As I finished the outside rv chores, it was starting to snow lightly. The wind had dropped but the few times I looked outside it was snowing.
Bear and I walked in the snow. The city lights reflecting off the clouds and the fresh dusting of snow gave enough light to walk the river walk in “the dark”. It was beautiful.
The weather forecast was for a “wintry mix” and high winds from Billings to Casper. I planned a daybreak departure to hopefully stay ahead of the storm or at least as many miles as I could while things were good.
It was partly overcast but a LOT of sun breaks and beautiful, clear air as we headed down the road.
Snow started showing on the ground in Wyoming but skies remained mostly sunny.
Sheridan, WY rest stop which is usually windy as all get out and lots of wild rabbits…light breeze and only 1 rabbit :)!
The last 20 miles into Casper were very windy and we got tossed a bit but it was quick and then we were here at 2:15 even after stopping on the way to the park for a nearly full tank of fuel…thankfully, gas is about .20 gallon less than MT!
So windy when we arrived that I kept slide in, but by 4:00 it had quieted down so out they went, I topped off water, dumped the gray…AND Bear and I have walked the river walk twice in daylight.
Time for supper and a relaxing evening. It is snowing now so departure in the morning may have to be a bit later but it is supposed to be warm and sunny so the plan is to get to Colorado Springs area tomorrow and a short day to my folks on Sunday.
Almost 6 years ago, I was here at Ft. Caspar Campground on a February trip to meet my folks in Breckenridge, CO.
Arrived at this gorgeous campground along the Yellowstone River at 5:30ish after a brief foray to an unknown spot in town that was horrible… my confusion in thinking this place was not open this winter…but called and it was so came on down the road.
Had a walk with Bear in the dark, but there is a wonderful pet area. More later…took some photos from the road and hopefully some are worth posting.
Folks arrived back in CO after a whirlwind trip to Lake Charles, LA to get goodies and my step-Grandmama!!
More in a bit.
*** MORE :)!
Friends, Patty and Fred are at Jim and Mary’s for the winter…we had a wonderful visit and Bear fell in love…
Hee…we all took the morning walk together. Patty and I were having a cup of coffee before I left. She was sharing the couch with Bear when he decided to get a bit fresh :)!
Down the road Bear and I went about 8:30.
I LOVE Montana!
Even with grayish skies it was beautiful. I didn’t get a photo, but Bozeman Pass – GORGEOUS!!! The sun poked through and lit portions of the mountains. Some blue sky to contrast with the overcast.
I had bare, dry roads all day and although signs warned of “Serious crosswinds” between Livingstone and Big Timber, there were maybe 5 kind of tough miles wind-wise…and nothing that seemed serious as I passed.
Approaching Billings, the sun was setting behind me and it made for a bit of cloud alpenglow over Billings.
Day 2 – a great day! Bear is doing so well and is a wonderful rv companion. I miss Mr. Bob but reports are that all is well at home. Wild Thing is being a champ.
Tomorrow – pending weather…Ft. Caspar at Casper, Wyoming.
Oh, Thanksgiving dinner aboard Wild Thing??? – Ribeye steak sandwich with cheddar and jalapenos on a homemade flour tortilla, oven baked fries and some cranberry relish – a little non-traditional but hit the spot! Dessert by Patty…some decadent cookie-bar-chocolate chip-cream cheese things.
The morning was beautiful and colorful as Bear had a run around while I hooked up the Jeep.
We rolled out about 11:30…an hour later than I hoped but I did not rush the departure chores or saying good bye to Mr. Bob.
Mr. Bear took his Captain duties seriously and we arrived Missoula on time to visit with friends who are here for the Winter.
First day out – wonderful! It is good to be on the road.
Bear is doing very well and seems comfortable with the travelling routine. We are seeing more dogs than our normal routine so I have high hopes that we will make some progress with socialization…especially as “Grandma and Grandpa” have 3 dogs and a cat…hoo boy :)!
Project deadline met at 12:30 p.m.
Motorhome de-winterized and loaded by 4:30 p.m.
Departure planned for 10:30 ish a.m. tomorrow morning with a short day to Missoula, 120 miles. Missoula is my usual first night stop which allows for a mid-morning roll out, a stop at the Polson Safeway and an easy drive/early park and setup so Bear and I can get our “sea legs”.
I’m pooped…the work, the back and forthing to the motorhome, a day that turned warm and blustery…it is 7:00 p.m. and I’m done.
Time for lights out and a good night’s sleep.
Next post hopefully from the road :)!
Wednesday, November 16…it looked like this and as I walked the loop, I thought to myself: “This is the absolute perfect amount of snow for the week before Thanksgiving…just enough to have that holiday feeling and not so much as to make it hard to get around”.
Later that afternoon, an email from a friend alerted me to a storm forecast for the weekend. It wasn’t so much for a lot of snow as it was for very cold temperatures and strong wind with blowing snow.
Huh… I decided in about 5 minutes of dithering to winterize the motorhome. It burns through a $60 tank of propane in 4-5 days when it starts staying below 20. While I grumbled a bit, it does not take long and it removed the tasks of monitoring (worrying) and runs for propane refills. I will de-winterize the first night out or maybe even the night before I leave weather permitting.
And although I had to unload all the freezable stuff, I use those recyclable psuedo fabric grocery bags that I have a plethora of, making it easy to unload and reload. Stowing things away, I can do first night out. With the short days and long nights and me not being a night driver, I will have plenty of evening downtime and will take at least 4 1/2 days for the 1260 mile trip to my folks.
In the process of unloading and checking all compartments, I found a quantity of stuff that doesn’t need to be aboard at all – obsolete electronics, Bob supplies (he’s staying home with his new gal-pal, Hailley)…. SO, a little de-cluttering done as well :)!
That done, it was back to work as there is a Tuesday project deadline.
So…Thursday afternoon it looked like this…
And then it changed to freezing rain…pretty, but I was glad that I didn’t have to go anywhere which is one of the reasons I can enjoy Winter so very much.
The forecast nailed it – not a lot of new snow but it got very cold and very windy and very wintry and I was very glad I was not trying to babysit the motorhome through a frigid cold spell. I promised her that I would fire things up shortly and we would be off for adventure soon.
Bear is absolutely loving the cold. His short stint of laying in the yard has regressed to being constantly in motion. There are perimeters to patrol, squirrels to chase, deer to sniff out…maybe the elk herd have passed through in the night or the local raccoon. Bear is on top of it all.
That was our week…that and getting the house and Bob ready to leave in Hailley’s care. A full week, a bit more jam-packed than is my wont, but all is in good shape. Currently the weather looks good for either a Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning departure – Adventure calls!