Sunday, September 23, 2012
Missoula, Montana, Heading West Today
Yesterday was a travel day for Anne-Marie and I. We pulled the Airstream from a KOA RV Park in Bozeman Montana to a KOA RV Park in Missoula Montana. The KOA RV Parks have turned into a standard for us, we have only had a few unpleasant experiences with this franchised brand and none this year. Choosing to to stay in a KOA is kind of like eating at a Denny’s or a Cracker Barrel restaurant, once you know their system, you know what to expect.
When I was driving yesterday, I needed a rest after driving a little over 130 miles, and we pulled into a rest area. I told Anne-Marie that she should take over driving because I needed a nap. Anne-Marie said that she couldn’t drive because she also was nodding off, so we both went into the trailer and took a 1 1/2 hour nap. This is a good thing about dragging your home with you, as you travel.
We refueled the van when we arrived here in Missoula yesterday, and the cost to pull the trailer for the last two moving days has been 43 cents per mile. We have been driving a bit slower, even though the speed limit on the freeway is 75, no wind, and only a few hills to climb, all this helps the travel budget.
The Sunday Morning News programs seem to keep us in the trailer longer on travel days, than the normal weekday news. Sometimes it is a struggle to want to unhook the utilities and get the van attached to the trailer, and move down the road. Once we get on the way, it becomes an adventure, and is interesting, but starting is kinda like getting ready to go to work, sometimes it’s a drag.
We have 400 miles of travel to get to Yakima Washington, and we will break it into two travel days. We haven’t yet decided which route to take, north through Spokane, or south through Lewiston, Idaho. When we get on the road, an executive decision will be made.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Napoleon, Native Americans, and Montana History.
Anne-Marie and I needed a second day to finish our visit of The Museum of the Rockies.
The first section that we toured was the Treasures of Napoleon Exhibit. This again is another time that I wish that I had retained the history stuff that we were taught in School. As the title says, it was a lot of gold, gilt covered, silver stuff and original paintings, artwork, manuscripts signed by Napoleon, and gifts given by or to Napoleon during his lifetime. No pictures allowed. I believe that there is no value established for any of the items, as they must be priceless, and most all are one of a kind.
The Native American exhibit did a lot to explain the hard work that the natives endured in just existing, and the hardships of being moved and confined to reservations that couldn’t support their skillsets and traditional way of life.
This hunter has a spear, and is launching it with a shorter stick, that has a cup on the end, nesting the end of the spear.
The Montana History Hall had displays that we hadn’t seen before. This display was showing about the introduction of balloon framing, and its introduction in Montana. Balloon framing is similar to todays framing construction, but it was called balloon framing because it was thought that it wasn’t strong and would blow away like a balloon in the wind. The picture of the kitchen stove, also shows a cutaway of the wall construction.
The sign and the airplane hanging in the exhibition hall show the story of two Montana farmers that built a this airplane in their home and largely in the house during the winter of 1931-1932, and it’s powered by a Ford Model A engine.
A Tarpaper Shack, and typical furnishings of the time. No utilities, water or electricity, and tarpaper siding. No frills living for the poor during the depression.
This open touring car is a Oldsmobile. A firefighting hose cart, and a 1930s Ford station wagon.
This is a wooden headstone marker, and it says that W.H. O’Dair was killed by Indians, July 26, 1854.
The inside of a sheep herders wagon. This herders wagon was used till the 1960s. This stage coach was used locally here in Montana.
There were several display cases of guns, and interesting stories of where they were used and how they were donated to the Museum. Trapping played a big part of the early history of Montana, and this display has a really large bear trap.
Today is a travel day for us, and we are heading west to Washington, one step at a time.
The first section that we toured was the Treasures of Napoleon Exhibit. This again is another time that I wish that I had retained the history stuff that we were taught in School. As the title says, it was a lot of gold, gilt covered, silver stuff and original paintings, artwork, manuscripts signed by Napoleon, and gifts given by or to Napoleon during his lifetime. No pictures allowed. I believe that there is no value established for any of the items, as they must be priceless, and most all are one of a kind.
The Native American exhibit did a lot to explain the hard work that the natives endured in just existing, and the hardships of being moved and confined to reservations that couldn’t support their skillsets and traditional way of life.
This hunter has a spear, and is launching it with a shorter stick, that has a cup on the end, nesting the end of the spear.
The Montana History Hall had displays that we hadn’t seen before. This display was showing about the introduction of balloon framing, and its introduction in Montana. Balloon framing is similar to todays framing construction, but it was called balloon framing because it was thought that it wasn’t strong and would blow away like a balloon in the wind. The picture of the kitchen stove, also shows a cutaway of the wall construction.
The sign and the airplane hanging in the exhibition hall show the story of two Montana farmers that built a this airplane in their home and largely in the house during the winter of 1931-1932, and it’s powered by a Ford Model A engine.
A Tarpaper Shack, and typical furnishings of the time. No utilities, water or electricity, and tarpaper siding. No frills living for the poor during the depression.
This open touring car is a Oldsmobile. A firefighting hose cart, and a 1930s Ford station wagon.
