TooBusyForWork

In Alabama getting things done

It was an amazingly relaxing time at home. Maybe I should use a more appropriate term – lazy time! After all the running around, it was nice to just relax. I didn’t sew a single thing! We did have three separate get togethers with the kids since they are all so busy a single one wouldn’t work! Lots of cooking, but nice.

We left home on Friday, 8 September. Our first night we spent at Bowling Green, MO Walmart. I like small town Walmarts. They are generally not too crowded, quiet, and safe. We have stayed here a number of times.

We had a bit of excitement the second day when we spotted a blimp descending south of Cape Girardeau, MO. The Subway blimp was on its way to Kansas City, but took a breather here. The pictures are awful because we were on a highway with no place to pull over. Kevin took them out of the window. The front is supposed to look like a sandwich and the back is like a wallpaper with the words “Subway” in different fonts and sizes. Why does Subway need a blimp? I sure don’t know!

We spent Saturday night at the Elks Club campground in Cape Girardeau. Pretty, but I won’t stay again. They didn’t have the trees trimmed, and I had to go through overhanging branches that rubbed my roof. None of the were big, just little stuff, but they shouldn’t advertise they handle big rigs! Then the campsite itself took a lot of work to get level. Never again! We did have a pretty view when we finally got situated. The sky was overcast and gray, and the water was the same color with reflections. This is in the boot heel of Missouri, so the trees are only just thinking about changing colors.

We spent a lot of time getting the motorhome worked on. Monday we had a major motorhome service (oil, filters, transmission drain and replace, chassis maintenance, etc.) plus added a bunch of suspension upgrades. I haven’t had a lot of time with them yet, but it feels promising on the few roads we have had it on. The work basically reset the clock on all kinds of items so next year we are back to a Year 1 maintenance.

Tuesday we had a Shower Miser installed. This is a valve and plumbing where I close a valve in the shower, turn on the hot water, and the water flows from the water heater back to the fresh water tank until I open the valve. It saves quite a bit of water that would otherwise be wasted waiting for the shower to get hot. Obviously this isn’t an issue when we have hookups, but I am hoping it will save quite a bit of water when we dry camp and boondock. It works great! We also had a leaking Hepvo valve replaced (an alternative to a P-trap for RVs with limited space) and our black and gray tanks power flushed. We keep them in pretty good shape, but the gray tank is a bigger bother. Fats and food deposits accumulate on the sides of the tank, and we don’t have a good way to clean them out.

Wednesday Kevin installed a new rear view campers. Ours was just becoming intermittently bad. He checked all the wiring, so we just got a new one. So far it is MUCH sharper than the old one.

Thursday we got our old Schwintek slide mechanism in the big back slide (bedroom and bath) replaced with a Vroom system. This was the reason we really came down. Every time I opened or closed the slide, I had to pray it would work, and generally Kevin ahd to help it along from the outside. Turns out it was truly broken. We had it worked on two years ago, and I just wasn’t willing to do it again. So far so good! The mechanics of the slide are much more robust and the motor is more powerful too. I think the Schwintek was just not up to the job.

Friday we getting our lounge/bathroom wall slammed back into place and re-tied down. The wall was literally moving away from its position. Chris Berry had fixed it 3 years ago or so, but I think the Alcan Highway between Tok and Destruction Bay did it in. The screws Chris had put in were all either broken or gone completely, so this time he added backing boards, REALLY big screws, and even screwed through the tile grout to anchor the wall to the metal frame in the floor. You can see how far it moved away from the wall by looking at the ceiling dents. The soft fabric will eventually expand back. Oh, and on this trip Kevin had already slammed the wall back in place about 6 weeks ago.

Saturday we visited the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center and the Shiloh National Military Park. What a sobering visit it was. We started at Corinth because that was where the major museum and interpretive center was, and it out the Battle of Shiloh and the Battle of Corinth in perspective. These were the battles that lead General Grant to control the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers plus the major rail lines of the Confederacy, splitting it in two and severing supply lines. After these battles he headed to victory in Vicksburg where visited last year.

Pittsburg Landing is where Grant landed his troops.

And far, far, far too many never left the battlefield. Soldiers from both sides were originally buried in a multitude of mass trench graves. The Confederate soldiers are still there, marked by solitary large monuments. The Union soldiers were reburied at this national cemetery. Note the big monuments surrounded by smaller ones. The unit of the soldiers could be determined by their uniforms, but not their names. The vast majority were buried with their unit. The larger stones indicate the unit, and the smaller stones are individual graves.

