Missoula MT to La Junta CO

 After a year and a half in one place, our longest stay since our workamping years, we are on the road again, heading east and south from Missoula MT to La Junta CO, 1,000 miles. This is super exciting for us! We wondered if our rig and our BigTruk would remember how to roll. They did! This scene is somewhere between Missoula and Bozeman.

 Mr. Keith and I were anxious to stay at the Bozeman KOA, where we worked in 2013, and to see our former managers there. The park has been expanded and improved, which was fun for us to see.

 Here's Robert, enjoying some coffee with us and catching up with our families' news. The best part of our RVing lifestyle is the people we meet and have met and stayed in touch with. We may not ever see some of them again, but some we do, and it's always a pleasure.

 Somewhere on the road to Hardin MT.

 The Hardin KOA is a small, but pleasant park out in the middle of a farming area. We enjoyed our stay here. At this time of year, autumn, there are not many RVers staying. We thought about visiting the Monument to Custer's Last Stand, but have seen it several times, so we reluctantly passed it up this trip.

 I love this "fence" at the Hardin KOA. There were old bicycles circling the entire perimeter of the park, a unique and humorous idea for a fence. South of Hardin we passed through some very beautiful country, at least till we reached Buffalo WY and exited I-90 for I-25. Unfortunately, I couldn't snap pictures while traveling down the highway behind the 5th wheel.

After Buffalo the scenery changed to dry, mostly flat and treeless, not so pretty. Douglas WY is a nice little town known for the famous "Jackalope". Their town center features this cute statue. We stayed at the Douglas KOA, a fairly large, very well kept park.

 We were excited about visiting the Denver East/Strasburg KOA where we worked for two winters. After battling some pretty tough traffic heading south towards Denver, we got off on a toll freeway skirting the metropolis, then onto I-70 going east. It was almost like home, getting to Strasburg, especially when we found we'd been assigned Space #68, the very spot we occupied both winters, a fact unknown to the gal who put us there. For dinner we ordered chicken wings, which we had cooked numerous times, along with pizza, at the KOA when we were employed here. Yum! The next morning we had a joyous reunion with our former boss Tracy, breakfast and a wonderful visit at her house. We were sad to leave, but we were ready for the final leg of our 1000 mile journey.

The last leg of our journey was the shortest, and also the hardest, south from Limon on Hwy 71. The road was bumpy and things inside the RV spilled all over! This was a desolate road, but we came out on Hwy 50 and on to La Junta, our winter abode. Here we are at the KOA, in our spot for the next several months. We toured the town, population about 7,000, and found it to be neat, clean, and very attractive. We will love it here!

Bozeman MT to Wenatchee WA

I am a little late putting up my blog posts. There is so much excitement and so much work travelling, setting up the rig, visiting people. Well, better late than never. This was our last day in Bozeman. We pulled into the Tire Factory to make sure all 12 tires on the 5th wheel and the truck were good to go.

Heading west from Bozeman, looking at the snow and wondering how Homestake Pass would be... there was snow right up to the road but none on the road.

This view is nearing Missoula. We've passed this way so many times. It is always beautiful.

Here we're getting closer to the ascent to Lookout Pass. There is a rainbow over us. You can barely see it in the picture. Clouds are looming and some rain has begun to fall.

Lookout Pass and the Idaho border! And a rainstorm. I know I shouldn't be taking photos while driving, but I sure like the view of my hubby pulling our house and all our earthly possessions down, or up, the road.

The rain stopped just short of the Washington border. This view isn't too spectacular, coming into Spokane Valley, but it's good to see the "Welcome to Washington" sign. Almost there!

We left the Freeway near George, passed through Quincy, and are heading down the slope to the Columbia. Now we're really getting close!

These beautiful cliffs with apple orchards at the bottom are just east of Rock Island. Wenatchee, here we come!

I can see Saddle Rock now, as we are coming into East Wenatchee.

To our surprise, there was not a single RV park with available spaces. It was October Fest in Leavenworth. So much for planning ahead! Fortunately, our friend Bob, who had put in a 50 amp hookup for us a few years ago, was happy to let us park by his First Fruits fruit stand and orchard. It's a lovely spot. We stayed there 6 nights.

