Ed Says - From Coeur D'Alene to Cody

Ed and Kay Update    

     It has now been 7 days since Darrell and Kathy began a separate route home and left us in Coeur d' Alene, ID.  However, we did see them again in Glacier Natl Park as our stay there overlapped one day with them as we did not stay in Coeur d' Alene an additional day as originally planned.

     We have missed the “Water Truck” and the company and security of our excellent traveling companions.  They are now on a fast track to the Forest River RV factory for some needed repairs and then on to Georgia.  We are on a slower track that will take us thru Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and ultimately back to Georgia, probably in about 10 days.

     After leaving Glacier we stayed overnight in a Forest Service camp ground located on a nice reservoir just south of Bozeman.  This was quite a learning experience!  Access into and out of the camp ground was extremely tight for our camper.  Since we have grown into a larger trailer than we have ever had, it is apparent that we must now be very selective in Forest Service campgrounds.

     We next arrived in Cody, Wy and stayed in a commercial RV park.  This was an excellent stop and we extended our stay and extra day to view as much as we could.  The Buffalo Bill Cody Center of the West was a vast museum that included five separate museums; Plains Indians, Natural History of the West, Western Art, Gun Collection and Buffalo Bill Cody.  Each was very well done and I spent seven hours there, Kay only about four.  Later we went to a chuck wagon dinner, cowboy/country music show that was excellent, and finished off the night attending a rodeo.  It was a great day.  

     The next day we visited the Buffalo Bill Cody Dam built from 1905 to 1910.  At the time it was built it was the tallest dam in the world.  We then visited Old Town Cody which is a collection of over two dozen buildings built in the wild west days of the late 1800’s.  After lunch downtown we visited the Heart Mountain World War II Japanese American Confinement Site.  This site held over 11,000 of Japanese ancestry from 1942 thru 1945.  This was a very informative visit and we were there most of the afternoon.

Tomorrow we begin making tracks thru Nebraska.

Got an e-mail from Ed and kay just before posting this and they ran into a hail storm near Cheyenne, Wyoming - they survived it without any damage.

Coeur D'Alene to Kalispell and beyond

31 July - Leaving Coeur D'Alene

     Kathy and I say our good-byes to Kay and Ed and we are on our way to Kalispell Montana. We have a reservation in an RV park that allows washing of vehicles and campers ....yeah! This is a long overdue chore.

     We leave Coeur D'Alene heading east on interstate 90 and pass through some pretty mountainous scenery through Idaho and cross into the Montana border. Soon after entering Montana we exit the interstate and take a beautiful ride along a river heading up to the Flathead Lake area and on into Kalispell.

     We stopped at one point to take photos and a couple fellows floated by on the river fishing and I shouted "fish fry tonight?"......the one guy said they were so happy to be in that place they didn't even care if they caught anything....just soaking up the scenery.

Montana Fishing

     After checking in at the campground Kathy went to work on cleaning the camper inside and doing laundry and I did some shopping and returned to clean the outside of the camper and the truck. A long day with a late dinner....started grilling chicken at 9:00....very tired!

1 Aug - Glacier National Park (part II)

     Yes, we did Glacier on the way up but since we were early (early June) the road to the sun was not open yet. Kathy bought a "going to the sun" tee shirt then and I told her it was illegal since we hadn't driven it.....so this trip back by was primarily to make that drive and hopefully do some hiking.

Going to the Sun Road View

     We were a little late getting started but made it to the park and we were not disappointed with the drive.....amazing, narrow, winding roads with huge drop-offs. We had to pull in the ears (mirrors) on our truck to feel better about passing oncoming traffic. I was worried that Kathy would be afraid but she was hanging out the window taking photos. It was a great drive/day but there were so many people there that finding a parking spot was difficult if not impossible.

Going to the Sun Road

Don't Look Down

     Ed and Kay are also moving this direction behind us so we found them set up in the same campground when we returned and we were able to assist with washing their vehicle and enjoyed another dinner together. We are heading out in the morning and they are going to do Glacier for a couple days.