The battlefield ranged over a few miles, and the liens are very well identified by the NPS. This shows a sample of the location of a particular artillery battery at a particular time in the 2 day battle. These types of markers were numerous.

The battle was named for this little Methodist Episcopal Church (a south), part of a pro-slavery split from the anti-slavery Methodist Episcopal Church. “Shiloh” means “place of peace” or “peaceful one.” The battle raged around the little church, and it was totally destroyed. However this faithful replica was hand built and completed in 2001 based on church records and other historical documents.

During the Civil War, the military units were mostly from a single geographical area. Many states whose units participated in the battle built monuments to their soldiers. This is the Iowa monument. According to the NOS records, 6664 Iowa soldiers were at the battle and 2409 were killed, wounded, or missing, the greatest loss of Iowans in any bottle of any war. This is one of the reasons I was always so furious with former US Representative Steve King who always kept a Confederate battle flag behind his desk, prominently displayed in any picture he took in his office.

This is the Confederate monument. Only 25% of Confederate soldiers were from slave owning families, but the other 75% fought and died to keep human beings as property.

The film shown at the Shiloh Visitor Center was one of the most sobering and heart-wrenching things I have ever seen. I cried. Such waste to support an unsupportable cause. We ended up eating at Cole’s Smokehouse with the most fabulous smoked chicken I have ever had. We come every time we visit Red Bay, and they never disappoint.

Sunday we took a trip to the Rattlesnake Saloon outside Tuscumbia, AL. It is in some type of natural cave with a huge opening, and it a fabulous place to visit. You park on top in a large lot, then they ferry you down a steep one lane road in a specially set up pickup to the cave. The food is just so so, but the atmosphere is what you go for. Well worth a trip if you are in the area. We even got some live local music this time.

Tomorrow we get the motorhome detailed and(probably) buffed, the we leave on Tuesday. Whew, I really should post more often so they don’t get as long!

Back in Iowa for a short while

The FMCA rally was great fun as usual. The chapter I am an officer in had three big events that kept me busy. I was also a Governing Board delegate for a chapter that couldn’t attend, so I spent a lot of time at activities but only got to one seminar! The seminar I went to was the meeting of the Quilts for Kids group, am I formal and unofficial group that donates quilts and crochet/knit blankets for kids in the communities the convention is held in. I donated another one of my scrappy tumbler quilts, the one I finished at Lake Havasu in June. I will try to have two done next time.

I also taught a class in sewing Microwave Bowl Cozies. It was so much fun! I only had 5 students, but the 2 hour window let three students complete two cozies, one student get 1 3/4 done, and another one got one done (she was double dipping in another class at the same time!). Since I didn’t ask them if I could post their pictures, I covered their faces here.

I am still trying to decide whether to do a class next convention or not. Hard to think of something interesting but not too hard so they can get it finished or mostly finished in class.

As the convention was winding down, Kevin and I both were looking at getting home, so we decided to by-pass the Black Hills this time and head back to Iowa on Sunday after the convention. We spent the first night at the Kennebec, South Dakota KOA. Monday night we spent at our first Elks Lodge in Sioux City, Iowa. Kevin joined the Elks while we were in Gillette. We have a bunch of friends who belong and stay at their lodges while traveling. It worked out fine, and it was certainly convenient. We left the motorhome at a local campground for the next few days until we get it cleaned out and re-organized. We will only be home for a week and a half until we have to head to Alabama for a bunch of work on the motorhome. Sigh. It will be such a pain to empty everything and then put it all back for that short of time, but we will need the items.

So not much until Alabama!

In Gillette Wyoming at the FMCA Convention

Not much to post because we have been attending a rally of the Diesel RV Club (I am VP of Membership). The rally was fun and informative as usual. It was held at the same campground as the FMCA convention, so we are basically set up with full hookups for over 2 weeks. Very unusual for us. It feels odd to use as much water as I want without any conservation LOL!

I did get a bit of sewing done though. These are 130 4” Drunkard’s Path blocks. I really need only 120, but on a scrappy version it never hurts to have a few extra to get a better color balance. It will eventually be 10 blocks x 12 blocks (40”x48”) before borders, but I haven’t decided on the border size yet. I am going to wait until I get home to lay it out so I can manage the layout better.

