Monday, August 29, 2011

Having Fun!!

We are into the Escapade routine and enjoying it very much. Charley went to a CCW class yesterday for three hours so that he can get a Florida concealed weapons license. We also went to the opening ceremonies and daily announcements/door prizes. I am sad to say that we have not won anything yet.... :(

Got up to rain this morning which we are enjoying!! We have seen very little rain since we have been on the road this time and we missed it!!

We also went to the evening entertainment last night and it was great!! Jimmy Travis, comedian and singer/songwriter performed. He was hilarious and we enjoyed it very much.

We are not planning a lot of activities today... Charley was on the go from daylight to after dark yesterday and he is pretty much wiped out right now so we are going to take it pretty easy today. And we pretty much ignored the fur babies yesterday too and they need some attention as well....

Charley is going to one class this afternoon, and we have a first time attendees social at 4:30 that we are planning to attend. And, of course, we will be going to see Gordy Pratt tonight after the evening announcements and door prize drawings.

So far this is a very active rally with lots going on. Should be a fun week!!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Escapades!!

We have arrived in Gillette, WY and parked at the CAM-PLEX where the Escapades are being held. It only took us about 2 1/2 hours to get here from Custer this morning. We are all set up now and ready to go!! The only down side that I see so far is that the hook-ups are 30 amp. That is going to be a pain, but we will survive!!

Neither of us slept much at all last night so I am guessing the rest of today will be very quiet with one or two naps inserted where appropriate.....

More later.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Laundry Day

Well, today was mainly our day to get our laundry all caught up before preparing to leave for Gillette on Friday morning. And we basically chilled for the remainder of the day. Planning a light dinner and might watch a movie later. Yesterday Charley washed the cottonwood sap off the top of the 5er. That is some sticky stuff!!

Tomorrow will be a busy day! We have two fur babies to bathe and give pedicures, some straightening up to do in preparation for travel, packing of everything that we will not need prior to leaving and a little bit more laundry (sheets and blankets). We have already planned dinner out at a little place in Custer that we have not tried so cooking will not be an issue....

Hope to have lots to blog about once the Escapades Rally gets underway on Sunday!

Safe travels and hope to see many of you at the rally!!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Update from Custer, SD

We spent Saturday and Sunday mostly resting from our three days of travel with the exception of preparing food and doing a little bit of cleanup. For some reason the fur babies also seemed to be worn out from the travel days. But we got revived!!

We did go into Rapid City today to do some shopping at Walmart and Lowes. We also had to pick up some medical supplies for me (oxygen). It was a nice day and we enjoyed seeing the black hills, Hill City, the 1880 train that we rode on when last here, and the Red Ass Winery, among other things that we saw on our way there and back.

Planning a light dinner tonight and not sure what the next couple of days might bring....

Safe travels everyone!!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Back in Custer, SD

Hurray!! We made it safely to Custer, SD this afternoon. We left Sheridan, WY at 9:00 this morning and arrived at Broken Arrow campground at 1:30. Charley had us all set up by 2:30 so we have begun to chill!!

Boy, are we pooped!! Three travel days in a row is too much!! I continue to learn that our fellow full timers are very smart. They tell you to travel 200 miles, stay two nights and stop by 2:00PM. I second that!!

We will be resting for the next couple of days but will report in if anything exciting happens.

Safe travels to all!!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Sheridan, WY

We have arrived safely in Sheridan, WY and have parked again at Peter D's RV Park for an overnight stay. We left at about 9:00 this morning and arrived at 2:45.

Planning to go out for a nice dinner tonight and will be heading for Custer in the morning.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Bozeman, MT

We arrived safely in Bozeman, MT for our overnight stay. We are at the Sunshine RV Park just outside of Bozeman, a small park that is okay for an overnighter.

We are pooped!! Getting ready to fix a light dinner and chill for the rest of the evening. Will be heading to Sheridan, WY for one more over-nighter and then on to Custer on Friday.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Last Day in Kalispell

Well, today is our last full day in Kalispell. We will be departing in the morning and will be making two overnight stops to get back to Custer, SD on August 19. We will be staying at the Broken Arrow campground in Custer again until time to travel over to Gillette, WY for the Escapades Rally on 8/26 (early check-in).

We have thoroughly enjoyed our two week stay here and may return again one day. The weather has been gorgeous although a little more rain might have been nice....

Probably will not be updating our blog until after we get back to Custer.

Safe travels to all.

Monday, August 15, 2011

More Clean Up

Well, today is another beautiful day in Kalispell, Montana!! Charley is out right now giving our truck another much needed bath to remove the cottonwood tree sap!! Tomorrow the 5er gets her bath.

We are planning on just hanging around here today and just enjoying the weather. It is currently 69 and not expected to get above 75. Woo Hoo!!

Today is my Mom's 83rd birthday!! Talked to her this morning and she asked me why I didn't sing Happy Birthday!!

Safe travels to everyone!!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Clean up days

Yesterday and today we spent time just taking care of a few clean up chores and got caught up on laundry and gave the fur babies a bath. We also got some R and R  in!!

We do not have anything major planned over the next few days other than giving the 5er and truck a much needed bath before we leave Kalispell. In Cody, and also here, we are sitting under a cottonwood tree and they leak sap like crazy so we don't want to wash them too early or they will just need it again.

