ate June 2019

Scenic, rural, quiet and French…very French. Data claims that 85% of Quebec people are bilingual- not on Gaspe though. People were very friendly and helpful, and our smart phones helped us all, however it was a bit of a challenge (arrogant Americans that we are, most of do not speak two languages fluently, and my so-so Spanish doesn’t work here:-)

Homard-Lobster. Moreu- Cod. Crevette-Shrimp. We got the important words down! lol Clare already new the word “croissant” so that helped 😉

St. Flavi- we visited the “people in the sea”- fascinating and the creator was adding  mosaics to one the day we visited. And then to formal gardens to see spring once again.

(there is still snow in the inland mountains here on Gaspe- June 21! UGH!)
(and on June 24, we hiked on the shore and found snow in the wooded areas- this is just not right!)

 

We camped at Fort Prevel- a golf course built around a WWII Fort with the bunkers still in place- in fact one tee is placed on top of a bunker! A campground, cottages and an un-used motel all overlook the ocean.

We explored Gaspe and Forillion National Park to the north-

Jacques Cartier landed here in 1534! And Perce to the south with the world’s largest Northern Gannet colony on Bonaventure Island.

And a Glass Overlook to Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island:

The wind blew 20-25mph for 3 days, which the locals tell us is not normal, so many activities were cancelled- Boat trips to the island, whale watches and bonfires scheduled for June 24- St. Jean de Baptiste Day- a provincial holiday in Quebec.

How windy was it? Well, this waterfall “fell”  up….

 

June 2019

Two years on the road as of June 27, 2019! WOO HOO!
And the stats are:
50,000 total miles —- miles this past year are 24,000
45 states
8 Canadian provinces and territories

And still happy, healthy and curious about what is around the next corner!

Late May into June, 2019

Still having wet and cold weather, but the cold snap is about to break we hear. Montana is very scenic and we are finding quieter places to camp…phew! Making our way across the very north of the country, Rt. 2, from here through Minnesota, Wisconsin and then across the UP of Michigan.
Eastern Montana is pretty much grazing land and farm fields- we were surprised! Not many places to camp either.
North Dakota- we’re in the Bakkan Oil Fields and wells, pump jacks and tanks are everywhere. The state has made a bundle of money on it, however the smog from flaring is very evident, as is the quick growth in towns and some visible decline already. Lewis and Clark State Park is on the Missouri River- which right now is feeding some of the major flooding down south.
The little town of Rugby, ND is one cool place! We found Prairie Village Museum that lets visitors overnight in their parking lot! The museum is a collection of late 1800s to turn of the century small town buildings moved here from around the area- from a general store with saltines still in the glass front case, to a barber shop, dress shop, western union office, bank, etc.

Rugby also boasts being the “Geographic Center of North America”- which it technically is not, due to modern calculations, but it has been a tourist attraction here for many years. And, they have a sign letting us know how far it is to Lubec- not that Lubec is the easternmost place in North America…
It is very windy here, apparently most of the time, as trees all lean, and people have try and try to grow wind breaks some which succeed and some don’t. One component we have seen for miles and miles is a hedgerow of common lilac, and they are blooming now! They must be super hardy here. We’ve seen hedgerows up to a half mile long! Behind the lilac might be a row of evergreens a bit taller and then a row of deciduous trees like aspen or cottonwood.

Minnesota- the west side of the state is rolling and farm land, the rest that we crossed is lakes, wetlands and forests…and, did I mention…killer mosquitoes! We are very near the headwaters of the Mississippi River- the river runs through Cass Lake where we stayed one night and on another night we camped on Sandy Lake and River which feeds into the Mississippi.

Rhylee update- progess, but not a full night’s sleep (for any of us) yet. We’ve added hemp dog treats which have CBD and THC to his bedtime routine. We thought that might do the trick, but it barely seems to chill him out, although he does seem hungrier than normal…just saying 😉

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin- A very interesting National Park Service area, actually National Lakeshore and National Wilderness. There are about 20 islands that, back in the day were logged, quarried and fished from, that are protected and pristine for the most part. We stayed at a Tribal Casino Campground right on Lake Superior within view of several of the islands. A boat trip through and around the island one day gave us great views of sea caves and lighthouses.

Upper Peninsula, Michigan- just had to explore this area. Keweenaw Peninsula is the little peninsula sticking off the top of the UP. It looks a lot like Maine, rocky shores, pine trees, and Lake Superior that looks like the ocean. There wasn’t much else there though 🙂 We did stop and buy some of the famous UP Michigan “Pasties” pronounced “pass-ties”- potato, meat and veggie “hand pies”, that Cornish miners brought here many years ago.

Crossing time zones and moving north messes up our internal clocks frequently. We have had sunsets near 10pm when on the western side of a time zone, and then we drive east and mover to the eastern side of the time zone and sunset is an hour earlier. And then add in they we are moving closer to June 21, the summer solstice, the longest daylight….

