Made It To Montana!

Rolling, rolling, rolling . . . keep this fifth wheel rolling! Isnt' there a song that goes something like that?

Since I last wrote, we have finished up our Washington coast visits, caught the last one in Astoria, OR, survived the Seattle traffic, been buried in the southeastern hills of the Blue Mountains, trekked through Spokane . . . and are now in Montana!

Bay Center, WA - a great little park off the beaten path, but right in the heart of 'clamming' country. This is the first park we've found that actually rents out 'clamming rakes'. They also have a neat pathway right out to the coast, which turns into 'mud flats' when the tide is out. Perfect for clamming! Thought we would never get here over the ever winding Highway 101 - but it was better than facing Seattle traffic.

Illwaco, WA - new owners here, turning a very old, tired park around. Found a newly remodeled laundry and did my least favorite chore. They still have some work to do, but they have accomplished so much already.

Astoria, OR - this one was just across the bridge - but what a bridge - over the Columbia River. A very large park, but the staff graciously loaned us a golf cart to do the 'walk-about', which saved us so much time! Reminded us of our campground days, as they had the same log building that we built in OKC - only the bigger version.

Seattle - or bust! Had been dreading this one - not the park - the traffic getting there. Actually, it wasn't quite as bad as we had been told, but it must get that way, for there were digital highway signs that flashed the projected travel time to the towns along the way. The best thing was finding a Sam's Club just a couple of miles from the park and we stocked our freezer to the brim, to hold us till we see Oklahoma again. Roger took time to schedule an oil change for the truck. What should have taken only a couple of hours turned into 4+, for after the truck was finished, he was to stop and pick up a couple of things we couldn't get at Sam's. The drug store I had found on the internet wasn't open yet, then the WalMart that Sylvia (our GPS) sent him to had closed . . . needless to say, it wasn't Roger's day. Guess he had quite a 'tour' of the surrounding area before he finally found a WalMart. I ended up doing the exit review at the campground without him, but it went fine.

A full day of driving to Dayton/Pomeroy/Blue Mountains KOA in southeastern Washington. This is a small conversion park, formerly called "The Last Resort" - which is very aptly named. We drove through miles of wheat fields. It reminded us of western Oklahoma - only with lumps! The wheat fields roll up and down over the hills for miles on end. By the time we reached the park (19 miles off the 'main' road, which is not exactly what we call 'main'! GREAT folks in the middle of their Hawaiian weekend festivities -and we finished our day with a pineapple/coconut ice cream sundae at their evening social.

Felt like we truly had been 'buried' for we had no cell tower for our phones - on either phone - and only strong enough internet to get e-mail in and out.

When we pulled out of The Last Resort, we were directed to take a 'secondary, secondary' road to cut off some miles. The only problem, it was a gravel road - and it went straight up! I swear it felt like the fifth wheel was sliding sideways. The road was very aptly named: Blind Grade Road! It was one of those that is basically one-lane around the curves. Thankfully we only met one car - and he pulled over to let us by! Roger kept saying "No problem!" Maybe it wasn't for him, but it was for me! The road was such a 'washboard' that it nearly bounced our coffee pot off the counter . . . and it is tied down! So glad to get to pavement finally, and we made it on into Spokane without a hitch. Next time though, we'll drive the 19 miles - if I have my way!

Pulled into Spokane about 1:45. When Roger went in to register, the owner indicated he would be free in about 15 minutes and he wanted to do the walk-about with us. Before we even had a chance to get our rig set up, he was at our door. I grabbed my paperwork and off we went on our walk-about. Finished up about 3:30 and headed back to the trailer to do the printed report. Roger threw some pot-pies in the oven for our supper and we met back with him at 6:00 for the exit review. That is the fastest review we've done this season! This guy is so full of energy - and so proud of what he has accomplished - that there was no slowing him down. Another older park that has made some much needed improvements; its been in the family for 30+ years, but the next generation has taken over, bringing new energy & enthusiasm.

Our drive on Tuesday took us through Idaho - where I actually saw a moose! I was gazing out at the scenery as Roger was driving and spotted a small RV park off to the side. Then I realized that the four-legged creature trotting across an open meadow was a young buck moose, complete with antlers. What a thrill! I had given up on seeing a moose - and of all the places - Idaho!

As we approached our destination of Missoula, Montana, we spotted another 'sight' that brought a sparkle to our eyes. . . a Cracker Barrel! Gosh, it's been quite some time since we've seen one of those. We immediately made plans to have breakfast there on one of our mornings in the area.

'Cashing in' on a bit of a bonus from our boss Monday evening, we checked with the staff here at Missoula for their recommendation on a nice place to spend a quiet evening & supper out. Their recommendation was unanimous: Lolo Creek Steakhouse in the nearby town of Lolo. We ran a couple of errands and headed out.

Arriving there about 4:15 (not having lunch & ready for an early supper), only to discover that they didn't open until 5:00. A beautiful log building, with a full front deck, which we put to good use waiting for them to open.

The meal was everything that had been promised! Roger had the steak & seafood special, while I opted for strictly steak - and it was delicious.

Now, for all of you who have known Roger for very long, know that he does not TOUCH any type of dressing on his salad. I just about fainted when he asked what type of 'vinaigrette' they had! He then proceeded to order the house special 'huckleberry'! And went back to the KOA telling the staff how good it was!

He liked it so well, he had them special ordered two bottles of it for him! THIS IS NOT THE MAN I MARRIED! In fact, this rates right up there with seeing Roger's dad eat nacho flavored Doritos (he has been an avowed 'cheese hater' for his entire life!

We were remembered by some of the KOA staff as the 'inspectors' that LOVED huckleberries - from our first visit there in 2002. After this year we will always wear that title. In 2002 we brought home a gallon of huckleberry topping; this year we picked up 4 gallons. Roger has all kinds of plans to make homemade ice cream, slushies, etc. with them. I'm sure every 'special occasion' will have me making some kind of huckleberry concoction!

I even have a jar of "Huckleapple Butter" tucked away for the first special breakfast occasion that comes along.

The only thing missing from our time in Montana so far, is that he hasn't found anyone offering huckleberry ice cream yet - but he will. We still have the month of August to find it.