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Archive for July, 2012

Back to the Barn …

Posted in Boondocking, Fantastic Food, Free Camping, Office with a view, tagged , on July 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Got appointments … and even though we’re ready to remain on the trail, we head back to the barn.  Travelling through Montana is a temptation that may be too much to bear – dazzling visages, uncrowded camping, delicious food … and as they say, much more.

No Dorothy, it’s not heaven … just Montana

And we can never pass by Three Forks, and the Montana Wheat Deli.  Fresh and big breads, sandwiches … and of course, cinnamon rolls of every kind.  For tomorrow morning, naturally!

 

A must stop for Washingtonians … Montana Wheat breads are hard to find there.

Soon it’ll be time to turn south, up to the Wise River area in the Beaverhead National Forest.  Uncrowded, beautiful, quiet … everything a camp should be … recommended by our friends Don ‘n Deb.

A camp by the brook …

… that’s hidden in the trees …

… with a cinnamon roll breakfast.

Here we are again, in an office with a view.  The TC life is hard – but someone has to do it.

Later the next day we can wander deeper into the canyon, until we get to the homesteader sites of old.  These people came and worked, worked and worked to make the land yield.  They fought huge and hungry droves of insects … in a land where sickness meant death.  By the time you went downstream to find a doctor, and returned, death had usually harvested.  Not a life for the weak!

This is Montana!

Following is my favorite Montana animal, spotted deep in the Pioneer Mountains … start up the BBQ’s, boys!

Just waitin’ for something to happen …

Coming out the other end of the valley, then heading back north, we visited the Big Hole National Battlefield … a sad tale of the Nez Perce.

Beautiful area with a sad history …

The roads are empty … the scenery fantastic … and it’s summer.  Time could stop, and we could live here!  Next camp is at our “secret spot” … where the creek runs into the river.

Strong signal, amazing view

Tomorrow it’s goodbye Montana, back to fulfill appointments, and get ready to travel some more.  Thank You Lord for the life You promised – the abundant life!

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Bad, Bad … very Badlands

Posted in Boondocking, Free Camping, Office with a view, tagged , on July 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Leaving Mount Rushmore, we headed off east.

Mid summer and the roads are uncrowded …

You cannot miss the constant barrage of invitations to Wall Drug while on the way to South Dakota’s Badlands.  Despite a relatively high resistance to such invites, we succumbed and ended up taking a peek.

Here it is …

Interesting it was.  The weather remained scorching outside … and soon the landscape withered.  Here are the Badlands of South Dakota.  It’s not a place to be stranded!

It’s starting to look bleak …

… and it gets worse …

Now here’s a place an old cowboy could hide … who would search for you in this heat?

Maybe bleak, but beautiful as well.

I’m getting thirsty …

Might have to fight off a few creatures, but at least a fella can get a drink here!

Fortunately were in a TC, not on horseback.  Just open the freezer for a few ice cubes and look out the window.  Ahhhh … an office with a view, again.

A view and cold drinks too!

No sneaking up on anyone here …

… ya can see for miles and miles.

In the old West, this might have been a great place to hide – but cooking hot in the summer, and freezing cold in the winter.  Very bad lands indeed.  Keep on movin’ though, and the landscape changes.

Eventually this stark beauty all comes to an end …

… and the grasses reappear.

… and the local wildlife comes out to play.

Stark yet stunning … crushing heat yet colorful beauty.  Don’t miss this!

We’re heading back to Gillette for a free night at Wally’s … a cool evening breeze … and fresh bagels at “The Main.”  Goodnight.

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Got to Rush More (Rushmore, that is …)

Posted in Boondocking, Office with a view, Paid Camping, tagged , , on July 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

We are in the sightseeing mode … which means less relaxing and more driving.  Sometimes it’s the season for rushing about … and we’re in an area with sooo much to see.  From Devils Tower to Mount Rushmore is only a couple of hours leisurly driving through wondrous country.  We’re now in the Black Hills:

Why do they call it the Black Hills? Click to read the answer …

America the beautiful everywhere you look …

On the way to Mount Rushmore, you pass through the town of Custer … lots of color, lots of shops …

Rich colors …

… shopping opportunities.

