August 2015 Update

What an incredible month we have had!  We have explored quite a bit of territory in the Anaconda - Georgetown Lake area of Montana and loved every moment of it!  Not only is that area just gorgeous, it is alive with history.  We had so much fun finding old mines, mining cabins and communities.  I have way too many photos but here are some I just have to share!

This was our favorite mining cabin that we found.  It is located on private property and the owners have taken the time through the years to keep it maintained.

Even the outhouse was in good shape for the age of it.

This was some sort of water source.  You could hear the underground stream as it flowed by.

At the end of one of our hikes we just happened upon the old mining community of Southern Cross.

This is a water cauldron of some sort.  It was located right near a mine dig.  Maybe one of my readers will know how it was used.

This was my favorite of all because we just followed animal trails to find it.  It was no where near any ATV trails or Forest Service Roads.  It was just there, hidden in the woods.

If you look closely you can see the long support beam for the roof.  It was a good sized cabin so I imagined a family living there.

The outhouse was still standing.

This old well and the wash tub were nearby the broken down cabin.

This old mining operation was not too far away from the old cabin.

This was a real find!  Grouse eggs!  They were old and rather discolored so I think they had been there a long, long time.

Jake, our dog, found these old bones from a large animal.  Probably moose or elk.

Jake found that the ice cold water felt really good on his feet. 

It was getting quite cold up there in beautiful Montana so we have come south a bit and also reduced the elevation.  We are in a county campground in Swan Valley, Idaho and warming up.  We have about a month before we need to be back in Yuma so there is still plenty of time to play and explore.

July Update

We have been in many remote locations this summer with no phone and no internet.  I have gone through some withdrawal from easy communications but for the most part, it has been OK.  Once or twice a week we go somewhere with cell service, I make a few quick phone calls, post a couple of pictures on Facebook and head back to the camp.  We love the places we have stayed much more than travel from one RV Park to the next.  But we mostly dry camp and that has been an adjustment too.  We go to RV parks to use internet, take long showers and do laundry.  Oh, and to fill the tank with water.  We quickly learned that information on a website that indicates there is drinking water available does not mean you can fill your tank.  It means there is water available for a bucket.  Ah, the lessons we learn the hard way.

We began our trip visiting friends in Sedona, AZ.

Next was Lake Powell where we visited Lower Antelope Canyon.  Incredible is all I can say about it.

Utah is one of our favorite places and we traveled a bit of a different route this time.  We spent quite a bit of time in Dixie National Forest and camped at Duck Creek Campground.  What an incredibly beautiful campground this is.  We loved it there!

This was our second time to stop at Yuba Lake State Park.  We always manage to get the spot with the view and the sunsets there can be incredible!

We returned to Jordanelle State Park near Park City for the third time.  We are never crazy about this place and not too sure why we go back.  Maybe it is simply that it is easy and right on our route north.  We did enjoy the back road drive from Heber City to Park City immensely and would do that again in a heartbeat.

At Bear Lake State Park in Utah we had the honor of watching a family of Bald Eagles grow and on our last day there one of them took flight for the first time - right before our eyes.  It was an incredible experience!

In Jackson Hole, Wyoming we were treated to a river trip with our nephew and his family.  This year we did the scenic trip and it was gorgeous and relaxing!!

Henry's Lake State Park in Northern Idaho is another place we often stop along our way that we have decided not to go to anymore.  Not sure why we liked it so much other than the great hiking and the views because the place has too much wind, always rains and the mosquitoes are legion!

Then it was on to Montana where our first stop was Moose Creek Flat Campground right on the Gallatin River.

But our favorite place so far has to be Swan Creek Campground just a half mile up the canyon from Moose Creek Flat.  We want to go back but it is pretty much booked for the next few weeks.  I think it is the hiking and the creek that won our hearts here.

Today we are at an RV park preparing to go to another dry camp with no communications!  I am using the internet here - hopefully before everyone wakes up and the services gets too slow for uploading!  That pretty much wraps up the past couple of months.

Thanks for stopping by!

New Rig!!

I can't believe that we have done this and I am so happy and excited.  For over a year we have talked about downsizing our camper and once we bought the house and got moved in it just seemed like the right thing to do.  Besides, we had a rainy day with not much to do so we went "looking".

When we bought our 38' Avalanche we were moving from our home to the camper with no second home and no storage unit.  We had to get everything we owned into that rig so we needed a lot of space!  Now that we have our home here in Yuma, we don't have to carry everything with us.  We can just take a little of it.  So, we have downsized by 8 feet and purchased a Cougar half-ton fifth wheel.

We really did just go out looking because it was dreary and cool out.  Our second stop found us at RV World here in Yuma.  I know they rotate the sales staff so we drew Jeff.  Jeff showed us a few campers and one was a 27' Cougar that we liked very much but it just seemed a few feet too small.  Then Jeff got a phone call and passed us over to Josh.  I liked Josh much better, maybe because he showed us  the 30' Cougar.  We still could not decide on which one we liked and we left with a "we will call you".

Two days later we called and Josh was out but Jeff was there so he came out to look at our Avalanche to see if they would take it in trade.  His assessment took all of about 2 minutes and he was on his way again.  I guess he just wanted to make certain that we really did have it.  So the next morning we were back at RV World and Jeff was there with no sign of the illusive Josh.  Again we looked at the 27 footer and the 30 footer.  The thing that we liked better about the 30 foot Cougar was that there was a loveseat that Jake could use!

I know, a sofa for the dog?  Yes!  We have bought a boat for a dog so why not a camper for a dog.  Jake is a big boy and he has to be somewhere!  We have learned that when we aren't looking, he will find a nice place to sleep so we might as well plan on it.

So we sat down to do the negotiating.  Part of me loves that and then there is the part of me that feels very ill equipped for it.  Anyway, we finally arrived at an agreement and we signed on the dotted line!  They would pay us money when the deal was done!  We didn't have to come up with one cent.  Well, that is not true as we had to pay the registration fee.  We agreed to take possession in a week.

Now the work began for Kirby as he had to remove some of his upgrades like solar panels and expensive batteries.  So we really did need that week.

On Wednesday we made the trade and our new Cougar now sits in our yard!