BACK TO THE USA
Friday 13th
July
– Our last morning at Aspen Crossing
and it just happened to be an amusing one, eh ALLEN?
We
both went for showers at the same time, nothing unusual about that. After showering and getting dressed, I opened
the door to leave the Ladies Wash Room, only to see a very bedraggled Allen
standing in front of me. He was covered
in soap and shampoo and had a towel wrapped around his waist.
“My
Loonie doesn’t work”, he said. (A Loonie is a Canadian dollar coin). Of course being the loving wife that I
am, I just dissolved into fits of giggles.
“It’s NOT funny. I’ve been
standing out here for ages!!” That set me off again, more uncontrollable
laughing.
Goodbye
Robert, Mary, Buster and Toffee we’ll miss you guys and of course the fun of
travelling in convoy.
Our
trip towards Montana
was hot and fairly uneventful. We
stopped at Fort Macleod
for lunch and it was a good opportunity to use up all our Canadian Loonies
before crossing the border into the USA. Actually we still had some loose change and
decided to empty our pockets into a box on the counter entitled “Fort Macleod
Santa Fund?” HoHoHo
Montana
Johnsons of St Mary
In
1953 the Johnson family settled in St Mary’s and without any experience started
up a campground and restaurant. Today
the family run business is still thriving.
We spent a very pleasant evening perched high on the mountain side.
The
following morning the stormy weather was hanging around so we made the most of
a free Shuttle Bus from St Mary’s to Logan
Pass at the Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park is 1562 sq miles but
is fast approaching extinction. In 1850
it was home to 150 glaciers but today it only has 26. Those that are left are melting rapidly due
to global warming.
Walked along the snow fields and saw a Hoary Marmot up close and personal. The Ranger gave a talk about global warming and the effect it has on animals and bird life.
Allen
got some great shots of waterfalls, lakes and mountain flowers.
It
was an excellent trip and the Shuttle Bus ran every 40 minutes back to St
Mary’s. All free.
For
the next couple of days we drove South and stopped at a number of RV Parks. Some good, some bad and some ugly!
The
one I want to mention is Jim &
Mary’s RV Park at Missoula. A
lot of love and hard yakka went into the gardens with 4 staff weeding, pruning
and planting all day long in extremely hot weather. The facilities were immaculate too.
It
was time to hit the road again. Got as
far as the delightful little town of Darby (still
in Montana).
This
was a typical wild west town that was revving up for the annual “Darby Logger Days” event at the
weekend.
The
little horse & buggy (plus large dog getting a free ride) was a great
sight.
Deb’s Restaurant did us proud. We walked in for lunch and rolled out an hour
later!
The restaurant was packed with locals and Deb welcomed us with open arms. She
had the winning combination of good food, right price, friendly staff and a fun
place to relax.
Idaho
17th July -
Buddy’s RV Park, Idaho
The
name Buddy’s hit me between the eyes
as our son Andy once owned an unforgettable dog called Buddy and I thought it
would be a nice place to stay. How I
wish we’d kept on driving!
It
was a basic sort of campsite with the owner running a Petrol Station adjacent
to the RV Park. It was situated right on
the Salmon River
so I thought it would be a good excuse for Al to throw a line in. The evening came and went without a hitch.
The
next morning I went to the Laundry and put on two loads of washing, then took a
shower in the Wash Room next door to the Laundry. Allen was in the next cubical also enjoying
an ablution.
I
stepped out the shower and all of a sudden there was a loud gurgling noise
coming from the direction of the drain.
Without warning "raw” sewage (I'm being polite) spurted out the
drain and gushed all over the floor. Aaarrggghh With dripping wet hair I grabbed for my
towel and opened the door only to find the Laundry was also flooding and there
was warm soapy water and poo everywhere!!!
OMG
I’m
clever, I know water and electricity doesn’t mix so before getting electrocuted
I thumped on Al’s door to warn him.
Unfortunately he couldn’t hear what I was saying but reacted quickly to my
screams!
What did I do? I ran through the campsite like a maniac praying
my towel would stay in place. Moments
later Al shot out the door like a bat out of hell. I watched him run like the wind, again with
just a towel wrapped around his middle, no shoes and his eyes fixed firmly on
the RV.
