Travel Adventure #16

The final camping trip for 2025 started on Wednesday, October 1st when Gail & I decided to head out and set up camp above Lake Como even though rain was predicted. 

The fall colors were magnificent.  We had enough time for a couple good hikes in between rainstorms.  

Rainbows kept appearing and disappearing as the dark clouds headed our way and then seemed to move right around us.  Had we been able to find the "pots of gold" at the end of these rainbows we could have been plenty wealthy before the day was over!

When it became clear the rain was not going to let up for the remainder of the day Thursday, we headed home mid-afternoon.

Friday, I cleaned out my van - took the bed apart and into the house, took the seats back out to the van and reinstalled them, hauled in all my camping bins, cleaned some out and put them back in the van for winter storage, keeping anything that might freeze in the house for the winter. 

The camping season is over but what a great season it was.

Travel Adventure #15

Time keeps on flying by at seemingly faster and faster speeds.  But I’ve accomplished my goal for the summer… to be out camping as much as possible.   Now my job is to catch up on the blog posts!

My next camping adventure started on September 11^th when I drove to Livingston and stayed one night at the RV Park there.  The next day I continued to Rapid City, SD where I stayed at an RV park and campground for five nights. 

During the days I hung out with some precious friends, playing cards, eating ice cream, watching cloggers dancing, worshipping together at church, and attempting to troubleshoot some strange email behavior on their PC. 

 

I had the most unusual experience while staying at the campground.   I can laugh about it now but it didn’t seem very funny at the time.  I had gone up the hill to the bathroom/shower building at the campground, stepped into a tiny stall, turned around to lift the lid before seating myself to take care of business.  When I was all done, I did the normal flushing and headed back to my car only to find that my car key and fob were no longer in my sweatshirt pocket where I thought I had put them.   Hmmm.  

I went back down to the van, walked all around it, looked underneath, and not finding the key and fob there, headed back up the hill to the bathroom/shower building, looking everywhere.  They were nowhere to be found.  I repeated this procedure a few times before concluding that they must have been flushed down the toilet.  How can that be possible, you may ask?  I asked the same thing, but there was no other explanation. 

My cell phone had been left in the locked van to charge on my power station before I was to head to my friends’ house for the day.   Serious mistake #2.  ☹  

Farther up the hill was the campground’s main office.  I hiked up there and asked if the attendant knew of any locksmiths in town who could get me back into my car.  She gave me a few phone numbers to try on their office phone.  I finally reached someone who could help me.  I asked if they made keys or replaced fobs.  They certainly did.  They got someone scheduled to come to the campground within an hour or so.  I highly recommend Harvey's Lock & Security in Rapid City!

Once the van door was opened, I grabbed my phone and called my friends to explain why I was so late for our scheduled lunch, all the while the locksmith tech was making a new master key for the van and explaining they had no fob to replace the one I lost.   Fortunately, my van has key locks on both the driver and passenger front doors, so I’m learning how to lock and unlock the vehicle with the key, something I’ve never done before with this van.  That happened the first morning I stayed at this campground.  After that, the week went more smoothly.  

I got up early one day to see if I could catch a glimpse of the sun hitting Mt Rushmore first thing in the morning.  I arrived at Mt. Rushmore about 6:30 am to find only a handful of people who had arrived before I did. 

After taking some photos of the four presidents, I headed out of the park toward Hill City.  I had never come out that way before.  

Suddenly, looking up at the mountain above me, there appeared George Washington’s silhouette, with that long nose highlighted by the early morning sun.  LOL.

I left Rapid City and headed to a campground in Billings where I stayed one night.  

The advantage of van camping this time of year is sharing the tent camping areas with the fewest people.  In fact, I was the only one in the tent area that I know of.   However, the RV section was packed full with over 100 RV’s.  

As I headed out to meet a friend for breakfast at Cracker Barrel I noticed my check engine light flashing.  Ugh.  I could only guess that another ignition coil failed, as seems to be a regular occurrence for this van.  I pulled out my code reader and sure enough, cylinder 2 had a failed ignition coil.  The friend I had breakfast with recommended a mechanic and provided the name, address and phone number.  

