July 12 – 16th
Polson MT is small town
surrounded by unbelievable beauty. I’m
sure the locals take it for granted as they wake up to this serene beauty every
day but, when passing through you just want to take in just how majestic God’s
Canvas truly is. Our RV resort schedules events daily. Friday of course will be happy hour with
BYOB. We have met some great
people. So interesting. People from all over the country and all
walks of life. We’ve been having the
most fun with a couple from Houston, Ashley and Linda Pardue. Ashley is a retired Captain from Southwest
Airlines and he was full of stories and information. He has been providing great insight into the
“cock pit”. Knowing what I know now, I’m
not sure I would fly with any other airline but Southwest. Another interesting tid bit is that when
Bill’s Assistant (Ex-Assistant) Pat Dorsey read the blog and heard some of the
Ashley Pardue stories, she immediately let Bill know that SHE WAS A NEIGHBOR OF
THE PARDUE’S when she lived in Houston.
UNBELIEVABLE! What were the
chances? 300 million to one? Pat shared stories about her neighbors from
Houston and the stories were confirmed by Ashley. The same Pardue couple.
Most everyone we’ve met are
true road travelers and on the road a minimum of 6 months of the year. Many own pads at different resorts and they
spend 2+ months at different locations.
Of course, when your Motor Coach is $1mm plus, I expect you would live
in it more often. We’ve seen some
magnificent Motor Coaches.
Friday the 12th is Happy Hour at the Club House followed
on the 13th with a
Carnival. The Carnival was “full out” fun. As we were meeting new neighbors it was
interesting to see how many glampers were from Texas. We were surrounded by Texans. Although we met couples from Canada,
Washington, Utah, Oregon and Florida, the majority seemed to be “Texans”.
We had another fab weekend in
Polson MT. Sunday, June 14th, we traveled to Lakeside Mt to visit the son
of one of Bill’s friends and colleague.
Paul Batz son Ben, was volunteering at Lakeside Lutheran Bible Camp so
we went for Sunday Services. Lakeside
was a mere stone’s throw from Polson. This
camp was ideal. I don’t ever remember a
camp with so much to offer. Once again
the natural beauty was unmatched. We had
breakfast with the Camp Counselors and visitors, toured the campgrounds and we
were then invited to worship. I find it
so invigorating and uplifting when I witness young adults in worship. To hear them lift up their voices and provide
testimony and commitment to spread the gospel, well, I am filled with hope for
the future of generations to come.
We later spent the day
visiting Big Fork MT which was a sweet old Ranch town then traveled through
Findley Point. One town almost
replicates the other with ever so subtle differences and all outlined in lakes
and mountains. As we were getting close
to our departure date, we had dinner with our good friends the Pardue’s at
Findley Point. We shared good times and
good wine.
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On the morning of the 16th we planned a
pre-checklist review for our 17th
departure. Good thing we did. We apparently left something on for over two
weeks which was draining the “massive battery bank” on the Bus. No juice!
Seriously, not even a quiet churn. Dead, Dead, and more Dead. Since we made sure to take out the
appropriate insurances and road side assistance support, we called it in and in
less than an hour a service arrived at the resort to “jump” the bus. Really!!!
Well, the young man (possibly 17) got out of his truck with a hand held
booster box. I turned to Bill and told
him “We are in trouble. This kid is
carrying a battery pack and the bus has 4 batteries with another 2 suck hounds
as the master batteries. “He has zero chances of starting the bus. To no one’s surprise, the booster pack didn’t
work so he now was attaching the primary batteries to his truck. NOTHING!
FORTUNATELY THE TEXAS CALVARY ARRIVED!
Three of our neighbors had a
similar Motor Coach and were “experts” as road warriors. They were witnessing our troubles and rode to
the rescue. They had all the necessary
tools for diagnosing the problem and what was needed. Which by this time, we pretty much figured
out we needed new batteries. Yes, “ka-ching” new batteries. Our Texas neighbors were helpful in providing
insight to the departure process and checklist in addition to assisting with a
few additional fixes. Texans….. you have
got to love Texans. They were so helpful
and provided us with their contact information which is ever so helpful. They were leaving on the same day as us and
checked in with us before they left to make sure we were good to go. Thanks to Jim, Darryl and Hutch.
