July 25, 2010 - 2 months away today!

View from the back porch.

We left Hawaii two months ago today. This is the longest I have been away from home - ever. I'm not homesick, but I am appreciating our stay in Harvey, being in one spot more than overnight and being in a house - a nice house at that - rather than an RV, and meeting Lisa's family. 

The landscape in Harvey and at Lisa's brothers is different from what we see in Hawaii and every bit as beautiful and serene. Yesterday, JoAnne and Steve got to have fun on the farm...

Lisa's Dad, Duane gives JoAnne tractor lessons.

Ben (Lisa's nephew), Steve and Kerry (Lisa's brother)

...and of course - Pancakes in Harvey

July 23, 2010 - From Harvey, ND - at Lisa's brother's home.

Yesterday the weather in Stanley was miserable, rain and thunder and the roads were not safe with all the big-rig traffic servicing the oil boom. So, instead of the guys riding we headed for Harvey. We got here around noon and as Kerry, Lisa's brother, said to do we made ourselves at home. No Harvey pictures yet, but here are a few leading up to Harvey...

We stayed the night in a motel parking lot. All the RV camping was booked - oil workers. This is a view from Lucy. The gray buildings are temporary housing.

Lisa plots our route...

Stevie B enjoys pancakes at Charley's Main Street Cafe, downtown Minot. Charley's was a step back in time, a gathering place for old timers.

A hui hoa!

J.

Hey everybody....if you have not read Steve's crazy guy on a bike blog....check it out. Just click on the link at the right and it will take you into it...go down to contents and start with the intro and it will take you through our whole adventure from the beginning from a riders perspective. And Steve has some amazing photos....you see a lot more when you are riding a bike...and it is easy to stop and enjoy it.

also I think if you click on a photo you can view it larger....try it. I can do that but it could be because I am set up to post. Check it out and let me know.

07/20/10 - Catching up from Williston, ND

07/11/10 - This is where we stayed in West Yellowstone. The camp host Jean was so friendly and helpful it made up for the cramped - cozy spaces.

Still in West Yellowstone - Here's Stevie B testing the pancakes at the Timberline Cafe. Click on the link to Steve's "Crazy Guy on a Bike" journal for more on our trip...from the biking perspective.

07/18/10 - It's not all fun and games. Here to the left you see Bobby at our campsite in Terry, MT. tending to Lucy. She really needed the attention.

07/19/10 - To the right, Lisa fills Lucy up for our journey on to Savage, MT. Lucy uses lots of fuel. Thankfully - it costs less here on the continent than on the Big Island.

07/20/10 - Today in Sidney, MT. we stopped at what is the fanciest McDonald's I've ever been to. How about you? Fireplace, lounge chairs, TV!


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This is the spot where we stayed last night. The parking lot of an agate museum. The owner, Tom Harmon, is a very nice and interesting fellow. Read Lisa's post for more on this.

Trixie - after being groomed today in Williston, ND
The bows are out already...she doesn't really like them. She tells me Jenny - the groomer was very nice, but nobody is as nice as Auntie Frances.








Somewhere on the road to Williston. The landscape is quite different from Montana.

I have been a little short on photos lately - maybe JoAnne will have some today. Last night we camped in Savage, MT. The campground only has about 4 campsites and they were full so the owner sent us down to his Montana Agate shop and told us we could camp in the parking lot.....so that is what we did. He had electricity for us and we were right along the highway with a lot of semi trucks passing by us at all hours of the night. Just a bit noisy but that is life on the road....you never know what you will get.

Tonight we are in Williston, ND at the Buffalo Trails RV Park. It is large and full of full time oil workers here in Williston. There is a big oil boom here and apparently not enough housing for everyone because a lot of them are living at the Buffalo Trails RV Park.

North Dakota is full of rolling hills, fields full of huge round hay bails, and cows and horses grazing in the pastures. It is picturesque in a pleasantly calming way. Maybe I will post some photos tomorrow. We should be in Harvey where my Dad and brother, Kerry, live in about 3 days....and we will take a little rest there and visit family.

JoAnne took Trixie in to be groomed and we are going to pick her up in a couple hours. She is going to look like a sheared sheep but she will be cooler. Hope everyone will recognize her....I guess she is the only dog we have with us so you probably won't have too much difficulty.

JoAnne and I were just talking about how nice it would be if we could get a "margarita" delivery here at the Wagon Wheel RV park we are staying at in Forsyth, Mt.....it is 92 with a projected high of 98....and a margarita sounds heavenly.

