A friend reminded me recently that I had not mentioned reading any books this summer. For some reason, last year I was able to use my Amazon account and post my experience easily thru Facebook. For some reason, it does not work like that this year. So, anyway, here are my books so far:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein -- my favorite by far! Jane you have to read this!
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult -- Good but disturbing
Defending Jacob by William Landay -- Good; easy read
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain -- Interesting
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin -- Didn't care for this; simplistic writing; maybe it was translated poorly
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton -- Very Good
Wild by Cheryl Strayed -- Very, Very Good
The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe -- Fair; I'm not into mysticism
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson -- Pretty clear portrait of a complex man
Chill Factor by Sandra Brown -- Good beach read
She also mentioned I had not written about scores for our games. They are:
Gin Rummy: Ed 10 Nancy 5
Scrabble Ed 2 Nancy 0
Now you know why I haven't mentioned them! Doesn't look like this is my trophy summer, does it?
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Hungry Horse, MT
July 17 thru July 22 Lost Johnny Campground
Once I got over being afraid of being the dinner for the bears while we were here, I really liked this spot. We had deer come thru a couple of afternoons and the lake was beautiful. Certainly one of the best spots we have had so far this summer.
The town of Hungry Horse was named after two draft horses used for logging the area. They wandered off during the severe winter of 1900. The horses, Tex and Jerry, were found a month later, all scraggly and hungry but very much alive.
Today the town itself has a population of 900 and is a small community that is likely to be overlooked as visitors make their way onward to Glacier National Park, which lies just 10 miles to the east.
The town is about 10 miles from our campsite and there is a post office, laundry, grocery store, Internet and a couple restaurants. So it has everything I need:)
In town, the big deal is Huckleberries! Huckleberries are sold in all shapes and sizes: Huckleberry Taffy, ice cream (yummy), pies, syrup, body lotions, etc.! If you want to have some shipped to you, try the web site of this local store, The Huckleberry Patch.
We take a couple sunset cruises but don't see any wildlife at all. It seems strange because we really are out in the boonies! There are a couple more campgrounds along the way, but we certainly had the best spot by far.
The day before we left, Ed caught a Trout in the morning so he grilled it up and we had it for a mid morning snack. Delicious! I could eat those all summer.
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| Our campsite in Hungry Horse, MT |
Once I got over being afraid of being the dinner for the bears while we were here, I really liked this spot. We had deer come thru a couple of afternoons and the lake was beautiful. Certainly one of the best spots we have had so far this summer.
 |
| Lake view |
The town of Hungry Horse was named after two draft horses used for logging the area. They wandered off during the severe winter of 1900. The horses, Tex and Jerry, were found a month later, all scraggly and hungry but very much alive.
Today the town itself has a population of 900 and is a small community that is likely to be overlooked as visitors make their way onward to Glacier National Park, which lies just 10 miles to the east.
The town is about 10 miles from our campsite and there is a post office, laundry, grocery store, Internet and a couple restaurants. So it has everything I need:)
In town, the big deal is Huckleberries! Huckleberries are sold in all shapes and sizes: Huckleberry Taffy, ice cream (yummy), pies, syrup, body lotions, etc.! If you want to have some shipped to you, try the web site of this local store, The Huckleberry Patch.
We take a couple sunset cruises but don't see any wildlife at all. It seems strange because we really are out in the boonies! There are a couple more campgrounds along the way, but we certainly had the best spot by far.
The day before we left, Ed caught a Trout in the morning so he grilled it up and we had it for a mid morning snack. Delicious! I could eat those all summer.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
List Maker meet Mr. Spontaneity!
Wednesday July 18, 2012
I'm a list maker. I make a list of the lists I want to make. I like to know what is going to happen before it happens. When we're home, on Sundays I like to take a look at the week ahead to see where I will be, what I'm going to be doing and what I have to do to get ready for any of that. Apparently, I am married to a very spontaneous person, however!