Moving through Ontario, lots of rain, lots of flooded campsites, lots of mayflies and mosquitoes, good highway, but slow speeds, expensive campgrounds…Lake Huron, Lake Nippising, Ottawa River, St. Lawrence River.

 

May 19-26, 2019

SNOW! and I don’t mean a flurry or two either. There is a lot of snow still on the ground here! They just opened this RV park in Grand Teton last week and had to plow it out! And it is cold here- we are in the middle of that cold snap and at 7000ft- so temps are freezing at night and maybe reach 45 in the day, and mostly overcast or showery. Brrrrrrrr……

Yellowstone has TONS more snow on the ground, except around any of the hot springs and geysers!

Steam vents from around Yellowstone Lake and Grand Prismatic Thermal.

Both parks were very, very busy, especially for so early in the season. Parking lots at some hikes and thermal places had a line of cars waiting to park, even before Memorial Day weekend. It is great to see some many people out visiting our great National Parks, however, for those of us that like to commune with nature, it is trying.

Wildlife viewing is big here. The young’uns were supposed to be around, but we only saw a few baby bison. Lots of Elk, but no young.

Derek came up in a camper van and spent the week with us. Because the weather was marginal he did lots of college coursework and we went sightseeing and hiking when we could.
Rhylee is still not sleeping well at night, so we keep trying different things.
Off to the puckerbrush and fewer crowds and people…we hope. First night out of the Parks and we were along the Yellowstone River with about 4 other campers on BLM land…sweet!

Early May, 2019

We’re hanging out in Derek’s area, yet he isn’t here- off on a National Guard training event for two weeks. But wait- who should up Mother’s Day but my son- they were released for part of the weekend. We met Derek at his apartment, had dinner and a nice visit. He will meet us up at Grand Teton in a week.
All the regular chores to get down while we are at Rockport State Park and also to check out a camper we may won’t to order for next spring. WHAT? you say? Didn’t we just buy this camper? Well, we did- a year and a half ago. However, since we full-time in our RV, and most people use theirs less than 2 months a year, by the time we trade this one in, next spring, it will be as if this one was 15 years old!
And again, like the last trade, we are up-sizing just a bit- a 5th wheel which will keep our overall length about the same and give us a bigger kitchen and more inside storage. It will be a bit taller, so some places we used to go, we won’t be able to, but that’s okay.
One RV dealer is right in downtown, just south of Salt Lake City. There was barely room to park our pickup truck- we wonder how we would maneuver a truck and camper there…The other dealer is up in Logan- a lot easily to move around up there. We shall see- one more to check out in Billings, MT.

Early May, 2019
Brush, CO- LOTS of beef feed lots! Hundreds, if not thousands of cattle, in finishing lots. In the US, more than 90 million cattle are slaughtered each year to feed us. And so that means there must be a lot of feed lots somewhere!
Stopped at Loveland for one night- and it snowed! UGH! and then we headed across the Rockies thinking to take a route that was not the interstate…oops…Rockie Mtn. National Park was not open, at least the road through the mountains. So we backtracked and came down the eastern side of the Rockies and picked up Interstate 70 for an hour until we could get to Rt 40 and head north and west through the countryside. And it snowed…in May.

A tiny campground along the Colorado River in Hot Sulphur Springs and it snowed.

Next we stayed at a (expensive) state park on the Yampa River.
What a gem- Dinosaur National Monument. A great little campground along the Green River with incredible views and this huge white cliff face rising above us. The Dinosaur Quarry Exhibit Hall is amazing!

This section of rock is in place as it was discovered and partially excavated. Now it is covered and stabilized for visitors to see.

During the dinosaur era, a great flood washed dinosaurs down the valley to this spot. They were covered in layer upon layer of silt and rock over millions of years and then the land wen thru an upheaval that pushed ancient layers up to the surface vertically. The fossils were found in the sandstone layer. This area has the oldest, most complete geologic record in North America- layer upon layer of different materials from different eras of the past. Fascinating!
We hiked back down from the Exhibit Hall and met a friendly work crew rebuilding the trail. Also, lots of wildflowers and petroglyphs.