… and you pass by the Crazy Horse Memorial, a work still in progress.  This is South Dakota now … and the feel is different than Wyoming.

Late afternoon shot … an imposing display!

From a photographers perspective, photos don’t have much depth as the sun has settled behind the mountain.  However, there is a 9PM lighting of the monument coupled with a great program in the outdoor amphitheater – don’t miss this!  There is also a grand museum that tells the story in great detail.

A little detail about the sculptor – click to see it larger.

National Forest campgrounds are all around … we took lakeside camping spot at the Black Hills National Forest Horsethief Lake campround.  Two miles from Mount Rushmore … great lake … simply amazing camp hosts!  This IS a find!!  No hookups, but plenty of water.  And, YES we came back for the 9PM show – awesome!!

There is 5-bar cell signal here … so in the morning we visited again.  Much better light for photos.  A great place to do work.  And, as always, a magnificent view!  We worked several hours here.  TC’s have a special parking area (for small RVs) … and there are a couple of spots (in the second lot) that have lots of room for folding chairs … and a private outdoor lunch.  Does it get any better than that??

Early morning light!

Breathtaking accomplishment …

… and stunning detail.

In the morning there are few visitors.  The rocks surrounding the area are full of sparkles.  Everything is fresh.  This National Monument should be on everyones bucket list – it is uplifting as well as a radiant reflection of what America was and could be again.

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Arrival at Devils Tower

Posted in Boondocking, Office with a view, Paid Camping, tagged , on July 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Not far from Gillette, the tower looms large.  Our fears that it might be ordinary were quickly dispelled.

Looks like it will live up to expectations!

Oh yeah … this is a beauty …

After entry into the National Monument grounds, we find a great campground that is on the Bel Fourche River.  The river is not large … but the campsites are!  There’s also a KOA outside the grounds.

Get right up close …

… or closer.

Great uncrowded trails … or if you’re a climber, register and climb!  There are lots of great stories, including one about the guy who parachuted on top, but his descent rope missed the tower.  He stayed a few days until rescued (this was back in the last century).

This is a great area for tourism … close to Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and other stuff.  We’re sightseeing and enjoying the summer in the countryside, …

Look … Devils Tower from a distance.

We pull off the road (in spots that only a TC can fit), have a spot of lunch, and take care of customer needs.  The roads in this area are uncluttered with great views and a comfortable country feel.  Cows are lazy and fat … little do they know!  The sounds of cattle lowing, birds calling, wind rustling are all you hear.  Thanks, Lord indeed.

Gotta love an office with a view …

After lunch respite, it’s down through the Black Hills and on to Mount Rushmore for the evening.

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Devil’s Gate to Devil’s Tower … it’s hot here!

Posted in Boondocking, Fantastic Food, Free Camping, Office with a view, tagged , on July 13, 2012 | 2 Comments »

This is the end of the SAGgin’ for us … Darcy, Sean, Darren and Nancy are done with their journey this year.  Many of those that we’ve met are continuing … be sure to follow them on their blogs (see yesterdays article for their addresses).  We’re turning north at Muddy Gap … the cyclists turn south from here.

Blue skies, sagebrush – it’s a classic western scene! Independence Rock in the distance.

This is an area where many of the old western migration routes overlapped … the California Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail and the Pony Express Route.  Emigrants had to be to “Independence Rock” by July 4 … or they shouldn’t continue for fear of winter.  From there, they had visual landmarks to follow: Devils Gate and Split Rock were among them.

Called “Devil’s Gate”, ya’all can just walk on through.

Next to the Mormon Handcart Historical Center on the Sun Ranch, the Gate and the Sweetwater River are here.  Yes, the water IS sweet (maybe because it’s over 100 degrees in the sun).

Is this the predecessor of the Truck Camper?

