Fri Sep 23 Day 25 Sunny, hot in Grand Coulee, nice in western WA
Dennis came up & fixed the Plug so we have turn signals & brake lights showing on the tow car. I found what the loose wires were for; they control the automatic electric steps. Now sometimes they close & sometimes they don’t, I will get it fixed ASAP when I can find a RV repair shop. Then I fixed the loose propane line for the BBQ, that was easy to fix but while under the RV I noticed that the inside of one of the duals looked bald, sure enough the inside edge was worn. I asked Dennis & he told me where a Les Schwab tire dealer was. I drove over; they had the tire size in stock and could do it immediately. Back to the RV, pack it up & over to the tire shop. Job would take an hour. It was now noon so Sheila & I went for lunch at a cafe in Coulee Dam which had a plaque on the wall saying, “Best café by a Dam site”. We picked up the RV and left Grand Coulee at 1:30 @ 146168 & headed non stop to the Angel of the Winds Casino on I 5 at exit 210. Sheila got to drive as we went through Leavenworth at 4:05. The Fall Leaf Festival was this weekend but with the crowded parking we couldn’t stop, we also were about 2 to 3 hours behind schedule. At 4:20 change drivers again and pulled into Angel of the Winds at 6:30 @ 146532. The RV Park was full so we are parked in the parking lot. We went over to the Casino to check in for a night, no problem; they just like to know who is out there. We went to Katie’s Kitchen for supper and had several of their 99 cent specials. I was full for $4.46. Sheila stayed to play & I came back to do journal & expenses.
We drove 364 km,226 miles – Sheila drove 1¼ hours
Friday, September 23, 2011
Missoula and on to Grand Coulee Dam
Thurs Sep 22, Day 24 Clear & sunny, hot in Grand Coulee
Sheila wanted to go into Missoula to look around the historical district etc. So off she went returning about 12:15. I unhooked, relaxed, looked around & waited for Sheila to return. We left the RV park at 12:35. While driving down the hwy I came around a gentle curve at full speed to see a blown tire tread right in my lane in front of me; there was a car right beside me so I couldn’t move over, I hit it with my right front tire & ran over it, a thump at the front & that was it. We stopped for gas at a Flying J station 2 miles short of the WA border because I had looked up & found that gas is a lot cheaper in Idaho then in Washington, plus I get a 2 cent per gallon discount with my Flying J Frequent Fueler card; into Flying J at 145994, 3:40 & out at 4:00. Sheila phoned the Grand Coulee RV Park & made a reservation. Sheila drove after the gas stop until almost into Grand Coulee. I drove into Grand Coulee RV arriving at 6:30 at 146165. However as we had crossed back into Pacific Daylight time it was now 5:30. We unhooked I discovered that the connector plug from the RV to the Focus for the brake lights etc was pulled loose from the RV and was dragging on the ground & the RV plug end was gone, just loose wires. We also discovered that the electric steps wouldn’t come down and there were some loose wires dangling under the steps. And the fitting for the propane BBQ at the rear had pulled loose. I asked Dennis the camp ground owner if he knew of an RV place. He looked at the plug for the Focus & said he could fix that, and then he looked under the electric steps & found a plug that had separated. When plugged in the steps worked fine. He said he would fix the RV-to-Focus plug tomorrow morning. There are still one or two loose wires under & near the steps who knows what they are for.
Sheila cooked us a nice supper and we went down for the light show on the Dam. They opened the spillways and had water coming down over a 1650 ft (503 Metre) long expanse. They did the laser show on the water coming down the spillway. It was a story of the Columbia throughout history & a bit about the dam construction & benefits, interspersed with dancing coloured shapes to music. It was 35 minutes long and I enjoyed it, although Sheila wasn’t thrilled by the laser light shapes & designs. It started at 8:30 and it was nice & warm, the car showed 22C,(72F), on the drive back up to the campground, at 5PM it hadbeen 26C, (79F).
We drove 439 km, 273 miles- Sheila drove 1¼ hours.