2 Aug - Kalispell to Columbus, Montana

     We left Kalispell with plans to go towards Bozeman, Montana where I needed to get a prescription filled and we wanted to put ourselves in position to make it to Cody the next day in order to see the Buffalo Bill Cody Western Museum there that we have heard so much about. We ended up traveling past Bozeman and spending the overnight in a town called Columbus, Montana.
450 miles of driving and nothing too significant to report.... but we did make a stop on the way at Miles City and lunch at the Montana Bar...it dates back to 1908 timeframe. Ed and Kay had visited the restaurant when there 10 years ago and recommended the steaks. Heading there with a steak for lunch on my mind I was disappointed to learn that the restaurant (steakhouse) had closed and they were now running a sports bar out of the facility but the name was the same. The only steak on their lunch menu was a philly cheesesteak sandwich....just not the same and it wasn't all that good either.

3 August - Columbus, Montana to Bismarck, North Dakota

     I had been trying to contact the Forest River Company for a couple days to see if they could offer assistance in repairing our slide out on the camper....they are the manufacturer of the rig we own. I finally reached them Wednesday morning before departing for Cody and they told me that they could help but only if I could get there by Monday (August 8) morning. We are 1600 miles from Millersburg, Indiana so our plans changed and we are now heading to Indiana before turning south for home.

     We knocked off about 450 miles again this day as we headed across the remainder of Montana and on into North Dakota. We made a stop early on in North Dakota at the Roosevelt National Park to view the North Dakota Badlands from the scenic overlook....interesting to see.

Badlands in North Dakota

Continuing on we notice a lot of farmland, cattle, hay bales, and miles of corn and sunflower fields....yes and they were pretty to see. We pushed on to Bismarck North Dakota where we put it down for the night. We made a quick run to the store and were worn out so hit the sack.

4 August - Bismarck to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

     Another long day on the road takes us to the Minneapolis area. We notice in Minnesota that we are beginning to see a lot more trees on the landscape and of course, lakes. We located a county park just east of town called Lake Elmo Reserve park and it is beautiful....may be one of the best parks we've stayed in since we left home. Hiking trails galore and after all that driving a long walk was a welcome change.

     Early to bed as we have more driving tomorrow....trying to get to Indiana early so we can rest!

5 August - Minneapolis/St. Paul to Millersburg, Indiana

     As we left Minnesota we were looking at 525 miles to our destination and debated whether we should do it in one day or two....that is more than we like but getting there and resting for a few days also sounded good so that is what we set out to do.

     We travelled through Wisconsin soon after leaving the campground and we were both impressed at how pretty that state was.....many beautiful dairy farms, rolling hills and trees. After a spell out west you can really gain an appreciation for green trees ;-)

     Probably the worst part of the trip/drive so far was the toll roads, construction and traffic as we neared Chicago. Wouldn't want to do that again, in fact I think I would drive well out of my way to avoid that area.

     After a VERY long day of driving we finally rolled into the small town of Shipshewana, Indiana where we hoped to stay in an RV park near an auction/flea market...(it was recommended). What a pleasant surprise - this is a quaint little Amish/Mennonite town with folks running around in horse drawn carriages....pretty cool. Farms all around and still nice weather.

6 August - Rest Day

     We plan to rest over the week-end to recover from all the back to back driving days. We spent some time riding around and admiring the local community and found ourselves at an RV show/museum in Elkhart. This area is where about 90% of all RVs are produced and the museum was interesting but the rest of the show was not much.....after attending the one in Tampa earlier this year, it would be hard to top that one.

     This evening we went to an Amish restaurant for dinner that had been recommended. It was a great meal and a great way to end the day.

7 August - Rest/Golf Day

     We set up a tee time at a golf club called Knollwood County Club for this morning. It was about 30 miles north of where we are staying and near the campus of Notre Dame. We loved the golf course and had a great time playing it although we didn't score too well. After golf we took a driving tour of the campus of Notre Dame - wow, what a pretty campus.

     After that we decided to take a ride to the shore of Lake Michigan (just to see it)....we drove to a town called Michigan City which is still in Indiana. As it turns out not exactly the kind of rest a guy needs from driving as we were almost 70 miles from home when we turned around. Still a good day and wanted to make the most of seeing the area while here.

Plans - We are taking our camper to Forest River in the morning and hopefully will have it repaired same day......the plans are to spend one more day in this area and then make two stops on the way home - one in Lexington, Kentucky and the second in Chattanooga, Tennessee before heading on into Sun City. Planning to play golf in Lexington and Chattanooga - weather permitting.