You can take these rigs out for a trail walk if you wish … kinda cool.  Makes you appreciate the TC’s of today!!

Well, we move on through Casper and up to Gillette on the back roads.  Lots of oil, gas and coal work going on … right along side of cattle grazing, people fishin’, and little towns thriving.  Gotta love Wyoming!!

Big time coal processing …

In Gillette there’s a great coal processing plant with tours – weekdays only.  Check this out if you’re in the vicinity.  And, dial up 93.3 “The Legend” for some classic country … this is a place ya’all could live!  We overnighted at the Gillette Walmart … with lots of other RV’s.  Great sleep, fantastic store with all kinds of fresh groceries, bakery … and lots of friendly westerners.

Just across the parking lot is the Main Bagle Co.  Always FRESH!  And always crowded … everybody goes here.  Sit inside or get ‘em to go – but do not pass this by!  Breakfast steak, or with eggs, or lunch bagels (pastrami, humus, you name it).

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Overnight in a Ghost Town

Posted in Boondocking, Free Camping, Office with a view, tagged , on July 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Whew … it’s afternoon and we’ve gotta catch our cycling crew!  Oh oh … there’s an incoming business call.  We’re approaching Beaver Rim (where we can see the Wind River Mountains – part of the Rockies), and signal is good.

What a view … and great signal too!

Wrapping our office calls up, we hit the road … it’s hot … there’s lots of sagebrush (and not much else) … we pass a ghost town – Jeffrey City … and hope to see our cyclists on the way to Muddy Gap.

In the distance is Split Rock …

Split Rock is one of the landmarks on the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail and the Pony Express route.  The Sweetwater River runs there – but whew, it sure is desolate here!

Long story short – we travelled to Muddy Gap (nada there – gas station and sagebrush), to Lamont (ditto – restaurant and sagebrush) – no cyclists, and it is relentlessly hot.  No signal either.  They have either dried in the withering heat and blown away, or hitched a ride into a real town another 40 miles away.  After looking back and forth, we head for the town.  Voila – as we near Rawlins, the phone rings.  They are back at the ghost town – Jeffrey City, huddled in a church basement!  Yay.

Tipped off by other cyclists, they found shelter in the rec room basement of a Baptist Church.

Jeffrey City is part of an area known as “Gas Hills”.  Uranium was discovered there in 1953 by a guy called Lucky Mac.  Jeffrey City was once named “Home on the Range”.  With the boom it expanded to well over 5000 people and got a new name.  Then, in the 1980′s, the uranium demand crashed, and so did Jeffrey City.  Everyone left, many taking their houses with them.  It’s now virtually a ghost town (just over 30 people).  A  church built in the early 80′s is now one of the few buildings still standing … and it has been a safe haven for those hardy cyclers going from coast to coast.  The church musters 12 brave souls on Sunday … 6 of which are the pastors family.  Please pray for them.

Our crew left in the morning after cleaning up the kitchen, and setting everything back in order.  The cyclists include:

Mike and Pat, riding a tandem … at http://montysgreatadventure.wordpress.com/

This is Monty from Vermont … having a great adventure indeed!

Ron and Shari, riding Bike Fridays at http://cyclingon.wordpress.com/

That’s them by the door … iPad and iPhone in full working order as they update their blog

Molly and Skip, sister and brother … at http://darrellscycleamerica.wordpress.com/

Early the next morning, always the biggest and best smiles!

And our very own riders, Darcy, Darren, Sean and Nancy pulling SAG duty.  Family!

Last out, first in … the speeders.

We’re not riders … but ya gotta love this sport.

Yup … the TC crew … up early, but not that early!

A big “thank you” to Pastor Brent … we hope we left everything in order!

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Through High Hills and Crimson Canyons

Posted in Office with a view, tagged , on July 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Wakee wakee … gotta climb over 9500 feet and catch up to the cyclists if we can!  Open the door, enjoy a cuppa and a light fruit breakfast, and thank the Lord for another day!

Another amazing morning at the office … crisp breeze under the bright sunlight.

