is doing fine. We put her in the truck and she wakes up in a new place. Of course it takes her awhile to smell all the new smells. She seems to like to travel so I guess thats good.

I'm hoping to be coming back this way so we can go to Yellowstone on our way back West...whenever that will be.

For now, still Happy Campers,
David and Carol

SMOKE, BEER AND WATER

Yeah, I look like a Smokejumper.

Hanging Parachutes

Plane that carries the Smokejumpers

Big Sky Brewery

Flathead Lake

Yesterday we went to take a tour of the Smokejumpers Academy. This is one of the places in the Western states that actually have Smokejumpers training. We got to look at the whole process. The information we learned was: You have to be between 120 to 200 pounds to qualify. You go through a training process that includes running for 2 miles with an 80 pound pack on their back, and be able to get ready and in the plane in 5-10 minutes. They take a sewing class because they make all their own uniforms, backpacks and jackets. If a hole developes in their parachute, they patch it themselves. They hang the parachutes after every fire to get rid of debri and smoke. While we were there, they got a call to go to Wolf Creek so we got to watch them get ready, board the plane and fly off. It was all pretty exciting.

Next we went to Big Sky Brewery. They have a tasting room so of course we had to taste. They make such beers as Moose Drool, Trout Slayer and Honey Bear.

It rained hard in the middle of the night last night but when we got up this morning it was clear. We took a ride up to Flathead lake. The lake is huge and the area and the lake look like Tahoe. It was a clear blue. It was a nice day so there were lots of boats and swimmers on the lake. On the way back we stopped at the Huckleberry Hut and bought some Huckleberry Honey, Huckleberry Ice Cream Topping, and Huckleberry Ice Cream. Yummy....

It was about 85 degrees when we got home. The Big Clouds in the Big Sky started coming in. Within 30 minutes the lightening and thunder started, then the rain. Wow, the thunder was really, really loud. Of course Molly was shaking in her boots. We had to medicate her a little. It is still raining as I write this. The sky here in Montana is very big and it is beautiful.

If at any time you would like to see more pictures, let me know and I will email them to you. On this program I can only post 5 at a time with each blog. We have lots more pics that are really good ones so let me know.

Well, goodnight for now.....

Very Happy Campers

David and Carol

A DAY LOOKING FOR JEWELS

Clark Fork River

Gem Mountain

A Hawk with a Fish in its Claws

Beautiful Sunset

And then later, beautiful lightening

The day before yesterday, we took off in the morning to go Sapphire hunting.

We went to a place about 1 1/2 hours away. The road there had some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen. The Clark Fork River runs for hundreds of miles and it is such a pretty river. In places it just meanders and in others it is a rushing river. We also saw lots of property for sale along the river. I would live there in a hot second but David says it's too remote for him.

We arrived at Gem mountain and started in on our jewel hunt. You get buckets of rock and strain it out a little at a time. Then you go through it with tweezers to find itty bitty stones. I think between the 2 of us we brought home about 14 carats of sapphires. Of course, they are pretty small but they are ours.

On the way back we saw a hawk fly right off of the river with a fish in his talons. David was able to get a picture. It was a remarkable sight.

When we got back home there was a wonderful sunset. It was very colorful. Minutes later, the storm came. The last picture is one David took of the lightening storm later that evening. The weather here changes in minutes which is really nice. It can be 90 degrees and the lightening and thunder will start. The sky gets black and then it pours. In a few minutes it's over.

I'm going to do another blog tonight just to keep caught up.

Happy Camping

David and Carol

Going into Idaho

Couer d' Alene Lake

Ending up in Montana

Our RV park in Missoula, MT

Nice huh?

Today is Thursday 7/23. We are in Missoula, MT. The ride here thru Idaho was really beautiful. There are alot of BIG hills on the way. Because we went thru the Idaho panhandle, it took us only a little more than an hour. There have been so many trees on our trip that it seems there is no end to them. Of course Northern Idaho is mostly all forest as is Washington and Oregon. As we came into Montana, you could see a real difference in the landscape.

So far this is what we see about Montana. The people here are as loyal to their state as Texans are to theirs. It is true, this is big sky country. Lots of rivers and lakes. The landscape is more large rolling hills and mountains. It seems to be alot hotter and dryer. Missoula has the University of Montana and is very liberal. The demographics here is very, very white. I think the internet said it is 98.5% white. Of course we are going into the mid west and that is to be expected.

