Heading out to our last 'set up'--Covered Bridge, Conway, NH

Wednesday August 22, 2012

While Voyageurs was a nice enough Provincial Park, it didn't have any hills for hiking and Ed is really itching to continue hiking.

I'm finding that although we both love the summer of traveling around the country, we are both getting home sick sooner each year.  It's hard knowing there is just 2 weeks before we can get back in our own bed!

We decided to take our chances and head out to Covered Bridge campground on the Kankamangus Hwy near Conway, NH today.  We have already reserved a spot starting on Friday.  Our daughter Pam and her boys, Keleb, Logan and Rylan will join us for a week of vacation starting on Sunday.  If we can get the same campsite when we arrive we will not have to take down and set up ever again this summer!

The day is a long one.  Travel wasen't bad, though, with only a little construction.  The Streets program had us doing smaller roads in Canada and entering the USA in New York at a really REMOTE entrance.  We went thru Quebec Province and entered New York while using PR 203.  I think the customs was at Covey Hill on Cannon Corners Road.  It's open from 8 am till 4 pm! The guys there didn't look like they got a lot of visitors!  They even said, "So what made you come thru this entrance?" We apparently were randomly picked for a more through search of our car and camper (probably because we were their only customers today!) but after chatting a few minutes and petting Monty, they did a cursory search of the camper through an outside door.  They were particularly interested in my hard cover books....don't know why.  But after a short while, they gave Monty some treats and we were off.

Our path took us through New York, then Vermont and then New Hampshire. We traveled on Rt 11 thru Mooers Fork, NY, and then onto familiar Rt 2.  We probably could have made better time by ignoring the program and using the bigger Rt 89 or 91, though.

Once we got back into Massachusetts I could almost hear a sigh of relief from Ed.  I know he feels like he's almost home! 

Ed loves coming back to the White Mountains.  It's where he's done his most hiking and he knows the trails by heart!  He's happy to be here a few days early to get in some extra hiking time. 

We arrive at Covered Bridge about 3 pm and gratefully find the site we have reserved for Friday currently open!  Yeah!  We set up now for the last time this summer!

The site is nice and flat and plenty big enough.  Monty even likes it!

Did we stay or did we go????

Tuesday August 21, 2012

Well, Monty wakes us up really early today and we're not going back to sleep so we decided to go!  The ride today is scheduled to last about 6 1/2 hours. It's another Provincial Park we've never been to--Voyaguers.  I wonder if we'll stay one day or more?  We'll see.

We ride on Provincial Hwy 17.  Its a 2 lane road that goes on for MILES.  Well maintained. It's an easy ride.

Well, the car GPS and the Streets program diverged in directions and I told Ed to follow the Streets directions.  Wrong move.

For awhile it looked like it would be ok, but then we got into city driving--we were in Ottawa!  Beautiful old brick and stone buildings, but not easy driving.  Actually, probably like getting lost in Boston!  Tension!  Everything is also in French (I should have paid more attention in Frenchy's HS class!).

Then the navigator (me) decided to diverge from the Streets program and got us turned around for awhile. It wasen't a pretty scene!  But surprisingly, it looked like we were still going to get to Voyageur PP in the time the program origionally suggested it would.  I just wonder how it would have done if we didn't go thru Ottawa!  Another adventure!

Voyageur Provincial Park gets its name from the fur traders or Voyageurs who had to portage their heavy loads as well as thier canoes around the dangerous rapids (the river has since been damed to light houses in the area). There are a number of interesting historic sites in the area which relate to the colourful history of the fur tradeIt is in East Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada .

Samual DeChamplain Provincial Park, ON, Canada

Sunday August 19, 2012

We got on the road at 9:45. We thought, however, that it was 8:45. We didn't realize we were back on EDT for the last couple of days! I thought the sun was up late today!

