Little Bighorn, MT - Cabela's, Billings, MT - Livingston, MT - Cameron, MT - Victor, ID - Grand Teton National Park, WY

Thursday, June 6 - Monday, June 17, 2024

We've been busy seeing things and I haven't had time to update my blog.  Thankful for a day to catch up.

On Thursday, June 6 we drove to 7th Ranch RV Camp in Garryowen, MT for two nights.  We had full hookups for $53.25 per night.  It was a nice campground and they even give you 2 tokens for a 'free' ice cream.

We went to Little Bighorn National Monument on a beautiful, windy Friday.  They had a very good park ranger program and a video on the battle and battlefield.  The park ranger brought out some good points about how the culture was in the day.  Although Custer seemed a bit arrogant he was following orders - to get the Indians on reservations.  It wasn't right, but that was the mentality back then.

It was very sobering to see the gravestones of the soldiers and the Indians scattered all over the hills.  The actual battle took place over about a five miles stretch of the hills.  It's beautiful country with a sad story.

On Saturday we drove to Billings, MT to Costco to get the truck tires rotated.  First we went to Walmart and got resupplied, then to Costco, then we spent the night in the Cabela's parking lot.

It was pretty warm but cooled down at night, and the interstate noise wasn't bad either.  We took turns going into the store.  I bought a little lantern and John bought some new boots.

Sunday morning we left for Yellowstone's Edge RV Park near Livingston, MT.  My cousin and his wife who we went to Alaska with, Bill and Lisa, are staying there for a few months.  It's a beautiful area and I can see why they like to stay there!  It was $82.62 per night for full hookups.  A little pricey but worth it to see family.  The weather was rainy with a thunderstorm so neither one of us got a picture of the campground.  We went out to the Emigrant's Outpost for dinner.  It was really good to see them again!

Monday morning we headed to Blue Moon Saloon and RV Park in Cameron, MT for three nights.  It was full hookups for $54.94 with a military discount.

It was a nice little campground out in the middle of nowhere, but quiet and a perfect place for a base camp for visits to Earthquake Lake and Virginia City.

We went to Earthquake Lake area on Tuesday.  On the night of August 17,1959 there was a 7.5 earthquake in the Madison River Canyon.  Eighty million tons of rock collapsed into the Madison River at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, moving up the other side of the canyon.  I had seen pictures of the slide but nothing prepares you for the scope of it.  Truly amazing. Twenty-eight people who were camping nearby lost their lives, and the slide dammed the river, forming Earthquake Lake.  Helicopters were sent in to rescue the people that were trapped because the roads were either flooded or broken and they couldn't get out either way.  They quickly made a channel to release the Madison River.  There was also damage to the Hebgen Dam upriver from Earthquake Lake.  If you're interested you can watch a video about it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi8r82QpXM8&ab_channel=ForestService.  

Part of an old tourist cabin area.

This was part of the old road that now ends in the lake.

The slide area.

We didn't pack a lunch but we should have.  It took mostly all day to see everything.  We ended up in West Yellowstone at the Old Town Cafe.  I had a hamburger and John had fish and chips.  Both were very good.

The next day we went to Virginia City and Nevada City, MT.   Gold was discovered in Alder Gulch in 1863.  Within weeks Virginia City was a boom town of thousands.  Between Virginia City and Nevada City (1-1/2 miles away) over 100 million dollars was mined in the 18th and 19th centuries.  In the early 1860s, during the first three seasons, over 30 million dollars was taken out of the gulch.  The discovery of gold in Last Chance Gulch (Helena) in the summer of 1864 foretold the coming decline of Virginia City. Many residents soon moved to Helena. Virginia City's population collapsed to only a few hundred in the early 1870s and never recovered. In 1875, the territorial capital was relocated from Virginia City to Helena. After 1900, few new buildings were constructed in Virginia City and many old structures collapsed. Some were destroyed by fire or torn down.  In 1889 there was interest in preserving the town.  Today it is the best preserved example of an old mining town.  Many of the store owners just up and left, leaving everything intact in their stores.  

We rode the train from Virginia City to Nevada City and back.  It followed Alder Creek.

After we ate our picnic lunch we drove to Nevada City.  I had purchased a pass for the train ride, Nevada City Museum, and panning.  I didn't realize that the museum was a living history museum, with buildings being brought in from other locations to preserve them.  It was interesting, but we've been to other living history museums, so if I'd realized what this was I probably wouldn't have purchased the pass.

Ever seen a two story outhouse before?

After we walked around the town we went to the River of Gold panning area.  One would think by the name that we would be panning for gold, but it turned out to be garnets.  We got one pan each, and we both thought that would last very long, but it took me an hour to pan mine.  We got a few pretty garnets.

