Happy, Happy ( Boulder City, NV)

 

We are still here in the Boulder City Elks.  We will be here until December 17th when we will put our RV in storage and fly to NYC.   Hoping for warm weather but not to hopeful.

Happy Holidays to all.

From the two of us.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Nothing to report (Boulder City, NV)

 

As the  title says, nothing new to report.  We are still in the Elks Lodge RV parking in Bolder City.  We will be here for at least another month.  So far the weather has been good.  Daytime temp in the 70s night time in the 50s.  We will be spending Thanksgiving-Chanukah at Vic’s house with Robin, Tim and Vic’s neighbors,  Brad and Jane.  It should be fun.

Since I had extra time on my hands I decided to study for my Ham Radio license.  After about a week of studying,  I took the Technician and General tests.  Passed both.  So now I am waiting for my call letters from the FCC so I can spend some money and buy the equipment.

The plan now is, on December 17th, put the camper in storage in Henderson and fly to New York.  We are planning to see all the doctors, friends and family.  Then fly back to Las Vegas on January 8th.  After returning to Las Vegas we will go to Quartszite, AZ for a couple of weeks.   Then on to Casa Grande for the month of February.  The rest is still undecided.

Since we will not be doing any sightseeing for the next few months, I will be posting updates on my Facebook page.  If you want to keep up and have a Facebook page, you can send me a Friends link.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Back to Bolder City (Bolder City, NV)

 

We left Boise headed for Albuquerque and the Balloon Festival.   We had reservations to dry camp (no hookups) for 12 days at the balloon festival. It took 3 days to make the trip.  The fist night we stayed in a campground outside of Canyon Lands and Arches NP.  It was hard not to stop and see these NPs.  These NPs are on our bucket list, but time did not permit us to linger.  The next night we stayed in an Elks Lodge Farmington, NM.  The next day we pushed on to Albuquerque.  We arrived early for the Balloon Festival so we stayed at a great campground in Albuquerque, American RV Park   We met up with Judy & Bob and Pete & Diane, members of the New Horizons group, where we had a great time.

Then it was time to go to the Balloon Festival and meet up with the Escapees Boomers group.  After setting up it was time for Happy Hour where we got acquainted with the other Boomers. The next morning we went over to the main launch area to get training as ground crew members.  After the training we received our ground crew assignments. 

When we retuned to the camper we received a call from my brother, Vic, that Judi, who was being treated for cancer, took a turn for the worse.  We immediately made plans to leave the balloon festival and head for Las Vegas.  It was a two day trip the first night we stopped in a campground south of the Grand Canyon that looked like a ghost town.  The people that work their were not happy campers.

We arrived at Vic’s house Saturday afternoon.  Judi passed away 3 AM in her  home Thursday (10/10/2013)  morning.  We will miss you Judi.  You will be in our thoughts forever. There will be a celebration of Judi’s life on Sunday, Oct. 20, at Vic’s house. 

Ann & Roy

We are on Our Way, Well not Yet (Boise, ID)

 

We returned the rental car and picked up the truck from the Ford dealer.  Good thing the repair was under extended warranty.  Looks like they put Humpty Dumpty back together properly.  Everything seems to work fine.

We picked up I-5 north through Portland where we got onto I-84 East toward Boise.  Boise is a two day-er, meaning we divided the trip into two days.  The first night we stayed in a half priced Passport America RV park.  A very nice park with full hookups for $18.75, well worth the money.

The next day we got back onto I-84.  Next stop Boise.  At mile marker 287.5 we pasted 45th Parallel, it is half way between the Equator and the North Pole.  We also entered Mountain Daylight Time.   Ann sat staring at her phone to watch the time change.

On Saturday we arrived at Boise Riverside RV park.  We  met up with our friends, Warren and Sandy, who we met at the Escaped two years ago.  Warren came over and helped me fix one of my slide toppers.  Thanks Warren. 