The RV Park we are at is wonderful. So nice we have decided to stay a week and rest up a bit from the 1 night stands. We have the very best spot in this park, I think so anyway. We are on the very end, and away from other people. For those of you who know me, you know how I love that. We are in the pines with a little flower bed in front of us. Last night they had an ice cream social and some live music. Well, I'm not the social type but I do love music. Beside that David made me go. The guys that did the music were really good. LaGrande Harvey, the guitar player, sang some songs his brother in Nashville had written. One of the songs was Delta Dawn and the other was a song made famous by Kenny Rogers, Ruben James.

He also wrote the Montana state anthem. He has a website if you are interested. The other guy played mandolin and banjo. He is Indian and has been involved in alot of mediations between the tribes and the government. We ended up having a pretty good time.

Today we were supposed to go garnet hunting at a place an hour up the road but I slept in too late so we'll go tomorrow.

David is off exploring right now so I could have some alone time. He is thoughtful that way. Of course when I get alone time I have so many things I want to do that I end up doing nothing. We have decided not to go to Canada. Instead we are going to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wyoming, Yellowstone, etc.

We really are happy campers right now.

David and Carol

WASHINGTON

Going in to Washington

Tacoma Dome

Mt. St. Helen's

Mt. Rainer

Lake somewhere

We have traveled through Washington. It is a beautiful state but we have to say we liked Oregon better. We did get to see Mt. St. Helen's and Mt. Rainer. We stayed at Tacoma/Seattle KOA in Kent, WA. It was a terrible campground but a typical KOA. They are so overpriced for a place that is so hard to get into and then you are sitting right on top of your neighbor. We really hated it and couldn't wait to leave. We are doing alot of 1 night stands and we are both tired now so plan to take a little rest.

Michelle has offered to watch over my Mom so this is like a vacation for us.

The next night we stayed at Suncrest RV park in Lake Moses, WA. It was not too bad. Next we went on to Spokane, WA. It was a little tight fit there too. So these have all been 1 night apiece.

I'm going to follow this up with another blog so I can get in some more pics.

Peace

Cheese, Cheese and More Cheese

Bridge leaving Charlie's

Tillamook Cheese Factory

David and Molly agate hunting in

Oceanside, Oregon

Beach at Oceanside

Beautiful road going to Cape Lookout

State Park

We hade da great stay in Florence, OR. It was really nice to see my brother, Charlie. It has been about 7 years since I've seen him. He hasn't changed much. He is still building things (houses and cabinets) and repairing things. We got to bar-b-que twice, went to his neighborhood bar and he came over for coffee the morning we left.

We then were going to go to Lincoln City for agaate hunting but decided to go on to Tillamook instead. We are at a cute little RV Park here in Bay City which is next to Tillamook.

Today we went to the cheese factory. Those of you that know me pretty well know that cheese is really my favorite food. So, this was a wonderful thing for me. Next we went to the Naval Air Museum. It is where they used to house blimps during WWII. The place is huge and now houses WWII fighter planes. David really loved it.

Next we went to the Blue Herron French Cheese Company. We got to do wine tasting and cheese tasting. Yummy!!! From there we picked up Molly and went to Oceanside Beach. When the tide goes out you can look for agates and Jasper. I don't know if we found any agates but I think I found some jasper.

When we got back to the RV, we bar-b-qued and cleaned up a bit. Now it is bed time.

Tomorrow we are going to Kent, WA. It is real close to Seattle. We have changed our mind about going to Canada. We've decided we want to go through Yellowstone instead. So after Kent we'll go to Spokane then to Butte, MT. We'll try to stay in a place called Livingston for about a week. It is close enough to the entrance to Yellowstone that we can take little day trips. Of course our main goal is Mount Rushmore, so it will be coming up soon.

So, goodnight to our friends and readers,

David and Carol

The Road to Charlies

Going Over the Bridge to Florence

The Umpqua River

The Road to Florence, Oregon

Carol's Brother Charlie

Charlie and his friend Carrie

Today we are leaving Florence so I wanted to fill everyone in on the trip here.

We were held up one day longer than we expected in Canyonville, OR so we could get the truck worked on. It turned out to be some kind of fuel sensor.

We left there and took highway 5 to the turnoff 138/38 over to the coast. That road is great and the scenery is wonderful. The Umpua river runs along the road the whole way. We got to Reedsport then turned onto 101. We got into Florence in the early afternoon.

Charlie came over for dinner that night. It was really good to see him. I think it's been about 7 years since we have seen him. He hasn't changed much, just older (aren't we all?). There is a botanical garden here called Darlington. It has big plants that eat bugs, just like a venus flytrap. This is one of the only places it grows. We are staying in the Elks RV park. It is only $15 a night.