After eating, I headed off to find someone who could help.  Miracle of miracles, I was in and out within 45 minutes heading back down the highway with a new ignition coil.  

The trip was considerably more costly than anticipated but it added to the extra excitement when I saw the “Welcome to Montana” sign and soon afterwards drove by the welcoming committee.  😊

It was an amazing trip but I was so grateful to get home, and to get home safely!  

Travel Adventure #14

The camping season is winding down but Gail and I decided another campout was necessary before the colder weather comes.   Wednesday, August 27th, was the day we started this adventure.  Rain was pouring down in buckets. I tried taking a photo of the sign near where we camped out.  As you can see, the timing of the wipers and my finger on the shutter button weren’t quite right. 😊

Rumors of flash floods and rising river levels had my ears perked up a bit.  But we drove out to the Painted Rocks Reservoir southwest of Hamilton, MT, crossed the dam that was first constructed in 1939 creating the lake, out past cell service and into the wild. 

Due to the heavy rains, Gail spent most of the day in her camper.  I spent most of the day in my camper van, working on my laptop, playing guitar and knitting a bit.  We went out for a short walk to check out the area but only went a mile or two up towards the Blue Joint Creek Trailhead.

By later afternoon the rain was calming a bit so we decided to hike up a nearby road to locate a trailhead that was supposed to be 3 miles or less away from our campsite.  We walked at least 3 miles towards the Little Blue Joint Trailhead but finally gave up due to exhaustion and becoming soaked, either from sweating within the plastic raincoats or from the rain itself pouring down on us.  What a tiring day that was.

My pedometer total for the day was 7 miles.   I had a hard time sleeping that night as the rain pounded on the roof of my van on and off all night long.   

The next day Gail rested and I took a mile hike up a different road, adding 2 miles to my pedometer.  We had a campfire that evening and roasted hot dogs.  It was a bit difficult to find wood dry enough to make some coals, but Gail found some dried up pine needles to add to the greener wood someone had left at the site.   It’s hard to beat hot dogs roasted over an open fire while out camping.  I got my guitar out and we had a great time singing together around the campfire.

By Friday we were ready to do some serious hiking once again.  The morning started with a temperature of 43 degrees so bundling up was the best way to enjoy a bit of breakfast before hitting the trail. 

I drove Gail, her dog Paige and myself up to the Blue Joint Creek Trailhead. The weather was perfect but the trail was extremely rocky.  Gail remembered this trail from riding horses years ago. She remembered it as a marvelous trail.  My impression, however, was that it was potentially a dangerous trail, due to my large feet and clumsiness.  We walked 2.5 miles up. I didn’t have any interest in going farther.  So, we stopped and ate a light lunch and headed back. 

But the sense of danger I felt early on in this hike displayed itself clearly when I tripped on some rocks and fell hard onto both knees.  I rolled over on my back right away to make sure I could still bend my knees and hadn't broken anything.  But it took ten or fifteen more minutes for the pain to calm down enough for me to get up without feeling faint.  Eventually I got up with Gail’s help and we continued back to the van, making it safely back to the campsite.

We both agreed at that point that it was time to head home.   Overall, it was a great adventure.  I walked about 15 miles in those 3 days.  We both found we could survive in tough circumstances whether in downpours or hot sun.  

I, and the camera that was hanging around my neck, survived the fall. Gail did not panic nor go running off to find help.  She stayed calm and waited patiently… the best kind of hiking partner!   I thank God for all that He did in helping us through and granting us another marvelous adventure in the wild!!

Travel Adventure #13

Anther camping trip with Gail happened July 23-25.  This time we headed out the West Fork Rd, past Conner, MT, to Watchtower Creek campground.

Gail was sure there were great huckleberries across the creek and up the hill.  However, the bridge was out 3/4 mile up the trail.  She scooted across a log that had fallen over the creek, but it seemed a bit too dangerous for me.  

