Monday, May 2, 2016

We were on the road just as planned by 6:55 and headed north.  We arrived at Clark Canyon Reservoir about 1 and got immediately into the car and headed out to the Big Hole National Battlefield and the Montana version of the Nez Perce National Park.  It was also home to the Big Hole National Battlefield.  We had at least 90 miles to drive to get into the park and we were running out of gas on the way in.  Luckily there was a gas station before the last 12 miles.  Information that would have been nice to know before we started in.

We arrived at the park to see a beautiful Visitor’s Center with many exhibits including a very informative movie that we sat through.  The Battlefield was just outside the front door on a raised platform that you could oversee the Big Hole, a depression in the land where the battle was fought.  Actually the military ambushed the Nez Perce in the middle of the night, even though the Indians took charge of the battle in the end.  This battle was just a year after Custer’s fiasco at the Little Bighorn River.

On the way home we talked about our campsite at the Clark Canyon Reservoir.  We think that it may be a Corps of Engineer site since it’s a regular campground overlooking the water.

By the time we got home it was after 6 and time to snack on something to eat and settle in front of the TV.  We started up the generator and it ran flawlessly all night until it was time for bed at about 10:30.   

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

We were back on the road again this morning, but at a more leisurely pace than yesterday.  We only had about 220 miles to drive so we would probably be in Great Falls about 1 PM.  We actually made it by 12:30 so we made wonderful time.  We had just came through some of the most beautiful canyons and scenery we had ever been through.  And a river, railroad tracks and a second road came through the canyons with us.  It was gorgeous.

After arrival at my Nephew Mike Rocheleau’s house in Great Falls we got settled into his yard and got plugged in.  He was there to greet us on his lunch from his job, driving bus.  He’s a retired Air Force veteran that now drives a bus for a living.  After getting us taken care of he went back to work.

I took off in the car looking for a pressure relief valve for the water heater.  I tried Home Depot but they didn’t have one the size I needed.  I came back home and Sharon found an RV Dealer in the GPS so I took off again.  They had the valve so I came back home and immediately replaced the valve that was leaking.

Mike’s wife Doris was first to get back home today from her daycare business.  She had been cooking Dinner over there and she brought it home with her all completed.  Sharon helped her get it out of the car and Mike came home shortly afterward.

Our Dinner was a Pork Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans with a gravy to die for.  The gravy was definitely a “bread soaker.”  The whole thing was quite good indeed.

After Dinner we went on a sightseeing trip around Great Falls.  We stopped at the several waterfalls that are on the Missouri River and also at Doris’s house where she has the Daycare.

We got back home again about 9:15 where there was hot Cherry Pie, that Doris had made, waiting for us.  Cherry is my favorite, and this pie was outstanding.  There is nothing like fresh homemade cherry pie.

We sat and talked for awhile before Sharon and I finally called it quits for the night.  We went back out to the motorhome and even though we had TV and several shows recorded, we went directly to bed, did not pass go, and did not collect two hundred dollars.  It was 10:30 by this time.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

We got up this morning and had a light Breakfast in the motorhome and then realized that we needed some supplies for the trip home tomorrow.  We went to a Smith’s Grocery Store that was laid out really weird.  Maybe we’re just used to the way our stores at home are laid out.  The store had two sections to it that were divided by an archway with checkouts only in one side of the store.

Mike drove us to the store since he was going to pick up stuff for Club Sandwiches for lunch.  By the time we got back home it was time to make the sandwiches for lunch. They were quite good indeed and we soon piled in the car to head for Holton Lake which is about an hour away from Great Falls.  There was just the 3 of us since Doris was at her Daycare business for the day.

Lake Holton is a very beautiful spot back in the mountains.  We just drove around the lake looking at the spectacular houses that have been placed there.  We got about halfway around the lake before we had to turn around and head back.  It was a very pleasant trip on a great day.  The weather is still co-operating with us and today was a classic example.

By the time we got back to the house it was almost Suppertime.  Mike was planning to grill out some burgers tonight.  We had stopped on the way home to pick up some Ice Cream at the Cold Stone Creamery.  The burgers really hit the spot and the ice cream was a nice touch to set it all off.

We sat around talking for the rest of the night and really got some insight into my Brothers family.  Michael has quite a talent for decorating cakes, much like his dad.  We talked away about all the members of our families.

We stayed up late tonight without even trying.  We didn’t come back out to the motorhome until after 10:30 tonight and we were both tired when we got there.  There was no TV or anything else happening tonight except sleep. 

Thursday, May 5, 2016

We had a lovely Breakfast at Mike and Doris’s this morning before we hit the road for home.  We were on the pavement about 9:30 and quickly made our way out of town.

This was going to be a purely driving day today, and hoping to get as far as we can on the first day.  We were hoping to make North Dakota by the end of the day.

The first 300 miles of the day would be spent on two-lane highway.  The road was excellent but sometimes narrow.  There was also construction on some parts of it with the workers mostly working on bridges.