We are traveling on Provincial Highway 17 for most of the day and we arrived at Samual De Champlain PP in Arnstein, Ontario, Canada in the late afternoon. Ed thought we stayed there before but when we arrived realized we had not.

This is a very large campground but there is no one here! We pretty much have our loop to ourselves.

PP are really nice....but expensive. $37.25 for the night and this one does not have electricity or water. This park has a river and a couple lakes so there would be lots of Kayak opportunities.

Ed only paid for one night, though, which means he's getting anxious to get back to New England. Later on, he thinks maybe we could stay another day to explore.

Here we go again.  Should we stay or should we go? I decided to wait till the morning to find out:)

Chutes Provincial Park (again this summer), Ontario, Canada

Friday August 16, 2012--thru Sunday August 18, 2012

We had an early morning wake up call from Monty again today. He's keeping us on schedule! The wind has picked up, it's cloudy and looks like rain is coming. Good that we're leaving:) It's a great campsite for sunny days but no sense hanging around if
it's not nice.

We are heading today to Chutes Provincial Park in Ontario Canada. As the only provincial park on Highway 17 between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Chutes is an excellent stopover for travellers and a base to explore the North Channel of Lake Huron. Situated on the Aux Sables River near Massey, Ontario, the park gets its name from a chute that once diverted logs around the waterfall.

It will be about 7 hours today but the road starts on Rt 2 which has been
an easy drive for us (easy for me to say since Ed is the one driving). We're planning to stay thru the weekend so we don't have trouble finding a campsite.

We got a call from Ed's broother, Doug, while driving to let us know their Uncle Paul died--'in his rose garden'. Uncle Paul was a very sweet man who's wife died last summer. Ed started to reminisce about Uncle Paul: Ed says Uncle Paul was his introduction to fishing. He and Ed's dad would take Ed deep sea fishing for flounder. Uncle Paul had a little row boat, too, that Ed says Uncle Paul would scare him by walking around the boat and making it seem tippy.

Ed remembered Uncle Paul's infectious laugh and his great party spirit.
He would dance away at weddings and be dripping with sweat! I remember his laugh as well and how really sweet he and Aunt Ellen were.
They will be missed.

We find a great WalMart in Saute Saint Marie in MI before going over the border and load up on goodies and reading material for me. I have broken my Kindle Fire during this trip. Amazon.com is replacing it for free (love that company)! I broke one last year too while camping.

We get back on the road refreshed with a sandwich from SubWay...yum! Then we had a short wait, but easy entrance to Cananda before it started to rain hard. We have another almost 3 hours to go but Ed says if it's raining he's driving on. We shall see.
The rain is torential in many points on this section of driving on Canada Route 17. Theres a motorcycle couple in front of us that is hard not to feel really bad for. They must be miserable!

When we got there the weather has cleared somewhat. We decided to stay at Chutes for the long weekend. We were afraid the next stop we went to would be full.

This is our second stop here this summer.  The girl at the registration desk even remembered Ed.  "I always remember the happy ones" she told him. Nice compliment.  I guess not everyone is happy camping?  What's with that!?

We arrived on Thursday and we're leaving on a Sunday in hopes of getting a good site at Samual DeChamplain.  Our intention is to stay 2 or 3 days and then the
remaining couple of days at Voyageur.  These are both Provincial Parks in Canada.  Provincial Parks are expensive at $37.25 a  night. The good news is they have electricity, water, showers, laundramats and bathrooms.  I guess you get what you pay for!  Also, they seem to have wider more grassy sites which I like.

Heading East!

Wednesday August 15, 2012

We leave early this morning.  Monty's body clock has recentered itself and he's back to waking at 6 am pretty consistantly.
The weather has been really beautiful.  Warm but not hot with cool nights.  We'll drive for a pretty long day today and find a one night stay. 

