Tuesday and Wednesday Hang-out

Tuesday we decided to get the hydro-hot fixed on the motor home.  We called Camping World in Draper UT to see if we could get an appointment to get it fixed.  Unfortunately they are not authorized to work on hydro-hots but suggested we call Camping World in Kaysville.  They gave us an appointment for Thursday.  So we hung out in the motor home.

Monday night we had dinner at Jessica's and Troy's and had a great time.  We had steak that Troy grilled and a great salad with roasted pecans, goat cheese and figs - great!

I found out there is some factory outlet stores near where we were - oh what fun!!  So Jessica came on Tuesday to pick me up and we went shopping.  Troy and Joe went to feed Jessica's parents dogs and we made plans to meet later to have dinner. 

The shopping was great fun.  There just was not enough time.  No shoe shopping - so sad (but Joe is so happy - no new shoes).  There was Cold Water Creek, Ann Taylor, Nike, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer and much more.  It was sad we didn't have enough time to go to all the stores.  I got some neat stuff though.

We then went to a Whole Foods store to find supplements that I was out of.  Then met Joe and Troy at this neat restaurant that I cannot remember the name of.  It was really nice and we had a great time. 

Then Jessica drove Joe and me back to the motor home while Troy took their dog and went home.  I had such a great time shopping with Jessica. 

Wednesday we decided since we had to be in Kaysville first thing in the morning that maybe we needed to leave and be there since we were going to be first in line for service.  So we went on line and got directions and made our way here.  We are able to stay at Camping World while we are going to be serviced. 

We are parked,  we have electricity but that is all.  All the spots for full hook-ups are taken.  We have to be up early and ready to get in line for service. 

GPS' are supposed to be wonderful things.  They get you from place to place pretty much without a hitch.  Well here in Kaysville the GPS is dumb, dumb. All we wanted to do was go to a restaurant and have supper.  So we looked up restaurants on the GPS and picked a restaurant and said GO.  It told us to turn here, turn there and guess where we end up.  In a cul-de-sac.  We try to go a different way and it keeps telling us to turn around to go back the way we came.  We finally get to a street that the GPS recognizes and it tells us where to go - but there is no restaurant where it told us to go.  So we go around again with another restaurant and it pretty much tells us to go to the same place but still no restaurant.  We just decided to find one on our own and found a great one called Cantina Southwestern Grill.  It was great southwestern good with a salsa bar with different salsas.  There were really hot ones to extremely mild ones. It was very good.

We are back at the motor home and in for the night.

Salt Lake City/Park City UT

 

We got started out of Wal Mart ok.  That was where the easy part ended.  We figured we had to backtrack to Rt. 191 to head for Park City.   We were wrong.  We just plain got lost.  But Joe found his way.  He just seems to understand direction and can find his way.  We figured it out and got on the right track and made our way to Salt Lake City/Park City UT.

The drive wasn't too bad.  There were a lot of steep hills and some U curves but we fared very well. 

 

 

 

We stopped at Flaming Gorge Dam and took some pictures.  The rocks were red which gave it its name.

We stopped along the way and took pictures plus I took pictures through the windshield. 

We were looking for a place to eat when we found a place called Silver Summit restaurant.  We followed the signs and went the right direction but came to a dead end.  We did not find the restaurant.  There was a business at the end of the road so I went in to ask about the restaurant.  It was located at the 7 Eleven that we passed. 

We unhooked the jeep and turned the motor home around and parked it at the end of the road and took the jeep back to the restaurant.  Had a great meal and then the manager said we could park our motor home right there at the 7 Eleven.  We are in a dirt area away from regular parking.  They said we could stay for a couple of days.  they were very nice.

Troy found us and visited us for a while.  We waited until Jessica got out of work and we started to their home.  The house is situated on a hill so you walk in on the ground level to the kitchen and a den.  It had an open look and you can see down to the next level into the living/great room.  It has a great fireplace.  There are big windows looking out to the back yard.  There is also a deck that you can access from the kitchen or the next level down or even the next level down.  The third level to the bottom is where the bedroom is situated.  From there you can also walk out to a deck.  They even have a hot tub.  I really like the house.

We had dinner with them and then miraculously found our way back to the motor home without a hitch.  I tell you, Joe is good at finding his way even in the dark.