Most of the apples in the area are harvested already, but not these Braeburns. We picked up a few that had fallen to the ground, but we know better than to pick the ones still on the trees. They were sure pretty to look at.

This pretty redhead, our granddaughter, is one of the reasons we always return to Wenatchee. Natalie spent 3 nights with us, which we loved. We walked down to the Columbia, just behind our parking spot.

And here she is with Grandpa. Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of the rest of the family. Silly me for forgetting my camera on most of our visits. 

To be continued...

Farewell to Bozeman

 It has been a wonderful summer working at the KOA in Bozeman Montana. We are sad to leave. I'm sharing a few pictures of local scenes we've looked at on our frequent trips into town. The first picture is looking south as we leave the entrance to the KOA. The fields went from the tan color of last years' crops to a lush green with crops growing, and finally, to this golden stubble, the remains of an important farming industry.

 Downtown Bozeman is beautiful, a tourists paradise. There are no abandoned or empty buildings here, just a plethora of gift stores, restaurants, clothing stores and other businesses, all inviting. We especially loved going to the used book store, where we found some treasures to give to our managers' children who were frequently seen sitting outside the KOA office reading their books.

 The Bozeman Deaconess Hospital sits in the midst of wheat fields. This place is wonderful! All the staff we met were friendly, cheerful, and always spent as much time with us as we needed. They became friends! I especially liked that they brought therapy dogs into the waiting rooms occasionally. We will miss coming here! The attitude of the nurses and doctors here is as good as the medical treatments, maybe better!

We had planned a day to leave, the 26th of September, but were up and down on that as we watched the weather report. An early snowstorm was to arrive in the mountains west of Bozeman. Should we go or should we wait one more day when the sun was predicted to shine again? This scene convinced us. We are leaving on Friday, the 27th! We figured that if there is snow in Bozeman, the Homestake Pass just east of Butte, at 7000 feet, would definitely be a dangerous drive in our 5th wheel. So...good-bye Bozeman. We have loved getting to know you, and even more, your people. We hope to return someday!

Beartooth Highway

We'd been told many times that the drive over the Beartooth Highway is one of the most spectacular in the country, so we felt we couldn't leave this area till we'd done it. The shortest way to the highway involved going to Livingston and then down and across the top part of Yellowstone. We were lucky this trip to see several herds of bison.

I loved this guy, with his plump summer physique and soft, full coat.

Also well filled out from summer grazing, this handsome pronghorn showed no fear of us as he took his morning drink.

Shortly after we passed back out of the park and through Cooke City, we entered the Beartooth Highway and began our climb up to the 10,000 foot heights. I decided to take off my seatbelt and reach into the back seat for my sandwich and was startled by this awesome sight out the back window! Had I not been hungry I would have missed Pilot Peak! I love the shadow and sun effect. When we reached the actual viewpoint for this mountain, the clouds had moved and the photos didn't come out quite as well.

Charles Kuralt declared this drive to be the most beautiful in America. There may be some reading this post who remember him as a well known travel writer and TV host.  Though truly gorgeous and amazing, we have seen some places equally as beautiful. For instance I was reminded of our drive to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado. The heights are dizzying and the vistas are awesome. Here we're looking down on a tiny road leading to a pretty lake. Though we entered and exited through Montana, most of the Beartooth Highway is in Wyoming.

I had assumed that the name "Beartooth" meant simply jagged mountains, but there is one point that is actually the bear's tooth. In this photo you can barely see a single, tooth-shaped rock slightly to the right of the snow marker.

Here it is, a better view, along with more dizzying heights!

The whole area is filled with lakes captured and held by the crevices and stone cliffs. This one is particularly beautiful.

Here you can see part of the road we traveled, way down there in the distance.

Heading down the other side of the Beartooth Pass we found a way-side stop, the Rock Creek Vista Point, with a trail leading out to more spectacular views. I liked the colorful dead tree snag in the center.

These little guys have learned to beg during the brief summer season, and are rewarded by the tourists. He is eating a potato chip. In all, our drive was 367 miles from Bozeman, round trip, a giant circle. We were out for 10 hours, and arrived home very tired and very satisfied with our day trip. The Beartooth Highway has been added to our list of the most memorable sights we have seen and experienced in our workamping years!