Now we start talking about our summer plans the December before it happens. A full 6 to 7 months ahead. Where do we want to go etc. This meshes nicely with the list maker in me. Ed then takes it from there and plans the route. On some rainy days I'll sit in our loft with him while he's planning and he'll tell me what he's sketching out. Up until this summer, he has mapped out a very specific plan for our summer adventures. Many places would take reservations so we were able to know this week we'll go here, then move to such and such a place for 5 days etc. This year, however, since our goal was to spend the summer in Montana, Ed decided not to do that. In fairness, 99% of the places don't take reservations. If you want to get a good site, you just have to get to a campground on a good day and early in the day.
Now, I wasn't really keen on this, but since they don't take reservations and there are dozens of campgrounds all over the place, it seemed that it might be okay. The plan is to move on a Monday or Tuesday and get to a new place before noon.
This apparently pleases Ed. Now I know Ed doesn't like lists. In fact, if there is a list made, he will ignore it. He HATES lists!
That's our yin and yang. What I didn't realize is that he is an apparently a VERY spontaneous person. We've been married 43 years and I'm just learning this??
On Monday, while Ed was out hiking, I decided to take a look at our mapping program to see where we were moving to today.
We have 2 mapping programs. We have used the Microsoft Streets and Trips to plan our itinerary for the first ten years. This year, since Ed got a new DeLorme GPS to take on hikes, he decided to get a new mapping program since the GPS is not quite compatible with the Streets and Trips program. I checked both programs, however, to see where we're going. They each say different places...now I have no clue where I will be laying down my head tomorrow night and that makes me feel very unsettled. I have no problem living in a tin can for 70+ days, but I really want to know ahead of time WHERE that tin can will be parked!
Ed gets back from his hike and I ask where we're heading. "Well, we have a few options." Not the kind of answer I was looking for. He's all excited showing me "we can stop here, or here, and there are 3 more on this side of the reservoir." It's making me stressed. I thought all the planning was done, why are we still 'deciding' the night before we travel. STRESS! I'm trying to be good and not freak out. I'm along for the ride. I can do this.
No I can't. I'm going to bed and will let Ed finish the planning.
It rains about 5 am so everything will be wet to pack up. I've packed most of the inside stuff already, so my part of the packing can be finished in 20 minutes or so. It stopped raining after an hour or so, so at least we won't be packing up IN the rain. The outside stuff will just be wet.
So as we get in the car, I ask Ed, "So where are we heading today?" His answer: "That depends" UGGGH. "We have choices" he says happily.
I look at the map, and there is a campground he never even mentioned last night. Aah...spontaneity. Nope. I'm definitely not a spontaneous person!
We take off from Glacier National Park--near East Glacier, MT--and head past the town of West Glacier toward Hungry Horse and Columbia.
We've never been this way before. This part of Rt 2 is really a beautiful 2 lane road that meanders next to fast moving rivers and still with fantastic snow tipped mountain views. Looks like Vermont or New Hampshire driving. There is no traffic to speak of. It's a really nice ride. Speed limit is 70 mph which seems high for a 2 lane road, but since there is little traffic, it's not a problem.
We get into Hungry Horse (I love that name) and it seems like a nice little town. There are a couple gift type shops, a couple restaurants, a Laundromat, grocery store and post office. They even have Internet! Where we are heading to in the Flatlands National Forest is about 9 miles or so off the road. I can do this.
We grab a bite to eat and head in on the West side of the Hungry Horse Reservoir to pick out a campground. The 9 miles or so turns out to be on a well paved, really windy road along the side of a mountain without guardrails. This might be a little more of a challenge for me after all. I am somewhat challenged by heights!
The day gets to be overcast and it looks like it's going to rain. I nix the first campground we get to, and we move along to the next one. It's called Lost Johnny. The campground only has 5 sites on it and none of them are occupied. I'm not feeling real good about this place. But site 5 is open and it is RIGHT on the water. Ed is sold, so I really have no choice. We're staying. I still suggest we can go down the road to look at something else and surely no one else is coming along today to take this site from us, but Ed vetoes that. He's really keen on this and Monty seems to like the smells around here too.