Sheila wanted to go into Missoula to look around the historical district etc. So off she went returning about 12:15. I unhooked, relaxed, looked around & waited for Sheila to return. We left the RV park at 12:35. While driving down the hwy I came around a gentle curve at full speed to see a blown tire tread right in my lane in front of me; there was a car right beside me so I couldn’t move over, I hit it with my right front tire & ran over it, a thump at the front & that was it. We stopped for gas at a Flying J station 2 miles short of the WA border because I had looked up & found that gas is a lot cheaper in Idaho then in Washington, plus I get a 2 cent per gallon discount with my Flying J Frequent Fueler card; into Flying J at 145994, 3:40 & out at 4:00. Sheila phoned the Grand Coulee RV Park & made a reservation. Sheila drove after the gas stop until almost into Grand Coulee. I drove into Grand Coulee RV arriving at 6:30 at 146165. However as we had crossed back into Pacific Daylight time it was now 5:30. We unhooked I discovered that the connector plug from the RV to the Focus for the brake lights etc was pulled loose from the RV and was dragging on the ground & the RV plug end was gone, just loose wires. We also discovered that the electric steps wouldn’t come down and there were some loose wires dangling under the steps. And the fitting for the propane BBQ at the rear had pulled loose. I asked Dennis the camp ground owner if he knew of an RV place. He looked at the plug for the Focus & said he could fix that, and then he looked under the electric steps & found a plug that had separated. When plugged in the steps worked fine. He said he would fix the RV-to-Focus plug tomorrow morning. There are still one or two loose wires under & near the steps who knows what they are for.
Sheila cooked us a nice supper and we went down for the light show on the Dam. They opened the spillways and had water coming down over a 1650 ft (503 Metre) long expanse. They did the laser show on the water coming down the spillway. It was a story of the Columbia throughout history & a bit about the dam construction & benefits, interspersed with dancing coloured shapes to music. It was 35 minutes long and I enjoyed it, although Sheila wasn’t thrilled by the laser light shapes & designs. It started at 8:30 and it was nice & warm, the car showed 22C,(72F), on the drive back up to the campground, at 5PM it hadbeen 26C, (79F).
We drove 439 km, 273 miles- Sheila drove 1¼ hours.
Tues Sep 20 - The battle of the Little Big Horn - Custers Last Stand
Tues Sep 20 Day 22 Sunny & warm, (70’s) all day
After we both had our showers, we pulled out of Sheridan WY @ 10:50 @144945. We arrived at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument @ 12:10 @ 145057. The visitors centre was small but they had a short (17 min) video on the battle, troop positions & movements by both the Cavalry & the Indians. Then they had a Ranger Talk that was most informative & went into details on who did what, when & where. What was really good, was the even-handed way both sides were treated in the talk. They said that both the Cavalry and the Indians were heroes in that they were each defending their way of life. The Indians won the battle, but lost the war as, within a couple of years, the army had hunted them down & returned them to their reservations. And now to the battle….On June 25, 1876 there were 3 columns of troops converging on the Little Bighorn area comprising several thousand men. However, one column of 1300 men under General Crook came under attack from a large force of Lakota & Cheyenne along the banks of the Rosebud River & they were forced to retreat, but none of the other leaders knew about it. There was also a large force under General Terry and another under Colonel Gibbon. On General Terry’s orders, Custer split from General Terry & went south towards the Little Bighorn, while Terry & Gibbons approached slowly from the north. We got lots of interesting info on the movements & actions of Custer, his second in command, Major Reno & Captain Benteen. Reno & Benteen both survived because Custer had split his 600 man troop & sent Reno & Benteen with 3 companies each off on scouting and rear defence missions where the casualties weren’t as great as at the Battle of the Bighorn; plus, Custer had to delegate a company to guard his supply wagons. So when it came down to the “Last Stand” battle Custer had only around 210 men with him. The rest of the command was in their own battle 5 miles away. They lost a lot of men, (53) but were able to hold out until help arrived two days later, (Terry & Gibbon). Before the battle, Custer was afraid he had been spotted & that the Indians would scatter to other parts of the country where it could take them months, even years to round them up & take them to the reservation, so he felt he should attack immediately rather than waiting for Benteen or Terry or Gibbon’s troops. He also didn’t know he was facing about 7,000 Indians. A big problem was lack of communication, Custer didn’t know of General Crooks retreat, he didn’t know where 2 other columns of troops under Terry & Gibbon were and they didn’t know where he was or what force of Indians were there. The talk also said that the Indians were the worlds best light infantry fighters as they knew how to use gorilla tactics & cover and the men from boyhood had been raised to do two things – hunt & fight to protect their families, which is exactly what they were doing. We walked up to the monument at the top of “Last Stand Hill.” They had markers in the field to show where troopers had fallen & where Custer was found. Custer & all of his men, (210), + 30 of their horses were killed that day. There is also a memorial nearby honouring the Sioux, (Lakota), Cheyenne & Arapaho Indian warriors killed that day which Sheila was really impressed by because it stressed that the battle is in the past & that now the Indians & white man need work together to make this great country even greater.
