Day 14 - Townsend, MT - Sisters on the Fly!!!

We’re back in the heat. Last night in Miles City was hot and humid. Lightning signaled a major storm to the south, but nothing materialized in the way of rain except a light splattering overnight. Erika is doing much better now, having had a couple doses of Amoxicillin for the strep throat she developed in Jamestown, ND. On the road at 10:00 am, headed for Townsend, MT, north of Bozeman.

We left I-90 east of Livingstone, MT, and headed up US 89. Amazingly, the speed limit on many secondary roads in Montana is . . . 70 mph!!! That, of course, meant we cruised at 74, same as on the interstate. Wouldn’t want to do that at dusk or after dark, given the number of deer around these parts.

US-89 dead-ended at US-12 (which, if we stayed on headed west would take us within a mile of our house). A left turn took us into the Helena National Forest for 30 miles or so. Simply beautiful. We headed for the Townsend KOA, which turned out to be a mistake. Out in a field with immature cottonwoods (come back in 10 years) and plenty of sun. At 100 degrees, the heat was… well… just like being home, except we have air conditioning at home. The Palouse Caboose, however, is not air conditioned.

The real surprise when we pulled in however was, we landed smack dab in the middle of a gathering of Sisters on the Fly! There are about 16 of the sisters here, and of course I had to go meet them and check out their trailers. My favorite is Diane’s trailer, a 1950’s vintage Aloha. She has it decorated with a western/cowboy
/cowgirl motif, with boot stencils, a hide of some animal or other, and various western artifacts and older pictures. Diane’s trailer is a wonderful example of what can be done to restore a vintage trailer.

Another favorite was Julie’s trailer. It’s aluminum skinned 13 footer, built on an older trailer frame. What is amazing is she built it herself!!! Julie is an engineer, and designed the trailer along vintage trailer lines and then had a shop cut the aluminum to her specs. Diamond plate on the front (Diane’s Aljo had diamond plate as well). The floor is a wood laminate of maple and another darker wood. Beautiful. The roof is reinforced in case she later decides to add an air conditioner unit.

The sisters are having a salmon bake for dinner. They do seem to enjoy themselves (Maureen, are you listening?).

Day 13 - Miles City, MT - Placeholder

Day 12 - Jamestown, ND

After leaving our friends Jeff and Christie at Lake Chetek, we ambled along Wisconsin Rte. 8 to St. Croix Falls, where we crossed the Mississippi. We then headed up MN Rte. 95 through Cambridge and Princeton and on to St. Cloud, MN. In St. Cloud we picked up I-95 (back on the Super Slab!) and headed for Fargo, ND. We debated dropping down to US-12 and taking it home (12 would have put us within a mile of our house in Walla Walla), but decided we wanted to make tracks and get home as quickly as possible. After a Wal-Mart stop in Fargo, it was on to Jamestown, ND, home of the National Buffalo Museum. We we stopped at a former KOA Campground. Like most KOA's (current and former) this one was near the freeway, so there was a fair amount of road noise.

Next morning, Erika woke up and announced she had strep throat. We've been through this a gazillion times with her, so we take her seriously. We ended up at the Jamestown Hospital, where she was seen promptly and diagnosed with . . . Strep Throat. Got our antibiotics and were on our way by noon, headed for Miles City, MT.

The route on I-94 through North Dakota is largely unremarkable, with the exception of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the North Dakota Badlands in the Western part of the state. This is Teddy Roosevelt Country, and I can see why he enjoyed it. On a return trip, we'd like to take a couple days to explore this area.

Day 11 - Lake Chetek, WI - Fishing with Oral

More to follow, but in the meantime, Erika caught two crappies and a bluegill!!!

Days 9-10 - Mauston, WI - Placeholder

Day 8 - Adrian, MN - Placeholder

Day 7 - Badlands - Placeholder

Day 6 - Black Hills - Placeholder

Day 5 - Black Hills - Needles Highway

After a restful night, we arose to a beautiful Black Hills day. We decided to head south from the Rafter J Bar on Rte. 87 into Custer County. Our goal was to drive the Needles Highway and then take the Wildlife Loop through Custer State Park. Shortly after crossing US 385 onto Rte. 87, the road began to climb, and we were cautioned by a sign about steep grades and narrow tunnels.