We have talked to the grandkids a couple of times this week. Everyone is doing well. Our grandson, Jed, starts 6th grade next week. This is middle school in SC and he is going into a brand new middle school near his home. The teaching method that this school will be using involves the iPad. He has received an iPad2 for his use only. All school work will be done on the iPad. No textbooks, no pens or pencils, no paper.... ?? Not sure about this. Will have to wait and see how it goes.

Also talked to our daughter yesterday. She and her hubby are also doing well. They had a nice, relaxing trip to the beach last weekend. Got some much needed rest.


Safe travels to everyone!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Glacier National Park

We finally made it to Glacier National Park yesterday. We drove the Going to the Sun Road which is a 50 mile road in the center of the park.

It was a long day but the park is a beautiful place and it was worth it. We left at about 8:30 and got back at about 3:45. We are so glad that we made the decision to travel here to see all this gorgeous scenery. We were at 6800 feet elevation at one point during the trip! Boy, were our ears popping! There are two huge lakes on this road, one at each end. Their names are Lake McDonald and Saint Mary Lake. They are very long, somewhat narrow, and are right next to the road. Absolutely beautiful, both of them.

There was quite a bit of road work in places that caused some delays but nothing really major. And there were some pretty narrow spots on this road that made me a little nervous when meeting other vehicles. But it didn't seem to bother Charley. He kept asking me if I wanted to drive!! Guess what my answer was......

We packed a picnic lunch and stopped at one of the scenic turnouts for lunch. We really enjoyed this and it gave us a break from the road for a little while.

And the mountains, waterfalls and glaciers! They were everywhere! I cannot say it enough - this was a gorgeous place!!

After we got back, we relaxed for a little while, gave the fur babies some exercise and then went to Famous Dave's BBQ for dinner.

A wonderful day!!

Below are a few pictures that we wanted to share.








 

Click on the link below to see all of our pictures of the Park.

Glacier National Park

Monday, August 8, 2011

Busy Day

Well, we did not make it to Glacier National Park again today but we are definitely going tomorrow. Today we took care of a few more errands, put the cover back on the underbelly of the 5er from investigation of our leak and prepared some food for a picnic lunch we are taking with us tomorrow, and a few other odds and ends.

We did get out for a long walk with the fur babies this afternoon. And we remembered to take the camera with us for pictures of the river we are camped on, along with a few pictures of the campground. This is a beautiful place and it is very quiet even though there are a lot of kids in the park. This seems to be a popular vacation spot for families.

So, get prepared for what we hope will be great pictures of Glacier tomorrow. It is supposed to be mostly sunny with the high in the 80's. Should be a perfect day for sightseeing.



Pictures of the river that runs by one side of Spruce Park on the River RV Park






Pictures of the RV Park



And one added bonus - our fur babies!!
 

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Finally!!

I have to admit that I have been lazy the last few days!! I will do a better job of keeping our blog updated, I promise!!

We have not done very much since my last update. Charley has been a little "under the weather" so we have been staying pretty close to home except for a little shopping. We did finally get out today for a short sightseeing trip to Whitefish and Big Mountain, MT. Whitefish is a nice little town, geared mostly to the tourist trade. Big Mountain is a very large ski resort with lots and lots of slopes and lots and lots of lodges and eateries. We got some pretty good shots of a lot of the scenery. Beautiful lakes surround these two areas and they are within 20 miles of Kalispell. A very short and enjoyable trip.

And we did finally get the remote service technician here yesterday to look at our gray tank leak.  He indicated then that he didn't think it was anything serious and came back today to see if he could fix it. It took a long time but he and Charley could not find a leak anywhere. The technician recommended that we to take the 5er in to a Keystone dealer and get them to fix it, which is what we will do.

We are planning to go to Glacier National Park the first of the week. Cannot wait to share some of what I hope will be some awesome pictures!!

The drive to Whitefish
 


Big Mountain



 

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Kalispell, Montana

We left Rocker, MT at 8:30 this morning and arrived in Kalispell at the Spruce Park on the River RV park at about 1:00. The temperature was 48 when we got up this morning!! Had to have a little bit of heat!! It's wonderful....

We are all set up and Charley has started checking on a place to get our gray tank leak and awning fixed. We have a call in to a remote guy that we hope can help us out. That way we will not have to pack up and take it in to a service center. The one Montana RV service center that we checked with did not have time available for the next two weeks while we are here. Busy place!!

This park is nice and has all kind of space for our two fur babies to enjoy. Lots of running room, lots of grass and lots of shade. The roads are all paved so I will be able to get my power chair out to help walk the fur babies!!

We will be checking in the next day or two to see what our sightseeing schedule will be for Glacier National Park. We are both really looking forward to seeing it all. We will probably get out tomorrow and ride around Kalispell to get our bearings and get an idea of what they have to offer. We are also planning to check into the tour buses for Glacier to see what that is all about.

We do know that Kalispell looks to be a fairly large town with many restaurants to choose from. They have a Walmart too so my medications will be taken care of!!

Well, that is enough rambling. I am including a few pictures from our trip between Cody/ Rocker and Rocker/Kalispell. Just a little bit of scenery but you will notice that Rocker to Kalispell is the better of the two trips.

Cody to Rocker



Rocker to Kalispell





Monday, August 1, 2011

Rocker, MT

We are in Rocker, MT at the 2 Bar Lazy H RV Park. This is a very small, no frills park that is located very close to I90. Great for an overnight stay.

We left Cody at about 8:30 this morning and arrived in Rocker at 2:45. There was some construction that we ran into on our way but not anything that caused any great delays.

We are set up and now resting. Planning a very quick and simple dinner and more resting!!

Will update more tomorrow.