Since Kevin is volunteering with the parking crew for the convention, I am now at loose ends! I have made everything I brought with me [note to self:bring more next time!], so I went to a small quilt shop in town, Blue Bike Quilt Studio, to see what I could find. They had this kitted up for a lap sized quilt, 59”x79”, a nice size. I have a strong preference for modern quilts, so I like this one.

Here are the fabrics. It included the background fabric (cream) and the fat quarters shown. It even included binding. I arranged them in the color pairs I intend on using.

Happily for me, the quilt is made with 2.25” strips, and I just happen to have a 2.25” strip cutter with me! I wouldn’t have bought it if I couldn’t cut it with my Accuquilt cutter. It looks like I will only need 4-5 strips of each fabric, so I will have quite a bit left over. Just what I need – more scraps! I will wait until tomorrow to cut the strips, making sure I like the color arrangement.

I also packaged up all the kits for the microwave bowl cozy class I am doing at the convention. I have a max of 12-15 students (I have forgotten which!), but I made 20 kits so people can hopefully find one they like.) I need to make one while taking photographs as I go to finish up the instructions, but I can do that Monday or Tuesday.

Might not be more posts until the convention is over and we are settled in the Black Hills, about a week from now.

Various parts of Bighorns then Lake DeSmet

We got tired of no internet in Tie Flume Campground, so we headed to Lake DeSmet, a county park 8 miles north of Buffalo. There is one section that has electricity, but it is crowded and closed in, so we opted to dry camp in a lovely pull through site right next to the lake. This is the view from my front door.

We just decided to take the pickup and RZR to some more trails in the northern Boghorns. I will just post lots of pictures with a few comments. Hope nobody is tired of scenery yet, because this area is FULL of it! I am being very lazy about the texts.

Lots of big bluffs. See our trail in the middle?

I finally got a decent picture of a mule deer! We saw lots but they took off quickly.

And we saw cowboys! See the two dots to the right?

One trip along FSR 178 got us up to snow line.

We went well above this larger snow pile

Three layers of switch backs along US 14

Fish hatchery house

Toilets in a dispersed area along old US14! Uncommon site.

It also rained on us hard one day – over an inch! We generally just relaxed, read, and I sewed some. I finished the little rag doll I was working on except for her hair. The kit supplied yellow yarn for the hair, but I am going to find some brown since the granddaughter that gets it has brown hair. I sure won’t do that doll again! Such skinny little arms and legs to turn and stuff! I didn’t get a picture before I put it up in the cabinet – sorry.

We left DeSmet today to head to Gillette. We have a Diesel RV Club rally starting Sunday, and as an officer I have to be there early. It is a bit of an adjustment to get used to traffic and people parked a few feet away. We are getting some laundry done though, something sorely needed. It might be a while until I post again due to the rallies.

First days in the northern Bighorns

Monday we drove the truck with the RZR in the bed up US 14 into the northern Bighorns. We took the RZR to check out some boondock sites and campgrounds. Beautiful country. And moose about 1 mile from the campground.

We were surprised to find a no-reservation site big enough for us in Tie Flume campground, and we grabbed it. We left the RZR in the campground, and went back to Peter D’s in Sheridan to pack up. The drive up the mountain in the motorhome was made much easier by Kevin driving the truck separately! The road has long grades and sharp turns, and it was sooooo much easier without the truck in tow! We didn’t get into the campground until about 4:00, and then we discovered the sky was too obstructed for Starlink! I am a FMCA chapter officer, and I had computer work to do. I was quite disappointed, thinking we would have to move in a couple of days. Luckily someone moved out of a better non-reservable site on Tuesday so we moved. Service is still a bit spotty due to obstructions (trees), but acceptable.

We did take the RZR on a short ride up Black Mountain Rad next to the campground. we finally saw some deer that weren’t running away as we passed.

Black Mountai Road ends at US 14 were turned around. Sadly we saw this guy where the road ends.

Tuesday we just laid around, sitting outside a bunch, reading mostly.

Wednesday we took another RZR trip to Park Reservoir. It was overcast with occasional light rain, so we put the windows in the RZR before we left. Good thing since we definitely got rained on! The ATVers and side by side occupants without windows looked jealous. We don’t have a windshield wiper though, so Kevin had to get out occasionally and wipe the windshield.

