A MOOSE OUTSIDE THE WINDOW  Up early, we stepped outside our RV, walked to the lake adjacent to our campsite, sat on a bench, drank coffee, and Kay spotted a moose. Donald thought she was kidding, but we both then noticed a moose calf. We watched the mother and calf moose eat for the better part of a half hour.

SHOPPING, OUR VERSION OF BEING PREPARED  After the day from hell yesterday, we decided to do some necessary shopping and other big city stuff today. Before departing we hooked up the rechargeable lantern to the 12 volt outlet in the truck, taking care of at least one thing. We stopped in East Glacier for breakfast, then drove US Hwy 2 to Kalispel, MT, via West Glacier. We passed a Fire Camp along the way as there have been 11 forest fires in Montana this year. In Kalispel, Donald got his monthly allergy shot, being shuffled from the ER to an Urgent Clinic, to a regular clinic. All told, it only took about an hour. Kay got the oil changed, had the truck washed, called Dad, and took prescriptions to Wal-Mart for filling. We went to Costco for gasoline, day packs, PJs for Kay, and cashews, then to Wal-Mart for the rest of our shopping which included an ice chest, a NEW BATTERY, propane cylinders, some groceries, and a sandwich from McDonalds.

ONE OF OUR BEST DRIVES EVER  On our return, we drove through Apgar and Lake McDonald, and then drove the Going to the Sun Highway.  It was unnerving, but Kay was such a great sport. In many places there was hardly any room for oncoming cars to pass, no guard rails, and what seemed like an infinite drop if the tire wavered just a wee bit. This was far more tenuous than the drive from the east side to Logan Pass.

LOGAN PASS  While at Logan Pass, we saw several big horn sheep, but could not stop to photograph them because of traffic. We parked, and hiked a mountain side trail to get a better look, and were lucky enough to see two mountain goats and two kids. We were close enough to touch them.

HE BLEW A FUSE  We survived the rest of the drive, and made it back to the RV, where we tried connecting the new battery. Unfortunately, we got our wires crossed, both figuratively and literally, blowing two fuses (Donald’s fuse was not one of them). Then, we discovered that the wire did not fit on the post, so we improvised and used one of the jumper cable clamps to hold the connection against the post; just like back in the hills of Arkansas! Aha, everything worked again. We both took showers, ate peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and went to bed early.

JUST A RELAXING, DO NOTHING DAY  We are still in Buffalo, WY, where we spent the day resting and getting ready to move north. Dick and Carolyn invited us to a picnic in the Big Horns, but we decided to spend the day quietly. We are both finally starting to realize what real retirement is like. Life is pretty simple right now in our little cocoon of the world. We get up when we feel like it (with dark shades in the bedroom we tend to sleep later), have a little breakfast, read, walk, clean-up, eat a little lunch, maybe take a nap, read some more or maybe tie some flies, listen to music, have supper, relax, visit with other RVers, compare notes/travels, and then go to bed when we feel like it. We’ve discovered that it takes us about 5 minutes to clean the RV in a joint effort. We have really enjoyed the dry weather–no humidity–and the gentle breezes. Temperatures in the 80’s are really great under those conditions and then it drops to temps in the 50s/60s at night.

NEWS FROM HOME  Oh, yes, we got word that Kay’s daughter, Karyn, got engaged this past week to John Matthew Adams. They are planning a June wedding on the beach in the Bahamas in 2008. Also, Kaden Higgins, our grandson is starting his first day of middle school tomorrow in Benton, AR. Boy, time really is flying by.

ONE CAN WORK IN AN RV  Today’s goal was for Donald to conclude, for the time being, his consulting work based on what little information he had; consequently, he worked all day and at least got basics and a pretty decent skeletal report finished. Kay headed into town for the museum and some shopping as the Donald is not pleasant to be around when working. At the end of the day, the rough draft report was emailed to the folks in Atlanta, with us to await further word. We’re finally ready to move on to MT.

TIME TO PAY THE PIPER  Today, we hung around the campground waiting on the package from the company with whom Donald consults. We paid for the extra 3 nights to camp, and asked permission to have the FEDEX package delivered. They said that FEDEX usually ran in the morning, so after it didn’t come in the morning, we gave up any hope of getting it until Monday. Then, a knock on the door sounded right after noon, and there were two young men bringing the package over. Donald reviewed the material, and worked on the report for several hours, after which we went for ice cream, and turned in for the evening.