I noticed that one of the six tires on the Coach was warring uneven.  We have a Mor Ryde suspension, which is not what most trailers use.  It is an independent wheel system.  I called Mor Ryde and asked for a dealer that could do an alignment.  They gave me a name of an alignment shop here in Boise.  The only problem is he could not take me in until Wednesday.  So Wednesday morning we will pull out and go to have the Coach aligned.  Then on to the Balloon Festival.  With all of the delays time is getting tight and we will have to move to get down there for October, 2.

It may seem like we are doing nothing but repairs.  First, we do have almost 100K miles on the truck.  Also, if you put a set of wheels on your house and pull it down the road at 60 MPH things will break.  These are the facts of life when RVing.  We just deal with the problems.  Even when we were in our Sticks and Bricks house, things broke. 

Life is Still Great on the Roan Road…

Still Waiting (Eugene, WA)

 

We are still sitting here at the Elks Lodge, waiting for the truck to be finished.  We were told today is the day.  After we get the truck back we will have to test everything on the truck.  You see, in order to fix the engine exhaust they had to lift the whole cab off the chassis.  In order to do that they disconnected all cables and hoses.  We have installed a lot of add extra equipment and ran a lot of wires and hoses.  I just hope they can put Humpty Dumpty back together again!

Since we were sitting around, Tuesday morning I said to myself, “self and wife should take a mini vacation since we had the time”.  We had the rental car, it was just sitting there.  We packed up a few things for an overnight trip to Crater Lake.  We left around 2:30 PM and got to the motel around 5 PM.  The next morning we got up to a rainy, foggy day.  It turned out to make for some interesting photographs.  At the higher elevations on the west rim we hit dense fog.  On the east rim we ran into blinding snow.  The rest was clear with low hanging clouds and rain.  

 

		First the clouds roll in, then came the rain VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

On the way home, at the higher elevation, SNOW!

We arrived home yesterday, 24 hours later, about 5 PM.  It was a nice vacation.

P.S.  Ann thought this was one of my better ideas.  Personally, I think all my ideas are great.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Playing the Waiting Game (Eugene, OR)

 

We brought the truck into the local Ford dealer on Wednesday as scheduled.  So we rented a car to get around.  Ford extended warranty is covering most of the cost of the rental.  We called this morning to see when we could pick up the truck.  Yup, you guested it!  They had to send the cylinder head out to the machine shop and it is not back yet.  Of course, today is Friday and nobody works on Saturday so it won’t be until Monday before they get the Cylinder Head back.  Then they have to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  I just hope it all works when we get it back.  It looks like Crater Lake may be out and we will have to start heading for New Mexico right away.

Ann is on a crusade.  She read all of the Harry Potter books.  Now we (or she) is watching the complete series on DVD.  Well Ann is watching, I sleep though most of it.  We make a good team.  So now with the truck in for repair and we are stuck in Eugene, Ann should be able to finish the series.  Four down, three to go (the last one is in two parts).

The other day we took a day trip up the Oregon Coast.  We drove west to Florence then north on Rt. 101 to Newport and then back to Eugene.  What a great view of the Pacific coast. 

Again, Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife Ann.

Also Happy Anniversary to our long time friends, Maryann and Santi.

Life is Still Great on the Roan Road….

Change of Plans (Eugene, OR)

 

As I promised, here are the pictures from the trip we took to the Columbia Gorge when we were in Vancouver.

First stop was the Cape Horn overlook.  The views were breath taking.

Next stop was the Bonneville Locks and Dam.  Because of the Sequestration the Visitor Center for the Locks were closed.  Bummer, we wanted to see the Locks in operation.  We did go to see the Dam and the Powerhouse.  The Dam was built and is run by the Army Corp of Engineers.  They keep the grounds and the visitor’s center in beautiful condition. 

We stopped at Beacon Rock State Park to eat our picnic lunch.  Washington State has some really nice parks.

Beacon Rock State Park

This is a Chanel Marker for the Columbia River traffic.  It can be seen from the river and is used by the river traffic to keep in the channel.