Everywhere we go in Montana there are trains. They seem to run all night long, tooting their horn and alerting everyone to their presence. It is a nice sound but not so much when it is at 3 a.m.

Some of the great things about traveling like this is seeing the countryside, seeing all the small towns along the way, looking at the other lifestyles.

Some things I miss at home are of course my bed and taking baths, the temperate climate (really didn't know just how much I appreciated our mild temps until I got here and am living closer to nature with no "house" to insulate me from the outdoors). I miss having a toilet just in the next room....when we are in our tent, we use a 5 gallon bucket for that convenience....and let me tell you, it isn't as nice as my toilet at home.

Yesterday there was no camp ground in Custer where we planned to stay but there was a city park with a hose.....I stripped down in the park and used that hose for a shower....didn't really care that much if I had privacy or not ......though the town was small and no one was around so not much chance of being seen. Life on the road gives you opportunities you just don't have at home!!!

I am so excited. JoAnne is letting me use her old blackberry phone and she just got it set up so I can get email on my phone....that is so high tech for me I am beyond myself. Now if I can figure out how to do it.

We are in Livingston Mt., which is a cute little town. I had a pedicure yesterday which quite a lovely pampering experience. We are going to Columbus Mt. where we stayed last year....for free, in a city camp ground on the river. Free is good as it has been a bit pricey staying in some of the RV parks lately. But for free you also do not get services so no water, electric or wifi tonight...just the basics.

It was so windy in Livingston we were not even going to set up our tent last night for fear it would go the way of JoAnne and Steve's tent

....which you can see on the main page....totally flattened it. And now they have to get a new tent...we did not want that to happen to our tent too...but then the wind died down in the evening so we did get it set up. It was so windy walking down the street yesterday I felt like I was barely moving as I took each step. Apparently that is common in Livingston.

Old Faithful

Sorry about this folks...I didn't realize that the video would be on it's side...

Bison Crossing the Road

071210 - Yellowstone National Park

Steve and I took a bus tour of Yellowstone National Park today. The bus company was Buffalo Bus Tours and our tour guide, Jay, was fantastic. This was our first Yellowstone trip and I am so glad we took the bus tour. We saw a lot of wonderful sites and Jay shared a wealth of information and had a great sense of humor.

We saw wild life galore: a bald eagle, a bull elk, several bison, a chipmunk, ducks, a pelican. Keep hoping to see a bear...

Celistine pool.





Bobby sox trees, called that because of the white bottoms. These are trees that have drowned - they are not burned. the silica in the water affects the root system and the trees die.

A view of Yellowstone lake.

An artsy shot of a column of the Yellowstone Lodge.

Above: The Yellowstone Lodge. The oldest of the three Yellowstone lodges.

Below Left: Artists Point - Photo does not do justice to this exquisite canyon and all the pastel colors.

Below Right: This bison decided to cross the road by the bus. It is after all HIS road.

Above: Stevie at Artist Point
Left: The lower falls. Awesome.

This is another photo of Norris...it is actually the only thing Bobby and I did today - view Norris. There is some road construction going on in the park and we have been here before so were content to have an easy day. We stopped for a picnic along the river and read our books and didn't really do too much. This was a rest day while Steve and JoAnne take a tour of Yellowstone.

It is really windy and I am so glad we are in a protected area - so we don't lose our tent too!!!

Tomorrow we are back on the road...

Here you can see more details...still love those colors. There are a zillion fly fishermen in Yellowstone, well actually in this whole area of Montana. It is obviously the summer sport of choice. There are "fly" shops, lodges that cater to the fisherman, and everywhere along the riverbanks you see them standing in the river in their hip boots.

This is Norris geyser in Yellowstone Park. I love all the colors - not sure what that is from, the minerals I think. If I was the type who read all the info at the museum I would know the answer to this but...I am not that type of person.

July 11, 2010 - Blogging from West Yellowstone

Sula, MT. 7/09/10.
It was good enough for Lewis and Clark, it's good enough for us. This RV park, like a number that we have stayed at, is for sale.

Twin Bridges, MT. 07/10/10. This structure was in a park where they have made a camp just for cyclists. The structure was built in 1900 for $608.25.


Not sure, but it sure looked like a jail.

07/10/10. Just after we go the tent set up a wind and rain storm passed through. Within five minutes our tent looked like this. Rain fly is torn and two poles split...and we were so loving our tent. Thankfully, the four of us can cozily sleep in Lucy when necessary and Bobby and Lisa also have a tent too.