A short drive took us through a narrow tunnel carved in the rock to the entry station for Custer State Park. Not far beyond was the visitors center and Sylvan Lake, a beautiful man-made lake. The lake is beautiful, and is surrounded by tall rock formations. The lake appears to be warm and good for swimming, as evidenced by a number of people who, against the rules, were jumping off rocks into the water. On any visit back to the Black Hills, we plan to stay for a few hours. However, we needed to push on to the Needles Highway. The road is an incredible engineering feat, completed in 1922.

The views from the Needles Highway are simply incredible. Unique rock formations line the roadside and made us want to stop repeatedly. The picture at the left is but a sample of what can be seen on the Highway. Other pictures I took on the route can be found at my Pbase.com site.

After winding down from the heights of the Needles Highway, we came to the "Wildlife Loop." This is the road, we were told, were we would most likely be able to see... wildlife. We weren't disappointed. Initially, we were wondering where the wildlife was, as we passed a number of open places that looked as if they would be excellent Bison habitat. Then, came upon a group of 10 or so Bison, just off the roadway. We stopped and I took lots of pictures. Luckily, I had a 2 mb card in my camera, as just around the bend, we encountered a herd of at least 15 Bison. There were on both sides of the road, and began passing directly in front of the car. The big guy at the right walked within 5' of the front of the Suburban, and Erika urged me to "GET IN THE CAR NOW!!!" as I was standing on the running board trying to catch a better shot. Further along the road, we saw a number of Pronghorn Antelope and a Prairie Dog Village or two.

We under-estimated the time it would take to travel Custer State Park. We'd talked about trying to visit and tour Wind Cave National Park, and we drove down there, near Hot Springs, SD. The closer we got, the more haze we saw and smoke we smelled. A Ranger at the park told us that a lightning strike 2 days before had sparked what then was a 5,000 acre fire burning south of Hot Springs. By this time, it was 4:00 pm, and the next tour was not set to leave for another 45 minutes. We opted to head back to camp at the Rafter J Bar Ranch for dinner. We'll have to catch Wind Cave next visit.

Day 4 - Buffalo WY to Hill City SD -- Mile 1100

I've gotten behind on this Blog due to poor internet connectivity. I'll try to catch up in the next day or two.

The Black Hills are more incredible than I remember. I was last there in 1971 and before that in 1968. We approached on I-90 on the drive from Buffalo. While still in Wyoming, we caught a distant glimpse of Devil's Tower to the North. Shortly after passing Devil's Tower, we began to climb, and the prairie gave way to pines. First stop was Spearfish to replenish groceries.

After a stop in Spearfish we headed down the road to the exit for Deadwood, SD (where Wild Bill Hickok was gunned down during a card game). Deadwood is a beautiful town perched between the mountain peaks. The entire town is a National Historic Landmark, and was a roaring gold rush town in the 1800's after George Armstrong Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills. The town cemetery is the resting place of not only Wild Bill, but also Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock, Potato Creek Johnny, and Preacher Smith.

From Deadwood we headed down Route 385, which heads South to Hill City and Custer beyond. Our final destination was the Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground. The campground appears to be on the site or a former working ranch. Guess the owners figured they could work real hard during the summer months and make more money renting ground and making pancakes for tourists than they could ranching. This is a premium private campground, and it was well worth the extra money. Our site was beautiful and fully shaded by pine trees. Very private and very quiet. We're getting our routine down, and now get the Palouse Caboose set up in 1/2 hour or so. It's become a comfortable home away from home.

Buffalo, WY – The Electronics Disaster -- July 8, 2007

The morning of July 8, I concluded it was a good time to start breakfast. I opened the lid of the new Coleman propane stove and attached one of the sides that act as a windblock. I diverted my attention for a moment, and the lid came loose. In a regular Rube Goldberg moment, the lid fell back, struck the Senseo coffee maker (which has a 4 cup water reservoir). The Senseo tipped and fell on my laptop, which I had foolishly left open and running on the picnic table. At least a cup of water flowed onto the keyboard. Of course, the computer shut down. I held it upside down and emptied as much liquid as I could. Then I dried it off as best I could and took out the battery.

Later that day after we arrived in Hill City, SD (Sunday) the laptop would not boot.

Yesterday (Monday) the laptop would not boot.

This morning (Tuesday) IT BOOTED!!! All appears to work, except certain keys, notably the “T,” several numerals and, most importantly, the backspace key. So… I am typing this on Lynne’s computer for later posting to the Blog.

Disaster averted (for the most part).

Day 3 -- Buffalo, WY -- Mile 861

This post is bit delayed (see the next post for the reason...).

