Montana to South Dakota

Sept. 16-30, 2013 Wheels West RV Park, Custer, SD

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Sweet words are like honey, a little may refresh, but too much gluts the stomach. 
Anne Bradstreet
September 16, 1672: Anne Bradstreet was the first American colonist to publish poetry—a move that shocked some in Puritan society.
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RV LIFE:

Goodbye Bozeman, we'll be back.

Montana "Big Sky" Sunset

Bridger Mtn. view from our "driveway" site

View from our "driveway" site.

Apples for the pickin

Scrap metal yard Moose sculpture

Scrap metal yard Owl sculpture

Why is it, I get so stressed on travel days? Even when I don't think I'm stressed, I find myself worn out and short tempered upon arrival. I need alone time, a shot of liquor followed by a glass of wine. We've been doing this for 2+ years. We have our routine of steps for preparing for departure. The dogs enjoy the ride. I enjoy the ride, since I get to knit or crochet the whole time. Scott is driving, so no stress there (for me). Because of the stress I may or may not be aware of, Scott thinks I'm angry with something he did. So besides my present stress, I now have to convince Scott he has done nothing wrong. It's all my problem, but it affects both Scott and the dogs. Sigh. 

We left Bozeman, MT two days ago in pouring rain. I tried to talk Scott into staying another day and just having a cozy, lazy, comfort food rainy day. I was all ready to drive into town to get ingredients for Scott's homemade soup or chicken and dumplins. But Scott said the rain wouldn't last, so off we went. 

When we first started RVing, we kept our daily mileage to 300 or one tank of gas. Now we prefer no further than 200 miles per day. Since Scott does all the driving, it's easier on him, we can have a more leisurely morning and later start and still arrive before 4pm. Our preferred arrival time is around 3pm.

We drove a little over 200 miles from Bozeman, MT to Sheridan, WY. An easy overnight stay at Peter D's RV Park. This is an average park, with a very friendly owner. The owner came out to our truck after registration and gave each of our dogs a huge dog biscuit. I like this place already.  In the morning, he stopped by to thank us for staying at his park and to have a save trip. Also in the morning, the stress began again of getting ready for another 200 mile drive. This park had a decent sized dog park. Devin found a beautiful Mastiff to play with. I don't know much about Mastiffs, but I was in awe of his beauty and aura. He was a dark brindle color, with that huge face and jiggly jowls. His short fur was so soft and shiny. I asked if he was a show dog and sure enough he was. I could just tell he was a beautiful specimen. 

When the Mastiff left, a standard poodle arrived next. But the idiot owner stood by the gate and held the gate open. He was not thinking. Well Devin was a little too much for the timid poodle and out the gate the poodle went and Devin followed and then Lyla followed. Oh boy! I'm still gimpy with my ankle and have a difficult time on uneven surfaces. So now I had to get Lyla back first. Since she can't hear, I can't call her. She was following the other two dogs. When she lost sight of them she turned around to look for me. I gave her the happy come sign (arms wide open) and she ran back to me. One captured, one to go. Devin and poodle were having a grand time on the nice, green, fertilized, weed free lawn that had a no poop sign. Uh oh! As I got closer, Devin took off and found the poodle's food dish and proceeded to eat her food. The owner's were not happy, but at least Devin was still for a while. I hobbled over to their site and was just about ready to nab Devin, when up pops his head and into the open trailer he goes. What is it with these people and open doors! Of course I didn't want to go in their rig, so I'm outside calling sweetly for Devin. No luck. He's got all kinds of new and interesting smells to explore. He finally comes out for more food and I finally grab him. I give him lots of belly rubs all the while inside my head fuming at not only Devin, but the *&$@! who left the gate open. Oh yea, I'm ready to travel. No stress here!

Another 200 mile day transitioning from WY into the desert like portion of SD and then back into the green area of SD. We were driving on Rt. 16 just before arriving into Custer, SD. It was a well maintained, 2 lane road. Beautiful views and an easy ride, until we arrived at Hell's Canyon. Oh boy, I think I'll just close my eyes and put my headphones on. This part of Rt. 16 was narrow with hairpin turns, no shoulder, and a steep drop off. The speed limit dropped down to 25-35 mph. Scott was not having fun. Our tires were on the white line and 6" past that white line was...well nothing except a long drop to the valley below! Thank goodness, this lasted only a couple of miles. When Scott saw the speed limit sign indicating 65 mph, he was able to relax again.

From Scott's facebook page:

Scott wrote: "We've finally pulled out of Bozeman, I really like the area. Our 5 day stay turned into a 3 week stay due to Deb's ankle sprain and truck problems. On our trip to Yellowstone the truck started acting up. Surging and lack of power. I figured we had a Fuel injector going bad. Bozeman Ford couldn't fit us in till the following Tuesday. We are camped in a great area, nice views, acres of open space, and, it's free. :) So things aren't all that bad. I changed the fuel filters and added injector cleaner hoping to fix the truck problem, no luck. Tuesday, at Bozeman Ford, I find injector 7 & 8 are bad. They drove me home, 10 miles, and came to get me at 2:30. Truck running great, and very happy with the price. No complaints with Bozeman Ford. Packed up Wednesday in the rain and headed to Sheridan, WY and and a over-night at nice RV park. Peter D's, right off I-90. Very nice owner, fenced dog park and an area to just let them loose. Also, good WIFI and cable TV. Nice area, I'd like to have stayed a little longer there. But, onto Custer, SD and the Buffalo round-up. Thursday, arrived at Wheels West RV Park in Custer, SD. Nearby sights include, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devils Tower, Custer's Last Stand and the Black Hills, and the yearly buffalo round-up. We'll be staying for 2 weeks and hope to get all the sights in. The truck ran like new, Deb's ankle improving, all is good."