This is a wooden headstone marker, and it says that W.H. O’Dair was killed by Indians, July 26, 1854.
The inside of a sheep herders wagon. This herders wagon was used till the 1960s. This stage coach was used locally here in Montana.
There were several display cases of guns, and interesting stories of where they were used and how they were donated to the Museum. Trapping played a big part of the early history of Montana, and this display has a really large bear trap.
Today is a travel day for us, and we are heading west to Washington, one step at a time.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman Montana
Wednesday, Anne-Marie and I had a short day of travel, and we are staying at a KOA RV Park in Bozeman, Montana. We are settled in, and there is a few weeks of exploring here, but this pass through we have time for only one stop, The Museum of the Rockies.
This Museum is too large to see it all in one day, and if all sections were open, a week might be needed to explore it thoroughly.
There were displays of fossils with models of what the animal or plant would have looked like, and most all were collected in the mountain states. There was a room where the scientist types were using Dremel type tools to chip the stone away from the fossils. At different times there may be up to three folks working on different projects here.
Anne-Marie and a giant Mastodon skull. This is a cast of a fossil find, with real fossils, showing how the dinosaurs became stuck in a wet clay area. The mud primarily only held the younger dinosaurs, and it is believed that the larger ones were strong enough to pull free.
The central part of the US was covered in a shallow sea, and this animal is a air breathing four flippered, meat eater, and the fossils were found in the Mountain States. A display showing toe nails of various dinosaurs.
There is evidence of some dinosaurs nesting like birds, and some others just building a pile of eggs, covering and letting them be on their own. The case of the two dinosaur feet, are showing the differences between a Tyrannosaur, and a Duckbill.
These two cases show skull sizes, and features of plant eaters, and carnivores.
The inland seas and waterways had amazingly large and very ferocious animals. The large Nautilus shell was nearly three feet across.
The big room, called the Hall of Horns and Teeth, had large life size displays. I wore out at the end of the Dinosaurs, and rested by laying down on a bench at the ending of this exhibit area, while Anne-Marie was catching up with me.
We called it a day and walked briskly through the rest of the Museum and out the door. Today we are returning to the Museum to give the Native American Historical Hall, the Montana History Hall, and other exhibits a good study.
This Museum is too large to see it all in one day, and if all sections were open, a week might be needed to explore it thoroughly.
There were displays of fossils with models of what the animal or plant would have looked like, and most all were collected in the mountain states. There was a room where the scientist types were using Dremel type tools to chip the stone away from the fossils. At different times there may be up to three folks working on different projects here.
Anne-Marie and a giant Mastodon skull. This is a cast of a fossil find, with real fossils, showing how the dinosaurs became stuck in a wet clay area. The mud primarily only held the younger dinosaurs, and it is believed that the larger ones were strong enough to pull free.
The central part of the US was covered in a shallow sea, and this animal is a air breathing four flippered, meat eater, and the fossils were found in the Mountain States. A display showing toe nails of various dinosaurs.
There is evidence of some dinosaurs nesting like birds, and some others just building a pile of eggs, covering and letting them be on their own. The case of the two dinosaur feet, are showing the differences between a Tyrannosaur, and a Duckbill.
These two cases show skull sizes, and features of plant eaters, and carnivores.
The inland seas and waterways had amazingly large and very ferocious animals. The large Nautilus shell was nearly three feet across.
The big room, called the Hall of Horns and Teeth, had large life size displays. I wore out at the end of the Dinosaurs, and rested by laying down on a bench at the ending of this exhibit area, while Anne-Marie was catching up with me.
We called it a day and walked briskly through the rest of the Museum and out the door. Today we are returning to the Museum to give the Native American Historical Hall, the Montana History Hall, and other exhibits a good study.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Hills, Headwinds & High Speed
We have completed two days of traveling, each 300 miles, and being in a hurry, we have traveled at or near the posted speed limit on the highways. In Mitchell South Dakota I filled the van with what looked like a better fuel with a higher octane rating, but it was an ethanol blend. The octane rating was something like 89 or so, and the cost was less than the lesser octane rated regular. I think that the cost per gallon was around $3.74 at this pump in Mitchell. We have had two days travel with hills, headwinds or side winds, and being in a hurry, I have been traveling between 65 and 70 MPH, and our fuel cost has gone way up. The last two days of travel have cost 62 cents per mile, and we have felt the need to refuel midday to reach the planned stopping point. This fuel may not be the best preforming solution for our van, and I’ll be careful to not use it in the future.
Sturgis South Dakota is a town that is geared up for an incredible number of people in August. The grocery store even had RV utility hookups in the parking lot, as did several other parking lots down the same street. The town was pretty tame the evening that we were there, but it looked like it could handle thousands of visitors when the Motorcycle Rally is happening.
Anne-Marie and I traveled northwest on Hwy 212 and we saw antelope in small groups and large groups for nearly the entire distance, and there must have been hundreds of them. There must be some attraction to the Hwy, or their numbers must be in the thousands within several miles of the road. We were looking from the left and then to the right, here’s some and there’s some too, for over a hundred miles.