 

Goodbye Grand Tetons

 

Today is Sunday and Colter bay campground closed at 11:00 am.  We left at about 10:00 to head for Salt Lake City.  We are taking the scenic route 191 south to Rock Springs WY.  The smoke was so bad we could not see the mountains at all.  You could smell the smoke. 

The rout was hard because of construction and missing turns.  We had to back track twice.  I did not take any pictures. 

You know those truck stops/restaurants that is just one building in the middle of nowhere?  Well we found one.  It was a new one and it was the first thing you came to before you got to town which was still a couple of miles away.  It had a big parking area which is a plus and it was just one building beside a house. It had 5 tables in it and we were the only ones there till we finished then just before we left 3 other people came in. Joe had a hamburger and I had a turkey sandwich with Lays potato chips - yum!

We are in Rock Springs now and are staying the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

End of our stay at YNP

Last night we went to Gardiner for supper and on the way we saw elk and big horned sheep. I did not have my camera. So now it will be "Have Camera Will Travel." I will not leave home without it! It was a lesson learned.

Today was the last day for Yellowstone.  We are getting ready to head out for the Grand Tetons.  We went to town to do laundry.  We cannot do it in the motor home because we are not hooked up to water.  Our stay here was strictly a dry-dock.  No water, no electricity and no sewage.  But it was cheap and right in the park.  It worked out well.  New experiences.

I did a little house cleaning and Joe checked the oil in the engine.  He also made soup for the trip.  We will hook up the jeep and batten down inside so things don't go flying as we are driving down the road.

Closet doors locked - check
All drawers closed - Check
Both sliding doors locked - check
and so on and so on.

We usually forget something and I am up while the motor home is moving to take care of it.  I am getting good at balancing while we are moving.

We will close the slides and lift the levelers in the morning.  We don't have to be out of here until noon time.

Exploring Grand Tetons

Friday we took different roads and explored the country side.  There were a lot of fall and it was yellow.  There were evergreens and yellow - birch trees.  that is the only tree I see here. 

We did that in the morning then we had lunch at Colter Bay Restaurant.  That was pretty much our day.

Saturday we went to see if we could get some pictures of the mountain range.  Everything was so smoky from the forest fires that it was hard to see far distances.  We got good pictures and drove and took side roads - one up signal mountain.  It was very high.  I did get some pictures of the mountain range

We had lunch at Jackson Lake Lodge (my treat). Joe had the Bivouac Turkey Croissant and I had a Chef's Salad. they were both very good. 

We came back to the motor home and Joe took a nap and I read my Kindle.  Then about supper time we went exploring Colter Bay.  We drive around the campgrounds  Then we drove down to the bay.  there were mountain across the  water.  The sun was just setting behind the mountains so we waited and I took more pictures.

We were just  getting ready to close up for the night when we saw deer right outside the motor home. It was so exciting.  I could stand in the doorway and take their pictures. 

Sunday is our last day.  We need to be gone by 11:00.  So now we tear down and dump.  The campground has free dumping and water so we are good.  The campground is closing for the season. 

Goodbye Yellowstone - Hello Grand Tetons

 

We left YNP in the morning and had to go through Mammoth Hot Springs village to head for the Grand Tetons.  We got just as far as the village and were stopped because the elk were on both sides of the road and in the road.  The bull elk made his sound and all the females turned to look at him (picture on FB). They eventually crossed the road so that the females were on one side of the road and the bull was on the other side of the road.  The rangers had traffic stopped so that no one would hit them or they would run over a car.  They are big and in Yellowstone they are not afraid of people or vehicles. 

The first part of the ride was a little hairy because of the narrow roads and of course the up and down and all around  the roads go.  We also got to see some of the sights we saw the first time around like Norris Geysers and the road that leads to Old Faithful.  You could see steam going up along the side of the road.    It is quite  a sight.  It makes one think of volcanoes and earth's crust and all the other stuff that shakes up the world.

Once we got to the lower half of Yellowstone the roads were a little wider and I felt more comfortable riding in the motor home.  When you leave YNP, it is only 8 miles to Grand Teton National Park.   So we drove about 100 mi.    We are at Colter Village where we are staying for free thanks to our Golden Age Pass.  We are dry docked again, but that is ok. We could have full hookups for $50.00 a night.  No thanks.  We will stay here till Sunday because that is the last day they are open.