GPS Tip: Add POI's (Points of Interest) to your GPS.

We have the Rand Mcnally GPS made for RV'rs. We feel safer with this GPS that will direct us only to RV accessible roads. At least in theory. One should never be too dependent on your GPS.

We have POI's for Animal Hospitals, Dog parks, low clearance & DDD (Diner's Drive-ins & Dives). 

When your special POI is downloaded into your GPS, these will pop up as you travel. When we arrive at a campground and then head into town, I can see and hear that there is an Animal Hospital nearby, or a restaurant featured on Triple D. It's an easy way to find a local dog park with turn by turn directions. That's Devin's favorite POI. 

Find POI's & instructions for downloading at POI Factory, Download POI, or of course Google Search!

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PETS:

Ratkin, Patches is exploring my lap and checking out the computer while I'm posting. Patches has become my little buddy. I love when she explores my face and her whiskers give me "butterfly kisses" and tickle my cheeks. This is my last week of pet sitting. The ratkins have been no trouble at all. My greatest fear was that they would die on my shift. Since they are both over 2 years old, it could easily happen. My rats only lived to 2 1/2 years old each. These two little ones seem to be doing just fine. I feel bad for the day one dies and the other is left. They cuddle together for most of the day.

We've come to the conclusion that Devin has a very sensitive stomach. We believe he is allergic to wheat. Since we switched him to a wheat free diet and adding corn oil to his food, his itching stopped. Luckily, in this day and age, it is now fairly easy to find speciality foods, wheat free being one of the easier products. 

Devin is also sensitive to beef. If Scott has a steak, he always saves a bite for the dogs. Poor Devin, as soon as he swallows that chunk of meat, it comes back up along with his kibble dinner. So we've learned to not give him beef. 

And lastly, Devin cannot handle grass even though he loves to eat it. Why do dogs eat grass and then it makes them gag because it's stuck in their throat? Whatever grass was around our site in Bozeman, MT was really tough on Devin. Bloody stool, throwing up, etc. He's doing much better now that we've been diligent in keeping him from eating grass. 

Devin can be quite the cuddler, when he's in the mood. I wish he would be more consistent. He's been "spooning" with me. I love it.

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BROWSING THE WWW:

Leftover Swap

Living the RV Fulltime lifestyle, we go out to dinner more than we did while living in a house. Here's an "app" to use for your leftovers! You take your doggie bag of food home with you, then send out a message via this app stating what kind of leftovers you have. Others looking to pick up some food, contact you and there you go. You don't have to eat the same meal a 2nd night. It works both ways. There are "givers" and "takers". Personally, I like leftovers. Plus, I would not feel comfortable taking someone's leftover plate of food. But, there may be others who find this as a good way to try out a restaurant's menu without paying for a full meal. To each his own.
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CRAFTS:
I really miss have a full length mirror. Yes, there are sliding mirrored doors on our closet, but the bed is in the way to really get a good view. With that being said, I have tried on this sweater I made, but not maneuvered around to see how I look in it. I don't expect to look good in it with all my extra weight, but I've got to accept that for now.

I've finished Sophie, which I call Silk Yoke Tee. The jewel tones yoke is knitted with 100% Silk, hand spun and hand dyed yarn from Astoria (OR) Fiber Arts Retail Store. I just HAD to buy this yarn because of the colors. This is my favorite color combo. The main part of the sweater was knit with acrylic Simply Soft yarn that I had around. I'm trying to use up my stash.

I increased the circumference of the sweater below the waist to compensate for my oh so womanly hips and backside. So this almost looks like a dress. I like to call it more of a tunic style tee...whatever...

Crocheted edge of yoke

Crocheted edge of sleeve

I am now in production mode of crocheting. It's that time of year again that volunteers set up a table at the Smithville Irish Fest in NJ for Adopt-a-Setter, Irish Setter Rescue of NJ. I used to be the person to register, set up & man the booth. Plus I would make things to sell to help in the fundraising. But now that we're on the road, that part of my volunteer life is over for now.  So even from way out NW, I will try to contribute.

Previously made samples

I am again making the shamrock pot holders. They seem to be a very good seller. They sell for $4.00 each. Unfortunately, I have had a very difficult time finding 100% cotton, Sugar n' Cream yarn in the large spool in the color I need. So I have to resort to crocheting the current pot holders in white and then dying them green.  I hope the dye turns out ok. I've found small rolls of forest green and the pale green, but nothing usable in the large skein. Sigh...

These are still a work in progress. To make the pot holder, I need two shamrocks and then I crochet them together. One shamrock would make a nice washcloth or small dish towel. I am hoping the white shamrocks will look like the green one on the right after I dye them. Fingers crossed.
If anyone is interested in the shamrock pot holder or dishcloth, let me know. Pot holders are $4.00 each and washcloths are $3.00 each. $1.00 added for shipping.