We start to set up, but it starts to rain hard so we decide to wait in the car until it lets up. Wouldn't you know, another truck with a long 5th wheel attached comes along and parks in the lot right across from us and sits there. Then a woman comes along on an ATV vehicle and has her fist waving. She is clearly upset. Ed gets out to see whats up. They were at another campground and have been waiting for THIS site to open. It opened just this morning so they were moving right in. Whoops. Too late.
Ed was right. We would have lost the spot! Looks like we'll be the only restaurant in town for the local bears! Not sure how long we're here for. We'll see how the hiking and fishing are.
I'm a list maker. I make a list of the lists I want to make. I like to know what is going to happen before it happens. When we're home, on Sundays I like to take a look at the week ahead to see where I will be, what I'm going to be doing and what I have to do to get ready for any of that. Apparently, I am married to a very spontaneous person, however!
Now we start talking about our summer plans the December before it happens. A full 6 to 7 months ahead. Where do we want to go etc. This meshes nicely with the list maker in me. Ed then takes it from there and plans the route. On some rainy days I'll sit in our loft with him while he's planning and he'll tell me what he's sketching out. Up until this summer, he has mapped out a very specific plan for our summer adventures. Many places would take reservations so we were able to know this week we'll go here, then move to such and such a place for 5 days etc. This year, however, since our goal was to spend the summer in Montana, Ed decided not to do that. In fairness, 99% of the places don't take reservations. If you want to get a good site, you just have to get to a campground on a good day and early in the day.
Now, I wasn't really keen on this, but since they don't take reservations and there are dozens of campgrounds all over the place, it seemed that it might be okay. The plan is to move on a Monday or Tuesday and get to a new place before noon.
This apparently pleases Ed. Now I know Ed doesn't like lists. In fact, if there is a list made, he will ignore it. He HATES lists!
That's our yin and yang. What I didn't realize is that he is an apparently a VERY spontaneous person. We've been married 43 years and I'm just learning this??
On Monday, while Ed was out hiking, I decided to take a look at our mapping program to see where we were moving to today.
We have 2 mapping programs. We have used the Microsoft Streets and Trips to plan our itinerary for the first ten years. This year, since Ed got a new DeLorme GPS to take on hikes, he decided to get a new mapping program since the GPS is not quite compatible with the Streets and Trips program. I checked both programs, however, to see where we're going. They each say different places...now I have no clue where I will be laying down my head tomorrow night and that makes me feel very unsettled. I have no problem living in a tin can for 70+ days, but I really want to know ahead of time WHERE that tin can will be parked!
Ed gets back from his hike and I ask where we're heading. "Well, we have a few options." Not the kind of answer I was looking for. He's all excited showing me "we can stop here, or here, and there are 3 more on this side of the reservoir." It's making me stressed. I thought all the planning was done, why are we still 'deciding' the night before we travel. STRESS! I'm trying to be good and not freak out. I'm along for the ride. I can do this.
No I can't. I'm going to bed and will let Ed finish the planning.
It rains about 5 am so everything will be wet to pack up. I've packed most of the inside stuff already, so my part of the packing can be finished in 20 minutes or so. It stopped raining after an hour or so, so at least we won't be packing up IN the rain. The outside stuff will just be wet.
 |
| Fog lifting as we leave Two Medicine |
So as we get in the car, I ask Ed, "So where are we heading today?" His answer: "That depends" UGGGH. "We have choices" he says happily.
I look at the map, and there is a campground he never even mentioned last night. Aah...spontaneity. Nope. I'm definitely not a spontaneous person!
We take off from Glacier National Park--near East Glacier, MT--and head past the town of West Glacier toward Hungry Horse and Columbia.
We've never been this way before. This part of Rt 2 is really a beautiful 2 lane road that meanders next to fast moving rivers and still with fantastic snow tipped mountain views. Looks like Vermont or New Hampshire driving. There is no traffic to speak of. It's a really nice ride. Speed limit is 70 mph which seems high for a 2 lane road, but since there is little traffic, it's not a problem.
