ALMOST A WASTED DAY Today, we awaited word on the Donald’s work, but absolutely nothing showed up. Kay went into town for some groceries and picked up a couple of great books on the area. After trying desperately to connect to the web via WiFi, we called both Verizon and Alltel, and asked about their air cards. Being loyal to Alltel, we drove to Sheridan to the Alltel store and bought one of the EVDO USB modem cards. Returning to the campground via the Walmart in Sheridan, we tried the air card and successfully sent an email using the Centurytel email address.

BUT WE CAN’T AFFORD THAT We had a light dinner of chicken noodle soup and enjoyed our usual ice cream dip at 8:00 p.m. The folks next door sat with us during ice cream and they have a huge Holiday Rambler diesel pusher. Kay was invited to tour the motor home, went inside, and came out with bug eyes at how nice and how spacious the coach was. Oh well, too rich for our blood.

ANOTHER BUCKET LIST ITEM We enjoyed a lazy early morning once again, then met Dick and Carolyn about 9:30 a.m. at the ranch and departed for Battle of Little Bighorn National Monument in MT. It was about an hour and a half drive. This was another area that Donald has always wanted to visit. The docents at the monument were very informative, and seeing the battlefield and its topography gives one a better appreciation of what actually happened.

A SAD DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY It was a very solemn tour, knowing that many US Army and Native American men gave their lives here at this battlefield, needlessly.  This fenced-in area holds many Native American grave markers.  It also made us a little angry that LTC Custer was so arrogant that he used no common sense and took no advice, sacrificing his troops.; the photo below shows grave markers from US Calvary troops.

This is certainly not the first time in history that arrogance and pride were a man’s downfall, but, it’s just a shame that LTC Custer (Donald refuses to call him General Custer) had to take so many innocent men on both sides with him. (Note: Custer was targeted NOT to graduate from West Point because of numerous problems; in fact, he was in the process of being expelled. However, with the start of the Civil War and the need for military officers, he was "graduated" and ultimately promoted to the brevit rank of Brigadier General. He had many problems and conflicts throughout his career, but had a couple of Civil War hero generals who took care of him.)

PEOPLE WATCHERS We ate lunch at a KFC near the battlefield and returned to Buffalo via the Wal-Mart in Sheridan. As is becoming the norm, we enjoyed a large dip of ice cream at 8:00 p.m. at the Deer Park office. This is quite a stopping-off place for many RVers. They arrive before 5:00 p.m. usually from AK, CA, or Yellowstone and leave the next morning by mid-morning, taking time to shower, wash their hair, and do the laundry. We’ve met folks from all over the U.S. and Canada. They are usually going or coming back from one of the above-mentioned destinations. It almost feels like a truck stop. We’re the most ‘stable’ ones in the park at the moment. Scary thought, huh!

MORNINGS ARE GREAT We immensely enjoyed another great day in God’s country. We slept to almost 8:00 a.m., then enjoyed a nice leisurely cup of French press coffee. Kay shopped at the grocery store this morning as we were out of essentials like bread and milk. After lunch, Dick and Carolyn came by; Carolyn dropped Dick off.

GREAT FISHING, OK CATCHING We, along with Dick, headed off to the Sports Lure for more flies and another trip to the Bighorn Mountains. After buying Half-Backs and Hoppers, we drove up in the mountains to Crazy Woman Canyon. After a descent of about 2,500 feet, we began fishing Crazy Woman Creek near what we thought was the bottom of the canyon, and immediately caught brookies and rainbows on Big Uglies and Halfbacks; we later found that the canyon descended another half mile towards Kaycee, WY. Climbing and fishing through the boulders is not for the tame hearted, but the rewards are many. After about an hour, we ascended back to the highway, then on to Crazy Woman Creek near the campground just short of the summit of US Highway 16 crossing the Big Horns. It’s a beautiful valley, but the fishing proved tough today. Donald managed only one small brookie here on a Dunn’s Dun, despite numerous rises.

GUESS IT WASN’T THE ONION The sewer odor is still with us, so it obviously wasn’t the rotted onion. When the dealer did the sewer fix, they obviously did not do a thorough job job.

A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP  We slept very well last night, awoke, and had a continental breakfast before doing laundry and cleaning the RV. Dick and Carolyn Todd came over for a lunch of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with homemade vegetable beef soup.