We left at 2:50 and drove to Hardin for gas @ 145083, 3:10 to 3:25. Then, onto Old West RV Park, a Passport America RV park in Reedpoint, Montana. We arrived at 5:10 @ 145249. They don’t have cable TV but do have WiFi, which lasted enough to post just 2 pictures & then died. In a little convenience store across the street, Sheila found some inexpensive toys & books for Mikaela & Erica, and Huckleberry slurpies. They were really good. Then, she went for a walk around the one street historic town. There are several boarded-up bldgs that seem to be very old—late 1800-early 1900’s era, but no signage to give their age or what they were used for. At the end of the street near the rlwy tracks there were two typical western saloons, The Montana Hotel’s Wildhorse Saloon which was boarded up & the Waterhole Saloon, which was open for business, and according to the sign, was established in 1975, though it looked much older than that. Sheila went in to ask about the town, but the lady bartender wasn’t too helpful. She hopes to find out more tomorrow morning before we leave.
We drove 304 km, 189 miles
After we both had our showers, we pulled out of Sheridan WY @ 10:50 @144945. We arrived at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument @ 12:10 @ 145057. The visitors centre was small but they had a short (17 min) video on the battle, troop positions & movements by both the Cavalry & the Indians. Then they had a Ranger Talk that was most informative & went into details on who did what, when & where. What was really good, was the even-handed way both sides were treated in the talk. They said that both the Cavalry and the Indians were heroes in that they were each defending their way of life. The Indians won the battle, but lost the war as, within a couple of years, the army had hunted them down & returned them to their reservations. And now to the battle….On June 25, 1876 there were 3 columns of troops converging on the Little Bighorn area comprising several thousand men. However, one column of 1300 men under General Crook came under attack from a large force of Lakota & Cheyenne along the banks of the Rosebud River & they were forced to retreat, but none of the other leaders knew about it. There was also a large force under General Terry and another under Colonel Gibbon. On General Terry’s orders, Custer split from General Terry & went south towards the Little Bighorn, while Terry & Gibbons approached slowly from the north. We got lots of interesting info on the movements & actions of Custer, his second in command, Major Reno & Captain Benteen. Reno & Benteen both survived because Custer had split his 600 man troop & sent Reno & Benteen with 3 companies each off on scouting and rear defence missions where the casualties weren’t as great as at the Battle of the Bighorn; plus, Custer had to delegate a company to guard his supply wagons. So when it came down to the “Last Stand” battle Custer had only around 210 men with him. The rest of the command was in their own battle 5 miles away. They lost a lot of men, (53) but were able to hold out until help arrived two days later, (Terry & Gibbon). Before the battle, Custer was afraid he had been spotted & that the Indians would scatter to other parts of the country where it could take them months, even years to round them up & take them to the reservation, so he felt he should attack immediately rather than waiting for Benteen or Terry or Gibbon’s troops. He also didn’t know he was facing about 7,000 Indians. A big problem was lack of communication, Custer didn’t know of General Crooks retreat, he didn’t know where 2 other columns of troops under Terry & Gibbon were and they didn’t know where he was or what force of Indians were there. The talk also said that the Indians were the worlds best light infantry fighters as they knew how to use gorilla tactics & cover and the men from boyhood had been raised to do two things – hunt & fight to protect their families, which is exactly what they were doing. We walked up to the monument at the top of “Last Stand Hill.” They had markers in the field to show where troopers had fallen & where Custer was found. Custer & all of his men, (210), + 30 of their horses were killed that day. There is also a memorial nearby honouring the Sioux, (Lakota), Cheyenne & Arapaho Indian warriors killed that day which Sheila was really impressed by because it stressed that the battle is in the past & that now the Indians & white man need work together to make this great country even greater.