The weather has been beautiful. Yesterday it was a sunny 66 degrees. If you go towards the ocean 1 block, it is foggy. Last night Charlie brought over some wild salmon to grill. It was yummy.

Today we are leaving for Lincoln City to go agate hunting.

Hope all is well with you.

David and Carol

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Well, we are back to traveling for awhile. We really enjoyed our last stop. We worked for almost 6 months and loved the job but felt we should be on our way. Durango RV Resort was a great place to work. Thanks to all the people working there for making it a fun job. Bri and James, thank you for the laughs. A special thank you to Donna and Bill, the managers. You made us feel welcome and when it was time to go, made us feel good about our decision. Thank you again Donna and Bill, see you on the road.

We are now in Oregon. We are at a RV Resort called Seven Feathers in Canyonville, OR. It is really beautiful here, nestled in the mountains. David wants to get the truck looked at before we move on so we'll be here for a couple of days. Next it's on to see my brother Charlie on the coast. Hopefully, we'll make it to Canada soon.

I'll write more later but now it is off to the casino.....

Happy Campers once again,
David and Carol

FAST AND FURIOUS

Ryan, Michael and Kristen at Sundial Bridge




















David, Ryan, Kristen and Michael

at the Big Foot Museum

Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka, CA
































Ryan and Kristen at the top of the tram at

the Trees of Mystery

David and Michael playing the Dulcimer

This week was a wonderful treat for us. Michael (our Son), Ryan and Kristen (our Grand Kids), came from Texas to visit us. Michael was on a tight schedule so we fit all we could into 2 days.

They got here on Monday afternoon. We all went swimming (it was soooo hot), went to dinner and then sat up at the lodge watching a movie and playing Mexican Train.

We all got up early on Tuesday and left for our road trip by 8 AM. Of course our first stop was breakfast. We started over highway 299 towards Eureka. The road is very winding but a nice ride. On the way we went to Willow Creek, home of the Big Foot Museum. There have been many spottings of Big Foot in this area so we were pretty excited to go there. As is our usual luck, they are closed on Tuesdays so we just got to look in the windows. Michael told us a great story of his own spotting of Big Foot and we were all drawn in to his story.

Next stop was an Elk Crossing. There were tons of Elk laying around so we stopped to get pictures. Soon, we were in Eureka. It was a lot cooler there since it is right on the coast. Our friends, Bill and Donna told us about a good place to eat, Somoa Cookhouse. The building is the oldest cookhouse in CA. It is a huge rambling building with rows of tables where everyone eats together. They have one meal per day on their menu. The meal is served on platters and in bowls so you can serve yourself and eat as much as you want. Our meal consisted of bar-b-que ribs, beans, soup, salad, vegetables, potatoes and chocolate cake. I think the kids had 3 pieces of cake each. It was a pretty good meal and something different than the normal eatery.

We continued up the road to the Trees of Mystery. Outside of the main attraction there is a huge Paul Bunion and Babe statue. God has made magnificent things for us to look at and this area is one of them. There is a path to walk up, I think it is 1/3 mile long. You then arrive at the tram station. The tram goes almost straight up through huge redwoods. Ferns grow wild and the forest floor is full of plants. When we got to the top, we could see forever. On one side is mile after mile of forest and on the other is the ocean. Beautiful. It was pretty freaky going up in the tram. The tram cars hold only so much weight so we tried to figure out the whole way if we were over the weight limitation.

After we left there, we continued up the coast to Cresent City. The kids got to go into the ocean and freeze their feet. The water was really, really cold. Our motel room for the night was in Cresent City so it was eat again and go to bed.

The next morning was up early again. We continued up the road into the most majestic sight ever. There are redwood trees almost as big around as a house. The sun was shining through the trees and it was stunning. There are no words to describe what it was like. All I can say is how could anyone not believe in God and the beauty He has given to us. We traveled on to Oregon. We went through Grants pass and of course, ate again. Then we headed back south towards Redding and Red Bluff. We were back home in Red Bluff by 4 in the afternoon.

Michael and the kids had to leave and go back to Sacramento so we had to say good-bye.

Just a little bragging note: Ryan and Kristen are really fun to be around. We laughed alot, sang alot and just had a good time. They are so nice not only to us but to each other. You can tell they really love each other and they get along so well. Michael of course is a good father and is doing a good job with them. But, my praise is for their Mom, Celeste. Thank you Celeste for being such a great Mom and raising such wonderful Grandchildren.

We will miss Michael and the kids but feel blessed we got to spend the time with them. I hope they had a good time, we did.

David and Carol

Happy Campers