We departed Big Timber Saturday morning headed for our next stop, Buffalo, Wyoming. The heat was still quite oppressive. We didn't check the actual reading, but it had to be in the high 90's.

Early afternoon found us in Billings, and we decided to stop at Perkins for breakfast. Not a great idea. Lynne ordered a ham and cheese omelette with mushrooms and a side of bacon. What she got was a ham omelette (no cheese), green peppers, which she hates, and semi-cooked bacon. Thankfully, the manager comped the meal. From what we could see, there is not much to Billings. It was a railway center at the turn of the century, and appears now to be the site of a petroleum refinery, among other things. We blasted out of town, glad to be gone.

Next stop was in Hardin, MT, on the Crow Indian Reservation, to gas up. The heat was really bearing down now. Shortly after Hardin is the buffalo . We briefly discussed stopping, but took a pass due to the heat and the desire to move on to our next stop in Buffalo, WY. The main calling card for Buffalo is that it is mid-point between the Black Hills and Yellowstone, so a lot of people stop off there. We stayed at the Indian Campground, which had great hosts and a wonderful pool. The campground was shaded by about 400 mature cottonwood trees which, luckily, were done shedding their cotton. All in all, it was a good place to stop and rest up.

Day 2 -- Big Timber, MT -- Mile 620

Save Now
After our usual (late) start leaving Missoula, we got on the road for Big Timber, MT, in Sweetgrass County, MT. The drive from Missoula took us past the mining town of Butte, which sits close to the Continental Divide. Above the city is a 90' statute of the Virgin Mary. The drive to Bozeman took us up and over three passes, which slowed the Caboose down substantially. If we're going to continue this trailer thing, a new tow vehicle might be in order (a Duramax Diesel, perhaps???).

We're camped at Spring Creek Campground next to the Boulder River. The campground has two private trout ponds stocked with rainbow trout, and Erika is bugging me already to go fishing. Trouble is, she doesn't seem to want to eat what she catches. I'll put any fish on ice and we'll fry them up for dinner.

Today's trip takes us to Billings, then South on
I-90 to Sheridan, WY, and then Buffalo, WY, where we spend the night, from there, it's on to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Day 1 - Walla Walla to Missoula - 349 Miles

After the usual late start (I aimed for for 10:00 am, and we actually rolled out of town at 11:50 am after dropping the little dog off at the Vet for boarding) we hit the road. I would have preferred a route that took us up to Colfax, then across to Idaho 95 and North to Coeur d'Alene to pick up I-90, but Erika has a problem with carsickness. The scenic route has a lot of twists and turns so we opted for the less scenic route to Tri-Cities, up 395 through the Scablands to Ritzville, then East on I-90 through Spokane and into Idaho. We dosed Erika with Dramamine and gave her a Seaband motion sickness wrist band. After sleeping the first hour she woke up and was car-sick-free the entire trip to Missoula. Now if we could get her a car-boredom preventative we’ll be all set.

It was ungodly hot yesterday. The weather service says it hit 109 at home. It was 101 when we finally got to Missoula around 7:00 our time (8:00 MST). I booked us the first night in, GASP, the Missoula KOA. My first ever KOA experience. My mother, who introduced me to camping in State Parks and National Forests would shudder at the thought. Aside from the campground being located right in town (behind a TJ Maxx clothing store), near the Target Store and and near the freeway, I was pleasantly surprised. There is a Sportsman's Warehouse nearby, and I plan to stop there on the way out of town to rid myself of some excess cash. The campsites at the KOA are side by each and quite close together, but well shaded. There is a pool, which is the primary reason I booked here. Erika had a good time swimming last night and I enjoyed cooling off in the pool. Lynne took a pass on pass on swimming and worked on the site. An added benefit of private campground camping these days is wireless internet.

Today we head out for Big Timber, midway between Bozeman and Billings. There is no pool there, but they have a trout pond, and we have a campsite reserved on the Boulder River. The campground has a trout pond, but I doubt the fish will be biting much this afternoon, as the temps are predicted to be 102. Prairie Dog Town State Park is in Greycliff East of town, and Erika ought to get a kick out of seeing the dog colony.

The Palouse Caboose Is working out well. It towed well with no sway, and we held our speed right around 65 mph. The inside of the Caboose was quite hot when we stopped, but fans cleared the heat out well and once the sun went down, it cooled off nicely.

Air conditioning would be nice, but I didn’t feel that we suffered at all last night.

The route thus far.