It's later in the day as I write this. We ended up driving a little too long today.  We skipped where we planned to go and ended up at Indian Lake State Park in the Up of Michigan in the town of Manistique. Indian Lake State Park is located on Indian Lake, the fourth largest inland lake in the Upper Peninsula with an area of 8,400 acres. It is six miles long and three miles wide. The lake was once called M'O'Nistique Lake. According to 1850 surveyor records, Native Americans lived in log cabins near the outlet of the lake. The park is composed of two units which are three miles apart and separated by the waters of Indian Lake. Amenities include camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, beach and beach house, picnic area, boat access site/launch and metal detecting area.

It was expensive: $22.00 a night (plus $8.00 entrance fee to the park) but each site was really nice:  grassy and flat, each had electricity (which we don't use much of) and beautiful views of Indian Lake!  Bathroom fascilities and showers were really nice.  Another camper told us about another state park in Michigan that was even nicer, so it seems that it's just Massachusetts that has crappy state parks!

Moose Lake State Park, MN

Monday Aug 13, 2012 & Tuesday Aug 14, 2012

We are driving along on Monday morning now and will probably do the same thing as yesterday--find lunner (combo of lunch and dinner), drive about 7 hours and find a
city park to stay overnight in.  Hopefully these City Parks will continue!  They're great....and free!

As we're driving east on Route 200 we come to Cooperstown, ND--a rather large community.  There's even a country club.  What's different is that there were grain silos and wind mills scattered on this golf course.  It reminded Ed of a putt-putt ! Surprisingly, though, about 10 miles later there's another golf course....it's good to be a farmer!

As we were driving thru North Dakota, we ended up in Fargo--although it's a city, it has a small town feel.  Lots of the side streets are tree lined with neat little houses all along.  Then we come to a bridge and a toll!!!  Believe it or not, this bridge takes you from ND to MN and there was a $ .75 toll!~  Very quaint! It was just a 2 lane bridge with a toll both and a toll taker in the middle.  He even had his own Bouse House next to it!

It's certainly apparent that we've left the mountains, however.  The scenery is pretty flat as far as you can see.  Can you say Iowa??

Monty has assumed his sleeping position.  He's amazing.  Now, I've only had experience with traveling with three dogs: Our son Ed's dog, Jack, would gladly climb in the back seat, sit on the bench and put his paw on the arm rest and happily watch the world go by.  Our dog Buddy would stress the minute he got in the car:  He either wanted to be consoled by you (basically sitting under your arm) or whining.  Monty, however, gets in the back of the truck with no trouble now and 'assumes the position'.  He goes right to sleep on his side and he sleeps for however long you travel--whether it's 20 minutes or 4 hours!
Not a peep out of him.  Amazing!

We stayed tonight at Moose Lake State Park in Willow River, MN.  The free City Park in Moose Lake (with free WIFI no less!) was closed!  We decided to stay for 2 nights.  That will give me time to do some long overdue laundry.  The campsite is nice enough, they have a nice picnic and beach area, a nice library and grocery store.  We played Scrabble near the beach while Monty slept.  The weather was beautiful.

Glenfield North Dakota City Park

Sunday August 12, 2012

The ride today starts out to be more difficult then we expected.  Routes US 52 and SR 200 are pretty straight, flat two lane roads that look like they will be pleasant enough.
However, about 20 miles into it, there is construction and there are a surprising number of trucks on the road today.



Oil Rig

Even going thru the Indian Reservations there are oil rigs scattered all over the horizon.  I sure hope the oil companies have paid them for this upheaval!
We are off to Martin City , ND today.  Looks like there is a city park to camp in. 

We get to Martin City in pretty good time despite all of the construction we've been thru so we decide to continue to drive, planning on another 50 miles or so.  We stop for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's which was delicious! We were able to get Internet there, so it was a valuable stop.

The land in this part of the country is really flat. We are on Rt 52 for quite awhile.  It's a straight 2 lane road with fields of grains, corn or sunflowers. Every once in awhile a 'town' shows up on the map:  Fessenden, Manfred, Keaton etc.