Thursday, June 13 we packed up and went to Mike Harris Campground near Victor, ID for four nights.  Bob and Gail Speer, friends from our Montana group, are workamping here for the summer.  It's a forest service campground, $15 per night with electric and our senior pass.  It's been fun catching up with our friends. We went out for Father's Day dinner to the Knotty Pine Supper Club. It was really good and pretty reasonable.

Right now as I write this it's very lightly snowing.  Much better than the heat and humidity at home.

On Saturday we went to Grand Teton National Park.  We had been there before on our way back from Alaska, but it was cold and raining and we couldn't see anything.  This time it was a beautiful sunny day with some wind.  We used our GyPSy tour guide (now GuideAlong).  They have many audio tours that are satellite based.  It senses where you are in a place and tells you about what's up next.  We really like them (except for their earth is millions of years old theory).  Here are some Teton pictures.

This is the house at Murie Ranch.  The Murie brothers and wives were instrumental in saving the elk herds and proposed many conservation efforts.  It was a very cozy house.

This is from the same angle as when Ansel Adams took his famous picture with the Snake River in the foreground.

Overlooking Jenny Lake

We looked ahead at the weather and decided to stay here two more nights.  We would have been traveling today in the rain, and we would have missed the snow, such as it is.

I can see I need to do the blog more often to break it up.  But sometimes I'm having such a good time I forget all about it.

Wednesday we're heading north.  Again the Lord is providing sites for us.  We are so blessed to be able to take this trip!

We'll be Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Enchanted Highway, ND - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND - Red Shale Campground, MT

Wednesday, May 29 - Wednesday, June 5, 2024

We left Regent on Wednesday morning and went up the Enchanted Highway.  The Enchanted Highway is the world's largest collection of scrap metal sculptures constructed by Gary Greff at intervals along a 32 mile stretch of two lane highway in the southwestern part of North Dakota.  From Wikipedia gives the history:  "Local artist Gary Greff conceived of the project and began building it in 1989, and continues to maintain the sculptures. He took inspiration from local wildlife and historical figures, including Theodore Roosevelt. Greff's intention was to revive his hometown of Regent, after decades of population and economy decline. In 2012, Greff opened a motel, The Enchanted Castle, in Regent, continuing the theme of the Enchanted Highway.  The State of North Dakota provided $75,000 in its 2019-2020 budget to assist Greff in maintaining the sculptures; prior to that year, he had used his own money and donations to pay for upkeep. The highway attracts approximately 6,000 tourist cars per year."

Gary really did an amazing job with these sculptures.  Here are a few.

We stopped in Dickinson to get fuel and go to Walmart, then drove to Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit.  We stayed in Cottonwood Campground site #30 for two nights, which has no hookups and no dump station.  It was only $7 a night with the senior pass and it was a nice campground.  The south loop sites were really small, which we didn't realize until we were driving through it.  So if you go stay to the north loop.  The even numbered sites are first come, first serve; the odd numbered sites can be reserved.

On Thursday we took the 'loop road' that doesn't loop because of construction.  It's a beautiful area and I'm so glad we went!

On Friday we drove to the North Unit and stayed for two nights in site #5 in Juniper Campground.  It also was $7 per night with the senior pass.  This campground doesn't have any hookups but does have a dump station.  It is all first come first serve.

I actually liked the North Unit better than the South Unit.  We saw many bison and the landscape was different.  Neither unit was crowded, which was nice.

Cannonball rocks.

Sunset from our campsite.

On Sunday, June 3 we went to Small Towne RV Park in Terry MT ($30 per night).  There's not much available along I-94 and this was full hookups which we needed after dry camping for four days.  It doesn't look like much but Mel, the owner, was amazing.  When we pulled in he greeted us with a welcome mat to use and a little trash can to put our trash.  He put a newspaper on our step the next morning, and in the evening offered some popsicles.  We've stayed in some resorts and never been treated so well.  It was right near the interstate but wasn't noisy at all.  The water pressure wasn't very good so we had to use the water pump, and the water was a little brown (they must get it from the Yellowstone River, which is brown), but we would stay here again.  Monday we drove the truck to Miles City to run errands.  We got some meat from a Montana meat processing facility (we haven't tried it yet), got the truck washed (yay!), had lunch at Arby's, and did a Walmart run and Albertson's for my yogurt.

On Tuesday, June 5 we drove to the Red Shale Campground near Ashland, MT.  It a forest service campground surrounded by ponderosa pines. I could spend a few days here.

The view from the back of our campsite.

Sunset from our campsite.  My phone camera never captures how beautiful it is.

We have been so blessed in our campsites.  The Lord has provided the best site in the campgrounds, one that is big enough and most have a beautiful view.  It's a blessing to be able to travel like this and see God's creation and our country.

John has said that the pictures and text on the posts aren't large enough, so I've made both larger.  We'll see what it looks like.

Tomorrow we'll be Roving On...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1