I instead tried going across some of the dryer looking rocks on the creek bed.  But alas, one slip and water flows freely into my new hiking boots. Ugh!  All my socks are soaked as well as my pant legs up to the knee.  

Fortunately I brought along extra clothes and shoes.  I found some paracord and put up a clothesline to get everything dried out by the next morning.

Some small birds were very interested in the fire pit, when there was no fire burning.  They pecked on stuff left in the ashes.  Even when there was a fire, they would come sit on the rocks around it for a short while.

Because there was no easy way to get up to the huckleberries on the trail by Watchtower Creek, we headed up to Nez Perce Pass. The huckleberries were bigger there than what I had found in the Bitterroot Valley in previous years.  We spent a great deal of time picking the berries.  I love this activity as it's quiet and encourages reflection on deeper things.  I can ponder the deeper things in life while I look for the largest berries on the bush with sunshine on my shoulders and peace in my soul!!

I don't want to forget to share the beauty of the sunrise and sunsets while we camped on the pass.

The Nez Perce Pass was such a great place for picking.  So I headed back up there on July 30th and picked all day. I had almost a gallon of huckleberries to clean when I got home. I think I'll try making some huckleberry jam this year.  

Travel Adventure #11

My summer adventures are happening a bit more often than I've been able to sit down to record them.  I'll try to catch up today.

On July 8th I camped with Gail at Meadow Creek out the East Fork Road, near Sula, MT.  

After cooking up a great breakfast we drove up to the Swift Creek trailhead where Gail had ridden with a horse group years ago. We hiked a few miles until it was getting a bit too steep for me, at which time we turned back.  There's certainly no shortage of timber in Montana!

We then headed to the Martin Creek Campground. We were the only ones in the campground when we arrived on Wednesday afternoon but by the time we left Friday the campground was full.

We had thunderstorms with heavy rain each afternoon and evening so some competitive Scrabble games kept us occupied in the camper.  This one was very frustrating as we somehow lost all access to the upper left section of the board.  

Travel Adventure #10

On June 25th, I met up with a friend trying out her new camper trailer.  We stayed one night in the parking lot at the trailhead of the Nez Perce / Nee-Me-Poo Trail, which is also part of the Lewis & Clark trail.   The trail got a bit too steep for me after a couple miles so I voted to turn back around.  I think we ended up hiking about 4.5 miles round trip, getting up high enough to see a great distance up the Bitterroot Valley.

We got out the camp stove, made dinner, and had a great time checking out all the features of her new camper trailer.  

My van is all set up as a self-contained camper and I've used it now for a few summers.  I keep fine-tuning things to work more efficiently but overall I'm very pleased with the setup.  Gail's camper was all new to her so she was eager to learn all the various features.  It was the trailer's maiden voyage and went well!

Bug spray, sunscreen and Scrabble are the necessities for a camping trip like this.  We had them all.  The Scrabble competition began.  She is a much better Scrabble player than I!

Camping always reminds me of the true joys of living.  It refreshes me greatly.  It's also a great joy to find someone else who loves the outdoors as much as I do!

Travel Adventure #9

On June 13th, I took another drive up to the Harlow Ranch Bison Co in Thompson Falls to show them some of my photo note cards to see if they might stock some in their gift shop.  I was so pleased that they did.   

Before we discussed the note cards I went on the 10am bison tour, this time riding in the cab instead of in the back of the truck.  I thought it would allow me to get some photos closer to ground level instead of from up above the bison.  Boy oh boy, was I surprised!!

It was quite a hilarious experience.  Almost every time I put my camera part way out the window, a large bison stuck its head right up to me to get some treats.   It was shocking just how huge these full grown bison are.

Then I got to watch a tussle between a couple bulls.   Not quite the same as the calves butting heads.  I'm sure they get bloodied up a bit from this activity.  

After a delightful time with the bison and with Maggie (the driver / gift shop manager), I drove a couple miles up the road and camped at the Thompson Falls State Park for the night.  I bought some fire wood, roasted a couple hot dogs over the fire and wished I had brought along some marshmallows.  I won't forget them next time!