An ATV and a couple of 4x trucks are on the road too … and soon we pass from the state park into Shoshone National forest.  Everywhere there are campgrounds.

Looking down at the first set of switchbacks …

… on up to the first ridge.

Looks like a big mushroom rock up there …

But as we got there, the view back was very gratifying!

Yay … we (that is, the truck) cruised on up the switchbacks with ease!

That’s the mushroom rock on the right … kinda cool.

Had a hitchhicker …

Lots of butterflys … no mosquitos.  Nice.  Pavement ends here … it’s rockin’ and rollin’ on the backroads for a long while.

Looking ahead …

A couple of vehicles heading back down … but it’s forward for us.  Got to find that lake at 9500 feet!

Yes, it’s the top!

We tried a couple of the trails … and the truck was OK, but the camper a little too wide to fit between the trees.  So, just a couple of hundred feet is a meadow with space to pull out.  Oh, we could camp here for weeks (and it’s within 30′ of the road).

The road at the top …

… and a place to stay.

Had an early lunch, kicked back for a bit, and just listened … ahhhhh.  Time flies though, and we gotta check out the Fiddlers Lake …

At 9500′, with campsites galore … over half empty.

Fiddlers Lake even had a boat launching area.  Noticed a few 5ers – how in the world did they get here?  Well, as we continued on, the road down (on the “other” side) is wider with fewer tight turns.  Aha, thinks I, they came up that way.  We continue down (past Louis Lake and lots of creeks), meeting up with the highway and pavement again.  Then, just a few miles down the road we spot this:

Just in front of another narrow dirt road leading down.

The highway goes across the top of the canyon … the dirt road goes under the canyon.

Already late, the deep red of the cliffs beckons, and down we go.

Red rocks on the right, green valley in the middle, storm on the left …

Red cliffs, red road, red dust – everywhere.

Big rocks … maybe we won’t stay on the side of the road here …

Amazing reds …

… and at the end of the canyon, a mix of colors.

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Of Sinks and Rises … and the Popo Agie (puh-pashu to you)

Posted in Boondocking, Office with a view, Paid Camping, tagged , on July 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Following the advice of Jay Nolde, we drove the 6 mile up to Sinks Canyon State Park.  It was everything Jay said – and more!  Right next to town on the Popo Agie River (that’s pronounced puh-pashu by the locals).  Huge Rainbow trout, and the Sinks.

Now the Popo Agie River comes crashing down the canyon ….

No shortage of fast water here …

then, suddenly, it take a sharp turn and …

Now you see it … now you don’t …

gulp!  It’s gone.  Cavers and divers have tried to see what’s inside the caverns, but to no avail (because of the logs, rocks, and very small openings that they cannot get past).  Hmmm.  But, 1/4 mile away is something called “The Rise”.  Here, water just calmly forms a grand pool, and out of that pool comes a river.  Some years ago, to test any connection, dye was put into the sinks.  Indeed, 2 hours later, up came the dye in the Rise.  But … much more water comes out of the Rise than disappears into the Sink.  So, the mystery is yet unsolved – what takes the water so long to travel 1/4 mile, and where does the extra water come from?  So … ponder that while camping on the edge of the river!

Campsites right at the edge … readily available …

Get those toes in the water to cool off!

This is a Wyoming State campground (actually there’s a couple of them) … and they were virtually empty.  Sit by (or in) the cool water in the heat of the day.  Well, as the evening approaches it’s time to get some desk work done … here we are, yet again, in an office with a view!

River view from one side of the desk …

 

… rainbow from the other side.

 

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The Lander Adventure

Posted in Office with a view, Repairs&Mods, tagged , on July 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

No pics here … just an amazing story!  In Lander, we thought of investigating an area called the Sinks.  After visiting for a few minutes with our friends, off we went … only to hear a scraping noise while driving down the road.  Oh oh … one of the truck camper jacks had let loose … it was dragging on the road.  Yes, it’s 100 degrees outside, and the jack is dragging … had pulled the screws loose from the camper … enough to jar the miniblinds off inside the unit.  Phooey indeed.

