WELL I'LL BE GOL DURNED

Brrrrrr!! We’re in Bowling Green, KY at the Camping World (free camping) and woke up to a beautiful orange sunrise and frost covering everything. Thank goodness for our goose down comforter. We’re taking our time heading south, staying on the super slab which I don’t enjoy but driving through Louisville was interesting to see banners hanging from buildings commemorating the famous people who were either born/raised or lived a significant period of time there. When we are making time and stay along the expressway either at Walmart or places like this, it usually means noise and lots of light. I wear my ear plugs and a face mask and sleep like a baby. We are amazed at how much truck traffic there is on I-65, and I-75 is the same. The economy must not be too bad. Wish we could go back to train transport. Just makes more sense.
I remember January 1978, we were in our 20‘s and on our first trip with an RV. We waited patiently for a break in the storm when we could get out of Traverse City and head for Florida. We headed for I-75 and drove until dark to hopefully get out of the bad weather. We took the Corbin, KY exit planning to camp somewhere. The road we turned on was a sheet of ice and the trailer started to pass us on the left. Dick remembered his grandfather told him if he ever lost control of the trailer to not hit the car brake but pull the trailer brake. It did the job and straightened it out and we pulled off to the side. Immediately a couple of good ole boys pulled up in a tow truck (we figured they’d been waiting for suckers like us) and said “You’all call a wrecker?” They hooked onto the front of our car and trailer and pulled us to the local gas station where we spent the night. After a sleepless night, we decided to treat ourselves to breakfast at the Cracker Barrell restaurant and the waitress asked Dick if he wanted Rooster eggs or hen eggs. He looked at her with a blank stare and I said, “Try the rooster eggs, they’re bigger.” So he ordered the rooster eggs. The waitress replied, “Don’t ya’ll know that Roosters don’t lay eggs?”

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

After a full day of loading the motorhome and cleaning and then winterizing the house, we slept in the motorhome to be ready to leave at first light. With one last look around the Ole’ E Ranch, to make sure we had everything, we sat in our driver and copilot seats and just as Dick turned over the ignition it all of a sudden came to mind, “Did we call to have the insurance put on the motorhome?” “OH NO, it’s Sunday, now what?” We called the main office but no help there. We emailed our agent through his website and after waiting an hour we decided to wait instead at our favorite breakfast place downtown. If we couldn’t leave by 11:30 a.m. then we’d go to PLAN B and leave Monday morning. Fortunately, our agent has an iphone and received his email (either at church or hunting) and gave us the go ahead. The roads were still icy in spots and on the expressway there were a couple of cars flipped in the median, so as I always say, there was a reason we were held up for a few more hours. When we drive this route down 131 through Niles and into Indiana there is a stretch of farmland where many farmers raise pigs. It always reminds me of the years when Maggie was a child and we’d travel through this area to visit my parents. One such trip as we traveled by the pig farms, Maggie was probably two at the time, she says, “I Mell pigs!” So, of course, we have used that line many times when we smell anything foul. We had an appointment at 8 a.m. in Elkhart to get one hydraulic leveler fixed. It had a small, slow leak. I always knew when it started to get low because whatever I was cooking on the stove would flow to one side. Our destination is Florida and who knows from there. To be continued......

RV EVOLUTION

Dick was born into a traveling family. This was what his
parents lived in for awhile when his dad had to relocate
for his job. 

Here's a better picture of the travel trailer. This is his mom
and brother Tom taken not too long before Dick was born. 

Dick's grandparents were the first to buy an
Airstream.

Then Dick's parents bought a 1957 Airstream when
Dick was around seven and they spent many years
traveling around the U.S.

When Dick graduated from high school (1968) he bought this
1964 Suburban, and traveled that summer out west.

I

In 1977, we'd been married 3 years and wanted to travel for a year.
We bought this Olds Custom Cruiser and 1963, 27 ft Avion
and ended up working our way around the country for
nearly eight years.

In 1981 we sold the Olds station wagon and bought Dick's dad's
1966 Suburban. His dad was concerned about
its condition and said we could buy it as long as
we didn't take it out of Acme. We
drove the Alcan Hwy to Alaska that summer.

At one point we sold our Avion and bought a 31 ft Airstream.
We traveled many years and continued up into Maggie's
early childhood.
.

In 1997, Doubleday sent us on a booksigning tour through
the west. We bought a 27 ft, 1989 Jayco Motorhome for this trip.
We enjoyed it for 15 years. One of our most memorable
trips was the time Dick walked from Mexico to Canada, 3200 miles
along the Continental Divide Trail. 

