Camping – Page 2 – TooBusyForWork

Wind and more wind everywhere we go! Death Valley and Anza-Borrego

We left Quartzsite and headed to Needles for an overnight stop at the Elks Club there. We dropped off the RZR at a storage unit we rented there plus some other assorted things we won’t need in the next few weeks. We then headed to Death Valley National Park, one of my absolute favorite locations. However the wind kept blowing. Ourr first day was only light breezes, and we got pictures of the famous and ephemeral Lake Manley left over from Hurricane Hillary.

There was too much wind to get a reflection on the lake, but it was quite impressive. It went on for miles.

Lake Manley with Telescope Peak behind it

But then came the really big winds! Our little weather station clocked 46 mph, and it is always lower than actual. We brought all our slides in and just turtled up. The wind was incredible. No tents were left standing without broken poles, though I didn’t see any RV awnings broken this time. The wind was so strong it actually blew Lake Manley downwind! The lake moved away from the parking lot at Badwater Basin and also farther to the north. It changed color from blueish to a murky brown from all the dust blown in. You can compare it with these pictures.

We had come to Death Valley for the Dark Sky Festival, and the storm resulted in all the big outdoor activities being cancelled on Friday and Saturday, though indoor activities continued. Sunday was just breezy though, and there were a few outdoor activities that went on. The festival was FABULOUS! If you like science at all, put it on your list. The seminars and presentations cover everything from how a Mars Rover operates to how Black Holes are formed to how geologists study Badwater Basin to find biological signatures they can search for on Mars or the Moon.

We did find time to go to Artists Palette where we were sheltered from the winds. As usual the colors were spectacular. One of the big changes we saw at Death Valley was there were more colors in the rocks/mountains than before. The rains had washed off years and years blown dust and exposed a lot of rock that had been hidden.

We then headed to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a place we had never visited. We have been missing out! The park is famous for their spring wildflowers and their gigantic metal sculptures. Both were totally worth the reputation.

I am not going to post the 100+ pictures I took yesterday and today, but these should give you a taste of the area. Oh, and there was wind, a lot of it!

There are many acres of wildflowers scattered across the area. The desert here has had >5” of rain, and everything is green.

Hardly any of my close up pictures came out due to the wind, but I do have a few.

We also took the tour of the metal sculptures. A local large landowner envisioned the sculptures spreading across his land with three types of sculptures – some from the fossil record of the area, some of animals still alive (not necessarily living locally), and some of mystical and fantasy.

The Indian Head is an example. Sorry for the shadows. But the close up shows some of the detail.

Close up showing construction and the earrings

The most famous sculpture is the dragon. It extends on both sides of the state highway, but the head is the most spectacular.

My favorites were the scorpion and grasshopper facing off. Look at the grasshopper winds and the little appendages on his legs – amazing!

Today we took a scenic drive plus decided to look for desert piles, not nearly as plentiful as the other flowers and found in different locations. We took a side 4WD trip to Font’s Point with a fabulous view of the Borrego Badlands.

And we found the lilies! Each blossom lasts just a day.

There were other white flowers in the area too. This is the best picture I got with the wind. I did say the wind continues to roar, didn’t I?

And of course there were cacti. I saw numerous Beavertail cacti loaded with blooms, but only one already blooming. It was along the Coyote Canyon 4WD dirt road. They are such a glorious color.

Also along the same road we finally found an ocotillo just starting to bloom. In another week this plant will be lovely with red blossoms sprouting from the tips of the limbs.

We also took the nature walk at the Visit Center. I discovered a new-to-me cholla cactus. This picture shows is in conjunction with the flowering plants growing between its prickly thorns. Almost all the cactus had this type of relationship with flowering plants. I think the spines protect the flowering plants from being eaten.

Tomorrow we drive to El Cajon for the night then on to San Diego on Saturday to meet my three oldest grandchildren and their parents. Everybody is set to go on a whale watching tour Monday, then the parents take off for their mini-vacation while the kids stay with us until we all meet up again on Friday afternoon at the airport. Wish us luck!

