Day #24 Great Falls to Whitefish, Montana

There is just a light snow on the grassy areas this morning.  Took Chassis for her morning walk and she performed her bark & jump act.  Seems two little shih-zu’s had the nerve to walk in her space, and she just had to say something.  She also was wound up enough to bark at a passing truck!  We had to have a discussion and a “sit-down”.  I should have had the “pet corrector” compressed air with me, as my QUIET command didn’t work.  We are still trying….

We had another good stop for gas except for a vehicle in front of us didn’t move for a long time and we were almost sticking out in the road waiting.  Seems he wanted a hot dog and chips before resuming his drive.  We also had to squeeze between an unoccupied car and truck that were randomly parked in non parking spots.  Guess it was hot dog time for them too!

There has not been much wildlife on this trip, but we did see a few more deer.  More exciting than the wildlife are the road signs.  “Warning! Changing road conditions” “High wind area” “Watch for ice on bridge” “Icy spots next 6 miles”

What we didn’t expect was a traffic stop for road construction in the middle of miles and miles of wheat fields!  It was complete with a red light and we were backed up with a line of vehicles. 

We arrived in Whitefish early afternoon and are so glad to be here.  Got our old spot back, saw our bird feeder in the same tree and were greeted warmly by our Montana family.  The RV slide is out so we can breathe again.  All that’s left is some cleaning up of road dust and mud. 

That can wait….

Moonscape

Moonscape with water

Uh oh again...not clouds!

In the snow

Last rest stop near Glacier Park

Day # 23 Columbus, Montana to Great Falls, Montana

Well, it’s 14 degrees and sunny.  Funny how the sun makes you think it’s warm out!  We had a successful gas up stop across the highway from the campground.  We did check it out previously, and this time, we did not miss the exit.

On the road, the jack alarm only beeped about 10 minutes and gave up after that.  Since the jacks were not ever down in Columbus, we don’t understand why this is going on.  Guess it is just to add to the excitement!

Beautiful drive!  Big mountains, a herd of deer, an osprey in a huge nest, plus a cattle round up complete with at least 3 cowboys (& girls).  Norm really wants that job.  Riding the RV is not always as exciting as riding a horse can be, but sometimes....it is!

Those are not clouds ahead

Watch out for falling rocks

snaking along

Wish you could see the rock colors

More mountains to go

Uh, we are 12'6" high.. don't bounce!

Day # 22 Columbus, Montana

Woke up to 2” of snow….again!  High today predicted in the low 30’s.

More of the same!  Grocery and town tour again.  We took a longer walk with Chassis in the afternoon.  (Still cold, but not snowing)

Transferred more pictures to the flash drive.  I need another flash drive, as this one is now full!  The pie graph for space used only shows a sliver left.  We DO still have 2 pieces of cherry pie left though.

Finished my book and traded in three read for three new ones.  I’m wearing out my “cheaters”.  I might have to confiscate the book Norm is reading as he is laughing out loud while reading.

I challenged Norm to black jack for pennies, as I am experienced in the game.

We both started with $1.00.  Norm ended up with $2.00.  ‘Nuff said! 

Day # 21 Columbus, MT

Snowing and more to come!  Guess we’ll stay here and stay safe.  The low tonight is predicted for 21 degrees.

Visited the local ACE Hardware store and spent $100.00.  Shopping when you’re bored can be expensive.  We bought another electric heater on sale, another sewer hose, a plastic tray for muddy/snowy shoes and a Lysol Kitchen cleaner.

Hit the laundry in the campground for this week’s dirty clothes.  Also did some reading and I transferred all of 2011 pictures from the computer to a flash drive.  Still have 2012 to go!  Maybe I should post some old pictures for interest

Snowing again at 5:15 so the water will be off again tonight.

Grey skies over the Yellowstone River

Tried to catch the temperature but caught the time

Giant pine in local's yard

Day #20 Casper, WY to Columbus, Montana

Traveling along and just as I was saying we had not seen any wildlife on this trip, I saw antelope.  This was an accomplishment as usually Norm is the first to spot the wildlife.  He is actually supposed to be watching the road….