I
was thankful that the Buddy campers
had an average age of 92 years so by the time our near naked bodies streaked
past their window they were probably still looking for the Cornflakes!
The
major flood was reported to the Manager who sent two members of “Dad’s Army” to investigate. The photo says it all.
Craters of the Moon National Monument,
Arco, Idaho
The
Park certainly lived up to its name. The
view for 140 miles was black lava and cinders.
Sagebrush was the only colourful plant growing in the cracks of the black
volcanic rock.
We
were able to walk around some mini volcanoes and take photographs of the
spatter cones (looked like a pile of horse manure). Lava bombs like huge rocks of many shapes
scattered the landscape.
Not
much in the way of wildlife but it appears to be home to the Pika, a rat-like
animal who can store dry grasses in summer and use it when it snows.
The
dark landscape made it a very hot place to camp. Every time we walked into the RV we flung in
a layer of black cinders all over the floor.
Survived one night and then moved
on.
The
journey across Idaho was mostly barren and colourless. For hours the only scenery was vast areas of
wilderness and long stretches of straight road.
To
amuse ourselves we would look out the window for something interesting to
photograph. When Allen spotted a train he waved to the driver. The
driver responded by sounding the whistle long and hard.
We
were delighted and drove further along the road to overtake the train and take another
photograph. We both jumped out and waved
again. Wonderful. Got some amazing pics then raced back to the
RV.
OH NO…..WE
HAD LOCKED OURSELVES OUT!!!
OK,
no spare key, the phone inside, no water or hat, no tools (other than us) and of
course all the windows were securely locked.
Just for the record we chose one of the most isolated roads in Idaho to get stranded.
It
was boiling hot and there were no trees to shelter under. Allen’s will to survive was greater than mine
and he started wiggling the windows to see if any would come loose. No luck.
Allen instructed me to look along the side of the road for a thin piece
of wire to jiggle the lock….I failed miserably.
He then suggested I stand in the road and flag the next vehicle
down. Failed again, no traffic!
Almost
an hour later I suddenly realized I had a hair clip that might just work. Halleluiah!!!! Allen was able to pick the lock and open the
window.
Next
dilemma, which one of us was strong enough to “leg-up” the other one through
the window??? Just call me Samson…...judging
by the speed Allen was catapulted through the window I think I would have been great at ‘tossing the caber’.
I
still had the camera in my pocket so got this wonderful shot !!!!!!
When
we finally settled down and stopped laughing Allen drove to the City of Minidoka
(population 112).
The Town Hall was not
much bigger than a double garage and there were no shops but we sat on the
grass in the Park and ate our lunch still giggling about our misfortune.
Suddenly
the phone rang and it was our son Daniel.
It was such a lovely surprise and when we relayed our tale he said,
“Sounds like a typical Gaut story”.
Lake Walcott State Park, Minidoka County
Lake Walcott is an oasis in the middle of a desert.
After miles and miles of barren land it was wonderful to see green grass
and healthy trees.
The
two ladies in the Registration Office, Robyn
and Lynne, were salt of the earth type
people. A joy to talk to.
The
State Park was a glorious hide-away, the facilities were clean and the grounds
were manicured. The only down-side were the pesky mayflies making their annual invasion. If you dare walk near a tree that housed
them, they swarmed at your head, body, arms & legs…..and if you were really
unlucky they aimed straight for your tonsils. I don’t
know how many I swallowed during my two day retreat.
Allen saw a long snake crossing the path and asked the Camp Host whether it was dangerous or not. Before she could get a good look, the snake slithered down a hole (never to be seen again).
The
Park had mighty powerful sprinklers all over the campgrounds and we were warned
they explode once a day. The Notice
pinned to our picnic table said: BE PREPARED.
Much
to our amusement the sprinklers came on around mid-day when the majority of the
campers were away enjoying the boating and fishing activities. Due to the hot weather most of them had left
their roof and window flaps open. They
were totally oblivious their tents were being soaked with jets of water
hammering from all directions.
Next
thing Lynne came along riding the “mule” (her name for the buggy) and we said,
“Oh look at those tents getting saturated”.
To which she replied, “Yeah, it’s kind of fun to watch eh”. Lynne you have a wicked sense of humour. HAHA.
End of 13th
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