Friday, November 5/2010

Up early, frost is once again on the pumpkin and the nearby hills are surrounded in fog. Hopefully no one comes to tell us to move because my hair looks a fright and instead of telling us to move out of this area, they just may tell me to go back to Canada!! Must have my hat ready - just in case. John says not to worry about my hair, it is the fleecy pink pyjama bottoms with the little white lambs on them that will send us packing!! They can all go scrub their asses!!

We continue our travels down 89 south today eventually passing through the town of Afton, Wy. We were able to dump the RV tanks and replenish the water supply (all for free!). The RV park was situated on the same property as the Discount Liquor Store - now isn't that just a remarkable coincidence!! Once this job was done we stopped at the gas station, fueled up and headed out of town.

The countryside is lovely, with the hills and mountains in the background and gentle sloping fields along the highway. There is no shortage of antelope along the way and they appear to be totally disinterested in the passing traffic.

We crossed into Idaho and ran along the side of Bear Lake. A huge lake with some huge homes along the shoreline. The only trouble with this lake is that one would have to walk several hundred yards through pretty marshy land to get to the water. OR one could build a VERY long dock!!

We found no suitable places to camp so continued on and crossed into Utah. I might add a bit of a note now and say that just because the map says there is a campground in a particular area, does not necessarily mean that there is one there!! And, I am using maps I picked up last year!!

We eventually found this cute little boondocking site beside a small creek and soon settled in to watch the football game.

We are nestled in between the hills and out of the blue, John asks me if I want to buy the hill in front of the bus. I look up the hill and there is a For Sale sign on it!! I said "never mind buying it, I can't imagine hiking all the way up there just to put up that sign"!!!

Thursday, November 4/2010

Time to once again start heading South. Although this is such a nice little spot, we are still quite a ways from where we want to be. The weather is still beautiful and it is a good day to travel - no wind!!

Hopefully, we will find another nice spot today and maybe sit for another couple of days. With the bus in travel mode, we headed down the road.

As it turned out, it was a very long day. We travelled through Yellowstone National Park today and I had forgotten just how gorgeous the park is. We saw mountain sheep, deer, elk and of course the Park's famous buffalo. And, even though it is November, there are still stupid drivers that must stop in the middle of the highway when they see any sort of wildlife. We were behind one of these people and let me tell you, it take a bit more time and space to stop this rig than it does a cute little two door car!! We darn near where in his back seat!! We couldn't even get into the other lane because there were even more stupid people stopped there!! Hell, one even had his tripod set up on the highway!! John said **#**^# and gave the fellow his air horns, and the guy simply stuck his hand out the window and gave John the finger - and took another picture!! He was not intimidated at all by this big bus wanting to get up close and personal with his back seat!! All this drama for one stupid elk!! But alas, I chose to believe that this fellow had never seen an elk before - despite the fact the car had Montana license plates!!

It cost us $25.00 to enter the Park but the scenery was well worth the price. The roads were decent, much of it looked like new pavement. There were some tight corners but John wheels this bus around like it is a mini van!! We crossed the continental divide about three times with the highest elevation being 8391 feet. Of course there was about 4-6 inches of snow in the ditches but the highway was clear. Something for which I was truly grateful for. There was very limited camping available and just our luck, they either had length restrictions or were closed. I guess that is the price you pay for traveling in the off season!! We exited the park (elevation 6886) and continued looking for a suitable spot to stop for the night. At least we were out of the snow. We finally shut the bus off at 9pm in a "day use only" area but by this time both John and I were tired and we didn't care.

I had a flicker of use on the phone and was able to send two texts before it told me I had "no service". We talked to Jan on Skype for a while, had supper, then went to bed. Who knows, maybe the "day use only" cops will be at the door tomorrow telling us to move!! No problem-----just leaving!!

Wednesday, November 3/2010

It was chilly in the bus this morning. I believe there is frost on the grass outside so it definitely is colder this morning that it was yesterday. Poor Hogan was looking like he was a little popsicle so I started the heater then both him and I crawled back into bed until the chill had gone out of the air. He loves to curl up under the covers!!

I spoke with Jan today on skype. I love this little vehicle of communication. I really must keep my hat handy though - for those ugly hair days - not that I have any, but I have heard that they can occur!!

She is going to call SaskTel again to see if they have worked out the phone troubles and what they plan on doing if they haven't. I await with baited breath. Currently, my phone says "no service".

Tuesday, November 2/2010

Woke up to some beautiful sunshine this morning. Although the wind is still blowing, it seems to have less force today.

Yesterday I emailed the boys to phone their Aunt and tell her that I was having trouble with the new and improved fancy phone I had purchased just before we left Saskatoon. I have had "emergency service" only since leaving Outlook. At first I thought that we were perhaps in a "bad" area so didn't really worry too much about it but I have had no service since then. Hence, the call to Jan (thank heavens for sisters). Both Jace and John have been giving me grief about the new phone - John didn't think we needed one and Jace thought I should have got a blackberry, so both of them have been chirping like a couple of magpies!! Shut Up already!!

Heard back from Jan and it is NOT good news. Apparently SaskTel has been having some problems with this particular phone when it roams. Now isn't that just fine and dandy!! I specifically told that **!##** woman that I needed it for heading "down south". Could this possibly be MORE adventure? I shake my head!!

Since the sun was shining, I took my coffee and the latest novel I was reading outside - might just as well start working on my tan!!