We got setup with no hitches.  We (Joe) are getting real good at tearing down and setting up.  I do help with the slides.  I yell vanity out when he says he is putting it out.  Then the bed goes out and I confirm that it is out and so on.  I also get in the Jeep while he unhooks it and then I move it to a better place - out of the way.  We unhook the jeep first then set the levelers so the RV doesn't rock while someone is walking or sitting down.  Then the 4 slides come out.  Then we take the locks of the cabinet doors and take the bungee cord off the fridge so we can open the doors.  For a while it looks neat because we had to make sure everything was put away before we move.

We went to Jackson Lake Lodge for supper.  We both had a Bivouac Turkey Croissant.  It was very good. 

 We then decided to drive a dirt road (4 wheel drive required) along the Snake River.  It was about 17 mi. long.  We thought since it was later in the afternoon that we might see some animals.  No such luck but there was a lot of beautiful scenery (I got pics).  It took us to about 9:00 to get back home.  It was scary with lots of deep ruts and rocky road and cliffs and a lot of flat area where you could see for miles.  We did a lot of bouncing around - the jeep took it all.  We forgot to take the spare tire for the motor home off the back of the jeep so we did some bottoming out.  Steph,  it held nicely.  You and Grampy do good work.

 

 

Tuesday - Battery is charged

Boy do I need an extra battery for my camera.  There was so much I missed on Monday.  There was a coyote walking along the side of the road. There were a herd of bison in a plain down over a cliff and the scenery everywhere was just asking to have a picture taken.

We went back to YNP's version of the Grand Canyon which was one of the things I didn't get the first time around.  The pictures will be on FB.  The rock formations and the colors were just fabulous!  I took a lot of picture - I'm sure they will not do it justice. 

On the way back to the campground we had to go through some construction.  They were resurfacing the road and another place they were working on the cliffs.  We stopped to see the petrified tree and then we took a 6mi. back road which was dirt and had not seen a grader in a few years.  A perfect one for the jeep. We saw lots of rolling hills and the west's version of fall.  We also saw some big horned sheep.  I had to change lenses to get any pictures and by that time they had run over the hill.  They are very shy.  Not like the elk or the buffalo. 

The elk just wander anywhere they want.  They were in Mammoth village one day just lying around in the grass all around the building and they were here in the campground.  the bull elk just lays in the grass and his harem is all around him.  He is quite majestic with his big rack of horns. 

We did not see any bear on moose while we were here.

Monday in YNP

We spent all day Monday driving a loop around the park.  It is bigger than I expected.  We probably drove over 100 miles.  We spent the whole day driving the loop with me wanting to take pictures every 50 feet or so. You should have heard the "humphs" but he did it anyway - he loves me lots.

The first place we stopped was Mammoth Springs.  It was early in the morning and there was a lot of steam with the cool air.  But what a sight!  The pictures will be on FB.  I was taking pictures out the car window or asking Joe to stop so I could get one.

The second place we stopped was Norris Geysers.  There were a lot of hot springs and little geysers and stuff.  There was a 1.2 mile hike around the area and I took that while Joe hung out at the museum.  That took me about an hour and a half but I got lots of pictures.  They also will be posted to FB.

We stopped a lot of places in between the stops to get pictures.  The country is so different from back home.  I couldn't stop taking pictures.

The last stop was Old Faithful.  That was the primary reason for being here.  Not the bison or the elk or the sheep or any of the other animals or sights that we saw.  (believe that and I have a bridge to sell you Ha Ha).

Of course my camera battery started to die right at Old Faithful.  I had to keep shutting my camera off to save energy.  But I got some of it going off.  It was way cool  Yup, pictures on FB.

We finally made it home about supper time.  Had supper and that was the end of us.

Sunday - Another Easy Day

We pretty much planned not to wander around the park on the  weekend.  It was time for us to unwind from driving and get ourselves situated with the motor home and our area. 

The campgrounds are very nice.  The camp site are nicely spaced.  You can pull in and pull out when you are ready to leave.  We just happen to be at the beginning of the area and have to drive through the whole campground to get out.  That is fine with the jeep but we had to move the motor home on Sunday to get fuel and water.  We scraped a couple of trees on the way out.  Lesson learned - NO shortcuts!!