I think we have our tire problem fixed. And it only cost us $926 more. After multiple balancing of the tires and replacing two of the Toyo tires. The fix was to replace all of the tires with Michelin tires. Good thing there is no sales tax in Oregon.  I chose to buy the tires from Les Schwab because we travel and they are all over the western U.S.  Good choice.  They recommended the Toyo tires.  Bad choice.  All in all they have been helpful.  I had to pay only the cost difference between the Toyo and the Michelin tires.

I brought the truck into Ford for routine service and to check out some noises.  I had the Oil, oil filter and fuel filters changed.  The noise turns out to be a broken bolt and an exhaust leak.  Problem is they cannot get to it until next Wednesday and it will take 2 days to fix.  Good news is it will be covered under the extended warranty, minus the $100 deductible.  Even the car rental may be covered. 

So we are stuck here in the Eugene Elks lodge until next Saturday.  We have a 1500 mile trip to Albuquerque and the balloon festival. We need to be there the beginning of October, So going down the Oregon coast will have to wait for the next time we are in the northwest.  We will go to Crater Lake National Park instead and then start making our way to Albuquerque.

Happy Birthday Ann !! 

 

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Trains, Planes, & Automobiles (Vancouver, WA)

 

First, a Happy and Healthy Rosh Hashanah (New Year) to all our family and friends. 

Last post I mentioned the problem with the new tires. The replacement rim arrived. I immediately went to Les Schwab and had them put the new rim on and balance the tire. Cost $53.  Result, same problem,  there is a vibration coming from the rear that starts around 40 MPH.  Back we go to Les Schwab.  This time they jack up the rear end and spin the tires.  You can see that they are wobbling.  So now we are waiting for replacement tires for all four rear wheels.  I know the rim was bent.  I was told that before with the old tires, but they did not vibrate.  Wednesday the tires are going to be in.  We shall see.

Last week we went to Fort Vancouver.  Fort Vancouver was not a military Fort but the Northeast headquarters for the Hudson Bay Company.  The HBC, which still exists today, was the equivalent of a multinational corporation of today.  It was originally formed in 1670.

That’s a few years before I was born.   It’s primary means of currency was the beaver pelt.  Everything was traded with the equivalent worth of the beaver pelt. 

The next day we we went to the Pearson Air Museum, which is on the same grounds as Fort Vancouver.  The Pearson Air Museum is attached to the Pearson Field which is the second oldest airport in the US.

Next we took a ride along the Columbia Gorge.  We may go back there tomorrow so I will wait to post any pictures until the next blog.

On Saturday we took a ride to the Evergreen Air and Space Museum.  It is home of the Spruce Goose.  The Howard Hughes creation that flew one test run and never flew again. The museum houses a great collation of WW I, WW II, all the way up to modern day jet and commercial airplanes.

Happy Anniversary to Judi & Vic

Happy Anniversary to Caroline & Andrew

Happy Birthday to Jonathan

Well that’s all for now folks.  As usual.

Life is Still Great on the Roan Road…

Playing the Waiting Game (Vancouver, WA)

 

We left the Silver Cove RV Park in Silver Lake, WA on Friday for an easy 61 mile drive down I-5 to the Elks Lodge in Vancouver, WA.

While at Silver Cove RV Park we visited Mt. St Helens National Monument.  On May 18, 1980 Mt. St. Helens erupted killing 7 people, destroying 250 homes and also destroying thousands of acres of woodlands.  In the 33 years since the disaster mother nature has rejuvenated itself.

Because of a forest fire upwind, the pictures are a little hazy.

 

So here we are in Vancouver, WA. waiting.  About six months ago we found that the outside rear dully rim was bent.  I had it balance and it wasn’t bad.  After the new tires were put on the vibration became worse.  I did some research and found 2 places in the Vancouver/Portland area that said they could fix the rim but would have to look at it.  I went and had the spare put on and the the tire taken off the rim.  Alas, no one in the area had the equipment to repair the rim.  My only alternative was to replace the rim. I called Ford, they wanted $980.  I think NOT.  I took out my trusty computer and went to work.  I found a used rim on ebay for $242.  So here we sit in Vancouver waiting for it to arrive.  Just hope it is the right rim. 