Well, we fix up what we can, and go looking for a hardware store to get some washers to hold the unit together.  The bracket that is the safety device (this is a 1985 camper) is bent (evidently someone in a parking lot had backed into it previously, bending it a little).  Washers might get things back at the proper angle so that the bracket can do its job.

Traffic in Lander is a little busy, and as we lumber along looking for a store, we stumble into the wrong lane – a turn lane.  Traffic on both sides forces us on a side road … funny how things seem to get complicated when there’s a little stress in our lives.

Behold, however, right at the end of the road is a lumber yard.  Voila … they’ll have washers!  And they do … so seemingly everything is bright again, as I attempt to fix the problem.  But … the washers will not correct the angle enough – so I head back in to ask if there’s a machine shop nearby to actually bend the steel bracket properly.

Hmmm … the proprietor says to try a small engine repair shop, that just happens to be two blocks away.  So, off we go again.  Sure enough, in the back of an older building, behind a sliding barn-sized door, is Jay’s Small Engine Repair.  Two guys are working away, but they both interrupt what they’re doing to see what the problem is.

“Sure, we can straighten that” says Jay Nolde … and he does!  “Looks like the bracket from an old camper,” he notes … and he walks out to check out the problem.  Meanwhile other people are coming in to pick up their repaired items … but the guys handle everything with ease.  They also check out the screws that were pulled out from the camper …and fix them too, along with advice to replace them later with larger screws (because they’re partially stripped) and seal it up well.

“So where ya off to?”  The Sinks, we reply.  Now we get the best advice yet … camp out up there.  Feed the trout – the BIG trout (and yes, they were enormous!) .   Thanks, says I, so what do I owe?  “Just have a good day,” says Jay as he heads back inside.

What a find.  What a coincidence.  What great guys to drop everything and help a visitor.  Well, I’m too old to believe in coincidences … and I’m thankful that God directs fools!  And, I’m getting to realize that we’re given a choice on whether to accept the direction … or not.  As for me and my house, I’m ready to accept the direction and correction!  Can I get an ‘Amen’ on that?

If you’re ever in Lander and you need some mechanical help – go to Jay’s Small Engine Repair.  It’s at 336 Lincoln, Lander WY 82520 … at (307) 332-6515.  They’ll take care of you, I guarantee it!

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Miles to go before I sleep …

Posted in Boondocking, Office with a view, Paid Camping, tagged , on July 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

It’s another western morning … and the cyclists are already on the road.  We’ve been admiring the Phoenix popup, but now it’s time to do a little work.

Don’t ya wish this was the view from your office?

Any side road is a magnet for a truck camper …

Wyoming is often such a stunning vision of reds, blues, greens … of burning sun, cool rivers … of hard work, and the fruit of labor.  This world is no accident (because we’ve all seen accidents – and they’re nuthin’ like this!!)

Sean, Darcy and Darren recovering … and the amazing Nancy who makes everything possible!

As you can see, we caught up with the crew … but we missed lunch because of our wandering.  Rest stops in Wyoming are among the best … clean and well kept, with stone construction that keeps things cooler … picnic tables under stone shelters … playing areas for the kids.  Here we met up with Molly (and later, her brother Skip) who are also cycling across the US.

Molly joined the crew for lunch …

Molly and Skip are doing the whole route (Oregon to Virginia) this summer … catch up with them here.

Molly’s rig was specially made by her husband for this trip!

Miles to go before I sleep …

Don’t let this oasis fool you … the Wyoming landscape is hot and dry.  We made a few stops (at high places, where the Verizon signal was strong) to answer calls and make some software changes.

Hot, dry … but clear signal. Yay!

We passed a sign that indicated the gravesite of Sacagawea … and off we went to search.  As well, we passed the site of the great Chief Washakie.  History buffs could camp here for weeks!

For this trip, we have promises to keep … and off to the city of Lander we went to catch up with our cyclists again.

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