We decide to finally stop and look at another City Park.  This one is in Glenfield, ND. What a gem!  We had gone about 7 hours of traveling and it was time to stop.  Weather was good but we were getting tired, so we were looking to see if there were any camping sites.  We don't like private campgrounds and had an OK experience with the City Park in Chester, so we looked on our map for a City Park. 

Glenfield, ND, City Park

What a delight!  It was a fully grassy, heavily treed, well established park.  It had a little kids playground, covered picnic tables, lots of other picnic tables and spaces for campers or tents. It even had electrical hookups (that weren't live, but still)!.  They also had a water supply if you needed it and flush toilets.

We set up, keeping the camper attached to the truck and B.I.T.C.Hed.  This was going to be OK. 

Now, the city park was right on the highway (which is a relative term since Rt 200 is 2 lanes.)  The park was right at the intersection of Rt 20 and Rt 200 at the start of a community of streets.  After awhile we took a walk around the neighborhood.
There was a railroad track that was pretty active (we could see it from the park).  There was a train going by about every half hour until the evening.  Then it started again at 7 am.  But there was also a Ball Field, Post Office, Community Center, and bar along with about a 6 square block of houses--that was it!  Very sweet.  I felt at home.  It actually reminded me of Spring Lake Heights, NJ.

Spring Lake is where my Grandma Butterwei lived and when I would go visit on the weekend, the trains would always go by the back of her yard, too.  I guess it just stirred some fond childhood memories for me! 

Hiking didn't work out in the North Unit

Friday Aug 10 & Saturday Aug 11, 2012

The campsites at Juniper are beautiful. Roomy, spaced nicely between campsites and great views and grassy spots. We are on the Little Missouri River, but it's more like the Little Missouri PUDDLE. Very little water.

In the evening on Friday we decided to go for our sunset cruise. It was disappointing since the road deeper into the park was closed about a mile beyond the campsite for repairs so we had a shorter 'sunset cruise' then the other night. We did get to see more bison and long horn cattle, though.

The hiking on Saturday didn't work out so well for Ed.  It rained all day Saturday with lots of wind.  Instead, we decided to go to Wilton (the town 15 miles away) in search of  ice, internet and perhaps 'lunner'.  The town reminds me of a GOlD RUSH Town.  The Western part of North Dakota has been under an oil rush for the last 3 years or so because of the Bakken Oil Reserve.

The Bakken reserve of oil was found 2-3 miles under ground in parts of Montana and North Dakota, so the oil companies have been harvesting it thru the process of  'fracking'. It's controversial since they are not sure what this process actually does to the earth and the water supplies.  Regardless, it has made this town come alive--and not necessarily in a good way.  Driving into town there are hundreds and hundreds of trailer communities all with signs that say cheap housing. It reminds me of a city of tenaments.  Almost sad.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit

Friday August 10, 2012

We are leaving Makoshika State Park after three nights and heading to the North campground of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We've not been to this campground before as we always went to the southern campground so we'll get the chance to
see if it is any different. 

It is in North Dakota so this was our only long stop before getting back to New England on the 24th.  We'll be doing one night stands after this.

The weather for our drive to Juniper Campground is pleasant enough.  Weather is clear, air conditioning works well and traffic is not bad.

We stopped for gas when we had about 60 miles left to go and realized that our green rug (9 x 12) that was UNDER Ed's Kayak blew away!  How in the world does that happen?  Neither of us heard any sound at all!  Darn!  And I wonder where it
went---did it hit another car, plop right in the middle of the road or blow to the side of the road???  It was pretty heavy!

It was great to have that rug for our screen house right in front of our entry door to the camper.  It kept the camper a little cleaner when each of the campsites were pretty dusty.

