Sunday, November 7/2010

We travelled through some of the prettiest country to date today. Once out of the campsite, we headed down (or should I say up!) highway 39. It was a long, gradual steady climb over the mountain range. The bus ran beautifully and we eventually reached the summit of approx 8500 feet. The descent was also long and gradual and like I said earlier, took us through some of the most gorgeous country we have seen. There were cabins and houses strewn along the highway making me wonder if people lived in these year round or if these were their summer getaways. As we got closer to Ogden, there was a continuous stream of properties along the highway that had nothing but a camper trailer on then - most gated - proclaiming "private property". People will absolutely camp anywhere - even 15 feet off the highway!! It was a beautiful area though.

We hooked up to Interstate 15 south, travelled through Salt Lake City and Provo and finally stopped the bus at Fort Deseret for the night. It was a good day.

Saturday, November 6/2010

It was chilly in the bus this morning and there was a bit of frost on the ground but, the sun is shining through the windows and it looks like we are headed into another nice day.

We are staying in this spot for today but may have to move a bit further south tomorrow as the weather forecast for this area is rain Monday and snow Tuesday. What the heck is with that!! We want to stay away from the white stuff!!

There are two football games on today and one of them involves our Roughriders. Go Riders Go!! Before we left Canada, I purchased a Saskatchewan Roughrider Gnome to accompany us on our travels. I have taken a few pictures of "Rider" along the way and as soon as we can get another download cord for the camera, will post them on the blog.

As it turned out, the Roughriders won the game!! Yea!!

When we arrived yesterday, the previous campers had left wood (a rare find) and John and I thought it was our duty to burn it. Hogan and I scoured the nearby area for a few more pieces of burnable wood but that scrubby old sage brush does not offer much in the way of wood.

We did have a great fire and Hogan kept all manner of wild beast away from us!!

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.