We get into Hungry Horse (I love that name) and it seems like a nice little town. There are a couple gift type shops, a couple restaurants, a Laundromat, grocery store and post office. They even have Internet! Where we are heading to in the Flatlands National Forest is about 9 miles or so off the road. I can do this.
We grab a bite to eat and head in on the West side of the Hungry Horse Reservoir to pick out a campground. The 9 miles or so turns out to be on a well paved, really windy road along the side of a mountain without guardrails. This might be a little more of a challenge for me after all. I am somewhat challenged by heights!
The day gets to be overcast and it looks like it's going to rain. I nix the first campground we get to, and we move along to the next one. It's called Lost Johnny. The campground only has 5 sites on it and none of them are occupied. I'm not feeling real good about this place. But site 5 is open and it is RIGHT on the water. Ed is sold, so I really have no choice. We're staying. I still suggest we can go down the road to look at something else and surely no one else is coming along today to take this site from us, but Ed vetoes that. He's really keen on this and Monty seems to like the smells around here too.
We start to set up, but it starts to rain hard so we decide to wait in the car until it lets up. Wouldn't you know, another truck with a long 5th wheel attached comes along and parks in the lot right across from us and sits there. Then a woman comes along on an ATV vehicle and has her fist waving. She is clearly upset. Ed gets out to see whats up. They were at another campground and have been waiting for THIS site to open. It opened just this morning so they were moving right in. Whoops. Too late.
Ed was right. We would have lost the spot! Looks like we'll be the only restaurant in town for the local bears! Not sure how long we're here for. We'll see how the hiking and fishing are.
Two Medicine Campground, East Glacier, MT
Tuesday July 17, 2012
We're on our last day here at Two Medicine. It's been a good week although I'm ready to move on. Any time there are no grocery stores within 25 miles and I have to drive for a half hour for intermittent Internet, I'm ready after about 5 days for a new spot. There are tons of mountains to climb for Ed so he's happy. Since his body feels good hiking, this is a good summer!
It rained the last 2 days, though and has been pretty damp and raw. Glad the sun came out today! I love the clear blue skies and puffy clouds. Ed hasn't told me yet where we're heading next, so I guess it will be a surprise:)
This is definitely bear country. There are bear boxes for your food at many of the sights and the Rangers are always coming around to remind everyone to put things away when we are not using them. Once a bear gets into a campers cooler, they are killed since they then become too dangerous to people, so the rangers are very concerned.
We're on our last day here at Two Medicine. It's been a good week although I'm ready to move on. Any time there are no grocery stores within 25 miles and I have to drive for a half hour for intermittent Internet, I'm ready after about 5 days for a new spot. There are tons of mountains to climb for Ed so he's happy. Since his body feels good hiking, this is a good summer!
It rained the last 2 days, though and has been pretty damp and raw. Glad the sun came out today! I love the clear blue skies and puffy clouds. Ed hasn't told me yet where we're heading next, so I guess it will be a surprise:)
Speaking of surprises, here's a picture of what showed up the other day near our campsite:
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| Bear in campground across from us in broad daylight! |
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Everything free comes with a cost!
Tuesday July 9, 2012
Yes, this park is very pretty and I really did get less concerned the longer we sat there. I'm not sure how the neighborhood houses handle having transients drop by this park all the time, but it's very quiet.
I went to bed about 9:30. It was still light out and Ed stayed up reading. A good night sleep was expected before we head to Glacier National Park in the morning.
Alas, it's not to be. I probably haven't mentioned the fact that we have seen tons of trains pulling dozens of freight cars each day in North Dakota and Montana. They aren't seen much on Cape Cod (!), but I guess transportation of goods by train is pretty standard still in the west.
We discovered that this Park is within a block of the railroad tracks and since they apparently transport more during the night then during the day, the train whistles blew at least 8 times during the night. Even my ear plugs didn't help keep out this noise. So even though the space was free for the night...sleep was not!