Juniper Campground sits beside the Little Missouri River in an especially scenic area of the badlands. This unit of the park is more distant from the interstate (5 miles in from the entrance) and receives fewer visitors.  We arrive at the campground about 10:30 am.  The scenery looks a lot like Makosheka.  The hills are all delineated with different shades.  Interesting.  We forgot to get ice, though, before we arrived and when we asked if they had any, we were told that it was in the next town--15 miles north of the entrance!  Looks like we will have to make do until tomorrow.  Bummer.  I LOVE ice!

When we arrived at the campground there was a herd of Bison waiting for us.  All different sizes:  huge males, smaller females and calves.  Very cool!  In fact, we have to wait to fill up the camper with drinking water until they move on!

There are lots of  camping sites to choose from in this park.  We choose one a little protected (winds have been strong lately) but with a lovely view of the mountains and field where more Bison may roam later!  After we set up and B.I.T.C.H., we see a flock of Wild Turkeys walking down the path.

It's Friday.  We thought it would be more crowded then this so we were pleasantly surprised.  We are planning to stay 2 nights so we will move on Sunday. That will give Ed a day to hike the area since this is the first visit we've had to this part of the park.

Makoshika State Park, Glendive, MT

Tuesday August 7-Friday August 10, 2012

Makoshika State Park is an odd but very interesting area.  We had been there on our first trip out west and it's a really WEIRD place.  It's right at the edge of this little town called Glendive, MT.  You have to make a series of right and left turns to get to the park so you go from a little community environment and turn into the state park road and see all of these weird looking mountains!

Makoshika State Park is located in the rugged badlands of eastern Montana in Glendive. The name Makoshika (Ma-ko'-shi-ka) is a variant of a Lakota phrase meaning land of bad spirits or "badlands". Although the area resembles the badlands of the Dakotas, these badlands expose older rock layers. Makoshika is the largest state park in Montana, covering over 11,400 acres. 

Our camp site is one of those specs!

The campground has no water or electricity on each site.  There are about 10 sites in one part of the park and then remote ones scattered thru to park itself.  It's not well populated, although for one night it was almost full!  Go figure.

The morning temperatures are wonderful. A light breeze and moderate temps. We even needed a comforter during the night.

However, during the day it is really oppressive and incredibly windy. Temps in the high 90's with no shade on the campsite. The wind was so strong last night that I was wondering if we should tie down the camper. Ed assured me we were good 'anchors' on one side of the camper and that it wasn't going any where.

We took a sunset cruise one night to take a look at the changing colors of the mountains.  The park itself goes in about 8-10 miles so there are lots of windy roads to travel that lead to little trails that can be hiked.  There were a few washed out sections of the road that we had to cross. It was a good thing the weather was so dry since there were signs telling you that the roads were not passable if it was raining or wet  (Flashbacks of our adventure in July!!!)

The town of Glendive was great.  They had a wonderful, active library and an excellent Albertsons grocery store! (little things make me happy!).

We're off to Rosebud FAS

Tuesday August 7, 2012

The sun (and Monty) wake us up at 5:45 today.  That and the sound of cows. Did we tell you this free state park looks like it's part of a farm?

We can't trust that program!

As we leave we take a look at the end of that road we chose not to take yesterday (see picture).  It would have been another adventure!!  Streets has lost all credibility with us!

We are on the road by 7 am and off to Rosebud FAS.  We'll see what that means! We think it means Fishing Access Site but are not sure.

Route 87 is really easy.  A few trucks but not a lot of traffic for the first two hours.  We're listening to NPR and the news came on.  They are talking about the fires in Rosebud.....and that's where we are heading!  Wish we had gotten NPR earlier since we never saw this mentioned either in the newspapers in Glacier or on the lame stations we were able to get while camping up to this point.

Then we turn onto Route 12 which we are supposed to be on for another hour.  There are NOOOOOOO cars on this road. It is the width of Herringbrook road--two lanes and it has culverts on either side so if we wanted to turn around we probably couldn't. 