We just had lunch with the “Bernstein Bunch,” Alyssa, Mike, Emma, and Lucy.  They came to Portland  (fyi, Portland is only across the Columbia River from Vancouver) for Mike’s brothers wedding.  We had a great time visiting. 

In the meantime,  Ann has been looking for a couple of books that are not available for the Kindle.  She has been looking for them at all the used bookstores we have come across, to no avail.  She has refused to buy them from Amazon until she has exhausted all her sources.  So, after lunch, we headed to Powell’s in downtown Portland.  It is a big used/new bookstore (like the Strand in NYC).  It took her about 15 minutes to find what she was looking for.  Ann has warned me that we are going back there so she can check out the cookbook section!

Life is Great on the Roan Road….

It’s Official (Chimacum, WA)

 

We are flying into New York’s JFK Airport from Las Vegas on December 18 and leaving January 7.  I expect everyone who reads this blog to come out the airport to greet us (at 7 A.M.)!!  Ann has been busy making all of our doctors appointments.

A few miles north of Chimacum, at the Northeast end of the Olympic Peninsula, is Port Townsend.  It is a nice touristy town with the usual restaurants and art galleries.

The highlight of our stay this week was a trip to Olympic National Park.  For most of the park there are no roads that let you drive throughout the park, like Yellowstone or Tetons.  There are several roads that take you in from the edge of the park.  We took one road to the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center.  The road is only 12 miles long, but it takes you up 6000 feet for some of the most spectacular views of the park.  Here are some pictures, but you cannot get the scope of the view. You just have to be there.

The the walk around the Visitor’s center smelled like Christmas.  A strong scent of Pine.

Next, on to Mt. St. Helens.

Life is hard, but someone has to do it, on the Roan Road…

Going to the Mountain (Chimacum, WA)

 

Don’t you just love that name “Chimacum, Chimacum”  I could say that all day long.

Before we left Bremerton, we made a stop at the Naval Museum.   Bremerton is a big Naval Repair Station, that has been in service since the early 1900’s.  When WWI broke out, the Navy started shipbuilding there.  At that time the population of the area exploded.   When the U.S. entered WWII, ship building resumed.  There were many women who were employed at this station that helped with the ship building, 

Last Monday while still in Bremerton we took a day trip of 260 miles to Mt. Rainier National Park.  We entered the park through the east entrance and started the, “Look at that” and “Look over there”.  Finally there it was. There it was, the real deal, big as life, Mt Rainier.

  After leaving the Paradise Visitor's center on the south end of the park we drove to Sunrise Point, which is on the West side of Mt. Rainier and 1000 ft higher elevation, It is 6000 ft above sea level.

BTW, Dustin do you believe that Ann and I climbed up to the top of Mt. Rainier like you did?  It was no biggie.    The only thing was, we had to rest when we got to the bottom for a few minutes, before getting back into the truck.

Life is really great on the Roan Road…

A Trip to Tacoma (Chimacum, WA)

 

We are presently staying in the Escapees park in Chimacom, WA.  Chimacom is on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula just below Port Townsend.  This has got to be one of the nicest RV parks we have seen.  It is a Escapees Coop park.  You can purchase a lot with a shed on it.  It is well kept with wide paved streets.  The landscaping adds a nice touch.  There is a wood shop and a car shop for lease holders to use.

Last week when we were staying in Bremerton we took a day trip the Tacoma to visit some museums.  First is we went to the LeMay America’s Car Museum.  The museum building is designed like a municipal garage with up ramps and down ramps.  There are hundreds of cars from all over the world, all ages.  All beautifully restored and in running condition.  Note from Ann:  Note the Kaiser-this was the car that my parents had when I was a little girl.  The only difference was that ours was PINK-easy to find on 186th Street.  The 1957 Chevy is the car that Roy owned when we started dating.   