I had wondered about the name of our campground, Tie Flume, and we discovered there was a wooden flume that took logs from here to Dayton, many miles away. We couldn’t find any flume ruins, but we did find this cool splash dam ruin.

We passed a lot of ponds along the way. This was my favorite with the lilies.

There was a ranger station along the way too. Interesting buildings. This is a sample. Obviously still used.

A bit of smoke was coming from the chimney

Lots of just beautiful country though the overcast made pictures hard. There is still snow in a few places.

The reservoir looked cold, but there were a few people fishing and boating.

There were some interesting old buildings near the lake. I think they were private cabins, though they were right on the main road. Other cabins had their own entrances and were off the road some. Look at the cold house especially.

And we saw more moose! I just caught a glimpse of this cow moose and calf, so we turned around to get pictures.

Thursday we just relaxed some around the campground. I cut out a rag doll from a kit I bought at an historic site somewhere I can’t remember! Shouldn’t be hard to sew, and I intend on giving it to my youngest granddaughter, 4 years old.

Today (Friday) we took a big circular trip in the truck down US14A, coming back on US 14. The views were interesting due to the clouds. We also got rained on a lot so only this one picture.

And only 1/2 mile from the campground we saw this big bull.

Not sure about tomorrow since it is supposed to rain quite a bit.

Crazy Woman Canyon and moving to Sheridan and civilization

We took one last trip in the RZR on Friday from our camp on Grouse Mountain. We went to a trailhead for Crazy Woman Canyon and drove Rt 33 until just past the Forest Service boundary. The ride is well worth the hype.

The main road is suitable for passenger cars, and there were a number of them along the way

I do apologize for the sun reflections. I didn’t know it was this bad until I processed the pictures. But the bluffs quickly came to overshadow us. We met another couple in a side by side as we were unloading. They had just arrived, so we went over the routes with them and asked if they were interested in joining us. It is much safer with more than one rig, and our driving styles were pretty similar.

When we got to the bottom of the canyon, the walls closed in tightly. Sadly none of those pictures came out at all, so you will just have to go yourself! We climbed up out of the canyon after a while, and the views got much broader.

We found a new flower along the way. I think this is bee balm, and it had just started blooming.

The rocks here are very ancient limestone, and they fracture regularly. It was interesting to see the result of a rockfall in open country. The rocks are big, with the rectangular one closest to the cliff perhaps 20’ tall.

Once we finished the main road we just took off randomly along the trails. They got significantly rougher, but we also left the people in passenger cars behind. We only had one unexpected dead end needing back tracking. That was when a trail crossed a water way that was an unknown depth and moving pretty fast. Discretion being the better part of valor, we turned around there.

There are a number of cabins the Forest Service now rents out. This is the Muddy Guard Cabin just off the trail head. I don’t know what it looks like inside, but the outside was in good shape.

We came back to the motorhome, cleaned up (a UTV ride gets you dirty!), then headed to Peter D’s Campground in Sheridan where we had reservations. It is a small place, family owned, and spotless. It is a bit older though, and our passenger side slide was maybe 4’ from our neighbor’s driver’s side slide! It was pretty inexpensive at $40/night, cash. We started the inevitable laundry, and on Saturday we drove out US 14, the northern route through the Bighorns.

This is a much more abrupt climb into the mountains with 8% grades and tight turns, but it is a spectacular drive. We have done it a number of times. Like Crazy Woman Canyon, the rock here is mostly ancient limestone, and it fractures with water over time. Here it overlies a thin layer of shale. When the shale gets wet, the heavier limestone slips and fantastic landslides result. This is one of the biggest – Fallen City. I hope you can get a feel of the scale – those blocks are HUGE!

We were hoping to see moose in the area, and I was so excited when I saw this!

But a closer examination showed a nice mule instead. Sigh.

We were lucky enough to see two marmots cuddling on a rock. Their faces were adorable, and they didn’t seem to worried about us.

Sunday I got my latest Hunter’s Star quilt top finished. As you can see, tops are called “flimsies” for a reason! It also needs a good pressing, but I won’t get to that until we get home, and I am ready to quilt it. It is 40×52, a nice size for a baby girl quilt. I will put it in my stash for the next one that comes along. I like having a couple of baby quilts ready.