Monty makes his usual wake up call at 5:30 am. We are packed and leave our site by 8 am. The drive to Glacier National Park--East wing--seems to be a straight shot on US 2. It's really amazing how from the middle of Minnesota to the Rockies in Montana the land is totally flat as far as the eye can see.
In fact, as we travel, we see a HUGH field of Wind Mills in Cut Bank, MT! They really are majestic looking. Then all of a sudden, after passing Cut Bank, Montana,
you can see the mountains pop up! There is still snow on those mountains and the thermometer on the car indicates it's above 90 degrees. It will feel good to
be in cooler weather!
The heat is a killer for me--actually for both of us. Neither of us like it which is why
we don't travel in the South during the summer. Could that be worse then this heat has been?
Well, we're finally here! This is one of the major destinations Ed & I had on our wish list for this summer! Glacier National Park can't be beat!
After having traveled so much flat lands, these peaks are even more beautiful then I remember them. And, there is still snow on some of the mountains! Ed promises me that it won't be nearly as hot here as it has been so far on this trip!
We arrive at Two Medicine Campground before noon so we should get a good spot. Surprisingly, though, most of the primo spots (i.e. water or mountain peak views) are taken. We pick out one of the largest spots we find and settle in for a week. I prefer that even to the smaller spots with good views.
We had stopped at an Albertson's Grocery store to get some provisions for at least a week. Glad we did! This is in Indian country and there are NO stores around for many, many miles. Ice is about all we'll get at the camp store.
There is no internet or cell service here. I may take a long ride back to Cut Bank in a few days, but if not, we'll probably be here until Tuesday July 17, 2012.
Yes, this park is very pretty and I really did get less concerned the longer we sat there. I'm not sure how the neighborhood houses handle having transients drop by this park all the time, but it's very quiet.
I went to bed about 9:30. It was still light out and Ed stayed up reading. A good night sleep was expected before we head to Glacier National Park in the morning.
Alas, it's not to be. I probably haven't mentioned the fact that we have seen tons of trains pulling dozens of freight cars each day in North Dakota and Montana. They aren't seen much on Cape Cod (!), but I guess transportation of goods by train is pretty standard still in the west.
We discovered that this Park is within a block of the railroad tracks and since they apparently transport more during the night then during the day, the train whistles blew at least 8 times during the night. Even my ear plugs didn't help keep out this noise. So even though the space was free for the night...sleep was not!
Monty makes his usual wake up call at 5:30 am. We are packed and leave our site by 8 am. The drive to Glacier National Park--East wing--seems to be a straight shot on US 2. It's really amazing how from the middle of Minnesota to the Rockies in Montana the land is totally flat as far as the eye can see.
In fact, as we travel, we see a HUGH field of Wind Mills in Cut Bank, MT! They really are majestic looking. Then all of a sudden, after passing Cut Bank, Montana,
you can see the mountains pop up! There is still snow on those mountains and the thermometer on the car indicates it's above 90 degrees. It will feel good to
be in cooler weather!
The heat is a killer for me--actually for both of us. Neither of us like it which is why
we don't travel in the South during the summer. Could that be worse then this heat has been?
Well, we're finally here! This is one of the major destinations Ed & I had on our wish list for this summer! Glacier National Park can't be beat!
 |
| Lake at Two Medicine looking at Glacier National Park |
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| Two Medicine Campground--Site 15 |
We had stopped at an Albertson's Grocery store to get some provisions for at least a week. Glad we did! This is in Indian country and there are NO stores around for many, many miles. Ice is about all we'll get at the camp store.
There is no internet or cell service here. I may take a long ride back to Cut Bank in a few days, but if not, we'll probably be here until Tuesday July 17, 2012.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Best Laid Plans!!
Monday July 8, 2012
Boy were we glad to end that adventure! We spent the night at Downstream--Fort Peck campground. We had electricity and the site cost $8.00 with the Senior Pass.
We kept the camper attached to the truck since we were only spending the night...and
there is no place around anywhere to go out to dinner! We set up and relax for the afternoon. They have showers which feel wonderful! Too bad there isn't a shower for our truck and camper. They are both coated in muck!