After leaving the LeMay Car Museum we  drove to the Washington State History History Museum.  Again well done with displays of Washington State from the past, and one of the best display of model trains I have seen.  Around Christmas time they turn the entire museum over to model trains.  That would be a sight to see.

We will be staying here for about a week.

Next Blog will be on our trip to Mt. Rainier, so stay tuned.

Life is great on the Roan Road…

Summer is Half Over (Bremerton, WA)

 

We left Steamboat Rock State Park and headed for Bremerton, WA.  On the way we traveled the back roads we came across the Dry Falls Interpretative Center. Dry Falls was formed about one million years ago during the last ice age.

We have been staying in Bremerton, WA for the past week.  One day sight seeing, one day relaxing.  Doing the wash and shopping.  Bremerton is on the east side to Puget Sound. When we go to Seattle, we leave the truck in Bremerton and take the Washington state ferry across the sound to Seattle.  Going east there is no charge. Going back we get a senior discount and it cost us $3.85 each.  It pays to be a senior citizen.  So far we have made two trips to Seattle. On the first trip we felt our way around Seattle.  We visited the Pikes Market.  Never do that again.  It was literally wall to wall people.  Then we took the Monorail to City Center to visit the Space Needle.  Seeing Seattle from 520 ft. up was just unreal!  Note: The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and at the time was the tallest building in Seattle; now it is the seventh tallest. We returned on the Monorail from City Center and walked to the Harbor.  We decided to have a late lunch-early dinner.  We went to the famous (at least famous in Seattle) Ivars restaurant.  Our meal was delicious.

Next day we relaxed and did shopping and laundry.

Second trip

We walked around the downtown area and visited some great places.  The Waterfall Garden Park was one of them.  It is the place that UPS started over 100 years ago.  It was converted into a beautiful waterfall right in the middle of the city.  Next we happened on the Seattle Firefighters Museum.  It is a fire station that was used until 2003 when a new one was built a few blocks away.  It now houses the Seattle Fire Department headquarters upstairs and the Museum downstairs.  Next we walked to the Seattle Art Museum.  It is a modern Art museum, not my cup of tea.  In the lobby is a number of cars hanging from the ceiling in various angles with tubes of light coming from them.  It is supposed  to be a car spinning through the air. OK then.  The special exhibit at the museum was a Japanese fashion show from 1984.  We had a tour guide explain the exhibit.  I left soon after the guide started her talk.  I told Ann I would meet her downstairs.  Meanwhile I went to check my eyelids for holes.  BTW, I didn’t find any,  Again we decided to have an late lunch.  We ate at a great Thai restaurant, Wild Ginger, we even had enough to take a doggie bag home for lunch the next day.  Next back to the ferry and home.

Next blog, Tacoma, Washington after a day of rest.  Then on to Mt. Rainier.  But that will have to wait for the next blog or blogs.

Life is exhausting, but great, on the Roan Road…

On the Road Again (Ellensburg (WA)

 

We stayed at one of the nicest RV parks we have seen.  It is a Washington State Park, Steamboat Rock State Park.  It has level wide sites with manicured lawns.  Right on the edge of the Banks Lake.  One problem, no cell service, no internet and no satellite (Oy Vey!).  The mosquitos are as bad as they come.  But, we are two tough NYC Kids, and we can rough it,  NOT!

The park is 10 miles from the Grand Coulee Dam. The Grand Coulee Dam was constructed during the Great Depression,  It has three functions:  1.  to produce power.  2. to control the flow of the Columbia River and 3. to provide water to irrigate the surrounding areas for farming.

The Pump House pumps the water up 250 feet to Banks Lake.

Through these penstocks to the the Banks Lake.  The Banks Lake is a man made lake formed to provide irrigation through a series of canals.