Now that we're retired and live in our motorhome more,
we've been wanting one with slideouts to give us more room.
We found this one in July in Traverse City
and it had everything on our list. We decided we'd think
about it for awhile. Then after Christmas we contacted
the sellers, thinking for sure it was sold and we could
get it off our minds. It was still available but the owners
had moved it to Topeka, KS where they relocated.  We bought it and in
mid February we loaded our Saturn with everything we needed, including the
 two cats, and drove 16 hours to pick it up. We were half way to
Arizona so we hitched the Saturn to the "Mother Ship" and kept on going.
It has been a comfortable and enjoyable winter of travel through the
Southwest. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2011

HAPPY HOLIDAYS BELATED! I write this sitting in my rocker, with my feet up, next to the wood stove (this is Dick). We are burning Gren wood. No it's not a misspelling. We bought a pallet of compressed hardwood sawdust blocks. They burn just like coal. Very cool - I mean hot.
We are all doing well. Gaila is busy with a variety of things. She's always heading into town. I think she has to get away from me to keep her sanity. I stay home on my side of the creek to keep mine.
Maggie has been living here in Traverse City since July 2010. We don't see as much of her as we did when she lived 3,000 miles away in Anacortes, WA. She has been a busy farm girl this year. She and her boyfriend Brenin ran a CSA selling shares of crops and then delivering fresh vegetables every week to shareholders (if you're local sign up for a 2012 share). She also works two different jobs, is a DJ on the local NMC college station and training on car diagnostics. When her car was still running, she used to call and ASK me what was wrong with it, then she got to the point where she would call and TELL me what was wrong with it. Like my dad used to say, "A fart in a whirlwind." She and Brenin are now in Mexico attending a wedding, and Gaila and I are babysitting plants and animals.
Gaila and I agreed a year ago to be home six months and travel six months and it is working out so far. I did get 400 miles of backpacking in this year. As Mark Twain famously said, "The rumors of my death are highly exaggerated." Three people were attacked by grizzlies this past season. Two in Yellowstone were fatal and one man in Glacier was slapped around a bit. One of the Yellowstone fatalities happened to be a 60ish Michigan hiker. I was backpacking at the time, and Gaila started getting emails from a lot of people wondering how she was going to spend my life insurance bonanza. Wishful thinking people, but wrong Park. Besides, they say, if you are attacked by a bear you are safe if you smell really bad. I guarantee, if a bear attacks me I'm immediately and automatically going to smell really bad.
We have had a wonderful fall. The mild fall and early winter weather has given me the opportunity to attack the Autumn Olive bush trying to take over the Ole E Ranch (also known as Oleo Acres - the cheaper spread). I only cut the grass once a year. Once it gets tall enough it falls over. I would rather have an annual prairie fire. I accidentally did that this spring and came home to find five fire tanker trucks in the yard and a corps of firefighters with water tanks strapped on their backs spraying my yard and the neighboring property. Having a fire is actually a great way to see your neighbors. When we arrived home everyone was in the yard with a drink watching the action. Gaila calls these "Pre-Dick-aments," but you already know that. The week before the fire the creek flooded the yard. I want to get back on the road before the quake. --Keep Smilin', Dick and Gaila
The best to you in 2012.

MOUNTAINS IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR

During our last week in Glacier National Park Dick went on a 100 mile backpacking trip with Rich Ward from Atlanta, GA. They had a great seven days hiking some of the beautiful areas in the park. Maggie flew out to visit us and she and I had some mother and daughter time before the guys walked back into camp. It was great being together again in this beautiful place. Yes, Dick is alive and well. He and Rich never saw one bear. He still says it’s because he smells too bad. Glacier and Yellowstone have been in the news several times over the summer because of bear attacks, fatal falls or near drownings. Dick wanted to stay in Glacier and help search for a young man who we heard was missing the day we started for home. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/7443750-418/body-of-mchenry-county-hiker-found-in-national-park.html We kept hoping for a good outcome but sadly his body was found on Sept. 2nd where he had fallen 800 ft. The following John Muir quote was sent to us by a friend’s daughter who was part of the helicopter team that located the body.
“I never have held death in contempt, though in the course of my explorations I have often times felt that to meet one's fate on a noble mountain, or in the heart of a glacier, would be blessed as compared with death from disease, or from some shabby lowland accident. But the best death, quick and crystal-pure, set so glaringly open before us, is hard enough to face, even though we feel gratefully sure that we have already had happiness enough for a dozen lives.” - John Muir

We left Glacier National Park on August 30, and slowly traveled east to Michigan, taking another route through Montana that we love, down to Choteau and then across Hwy 200 through Lewistown and into the Great plains of North Dakota to stay at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We drove the 36 mile scenic loop at dawn and saw the beautiful landscape and wildlife of this area, including prairie dogs, bison and feral horses (a few pictures at the end of the video). What a beautiful place honoring the memory of Teddy Roosevelt and his environmental efforts. We then went from the plains thru Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, into Wisconsin and then Michigan. We camped at Walmart a couple nights with several other RVers. One morning Dick went into the store to get a donut for breakfast. I suggested he should get something half way healthy like a muffin. He returned with a smile on his face and a frosted covered pastry in hand. He said it was healthy because it had a fruit filling.
It’s good to be back at “Oleo Acres” Campground (the cheaper spread). All looks well but the lawn has six weeks of growth waiting to be cut. We are contemplating staying in the motorhome and heading out for a fall color tour in a few weeks.

