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

Sept 7 - Sept 13, 2019 Forest Lookout Tower, Rain, and Boy was I Lucky!

Saturday - Sept 7
When the routine things were done, we found out Steve had caught a mouse. Our time here is passing fast. There were not too many folks here at11:15 AM.  Someone was here with diving equipment looking for lost anchors. Weird huh? Later we drove down to Porcupine Creek Road and checked the forest lookout and another forest road. We didn't see any bears. We had a nice walk and a campfire back at the RV. We ate nachos for supper, then showered and went to bed.

Forest Lookout Tower

We think this is Porcupine Creek

Campfire

Sunday - Sept 8
Today we watched the Dallas Cowboys win their game! We ate hamburgers at home. It was a calm afternoon. We did see some divers again today. We walked the loop with the dogs later because they love that. They think they are on a hunting trip. Supper was Canadian Bacon, Scrambled eggs and toast.  We talked to Kristi then watched Longmire. It rained from 7 PM on through the night.

Divers- noticed he flippers

Monday - Sept 9
It was still raining this morning when we got up. We were late getting up so we quickly let the dogs out to go potty. They didn't want out much - they don't like the rain. We stayed inside while it rained, most of the day. It finally let up and walked the dogs. It rained again in the afternoon. Steve and I went to town for pizza then returned to watch TV.

Mist over mountains

Tuesday - Sept 10
After accomplishing our morning routine -we drove to Kalispell. We dropped our volunteer timesheets off at the FWP office, then went to Walmart for supplies. After getting back to the RV we put away our supplies and ate leftover pizza. A girl and her dog (with no leash) went to the dock and swam part way across the lake.  I told her the dog needed a leash but she didn't seem to care. She said, "We are just going to swim in the lake"
OK, fine. Later we  took the dogs on a ride to town and also cleaned the Bifogrk Access. We put out some rope lights under the RV because they are supposed to keep mice away. We were really nice to the dogs today - because we walked the north beach and let them come with us.  We are trying to use up our firewood - so we had a nice fire tonight also.

Cloud and Mountains

Rainbow

Rainbow

Wednesday - Sept 11
The mornings are all mostly the same. I made hamburger helper for lunch. Next we watched some TV. The aren't very many folks here today. Steve straightened out the back of the pickup. We also did an inventory of the supplies we have on hand in the shed. Steve picked up up rocks and sticks down in front of the boat parking, because he hopes to use the lawnmower there next year instead of weed eating. I worked on the blog some then watched Longmire . We also looked on the computer to check out new awnings to replace ours.

Weird piece of equipment someone brought down from the loop road to load onto a trailer later. 

Thursday - Sept 12
Today Steve's back was bothering him. We walked after breakfast and did the chores about 11 AM. We checked the tire pressure on the RV - all at 86 - 88 pounds pressure. Then we checked the oil and fluids. The RV wouldn't start - so we drove to town for a couple of new connections. The dogs went with us - they love riding in the pickup. Steve got those ends changed and the RV started. We had a lunch of sandwiches and chips. I made Steve sit in his reclining chair and rest his back. He got a short nap. The we walked , had supper and watched TV.

Friday - Sept 13
Steve'a back was giving him fits and Zoey got him up at 3:00 AM. He called me to come help him back into the RV. We were up and down til 6:00 AM or so. He never got back to sleep , but I did and got up later at 8:30. After eating breakfast, I walked the dogs separately. I called a chiropractor in town  $30 Chiropractor - Dr. Whipple - Whip. He is open from 11 - 5:30 . We got there at 11 and Steve was 2nd in line. He started walking and feeling better soon. He was not great but improved. We returned to the RV and rested. Steve put  ice on his back and was a little better. He was good enough to walk a bit with the dogs. I fixed chicken  soup for supper then more resting and TV. We walked down in the parking lot and I found a $50 bill in the boat chute!  Lucky me!