BUFFALO HISTORICAL MUSEUM  While Donald was working on his report, Kay went to the Buffalo Historical Museum. She found it very interesting–lots of great Indian artifacts, clothing, etc., plus some really neat diaramas of battles. Not only was the area around Buffalo in the thick of many Indian battles, it was also in the middle of the Johnson County War–the fighting between the big ranches and the smaller ranchers or homesteaders (remember the movie, Tom Horn with Steve McQueen as an "enforcer" or hired gun). There’s an incredible amount of history in this area. It is also amazing that there are only a total of 500,000 citizens in the entire state of WY. Lots of land–few people! We haven’t been here in the winter or we would probably understand why.

WHAT DO YA MEAN, WORK? Today, we headed up to fish the North Fork of the Tongue River in the Big Horn Mountains, intending to pick up Dick Todd on the way. Just before we got to Dave’s ranch (1/4 mile, maybe), the phone rings and it’s a call from the company in Atlanta for whom Donald consults. We immediately lost cell service, so he phoned them back when we got to the ranch the house. Surprisingly, the phone call was to advise that they were sending some plans and a manual, expected August 1, for use in his preparing a fatal flaw analysis report. This was quite a departure from what he had been told just the past Monday. They were given the physical address for the RV Park to where they were going to FEDEX the package.
AN INCREDIBLE PLACE TO FISH  After the phone call and picking up Dick, we proceeded on the way to the Tongue River. We stopped in Sheridan, WY, to pick up some groceries, a fishing license for Kay, and some prescription meds. We traveled up the mountains and stopped at the Big Horn National Forest Visitor Center, which had excellent maps, books, etc. We drove a few more miles up into the mountains, and had a marvelous day fishing the Tongue River, with lots of big cutthroats being caught on a Chernobyl ant. The Tongue River was a small stream with many cut banks against which the trout would hide. Donald caught 5 fish in the 16-18 inch category.
Despite fish hiding along the cut bank overhang, Kay was able to fool some fish in the middle. The Tongue River is definitely a do-over.

FOREST FIRES IN WYOMING  There were several forest fires near our location, but we somehow avoided the smoke.


EAT ‘EM LIKE CORN ON THE COB  We stopped back by the ranch on our return home for dinner of fried brook trout (fried the way Dick and Dave’s mother fried them on their many trips to the mountains) and vegetables. Both Dick and Dave ate the little fish like corn on the cob. To Donald’s surprise, Carolyn Todd had prepared a birthday cake. He received a great card and presents, and it was a fitting conclusion to a great day.

HOW MUCH SICK LEAVE DO WE HAVE  We intended to fish Crazy Woman Canyon today, but both of us woke up feeling yukky with slight headaches. We lazed around all morning, then took long naps in the afternoon, feeling somewhat better. This was a do-nothing kind of day for us. We went to bed at the usual time, still not feeling great. For Kay, this is extraordinarily unusual.

HUNTER’S PARK  Donald got up early today and met Dick and Dave Todd at Deer Park for a drive into the Big Horn Mountains and a mule ride into Hunter’s Park for brook trout fishing. They rode for an hour and a half up to about 9,000 to 9,500 feet to reach Hunter’s Park, where the mules were hobbled and left to graze while they had a fantastic day fishing for brookies.

EXCELLENT MOUNTAIN FISHING  Donald used a hopper and a Chernobyl Ant and both were extremely productive. When they were ready to leave, they rounded up the mules, but one had thrown his hobbles, so the chase was on. The mule was caught and the hobbles found.

SADDLE SORE, BUT HAPPYOn the ride out they saw a cow moose, and met some campers Dave knew. After a visit with the campers, they continued the ride out, loaded the mules, and drove back to the campground where they let Donald out. He was so sore, both from riding and the right knee injured in a volleyball game in June, that he could hardly walk. Meanwhile, Kay got her hair colored in Buffalo and it looked great. She and Carolyn went to Sheridan, shopped, and toured the city.

UNIQUE RESTAURANTAfter a hot cup of coffee, English muffin, and blueberry jam, we did laundry. Dick and Carolyn came into town and we went to a café in Story, which was GREAT. Dick, Carolyn, and I had an anti-pasta salad, and Kay had a half sandwich and bowl of crab bisque. The restaurant was unique in as much as it also contained an artsy junk store. On the outside porch they had lots of ‘stuff’ you see along the way, but just never stop to investigate. In fact, Kay loved this particular picture frame shown in the photo.