Leaving Quartzsite tomorrow

I just looked at my last post, and it was three weeks ago! Time flies when you are having fun I guess. We spent the day just generally sorting and organizing gear that has been spread around inside and outside. When we stop for a night or two some place, we keep things nicely organized. But when we stay someplace for long periods, things just have a tendency to explode! We actually have never stayed this long in a single place, and things were scattered everywhere! Got that pretty much done, so we are just relaxing in the peace and quiet of a mostly empty boondock location.

As I packed I realized I haven’t posted much about our travel companions. Luna is the black one, 10.6 pounds, friendly, and outgoing. Her sister Minnie (short for Minerva) is a petite 7.4 pounds, shy and anxious. They both love motorhome life.

I have been cooking of course. I tried to make pizzas on the Blackstone grill. I made the dough in my breadmaker. A 1 pound dough makes four personal pizzas. While I was trying for “round” I got “artisanal shaped” instead! The hardest part was shaping the dough.

We had an absolutely fabulous Valentine Day dinner. Kevin sous vide’d two steaks, and I made Parmesan and garlic asparagus. I also made light as air rolls from dough made in the bread maker, it was fabulous. The only issue with the bread maker is the power used to bake, whether in the machine or in the convection oven (the rolls). The convection oven is a real power hog!

Steaks, asparagus with Parmesan and garlic, home made roll

As expected we took more rides on the RZR, some with the SunRiders club and some on our own. I was impressed with the KOFA cabin built by the CCC. I think it is available for rent through the BLM. The stone work was lovely, and it was in great shape.

I wish I could remember the name of this fabulous site! Two arches, maybe 30’ high with a number of windows on either side. You might have to blow up the picture to see the windows though.

Double arches plus windows on either side

I took a “Ladies Only” ride with the SunRiders too. We went to Dead Horse Canyon which was rather uninspiring. Lots of sand, few rocks, and I love rocks. This was one of the sights on the way there though.

And the flowers have really stated coming out in the last few days.

Cholla and 2-3” wide Desert Gold flowers

The hills east of us have really turned green, or at least as green as the desert gets.

I have also done quite a bit of sewing. I finished up all but the binding of the donation quilt I am making for the FMCA convention in March. I am quite happy with it, though the final result was quite different than the initial plan. I thought I had carefully calculated that I could get four cuts from each fat quarter I had, but it turns out I could only get four cuts on the fat quarters without selvedges! Oops! I bought some more yardage and found the fabulous print to tie everything together. And yet more serendipity happened when the variegated thread my daughter got me for Christmas as a perfect match! It just got a simple all over meander. I might do some more quilting in the border, but I will decide later. It will only be if I get time.

I also finished my class samples for the sewing class I am doing at the FMCA convention. All of the project kits are completed including the binding all cut. I have 10 spots open, and I cut 12 sets so the students have some choices. And since I like them all, any leftovers will be fine with me! I also finished 100 triangle in a square blocks out of the remnants from the quilt. I will put them together for another baby sized quilt which will be fine when I add some borders.

I will end with this morning’s fabulous Arizona sunrise.

Still in Quartzsite doing Quartzsite things

We plan on staying in the Quartzsite area until the last week of February. I have posted about the area a number of times, so I don’t want to supply too many comments about things that haven’t changed. But I do have a lot of pictures and even some videos!

We took a trip with the SunRiders club on 13 January. We saw a bunch of old cabins from miners who had lived in the area.

Someone had fun “installing” a satellite dish

The only thing blooming in early January

The Arizona desert does occasionally get rain, and we had about 3/4” between 22-23 January. The results were fabulous. And no one ever complains about rain in the desert.

