Montana adventures

Finally leaving North Dakota behind us, we had a lovely drive through Montana. John chose to travel the northern Route 2 which was a wonderfully relaxing trip. We stopped for a couple of days at Glacier National Park. What a spectacularly beautiful area. John & Peggy drove the Going To The Sun Road all the way through the park, out the East gate and up to Many Glacier to visit the Many Glacier Hotel. It was build by a subsidary of the Great Northern Railroad in 1914. It is a beautiful old hotel whose architectural style is derived from traditional Swiss designs and is build of materials native to Montana.

The following day, which was a Sunday, we left the beauty of Glacier behind and headed west. About 10 miles west of the little town of Libby, MT, we heard this loud POOF sound. John pulled over to investigate, and discovered that the left inner dual tire had blown out. We were on a two lane road, so they unhooked the car, and John found a spot where he could turn the coach around. We limped back to town and fortunately, there was an RV park where we could stay until Monday when the tire store opened. We decided we were also lucky that there was a Les Schwabb in town. After getting settled, John & Peggy left to go to the market and find the tire store. While they were gone, I discovered the little driver's window was open, so I hopped out and went to investigate the RV park for myself. (Peggy still can't believe I jumped that far!) Unfortunately, I got caught! The camp host and his wife saw me and decided that I must have snuck out, so they took me back to our coach and hooked me up to my leash. Then they sat and watched me until John & Peggy got back from the market. Boy, was I ever in trouble! I'm sure they'll never leave that little window open again, as they've caught me checking it out whenever we stop!

On Monday, we got two new tires and headed out again for Washington.

North Dakola

On August 1, we left the serenity of Detroit Lakes behind us, and headed for North Dakota. Our first stop was in Jamestown, home of the world's largest buffalo monument, and White Cloud, a sacred white (albino) buffalo. As you can see, we got a pic of the monument, but alas, White Cloud was no where to be seen. We also toured the Frontier Village where they had a replica of Louis L'Amour's writers shack. L'Amour was a native of Jamestown, and we got to chat with an elderly gentleman who was a friend of L'Amour. It was most interesting listening to his stories, and looking at the snapshots he had of L'Amour.

This is a BIG buffalo!

Frontier Village, Jamestown, ND

Next stop was Bismarck. The first few days we stayed at a RV park, along with other members of the parking crew, and committee chairs for the Monaco Rally. The rally masters treated all the volunteers to a great barbecue dinner on the "Lewis and Clark" riverboat as it cruised up and down the Missouri River. On Saturday, we moved over to the Bismarck Civic Center where the rally was to be held, and prepared for the onslaught of coaches. Beginning at 7am on Sunday morning the coaches started rolling in. John & Peggy, along with the other parkers, worked all day Sunday and Monday, parking a over 330 coaches. They were really tired at the end of Monday, but that didn't stop John from volunteering to be a bartender, and he also volunteered Peggy to be a bar back! So, starting on Tuesday night, they worked 2 hours every night tending bar. There was a great Red Hat Luncheon for all the Red Hat ladies. Besides having a scrumptious lunch, they got to enjoy the "horse races". Because Peggy acted as the "bookie" for the table, she was rewarded with a red sequined cowboy hat. John's comment "just what we need, another red hat in the coach"! The entertainment for the rally was amazing . . . . on Tuesday night, they were treated to authentic Native American flute playing and dancing, and to the songs of Miss Bobbie Rae Sage, an 18 year old native of Bismarck, and Miss Indian Nations XIII. Wed. night they were entertained by country singer Janie Fricke, and did a bit of dancing to the great country music. Thursday night's entertainment was comedian Royce Elliott. On Friday night, all the folks who purchased new motor homes got to draw for some pretty good cash rewards. The rally was lots of fun and they got to see a lot of old friends and made new ones.

Peggy and Terry Mann on the Lewis & Clark Riverboat

Peggy, Terry, John & Glenn Mann waiting to park more coaches in Bismarck.

On Saturday morning, John got us up at 3:00 am, yes AM - we had to move out to the K-Mart parking lot north of town to rendezvous with the 135 other coaches that were in the caravan for Minot. Around 5:30, the rest of the group was there and off we headed to Minot. For some reason, the powers that be at FMCA deemed to give Monaco an 8:00 am arrival time! John says it was nice drive, me, I napped most of the way, as did Peggy.

The FMCA rally didn't start until Tuesday, so we had a few days to explore Minot and just relax. Tuesday night we had a big rain storm, which turned the grassy meadow where we were parked into Mud City! It didn't look too bad at first, but when John started out in the car he almost got stuck, he had to back out and go out the other way. A coach parked behind us spent 30 minutes trying to get out of his spot - had mud up to the bottom of his bay doors. Two other coaches in our section that panicked and decided to leave got stuck and had to be towed out. We decided to just sit it out as our little spot was a bit higher and seemed to be okay. All in all, the rally was fun, Roy Clark entertained one evening and the last night it was the Lettermen. Also saw a few Happy Trails friends - Ann & Bill Powers were there - Ann had a booth and was selling her "Glamorous Gems", so Peggy got to get an earring fix! There was also a Red Hat tea where the ladies were entertained by a Minnie Pearl impressionist - great fun! When we finally left on Friday morning, most of the coaches in our area had departed and we had lots of dry area to get out.

"Mud City", FMCA Rally, Minot, ND

Everywhere you travel in North Dakota there are
fields and fields of sunflowers. It is a beautiful sigh.