07/11/10 - Street scene in Virginia City, MT. More on this in Lisa's posts below.

We're in West Yellowstone tonight. Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but we will keep you posted. Maybe a day long bus tour. More shall be revealed.



Aloha,
JoAnne and Steve

I have a cell phone again, so you can call me at my old cell phone number. JoAnne let me use an old cell phone of hers...so I am in business again...feel free to call. Just remember the time zone here in Montana. Hope to talk to you soon!

This is Bobby riding between Twin Bridges MT. and West Yellowstone. The mountains here are endless. We just cross one set and there up ahead is another set, or to the right or to the left is another set. These were the Bitterroot Mountains.

This is downtown Virginia City, MT. It was such a great combination of museum and real businesses. The city is owned by the state of Mt. because of it's historical significance. It was a mining town in its early days. Today, more of a tourist town but in a good way, not disney land but more real.

Virginia City was a total surprise for us...we were just driving along this morning and discovering it was such a treat.

JoAnne and I decided to continue our trip in Lucy the RV rather than taking the stagecoach. I hear they are pretty bumpy and I don't think all our stuff would fit. How did they do it in the old days? I guess they didn't have very much stuff.

IF I didn't already have favorite new shoes, these might be it....saw these in a store window in Virginia City, Mt.

We are on our way to West Yellowstone and tomorrow we will be spending the day touring the park and the bike ride will be on hiatus.

Cute old store replica with old time cash register

Today JoAnne and I went through this historic museum/town called Virginia City. There were old stores/businesses set up as they were in the 1800's. Really fun place. Some were just to look at and others were actually shops you could buy things in.

Bobby and I have been thinking of different ideas for a house plan and are attracted to the old 1940's quonset huts. Today i saw this old grain bin that had been turned into a house and just loved it. What a great idea! I loved it so much I put this photo in twice

Here is another pic nic table option that I havn't seen before...they stack them on top of each other. The advantage here is that there actually is a seating surface and it has a sort of sculpture effect.....so much diversity when it comes to pic nic tables...who knew?

The Bobcat hat was $360 and I really couldn't imagine having a lot of use for it in Hawaii so I decided not to buy it....but it was fun to wear for a few minutes.

I found this wine in another store in Seely Lake and thought the label was just too cute so here it is for all of you see too....didn't buy that either....can only imagine what Plunger Head wine tastes like. Some people are really creative.

We stayed at Woods Bay RV Resort and Marina near Bigfork Mt. The town was cute but a little like Disney Land...not quite real it was so cutsied up. The days were gorgeous and warm and it was lovely to just hang out for a day.

Here is also a photo of Bobby riding between Big Fork and Missoula. We camped at Jelly Stone RV park in Missoula last night....lots of paraphenalia of Boo Boo and Yogi Bear....it is definitely a kids place. The most expensive place we have camped yet $43. Yikes. Okay, off for the day and on our way to Sula Mt. and should be in Yellowstone in a couple of days.

relaxing at Woods Bay Mt.

We were shopping in Seely Lake and found this great shop with earrings and then I saw this Bob Cat hat...so soft and those are the front legs and paws hanging down the sides of my face.

July 5-7 -

View from YR RV PK campground, where we stayed in East Glacier.

Left: Stevie "B" finishing Day 19, his second century ride. East Glacier to Big Fork - 108 miles.


Right: Trixie gets groomed even while camping.


Tomorrow we head from Big Fork, MT. to Missoula, MT. We're heading for Yellowstone NP. Hey, hey, Yogi.

Blessings to all.

Supan's cell phone

Bobby and Lisa's cell phone got wet on a bike ride the other day. We set it in a dish of rice, hoping to dry it out and have it come back to life...but alas, no such luck. You can reach me by email and I will get back to you when we have wifi access. Or you can call us on JoAnne's cell phone. Not sure if we will get another cell phone or not...we will keep you posted.

Happy July 4!

The sights in Glacier National Park are spectacular. The mist and clouds make for some very dramatic viewing.

We stayed in Avalanche Campground. Found this wonderful tree on our walk to the river. Don't let Steve's board shorts fool you - it was brrrr - shiver outside.

This was taken from the Canada side...yes we made it back to Canada.

Scene on our drive from Waterton, Alberta, Canada to Cut Back Montana.

I'm really enjoying seeing and hearing the trains...

At the River View RV Park, where we are staying tonight, there are these fantastic rock formations.


Until next time...