During the big RV show in town we also have a rally with an internet group I have participated in for 10 years or so. I have been coming to their rallies since I retired. I was the rally coordinator this year, and I will be next year too. It is a very unstructured rally. People show up, some tell me in advance, some don’t. Each day we have a Happy Hour where folks BYOB and someone brings snacks. Sometimes someone will say they are going to do XYZ, and others can come along if they want. Some do, some don’t. I call it the Unstructured Rally! This year I led a trip to some of the modern rock art folks have created in La Posa South. I called it “Quirky Quartzsite.” Folks said they enjoyed it. We had a potluck lunch on Saturday where I cooked my famous peach cobbler and New Mexican style layered green chili enchiladas which are fabulous if I say so myself. Sunday we took a trip to the Desert Bar. “The Rock” is a long standing fixture of the rallies, and it is at the front of our firepit each year.

sunsets and sunrises can be unbelievably beautiful in Arizona. Dry air, clouds, and a bit of dust creat outstanding color. These aren’t retouched at all!

After folks finally left the rally (we always have some early birds and some stragglers), Kevin cooked up two waygu steaks out son bought us for Christmas. Wow! He seasoned them with garlic and herbs then used the sous vide and finished them by searing them on the Blackstone. It was absolutely the best steak I have ever eaten.

Waugh steaks are as fabulous as their reputation

Yesterday we went on another SunRiders ride to see Patton’s Cave by Bouse. It was the most challenging ride we have ever taken. The ride leader apologized for the difficulty, but two spots had washed out and we barely made it through. One had us on two wheels! We were both exhausted when we got home. The sights were good though.

Mesquite limbs, flowers, and pods all at once

Patton’s Cave used for secret radio testing during WWII.

I also attended a 3 day “Staycation” with the Lake Havasu quilt guild. Great fun! I got 96 4” triangle in a square blocks done. Still need four more, but I will get those soon. I have also completed eight 16” circle in a square blocks. Just need one more of those too before I start assembly. Hopefully I can get at least one of the quilts finished before the FMCA convention in March.

Oh, and I really do have some videos! As before, just click on them to watch.

A rough section of trail, but not the worst we were on!

First time riding in sand.

Quartzsite, AZ and the way to get there

We never made it to Williams, AZ as I said we would in my last post. Kevin woke up at 4:30 am in the cold, and he realized we had lost all battery power! Poor fellow had to go buy a new electrical multi-meter because he had left the one for the rig at home. He finally got it and figured out our battery charger wasn’t running and our batteries had gone into self-protection mode due to low charge. He finally got everything working, but not until he spent 3+ hours in the cold and dark doing it. I sat wrapped up in 3 quilts with a cat since it was only 21 degrees when we woke. Ugh. I told him it was time to head south, so we did!

We spent the night at the Elks Lodge in Willcox, AZ after traveling south on I-25 to Hatch, NM. We had hoped for a green chili burger in Hatch, but it wasn’t to be – the famous place was closed for the holidays. New Years Eve found us arriving in Quartzsite! We spent the first night in the Hi Jolly free BLM camping area. I took this picture the first morning of 2024.

There is something magical about sunrises and sunsets in the desert. The colors are otherworldly, and it was a great start to the morning.

We got out and about moving to the Long Term Visitor area on New Year’s Day. We needed to find a place with space for 10-15 big rigs with easy to follow directions. I am coordinating a rally for the RVForum.net group during the big RV show at the end of the month, and the place where we met for years got removed from consideration due to construction. Who wants to camp next to the new sewage lagoons? Ugh. Think we have found a good spot in Tyson Wash LTVA.

On 2 January we took an 80 mile UTV ride with the Arizona Sunriders Club. We went into the KOFA Wildlife Refuge through McPherson Pass and to Big Eye mine. It was 80 miles round trip mostly on OHV trails from our start point, and we had to trailer the RZR there and back, so a long day. I was using a new mount for the GoPro, and I didn’t get nearly the pictures or videos I hoped for – nothing of the mine or the “Big Eye” (an interesting geological oddity) or Castle Dome. Here is something though. Click on the links to see each short video. It might take a few clicks to get them started!

This was a basic desert view on a fairly level stretch.

This was a bit rougher section though the auto smoothing of the GoPro gives it a misleading smoothness.

Ignore the first few seconds of the video showing the RZR’s roof! It gets better, I promise.