From Minot, we traveled to Dickinson, where we stayed for two days. John worked getting the mud off the coach and the car, and Peggy did laundry and took long hot showers. She said after two weeks of boon docking she was soooo happy to have sewer hook ups and 50 amp power. On Sunday, we traveled to the little town of Medora, North Dakota, which is nestled on the banks of the Little Missouri River, at the south entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The town was founded in April, 1883, by a French nobleman, the Marquis de Mores, and was named for his wife Medora. It's where a young Teddy Roosevelt came to hunt buffalo in Sept. 1883. He fell in love with the Badlands and eventually bought two ranches here. The cabin from the first ranch, The Maltese Cross, is still intact, and has been moved behind the visitor center in the Park. Roosevelt said "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota," He felt his experiences in the Badlands, initially as a sportsman hunter, and later as a rancher "took the snob out of him" and taught him to see people as worthy based on their character and accomplishments, rather than on their economic worth, formal education or social standing.

Through these years, TR became increasingly alarmed by the damage that was being done to the land and its wildlife. Destruction of some big game species by over hunting, disease and loss of habitat and overgrazing destroying the grasslands and with them the habitats for small mammals and songbirds marked him deeply. He realized that such beautiful places should be preserved for everyone, and when he became President in 1901, he established the U.S. Forest Service and by signing the 1906 Antiquities Act he proclaimed 18 national monuments. He also obtained Congressional approval for the establishment of five national parks and 51 wildlife refuges, designated 150 National Forests, the first 4 National Game Preserves, and the first 21 Reclamation Projects. Altogether, in the seven-and-one-half years he was in office, he provided federal protection for almost 230 million acres, a land area equivalent to that of all the East coast states from Maine to Florida. So whenever you're enjoying one of these beautiful places - remember Teddy Roosevelt. And I bet you thought the only thing he gave us was the Teddy Bear!

The Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt National Park

In 1958, the theatrical production "Old Four Eyes", a story of Roosevelt's life in the North Dakota Badlands, was started in the Burning Hills Amphitheater. The Amphitheater is on the side of a mountain and the views are just spectacular. The original production ran every summer until 1965, when the Medora Musical began production. The musical still tells the story of Teddy Roosevelt's days in North Dakota, and his time in the Rough Riders. John & Peggy really enjoyed the musical.......lots of good music and dancing, horses riding on stage and a wonderful acrobatic act from China. Before the musical, they went to the Pitchfork Fondue. Yum, Yum. The cooks put 8 - 10 steaks on pitch forks, and immerse them in bubbling vats of hot oil. After dinner John & Peggy decided they needed to take a walk around the parking lot to let dinner settle before attending the musical. While on their walk, they saw a large herd of Elk grazing along the fence be the Amphitheater.

Ribeyes being skewered on the pitchforks.

Ribeyes in the "fondue pots"

View across the badlands from the upper level of Burning Hills Ampitheater.

Medora Musical

Chinese acrobats

I'm been giving Peggy fits of late.........why should she get to ride in the co-pilot's seat all the time. Don't you think she should share with me?

By the way, if you would like to see a larger version of a picture, just double click on the picture and you get a full screen version. Bye for now...............will write more when we get to Washington.

Wisconsin & Minnesota

We spent three days in Oshkosh, WI. The campground was very nice, and we had a lovely view of the pasture in front of us. The only downside, was the location - between the local landfill and the prison! John and Peggy had a great visit with her brother Charlie and his wife Mary Ann, who taught John & Peggy a new card game called Memory. One evening, they had dinner at the Golf Club, then played cards in the bar until all hours, while I was "home alone". On Saturday, they had a very nice lunch at a cute place right on the shore of Lake Winnebago.

Peggy, John, Mary Ann & Charlie at Lake Winnebago

While in Oshkosh, John's cousin Jigger, from Minnesota came over and stayed at the same campground. He brought his new companion with him, and I think you will agree he's very cute! He and I got along just fine - - - I even let him come in the coach one night because it was raining outside.

Brody

Jigger came to Oshkosh, because he and John had discovered a long lost cousin of theirs was living there. They got together with him and had a nice visit - after 40 some years.

Leaving Wisconsin behind us, we traveled to St. Paul and spent a couple of days visiting with John's other cousins, Donna & Rich. We all got together at Cliff & Donna's, and Rich & Joan and their two sons drove over and we all had a grand ole time. One of the highlights was watching Jigger back his trailer down the street -it's downhill and curvy. It was quite a sight, as it was pouring down rain and John was out in the street helping guide Jigger.

Watch out - here comes Jigger - backward.

Joan, Donna & Cliff are spellbound.

John, in pouring rain, guiding Jigger down the hill.

The Rahkola men

After the fun with the cousins, we drove on to a wonderful little place called Detroit Lakes, MN. The campground was marelevous, as was the town and surrounding area. The folks running the campground were some of the friendliest we've ever met. We spent 6 days just relaxing, reading, and checking out the local eateries. Would have stayed a few days longer, but the campground was booked solid as they were having a country music festival the next week. The town was expecting approximately 60,000 people for the festival. And RVer's listen to this........for boondocking in a open field, the charge was $50 per rig, PLUS $50 per person, and this did not include your tickets for the festival.

Sorry John, this is MY chair!

My next report on the antics of my humans will be from North Dakota where we are headed for a couple of rallys.