We left at 2:50 and drove to Hardin for gas @ 145083, 3:10 to 3:25. Then, onto Old West RV Park, a Passport America RV park in Reedpoint, Montana. We arrived at 5:10 @ 145249. They don’t have cable TV but do have WiFi, which lasted enough to post just 2 pictures & then died. In a little convenience store across the street, Sheila found some inexpensive toys & books for Mikaela & Erica, and Huckleberry slurpies. They were really good. Then, she went for a walk around the one street historic town. There are several boarded-up bldgs that seem to be very old—late 1800-early 1900’s era, but no signage to give their age or what they were used for. At the end of the street near the rlwy tracks there were two typical western saloons, The Montana Hotel’s Wildhorse Saloon which was boarded up & the Waterhole Saloon, which was open for business, and according to the sign, was established in 1975, though it looked much older than that. Sheila went in to ask about the town, but the lady bartender wasn’t too helpful. She hopes to find out more tomorrow morning before we leave.
We drove 304 km, 189 miles
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Mon Sep 19 - From Sheridan Lake South Dakota to Sheridan City Wyoming - both named after Civil War General Sheridan
Mon Sep 19 Day 21 clear & sunny, warm; hot, 26 C, in Sheridan then sprinkles & high wind in eve which abated later in the eve.
We pulled out of Sheridan Lake camp site at 144547 @ 10:00. We did a gas stop @ 144679, 12:00 – 12:10. We pulled into a rest area for lunch @ 12:45 – 1:30, Sheila took over driving. At 3:00 we changed drivers again and into Peter D’s RV Park @ 3:55 @ 144945. We got set up, then into town for some groceries, a Wal-Mart stop to get Sheila’s glasses fixed from the Gutzon Borglum Historical Centre wall crash incident. The campground recommended the Wyoming Rib & Chop House so we forced ourselves to go. We walk in to discover Monday is all you can eat ribs night. A half order is $12.00 full rack is $18.00, the all you can eat is $22.00 & includes a salad & a side order from a choice of about 8. I managed a rack & and a half & the side was sautéed garlic mushrooms & were delicious. Sheila had a pulled pork sandwich & the house special margarita, $5.00 as we were in before 6PM, and she couldn’t quite finish it, it was about 22 ounces containing 3 ounces of tequila. She did it justice though. We also couldn’t resist trying the “Fried Green Tomatoes” appetiser, green tomatoes deep fried southern style on lettuce with crab meat and adab of bluecheese dressing – delicious. We waddled back to the RV and Sheila got to watch Dancing with the Stars then we saw the season premier of Castle.
We Drove 398 km, 247 miles – Sheila drove 1½ hours
We pulled out of Sheridan Lake camp site at 144547 @ 10:00. We did a gas stop @ 144679, 12:00 – 12:10. We pulled into a rest area for lunch @ 12:45 – 1:30, Sheila took over driving. At 3:00 we changed drivers again and into Peter D’s RV Park @ 3:55 @ 144945. We got set up, then into town for some groceries, a Wal-Mart stop to get Sheila’s glasses fixed from the Gutzon Borglum Historical Centre wall crash incident. The campground recommended the Wyoming Rib & Chop House so we forced ourselves to go. We walk in to discover Monday is all you can eat ribs night. A half order is $12.00 full rack is $18.00, the all you can eat is $22.00 & includes a salad & a side order from a choice of about 8. I managed a rack & and a half & the side was sautéed garlic mushrooms & were delicious. Sheila had a pulled pork sandwich & the house special margarita, $5.00 as we were in before 6PM, and she couldn’t quite finish it, it was about 22 ounces containing 3 ounces of tequila. She did it justice though. We also couldn’t resist trying the “Fried Green Tomatoes” appetiser, green tomatoes deep fried southern style on lettuce with crab meat and adab of bluecheese dressing – delicious. We waddled back to the RV and Sheila got to watch Dancing with the Stars then we saw the season premier of Castle.