In 1960 a third power house was built that produces 3 times the amount of power of the original generators.

We took a tour of the Dam.  Before we left on the tour of the dam we had to go through security equal to getting on an airplane.  After 9-11, everything changed.

Here are some photos of the Grand Coulee Dam.

The next day we drove north up SR 155 to the town of Omak. We drove from a desert with sage brush to a lush pine forest.

We also got together with some friends that we had previously met on our journey.  We are always emailing with friends we have met and get together when our paths cross. 

We are back on the road headed for Bremerton, WA to stay at an Elks Lodge there.  Bremerton is east of Spokane on the Olympic Peninsula, so we can take the ferry into downtown Spokane.  We will stay here in Ellensburg, which is right off I-90, one day and continue on to Spokane tomorrow.  We now have internet, good cell service and Satellite.  All is good with the world.  We are happy.  By we I mean Ann was very unhappy without her iPad.

Happy Birthday Heidi.

Life is still Good on the Roan Road.

Catching Up (Coeur d’Alene, ID)

 

First we have an official sign to hang on our coach.  We had it made when we were at the Escapade Rally.

I finally have a Wi-Fi connection so I can upload pictures.  So here goes the last couple of weeks!

You already know we were in Glacier NP and did some star gazing.  Now for the daytime pictures.  We have taken 460 pictures between us.  I won’t torture you with all of them.  I will just try to pick the highlights.

First we went to the northern part of the park and took the road to the Many Glacier.

Next we took the Going-to-the-Sun-Road.

Going-to-the-Sun-Road is 45 miles, but it is very slow with construction and many hair pin turns.  Good thing we only took the truck.  When we reached the end, Apgar Village, we stopped to eat lunch.  When we were parked we had a knock at the window.  It was our friends that we first met at Bolder City, NV and again in Great Falls, MT.  We had a nice lunch with Dennis and Suni. 

Glacier NP is  a Peace Park in cooperation with Canada.  In Canada it is called Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, CA).  So we dug out our passports and took the 30 mile drive north to Canada and Waterton NP.  Actually, it was very much like Glacier.

Over the many months we have been on the road we have met so many different people and made many friends.  Friends we keep in touch with and keep running into.

After we left St. Mary”s (Glacier NP) we went to the Elks Lodge in Coeur d’Alane, ID. It is a town in the northern part of the Idaho panhandle.  What a beautiful place this is.  It is right on the Coeur d’Alene Lake.  We passed the time here in Idaho by taking a cruise around the lake as well as a drive along one of the area “Scenic Highways.”  It was just beautiful

Tomorrow we leave for Grand Coulee Washington and the Grand Coulee Dam.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Star Gazing (Glacier National Park, MT)

 

These are scenes you don’t get to see in New York City,  stars.  On Tuesday we went to an Ranger led Astronomy talk.  The Ranger was also an astronomer and extremely knowledgeable.  We showed up at the Visitor Center around 10 PM, right before it got dark.  Around 11 PM the half moon was up and we could start to see the many constellations.  When the moon went below the horizon it got really dark and the all of the stars could be seen.  We didn’t get home until 1 PM, way past our bed time.  But it was worth it.

The Big Dipper

 

The Milky Way

More daytime pictures to follow.

Life is good on the Roan Road…

Big Sky Country (St. Mary, MT)

 

We are now camped right outside the east entrance of Glacier National Park,  at  Johnsons of St. Mary Campground.  We have been touring the park.  This is one of the most beautiful National Parks.  The main road across the park is the Going-to-the-Sun Road.  It takes about 2-3 hours to go 45 miles.  There is construction, stops for pictures, twists and turns in the road and then there is the “Pull over Look at that” and “OMG look at the mountains all around”.

Pictures to follow because the only internet is using my Verizon Air card.  That can get expensive when I upload all of the pictures.  So far we have taken 327 to date between us.  That’s just for Glacier NP.  When I get a WiFi connection I will post a follow up blog with the pictures.

