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