We got a visit from the Fish and Wildlife cops. He was a pleasant young man (with a big gun!) and told me that there were usually 40 campers parked in this little area this time of year - all

hunters. He also told me that the river is full of brown trout and asked if I had been fishing. Since I don't have a license that was not an issue - besides, who wants to fish in gale force winds!!

John and I sat outside for the greater part of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and playing Yahtze. I am losing - again or should I say - still!! It is only my unwavering faith that I can indeed win a game that keeps me playing!!

Monday, November 1/2010

After more tinkering with the wiring, John found two more loose wires and finally the bus was running. With a little luck and some good management, perhaps we could make the 15 miles into Lewistown, stop at the local Napa store and get what we needed to have on hand in case there were even more issues with the bus. Guess I should start praying to "The Gods" now!! (Ah yes, adventure) PS and by the way, I now know where every auto parts store is in Lewistown, Montana!!

As always, there seems to be wind and today was no different. I guess it sweeps down off the various mountain ranges that surround the highway. We passed a large wind garden as you can see from the picks (must remember to post them!!). I must say, they certainly put it in the right spot because the wind was definitely gusting. We stopped for the night at a little fishing access campground beside a river. It was lovely and quiet. There was only one other camper there so it was perfect.

The bus ran beautifully all day so I guess John managed to find the problem. Thank you for that.

Sunday, Octobe 31/2010

Happy Halloween eveyone. Being that it was halloween, I got out my pumpkin and got it ready for the evening. We were in town so there just may be some trick or treaters coming to the bus. I picked up some little Jersey Milk chocolate bars - just in case - and if we didn't get any then, John could eat them!!

George stopped by with some of his farm fresh eggs again this year and I was thilled. There is definitely something to be said about fresh produce.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing football today so we had to watch that and John had to start with all that wiring business.

The day ended with the Riders losing the game, no little trick or treaters and the bus not starting!! Soooo.....what did I say about adventure!!!!

Saturday, October 30/2010

Well, it has been quite a summer. Lots of laughs (a few tears), lots of rain and a few days of sunshine, lots of trail rides and lots of campfires and tons of memories. The boys visited lots and that was great.

We took up residence on the lot we had purchased in Leoville and met our neighbours. Two were from outside the area and had no relatives in town - most unusual- as it seems that everyone is related to someone here!! We started calling this little "click" of ours "the out of towners". Not very original but fitting!! Both were from the Saskatoon area and decided to move here to Leoville for the hunting, fishing and forest trails.

I worked off and on for the summer and it was a great experience. I met a lot of the town folk and enjoyed getting to know them. The residents at the home are all unique and it is quite a change for me - caring for the same people all the time. All in all, it was a good experience and I look forward to helping out again in the spring.

John's leg has come along nicely all summer. It still has a bit of swelling at the ankle and it aches a lot but all in all, it has healed well. John still limps, but I am sure that will lessen as more time passes.

John managed to buy a few more vehicles this summer - Yea - the last being a Jeep which we have fixed up and is now in the trailer headed for the warmer weather of the Arizona desert.

Having left Saskatoon on Wednesday, we headed to Outlook to pick up the jeep where it had got a new "used" motor and what ever else it needed to make it a reliable vehicle - not sure if it is there yet!!

We picked up the jeep on Thursday, then spent the night at a roadside campground along Hwy 4. There is still snow on the ground but it is getting warmer!! Hogan, I am sure, can't wait to get to the warmer weather!!

We spent Friday night a few miles from the US border as there were two football games on TV so we had to stop early to watch them.

This brings us to today, Saturday, October 30/2010 ........... let the adventure begin ...........

We crossed at the Port of Monchy and the same border guard (from last year) was there to greet us. He had remembered us from last year and we were soon on our way. We had planned on stopping in Hilger to see some of the folks we had met last year, but first we had to stop for fuel in Malta and, if by chance there was a car wash handy, the bus was in dire need of a wash. This being done, we headed south. We had travelled about 10 miles when the bus lost all power and we were stopped on a highway that was definitely not made for any kind of roadside breakdown. There were no shoulders to pull over on to and the road was windy with many a double solid line - not good for vehicles who wanted to pull out and pass this stalled bus!! Did I say something about "let the adventure begin"? This is not what I had in mind!!

It is a good thing that John is a rather handy kind of guy because he had the bus running again in no time - we have wiring issues and once we get to Hilger he can get in there and fix what needs to be fixed. The bus stopped three times between Malta and Hilger and only once did it stop where there was an actual pull out where semi trucks were to chain up for the icy roads. At least we didn't have to deal with lousy roads too!!

We eventually made it to Hilger (hours after we should have been there) and were surprised to see that the pioneer bar was closed and a for sale sign on the building. Down the street was the Rainbow Bar so off we went. Nice bar and it too had some history to it. The bartender Stacy told us the story of the painting on the ceiling as I had commented on it. Apparently the owners wife, who was an artist, had started painting the design that was on the ceiling and had been killed in a horse accident. She had not finished the whole ceiling but had managed to get a good piece of it done so for all intents and purposes ( as a legacy to the artist) the ceiling was considered complete. It was very fitting I thought.

We managed to get a hold of George, and he came in and had a couple of beverages with us. It was good to see him and his dog Jack and we caught up on the Jeff and Mary news, the demise of the Pioneer and what was new and exciting in his life. He looked good and it was great to see him again. He had been following the blog and was rather concerned when I had stopped writing on it during the summer. He had wondered if something had happened and for that I had to apologize as I had not even thought about that when I stopped witing it. Anyway, it was great to see him again.