 

Late April, 2019

Another state that we had not visited yet- Missouri…pronounced “Missour-a” by the locals, and now us! Roaring Rivers campground – cool little place along a once roaring river, but now a lovely stream packed with trout. The river is sourced by a deep, deep spring and so flows all year round. There is a fish hatchery near the spring that keeps the river in trout, which keeps people coming here.
Then on to Oklahoma- Twin Bridges campground- this one was a challenge, especially with our Rhylee. A major busy road runs right through the campground one way and a major highway runs through it the other way, with a bridge on either side and a very busy railroad all night long…needless to say, this was a setback for Rhylee sleeping at night. However, there is always something fascinating wherever we go- these two rivers- the Neosho and the Spring are full of Paddlefish- they have a long spoonbill- and are pretty much pre-historic. They can grow to 125lbs! The state tags them and you must have a special permit to fish them and must report online if you catch one.
We couldn’t decide how to get through Kansas to Nebraska, and then could not find our AAA map of Kansas (before we left Maine the first time, while I still belonged to AAA, we picked up every map of US and Canada, or so we thought). There are no diagonal roads thru Kansas, so we decided to go west through Oklahoma and then turn north once we are beyond the busier east side.
Osage Cove Campground– Army Corp of Engineers massive Kaw Lake on the Arkansas River for flood control and now power generation with nice campgrounds on the shore.
Have I mentioned the tremendous thunderstorms down here in the south? Another one line of storms took the night passing through with incredible long, rolling booms and bright flashes. It let up long enough for us to leave and then drive through another band of heavy rain and thunder.
Supply Lake, another Corps of Engineers campground, Oklahoma. Quiet campground strung out along the shore of a flood control lake.
Kansas! another new state for us. Winter wheat, fields of sunflower stubble, corn and windmills…and…who knew? Pump Jacks for oil! We needed two new tires for the trailer and found a nice dealer in a small town that fixed us up. Cedar Bluff Campground in Ellis, KS- very quiet here, half empty, even on the weekend, and lovely warm, sunny weather.
Nebraska- well, we didn’t see much of it, but spent two nights at a state park that was rather lackluster, however it was very quiet and we got some much needed rest.

We still haven’t figured out how to get Rhylee to sleep through the night- trying an herbal anxiety remedy now…and that didn’t work and threw off his digestive system. He has an appointment with a vet in Park City when we get there.

Not many photos, huh? We did enjoy our time passing through these states, the weather was nice; we kept repeating spring. However, I guess between being over-tired due to Rhylee, and the scenery being nothing spectacular…we didn’t take photos…just you wait though 🙂

April, 2019
Lake Chicot State Park- This park and lake are very interesting. The lake was formed hundreds of years ago. It was, at one time, an oxbow of the Mississippi River. It was cut off from the river and became a lake- the biggest oxbow lake in North America.
We experienced our first “tornado warning”! The warning was for most of Arkansas, parts or Texas, Louisina and Alabama. The focus was on several counties around us, but fortunately there were no touchdowns anywhere near us. We were camped next to a couple from Arkansas and we asked them about the warning and what to do- they were very laid back about it and were not concerned. That made us feel better, but….we are living in a little tin can that does not need to fly to another state on a whim. We had torrential rain on and off all day, lots of loud, rumbling thunder, some visible lightning strikes and not much wind. The thunder down here is very different than back home- very long deep rumbles, very loud and almost like surround sound. We did watch a funnel drop out of the clouds at one point (miles from us) and suspected it was a potential tornado- it broke up in a few minutes and never reached the ground. So, are we safe here in the south in tornado season? We don’t know, but will be vigilant as best we can.

 
Rhylee is still not back to a night-time sleep schedule…ugh…Clare sleeps in the recliner to re-settle him every time he gets up- about once an hour. It appears he has had another minor stroke- left side again. He doesn’t seem bothered about it, just keeps pluggin along. Headed right to the lake and almost fell in because his back left leg is week, but he didn’t care- gotta taste the lake. He’s not in pain, seems content for the most part, so we just keep gently working with him.
Lake Catherine State Park, Hot Springs AR- Lovely campground of the shores of Lake Catherine- many of the lakes in Arkansas were created by damming up a river.

A nice hike to a waterfall, some geocaching and napping 😦

Hot Springs is an interesting place. The National Park Service owns the dozen or so, turn-of-the-century bathhouses as well as a large chunk of land in the hills. Two of the original bath houses are operated as such, the rest are closed or have shops in them.

Back in the day, it was the “thing” to come to Hot Springs and take in the waters. Most of the bathhouses offered a private tub bath in the waters with cooling rooms, steam boxes and lounging areas. Men and women were separated, of course. The water comes from down deep in the earth and fell as rain over 4000 years ago! It was heated by the earth, not volcanicly like other hot springs and so is pure and does not smell! It is unique and interesting, however rather touristy.
We went to Garvan Woodland Gardens- awesome gardens amidst the woods. We missed the daffodil and tulip bloom, however the azaleas and dogwoods were beautiful.

Lake Dardanelle State Park- another dammed up lake. Across the lake is Nebo Mountain State Park- a crazy, narrow road up the short mountain, only 1200 ft in elevation change, yet some of the turns were 18% grade!

We hiked a rim trail with lovely views of the valleys and “knobs”.

We watched some barges and tugs go through the lock- one can move cargo all the way to Tulsa, OK on the Arkansas River.