Tomorrow we are riding the RZR to the Owen Creek Campground area. There are lots of trails around there, and we just might find a campsite there. On Saturday we did find a few non-reservation places we could fit, so we will check those out too. If we can find a place, we will claim it and take the motorhome tomorrow. If not, we will come back to Peter D’s and plan on boondocking somewhere beginning Tuesday.

Still in the Bighorns

We have had a great time here, but we plan on leaving tomorrow. Here are the highlights.

Monday we had our son, his wife, and their three kids out for dinner. They are camped in Circle Park campground a few miles down the road. I made green chili enchiladas in the Dutch oven, and I made a peach dump cobbler in the convection oven. Pretty tasty if I say so myself. There was a classic mountain “maybe gonna rain, maybe not” view with virga not making it to the ground. But my oh my the rainbows! Here are the best of the ones I got.

How often do you a perfect double rainbow?

On Tuesday we took a RZR trip. Our first goal was the Sheep Mountain Lookout. We trailed to a nearby trail head, unloaded the RZR, and headed up a moderate gravel road suitable for SUVs or pickups. Most of the traffic was various side by sides and ATVs though. It was the most traffic we had encountered on this trip by far.

Some of the interesting things along this road were the numerous small springs and seeps. They seemingly occurred every few hundred yards. Some were big enough to really show flowing water, but some just kind of trickled their water out.

The Road goes through an old burn scar for quite a bit of the way. I am guessing it was 20-40 years ago, assuming the trees here grow slowly in this climate.

Once we got to the top, it was incredible views, even with a bit of haze.

The cabin has bunk beds that I could see, and the toilet was just down the hill a bit to the right of this picture.

The old lookout is now a FS rental cabin

After wandering around some and breathing the 10,000+’ air, we headed back down the hill for lunch. Pretty nice spot!

We then took some alternate roads to our trailhead, meeting up with two other small RZRs that we had encountered at the lookout, and they kindly let us join their group. Good thing too! We eventually got to a rock ledge we didn’t feel comfortable doing on our own, but it was fine with someone else around. We are VERY conservative when on our own! Yes, we have an InReach for emergency communication, but my goal is never to have to use it. Here’s a video one of the rigs took.

Hey, it was bigger than it looked for our little rig! See the wheel grabbing air?

On the way back we decided to drive to the Powder River. I was expecting a bigger river, but I guess we are close to the headwaters. Along the way we saw one of the only large animals – a mule deer. One of the disadvantages of a UTV is the noise; makes it hard to see many animals.

Trust me, that really is a mule deer with growing antlers

Wednesday we stayed at the campsite much of the day, but we did have a fabulous lunch at the South Fork Outfitters restaurant – green chili hamburger for me and green chili cheeseburger for Kevin. It was fabulous!

We had a real mess with the rig on Tuesday too. The slide topper over our bedroom slide broke, and one end was banging loose. Kevin spent some time stabilizing it and firming how to get it off. We dropped by to see the kids at their campsite, and they planned on helping us get it down today. It got so windy today that Kevin and I finally figured out a way to get it off before the fabric ripped up. Now we have yet another thing to get fixed when we get to Alabama in September. Sigh. Motorhomes really are a money out, but we still love the lifestyle.

We had planned on taking a RZR ride today too, but pretty strong winds blew up along with a bit of rain. We decided to wait until tomorrow. Gives us time for a nice meal tonight!

I do love the Bighorns!

We arrived at the Grouse Mountain Dispersed Camping area in the Bighorn National Forest on Thursday, 20 July. The area is just a few miles from Buffalo, WY and just off US 16. This is the view outside our front door. As you can see, we don’t have close neighbors.

On Friday we decided to take a short UTV ride down the road we are camped on, FR 402. Nice ride! Most of the other campers were near the gate into a second grazing area, but there was one guy who really wanted his privacy.

As we reached the end of the road and the NF, we could see De Smet lake. You will have to expand the picture probably, but it is there. Decent dry camping available, and we have stayed there a couple of times.

Looking another direction we could see the town of Buffalo. You can probably see US 16 the most clearly, but the town is there, I promise.

Decent road surface returning to the motorhome

We expected more people to arrive on Friday night, but it is still spacious. You can get a feel for the crowded conditions LOL!

We took it easy on Saturday, driving down US 16 to the town of Tensleep. US 16 takes this big curve around the Cloud Peak Wilderness headed south before it turns back west. The scenery was lovely, and we looked at a few trailheads and side roads along the way. Not many pictures though! We got back to some excitement. A bunch of cowboys/girls were moving cattle just past the gate I mentioned earlier. The last time we were here, we saw a bunch of cattle being brought to summer pastures in big semi trucks. This was just moving the cattle from one pasture to another.