FISHING FOR NATIVE TROUT After lunch, Dick went with us to the Big Horn Mountains to fish. We tried Tie reservoir first, but Donald wore a blister on each foot by wearing no socks in dry wading boots. Since it was a long way down the canyon to fishable water, he returned to the truck instead. As we were readying to leave, Kay leaned her rod against the truck and the wind blew it into the door and blew the door closed. Obviously, the rod broke–not a good start for a fishing adventure. We brought three rods for the trip–two 5-weights and 2-weight; now, we’re down to the 5-weight and the 2-weight. We moved to the Middle Fork of Clear Creek and fished the little stream with thick cover on both sides. Donald managed to catch two fish on a flying ant and a regular ant, respectively, in the tight confines of the creek, and Kay almost ran into an elk walking from one fishing spot to another. Dick also managed to catch two fish. We then drove up towards the pass, and came upon a nice high valley containing Crazy Woman’s Creek. Donald caught two more fish, and missed 10, all rising to hatches. We’ll definitely try it again tomorrow.

Donald drove Dick back to the ranch, and upon returning, we had a nice quiet dinner of red beans, rice, and sausage, then ice cream at the office.

OLD FORT PHIL KEARNYOver the years both of us have read many historical fiction books written around the Indian wars of the mid-1800s. Terry Johnston wrote many novels about these wars and is one of Donald’s favorites. Today, we toured some of the notable historical and battlefield sites, very near Buffalo, WY. Most of the soldiers in the area rode out of Fort Phil Kearny.

WAGON BOX FIGHT  Two notable battles took place in this area. The first was the Wagon Box Fight.It occurred when Indians attacked a small number of soldiers cutting wood for the fort. The soldiers protected themselves behind overturned wagon boxes, and held off the Indians until help arrived.

FETTERMAN’S MASSACRE  The second notable battle was Fetterman’s Massacre.  Fetterman, a quick-to-act but slow to think, junior officer, was taunted into leading his troops in a chase of a decoy Indian. He was specifically ordered not to go beyond a certain point, but sensing easy victory, he went anyway. The mass of Indians were waiting for him, and the massacre occurred.

BRING HISTORY TO LIFE  It is one thing to read about these, and entirely another to see how close the fighting really was. The tactics used by the Indians are an excellent example of the "light" infantry tactics our army transitioned to in the early 1990’s.

NOT JUST ANOTHER FLY SHOP  After the short history lesson, we drove back into Buffalo to Dave and Sandy’s Sports Lure for T-shirts and fishing licenses. Kay purchased a Galvin OB-4 fly fishing reel for Donald’s birthday, but wouldn’t let him have it until it was wrapped. It’s for the 6-weight rods anyway, and none of those made it on this trip.

ENJOYING DEER PARK  We put red beans in the slow cooker with sautéed onions, celery, and bell pepper to cook for the evening. It began raining about 5:00 p.m. and rained 0.18 inch over the next two hours. Rain is pretty unusual in this area. We went for ice cream at the office (50 cents a scoop) and met a couple from Nova Scotia who had left for Alaska on June 24, and were already returning home after such a short time and thousands of miles–wonder how much they enjoyed the trip!

EXPLORING FISHING HOLES We had a leisurely morning, then rode to the Bighorn Mountains with Dick and Carolyn to look at some likely fishing places. The first place we stopped, we saw a great stream running down the mountain with large boulders in and around the stream bed.

HOW DEER PARK GOT ITS NAME We returned to Deer Park, then drove out to Dave and Sandy’s for hamburgers. The wind again blew like crazy at the ranch, and we didn’t put the awning down, again! We’ll learn better next time. Our Jayco Feather Light 29N is set up and working great. The RV park is probably called Deer Park because there are deer on the next property that are visible every night. We usually see a family of 5–a doe, buck, and three fawns grazing around dusk. There is a walking trail with a stream running thru the property, a hot tub and swimming pool, a laundry with a store, and very clean restroom/showers.

WHAT’S THAT SMELL?  After we awoke, we discovered a sewer odor coming from under the sink. All our stuff stored there smelled, too. Kay discovered a rotted onion under there, left there over the winter. We washed everything, and put baking soda there to absorb the odor. After a leisurely morning, we headed to Wal-Mart in Sheridan, WY, then to visit with Dick and Carolyn Todd at Dave (Dick’s brother) and Sandy Todd’s ranch outside of Buffalo, WY. We ate prime rib to celebrate Dave and Sandy’s birthdays.

WYOMING NATIVES  The Todd Ranch is in between U-Cross and Sheridan, about 18 miles from Buffalo. We had come out the year before and stayed at their lodge cabin on the property after our Yellowstone trip. Dave and Sandy, along with their adult sons/wives own the largest sporting goods store in Wyoming called Sports Lure, and it is located in Buffalo, WY. They have everything–camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, skiing, winter wear, outdoor clothing, and athletic equipment.