We crossed into Montana at 12:40 pm.  All is well except it is really windy.  The weather predictions are getting bad again for Sunday.  Our destination for today was to be Big Timber, MT but in reading the campground book a little closer, we found out they don’t open until May 15^th!!  It seems our routes, and the number of nights we plan to stay keep changing.  What were we thinking when deciding to leave April 1st?

Found Columbus and a small campground right off the highway for the night.  Less expensive than most AND they have water!!  Also found a good gas station for the next fill-up, a grocery store and a spirits/wine boutique.  Not a bad place to stay.

We will see what tomorrow brings… 

Typical scenery

  

Day # 19 Castle Rock to Casper, Wyoming

Nice weather change!  No more snow!  Did not need gas to travel!  Jack alarm only beeped a few minutes and then stopped.  So far, so good….

Shortly after hitting the highway, there was a loud banging.  I thought it was a tire blowout.  Norm pulled off the road and checked but was right that it was our never used roof satellite dish banging due to the wind conditions.  This happened a few years ago and Norm actually climbed up on the roof to make sure it was still fastened and not pulled loose leaving a hole in the rig.  I thought the wind would blow him off then, and I guess he did too.  Consequently, we just got back on the road and let whatever will be, BE!  Only had one or two more bangs and then we were golden.

Still getting our water out of empty coke bottles as this KOA decided not to offer water service yet.  Good thing we used our last travel certificate and the site was free!   The no inside water part is getting old.

THE Castle Rock

Windmill in the snow

Buffalo?  on the hill

Wyoming landscape

Lake view

Day # 18 Castle Rock, Colorado

Lots more snow this morning and 7 degrees for the low.  Good thing is the sun is shinning.  I’m wearing 2 of everything to take Chassis out!  She sniffed out a mouse or mole under the snow and used her nose to snow-plow to find the critter.  Glad she didn’t succeed!

Norm went back to work this morning and I can see him working on some outdoor plumbing.  Fortunately, the blizzard is over and the sun is warm.  Just that white stuff is cold, but they are plowing it off the roads and making a mess!

Butch (cat) decided to go out and test the weather.  He also tried to catch a mouse, or something.  I sat on a picnic table in the sun until he decided I could catch him and bring him back inside.

Had dinner with Gregg and kids at a cute Italian-Mexican restaurant.  Strange combination but all who had Mexican food enjoyed it.  Those who had spaghetti and meatballs (Norm) didn’t!  

Missing you guys already as we plan to leave tomorrow.

Scraping snow

Chassis' trail

Butch on the prowl

Ooooh! That's cold

Love our Colorado family

 Day#17  Castle Rock, CO

Light rain/snow mix.  Blizzard conditions forecast for this afternoon.

We are spending about $10.00 per day on propane and it is not as cold as it is forecast to be yet.

Baked a cherry pie for something to do.  Saw a post on "pinterest" that there is a fine line between boredom & hunger!  I figured cherry pie could fit right into that thought.

Norm came home from "work" early due to the weather.  We read for a while then got ready for a dinner date with Gregg & kids.  

The blizzard arrived and I chickened out on driving anywhere as I couldn't even see the campground roads, not to mention the highway.  We're hoping for Thursday night!!

Fixed a casserole which Norm adjusted to his style, and cherry pie for dessert!

Baby goat hiding

Baby goat posing

New neighbors!

Day #16 Castle Rock, CO

We woke to about 2" of snow.  Pretty stuff.  Pretty COLD stuff.  
The drain hose from the holding tanks split due to the cold temperature and the car doors were frozen shut!!

One thing about this altitude in Denver area is that my "hole in one" balloon is still flying high (did I say that?) and Norm's unopened potato chip bag is swollen.  Also, my detergent bottle now has a rounded bottom and my sunscreen tube oozes every time I take off the lid.  Never a dull moment at a mile high.

Checked out the local Walmart for sugar to make a cherry pie, anti-freeze and pet & RV supplies.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm taking pictures on the inside.

Sleeping warm kitty

Flying high balloon

Chip bag about to burst

Day #15  Castle Rock, Colorado

Norm went to work today in exchange for our site!  It's cold and he is plumbing, and freezing.  Lucky for me they didn't have any extra work to do so I got to do laundry and housecleaning!  Went into the laundry room and came out 1-1/2 hours later to snow coming down!  It snowed on and off all day and is pretty to see.