We Drove 398 km, 247 miles – Sheila drove 1½ hours
Sun Sep 18 - to Crazy Hourse Memorial and back to Mt Rushmore again
Sun Sep 18 Day 20 slight cloud then cleared to sunny & warm
We drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial site. These large carvings are quite impressive; pictures can’t really convey the scope or size. Spent a while looking at the orientation movie & exhibits, models etc, about the project. We had lunch in the Laughing Water Restaurant there. The information on amount of rock removed, time working on it etc are huge figures. After quite a while there we returned to Mt Rushmore, (the entrance parking ticket is good for 2 days), to hear a ranger talk on the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, at his studio where he had a 1 twelfth size model from which he took measurements to duplicate on the mountain. 1 inch on the model was 1 foot on the mountain, the heads on the mountain range from 40 to 60 feet high. Then we went on the Ranger Walk on the Presidents Trail which went to the base of the mountain so you were looking straight up almost to the figures. The ranger walks & Ranger talks really make these places come alive. Back home to Sheridan Lake camp site for the night.
We drove to the Crazy Horse Memorial site. These large carvings are quite impressive; pictures can’t really convey the scope or size. Spent a while looking at the orientation movie & exhibits, models etc, about the project. We had lunch in the Laughing Water Restaurant there. The information on amount of rock removed, time working on it etc are huge figures. After quite a while there we returned to Mt Rushmore, (the entrance parking ticket is good for 2 days), to hear a ranger talk on the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, at his studio where he had a 1 twelfth size model from which he took measurements to duplicate on the mountain. 1 inch on the model was 1 foot on the mountain, the heads on the mountain range from 40 to 60 feet high. Then we went on the Ranger Walk on the Presidents Trail which went to the base of the mountain so you were looking straight up almost to the figures. The ranger walks & Ranger talks really make these places come alive. Back home to Sheridan Lake camp site for the night.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sat Sep 17 - off towards Sheridan Lake & Mt Rushmore
Sat Sep 17 Day 19 started out sunny but turned to rain in evening at Mt Rushmore
We left Mt View RV park in Sundance at 10:10 and drove a block to the gas station where we filled up at 144415 and out at 10:25. We changed drivers just outside of Deadwood at 11:20 at 144489; on down hwy 385 arriving at Sheridan lake forestry camp ground at 12:10 at 144547. We got a great spot beside & overlooking the lake. We had lunch & headed to Mt Rushmore in the car. It is about 19 miles from the campground to Mt Rushmore. We first stopped at the monument sculptor’s historical museum that was all about the life & work of Gutzon Borglum. He was an amazing sculptor, definitely the right man for the Rushmore project. While going down a dimly light hallway on the audio tour past various exhibits, (they were well light), Sheila managed to walk into a wall & bend her glasses, as well as getting a bump just above her right eye. When we came out about 4:30 it was raining. We then headed up to the monument itself. Sheila was hungry so we had early supper, I had a delicious buffalo stew but Sheila had the pot roast. Next we went up to the visitor centre for their movies & displays and to see the monument itself. Monument facts; the faces are 60 to 90 feet tall, that would be equivalent to a full size figure being 465 feet tall, the carving took 14 years to complete - Aug 1927 to Sept 1941 & actual work was for 78 months. Borglum died 6 months before completion, his son Lincoln put the finishing touches on. It is estimated that erosion will weather the carvings at the rate of 1/8th inch every 10,000 years. We stayed for the evening lighting program. Fortunately the rain held off for the program, a ranger talk on the Lewis & Clark expedition, a movie called “Freedom: America Lasting Legacy”, and then the lighting, it was a good show. We headed home about 9:00 in the dark, with the cloud, no moon or star light & driving secondary hwys, I think I would have never found the right roads without the GPS.
We left Mt View RV park in Sundance at 10:10 and drove a block to the gas station where we filled up at 144415 and out at 10:25. We changed drivers just outside of Deadwood at 11:20 at 144489; on down hwy 385 arriving at Sheridan lake forestry camp ground at 12:10 at 144547. We got a great spot beside & overlooking the lake. We had lunch & headed to Mt Rushmore in the car. It is about 19 miles from the campground to Mt Rushmore. We first stopped at the monument sculptor’s historical museum that was all about the life & work of Gutzon Borglum. He was an amazing sculptor, definitely the right man for the Rushmore project. While going down a dimly light hallway on the audio tour past various exhibits, (they were well light), Sheila managed to walk into a wall & bend her glasses, as well as getting a bump just above her right eye. When we came out about 4:30 it was raining. We then headed up to the monument itself. Sheila was hungry so we had early supper, I had a delicious buffalo stew but Sheila had the pot roast. Next we went up to the visitor centre for their movies & displays and to see the monument itself. Monument facts; the faces are 60 to 90 feet tall, that would be equivalent to a full size figure being 465 feet tall, the carving took 14 years to complete - Aug 1927 to Sept 1941 & actual work was for 78 months. Borglum died 6 months before completion, his son Lincoln put the finishing touches on. It is estimated that erosion will weather the carvings at the rate of 1/8th inch every 10,000 years. We stayed for the evening lighting program. Fortunately the rain held off for the program, a ranger talk on the Lewis & Clark expedition, a movie called “Freedom: America Lasting Legacy”, and then the lighting, it was a good show. We headed home about 9:00 in the dark, with the cloud, no moon or star light & driving secondary hwys, I think I would have never found the right roads without the GPS.