Today is another travel day, and it is becoming a bit of a drag not being able to tour any of the neat places that we have discovered. Anne-Marie wants to stop in Bozeman, Montana to visit a Museum, and I think that I will be up to the rest from driving, and a busy day of touring.
Sturgis South Dakota is a town that is geared up for an incredible number of people in August. The grocery store even had RV utility hookups in the parking lot, as did several other parking lots down the same street. The town was pretty tame the evening that we were there, but it looked like it could handle thousands of visitors when the Motorcycle Rally is happening.
Anne-Marie and I traveled northwest on Hwy 212 and we saw antelope in small groups and large groups for nearly the entire distance, and there must have been hundreds of them. There must be some attraction to the Hwy, or their numbers must be in the thousands within several miles of the road. We were looking from the left and then to the right, here’s some and there’s some too, for over a hundred miles.
Today is another travel day, and it is becoming a bit of a drag not being able to tour any of the neat places that we have discovered. Anne-Marie wants to stop in Bozeman, Montana to visit a Museum, and I think that I will be up to the rest from driving, and a busy day of touring.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Lunch in Murdo, and Spending the night in Sturgis, South Dakota
What is interesting about traveling, is that we get to see a lot of interesting places in our visits across the US, but a sad thing is that we can’t see it all. There is just too much to see and not enough time in several lifetimes to see it all.
Anne-Marie and I stopped at this diner for lunch in Murdo, South Dakota. The front of the building is a restaurant and gift shop, and the back of it is a museum of cars and tractors, and such. Anne-Marie is leaning on a huge car, it must have been made on a old truck chassis. The restaurant had a 57 Chevrolet on the roof and the gift shop had a 55 Chevrolet used as display case sides. The Museum looked to be the size of a football field, and a half a day could be spent there. Not enough time today, another place that we have to come back to.
We changed drivers at this rest area, and it made a good picture. Our home in Sturgis, for the night.
Today is a travel day, and Billings Montana is 300 miles away. We will be two days travel away from Yakima Washington.
Anne-Marie and I stopped at this diner for lunch in Murdo, South Dakota. The front of the building is a restaurant and gift shop, and the back of it is a museum of cars and tractors, and such. Anne-Marie is leaning on a huge car, it must have been made on a old truck chassis. The restaurant had a 57 Chevrolet on the roof and the gift shop had a 55 Chevrolet used as display case sides. The Museum looked to be the size of a football field, and a half a day could be spent there. Not enough time today, another place that we have to come back to.
We changed drivers at this rest area, and it made a good picture. Our home in Sturgis, for the night.
Today is a travel day, and Billings Montana is 300 miles away. We will be two days travel away from Yakima Washington.
Monday, September 17, 2012
On to Sturgis, South Dakota
Travel day today. We are in Mitchell South Dakota, and we are done with delays and want to be traveling west. We had a mail delay in Duluth, Minnesota, and now we are getting over a brake repair delay in South Dakota. We have four weeks before my annual physical in Hood River Oregon, and there is just enough time to travel to all of the places that we need to, to visit our family and friends. Just as soon as we are done in Hood River, we need to dash south to Nevada, to visit Anne-Marie’s family, and then on to Tucson.
The distance that seems to work for us on a travel day is 300 miles, we can do more but I get really numb early, and Anne-Marie, who usually finishes up the days driving, is ready to quit when we reach that mile stone. I did a quick check on a mapping program, and Sturgis South Dakota is a 300 mile drive from Mitchell, so that is our goal today. We haven’t stayed in Sturgis before, and it might be fun to explore another new town.
The distance that seems to work for us on a travel day is 300 miles, we can do more but I get really numb early, and Anne-Marie, who usually finishes up the days driving, is ready to quit when we reach that mile stone. I did a quick check on a mapping program, and Sturgis South Dakota is a 300 mile drive from Mitchell, so that is our goal today. We haven’t stayed in Sturgis before, and it might be fun to explore another new town.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Brakes are done
All assembled and torqued down to 120lbs, and good to go traveling tomorrow.
I found storage for the jack stands, and the 6 ton jack. I’ll need to use the new tools when we get to Washington or Oregon, when I pickup some more brake pads . Craig at Woodland Travel told me to not try to buy the parts from a RV Supply Store, because there are more people in the supply chain, and that equates to a much higher price, than a auto parts store.
Tires and brakes are hard work, and really dirty work, and I do this on demand, not for fun.
Tomorrow is a travel day for us, we plan to travel 300 miles, or so, and we will know where we will stop when we get there.
I found storage for the jack stands, and the 6 ton jack. I’ll need to use the new tools when we get to Washington or Oregon, when I pickup some more brake pads . Craig at Woodland Travel told me to not try to buy the parts from a RV Supply Store, because there are more people in the supply chain, and that equates to a much higher price, than a auto parts store.
Tires and brakes are hard work, and really dirty work, and I do this on demand, not for fun.
Tomorrow is a travel day for us, we plan to travel 300 miles, or so, and we will know where we will stop when we get there.
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