Travel Adventure #8

Usually on Father's Day each year the Camas blossoms cover the field at Packer Meadows, about a mile from the Lolo Pass Visitor's Center on the Montana/Idaho border on Highway 12. I decided to go a few days early since the other wildflowers in our valley seemed to have peaked early.  

I found a few other wildflowers close by as well and a ground squirrel checking on what I was doing up there.

I was so glad I went early as half the field had blossoms and some were already wilting at the same time others had not yet opened their blossoms. The Camas blossoms are in abundance and the sound of thousands of bees was totally amazing.  They were having a feeding frenzy with the blossoms.  

I decided to camp nearby overnight.  You can see the early morning fog over the Camas field in the background behind the buck.

Travel Adventure #5 - Part 2

The next morning at the Madison Campground in Yellowstone Park, I rose early and drove back to Old Faithful to see it in the early morning light.  So much fog from the steamy waters mixed with the 30 degree temps made the drive a bit eerie. But it made for some amazing photos.

The bird was a total surprise.

I didn't see him when I snapped the photo but discovered him after I reviewed the photos on my computer.  There were not too many folks at Old Faithful about 8am on a Friday.  The fog was gradually burning off but you can still see some behind the geyser.  By the time I drove back north and exited the Park at West Yellowstone, the fog had all burned off.

 

A few other geysers caught my attention so I made a few more stops before heading out of  Yellowstone Park toward a campground close to Ennis, MT.

When I realized it was Friday and the campground did not allow reservations I headed there early and was able to get a campsite right on the Madison River. 

It was 83 degrees out that afternoon, so with the help of a young gal from the next campsite I got my lawn chair set up in the river, rolled up my pant legs and enjoyed some time cooling my bare feet. The water however was cold enough I couldn't stay there too long. I tried to figure how to get a selfie of me in the lawn chair without dropping my phone in the river, but alas, it was simply not possible.

After leaving Ennis early the next morning I was able to drive through Virginia City and Nevada City before they came alive for the day.

On to Dillon, then plenty of time to check out the Bannack cemetery.

And there was plenty of time left in the day for wandering through one of my favorite ghost towns at Bannack.  

And, finally, a big surprise on the drive home between Jackson and Wisdom... a large herd of horses enjoying their playtime in between moments of grazing.  I had to stop and watch for quite a while.

Travel Adventure #5 was incredible!  

I wish you all could have come along but maybe these posts 

will give you a little taste of the wonders of God's creation.

Travel Adventure #5 - Part 1

What a gorgeous blend of colors as I drove out of town for my next travel adventure on May 7th.

I stopped to visit a friend in Butte who always insists it's his turn to pay for lunch.  

Then back on the road to stay with a friend in Livingston that I hadn't seen in a few years. Friends are the true treasures in life!

Mountain ranges are visible around Livingstone in most every direction.  There's the Absaroka and Gallatin Ranges looking southward and the Crazy Mountains looking north.

The next stop was Yellowstone Park.  Who would have thought so many people would be there so early in the season? 

I drove from Mammoth Hot Springs south and came across a field of mama bison with their babies.  Most all were laying down napping.  I waited quite a while in hopes they would get up and move around.

Bison don't get up like cows do with their back legs first.  They get up front legs first and can move quickly, especially if they feel their babies are being threatened.

Some interesting facts I learned..."Just minutes after they're born, calves stand on the ground and within a few hours they're running. Calves are born with their eyes open, weigh 25-40 lbs and have a reddish-brown coat that turns brown as they age." This is according to the Bison-Fact-Sheet on the nationalforests.org website.

Traffic jams in the Park are quite amusing.  In this situation a Park employee was pushing these bison along with a strange sounding siren coming from his truck.

I headed further south and stopped at the Madison campground where I checked in for one night.  The Madison Campground has over 200 campsites and they were mostly all filled. I headed down to check out Old Faithful before returning to my campsite where I heated up some leftovers on my camp stove from my lunch in Butte.  Yumm!

Thus ends day #2 on this travel adventure.  More to come in the next post.