We really enjoyed our time in Yellowstone. The weather was perfect, and the dogs were super good sports. They had to stay in the car while Kip and I took turns viewing the spectacular falls and other attractions. We didn’t see any bears which disappointed Kip, but we saw herds of Buffalo and several elk.
Life on the road is not without its challenges. Just because we’re living in a vacation-like atmosphere where calories don’t count doesn’t mean everything is always hunky dory.
Yesterday and today, we have had to deal with a $1275.00 unauthorized charge to our checking account. In the process of trying to dispute the charge, which was the amount of a payment on a loan that’s been paid off for 6 months, they froze our account. We’re in our RV in Wyoming. It costs money to exist every day, and we need access to ours. Kip was getting nowhere with a long line of customer service reps, so I insisted crying might help and got on the phone. “How will I purchase my next rhubarb pie?” I wailed. “It’s spelled, r-h-u-b-a-r-b.”
Thankfully, it finally got resolved, but something like that makes you realize how we’re all too often at the mercy of customer service reps. They have all the power. They can be your angel or your nemesis.
Back to the travel log…
We left Gillette, Wyoming, this morning, and we’re headed for Yellowstone National Park. We spent the past two weeks spending wonderful quality time with son, Mason, his wife, Amy, and their son, Ethan. I even got to spend a little time with grandson, Mase Jr., who is attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie. I went with Amy to a football game in Cheyenne, and Mase met us there. It was a fantastic 2 weeks.
I should mention since I’m blogging about our rv travel experience, that we spent the first 3 days in Gillette attending an FMCA Rally. There were 2500 people attending, and their registration was down 800 from their previous rally. I’m sure fuel prices as high as they are had something to do with it. RV parks have all increased their rates, too. It’s amazing, though, that most parks are up to 50% occupied by permanent Rvers. The rates are always somewhat lower for full-timers.
While at the rally, we got hooked up with a vendor who was able to get the awnings to repair the 3 that were damaged by the Texas hailstorm we endured. That was a piece of good luck. We also got a new mobile internet provider which has made watching television and using our devices much better.
All in all it was a fabulous 2 weeks. We got to eat Amy’s great cooking several times, and Kip and I found good desserts at a couple of the local bakeries for our contribution. Mason and Amy treated us to an outing at the Frontier Auto Museum, which was amazing, and we ate at Lulla Belle’s, a local favorite where you can get a wonderful breakfast. We also spent a fun day at Keyhole Lake where Amy’s mom has a house.
Here are a few pics I took on our drive today between Gillette and Greybull. Next stop…Yellowstone.
Life is a lot about the numbers. Kip and I celebrated our anniversary on August 22nd, and we just happened to be in Casper, WY, where we were married 42 years ago. We experienced a flood of great memories.
We had a great time driving around and looking for our old houses.
Next stop, Gillette, WY, and the FMCA Rally. After the rally, we’ll be staying on to spend time with son, Mason, and family. Time to watch grandson, Ethan, play some football!
Wow! Did that 3 days go by fast or what! We arrived in Laramie, WY, on Thursday and attended the reunion Friday and Saturday night. It covered all the classes who attended Laramie High School in the 60s. I, for one, think the 60s had great music. My brother graduated in 62 and had all the albums and 45s, so I knew the words to all the songs. I graduated in 1970 from Murdo High School in SD. Kip’s sister, Karlyce, graduated from Laramie High in 70, and her class wasn’t honored, but she went, anyway.
Kip’s family was represented by all 4 kids, 1 from Laramie, 1 from Sheridan, WY, 1 from Greeley, CO, and 1 from Texas. I will say that for me, the siblings all getting together was the best part of the whole weekend.
There were over 500 attendees which I think was pretty good since the ages ranged from around 70 to over 80. They had an area where the pictures and names of those from each class who are deceased were displayed, which depressed some, but all felt they should be recognized.
One thing I noticed as I walked around and observed the attendees was that everyone was shocked that people had aged. It was like they thought everyone should look the same as they did in high school. One thing they did, which I thought was a great idea, was to have lanyards with everybody’s senior picture on them. There was no getting around it. Some people had aged.
We have moved onto Casper, WY, where we lived 40 years ago. We’ll be here for 3 days before heading to Gillette to see our son and his family and also attend an FMCA Rally. We’re happy travelers looking forward to the next adventure.
Karlyce finished strong with her nostalgic dinners. We had scalloped potatoes and ham, Mexican casserole, and pot roast with all the trimmings. She made peach cobbler, zucchini bread, and Mexican chocolate cake for desserts. Here are a few photos.
We left Greeley Thursday morning and took the scenic route to Laramie. We’re staying at a KOA that we stayed at 8 years ago when we were here. We were on our very 1st RV trip.
The reunion starts today. We have a grandson that attends UW, but he’s not here yet. We will see the rest of our son’s family next week when we get to Gillette.
We’re going to meet 2 of Kip’s sisters for breakfast. The 3rd sister is driving in from Sheridan and will be here early afternoon.
Registration is at the fairgrounds. They’re going to have food trucks, displays, and music from 4-11. First, we’re going to visit the cemetery and drive by all the places everyone remembers from growing up here. Unless you’re a new reader, you know that I love reunions. Eat your heart out, cousin Lav.