There are people here with everything from tents to 5th wheels to motor homes like ours.  The people are very friendly.  One couple noticed our solar panels on the top of our RV and was interested.  Then we met a young couple camped in the spot ahead of us.  They were very nice. They were in a tent.  It was in the 40's and 50's at night.  They only stayed one night. 

We are camped at the north end of the park at Mammoth Springs.  There is a town called Gardiner that is about 5 mi. from here.  We went there to do laundry and we had a couple of meal there.  It is strictly a tourist town and for people who work in the park.

Saturday- First Day at Yellowstone

 

It is Saturday.  Everyone and his brother is here in the park.  We decided to just hang out at the motor home. 

Joe did little odd jobs around the motor home.  He took a nice long nap and cooked American chop suey for supper. 

I read my book and tried to get pictures uploaded to my blog unsuccessfully.  So I put the pictures on face book and wrote the blog.  The pictures will not upload.  That may be the way I do the pictures for a while.

We figure the weekend is going to be congested so we are going to explore Monday. 

We saw some elk in our campground.  I took pictures that I will put on Face book.

Friday, off to Yellowstone - Again!

 

Here we go again, folks.  We left Billings, MT about 7:30 this morning. Needless to say we did not go over Beartooth Pass again.  We pretty much followed the same route till we hit 310 and followed that to Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and followed that to the other side of Beartooth Pass and to Cooke City MT and on to Yellowstone National Park.

Part of the highway we were on was coming down off the mountain.  It was a lot of twists and turns and up and down hills.  It was kind of scary for me. The motor home was acting the same way it was before so I guess it was normal for all those hills.   

We are camped at Mammoth campground and are settled in.  Our hope is to stay after the weekend when the park will be less congested.  Then we will get to enjoy all the sights.

We already saw buffalo and elk and deer.  The deer here have big ears and are more grey than tan. 

We went to Gardiner MT for supper and more importantly we did laundry.  The dinner was good and doing laundry was fun and expensive.  The other ladies and I decided it would be cheaper to go out and buy clothes and just discard the dirty ones.  Joe didn't think that was funny.  He got out voted by the women. 

I could not upload the pictures to the blog so I posted them  to facebook - sorry.

We are in for the night.  Good night.

 

Thursday - It is Joe's Birthday

 

 

The motor home is all fixed we are relaxed and it is Joe's birthday.  We are doing nothing.  Which means we are not driving anywhere.  We are staying right in the parking lot and watching the world go by.

We went to a restaurant called the Muzzle Loader for breakfast.  It is a combination cafe and casino.  The food is good and cheap and the waitresses are really nice. 

Then we went to Wal-Mart to get prescriptions filled and do some shopping for some things we needed. 

I got a recipe off the internet for some coleslaw and made it for Joe.  He wants the cabbage to be easier to chew.  We got some grapes that were really good.

There was no stress - just peace and quiet.  Joe did some things around the motor home like dump the garbage and set mouse traps.  We have had mice since we got the awnings fixed in the spring.  They went to  Maine with us and they are still with us.  I cleaned all the drawers in the kitchen and did all the dishes and washed the dish towels and all the utensils in the drawers.  I also had to wash all the towels and blankets.  This is fall and I found them in the drawers again.  We have been setting traps and get one here and there.  We hadn't had any in a long time and thought they were gone.   Here we go again, folks.

Just peace and quiet.

Thank you

These pictures are antiques that are around the parking lot where we were parked

 

Wednesday - the Day of Repair

 

We really took advantage of being at "sea level"  I'm sure we're not but close enough.  We didn't get out of bed till 8:00 mountain time.  It felt so good just to be where we could breathe and not feel the RV rockin and rollin.  

The mechanics  showed up just as we were getting up and around.  I had to hurry and get dressed and  Joe had to close everything up so they could drive it over to the garage and check it out. 

The generator/alternator  was really fried.  We have to get a new one which they ordered for us.  Now we have to wait for it to come in. 

While the motor home was being worked on we could stay in their waiting room.  There was a little kitchenette there, they had 2 coffee pots going, and there was a television with a WII.  All the comforts of  home.  Joe found the coffee, I found the teeny beanies jelly beans - yum.