We decide to have cheese and crackers for dinner and play a game of scrabble. I was ahead for awhile but as usual...Ed wins.
Monty met a dog next to us at the campsite and had happy feet running around with her. It was like seeing him with his friend Toby. He misses having that fun play time, but boy is he being good on this trip!
Tuesday July 9, 2012
We head out early with the expectation of one more overnight stay before hitting Two Medicine campground in Glacier National Park in Montana. There are not a lot of options halfway to there following Rt 2 (no more dirt roads for us! We've made a change in the map program to try to avoid another yesterday!). It's Fresno Tailwater FAS (which we don't know what that means...but it looks like it's on a reservoir). It's right off Rt 2 near the town of Havre, MT. We even found a WalMart near there to get a few essentials.
When we arrive, it appears it is a free campground, on a pebble type driveway. You get what you pay for! There are no trees but there are about 10 campers already lined up like a parking lot, all with AC and generators. Not our style, so we decide to forge ahead.
The mapping program does not have a lot of choices for campgrounds of any type between Havre and Glacier. There is an interesting one listed about an hour or so away called Chester City Park. So that's where we head.
It's easy to find. When we get there...that's what we find. A city park. there was a flush bathroom facility, a covered area with lots of picnic tables, a three stall garage with more picnic tables (in case it rains?), a beautiful little garden maintained by the Chester Garden Club. There was someone there cleaning the bathrooms and he assured us, yes, you can camp here. I was a little apprehensive. We were the only campers. It's free. Leave a donation if you'd like. I'm still reticent. But like Ed said, this is better then the one we almost stayed at...at least there are no campers with generators near us!.
The temperature is in the 90's. We do our minimal set up and have lunch since we were able to find a decent grocery story on the way.
Monty loves the expanse of grass. I put out a blanket for him to lay on, and instead, he gathers it up into a ball and carries it to the shade of a big tree and settles in. I think he likes it here. We read under the trees for awhile, Ed goes for a short bike ride in the downtown area and I try to take a nap...didn't work. It's too hot. I have finished reading Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. It was a fiction. Great book, Kathy, thanks for the suggestion!
Now I certainly would not have decided to stop here on my own, but the longer we sat here, the more it felt good.
There was even another camper that came along on his bike. He's originally from Vermont and is making a cross country bike ride from Washington State to
....He travels about 60 miles each day. There are crazier people out there then us!
We are off tomorrow to Two Medicine Campground off of route 2 near East Glacier, MT.
Boy were we glad to end that adventure! We spent the night at Downstream--Fort Peck campground. We had electricity and the site cost $8.00 with the Senior Pass.
We kept the camper attached to the truck since we were only spending the night...and
there is no place around anywhere to go out to dinner! We set up and relax for the afternoon. They have showers which feel wonderful! Too bad there isn't a shower for our truck and camper. They are both coated in muck!
We decide to have cheese and crackers for dinner and play a game of scrabble. I was ahead for awhile but as usual...Ed wins.
Monty met a dog next to us at the campsite and had happy feet running around with her. It was like seeing him with his friend Toby. He misses having that fun play time, but boy is he being good on this trip!
Tuesday July 9, 2012
We head out early with the expectation of one more overnight stay before hitting Two Medicine campground in Glacier National Park in Montana. There are not a lot of options halfway to there following Rt 2 (no more dirt roads for us! We've made a change in the map program to try to avoid another yesterday!). It's Fresno Tailwater FAS (which we don't know what that means...but it looks like it's on a reservoir). It's right off Rt 2 near the town of Havre, MT. We even found a WalMart near there to get a few essentials.
When we arrive, it appears it is a free campground, on a pebble type driveway. You get what you pay for! There are no trees but there are about 10 campers already lined up like a parking lot, all with AC and generators. Not our style, so we decide to forge ahead.