Fri Sep 16 off to Devils Tower WY & Deadwood City SD
Fri Sep 16 Day 18 Nice & sunny temps in the low to mid 70’s
After checking out what there was in the Sundance area we decided to stay another night here, the Passport America is good for up to 3 days here. We started out the day going to the museum in town which had lots of interesting stuff in it. Sheila talked to the staff and got lots of info on local characters & history. Then we headed off to Devils Tower about a half hour drive away. It is a unique geographical oddity, a pinnacle rising up 1200 feet and a 1000 foot diameter. It is in flattish country side so stands out for miles. It is composed of volcanic magma but there are several opinions on how it got to the surface & straight up. Most theories do involve it forming in it present shape deep underground and then either forced up or having erosion of the covering material expose it. Whatever, it is impressive. In the pictures there is a find Waldo game - - find the rock climbers on its face. After Devils Tower we headed for Deadwood City. It is about an hours drive only. They only list a population of around 1500 but there are a lot of people in town in all the casinos, bars, restaurants, hotels. We went into one for their cheap soup & salad bar buffet lunch, ($3.99). Then we wandered about town a bit. I got on a trolley bus, a gas bus actually, for a ride around town for $1 while Sheila went to the local museum. We met up after and took a couple pictures of the site of the bar where Wild Bill Hickok was shot. We drove up to boot hill where Wild Bill & Calamity Jane are buried. After a busy day we drove home arriving back around 8PM.
After checking out what there was in the Sundance area we decided to stay another night here, the Passport America is good for up to 3 days here. We started out the day going to the museum in town which had lots of interesting stuff in it. Sheila talked to the staff and got lots of info on local characters & history. Then we headed off to Devils Tower about a half hour drive away. It is a unique geographical oddity, a pinnacle rising up 1200 feet and a 1000 foot diameter. It is in flattish country side so stands out for miles. It is composed of volcanic magma but there are several opinions on how it got to the surface & straight up. Most theories do involve it forming in it present shape deep underground and then either forced up or having erosion of the covering material expose it. Whatever, it is impressive. In the pictures there is a find Waldo game - - find the rock climbers on its face. After Devils Tower we headed for Deadwood City. It is about an hours drive only. They only list a population of around 1500 but there are a lot of people in town in all the casinos, bars, restaurants, hotels. We went into one for their cheap soup & salad bar buffet lunch, ($3.99). Then we wandered about town a bit. I got on a trolley bus, a gas bus actually, for a ride around town for $1 while Sheila went to the local museum. We met up after and took a couple pictures of the site of the bar where Wild Bill Hickok was shot. We drove up to boot hill where Wild Bill & Calamity Jane are buried. After a busy day we drove home arriving back around 8PM.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thurs Sep 15, a long drive over a high pass with a smattering of snow
Thurs Sep 15 Day 17 Cooler at night
We went back into the Wild Horse Center for a bit. Left there about 10:25 @ 143946. We stopped for lunch at an Arby’s in Worland, 11:50 – 12:30. We stopped at a place called “10 Sleep” to see why the strange name. It turns out it goes back to Indian times when two of the local Indians’ wintering places were 20 “sleeps”--days’ travel apart. This location was equal distance, ie. “ten sleep” from either place, hence the name. Note that in the Indian language they don’t use the “s” on the end of words for plural. When we left Lovell we were at 3814 feet, we climbed & climbed and finally went over Powder River Pass at 2:05 pm, elev. 9666 feet. Sheila got out to read a travel sign at the summit when it started to rain, She immediately returned to the RV, just in time, as the rain turned to a very cold mix of rain & snow! As we started downhill the road was starting to have a whitish colour but after a few minutes we had decended a couple hundred feet and it turned to plain rain & even that stopped after a while & the sun came out. After we got to I 90 Sheila drove for about an hour & a half, (3 – 4:30), then I took us into Sundance where our RV Park was. As I came off the freeway exit & around a corner a parked police car did a fast U-Turn with lights flashing. (These small towns have a habit of going from a speed limit on the freeway of 75 mph to 30 mph or even 25 mph.) We both missed the “30 mph” sign. The cop asked why I thought he stopped me. I, of course, said, “I guess I was going a bit fast coming off the freeway”. He replied “Way too fast,” and then went back to his car with my licence. After a while he came back & said he would let me off with a warning this time, he also said Wyoming has zero tolerance and you can get a ticket for a little as 1 mile over the limit. We carried on to the Campground arriving at 5:30 @ 144414 km. They have cable here & WiFi so Sheila is watching what seem to be continuous “Frasier” episodes while I try to catch up on my journal & the blog. It is going down to 37 tonight but is supposed to get warm, (70’s) again tomorrow.