SAM, THE DOG  Their ranch house is beautiful, and a wonderful dog named Sam (a golden retriever) came with it. When they come home in the evenings, they have a tradition of letting Sam out of the car when they pull off the highway into their drive, and he runs down the road ahead of the car in a ‘race’ to beat them to the house. It’s his exercise for the day after being such a good dog at the store.

WE DIDN’T PUT THE AWNING AWAY  The wind blew like crazy at the ranch, and we’ve got to start remembering to put the RV awning away. The wind/breeze keeps one cool even though the temperature may be higher during the day. At night it calms down a lot as the temperature drops.

LEARNING ABOUT FUELING We departed Murdo, SD, around 8:00 a.m. heading west. We stopped in Walls, SD, for fuel and it was packed with Harleys and RVs towing Harleys. Two trucks pulled in front of us at the fuel station, almost negating our getting out. We learned to find fuel stops with plenty of maneuvering room.

DEVIL’S TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENTI-90 was almost bumper to bumper with Harleys. We drove through rain the next couple of hours, and the traffic abated somewhat. We made it through Rapid City, then Sturgis, and the number of motor cycles decreased dramatically. We had a crosswind as we entered Wyoming, and stopped at Devil’s Tower, one of Kay’s high priority destinations. Regrettably, they had no RV parking, so we had to drive through the area, around the visitor’s center, and back out. Anyway, Kay got to see Devil’s Tower. For those of you who are sci-fi fans, this is the tower that was prominent in the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

ARRIVAL AT BUFFALO, WYOMING We kept the crosswind through eastern WY, but it was a beautiful drive. We began to see lots of antelope as we crossed the SD/WY border. We arrived at Deer Park RV Park and Campground in Buffalo, WY, around 4:00 p.m., and it was a pleasant surprise. The folks at Deer Park knew Donald had to have WiFi for his consulting work, so they arranged a shaded spot for us near the office. We had a pretty quiet evening.

BUT WE’RE NOT GOING TO STURGIS We departed Nebraska City, NE, about 8:15 a.m., stopped for fuel and breakfast, and continued north. For the first hour, we had a heavy atmosphere, and our gas mileage dropped to a low of around 8 mpg. After the sun cleared the heaviness away, we averaged above 10 mpg. We began picking up more Harleys and RVs towing or containing Harleys the further north and west we traveled. The semis and big RVs pushed us around quite a bit on the highway. It seemed the faster we drove, the more we got pushed around. One truck, pulling a 5th wheel toy hauler passed us going so fast (90 to 100 mph) that it pulled our rear window up on the truck topper; not a pleasant experience. Unknown to us, this part of the week we are traveling is immediately prior to the huge Harley motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. They are expecting almost 300,000 bikers to be in the ‘area’ for this rally.

COMMERCIAL RV PARKS ARE NOT ALWAYS GREAT We stayed at American Lodge RV Park and Campground in Murdo, SD. It was not a particularly good campground, rating about a 5 on a scale of 10. Unknowing to us, they had raised their rates from $21/night to $31/night in honor of all the Harleys traveling through the area; it was not worth $31/night. The campground was right off the interstate and also right by it. The traffic noise was a nuisance, there were no shade trees, aand their pool was closed. Kay threatened to contact Good Sam Club and report them for false advertising and complain about their recommending it. Donald took a Tylenol PM and slept much better.

OUR FIRST LONG RV TRIP The time has finally arrived for our first long journey in an RV. Our current RV is a 2006 Jayco Feather Light 29N, and we pull it with a 5.4 L, 2005 F150 truck. We departed the house in Norfork, AR, about 7:30 a.m., stopped for gas and fast food breakfast, then on to the Todd’s to pick up the RV. We departed the Todd’s at 9:10 a.m. headed for Buffalo, WY, via Springfield, Kansas City, and St. Joseph, MO, the first day. We used Good Sam Club routing for the trip and they routed us through the heart of Kansas City. It was definitely a white knuckle drive for me. Kay, the navigator, and Donald, the driver, had a robust conversation about the route. Kay began doublechecking the Good Sam Club route because we don’t like going through large cities with our 51 feet of length. We began picking up a few motor cycles above Kansas City heading for the Harley rally at Sturgis, SD.

LEARNING HOW TO OVERNIGHT We made it to Nebraska City, NE, just off the interstate about 5 p.m. and overnighted at Victorian Acres, a Good Sam Park. We opted to stay here for our first night on the road. The RVers next to us (they operated an antique business and had traveled 80,000 miles via truck and travel trailer over the last two years) suggested that we not unhook, and just level the trailer/truck combo at our site; what a great idea! It will sure save us time