I worked some more on the blogs and getting them posted.  I am getting better at this blogging.  By the time I finish I might be an expert ha ha.

I just want to say that the people we have met through this whole ordeal have been extremely kind and helpful.

There was the couple that took me to the emergency phone.   They stayed with me while I called for help and then they took me back to the motor home so we could help Joe.  They stayed with us till we were able to deal with everything.  There were passing cars stopping to offer assistance.  The state police from Montana were helpful and supportive.  There was a wrecker that came with the state police who offered his assistance.  He was kind and helpful but his wrecker was just for cars. 

The huge wrecker that came that night was even helpful (at the time we didn't think so).  He and Joe talked and decided it wasn't a good idea to drive it off the mountain because it could start a fire. We decided that it was a good thing that he never came back to get us because his truck just was not big enough. Even though it was for larger trucks. 

The Hanser people were very kind.  They were so helpful.  Mr. Hanser  the owner greeted us the next day when the motor home came over to be checked out and fixed.  He told us that it was his son that came to get us.  The office people worked very hard getting all the paperwork in order so that it was a smooth ending.   With everything that they did for us we are eternally grateful to all of them. 

They had the motor home all fixed up and ready to go by mid afternoon.   Thank you all very much! It was a pleasure meeting all of you - it would have been much better under different circumstances.

 

 This a picture of our home getting fixed in the garage

 Here is where we are parked and below are some of Hanser's Towing Service.

Tuesday

 Today was the day.  WE WERE GETTING OFF THE MOUNTAIN!!!!  I cooked breakfast and did up the dishes.  We got ourselves ready and we tried to get everything put away as best we could.  We were probably ready by 8:00 in the morning.  Now all we had to do was wait. 

When I talked to the girl at Hanser's we figured they would leave first thing in the morning and they would probably get there about noon time.  So we had all morning to wait.  We double checked to be sure everything was battened down so nothing would break. 

Morning came and went and no tow truck.  Here we were thinking we were finally getting of that windy, cold mountain and no one was there.  It really was tough to take.  We pretty much were thinking we were not going to get off this place.  It was very scary.  Joe decided to go back to the emergency phone at talk to them again.  They were shocked that we were still there.  Since we were in Wyoming, they called the Wyoming State Police.  They said they would take care of it.  So we waited some more.  We just decided that whoever gets there first was the one to get us off the mountain.  So we waited some more.

I tried to suggest that he take a nap but he couldn't sleep so he sat in the chair and dozed.  I sat in the captain's chair and just read my book.  I watched as some people on Bicycles went by and was amazed because if the steepness of the roadways.  These were not young men either. I went back to my reading and just  waited.

A little while later I looked up again and there was this strange truck in front of us.  It said Hanser's on it so I called Joe to say we had company and then I saw the wrecker coming up the road.  We were so happy to finally see someone there to help us.  The relief was overwhelming.  We were finally going to get down off the mountain. 

They got everything done that needed to be done to hook us up and we were really on our way!  We followed them in the jeep down off that mountain.  It was a slow process because of the twists and turns and because we  were so long.  There was a pilot car ahead of us to stop traffic on the sharp bends so we could take both lanes to go around them.  It was a slow, slow process.

The wrecker got there about 2:30 in the afternoon and we left there about 4:00 to head back to Billings.  We got to Billings Montana about 9:00 that night.  The pilot car and we had to stop for gas and the wrecker went on.  When we got back on the road we followed the pilot car.  We never caught up to the wrecker till we hit the exit to get off for the place we were staying.  They had a place to park the motor home where we could set up for the night.  We could let out our slides and we  were comfortable for the night.

It was so wonderful to be able to open it up because we never had it open all the while we were on the mountain. 

It just felt good for both us to be able to breathe.  On the mountain at almost 11,000 feet the air was thin enough that we had to light the stove with a match because there wasn't enough oxygen to light it.  All our containers that we used are sucked in because now we are down to a lower elevation. 

We finally made it off the mountain.  I cannot say it enough!

Monday

 

Now we are waiting for the wrecker to show up.  Joe does not want to wait another day on this mountain.  I don't blame him I want to be off this mountain too - enough is enough.  He waited till 11:30 for them to show up and decided to go see what was the hold up.  He is also going to call the kids to let them know we are alright.  We usually talk to at least one of them a day and it has been 2 days since there was any communication.