We drove 468 km, 290 miles - - Sheila drove for 1.5 hrs.
We went back into the Wild Horse Center for a bit. Left there about 10:25 @ 143946. We stopped for lunch at an Arby’s in Worland, 11:50 – 12:30. We stopped at a place called “10 Sleep” to see why the strange name. It turns out it goes back to Indian times when two of the local Indians’ wintering places were 20 “sleeps”--days’ travel apart. This location was equal distance, ie. “ten sleep” from either place, hence the name. Note that in the Indian language they don’t use the “s” on the end of words for plural. When we left Lovell we were at 3814 feet, we climbed & climbed and finally went over Powder River Pass at 2:05 pm, elev. 9666 feet. Sheila got out to read a travel sign at the summit when it started to rain, She immediately returned to the RV, just in time, as the rain turned to a very cold mix of rain & snow! As we started downhill the road was starting to have a whitish colour but after a few minutes we had decended a couple hundred feet and it turned to plain rain & even that stopped after a while & the sun came out. After we got to I 90 Sheila drove for about an hour & a half, (3 – 4:30), then I took us into Sundance where our RV Park was. As I came off the freeway exit & around a corner a parked police car did a fast U-Turn with lights flashing. (These small towns have a habit of going from a speed limit on the freeway of 75 mph to 30 mph or even 25 mph.) We both missed the “30 mph” sign. The cop asked why I thought he stopped me. I, of course, said, “I guess I was going a bit fast coming off the freeway”. He replied “Way too fast,” and then went back to his car with my licence. After a while he came back & said he would let me off with a warning this time, he also said Wyoming has zero tolerance and you can get a ticket for a little as 1 mile over the limit. We carried on to the Campground arriving at 5:30 @ 144414 km. They have cable here & WiFi so Sheila is watching what seem to be continuous “Frasier” episodes while I try to catch up on my journal & the blog. It is going down to 37 tonight but is supposed to get warm, (70’s) again tomorrow.
We drove 468 km, 290 miles - - Sheila drove for 1.5 hrs.
Wed Sep14 - Wild Hourse Day
Wed Sep 14 Day 16 Rained at night & till noon, cloudy most of the day, clear by late PM
We pulled out of Ponderosa about 10:30 am & drove separately to Wal-Mart, (at 143868 km). Then, after shopping, we went back to the BBHC for a last quick look around & for lunch. Their salad bar is cheap, $3.50 for a small plate, $6.50 for the large and they have 2 types of potato salad, one with egg, a creamy chicken salad & a tuna salad plus all the regular stuff, pop is $2 a glass refillable forever. I was stuffed on the large plate & we split the pop. After a short look around at some exhibits we didn’t have time for yesterday, we hooked up the car & left at 1:45, stopping to gas up 5 min. later @ 143872 km. We left the gas station & Cody at 2:00 pm. Sheila would have liked to tour the Old Trail Town here, but was told it would be very muddy walking around because of the rain, so it’ll be something to do next time we’re here. It has the cabin where the Wild Bunch hid out.