We’re still having a good time with Kip’s sister, Karlyce who lives in Greeley, CO. The weather has been almost as amazing as the food. Karlyce is still taking Kip down memory lane by fixing dinners their mother made. I get to go along for the eating.
Since I last reported, we’ve had fried trout with cole slaw, and hamburger gravy served over torn up slices of bread. This caused a little argument. Kip remembers his mother frying hamburgers, which they cut into pieces and tossed with the bread before pouring white gravy over the top. Karlyce, and as it turns out, Kip’s other 2 sisters remember their mom browning crumbled up hamburger and making the gravy with the crumbled hamburger in it. I’m probably not explaining this right, but I’m here to say it is great comfort food. We ate it with yummy sweet corn and sliced homegrown tomatoes.
Yesterday, we took a beautiful drive up to Estes Park. Nellie and Rylie even got to go. Karlyce and I did a little shopping in several of the cute touristy stores before treating ourselves to a great lunch. I had an Elk burger, which was delicious, until I walked outside and saw several Elk basking in the sun. I felt bad.
We usually eat breakfast out…
We have 2 more home-cooked meals to look forward to before we waddle to the reunion. Man, oh man, Karlyce is a great cook!
One of the things I love about RV life on the road is that every day is different. Even if you’re in one spot for a couple of weeks as we currently are, you experience new sights and scenes each day.
Yesterday, I went to lunch with my sister-in-law, Karlyce, and a group of her friends. After lunch, we went back to her beautiful little stone church for an hour of fellowship. Karlyce asked me to read a poem from my “Rhymes for all Times” book. I read, “On any Given Day,” which they seemed to enjoy.
Wednesday night, Karlyce prepared another nostalgic dinner that her mom made when the 4 kids were growing up. She made chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes and a fresh fruit salad made with fruit and sour cream. It was all amazing. Kip and I brought lemon bars, which are something my mom used to make.
I would encourage you all to take the food walk down memory lane. It prompts a lot of fun conversations about growing up and family times.
This weekend we plan to drive up to Estes Park. We used to go there a lot when we lived in Denver and Kip, and Karlyce’s mom lived in Loveland.
The weather continues to be gorgeous. Coming from Texas, where the heat has been relentless this summer, it’s a real game changer.
The following are pictures taken at the Sheels store. What a fun place. We bought a bunch of dog paraphernalia.
One day, while driving around, Kip and I made the sudden decision to become full-time RVers. Once we make a decision, especially an important one, we typically storm ahead and don’t look back.
I have to admit that after being sidetracked for 6 months due to Kip needing back surgery, I have had the occasion to look back. The other day, it dawned on me that other than the vast amount of liquid assets we have squirreled away (just kidding), we have everything we own with us. We didn’t leave anything back home. There is no “back home.” Our immediate family members reside in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, and California. Our dogs are with us.
So what is home? It’s a 38′ RV that has recently been pummeled by hail. We’re in the throws of arranging for it to be fixed. Thankfully, we have insurance. That can happen to a house, too, of course.
We had the RV washed and waxed the other day. (Sharp inhale when Kip told me it was going to cost $500.00.) You have to paint and do other upkeep on a house as well, right?
I don’t really mind the smaller living space. We’ve been graduating downward for 10 years. We have a nice little patio that we can put down, and we really enjoy that.
Our biggest frustrations while traveling are bad highways and road construction. Our house shakes, rattles, and rolls. One of my jobs is to find a good RV park for each stay. Often times I search just a couple of hours in advance because we’re not sure how far we’ll get, especially if there is a lot of road construction. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a necessary evil. We’re happy to see improvements in the country’s infrastructure. Finding a park to stay in can, however, create anxiety.
The plus side is we can spend a lot more time with family and friends and they don’t have to put us up. We have our own home with us. We get around to more places than we would if we took car road trips and had to stay in a motel with 2 dogs. We really enjoy new scenery and doing a lot of fun activities. We have all our own things around us. I don’t really like motels anymore. I prefer my own sheets and towels.
Best of all, we can travel with our pets and thankfully, they are good travelers.
I’ll be sharing more thoughts about all of this as our adventure continues, but…So far, so great!
After 2 nights in La Veta, CO, we headed for Canon City on Monday morning. We stopped at the Royal Gorge RV Park around 3:00. By the time we went to Walmart to pick up some salads and other essentials and walked the dogs, it was too late to do any sightseeing.
This morning, we were up and out early and drove the 3 miles to the Royal Gorge Bridge. Turns out we were up too early. The park was not going to open for an hour. We only cried a little because it was $35 per person to get into the park. I’m sure it would have been well worth the money.
The Royal Gorge Bridge was constructed in 1929 by the Royal Gorge Amusement Company at a cost of $350,000 (today it would cost more than $18 million).
The Royal Gorge Bridge is 18 feet wide and 1,260 feet long, and 956 feet high
After looking at it, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take the walk because I don’t like heights.
After the Royal Gorge, we drove to Lyman, CO where we got a spot at a KOA. I’m now doing laundry. Ho Hum…
