Off to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, ND

Monday July 2, 2012 till Sunday July 8, 2012

Scenic View of Teddy Roosevelt National Park

We are at the South Unit of the Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  We've been here before and really like it.  We came on Monday and plan to stay probably till Sunday.  We are pretty tired of driving all day and not enjoying the country!  The colorful Little Missouri Badlands are the scenic backdrop to this park.  From the entrance, you drive up a 5 mile windy, steep hill to get to the campground itself.  This was the campground where a herd of Bison met us last time we were here!  Beyond the campground there are still dozens of miles to explore the beautiful country along with Bison, Deer and wild horses.

We arrive by 10:30 am so that we can get a good campsite since we are planning to stay awhile and we do.  We set up camp, take out all our goodies and have a cold drink.  It's really hot here today!  Once we were settled, I went into the town of Medora to get our groceries for the week.  Unfortunately, we forgot there is no grocery store in town--or for 30 miles in either direction either.  We are at the mercy of the towns only Convenience store.  Not much to pick from and VERY expensive! A disappointment.

Prairie Dogs

We have an early dinner and take our first drive along the scenic route tonight. We're rewarded with buffalo, prairie dogs, and a momma deer and 2 fawns.  Neat.  Temp is down to 95 degrees.

Tuesday July 3, 2012.  Happy 18th Birthday, Brooksie!  It's a big one!

I heard on the radio today that a cold front is coming in and they are expecting rain with high winds...I don't know where they are talking about, though.  I'm in Medena but no one is saying where the radio station is from.  I don't even know what time it is..Are we in Mountain time or Central time zones?  I could be an earlier hour then I expect:) Does it matter when you're camping for 74 days?

North Dakota is really beautiful.  The landscape is really 'bumpy' which is why they must call it the badlands.  Each of the 'bumps' is multi colored...orange, blue, beige, green..etc...Ed says they were formed by the volcanos that formed the Rockies.  Amazing.

Wednesday July 4.  Happy Fourth of July!!

It's 7:45 pm on our sunset cruise in the Badlands and Ed is looking at the clouds.  It is still 95 degrees but Ed says we need to 'batten down the hatches'.  Maybe those weather reports were for our area after all!

It is 8:52 and we are still cruising.  The sun seems high in the sky and it is now 100 degrees!

Friday July 6, 2012.  Well, the rain missed us on Wednesday night but got us good last night!  The ranger even stopped by the campsite last night to advise us that the forecast predicted between 1 and 2 inches of rain.  No problem!  We buttoned up, played cards and went to bed to the patter of rain.  It almost feels cozy to me when it rains (one day only!) while we are camping.  It was loud, though, and Monty wasen't sure he liked the noise so he came to sleep with us sometime during the night.  By the morning, the rain was gone and there weren't even many puddles.

Flag Lowering Ceremony

Ed took a long hike at the Petrified Forest  while I read and did some Genealogy.  After soaking his feet for awhile, we decided to go to town to have dinner and get Internet.  While here we took in the daily lowering of the flags in Medera

Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, Marden, ND

Sunday July 1, 2012

We start at 7 am and basically take Route 94 for a few hundred miles west .  Very flat straight road.  It reminded me of Nebraska, but Ed assures me that the trees in the distance would never be here is we were in Nebraska. 

The Custer House at Fort Abraham Lincoln SP

We reach Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park seven miles south of  Marden, ND by mid afternoon.  It's a nice little campground that has electricity and water on site with nice hot showers.  We don't make it to too many campgrounds like this, so it's a treat, at least for me!

The Park is rich in both military and early Native American history.  Fort Abraham Lincoln was once an important infantry and cavalry post. It was from this fort that Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh cavalry rode out on their ill-fated expedition against the Sioux at the Little Big Horn. Portions of the military post, including the Custer House, have been reconstructed.

The campground sits on the junction of the Heart and the Missouri Rivers so it's a good place to get soaked since the weather is in the 80's.

We are only here for one night, but it's a pleasant one.

Crow Wing State Park, Fort Ripley, MN

Friday June 29 till Sunday July 1, 2012

For all of our years of camping, Ed and I each used a plastic 4 drawer unit to hold our clothes for the 70-80 days we would be camping on the road.  It seemed reasonable.  We're gone for so long, I didn't want to live out of a suitcase. After all, at home, we each have a large dresser and half of an 8 ft closet to store all the things we wear.  But the drawers are really heavy and unwieldy.  I certainly can't carry my own so Ed had to carry both.

As the years went by, it didn't seem really reasonable and the more I thought about taking so much clothing with me, it really seemed ridiculous. This year I decided to streamline my wardrobe. After all...I am CAMPING!  I'm not bringing along a 4 drawer dresser.  I am bringing along 3 plastic buckets from Stop & Shop.  One has underwear and pj's, one has tops and one has shorts and long pants. Ed is still using his 4 drawer but if I'm successful this year, I bet he will follow along.  We decided to combine and
make 1 large plastic container with coats and sweatshirts, hats and mittens.  Those things that 'you never know when you will need them'.  We will leave them deep in the truck bed 'just in case'.

