Friday, November 10, 2023

September 16 - 21, 2023 Leaving Our Summer Place, Heading South and East

Sept 16-Saturday-When we got outside we noticed 15 pickups with boat trailers here. They must have been having a friendly tournament. We did all our usual things. Of course the RV wouldn't start - so Steve had to clean the battery posts and jump it. But he got it going! We hung out and watched football. We also went to town and picked up some groceries. 

Batteries below the step

Sept 17-Sunday-Today Sydney was here and she helped us lock up the picnic table the trash can and the fire pit. We started packing our outside stuff. Steve worked hard on cleaning the windows. So we stayed busy most of the day. 

Chained and Locked!

Sept 18-Monday-Ok we got up and ate our breakfast dressed and made the bed. Tony P called at 8:30 and said he was coming down to see us off. We started packing things inside and I took the dogs for a short walk. We grabbed the trail camera. Steve unhooked the water and electric. We did more last minute packing. Then Tony got here about 9:30 or so. We visited with him for a bit and continued packing. I made sure to ask him if mid May is early enough for us to return next year and he said it would be fine. We attached the pickup and left about 10:30 or 10:45 AM. We had a little trouble with the GPS because the battery disconnect was off. Then everything worked. We headed down Swan Valley to Lincoln MT over Rogers Pass on MT 200. We arrived at Great Falls and checked into the Famcamp at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Shed is packed up


Electric Post is locked



Yes, we even lock up the sewer connection!


Echo Lake - Moody


Eagle in tree on MT 200

Eagle


Echo Lake

Echo Lake

Seeley Lake

Seeley Lake


Seeley Lake


Eagle in flight

Flag Hill in Great Falls, MT 


Tribute to Lewis & Clark Expedition at Gateway Famcamp - Great Falls, MT


Sept 19-Tuesday-We were up at 8:30 and did our routine things. First on the list was to do some laundry. Then we made a trip over to the commissary on base. While we were there we also check out the BX.  We finished the evening by going out to La Cocina for Mexican food. This restaurant received pretty good reviews on Yelp. Well I would not recommend it. Of course, Mexican in Montana is not as good as it is in Oklahoma or probably any Southwestern state. My opinion. 

Sept 20 - Wednesday-We were up at 8:15. Then we put some water in our fresh water tank and unhooked the utilities. Next we hooked up the pickup. On our way out of town we stopped for gas. I talked to my sister, Marsha. Then we drove to Neihart to Many Pines campground (forest) After we arrived we walked around the campground and decided on site # 20. It had some firewood left and we took advantage of it. We set up the RV and then took a drive to the other forest Campground, King’s Hill and Forest Road 267, where Steve used to camp when he was stationed at Malmstrom. Then it was back our campsite where Steve made us a nice fire. We sat outside for about an hour and a half. Since it was rainy and chilly we went in the RV to rest and relax. Supper was Chili and the weather was great for that.  I just love this place, Belt Creek runs through the campground and the setting is lovely.

Sluice Boxes State Park

Belt Creek
Barn near Belt, MT




Lewis & Clark National Forest


On the way to Neihart, MT


Belt Creek - looking north from CG entrance


A lovely yellow tree

Nice little homestead near Neihart, MT


Some rock formation- Poopsie is checking it out!




Dispersed Campsite



Dispersed Camp site on FR 267

Another Creek (Jefferson Creek)



Many Pines Campground Site # 20

View from Campsite

Campfire! Poopsie is always nearby

View near campsite


Sept 21 - Thursday-We got up and had our breakfast along with some hot cocoa. We used the generator to run the heater and warm up the RV. Then we made our bed and put away things to get ready to roll. We decided to drive separately since we had to go over King's Hill Pass, where we would stop at the top of the pass and hook up the pickup to the RV. That way it would not be too hard to get up the mountain. As we left Many Pines Campground we entered a winter wonderland. The higher we climbed the more snow we saw.  It was so pretty! But, it was also a little bit chilly hooking up the pickup. Then we drove to Livingston, MT and joined I-90. We stopped at the rest stop in Greycliff and then arrived at Billings KOA about 3:30. We got the RV set up and walked the dogs before the rain started. We ate nachos for supper and hung out. 







At the Top of King's Hill Pass




Near White Sulphur Springs









Wednesday, November 1, 2023

September 1 - 15, 2023 Enjoying our Last Few Weeks

Sept 1-Friday-Today in addition to our regular chores we checked the car count. Then I texted it to Tony Powell. After finishing we sat outside and enjoyed the nice morning. Tony came by later and visited about 30 minutes. I turned in our timesheets and gave him some cookies from Polebridge Mercantile that we had saved (in the freezer) for him. Then it was off to town to mail out birthday cards and another piece of mail. We checked out the state State Park at Somers. It’s not developed yet. At some point they plan to put up 2 or 3 rental cabins. That will be nice. We had a campfire and sat outside this evening.