July 17th
This is the day we departed
Polson MT and real first road test of the Bus.
We were headed to West Yellowstone destination Grizzly RV Park. The roads are narrow with steep inclines so
as “co-pilot” I found it necessary to work the “grip bar” quite often. There were instances when I had to abandon my
post as the 6 degree grades with the run-away truck ramps were stressing
me. I knew it was better for Bill if I
left my post. I went into the Coach,
slept for three hours and by the time I woke up; we had passed through the
difficult areas. Bill drove for 6.5
hours and we arrived West Yellowstone on the Montana side. Our RV Park sits on the border of Montana,
Wyoming and Idaho. We are at the West
Entrance of Yellowstone Park and we could walk to the entrance from our
park. Once we go through the entrance,
we are in Wyoming. Bill and I are
discovering some of the perks of being 60 ish.
For $10.00 we receive senior memberships to ALL NATIONAL PARKS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY. Whoo-Hoo.
July 18th
Bill and I ventured out to get
a taste of Yellowstone as our guided tour wasn’t until the 19th and
we were anxious. With our Senior Pass in
hand, we entered the park. It wasn’t
long before we were encountering young Moose and Elk. We stopped at one of many thermal pools and
boiling pots. The thermal pools were 150
degrees and higher. The pools all boil
and bubble. Natures Hot Tub only
deadly. There were mini Geysers and,
pounding water falls. We hit Terra
Pools, Gibbons Falls and River as well as Madison Falls. All equally gorgeous and all natural. All
sites were equipped with board walks which we were strongly advised not to
leave as the ground was hot enough to cause serious injury and possibly
death. Yeah, I’m good with staying on
the board walk. The DANGER signs posted
everywhere were a constant reminder. As
in family tradition, once we’ve had a full day, we retire to the nearest
watering hole to check out the locals and other tourists while indulging on our
favorite or new adult beverage. We then
remembered our dog Darby and thought it best to get back to the park so he
could “relieve” himself. We suited up
our outdoor playground (relaxation chairs, tables, music and wine) and chatted
with new neighbors. While engaged in
chatting it up, the Cowboys rode into the park.
Yes, Cowboys with chaps and horse.
The real deal. I’m a sucker for a
cute cowboy. They were pushing happy
trails and I was almost there. Last time
I was on a horse I’m pretty sure I almost died so, I passed.
Regardless, the eye candy was
nice. It was another great day.
The weather in West
Yellowstone is PHENOM!!! Temps are low
80’s during the day and in the 40’s at night.
Great sleeping weather. I have to
put on a sweater to walk the dog. Heaven! The weather map reflects 7 beautiful days of
this weather. Oh, and humidity is 7%. I’ve
never, ever been anywhere where the humidity is less than 10%. When we checked in the Manager told us that
there was an active Grizzly in the “PET WALKING AREA” and to keep our bear
spray close by. Until the grizzly “moves
out” maybe we should walk Darby in the park area. Bill was funny, he conveyed the “bear spray”
message and then relayed to be that he has his own spray and it has a
chamber. You know I had to venture into
the woods where the designated pet walk area was located. Just had to!
I figured Darby would sense danger before me.
We saddled up for the day and
went on a “lower loop” tour of Yellowstone.
So much History. Yellowstone is
the Nation’s first National park of the Country. The President at the time was President Grant
and the year was 1872. Once again we
played poorly with the Native Indians and they were run out of the Park, their
land. I understand the population of
Wyoming is less than one million...
Something like 500.000 people. So much land, so few people. There are parts of Wyoming that are so
desolate that my though is every prison and penitentiary should reside in
Wyoming. Change its name to “THE PRISON
STATE”.
The tour took us through
wildlife areas, volcano eruption sites, steam vents, thermal pools, mini
geysers and of course the grand finale “OLD FAITHFUL”. Yellowstone derived its name from the YELLOW
STONES in the river. That was a brain
teaser for me as I thought there would be some meaningful historical event but,
no, just yellow stones. The natural
beauty of this place in indescribable.