On Monday we head out for an Elks Lodge in Kalispell, MT on our way to the Grand Coolie Dam in Washington State.  While in Kalispell we are going to replace the tires on the truck.  They are just about ready, but since there is no sales tax in Montana, we will save several hundred dollars.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

A Great Town (Great Falls, MT)

 

Tomorrow we leave for Glacier NP, about a160 mile trip.  Just the right distance, not to far.  We should be there about 2 PM.  No telling how the internet connection will be.

The weather in Great Falls was perfect.  In the 80’s during the day and 60’s at night.  When it did rain, it rained in the late afternoon or at night. 

Great Falls, MT is right on the Missouri River.  This is where Lewis & Clark and the Corp. of Discovery came through.  They came up the Missouri and had go around several water falls.  There is a Lewis & Clark Interpretative Center located here on the Mighty Missouri River.

The men of the Lewis & Clark Exposition had to portage all of their equipment around each of the falls.

After taking an elevator down to the river level they had two Rangers there to show us how, using a compass, follow a map and not get lost. Next a ranger showed us how the men of the expedition started a fire.  It is amazing, how in the mid 1800’s, how accurate the Lewis & Clark’s maps were.

There is a nice walking/biking trail along the river.  Up the river a short distance is the Giant Springs State Park.  We spent a whole day there.  The springs were amazing and the grounds (built the WPA in the 1930’s and updated in the 1970’s by Great Falls) are beautifully kept up. On this day they had activities for people of all ages.  It was free for Montana residences, and $5 for everyone else.  But because we had Montana plates on the truck, we didn't have to pay.  Hey, every penny helps.  (note, Ann really loved this park.  She thinks it should be one of the Seven Wonders of the World!)

Warning!  the following slide show has 27 photographs.  You do not have to watch all of them, but I will know who you are if you don’t.

There are three waterfalls along the Missouri around Great Falls.  They all supply supply hydroelectric power to the main grid.  The hydroelectric power generated here does not go directly to Great Falls.  It goes into the power grid that serves US and Canada. 

We went to all three but the best one was the Great Falls/Ryan Dam built in 1915 and produces 60 megawatts of power. It is 10 miles from the city of Great Falls.

There is an beautiful  island park in the middle of the river.  It is accessible via a wire suspension bridge.

This is a sign on the island.  If the Horn sounds 8 short blast.  RUN fast - the Dam is about to BLOW!!!

We visited the C.M Russell museum.  C.M Russell was a Cowboy/Artist of the 1930s who live and worked in Great Falls.  Unfortunately, we could not photograph in the museum, but we did take some pictures of the sculptures on the grounds.

Great Falls, MT is a place we both really like and, some day, would like to come back to.  Just not in the winter.

Reminder:  All of these great pictures are taken by Ann and myself.

Life is truly Great on the Roan Road…

A Sad Day For All (Great Falls, MT)

 

We spent three days in a campsite right outside of the Bighorn National Park in a town called Garryowen.  Garryowen is literally the quintessential small town.  A post office, a gas station and a so-called museum.  The campsite we stayed in was terraced out of a hillside. The sites were reasonably level, but the view of the valley below was unbelievable.  You could see a thunder storm coming from miles away.

After the storm a beautiful  rainbow.

Next we spent two days at the Bighorn National Park

The Bighorn National Park also has a National Cemetery where veterans can be buried.  The cemetery is filled but if you have a reservation you can sill get in.

“Little Bighorn Battlefield” memorializes a major battle fought on June 25th 1876, between Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians against the United States Army.  These tribes were fighting to preserve their traditional way of life as nomatic buffalo hunters,  The U.S. Army  was carrying out the Grant Administrations instructions tt remove the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne peoples to the Sioux Reservation in Dakota Territory.

The Warriors were defending their wives and children,  The Soldiers were following orders.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

A Good time Had By All (Garryowen, MT)

 

We arrived in Gillette, WY Cam-Plex for the 53rd. Escapade.  The Escapade is an annual event held by the RV group Escapees.  We arrived early on the 27th.  Our good friends, Bob and Sue, parked next to us.

