Klinger Musings: November 2025

24-Wed-We were up about 7:30 and it was 40°. Just a little too chilly for us to want to get out. So we watched TV until 10 AM, then dressed and took our walk. We put away the Shade Pro shades that cover the windshield. After lunch we hauled off the trash. Steve worked on cleaning the RV front windows. Next we folded the outdoor mat. We loaded our pickup with all its stuff. Then we moved the picnic table, fire pit and no parking sign over to chain them to the tree. Theses are things we do over a few days to get packed up and ready to hit the road. I made cube steak and green beans for supper. We almost always eat berries for supper. Sometimes we add in a Fiber One Brownie.

Echo Lake

Locking things up for the winter.

25-Thu-We were up at 7:30. We had breakfast and let it warm up outside. Then we got dressed and made the bed. We walked the dogs. We drained the black and gray tanks again. We put up the water hose and let the slide in. Then we retracted the jacks. Next we locked the water hydrant, electric post, sewer opening and shed. I take pics and send them to the boss. After that is done we attach the pickup to the RV and we are ready to take off. We made a stop at Ferndale for propane. After we were down the road aways, the jack alert came on. It was loud. One of the jacks was not stowed properly. Steve fixed that and then we drove on heading through Seeley Lake and Lincoln, MT. That road (MT 200) takes you over Rogers pass and through the downhill switchbacks. The uphill did not seem too bad, but those switchbacks are not as fun. You really have to slow down to about 25 mph and keep a tight hold on the wheel. After we got through that and further down the road we had some kind of trouble with the RV. Steve felt it shake and he was able to get off the road and we got out to inspect the problem. There was some smoke coming out of the rear area by the drivers side rear tire. But he could not see anything leaking. So we decided to try to make it on in to Great Falls. We did not have a cell phone signal and we were about 50 miles from town. So my wonderful husband kept driving and we made it to Great Falls and stayed at the Fam Camp (Malmstrom AFB).We both heaved a sigh of relief.

Water Hydrant

Packed shed

Electric pole locked

Sewer locked

Goodbye Echo Lake

Ready to Roll

Swan Lake

Veiws on Highway 83

Fall Colors at Seeley Lake (S. side of town)

Seeley Lake

More fall colors at Helmville, MT

Blackfoot River nera Lincoln, MT Highway 200

Big rocks at the pullout for a dog walk

Rogers Pass - Continental Divide

Wolf Creek

26-Fri-We were up at 7:30 again this morning. We had breakfast and got dressed and walked Buster. I call the Famcamp office to pay for 5 nights, so we have time to check out the RV problem. We tried calling several mechanic shops but kept getting messages. So Steve had a great idea of just driving to them and seeing when they can get us in to check out the RV. The third place, Mechanix Unlimited can check us out. We went back to the RV and had lunch. Then the man from Mechanix Unlimited came out to look at the RV. He looked things over and set us up with an appointment for Monday (9/29/25) morning at 8:00 AM. So then we relaxed and got the dogs out for a walk. We also went to Walmart for supplies. Supper was frozen meals.

Poopsie (Zoe)

27-Sat-We slept in til about 8:45 this morning. I was up with Poopsie in the middle of the night - so we were tired. We finally got dressed about 10 AM and took the dogs for a walk. I made chili for lunch and we watched my Oklahoma State Cowboys (football) get beat!. Steve & I went tot he BX and Commissary on base and picked up a few things. Then it was back to the RV. I fixed chili nachos for supper.

Chili Nachos

28-Sun-We got up and around. After breakfast we went on a nice walk. Then we returned to the RV and watched football. We dumped our tanks and put in some fresh water. We also packed a bag in case we need to stay in a hotel while the RV is getting checked out. Dallas tied with Green Bay. Supper was turkey bacon, eggs, toast and berries.

Buster on our walk

Field we walked around on the south side of the famcamp.

Mountains in the distant haze.

29-Mon-We got up at 6 AM and had our breakfast. Then we disconnected the utilities and walked the dogs. We got the skies in and jacks stowed. Steve drove the RV and followed me to the Mechanix Unlimited shop. We left at 7 AM and got there at 7:30. The Famcamp and mechanic shop are on opposite sides of town, about 10 miles apart. We went inside and they did not have us on the schedule to get looked at. I guess that guy who was there on Friday dropped the ball. Anyway they said they would get it in as soon as possible. We took the dogs and went to Giant Springs State Park (in Great Falls) and walked and sat in the pickup and then walked some more. It was a bit chilly this morning. Then we drove to the duck pond. After that we decided to check on the RV. It was not in the shop and had not been moved. We were a little frustrated. Our next stop was lunch at McDonald’s. Then we returned to the mechanic shop and sat in the RV til 2:30PM. Finally they came out and put it in the shop. Steve went with them and they put it up on the rack and everyone looked underneath it and checked it out. They could not find anything wrong. So we left by 3:15 after paying a diagnostic fee of about $300.00. We returned to the Famcamp and hooked up the electric. We rested and snacked. We did go to O’Reilly’s for some oil and transmission fluid for our trip home. Our decision was to get in the next morning and head south and east and see how far we make it.

Sunrise 7:15 AM Great Falls

Morning Sky 7:56 Am

Giant Springs State Park - Fish Hatchery Show Pond. Big fish!

Waterfall

The water is so clear!

The spring is bubbling! Bluffs in the background.

Roe River is the smallest River and joins the Missouri.

30-Tue-We were up at 7:00 this morning. So we had breakfast and got dressed. Then we walked the dogs and made the RV ready to go down the road. We left Great Falls about 9:00 AM and headed south on 89 through Neihart and Whitehall, MT to meet up with I-90. We decided we would stick to the interstate in case anything went wrong with the RV at least we would have a place to pull off and most likely a cell phone signal. We stopped at Park City outside Billings to get gas. While we were stopped we found the cable that pulls the brake pedal on our pickup when we tow it, had been stuck and probably burned the brake pads on the pickup. Some days traveling in the RV has problems. We made it to Billings KOA and had a nice patio site, but the trees blocked the satellite signal. We were kind of tired - so we just did without TV. We called and got pizza delivered from Domino’s.