In the week we've been on the road, we have used some of the 'just in case' clothing since it's been a little cool.  Today, however, we arrive at Crow Wing State Park at mid afternoon to unbelievably hot temps---high 80's and even more humidity.  Our campground is right on the banks of a very fast moving Mississippi River.  The campsite is nice enough but the mosquitoes are outrageous!  We each douse ourselves with Deet which only partially works.  Ed took a walk with Monty.  Monty had 20 mosquitoes on his muzzle!  Poor thing!

We are staying here for 2 nights.  Traffic is unbelievable near here.  There are two rather built up towns nearby--Brainerd and Baxter.---it's like Hyannis in July!  Today is pretty hot however---100 degrees most of the day.  We're dying....I don't care what you say...dry heat or not...this is HOT!  Monty has been panting all day.  Ed took an early bike ride and I did laundry.  It was too hot the rest of the day to do anything!  It's too hot to cook, so we decided to drive around in the air conditioned car to see if we can find any outdoor dining.  There really isn't any.  And we can't see keeping Monty in the car while we eat....somewhat cruel...he's been panting all day.  We head back to the campground to get a traveling dinner...chips, dip, cheese and crackers.

Soon we are off to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in Manden, ND.

Heading to Bobcat Lake in Marenisco, Michigan

Thursday June 28, 2012

This is the earliest we have ever started to move from a campsite---7:30 am!

Monty decided to wake at 5:30 today.  Not that he needed to go out, but he was happy to snuggle 'with his pack' for awhile!

Weather was beautiful last night.  We were at Hog Island Point, near Naubinway, Michigan. Not too many bugs so it was very pleasant.  Sunny again today and we are traveling on Route 2...for the whole 6 or 7 hours!  It's a 2 lane road that's in good condition so it should be a pleasant ride.  Hopefully, we can find WiFi a little easier now that it feels like we are almost back to civilization again:)

I found a program that lets me download newspapers for free--New York Times, Boston Globe, USA Today among others--that we can read on our Kindles.  But I need WiFi to do it. It's called Calibre.  Try it!

We found a little breakfast place that looked nice and it had WiFi so we're all set for a bit.  You know it's a good breakfast place when you walk in and it's filled with a breakfast meeting for the local Harley Motorcycle club!

Nothing slows Ed down

Wednesday June 27, 2012

Ed has developed a case of sciatica.  If you've ever experienced it, you know that it really hurts!  Probably came about due to all the running around to get things ready before we left, then sitting in a car each day for long stretches.

Monty enjoying the ride!

We're trying ice and oxy!  The combination seems to make it more comfortable for him for awhile and by then, we're back behind the steering wheel again!

Monty has been a wonderful passenger!  While reluctant to climb into the truck, once he gets in, he snuggles right into his blanket and goes fast asleep.  We try not to wake him when we get out for our 'strtch your leg breaks' unless it's been too long for him, too. 

It's a nice surprise, however, since Buddy really seemed stressed by the driving.

Drive, Drive, Drive

Monday-Wednesday June 25-28, 2012

If you wonder why you haven't 'heard' from me in a few days, it's because we have traveled between 6 and 8 hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and there is no Internet much less time on line to compose a Blog.

The traffic is blissfully light (except for the crazies in the city of Toronto) We entered Canada with no issues and went to 2 of their Provincial Parks:  Six Mile Lake PP and Chutes PP.  Provincial Parks in Canada are probably comparable to our Federal Campgrounds--only nicer.

They don't have electricity but they do have very nice hot showers, bath rooms and laundry facilities.  It doesn't come without a cost however:  $37.25 a night! Probably the most we will spend per night anywhere on this trip!

I have to say, though, that this (as expected) is my least favorite part of the trip.  Driving for so long each day is not fun for either of us. And once we arrive at a site, we only take out the bare necessities since we have to pack it all up the next day.

I am eager to start the fun part of our vacation.  One where we stay put for at least a week, can empty out all the things we brought with us and set up 'home'

Great day on the Lake!

 Sunday June 24, 2012

Happy Birthday to our 'baby', Carrie!  Hope you have a wonderful day!

It was great to spend Sunday with Brooks, Barbie and their kids.  Brooksie, just graduated from High School the day before and has turned in to quite a  nice young man.  He's very excited about going to the University of Alabama in the fall.  Emily is a very pretty HS Sophomore. Pierce is 8 years old--going on 90--wise beyond his years.  We went for a boat ride on the lake and lunch at a nice waterfront restaurant.  Spent the rest of the day chatting and playing with the dogs.  Their dog Jake and Monty got along great!

View from the Lake House

We try to include Barbie & Brooks in our travels every year since we never get the chance to visit very often with Ed's youngest sister.  And you can't beat the view they have!