Interesting facts:
1. “Bears bear bare bears”
2. In England Fireweed has been given the nickname “Blitz weed” because it was the first flower to come up in the devastated areas that had been bombed during WWII.
3. Wind turbine blades are nearly 150 feet long. We saw several single blades being hauled down the expressway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUCECIl-Z4M&feature=related
4. The guy in the video, cooking at Ciao Mambo Restaurant in Whitefish, MT, is our nephew Kevin. Great food! Thanks Kevin!!!

WHAT A PLACE!

We are loving being here at Glacier National Park. The first seven days we camped with our friends, Bill and Diana Plyley, who are visiting from Australia. So much time has passed since we were together last, yet we felt like we just continued where we left off nearly 30 years ago. We met them in 1978 and traveled together before they moved to Australia where Bill took a job in a gold mine. We had fun catching up on our children, family, jobs, travels etc... It’s interesting listening to the different words they use and we started using a few of them too. MOZZIE - Mosquito, LOO - bathroom, FANG IT - step on the gas, BREAKKY - breakfast, MATE - friend or buddy, TELE - television, QUEUE - line. Whenever Dick saw a line up at the restrooms he would say, “Is this the queue to the Loo?” It’s also interesting listening to their thoughts on America after being away so long. Diana loves Walmart - “It has everything and cheap.” “Everything over here is a bargain compared to Australia.” They are also amazed at how friendly everyone is. “Strangers approach you and look you in the eyes.” “Americans seem more confident and always say hello and start conversations.” Another observation is how big our cars and trucks are and no matter what level of income almost everyone here has an RV. Diana also commented on how Americans are “giagantuan.” There are overweight people in Australia, but Americans take it to the next level. One more thing they observed is how we have TV channels that rehash and beat the news to death.
Of course you know living with Dick there’s never a dull moment. The morning we were heading into Glacier I was percolating coffee and Dick decided he would get the RV ready to go. He checked the oil and the tires. The coffee wasn’t quite ready so I asked him to let me know when he’d be rolling off the leveling block so I could hold onto the coffee pot. Enough minutes must have gone by that he forgot to tell me to hold on and down we went. It was quite a fast drop. The stovetop cover that I had leaned against the back wall fell and knocked the coffee pot onto the floor. We were so busy wiping up the hot coffee off the floor as fast as we could that we didn’t see the stove top cover was now on top of the burner that was still on. So we then had a fire to put out. It was a wild time.
The next “PreDickament” was after a day of hiking several miles Dick sat out in the sunshine drinking a cold beer and got sleepy so went inside for a nap. When he got up he said he wasn’t feeling well and a little dizzy and sat down. The next thing I heard was a loud snore and his head was tilted back in the chair and he was chalky yellow. I tried shaking him but got no response. I then put his head down to his knees and tried carefully to lower his dead weight to the floor, all the while yelling at the top of my lungs for someone to help me. I was frantic trying to decide whether to stay with him and start mouth to mouth or run and get help. I saw Bill was at his campsite so I yelled out to him to get Diana and come help that something was wrong with Dick. By the time they arrived he was lying in a pool of blood. Fortunately, he then came around but was still weak and confused. He then could sit up. We all came to the conclusion that he didn’t drink enough water on the long hike and then drank a beer that isn’t good for dehydration and fainted. As far as why the bloody nose? Apparently when I lowered him to the floor he must have landed on his nose which started the bleeding. I was accused of hitting him.
Now for the last “PreDickament.” Dick was getting ready for his first overnight backpacking trip here in Glacier and realized he must have left his tent back in Michigan. That’s a big problem but that didn’t stop him. He went over to the Swiftcurrent Campground Store and bought a 10 X 12 tarp and away he went. When I told someone he wasn’t sleeping in a tent she said, “Oh, you’ve seen the cartoon where two bears are looking at two backpackers sleeping on the ground with no tent and one bear says to the other, “Mmmmmmm, soft on the outside, crunchy on the inside.” I didn’t need to hear that one.
There’s only been one mini-maul since we’ve been here. The man was bit in the arm and the leg but was able to hike out to get help. It made national news and when I finally got a phone connection I had several messages wondering if it was Dick. I think he’s bear proof. He assures me that he’s safe because he sleeps in a rip stop nylon tent. Three years ago a young seminary student from Kentucky was hiking alone and turned up missing in an area Dick knows real well. He’s been following the story over the years and while we’ve been here they finally found some of his remains. Dick tells me there is no danger but I still worry if he doesn’t show up at the time he says he will.
We stayed in three different areas of the park on the East side but just moved to the West side and will be here until we leave for home at the end of the month. It has been amazing so far. Dick has hiked over 120 miles and plans to hike at least another 120 before we leave. I’m a day hiker and stick to shorter hikes. I enjoy ranger led walks, not only because there is safety in numbers, but they explain so many things about the area. We loved camping at Many Glacier and every evening a volunteer had a scope set up to view goats and bighorn sheep and sometimes a grizzly with cubs on the mountainsides. There are grizzlies everywhere in that area. Also in the evenings we loved sitting on the Swiftcurrent Store porch and eating huckleberry ice cream. We have met so many great people. We’re like one big happy family enjoying this incredible place together.