We drove right past lunchtime since neither of us was hungry enough to eat anything at the time.  We didn’t have anything to eat until about 3 o’clock in the afternoon when we stopped and had a couple of Hot Dogs and the Potato Salad that Mike and Doris had given us from last night’s Supper.

The day was pretty uneventful except for having to stop for gas two times today.  We also tried to get the generator running so we could run our “roof” air conditioners and that failed.  The generator is so temperamental.  Two days ago we ran it all night, without fail, and today we couldn’t get it started.

We drove until about 6:30 tonight and did manage to make it to Dickinson, North Dakota.  In fact, when we were ready to stop we couldn’t find a campground in the vicinity.  So we just drove on until we found one about 60 miles into the state.  I doubt that we’ll be getting an “early” start tomorrow morning.

We had a trillion things on the DVR to watch tonight since we hadn’t hardly watched any TV in the last two days.

We stayed up til about 10 tonight since both of us were tired from the long day on the road, and we didn’t want to get involved in any of the hour long shows at that time.

Friday, May 6, 2016

We were up and off this morning by 9 with only driving planned for the entire day.  It was a little breezy when we left the campground, but nothing compared to what it was like out of the Freeway.  We were pretty much committed to what we were doing today.  Since we need to be home when they turn the utilities on, we really need to be home by Sunday night.  So we’ll just try to make some time today and hit the road rolling.

We got about halfway through North Dakota when the wind got our awning.  It didn’t rip it completely off but it ripped it far enough to have to replace it.  Damn!!  After that, we just decided to continue on, because there was little damage that could be done to it now.

We seem to put ourselves in this position every year.  We say we’re in no hurry to get home and then force ourselves to drive on days when we probably should be sitting.

We arrived at our campground, Long Lake Campsite, in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota about 3 and had to back up the motorhome, with the car attached, for about 40 feet to get into our site.  We managed it just fine.  The roads in here are a little narrow, but the sites are okay sized.

We couldn’t get our dish lined up tonight so we didn’t have any live TV but we watched taped stuff on the DVR.  We hadn’t watched TV for 2 nights so we had a bunch of shows taped.  Luckily we didn’t need satellite reception to watch those.

We were up until about 10:45 tonight before we figured we had given our all, and headed off to the sheets.  I suppose we’ll have another long day tomorrow if the weather holds, with no wind.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

This is going to be our last full day on the road home.  We started out the day with Sharon’s Egg McMuffins and a leisurely exit.  We had some 400 odd miles to home and we have no deliberate intention to make that all today.

Most of our driving today would be on two lane roads since this part of the country has no Interstates.  The great north has two lane roads in pretty good shape, but no Interstates.  Actually the last 10 miles before Duluth, MN was an Interstate.  As we approached Wisconsin our gas was getting a little low and we were trying to figure out whether we should fill up in MN rather than WI.  The decision was made for us because we couldn’t find a gas station as we approached the border.  And actually the gas wasn’t that much different between the two.

Our problem of finding a campground started as soon as we hit Wisconsin.  There were few places that were even open.  While we contemplated driving all the way home today, we settled in at The Bad River Casino in Odanah, Wisconsin.  It’s about 150 miles from home in Iron Mountain.

While Sharon was in the casino registering I was watching the Kentucky Derby and seeing Nyquist win it all.  She also decided to pick up our Supper at the restaurant before she came home.  She got me a Steak Sandwich and Fries, and picked up a Prime Rib Sandwich and Onion Rings for herself.  We shared the Fries and Onion Rings.  Both sandwiches were very good and really hit the spot.

We were hooked up to electric tonight so it was a snap to get our dish up and working.  We caught up on all our taped shows tonight except for the movies.  We still have a half dozen of those to catch up on but we’ll probably only be in the motorhome for the next couple of days, while we get all our utilities at home, turned back on.

We were up tonight until about 11 watching our regular shows.  Who knew we’d stay up that late just catching up on the shows we should have already seen.  No matter, when we hit the rack we were soon sawing logs.

Sunday, May 8, 2016       HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

We left the casino this morning looking for a restaurant.  We were on the road about 9 and the sun was out and shining.  We drove about 25 miles to Watersmeet before we found a little Café that looked promising.

I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was very good and neither of us finished our Breakfast.  Sharon even got a free piece of cheesecake in honor of Mother’s Day.

We were back on the road after Breakfast and arrived at home at about noon, and got settled in the yard for the night.  We’ll be camped here for at least tonight.  The gas company is supposed to be here tomorrow, so we’ll be back in the “big house” tomorrow night.

After getting settled we would be going to Jess and Mike’s tonight for Dinner.  They’ll be grilling Hamburgers and Bratwurst and chasing it down with beer.  Who’s not up for that.  The kids, Stella and Max, change so much in the 6 months that were gone, it’s surprising.

After we left Jess’s we thought we would stop in and see Tom and Barb Gauthier.  Friends who bought a motorhome last year but couldn’t go anywhere because Camping World had their motorhome in for repairs all Winter.

Afterwards we came back home and just settled in for our homecoming.

THE END