We're within 40 minutes of where we are heading and still no sign of forest fires....actually still no sign of forests!  Just loads of rolling hills with grasslands on either side and free range cattle here or there..

While on this road, there were 2 cars coming from the other direction---on over 100 miles.  Then we come across a road repair project.  Can you say 'make work project'? Amazing!  I guess the bridge (over the dry creek) really was rotted.  But who would know?  There must be a minimum number of cars per month on a road before a project should be considered!



Can I keep this one, Dad?

As we travel a little longer there are more road repairs.  We come upon a stop sign and a person holding that sign that told us we would have a wait of about 15 minutes, so we turn off the car and let Monty out for a little stretch.  Within a couple of minutes he brings us a HUGH deer bone!  That little bugger can find bones in an instant!  GROSS!

We start back up the car and get to Rosebud, MT in pretty good time.  The history of the town is interesting.  This area was explored by fur trappers and traders, with nearby Rosebud Creek (after which the town of Rosebud takes its name) especially popular for beaver. On July 28, 1806 William Clark & Company passed this area.  Buffalo Hunters took over 40,000 robes from this area alone during the 1860's and '70's shipping them out by river boat. The slaughter disrupted eastern Montana's Indian culture and precipitated several years of bloody confrontation, culminating in the Battle of the Rosebud on June 17, 1876, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn eight days later.

Rosebud FAS turns out out to be a pretty nice campground right in the middle of the city.  There were about 15 sites and they were all empty.  We would have had the place to ourselves!  However, it was 95 degrees and it was only 11:30 am, so we decided to take a gamble and move on the Devil's Tower...another 5 hours away.  Air conditioning was a big draw for us at that time. 

We start following the map program and after about 45 minutes we come along to a large (hundreds!) encampment of tents on the side of the road that were filled with firemen fighting the forest fires (that we still haven't seen!).  We decide it was prudent to stop and ask if there were any road closures ahead due to the fire.  We were assured that there were no closures today and that we should be able to drive thru without a problem. 

That was fine for another 20 minutes or so.  Then the pavement ended and the road got more narrow.  He forgot to tell us that!

We have already had more adventures then we need,  so we decide to go to the Devil's Tower another way. We turn around and go back to the highway, consult the other GPS and try again. 

We go down the highway a few more exits, turn on what looks like a more utilized road and continue.  The GPS said it would be another 65 miles on this road.  After traveling another 10 miles or so with no businesses around, Ed realizes that we won't make it since we are low on gas.  So we turn around for a second time in this attempt and head back to the highway intersection where we know there is gas.  It's 2 pm so we decide to have a fast food lunch.  It's not possible to leave Monty in the car while we go to a restaurant since the temps are in the high 90's, so we keep the car running while Ed runs in to McDonald's to get lunch.

As we're eating, I suggest that the powers that be are trying to tell us something.  I suggest we skip Devil's Tower and head right to Makoshika State Park in Glendive, MT.  I'm disappointed.  I really did want to see "the number 1 National Park campground in the country"  but I'm really frustrated with constantly making changes....and who knows how many more times we would have to turn around!

So we head to Makoshia State Park instead.  We've been here before. It's a really odd, eerie type of park and we'll probably be able to stay a few days to explore before moving on. 

Where are we going now?

Monday August 6, 2012

Aren't I getting big?

We end our stay at Rising Sun on a good note.  Ed had a really good 15 mile +- hike yesterday.  The weather could not have been better while we've been here.  Crystal clear, comfortable temps.  We pack up what we can on Sunday night so we can leave early tomorrow.

We wake up on Monday to continued beautiful weather.  I love that.  Great to travel when there are no weather issues!

We are driving today to Ackley Lake State Park near Hobson, MT.  We are ultimately heading to Devil's Monument  but it's 15 hours from Rising Sun so we'll drive about 5 hours for each of the next 3 days to get there.  Looks like that part of MT is going to be really hot so the AC in the truck will be very welcomed. 