Sept 2-Saturday-We did the routine things this morning. Then we flushed the black tank.We monitored the site and watched football. We were busy but it was not crazy. Supper was turkey bacon, eggs, toast and berries! 

Poopsie got tangled up!

Woodpecker

I think there is a bird on these logs

Sept 3 -Sunday-We got up at 9 AM. When we started to walk the rain came down. So there was not need to do any chores. Everything looked good. Sydney was here around noon and we had a short visit. Later we took a run into town for a few grocery items. 


Deer


There is a buck hiding out

Sept 4-Monday-Again we slept until 9 AM. Then we hung out inside because it was raining and overcast. We did walk and do our chores later. I also took a nap after lunch. I wrote a letter to Logan, our grandson who is in basic training in Georgia.

Sept 5-Tuesday-It seems like today was another routine day. Tony P called and we made arrangements to meet him and Sydney in Bigfork for lunch tomorrow. We will eat at the Pocketstone Cafe. You can’t go wrong eating there or Echo Lake Cafe! Both are really good - they also have extra large portions, so if you are not hungry plan to take some home. We hauled off the trash and took a little drive with the dogs. They just love to ride in the pickup.

Buster (top) and Poopsie - sleeping

There is a fox at the base of that tree!

We turned on the trail camera and saw the fox! He ran right down by the RV!


Sept 6-Wednesday-We were up and around pretty good this morning. We wen to town for lunch with Tony and Sydney. Steve & I did a tiny bit of shopping then returned  to the RV. There was a man here with a charcoal grill on the dock. It rained and he left! Yea! You see, he was here this morning and  parked in a weird way. So Steve talked to him about parking better and he moved. Then he asked about using his charcoal grill - and we said that was ok, but we did not know he was going to have it on the dock! Also he had his chair and some other stuff out there, actually making a mess. But we let it go since he was an older gentleman. Anyway, that is what happens some days. Some of these people just push the boundaries every time. As the old saying goes: Give them an inch and they take a mile! 

Sept 7-Thursday-Today we did all our chores and walked. Then we loaded up the laundry and went to town. After laundry we stopped at the grocery store. We had a nice little lunch and walked the dogs a few more times. 

Sept 8-Friday-Again it was another routine morning. It’s good we have routines, or we wouldn’t know what to do! LOL Steve cleaned out the back of his pickup Then we went down to the parking lot and picked up limbs from the grassy area where we mow. Later we drove to the Swan River Fishing Access site. I took some pictures and we walked around. We saw a beautiful rainbow and deer!

Blue Sky

Echo Lake looking fine!

More blue sky

A beautiful house on the Swan River. Just a few leaves turning red.

The amazing Swan River


The Rainbow after the rain!



Sept 9-Saturday-Hip Hip Hooray! We get to watch football today. We skipped lunch and went to town early to eat pizza and go to the store. We saw 7 deer today. It was a lovely day here!

Sept 10-Sunday-Today we got to watch more football after lunch. We checked the tires and a front one was low. Dallas beat the Giants. 

Sept11-Monday-Morning was routine. After lunch we left for Kalispell. We took the pickup in to Les Schwab Tires for an alignment. Then we went to Walmart and returned to the RV. We got that accomplished pretty quickly.

Look close and you will see a rock lined path. When the water got low, someone made a rock path!

Sept 12-Tuesday-We did the routine things and also hauled off our trash. Then it was back to the RV. I paid bills and worked on the computer. Steve vacuumed the bedroom and bathroom. He cleaned and dusted. He likes to do that, me not so much. Later we made a fire and cooked hamburgers and potatoes on the grill. It was yummy. I think food cooked outside tastes great!


Sept 13-Wednesday-After completing our chores, we also walked the beach area. Steve slipped and fell getting from the dock area to the beach - It scared me- I was afraid he might have hurt his back worse. He said he was OK though. He also cleaned out a bin where the mice and been. After lunch he was vacuuming again in the front of the RV. I finally made him relax a bit. Later we moved the posts that were in the fence and put them by the shed. We also did a little weed eating and pulled some weeds. I fixed him a cowboy supper of cube steak and beans.

A beautiful sky

Putting away the loaner life jackets


Sept 14-Thursday-We were up late about 9:15 or so. It is kind of nice to sleep in sometimes. We folded the extra shade that we attach to the awning, burned some brush and took down our perimeter rope. We are starting to get our things packed to leave. We also took a drive and walked around some with the dogs.    

More deer!


Sept 15-Friday-We continued putting away odds and ends and burned some more brush. In addition we removed the Shade Pro sun screens off the front window. We took the dogs on a little drive. It’s getting close to time  to leave, so we do a few things each day to get ready.

Buster, ready to go inside