Buffalo National River- another one we had never heard of! In the Ozark Moutains, this river is a great place for rafting and canoeing, and some hiking- we hiked to Hideout Hollow Waterfall-

the legend has it that Jesse James and his gang hid here!
Rhylee is STILL not sleeping through the night- yes, much like newborns when you can’t wait for them to sleep all night so you can, but Rhlyee is on the other end of his life and we wonder if we can get his cicadian clock switched back! We bought him a crate to sleep in to contain him a bit, and of course he doesn’t like that (even though he spent 11 years of his life sleeping on one), so we are attempting to train him to sleep in it, but all he does is pant when the lights go down. Oh for a good night’s sleep… for all of us.
Some improvement- walks in the late afternoon and evening and a light next to his crate- and we are getting 4-5 chunks of quiet, which means SLEEP! Hurray.

April 2019
We’re on the move, slowly heading towards Yellowstone and visiting states and places we have not been to before.
Natchez Trace Parkway National Park- ever hear of this one? We hadn’t, but I saw a long green line on the map of Mississippi and just had to know what it was. The parkway is a 444 mile long road, very narrow that has been preserved due to it’s history.

It starts in Natchez and ends in Nashville. “Kain Tucks” used this trail to get back home after floating their goods down the Mississippi to either Natchez or New Orleans. Kain Tucks were Kentuckians or other travelers from Mid-America areas. Once steamboats came into being on the rivers, this trail was no longer used. It’s history dates back thousands of years to pre-historic people that used this same route. Who new?

 
And now, more about sleep, or the lack thereof. It’s been a month with none of us getting a full night’s sleep…due to our sweet little Rhylee. We tried this and we tried that. We looked it up on line- ah ha! It’s typical in older dogs- flipping their day/night clock. Senility, cognitive dysfunction, etc. etc… Several treatments are available and seem to work according to on line forums. Clare called Rhylee’s vet back home and we got the low down.

SAM-e—good for people as well as dogs for help with mood and joints (odd combo, huh?)
Melatonin- helps one sleep
Benadry- makes one drowsy
Meloxicam-helps with aches, pains and sleep
Some at night, some in the morning. Rhylee thinks they are yummy treats. Three nights of this regime and we got about 7 hours of rest! YAY!!
So, we’ve hit him full bore with all of them per the vets advise and will back them off one at a time as the sleep pattern stays at night.
Apparently, our move into the beach house was the straw that broke Rhylee’s back, as far as routine, confusion and thinking. Just about did us in, too 🙂
And THEN…always one more thing right? We have a had couple of nights of thunderstorms. They last for hours and hours, sometimes lots of rain, sometimes not…and sometimes with hail- big hail-

fortunately the brand new truck only had a handful of tiny dings!
The Rhylee regime is not working….sleep deprivation…ugh!

We are following spring as we move north-

Late March, 2019

We are on vacation for two weeks at a beach house on Dauphin Island, AL. We stayed at a city owned RV park last spring for a week and enjoyed it so much we booked two weeks in a beach cottage. We’re right on the beach- all the houses are staggered on short roads, so everyone has space and views.

This is a test, too. How do we feel about living attached to the ground in 5x as much space? Well, for the first three days we were lost, confused and not as comfortable. How will it feel being back in our little cozy camper? What will we want to live in when we finally stop moving?

We are enjoying the view of the beach and ocean from the huge windows and deck. However, there has been a serious problem—bed bugs! YUP! I got several bites and could not figure out if it was mosquitoes or midges when outside, or fleas…or…bed bugs. Well, it turned out to be bedbugs! The rental agency has been great- came right out, checked out the situation, confiscated our bed linens( our personal ones that are only 2 months old), told us to order replacements by next day air from Amazon, told us how to wash and dry all clothing, and sent us down the beach to a oceanfront, large, beach house, AND refunded all, ALL of our money. Of course, this is all totally inconvenient- we spent a whole day doing laundry, packing up and moving down the road, back into a house up a flight and a half of stairs.

We were able to leave the camper at the bug-ridden cottage, and can go back and stay a couple nights there, before leaving the island.
We always say “things happen for a reason”, and so we will see what the reason for all this is…
Poor Rhylee though- he wasn’t sleeping well as it was, which meant we haven’t been sleeping well either- he can’t settle down once the lights go out, he digs at his bed, he wanders around, etc. So, the move to the big beach house has got him again, totally confused!
I think we all just want to be back in our cozy camper 🙂
Other than that “adventure”, it has been nice here- the beaches are lovely- the sand sings under your feet (like it did in Oregon), the temps have been in the low 70s every day and every day sunny!

What did we learn? We don’t like all that extra space. We love the huge windows and sunlight (we already knew that) and will add more lighting to the camper. And time will tell if there is more of a message here.