Looks like our path is to take US 89 FOREVER! It's a real windy road but beautiful scenery.  It's mostly thru the Blackfeet Indian Reservation so there are no houses or businesses around for much of the ride.  It's also 'free range' county.  And those cattle feel pretty comfortable---one was on the side of the road when we went by and started to make a beeline for our camper as we rode by!

Literally...Ed had to speed up or he would have gotten us.How do you explain that to an Insurance Agent???

Monty has assumed his sleeping position.  Boy is he a great traveler!!  Never a peep out of him.

We're about 4 hours into the trip and decide to stop for lunch.  Route 89 was a 2 lane road for most of the way until we've come to Great Falls, MT.  This is a major city with all the traffic that this entails.  But that lets us get a restaurant that has Internet
service.  After a good lunch as we drive along, we spot a Toyota dealership.  Since we will not see another one for quite some time Ed decides it's a good time to have them check the wiggle in the front tires when we go over 60MPH.  They can take us right away so we're here for a little while I guess. CNN, Internet, air conditioning and free coffee!  What's not to like?

After about an hour, we were back on the road.  Monty was really good inside the Dealership.  There were a couple kids there that liked petting him.

Now onto Ackley Lake State Park.  It's another hour of driving through towns called Stanford, Windham and Hobson.  They are all along Rt 87 which is flat, edged by fields of grain on either side and mountains in the distance.  Ed's sure Ackley Lake State Park going to be 'other swimming'.  When Ed went cross country with our kids in 1985, they would call 'other swimming' any water hole that was small and more muddy then water. But it's just for 1 night so how bad can it be?!

Ackley Lake, named after an early settler and frontiersman, offers diverse water sports opportunities. Stocked with rainbow trout, the lake is often good angling for 10 to 15 inch fish. The elevation of the park is 4,336 feet and is 160 acres in size. This park has been designated as ‘Primitive' so there are no fees to use the site. There are 23 sites with vault toilets, picnic tables, grills/firerings, group use area, drinking water (5/1 - 9/30) and pets are allowed, but must be on leash.

We ignore one of our GPS's that tells us to turn onto a dirt/gravel road.  We've been there and done that!  Hopefully, we can't be fooled twice!

We go a little longer and the other GPS gives us directions that are on real roads.  AND there is a sign to Ackley Lake State Park so we are pretty confident
it's going to be alright. 



Ackley Lake FREE campsite

We arrive and the sign says the sites are free and you can stay for 30 days at a time.  Great place if you're homeless I guess (oh, yeah...that's us) but we're here for just one night passing through.  There are no real trees here and it is REALLY windy coming off the fields of grass....but it's just for one night (my mantra!)
Monty goes running down to the lake and jumps right in.  He really likes to swim and catch the Frisbee and ball...all things Buddy didn't really like to do.

Boy are the winds strong here.  It reminds me of the time we were in Makoshika State Park (where we are stopping on the way home).  It was so windy there one night
we had to tie down the camper thinking it was going to tip us over!

Ackley Lake is a great place for Monty!  Even though the sign says dogs should be on a leash, we are not really near anyone, so Ed tosses the Frisbee to him for awhile!  He's very excited!

We'll just have a light supper and play cards and go to bed.  We are off tomorrow to our next one night stop at Rosebud East FAS (We are still not sure what that stands for!  Stay tuned!)

Babb, MT--my Internet destination!

Sunday August 5, 2012

This is our last night at Rising Sun.  We've been here 6 days and it's been wonderful!  Weather has been spectacular (except for one night of an interesting thunderstorm).  Ed has had many good hikes.  And we even got to eat a trout he caught!  Life is good!