Most of the day for me was spent waiting for him to get back.  So I read my Kindle, worked on my blogging, played games on the computer and sat in the Captain's chair and watched the mountain.  There were birds just soaring with the wind.  They would soar on the wind then they would close their wings and make a dive.  They wouldn't necessarily go after anything.  It was like they were playing. I tried to get a picture of one but it was too far away.  There was a small lake that looked like it was a big ocean.  There seemed to be a gap at the far end of the lake and you could see waves going across.  It was really cool to watch.  All of that was happening because of the wild wind. 

In the morning you can watch the sun rise by watching the landscape.  You can see the shadows move as the sun hits the rocks.

There are a lot of cars that drive by.  A lot stop to take pictures and you can watch them for a long time as they traverse the roads.  As cold as it is there were a lot of motorcycles going up and down the mountain.  We pretty much had a bird's eye view from where we were.

Joe got back about 4:00 in the afternoon.  He was not a happy camper.  He talked to the guy who was supposed to come and get us and he said he wasn't coming and that he called Billings Montana to have the wrecker from there come get us.  He said he called them Sat. night.  So Joe called and wanted them to come and get us and they said that AAA had to call them if we wanted them to foot the bill.  So Joe called AAA and they said it would be about an hour.  Hhe called at about 1:00 So he hurried back because he thought they would be here when he got here. So we waited some more.  They never came. 

After some discussion, it was decide that I would go to Red Lodge - back the way we came - hoping to run into the wrecker - to call and find out what happened.  After being on this mountain and knowing what it was like driving up to where we were. What with all the vistas, and DROPS, I could not look at it any more so I just kept my eyes on the road and didn't look.  I did drive slow and carefully down the mountain. 

I finally got a cell signal and called Lois to let her know what was going on.  I also asked her to call her sisters to let them know.  I wanted to conserve my cell phone to call the wrecker. 

I got to a gas station, told my plight to the girl behind the counter and she gave me the phone book so I could look up the number.  When I reached the Wrecker Company they told me they were waiting for AAA to call them back.  Apparently they had called for a price and then never called back.  They couldn't get a hold of us because we didn't have any cell service.  So it all got stalled.  The girl I talked to told me if we wanted to pay for the tow they could come out to get us.  I said I would call her back.  We were talking big money.  I finally called her back and said that we would pay for it.  We needed to get off that mountain. 

I finally got back to the motor home - it was almost dark.  I told him what happened and we had to spend one more night on that mountain.

These are some of the pictures I took on the mountain.  The black borders you see in some is the window frame.  I didn't even want to go outside.  I did on some.

Sunday - Our Day on the Mountain

 

What can you do on a Sunday with nothing to do but watch the grass blow in the wind.  We had to wait till Monday for the wrecker to come back again.  We had all day Sunday to just sit and wait. 

We have no cell phone access, no internet access but we did have satellite access.  So we could watch television.  We could watch all the cars go by.  Some stopped to take pictures.  You can see for miles and miles.  I read my book, played some games on the computer, made egg and tuna salad and watched the cars as they traveled back and forth on the switch backs.  You can see them for miles and miles too.

I also caught up on my blogging.  I wrote our experiences in Word so now when we get internet access again I can just copy them into my blog.  Joe got to watch some tennis but not as much as he wanted to.

We also got to talk about the night before and the fear we both had.  I was so frightened that I could not go to bed that night.  All I could think of was the RV just running away.  Joe even went out and put rocks at the wheels to help make me feel better.  He is such a good man, he stayed with me.  I sat in the chair ( I wanted to be close to the door just in case) and he slept on the most uncomfortable couch.  Finally about 4:00 I agreed to go to bed.  I was up at 6.

Sunday - probably because it was daylight - I felt much better and Sunday night it was ok for me to go to bed.

The wind here is something else.  It literally rocks the motor home. I know the wind has to be really strong to tip something as big at this but the thought is still there.  We figured the wind must have blowing at least 30 mph.  We couldn't even open or close the door to the motor home without a struggle.

It was pretty much a lazy day if it weren't for our position. 

Driving to Yellowstone

 

Beartooth Pass 10947 Ft.

