August 29, 2023

 Hi All,

Hope all is well.

I have Wi-Fi! I'm typing on a computer. So much easier'

We are in Spokane Washington. We entered Pacific time today. It's 7:30 - feel like midnight.

Our camping reservation for tonight was cancelled due to fire.  My brother, Ed helped to figure stuff out while we were on the road. The first plan was to boondock at a casino or drive a bit longer to our next stop.  We decided to stay in Spokane.  Thing is - there were no showers at our campsite in Glacier, and no electric or water or dump station.  I hadn't had a shower since Friday night and Annie's was on Saturday morning.  We found an RV resort that was $190 for the night. We opted for a Super 8 for $117.  I might catch some baseball as well as that shower. I know - all unnecessary information.

So - Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Another wow. My first hope was to see all three sections: the south, the north and Theodore's homestead. We stayed in the south. Quality vs. quantity.

We walked along the Little Missouri River. We walked through a prairie dog town. They were not welcoming. We didn't stay long. We saw and petted wild burros. We had wild horses grazing next to our campsite. We walked to the edge of the petrified forest. We witnessed an amazing sunset over the Little Missouri and the badlands. And everywhere we looked we were awe struck. 

We went into Madula to see a play. Not the hyped up musical but a one man show depicting Theodore Roosevelt. This man dd not just memorize his part. He knows Teddy Roosevelt. He started the show by asking where people were from. Then, as Theodore, he spoke about what he had done in and/or for that state. He ended it by asking for questions which he answered as Teddy would. We told a shop keeper later where we had been and he said, "Oh, then you've met Theodore Roosevelt."

We also went to a ranger talk about bats and the very visible Milky Way. I picked up some good trivia questions. Who said it: "I know of two things that are infinite; the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe."

From ND we took two days to get to Glacier NP.  I don't know how many people have told me Glacier is their favorite place ever. I can see why. Just wow.

We walked through an amazing grove of huge cedar trees. Annie wadded in I forget the name of the river but also Lake McDonald which is huge and over 300 feet deep. We took an eight-hour Red Bus Tour. I'm glad we did. If you're not going to take a hike in Glacier which is ideal, (the best way to see any park is to walk into it), this tour is a good alternative. We learned an incredible amount. Luckily, Annie wrote a lot of it down.  This woman spoke for six and a half hours. She has a 1 1/2-hour break for our lunch at Lake McDonald Lodge. It was also nice to not watch the Going to the Sun Road - just the beauty.

The wildlife we saw in Glacier was an eagle flying by us while looking at St Mary's lake and a young black bear farting around in the woods as we drove by.

I spent some time on an interstate highway today (I90), for the first time since leaving SD.  Since then, I've been driving on 60 to 70 MPH two lane roads. Some were straight and on the grasslands. Others on winding mountain roads. When we started driving around Glacier National Park to get to West Glacier, I was like, "Are you kidding me? 70 MPH?" By the time we were driving back to camp from the bus tour though, I was on it. Not with the trailer. 

Oh yes - it continues to be an awesome experience. It has not been without mishaps but that is just part of the ride. When the mishap is over, that is.

Mishaps: 

On the way up to ND I hit the brakes a bit hard at some road work. I immediately got a warning with a symbol I didn't know. Being the handy man that I am this caused zero stress. It was a sway warning. Not for the trailer but for the truck. Just 12 miles later I was at a service station. The woman at the counter explained what was going on and, just as she predicted, it reset itself when I restarted the truck.

The trip to TRNP was 390 miles instead of the predicted 300. Mostly due to a 70-mile zig at the end of the day. The temperature by that time had gone down to 92 degrees. By the time we got there we were both fried. As a matter of fact, as we were driving to the campground after arriving to the park, we saw a small herd of bison. We were both, "yeah, yeah - there's some bison." Didn't see a single one after that. We saw lots of signs of bison but no more bison.

Annie got some weird dust allergy in her eye. At first, she thought it was pink eye and our doctor in West Brookfield called in a prescription to Dickenson, ND. The drug store was just a drug store. Remember them? But that wasn't it and we stopped at a walk-in clinic somewhere in MT. Not another patient in the building. The nurse PR actioner knew her shit and we were sent to another pharmacy two towns away. This one was in a supermarket.

On the same day I got a change your oil soon warning from the truck. It was only 4000 miles after the last oil change, but we got it done in the morning anyways in Malta, MT. I have found MT people to be quite friendly. I enjoy friendly people.

Our third night in TRNP, (also no hookups), we were awoken to the carbon monoxide alarm at 5 AM. We had run the battery down which is needed to kick on the propane refrigerator. So, we shut the fridge off and opened up. But now I had to figure out how to hitch the trailer to the truck without the battery. The tongue jack runs off the battery. Of course, there is a piece that allows you to do it manually but, guess what, I have no idea where it is. I also have a generator but the gas in it was two years old and would not kick in. I ended up taking my jumper cables and charging the batteries with the truck. The guy who did my oil change in Malta took the old gas for me.

And - I left my credit card on the table at lunch at Lake McDonald Lodge. I know that's where I left it but they did not have it. It probably got bussed with napkins and is in the dumpster. Since there is no phone service there, I had to enlist the help of the two desk clerks to cancel the card. They dialed the number for me and handed me the phone. Then they pressed all the numbers for me requested by the telephone robot on the other end. Including my SS number.

So - there have been some mishaps; or should I say, learning experiences. But we are both loving it - loving it - loving it. Tomorrow, we head to Rainer NP. It will take two days but - unless we zig again - they are not long drive days. 

God Bless

PS The sheets in this hotel smell like fabric softener. Why do people think those chemicals smell cleaner than good old fashioned clean sheets?