View of Glacier from Babb, MT

My quest for Internet during this week has taken me to Babb, Montana.  The only Internet I could find in the town of St. Mary, MT, is $2.50 for a half hour and it stayed on for maybe 10 minutes of that.  It comes from satellite and is really bad.....so I went on a driving quest to find free Internet.  I have found very few Libraries on this trip.  Montana is almost like Canada in that way--no libraries.  I guess it's a factor of our being in Indian Country most of this trip which must not have government funds to establish Libraries.  A real shame.

Babb, MT is a small unincorporated community in Glacier County, Montana, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation located on US Rt 89 about 10 miles north of St Mary and was named after C. C. Babb, district engineer of the Saint Mary's Irrigation Project. The first post office was established in 1905 with Cicero Bristol as postmaster. In 1912, it became the headquarters for the Reclamation Service Project which diverted water from the Saint Mary's River (which drains into the Hudson Bay) across the Hudson Bay Divide to the Milk River. Today the town consists of tourist cabins, a few houses, a general store, a post office, and one school, a K-6 elementary school which had 36 students as of 2005.


Cows while getting Internet

I pulled into the parking lot for Babb Elementary school thinking perhaps there would be Internet access there.  The school was next to an unidentified beige building, the fire department and an EMS office.  I found a signal in front of the unidentified building so I have spent 2 hours a day sitting in an idling car.  I'm shocked I haven't been picked up by the police for loitering!



Our original plan after camping at Rising Sun, was to go next to Many Glacier campground in the Park, but I read an article the other day in USA Today that has changed our mind.  The article mentioned the 10 Best National Park Campsites.  The number one spot was Devils Tower National Monument: Belle Fourche Campground. We've been to a lot on the list but not this one!  So we decide to make a detour for a new adventure!  However, it is 15 hours away, so we are going to have to do a couple one nighters since 6 or 7 hours a day of driving is all we can handle.

We have to be at Covered Bridge Campground in New Hampshire on Aug 24, so we have to start making some 1 day stops.  We'll see how it goes.

Moving to Rising Sun Campground, Glacier National Park

Tuesday July 31, 2012

Today is moving day.  We've had a nice stay at Avalanche Campground.  The weather has been beautiful!  And despite the fact that it felt like 'apartment living', it was one of the quietest sites we have been to all summer.  The camp is pretty empty all day since most everyone hikes, and they must be pretty tired when they come back, because it certainly is not noisy in the evening!



Lake Saint Mary

When we talk about where to go next, we decide to go to Rising Sun Campground on the other side of the park (near St. Mary).  We've been there before.  If you remember from our stories of our original trip out here about 8 years ago, this is where the bear came thru the campsite early in the morning and Ed quietly got Buddy into the truck before he came to tell me I might want to move to safety!

It's also the spot I got chastised by a Ranger for leaving our dishwater out when I left the campground.  (We're more careful now:)!)

Rising Sun Campground is less then an hour away by the Going-To-The-Sun road, but you can't bring campers on that road, so you have to go around, which is a 3 hour ride.  Ed decides he wants to get a good site at Rising Sun, so we're going to go (without the camper) to the campground early in the morning and pick out a good site just as people are leaving.  All of these campgrounds are full before noon. Now I am not thrilled at making what, to me, seems like a double trip, but we do it.

And he was right. Someone was just leaving from a really good site when we arrived.  We were able to put out a couple of our chairs and pay for our spot and then go back to pickup our camper, drive over the long way, and not have to worry about whether we will be there in time for a site.

There is construction on the Going-To-The-Sun road, so the hour and a half round trip really turns into almost three extra hours.  But it is a beautiful day, and that view can't be beat!

It looks like we'll be staying in Northern Montana for the rest of our trip before we start heading for home.  Probably even Glacier National Park.  Ed (and Monty) would prefer to go to the National Forests, but most are way far away from towns for groceries and Internet for me.  Good thing he likes to hike in Glacier!

If Ed was doing these summer trips by himself, I guarantee you he would find the most remote sites he could find!  But traveling for two requires some compromise. The hikes here are the best (says Ed) and the views can't be beat.