Also on Saturday I finished the last of the 12 Hunter’s Star blocks I need for my next quilt. Now all I have to do is sew the blocks together and put on a couple of borders. I hope to do that before the FMCA convention so I can show off the flimsy.

Sunday we took a RZR ride down towards the Hunter Creek area. There were some nice spots for views and a few very rough rocky roads. We didn’t have a real destination in mind, just a casual “let’s see what’s there” view. The views from Hunter Mesa were stunning any direction you looked.

Amd of course there were flowers. I have actually been quite restrained about posting flower pictures; I probably have taken 100 or more!

This was one of the easier sections of the rocky trail. On the really rough sections, I just held on tight!

Tomorrow we are having my son and his family out for dinner and hanging out. Peach cobbler in the convection oven in the morning, and green chili chicken enchiladas in the Dutch Oven for the main course. Yum! Of course I have to clean up the motorhome before they get here!

Vedauwoo and surroundings followed by Douglas and Casper

We ended up staying at Vedauwoo for 10 days, leaving on Monday, 17 July. Fabulous place. Here are some of the highlights.

There is water in some of the creeks. Plus we saw a moose! Largest mammal we saw. Hundreds of pronghorns though.

I can not express how beautiful the wildflowers were. I actually became numb to them because they were so abundant and beautiful. It had been a wet summer, and the flowers showed it.

One day we took a short trip to the Ames Monument. It marks the highest point on the Union Pacific Rail line. The line was eventually moved a few miles south, but the monument stands pretty much isolated on a hill of land.

The weekend got rather crazy at Vedauwoo. All the designated sites were filled, and there was a small amount of illegal camping. If anyone knows who this particular Iowa asshole is, please let me know. Notice the “No Camping” sign right in front of his pickup.

We didn’t stay at Vedauwoo the entire time. We took a trip into Fort Collins for a Trader Joe run, and we took a trip into Cheyenne when I found this lovely Bernina 930 for sale! Good price, and it is spotless. I have wanted one of these for a while, but I am cheap. I just kept looking for a good deal, and I eventually found one. The machine has a heel tap feature which takes a complete half stitch, either up or down, plus it always stops with a full stitch up. So far so good, as you can see on my sample.

We also ended up in Laramie a few times, once for groceries and once to dump at the Old Territorial Prison. Nice clean dump station with a recommended $10 fee. Kevin also got an oil and air filter change for the RZR. There are a bunch of shops in the area!

On Monday, 17 July, we left Vedauwoo for Douglas, WY. We needed to do laundry and generally clean up after 10 days boondocking before we went to the Bighorns for another 7-10 days. We are staying at the Fairgrounds. Standard parking lot fairgrounds spot, but only $30 FHU.

Anyone who knows me knows we like finding historic places, and while we were in Douglas, we visited Ft. Fetterman. Not much original really there, but the visitor center had been restored with a nice little museum. I really enjoyed the video they had. The views across the Northern Platte River were amazing. Ft. Fetterman was the last of the Indian forts along the North Platte, and it was situated on a high bluff. You can’t see the river from the bluff anymore because the North Platte was known for wandering. The views are still amazing though.

We visited Casper twice. Once was for dinner and to pick up medication refills; the second was to visit Ft. Caspar. The two spellings are not typos, or at least they aren’t for me. The town was named after the fort, but there was a misspelling in the original documents. Caspar Collins, son of the person Ft. Collins, CO was named for, was killed while stationed here. In those days it was “North Platte Station.” This fort was reconstructed by the WPA based on drawings Lt. Collins made. It has a really nice museum plus the reconstructed fort components.

One of the interesting things we discovered by visiting the history museums is the intersection of Wyoming, oil and gas development, and the audio book Kevin and I are listening to while driving the motorhome. The book is “Killers of the Flower Moon” about the horrific murders of numerous Osage Indians in Oklahoma in order to inherit their rich oil lease payments. The companies are the same, and the scandals mesh together quite well. Since both of us are Oklahoma born, we were sadly not surprised this portion of Oklahoma history wasn’t taught in schools. Neither was the Tulsa Race Riot, and even more people died there due to greed, envy, and racism.