Today we attended the monthly meeting of the Sunriders, heard some interesting stuff, and bought some swag – sweatshirt jackets, a hat, and a flag for the UTV, all with the logo on it. Nice stuff.

Off for snowbird trip 2023/24

We had a fabulous Christmas hanging with the kids and grandkids. Kevin got his 3D printer going and made some fabulous decorations. I apologize for the remnant threads; I got too excited to notice them.

The pattern describes it as a snow globe

We didn’t put up the big tree, but Kevin made sure we had our presents under a lot of trees. Most of these were actually experiments with his new printer he got (early) for Christmas. It is a newer Ender 3 that goes with us in the motorhome.

We actually left the house on Boxing Day just after noon. Since we weren’t having folks over to our house for the holidays, we had more time to pack and sort. One of the advantages of having a son and DIL nearby with a big house who likes to cook is they host at least one of the big holidays. This year they chose Christmas. We ended up spending the first night in the Lakeside Casino RV park. It is only a bit over 3 hours from home so we got in early enough to put water in the tanks. And guess what we woke up to the next morning?

Yup, 2” of wet heavy snow. It didn’t get any better later in the morning. We just waited for the highway to be clear and Kevin pushed the snow off the big slide toppers. The other slides are much smaller and came in without issue. Since we left so late we on,y made it to Emporia, KS where we stayed in a Walmart parking lot. The next day (Thursday) we made it to Texola, OK right on the Texas line. It is a small and very quiet campground, and we have stayed there a few times before. All through Missouri, Kansas, and most of Oklahoma we went through small snow squalls. They were never very heavy and they never lasted long. It was tedious though. I was thrilled when we made it to Amarillo and the sun came out. New Mexico was even more clear, and we are spending tonight in the American RV Park on the west side of Albuquerque. Tomorrow we hope to boondock outside Williams, AZ, and then make it to Quartzsite, AZ by Sunday. We plan on staying there for quite a bit of the winter.

I haven’t shown many pictures of my adorable cats recently, so here you go! They are sisters, but they don’t often snuggle up like this. Minnie, the tabby, was snuggled in the blanket, and Luna, the black one, just squished herself in.

Merry Christmas Eve

It has been a slow time here. I have definitely lost the sewing mojo since we got back. I took a class on quilting ruler work, but it didn’t inspire me much. It was just too picky to get the designs. It was more oriented towards domestic machines, and the quilting was too dense. I generally make lap quilts, baby quilts, and bed quilts, and I prefer soft and fluffy to stiff with too much quilting. It was also harder to do than I expected because my thread matched the fabric too well! It was really hard to see.

I have gotten ready for our upcoming trip to Arizona though. I cut out 15 kits of Insul-Bright for making oven mitts, and they are safely stashed in the motorhome. I am teaching a class in Tucson at the FMCA Convention in March, and I didn’t want to take a whole bolt and cut it in the motorhome. It is bulky though! I have it stashed above my bed in cabinets I hardly ever use, but it barely fit. I have a bunch of fabric I purchased at $6/yard from a quilt store going out of business, and my daughter bought me some other fabric too. Everyone is going to get enough fabric and batting to make 2 oven mitts of the same fabric. I intend on concentrating on how to do straight line quilting and then machine binding. I had a lot of fun with the class I taught on making bowl cozies at the last convention in Gillette, WY.

We are also totally prepared for Christmas. We went to church this morning, and we will go again this evening for a Lessons and Carols service. That is my favorite type of Christmas Eve service! The choir is singing one piece of music so I have to be there early. We are having our big Christmas with the kids and grandkids tomorrow. Kevin and I are supplying lunch and my oldest son and his wife are doing dinner. It is a handy approach to dealing with 13 people! We had Thanksgiving at our place, but everybody brought food, and the cooking was remarkably easy. It is nice to have a number of good cooks in the family.

I better get to helping Kevin with food packing. We took all my sewing stuff, his astronomy stuff, and clothes over already. On Tuesday we will take the food and toiletries over. If we get ready fast enough, we will leave then! I am hoping we can do it. The weather has been lovely, and it looks like it will continue during the trip.

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.