Nature contributed to the incredible evolution of Yellowstone. A volcano some 640,000 years ago changed the
landscape. The fires of 1988, changed
the landscape, the beetle disease infecting the lodgepole trees of Yellowstone,
changed the landscape and the multitude of earthquakes which continue to change
the landscape today. The thermal pools,
which run at 180 degrees are beautiful and unforgiving. DO NOT LEAVE THE BOARDWALK. The grounds are
hot, hot. The pools are beautiful in color and the
bubbles boiling on the surface remind you of danger. There are Seam Vents all over Yellowstone
which continuously releases the pressure of the volcanic activity. Multiple gases releasing and this cycle is on
a constant loop. Our tour was 7
hours. It was long but informative. When you consider at before the automobile
the visitation to the part was by horse and buggy and stagecoach. Our 7 hour tour took 7 days in the early 1900’s.
The Old Faithful Hotel was built in 1904 and remains
a showcase hotel today. You can really
feel the spirit of millions of visitors going back to the 1800’s passing
through the same halls. Amazing.
During the tour we did get to
see some wildlife to include, Elk, Bison, Young Moose, Bullwinkle and Rocky as
well as a Grizzly. There are Bison herds
everywhere. Over the years these buffalo
have become pretty complacent about all the visitors, cars, and cameras. They certainly prefer not to be “clicked off”
while eating or mating. Sounds
fair. These animals are sprinters and
can charge you to a quick 35MPH 0-5 seconds.
They are ugly as sin but at the same time amazingly beautiful. They have no problem hanging out on the road
and although they will not stop for red lights or stop signs, they RULE the
road. We had a big bull just walk around
our car and up the middle of the street.
Awesome.
Old Faithful was just
that. She used to cap off every hour on
the hour but a 7.5 earthquake (forget the year) shifted the underbelly and now
she goes off every 88 to 90 minutes.
There are multiple steam vents around Old Faithful and the activity
picks up just before she is ready to blow.
There were at least 1000 people there while Bill and I were and the same
number and greater shows up every 88 minutes.
As tradition dictates, after a
full day Happy Hour at the Intermission Watering Hole was in order.
That evening while hanging at
our campsite two very young men, 13 and 9, came over to meet Darby and then
hung back to “chat”. I was floored that
these two kids wanted to hang. The more
they spoke the move impressed I became.
I had the lovely privilege of meeting Leandrew and Dillon both from a
charming little island in the Caribbean name Curacao. Sounds like CUR-A-SOW_ Both children spoke three languages. English, Spanish, Dutch and some Portuguese. Their English was beautiful. They began to tell me about their Country’s
history under the Dutch, their fight for independence, their independence day
10/10/10 and the difficulties of building a self-governing government. They went on to talk about the upheaval in their
Country today as their elected leader has recently been assassinated. I was
truly taken with these kids. Made me sad
to realize that I don’t expect we have too many 13 and 9 year old “kids’ that
speak three languages and so knowledgeable about their Country’s history and
current events. Sad! With all the resources at our disposal as a
Country to better educate our future generations we still fall embarrassingly
short. Leandrew and Dillon could have
gone on all night and I did find them captivating but, I needed to retire for
the evening so I invited them back the
following evening so I could be educated
eve further.
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The following morning Bill and Darby went Fly Fishing. That's an experience only Bill can speak to.
It was now time to "Hit the road". As we were prepping for our departure Bill decided we needed to make things "simple". In the spirit of keeping it simple, we opted to trade in our Bus for the new aerodynamic design of the "Road Pod". Seriously, two people were traveling in this pod.
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The following morning Bill and Darby went Fly Fishing. That's an experience only Bill can speak to.
It was now time to "Hit the road". As we were prepping for our departure Bill decided we needed to make things "simple". In the spirit of keeping it simple, we opted to trade in our Bus for the new aerodynamic design of the "Road Pod". Seriously, two people were traveling in this pod.
We were now headed to Colorado but making a stop in Wyoming first. We headed out and Bill handles the bus like it were a Volkswagon. No, seriously, he hauls butt at 76 and 80 on small roads and cliffs pushing 45,000 pounds of bus and, pulling the jeep. 60 feet of "big stuff" on the highway.
I have to grab my "grip bar", start a novena and be sure to say a fervent act of contrition while enroute to Rawlins, WY. More to Come.
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