Yes, they do carry a Smart Car

Ann got right to work arranging Dinner outings and Happy Hour for all of our friends (many have New Horizons RV’s).

We attended a number of classes.  Ann went to a Smartphone class, a Camera Class.  I went to a maintenance class and we both went to a Movie Maker class.

The last night, July 4th, we had a dinner put on by the Escapade.  Afterwards there was a fireworks display.

Just as the fireworks stated a thunderstorm passed by.  So I only could take a few pictures.  This was the only one I could get.

After the Escapade ended we stayed an extra day to decompress from a busy week.  On Saturday, July 6th, we said goodby to everyone with promises to see each other down the road.  We headed west on I-90.

We are now at the 7th RV park, a few miles from Little Big Horn Battlefield.  More pictures to follow.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Summing Up Cody (Cody, WY)

 

We meet some great people along the Roan Road.  Here in Cody we got friendly with our next door neighbors, Dave and Susie.  We spent some great times together and had some great meals.  We went to the rodeo together, went to a great steak restaurant and had local Ice Cream. 

The rodeo video was on the previous blog, so if you missed it you can just scroll down and watch it.

We went to a staged gun fight in front of the Irma Hotel.  Buffalo Bill owned the Irma Hotel, which is named after his daughter.  The gun fight re-enactment was free.  And, at that price, we overpaid.  The acting was so bad, the sound was cutting in and out and the staging was terrible.  The so called actors were paid by local businesses.  Let me tell you, they made sure you knew how the merchants were. I didn’t take any pictures,

Also in Cody is the Buffalo Bill Museum.   We spent two days going through the 5 building.  It is not only the history of Buffalo Bill but also the Yellowstone area, an art museum of the American West, history of the Plains Indians and a Fire Arms Museum.  What a great place.

Tomorrow we are off to Gillette for the Rally, they are expecting about 1200 RVs, so we may not post for a few day.  Please do not despair.  We will return for  more exciting episodes from:

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

A Night at the Rodeo and More (Cody, WY)

 

Yesterday we went to the Rodeo in Cody. Following is a video I made of the event.

Cody, WY Rodeo

Now for some videos from Yellowstone.

This is Old Faithful

Old Faithful

This is from Black Sand Basin.

This was taken at Paintpot.

Following are two waterfalls we visited, Lower Falls and Gibbons Falls.

Live is Super on the Roan Road…

Traffic Jam by Buffalo (Cody, WY)

 

We left West Yellowstone, MT heading across the park to the East entrance and on to Cody, WY.  About half we across the park we were stopped dead in the slowest stop and go traffic.  Worse than any traffic jam we have seen.  Yes, worse than the LIE and the Cross Bronx.  It took over an hour to go one mile.  The cause, Buffalo.  There was a heard of Buffalo on the side of the road.  Enough said.

We went up some really steep mountain roads with 5-8% grades.  What goes up must come down the other side.  The truck really got a workout, but came through with flying colors. 

We are now in Cody, WY in a full hookup campsite. We will be here for a week, see the sights and then on to Gillette.

Following are some more pictures from Yellowstone.

Black Sand Basin

Grand Prismatic Spring

 

Next is to explore Cody, WY and all things Buffalo Bill Cody so stay tuned.

Life is Great on the Roan Road…

Look Out Grizzlies (West Yellowstone, MT)

 

In West Yellowstone there is a Grizzly and Wolf sanctuary.  They take in these animals that, for one reason or another, cannot live the wild.

The Center has a total of 9 Grizzlies, 7 wolfs and 4 Bald Eagles. 

		The Wolf VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

		The Eagles VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

		Grizzlies at Play VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Within the next couple of days I will post the final photos of Yellowstone.

Tomorrow we leave for Cody, WY.  

Life is Great on the Roan Road…..