Getting Kay and Carolyn together in stores like the one in Story is not always a good idea. It seems as if they never grow up.

A STORYed HISTORY  Story is a great little town at the base of the Big Horns that apparently specializes as tourist site–lots of cabins to rent, etc., and several nice restaurants. Story has quite a picturesque history and lots of famous people have lived or stayed there. It was one of Kay’s favorite places and she would put it on a list to return to on another trip. When we got back to the RV, we picked up our truck and went into town to pick up mail, shop, and buy fishing licenses for the next 3 days. Kay bought a knock-off of a Little Smokey Joe cooker and we put it together and grilled pork chops–excellent.

DRIVING THE BIG HORN MOUNTAINS  We slept in, so to speak, and had our typical English muffin, blueberry, and French press coffee breakfast. We decided to go hiking so headed up to the Big Horn Mountains, but instead of hiking, ended up driving to the Powder River Pass at just under 10,000 feet.

Coming down some S-curves toward Ten Sleep, there were many cars pulled over on the side of the road because an older van up ahead had caught fire and was burning badly. Many thought that the gas tank would blow at any minute. The driver and passenger were out safely. We continued to drive down the switchbacks rather than wait in traffic for something to happen, never knowing what had caused the fire. After making it down the west side of the Big Horns, we drove through Ten Sleep, Basin, Grey Bull, and Lovell, then back up the western side of the Big Horns using the northern route, which was a 10 to 11 percent grade. Those of you that know Kay well know she has a fear of heights, but she was on the inside of the mountain on the way up and tolerated it fairly well.

ANCIENT, FIRST PEOPLE MONUMENT  After making it to the top, we continued driving the high plateau to Medicine Wheel, an ancient Indian ceremonial place high in the Big Horn Mountains, also at nearly 10,000 feet. The Medicine Wheel–a place of worship, a National Historic Site, and an archeological mystery–is believed to have been created between AD 1200 and AD 1700 by placing hundreds of limestone rocks in the shape of a wheel roughly 80 feet in diameter; 28 spokes radiate from a central cairn to six smaller cairns around the rim. The Indians believe that everything in life is a circle and this is a perfect circle of stones with N/W/S/E compass points that are absolutely 100 percent accurate. No one knows for sure who built the Medicine Wheel, but Native American beliefs and archeological evidence point to its use as a spiritual site. Many people still come to the Medicine Wheel for inspiration, solitude, meditation, and vision questing. We saw several Native Americans using the Medicine Wheel during our visit.

DISCOVERING THE TONGUE RIVER  After our 3-mile hike to and from Medicine Wheel, we drove to Burgess Junction, Dayton, Ranchester, and Sheridan, then back to the campground at Buffalo. The Tongue River at Burgess Junction looked enticing, with lots of fly fishermen. It’s definitely on the list of places to go.

FOREST FIRE  We did notice a terrible wildfire burning in one of the lower canyons off of the Big Horn Mountains on our way from Sheridan to Buffalo. It was near the old town of Big Horn and a less used road access to the mountains called Red Grade. It burned for several days before they got it under control. Dick and Carol could even see it from the ranch which was over 15 miles from the fire.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL  The majesty of the mountains, the valleys, and an incredible blue sky just filled us with joy and gladness to be alive and in this place today. Praise God.

A REAL, OLD-FASHIONED RODEO We actually woke up cold; temps must have been in the 50s though they gradually rose to the 70s later in the day, resulting in not having to turn on the AC. We went to the Johnson County rodeo with the Todds; if you are a western buff, you’ll remember the Johnson County war between the cattle barons and the small ranchers. One of the requirements for the rodeo is that all the contestants must be from Johnson County, WY, and many of the participants were grandchildren and great grandchildren of those engaged in the Johnson County war. It was a family affair for the participants, with many of the rodeo events such as rescue riding, pole bending, goat tying, wild cow milking, calf riding, mutton busting, etc., involving parents and/or children. There were also the traditional rodeo events. Dick, now 64, had participated in the rodeo at the same arena with his brother Dave, when both were teenagers. Kay and Carolyn laughed and laughed at the events, especially the ones with the children. What a great old time rodeo that was–nothing like those ‘commercialized’ ones these days. No wonder it was such a great family event–everyone participated! Kay loved it!

After the rodeo and livestock fair auction, Dick brought us back to the campground, then returned to the fair to buy a sheep for slaughter while Kay took Carolyn to the ranch. It was a great day!