The Hyalite Basin

 Keith and I didn't want a long trip today so we chose the Hyalite Reservoir Road south of Bozeman. I never tire of the view as we're driving into Bozeman. That is the Bridger Range in the distance, to the east of town, gorgeous in any weather.

 We found the road leading up into the Gallatin Range just south of town. The wildflowers are out in profusion. These, growing along Hyalite Creek, are Richardson's Geraniums.

 This is the Hyalite Reservoir with Hyalite Peak in the distance. I think the actual peak, over 10,000 feet, is that little pointy one, snow covered, in the right of the photo, though I may be wrong about that. This area reminded us a bit of Glacier Park. There are camping sites and hiking trails all over the area and along the lake. The campers we saw are really roughing it, with no electricity!

 And here is the trailhead for the climb up Hyalite Peak. There were several cars in the parking lot, so it must be a popular climb for some hardy souls.

 I had never seen this flower before. It is a wild clematis, better known as the Western Blue Virgin's Bower! I wonder how someone came up with that name! It is a beautiful and delicate climbing vine.

Here is another one, also new to me, a Cutleaf Anemone. My research tells me it is uncommon, so it was a real treasure for me to find it as we drove along the road. I had purchased an App for my iPad featuring the wildflowers of Yellowstone, so I expect to do a lot more identifying as we make our sightseeing trips out and about.

Big Sky

 Coming home from shopping and from the doctor we thought we would still have time to take the short, 40 mile drive to Big Sky. The sun was shining and it seemed like a perfect day. This scene is looking south from Bozeman, always beautiful.

 After collecting our snacks and our cameras we drove out of the KOA and headed south on the Gallatin Hwy. Keith insists on calling it "The Galatians Road"! We spotted some buffalo on this hill just a short way from the KOA. I wonder if they are raised for meat. I hope not, but I am the first one to order a buffalo burger when I find a restaurant that serves them!

 We caught our first glimpse of Lone Peak as we took the fork in the road to Big Sky.

 Here is the view from the Big Sky area. We never did find an actual town, but only miles and miles of condominiums, hotels and other resort type buildings. It is primarily a ski resort, but it looks like it is used in the summer, too. The entire area is extremely beautiful.

The Gallatin River flows north all the way from West Yellowstone to Three Forks, where it joins the Missouri River, and the Gallatin Road follows it closely for most of the way. We liked these colorful cliffs along the river. We'd hoped to see some wildlife but, besides birds, we saw only a lone coyote. This is a drive to take again someday this summer.

A Rainy Day Drive

 Mr. Keith and I always like to find a pretty drive on our days off. Steve at the KOA recommended Bridger Canyon Road so we headed that direction, north of town. It was a rainy day. We couldn't even see the snow covered mountains above Bozeman but were told it would be worth the drive anyway. We've seen lots of beauty in our workamping years, but the area around Bozeman is beyond gorgeous! There are so many shades of green everywhere, and the hills almost look groomed with no underbrush and brambles. I kept saying "oooh and ahhh". We could live here!

 During the summers we worked in Missoula we saw, everyday, the "M" on the hill above town. It was placed there by the students at the University of Montana. We never were sure if it stood for Missoula or for Montana, probably both. The "M" above Bozeman is definitely for Montana, also placed there by the students at the Montana State University. Both "M"s have a hiking trail to the top. This one looked much more strenuous than the one in Missoula! We won't be trying it! The arrowleaf balsamroot flowers, finished in the areas farther west, are just coming into full bloom on the hills here, like this one, nearly covered with them.

 We saw several deer along the road on our drive. This one posed nicely for us in this beautiful setting. And, although I couldn't get a good photo, we saw our first Sandhill Cranes! I was so excited to add them to my bird sighting list. I believe these cranes are the largest birds I've ever seen besides the emus we took care of in Deadwood SD. My iPad bird identification app told me they can stand 3 to 4 feet high and they have a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet. Good thing I brought my binoculars along, but I surely wished for a better camera with a zoom lens.

An old log cabin caught my attention. The trees were taking residence around and inside the building. Intriguing! We agreed that we would make this trip again on a sunny day. We want to actually see the mountains above the canyon!