The mapping program does not have a lot of choices for campgrounds of any type between Havre and Glacier. There is an interesting one listed about an hour or so away called Chester City Park. So that's where we head.
 |
| City Park in Chester, MT. |
The temperature is in the 90's. We do our minimal set up and have lunch since we were able to find a decent grocery story on the way.
Monty loves the expanse of grass. I put out a blanket for him to lay on, and instead, he gathers it up into a ball and carries it to the shade of a big tree and settles in. I think he likes it here. We read under the trees for awhile, Ed goes for a short bike ride in the downtown area and I try to take a nap...didn't work. It's too hot. I have finished reading Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. It was a fiction. Great book, Kathy, thanks for the suggestion!
Now I certainly would not have decided to stop here on my own, but the longer we sat here, the more it felt good.
There was even another camper that came along on his bike. He's originally from Vermont and is making a cross country bike ride from Washington State to
....He travels about 60 miles each day. There are crazier people out there then us!
We are off tomorrow to Two Medicine Campground off of route 2 near East Glacier, MT.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
It Doesn't Get Scarier Then This!!!!!
Sunday July 7, 2012
Happy Birthday, Jean!
We left Theodore Roosevelt National Park at 8 am this morning. We are getting good at packing up our gear. Like a well oiled machine. We originally planned to stop
at Makoshika State Park but since it's only an hour and a half away, I convinced Ed to go there on the way home instead. We still have about 13 hours of driving before we reach Two Medicine Campground at Glacier National Park. This is one of our main stops. Glacier is really beautiful!
About 10am or so we stop for breakfast at CC's Family Cafe. Great breakfast. We seem to find great local diners along the way.
We travel on Rt 94 for awhile and turn onto Route 200. Two lane quiet road. Maybe it's quiet because it's Sunday morning and everyone is at church.
This part of Montana is sparsely populated. Lots of farms with hay or something growing. Well spaced ranches with lots of cattle. Pretty flat, too.
We have 2 GPS's. One on the car and one that Ed uses for hiking and with our Trip program in the computer. Sometimes, however, they conflict with how to get where we are going. Today, however, they seem to be sending us the same way---but it's on a dirt road for what it says is 12 miles. Ed's map is calling it Highway 252. That liberty with the word Highway! Sure is an adventure!
We've been on here awhile. I think we are beyond the word adventure for this part of the trip. Now we have been on 16 miles of a one lane dirt road. Ed is freaking out. I'm trying to make lite of it and he's thinking about broken axles and not being able to turn around.
After awhile more, we come across 30 or 40 head of cattle...right in the middle of this dirt road wondering what the hell we are! I think it's funny. Ed does not see the humor in it.
We've gone another 5 miles or so and I am afraid I am joining Ed on freaking out. The road is getting more narrow and the ruts in the road are deeper. I don't know what we're going to do if we hit a patch we get stuck in. We don't have a shovel.
We went another mile, went to a dip in the roadway with lots of divots. They weren't all solid at that point but we didn't realize it. Ed plowed through...or tried to, anyway. You guessed it. The tires got stuck in almost a foot of muck....and it didn't smell good either. We were definitely in a pickle.
We got out and Ed assessed things. Then he tried to back up as far as he could but by then the camper was making a sharp turn so we had to stop. We had to take the camper off the truck, use 4W & 4L back and forth to move the truck beyond the muddy holes we made. The problem now is the camper is on one side of this muck and the truck is on the other.
Now we had to move the camper to face forward so we can try to reattach it to the truck. Given the weight of the tongue of the camper, that's not as easy as it sounds! Ed got the wheel on the tong of the camper and tried to move it. No go. Then we put a line of boards to one side of the wheel and he was able to push it along as I kept moving the boards. Once it was forward facing again, he had to find a drier side of the road to back the truck up to it.
I have never been so scared in my life. This was far more then an adventure. Ed was right to be freaking out. Once we were out of the mud, we still had 5 miles or so to go on this path with no idea if we were going to come across another problem. I'd like to tell you what town we were near during this adventure, but there are no town names on the map. There are no houses ANYWHERE to be seen.
