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! 

310 To Yuma

This will be my last update for the year.  We have purchased a home here in Yuma and will be spending the winter in it while enjoying the sunshine and the mild weather. 
 
Thanks for visiting Hitchin' to Go.  I will be back next summer when we again hitch up and go!

Idaho and Utah

I have been either having too much fun or traveling so my blog has been neglected.  Sorry, but I am here now.  We don't usually travel very far at a time and this month has been no different than usual.  We left Henry's Lake and only traveled about 100 miles to Idaho Falls.  Kirby found us a sweet little local RV Park - North Bingham County Park.  Somehow I managed to lose the few pictures I took there but it was a sweet little park that we enjoyed for a couple of days while we did some shopping.

Then we moved on about 70 miles down the road to a small town called American Falls and Willow Bay Recreation Area.  (I never did see the falls)  This was one of our most favorite parks yet as we had a huge yard and great biking/walking on a paved trail into town.  We also got to visit with Kirby's nephew and his family while we were there.

 

American Falls was also where our dog Jake got his first and hopefully his last Bee Sting!  He was not a happy camper at all.  He and I had to wait on the side of the road while Kirby walked back to the campground and got the truck to come pick us up.

You can see our camper there in the middle of the picture.  We had nothing but grass behind us and then the lake.  It was incredible!  It was only 30 amp but we managed.

When we moved on to Jordanelle State Park near Park City, Idaho we had to go a bit over 200 miles - LONG day for us!  We had been to Jordanelle last year and knew that we liked it.  The first day and a half it did nothing but rain but then the sun came out and we had a fire in the firepit and we partied!

And we had this view the next morning.  Pretty nice wouldn't you say?

We made two stops going from Park City to Boulder City, Nevada where we are now.  I am not sure how many more posts, if any, I will be making in the near future.  I am flying out to South Carolina for 3 weeks and Kirby will be continuing on to Yuma and wait for me there!  Then our season will be over.  It has flown by and been incredible! 

Montana to Idaho and Back To Henry's Lake State Park

We are beginning to wonder if we have over-stayed our welcome up here in God's Country.  We think maybe the God's are trying to tell us something!  Just look at that snow on the mountain viewed from our RV park in Ennis, MT.  We have had a couple of warmer days that have melted the snow but we might get more this weekend.  Burrrr.

We really enjoyed our short stay in Ennis.  Ennis RV Village was one of my all-time favorites and the town is very special.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from that stop.

Are we lucky or what?  Right there is town we spotted a Distillery open to the public with free samples.  I expected Bourbon but no, it was Moonshine!  When we lived in Mexico there was a company that flavored Tequila with everything.  This was very similar.  They had all different flavors of Moonshine.  We sampled a couple and then decided to have one of the cocktails that they prepare.  (too bad the cute copper mug wasn't included! They sell for $35 so I didn't take it home with me!)  We had fun visiting with other customers and with the serving lady who also guided fishing tours.

Hot Springs right there in the middle of no where!  Can you see the steam?

The Madison River

Ennis has statues of cool fish all around town.

They also have wild animals in town!

After a few days in Ennis we packed up and moved about 60 miles south back to Henry's Lake State Park.  This really is one of our most favorite places ever!  And this time we knew where we wanted to be located and were able to reserve it.

Just look how alone we are?  And I don't mind not having trees because I get the great big view.  The lake is right behind us and the views are incredible!

This is Henry's Lake viewed from right behind where we sit.

This is honest to God the way it looked when the sun set during the rain.  I did nothing to this picture!

We took a drive-about yesterday and just wandered around the area.

Bridge over the Madison River

I think this may have been a wonderful little settlement in it's day.  The house on the left has a sweet little stream running right behind it.

And just look what we found!

We will be staying here through the Labor Day weekend and then head to Idaho Falls for a shopping fix.  Hopefully we will have a bit of good weather over the weekend.  I want to get in more hiking as the trails here are so nice.

I know, too many pictures but what can I say?  I like taking them!

Missouri Headwaters State Park

The Missouri River runs right behind this ridge of mountains that were formed over 75 million years ago by a volcano eruption.

We are further south in Montana now and heading back toward Arizona – but it will take us a while – at least 4 weeks, maybe more.  We don’t want to get there when it is still terribly hot or my body will go into shock.  This morning it is 50 degrees out, we ran the heater and I have on sweats!