NOTES to KNOW: In the Youtube video the guy in the costumes is Pat Hagan, our favorite park ranger, giving two of his famous campfire talks. The background music is Jack Gladstone, musician, storyteller, poet, philosopher of the Blackfeet Tribe. He gives concerts throughout the park.

RENDEZVOUS IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” - John Muir

We are heading for Glacier National Park. It is Dick’s favorite place in the U.S. to backpack. I must admit it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We were there last year and didn’t expect to go back this soon, but friends we met and traveled with in the late 70’s, are here from Australia visiting their families and touring the west. We haven’t seen them in the nearly 30 years since they moved to Australia for a job.
When they contacted us to see if we could arrange to connect before they flew back home, we quickly made plans to rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains. It’s only 1800 miles one way! Why not! We love this route crossing the magnificent straits of Mackinaw and then taking Hwy 2 through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana all the way to Glacier. Traveling along Lake Michigan in the U.P. there was very little traffic or people. I think everyone was in Traverse City at the beach. This would be the place to vacation. Almost white beaches all to yourself and beautiful. There are times traveling this route when I feel like we’re in a time warp and returned to the 50’s. Wide open spaces, little traffic, small towns, trains, farmland, grain mills etc... Most of Hwy 2 is still two lane. Many of the little towns have free or almost free camping. We pulled into Chester, MT. to stay at the city park and were invited to join a farewell picnic for a choir teacher who took a job in Billings. I think the whole town was there to wish her well. It was touching listening to the choir sing the "Irish Blessing." It reminded me of the years Maggie was in her High School choir. They sang that song many times. We talked with some fellow campers who were from British Columbia and traveled by motorcycle to Eastern Canada and then down into the US and were now heading back home. When we mentioned we were from Michigan they couldn’t say enough about how beautiful Michigan is compared to all the other places they’d been. Clean, well-marked roads, great campgrounds and Welcome Centers and how they loved the U.P. We agreed.
Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but North Dakota is the land of 10,000,000 prairie potholes. These potholes provide the most productive wetland habitat for waterfowl in North America. The water levels were abnormally high because of extensive flooding this year from storms during mid-July - especially around Minot. As we traveled through this area I thought about a book I read titled The Children’s Blizzard. I thought of the people who tried to settle and farm this area and the difficulties they had during the harsh winter blizzard of 1888 and how their descendants are still living here today and still fighting the elements.  http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/1506/the-children's-blizzard
Dick’s grandpa Mallery told Dick about a cousin who in his 20‘s homesteaded in the Dakotas in the early 1900s. They built a sod hut and started farming. Grandpa told Dick that he and grandma visited them when they traveled west once. We wish now we would have asked more questions when his grandfather was still alive. Like where in the Dakotas?
Because of the new technique of fracking for natural gas in the Bakken shale formation, many of the little towns of North Dakota have been taken over by oil field workers. There are RV camps behind every bush and gas station. There are infrastructures going up everywhere. The fracking oil business is booming. Fracking has caused much concern around the country because of so many chemicals being forced into the aquifer. Once the workers get all the infrastructures built then they move on. It reminds me of the “tent cities” in the gold rush days. http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/04/news/economy/oil_shale_bakken/index.htm I guess this is what we call progress.
It feels great being back in Montana. I just love the open spaces and big sky. http://www.bigskycountry.net/ I’m on the lookout for those mountains. Should see them sometime soon. The Empire Builder will be passing by on it’s way to Chicago anytime. Gotta go.
Westward Ho!!
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I like reading the Historical Markers along the road except there’s no way we’ll stop at each one. I read the title as we drive by and look it up on the computer. (Yes, I’ve had a good Wifi connection all the way except through one Indian Reservation) One especially sad but interesting marker was by the town of Chinook. The Bear Paw Battlefield. This is where the Nez Perce surrendered after their long fight to stay on their own ancestral land. When Dick hiked the Continental Divide Trail in 1999, we camped near Wisdom, MT. and it was a very emotional experience visiting the Big Hole Battlefield. http://www.nps.gov/biho/index.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/biho/index.htm