Our water is on and still running, but will have to disconnect again tonight.  So far, so good.

Took Chassis to the dog park for her AM walk.  She is pretty frisky in this cold weather and when a car passed the dog park, she pushed the gate open and went after it.  I yelled, she stopped and came back into the park.  JUST AS I COMMANDED!  Who knew???

Will someone let me out?

Our back yard

Car frozen shut

Day #13 and #14  Castle Rock, Colorado with Kids

Saturday started with a quick trip to the local Safeway grocery store.  Nice store, but not too much time to shop.  Met with Jennifer at Mason's (grandson) flag football game.  Weather was windy, but not too cold.  Had to find family via texting, but we found them and enjoyed watching the kids.  Best part was Mason's interception which was a game saving event.  (This is me, bragging!)

After getting back home, we headed out for more disc golf.  Made 18 holes this time and got to see the pretty pony again.  She was restless waiting for her stall-mate to get back from rounding up the goats again.  It was nice seeing her run!

Sunday started with snow!  Not a lot, but enough to make things white.  Took Chassis out and went up a hill to avoid another dog.  Halfway up I wasn't sure I could get down.  Especially since she was frisky in the weather and I was sure we would both be sliding down the hill face first.  All's well that ends well and we made it back home in one piece, with an addition of extremely muddy feet!

We also had no water on Sunday morning.  Norm had disconnected everything Saturday night and drained the water lines.  In the morning, the faucet outside ran a little water, so Norm hooked us up.  After a few minutes, no water.....We thought the hose might have had a blockage of ice, but after inspection, water could run through the hose.  So, then we thought there was a plug in the RV water lines.  Long story short, after about an hour of checking, re-checking, worrying about the RV, we found out that the water problem was in the park!  Sorry for the park, glad for us.  It was fixed quickly and now we'll see what tomorrow brings.

We met Jen & kids for Abbey's (granddaughter) Cheer performance.  This was located an hour away from Denver via all the fast, fast traffic highways.  We followed Jennifer who had to keep her heavy gas foot a lot lighter for us to keep up.  Thankfully, Is-ma-relda (GPS) worked well too.  The gym was packed and the performances were great!  So glad we were here to see the kids with their special activities.  After dinner out (yummy) we headed home for the night.

Snow capped Rockies

Award winning interception!

Are you ready for some football?

Dogs are better than football

Denver driving!

Ready to cheer

Cuties

Day #12  Raton, New Mexico to Castle Rock, CO

Good Morning!  Cold, but no snow and none forcast! 

Fried egg sandwiches for breakfast were warm.  My mistake today was putting my sandwich together with the butter side out on one piece of toast.  What's up with that??  I wondered why my fingers were so greasy...

No problem with jack alarm today.  Reason being, we did not put the jacks down yesterday.  The site was fairly level and we weren't moving around much.

We feared the Raton pass (7,280' approximately) but made it fine and actually had better gas mileage today than other days on flat land.  Best so far has been 7.58 MPG.  So far, we have spent our kid's inheritance on gas in order to get to see them!  For you Florida folks, gas is a bit cheaper as we head west.

We arrived to a nice welcome from our friends at Yogi Bear campground.  After checking weather conditions for the next few days, it looks like we will be frozen here, literally, until at least Wednesday next week.(4/17)  This weekend will be good, but very cold temperatures and snow predicted starting Tuesday.  Maybe the low Tues will be NEGATIVE 2!  Wednesday looks to be sunny and warmer so we hope we can take off for Wyoming without icy roads and get there without anymore winter stuff.  Who knew there would be winter in spring?  

After setting up, we played 15 out of 18 holes of disc golf here in the campground.  Probably the most challenging course we have ever played, and also the most beautiful.  Got too cold after 15 holes, so we walked home and got ready for a nice dinner with Gregg (my Son) and grand-kids.  It's good to be here.

Snow capped mountain

disc golf

See the white semi?

Another hole

Goat collection

Hi Fella'

Norm's dream job 

Who let the goats out?

Norm's dream horse