We left Fort Benton for a quick trip to Great Falls and some shopping.  We hadn’t seen a Sam’s Club in quite a while and we needed some staples.  Of course I always look for microbreweries wherever we are and we were in luck.  We found Bowser Brewing not too far from where we were staying.  We settled in with our brews (which were excellent!) and a tin of dominos to play some Mexican Train.  Didn’t work!  We should have counted the doms before we began.  Doubles of some of them and others were just plain missing.  You can’t play a real game that way!  Should have brought along our own but we didn’t know what to expect.  At least the ales were really good and we did have fun!

We are going to miss this nice spot at Missouri Headwaters State Park.

We are now at the Missouri Headwaters State Park not too far from Three Forks, MT.  It is a very quiet little park with not too many people and we have a fantastic site with a yard for Jake.  He is going to be pretty upset later today when we move on.  (if the weather will allow – heavy skies and it rained all night)

There is a great paved trail that runs right by the park and goes into Three Forks.  We got our bikes down and headed out.  Through bribery Kirby was able to get me to ride all the way into Three Forks – lunch was the reward.  We ate on the patio at Three Forks Café.  Can’t say it was the greatest meal ever but it sure was fun.  And I can now say that I can ride 10 miles.  Of course there were NO hills and very little wind so it was an easy ride.

 There are a few trails around the park and we have enjoyed those.  We also had a fire in the firepit yesterday morning.  It was cool and crisp out and the fire was perfect.  Sure wouldn’t work today as everything is soaked with rain. 

The Madison River flowing north to meet up with the Gallatin and the Jefferson.  These three rivers become the Missouri River.  I think it should be called the Montana River since it originates here but of course there was no Montana when the Missouri was discovered.

If we can get the rain to stop we will hitch up and got to Three Forks Campground for a few days.  We stayed there last year and know that we like it. (We will have full hook-ups and laundry there.)  Then we don’t know where we are going but it will be south!

Montana!

We have been having way too much fun here in Montana and I have been lazy with updating the blog.  We are currently in Fort Benton which is in central Montana and pretty darned close to Canada.  In my next life I want to be born in Montana!  I love it here.  Actually, getting to spend part of my summer here is almost perfect.  When we left Henry's Lake in Idaho we went to Livingston and spent a week there visiting with Kirby's cousin, Melani.  She has lived there for over 10 years...a California escapee!  While in Livingston Kirby got outfitted for some trout fishing and we have been searching for that big boy ever since!

We have seen some beautiful country on our travels and Montana is probably one of the very best!  From Livingston we went a whole 75 miles north to White Sulfur Springs which sits just south of Lewis and Clark National Forest.  It is a tiny town that is quiet, quiet, quiet!  The RV park was our favorite this year.  We walked to town and back many times, drove all over dirt roads searching for that perfect fish, picniced and played tourist at a home that has been converted to a museum.

I loved the simplicity of this old abandoned farmhouse.  I found it interesting that the white paint was still so white.  I have to wonder what brand of paint they used to last so long! There was no vinyl siding when this house was built.

Kirby found us this canyon to check out.  It was all rock and gorgeous. 

We were just driving down the dirt road minding our business when I spotted these two deer sitting under a tree.  Kirby slammed on the brakes and backed up.  I started taking pictures and walking closer to them very slowly.  They let me get quite close before the bolted off.  I felt so fortunate to get so close to them.  Their antlers were gorgeous!

This was one of our many picnics.  Convenient tree stump to use wouldn't you say?

Why do I take pictures of cows?  I have always done it and I am not too sure why.  Maybe because they are there.  This young one didn't know yet that you DON'T sleep in the middle of the road!

One day there were lots and lots of butterflies and they each had a thistle.

Driving a big truck and pulling a 38 foot trailer can be a bit of a challenge.  We had no idea this was waiting just up the road for us.  The picture is no where near as awful as the real thing was.  Lumpy, bumpy and very narrow.  I was so proud of Kirby!

This is the house museum that we visited - Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale, MT.  There really is no more Martinsdale - only a handful of people still living in the old houses but it used to be a nice little town full of people  that the sheep rancher, Charles Bair, employed.  The house was furnished by his two daughters throughout their lives with travels to Europe to purchase antiques.  It was pretty gaudy with all the big picture frames and gold gilt on everything but I fell in love with the kitchen.  It was remodeled in the 1960's and stayed the same thereafter.  Isn't the color incredible.  That would wake you up pretty fast each morning!