Senior officer quarters were quite luxurious.

Even the enlisted quarters weren’t bad, though they slept two to a bed. Might have been warmer that way during those long Wyoming winters on that very exposed bluff!

The sutler was the fort store with food, clothing, and miscellaneous supplies that made life a bit more bearable for the soldiers.

One of the primary purposes of the fort was to protect an important bridge across the North Platte used by settlers and prospectors flooding west. The bridge was over 1000’ long, a real feat for frontier builders. It made them a fortune though! Prices were flexible – higher in high water, lower when there were other crossings possible.

One of the alternatives was a ferry established by Brigham Young when the Mormons were on their way to the Salt Lake valley. They had a reconstructed ferry with a sample wagon too.

We leave Douglas tomorrow for a boondock site outside of Buffalo along Highway 16. We have a few places in mind, but we will look at them before we decide where to settle. My oldest son and his family are going to be tent camping in the area, and I am looking forward to seeing all of them.

From Utah to Wyoming

We left Bear Lake on 6 July. We spent the night at Red Desert Rose Campground in Rawlins, WY. Nice enough place, a bit careworn, but they were trying to have grass between most of the sites, and the pull throughs were HUGE so no unhitching. We left fairly early on 7 July to head to a Boondockers Welcome site just into Colorado between Laramie and Wyoming. It didn’t work out. First, the road in was 8 miles of awful washboard (12 miles total from the highway), and secondly, we could not get level no matter what! We tried 3 different locations in his field with every block we owned, and nothing worked. We finally gave up, took the awful road back to the highway, and headed to the Vedauwoo area of the Medicine Bow National Forest only a few miles back west.

I was a bit skeptical we could find a spot on a Friday afternoon, but we scored a truly primo spot! We stayed here before on our way to Arizona in June, but this time we aren’t rushed for time. They have a system I think is the future of dispersed NF and BLM land – identified sites, very well separated and private, and free. We were lucky and got site 4. This is the view out our door.

The scale is hard to imagine. Look carefully at the bottom of the “nose” for a human for scale.

Another photo for scale. Those tiny white dots were climbers.

This cubist delight is just to the right of our site. It is huge too.

On Saturday we decided to take out the UTV. It rained on Friday night, and the area has had a lot of rain on other days. The meadows are amazingly green, and the roads were amazingly muddy.

We had planned a circular trip leaving and arriving from our campsite, based on the official Motor Vehicle Use Guide. However a couple of hours in, our published “open” road was marked by a “No motor vehicles” sign. It was obvious a lot of people had ignored the sign and continued, but we didn’t feel comfortable with that. We then just turned back and rode some other dead end trails, just to see the sights. Of course we saw more rocks! I do love rocks.

This was one sight that puzzled me. It was an open pasture, fairly but not completely flat with a number of low embedded rocks in the surface. There were a number of these pipes, some capped and some not, seemingly randomly arranged over maybe 1/2 an acre. Mining? Old foundation? I couldn’t see any other artifacts, just the pipes.

And of course we have seen flowers. The white ones were smaller than a dime and close to the ground. Indian Paintbrush is the state flower of Wyoming, and it bloomed in profusion along with the other standard flowers we have seen. The yellows were not as common. They are Alpi e Sunflowers, and like other sunflowers, rotate during the day to follow the sun.

Today we decided to take the truck along the Snowy Ridge Scenic Byway. It was a good decision. Beautiful country south east of Laramie. We hit snow line at about 9000’. We topped out just under 10,400’. Hard to breathe when there isn’t any air!

There were lots of interesting sights along the road, but this observation point was particularly interesting.

The views were incredible. This was generally southwest and the next picture was more south. I am pretty sure those snow covered peaks in the second photo are in Rocky Mountain National Park, one of my favorite places.

Note the “watermelon snow.” The pink color is from a bacteria that thrives on the snow and glaciers. And yes, the skies really were that blue!

Looking from the observation point to our parking spot

There were dozens of alpine lakes along the way. Some were ephemeral and dry up in dry years, but some are large. This is one of the large ones right next to the road. It was busy with anglers and hikers.

We ate a late lunch in Walden, CO at River Rock Cafe. Very good food, and great home made peach cobbler. We came back to the motorhome a bit tired, rested, and then enjoyed the late afternoon sitting outside and watching the climbers on the rocks behind our campsite.

Tomorrow, more UTV trails.