I put in 44.759 USG in my 55 USG tank & drove 646 km, (401 miles), that works out to 8.96 miles per USG, (that would be almost 11 mpg on a CDN gallon), quite good for a 7 ton RV towing a car plus me & Sheila. Sheila wanted to see some wild horses since we are in wild horse country; MT & WY have large open wild horse ranges. So we detoured a bit up to Lovell, WY to the Prior Mt Wild Mustang Center. We parked at 3:00 at 143946 & Sheila went in for a look around while I napped. The mustangs in the Pryor Mtn. area have been DNA tested & proven to be direct descendents of horses brought here by the Spanish Conquistadores in the 1600’s. That’s why they’re protected. All are quite small averaging only 14 hands whereas regular horses are 15-17 hands. Some of them even still have the distinctive markings, (a black line down the centre of their back, two colour manes, or stripes on their upper front legs), of the original Spanish horses, but most have lost them.
The centre’s manager, a lady, gave Sheila directions to the range where they might be so she woke me up, we unhooked the car & drove up a 40 km road in Big Horn Nat’l Park and believe it or not there were 6 wild horses just a hundred yards or less off the road! Sheila is happy! Unfortunately, they had full sun behind them, so the photos she took may not turn out, but at least she was able to see them well through binoculars. There were two blacks, a gray & a palomino. We drove on to the end of the wild horse range & then, on the way back saw another really beautiful stallion even closer to the road. A lady who’d been helping out at the centre was by the roadside watching him. She said his name was “Hildagio”, (he’d been named after a horse that starred in a movie by that name and that he was about 4 years old.) He was a golden chestnut colour with white mane & tail & a white flash on his forehead. By the time we got back to the Mustang Centre to where we were parked it was after 6 pm, so here we are for the night, (Sheila had checked earlier & they said it was fine.)
We drove 74 km, 46 miles only
We pulled out of Ponderosa about 10:30 am & drove separately to Wal-Mart, (at 143868 km). Then, after shopping, we went back to the BBHC for a last quick look around & for lunch. Their salad bar is cheap, $3.50 for a small plate, $6.50 for the large and they have 2 types of potato salad, one with egg, a creamy chicken salad & a tuna salad plus all the regular stuff, pop is $2 a glass refillable forever. I was stuffed on the large plate & we split the pop. After a short look around at some exhibits we didn’t have time for yesterday, we hooked up the car & left at 1:45, stopping to gas up 5 min. later @ 143872 km. We left the gas station & Cody at 2:00 pm. Sheila would have liked to tour the Old Trail Town here, but was told it would be very muddy walking around because of the rain, so it’ll be something to do next time we’re here. It has the cabin where the Wild Bunch hid out.
I put in 44.759 USG in my 55 USG tank & drove 646 km, (401 miles), that works out to 8.96 miles per USG, (that would be almost 11 mpg on a CDN gallon), quite good for a 7 ton RV towing a car plus me & Sheila. Sheila wanted to see some wild horses since we are in wild horse country; MT & WY have large open wild horse ranges. So we detoured a bit up to Lovell, WY to the Prior Mt Wild Mustang Center. We parked at 3:00 at 143946 & Sheila went in for a look around while I napped. The mustangs in the Pryor Mtn. area have been DNA tested & proven to be direct descendents of horses brought here by the Spanish Conquistadores in the 1600’s. That’s why they’re protected. All are quite small averaging only 14 hands whereas regular horses are 15-17 hands. Some of them even still have the distinctive markings, (a black line down the centre of their back, two colour manes, or stripes on their upper front legs), of the original Spanish horses, but most have lost them.
The centre’s manager, a lady, gave Sheila directions to the range where they might be so she woke me up, we unhooked the car & drove up a 40 km road in Big Horn Nat’l Park and believe it or not there were 6 wild horses just a hundred yards or less off the road! Sheila is happy! Unfortunately, they had full sun behind them, so the photos she took may not turn out, but at least she was able to see them well through binoculars. There were two blacks, a gray & a palomino. We drove on to the end of the wild horse range & then, on the way back saw another really beautiful stallion even closer to the road. A lady who’d been helping out at the centre was by the roadside watching him. She said his name was “Hildagio”, (he’d been named after a horse that starred in a movie by that name and that he was about 4 years old.) He was a golden chestnut colour with white mane & tail & a white flash on his forehead. By the time we got back to the Mustang Centre to where we were parked it was after 6 pm, so here we are for the night, (Sheila had checked earlier & they said it was fine.)
We drove 74 km, 46 miles only
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