Saturday morning we decided to start on the next leg of our journey and head for Yellowstone National Park.  The day was just beautiful.  Not a cloud in the sky.  It was in the 80's and we were listening to "Vanishing Acts" by  Jodi Picoult.  We were on 94 then to Rt. 212 to take us to Yellowstone.  We stopped in Red Lodge at a grocery store for supplies and then headed on our way.   Well everything went to hell from there.   The road we were on went up a mountain!  That was ok.  There were twists and turn and if you looked down you could see where we came from.  We got to the top of the mountain when the RV started acting up.  It was shifting hesitantly and started beeping.  We got on a straight away and the beeping stopped so we thought we were ok.  We got just to the crest of a downgrade and it completely died!  When it quits, everything quits.  The hydraulics the steering and the brakes.  Joe had his foot on the brake and it still would not stop!  And of course we are at the top of a mountain - there is no cell phone service to call 911.  Joe tried to start the generator that charges up the batteries and it would not start.

You are in the mountains with no fields that you hope you could steer into to at least save us.  All you see are drop offs.  One of the problem was we could not steer it.   There was a car coming and I got out of the RV and flagged them down and explained our problem.  They drove me back down the road to an emergency phone where I called for help. They were sending a tow truck and the police to help us.  The dispatcher wanted me to wait at the emergency phone but we needed to go back and help Joe. All I could think of was finding Joe in a gully or over a cliff with the RV.  We went back to where he was and he was still in the road with the flashers going.  I was so relieved he was still there. Someone had come along and placed a big rock under a wheel and that held the RV in place.  Thank God!!  He had also gotten the generator running and was charging the batteries.  The police finally arrived to check on us.  They were very nice though there was nothing they could do.  There was one wrecker - like what you use for a car.  That was not going to touch us.  He talked to Joe for a while and then he left.  The officers then called for a truck wrecker and they told us the wrecker would be there in a couple of hours and then they left.  

We finally got all the batteries charged up so we decided to head down the mountain.  We met the wrecker coming up the road. Because of all the switchbacks we could see him from a long ways off.  He had his lights on the top of his truck flashing. When he got closer we flashed our lights and he stopped beside us.  He and Joe talked for a minute or two and decided we should not drive down the mountain because with a bad generator it could start a fire.  No one needed that!  So the truck turned around and started working at hooking us up to tow us down the mountain. 

That should be the end of the story, right?  WRONG!  As they were trying to hook us up something on the wrecker broke - the universal joint.  Needless to say they had to unhook us, get us parked on the side of the road and said goodbye.  They would be back Monday to hook us up and take us back to the garage.  Or they could call a trucker in Billings Montana to come get us.  We opted to wait till Monday for him to get his truck fixed and come back and get us. 

So here we are stuck on the top of this damnable mountain for now.

Medora Musical

 

 

If I had a brain I would be dangerous.  Saturday night we went to the Medora Musical and I forgot my camera. So I will do my best to describe it.

 There was a "steak fondue" and buffet before the show They gave us these metal sectioned off trays for our food and we would all be in a line to go to the buffet. The buffet consisted of fresh veggies like carrots,  cherry tomatoes and broccoli with a ranch dressing.  There were baked beans and baked potatoes too.  Pretty much a nice country buffet. 

The interesting part was the steak fondue.  There were 5 vats of hot oil along the wall.  These vats were about the size of big oil drums.  Then there were all these pitchforks leaning against the railing.  They took the pitchforks and skewered about 8 steaks on each of them and leaned them against the railing.  They prepared the steaks first so you are seeing all these pitchforks with raw steaks skewered on them and all leaning against the railing.   Then they would stick a pitchfork into the vat of oil and cook the steaks and then they would be served to the people in line.   Never saw anything like it. 

Then we had water and desert which consisted of cinnamon donuts and chocolate cake.  It was all a lot of fun.

After you finished your dinner you had time to wander around and see the land and canyons and you could look down in this canyon and see the stage and the theater seats.  There was not a bad seat anywhere.  Our seats were just perfect.  Not so close  that we  couldn't see everything and high enough so that we were just above the stage.  It was a wonderful show

The musical show consisted of a group of singers and dancers who told the story of Theodore Roosevelt and how he thought he would never have been president but for his experiences in the Badlands of North Dakota.  It was all outdoors right in the badlands.  It even had live horses in it.  It was a lot of fun.