Thank God!!! I think I have found religion!! We made it out to State Hwy 24. Now we need to travel another 30 miles or so to get to Fort Peck to camp. It's completely devoid of any signs of life. There are high tension wires along the ridge and wire fencing on either side of the road but NOTHING else. If we had gotten stuck a little more in that muck, I have no clue how we would have gotten out of there. It would have been at least 35 miles to go to get help! Walk??? Take the bike and leave back at the truck in the middle of no where??? And would AAA even consider coming out to get us??? Scary to even think about!
And by the way...there certainly was no cell service!
I'm ready to stop for the day and it's only 12:30!
Happy Birthday, Jean!
We left Theodore Roosevelt National Park at 8 am this morning. We are getting good at packing up our gear. Like a well oiled machine. We originally planned to stop
at Makoshika State Park but since it's only an hour and a half away, I convinced Ed to go there on the way home instead. We still have about 13 hours of driving before we reach Two Medicine Campground at Glacier National Park. This is one of our main stops. Glacier is really beautiful!
About 10am or so we stop for breakfast at CC's Family Cafe. Great breakfast. We seem to find great local diners along the way.
We travel on Rt 94 for awhile and turn onto Route 200. Two lane quiet road. Maybe it's quiet because it's Sunday morning and everyone is at church.
This part of Montana is sparsely populated. Lots of farms with hay or something growing. Well spaced ranches with lots of cattle. Pretty flat, too.
We have 2 GPS's. One on the car and one that Ed uses for hiking and with our Trip program in the computer. Sometimes, however, they conflict with how to get where we are going. Today, however, they seem to be sending us the same way---but it's on a dirt road for what it says is 12 miles. Ed's map is calling it Highway 252. That liberty with the word Highway! Sure is an adventure!
We've been on here awhile. I think we are beyond the word adventure for this part of the trip. Now we have been on 16 miles of a one lane dirt road. Ed is freaking out. I'm trying to make lite of it and he's thinking about broken axles and not being able to turn around.
We've gone another 5 miles or so and I am afraid I am joining Ed on freaking out. The road is getting more narrow and the ruts in the road are deeper. I don't know what we're going to do if we hit a patch we get stuck in. We don't have a shovel.
We went another mile, went to a dip in the roadway with lots of divots. They weren't all solid at that point but we didn't realize it. Ed plowed through...or tried to, anyway. You guessed it. The tires got stuck in almost a foot of muck....and it didn't smell good either. We were definitely in a pickle.
We got out and Ed assessed things. Then he tried to back up as far as he could but by then the camper was making a sharp turn so we had to stop. We had to take the camper off the truck, use 4W & 4L back and forth to move the truck beyond the muddy holes we made. The problem now is the camper is on one side of this muck and the truck is on the other.
Now we had to move the camper to face forward so we can try to reattach it to the truck. Given the weight of the tongue of the camper, that's not as easy as it sounds! Ed got the wheel on the tong of the camper and tried to move it. No go. Then we put a line of boards to one side of the wheel and he was able to push it along as I kept moving the boards. Once it was forward facing again, he had to find a drier side of the road to back the truck up to it.
I have never been so scared in my life. This was far more then an adventure. Ed was right to be freaking out. Once we were out of the mud, we still had 5 miles or so to go on this path with no idea if we were going to come across another problem. I'd like to tell you what town we were near during this adventure, but there are no town names on the map. There are no houses ANYWHERE to be seen.
Thank God!!! I think I have found religion!! We made it out to State Hwy 24. Now we need to travel another 30 miles or so to get to Fort Peck to camp. It's completely devoid of any signs of life. There are high tension wires along the ridge and wire fencing on either side of the road but NOTHING else. If we had gotten stuck a little more in that muck, I have no clue how we would have gotten out of there. It would have been at least 35 miles to go to get help! Walk??? Take the bike and leave back at the truck in the middle of no where??? And would AAA even consider coming out to get us??? Scary to even think about!
And by the way...there certainly was no cell service!
I'm ready to stop for the day and it's only 12:30!
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