Montana Bound

[Russell E Johnson]

well as per usual we got a late start.  DW thinks the day does not begin until 1PM so it was 1:30 when we got on the road.  

Got stuck on the freeway for 3 hours on I55N, no sign of a wreck or construction when the traffic started clearing so don't know what the problem was.

Got to the KOA in Eureka, MO about 10PM.  Some out of the road but could not locate a RV Park on our main route so made this 30 mile detour LOL.

More fun and games to be posted tomorrow.

[Rich Thomas]

Happy things are going so well for you two, have a great time and maybe the good trip ferry will let you stretch that other week in. you know for the R&R. 

[Lakota Wolf]

Glad ya made the passes without problems, and theose construction zones are really just traffic control. especially when ya see 9 supervisors and ONE worker with a shovel and nothing getting done except bottle necking traffic and a snails pace for a hundred miles.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 9

Well we had 5 breakdowns, one fire, lots of snow on the passes  OKAY we did not have anything like that, but it was an interesting day compared to yesterday.  We motored along at 35 MPH for 18 miles of road construction, climbed 2 of the 3 passes in 3rd gear and 50 MPH and the third one at 43 still in third.  Now this may not sound amazing, but a year ago when we made this trip, we were down into second gear on all the passes.  Getting the carb adjusted and adding ATF fluid and Lucas gas treatment to the gas tank has made a world of difference.  We averaged 6.8 MPG over the whole trip, compared to 4.9 a year ago.  

Rest day tomorrow, burial on Saturday, then who knows what for the next 2 weeks.  Will probably need a week to rest up LOL (read as "Excuse to stay longer") before we start for home again.

Take care my friends, I should be posting pictures of what we are up to in the coming days.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 8

TOTALLY boring day today.  Left Gillette, WY at 7:30 arrived Billings, MT at 5:30.  No sight seeing, no fun, just windshield time the whole way.  Times like this make me despise freeways, they are so BORING!!!!! at 62 MPH.

Tomorrow we will arrive at our destination, Deer Lodge, MT.  Then visiting, burial of my dad's ashes and sightseeing will begin.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 7

We spent 4 hours at 1880s town and only saw 2/3 of what is there to see.  Great place and has movie props and pictures of the movie Dances with Wolves.  We were so tired that we skipped the Badlands NP and Mt Rushmore.  More walking was the last thing we wanted to do today.

So down the road we went and stopped at Vore Buffalo Jump, very disappointing.  We made it to Gillette, WY for the night.

Two strange things happened today, the wind in SD was a calm 8-10 MPH instead of its usual 15-20.  Driving today was a great pleasure as we did not have to play Fight to Stay on the Road.  

The old gal is doing great, pulling the hills into Rapid cit only once did I get below 50 MPH, we drive at 60.  And if I had wanted to I could have gotten into the secondaries and really chewed up the gas and went faster, but we have 3 days and only need 2 of them to get to MT so I felt no need to hurry and burn more gasoline.

Had a large amount of rain come down while we were eating.  Berniece left the window open over my bed so it got soaking wet, thank goodness for spare bed linen.  For about 30 minutes the wind blew and sheets of rain came down.  We got a little wet going from the restaurant to the MH but it was more cold than anything.  By the time we drove the 12 blocks back to the RV park, the rain stopped and the wind died down so I was able to hook up with no wind--read 10 MPH zephyr--or rain.  The temp dropped almost 20 degrees because of the wind and rain.

Take care friends, will be in Billings MT, Lord willing and will post about our boring drive down the freeway LOL. 

[Rich Thomas]

Sure envy you guys, I have the travel bug but seams every time I want to fly, I just get stuck on the paper. I,m enjoying your entries and hope all continues uneventful in your travels and greatly eventful in your activities. Have a great day!!

[Lakota Wolf]

Sounds like the fun begins. Sounds like you 2 young unz are having a good trip so far. Will be waiting for more of your travel updates. Be safe.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 6

Well we had an uneventful day, made it to Belvidere, SD.  Most strange was the wind--tongue in cheek--it blew like crazy, typical for the Dakotas.  Played "Fight to stay on the road" all day.  

Tomorrow is going to be fun, going to start with the 1880s town at exit 170 and then down through the Bad Lands NP then back up to I90 and on to Mt. Rushmore.  So will have lots to talk about tomorrow night.

Take car all.

[Russell E Johnson]

No So ska, we did not go over any mountains yet.  The mountain passes and steep climbs will not start till we leave Billings, MT.

[So ska noname]

Did you go over any mountains? I had a little trouble overheating in old pick up. Going see about add a radiator cooler or something?? Trailer towed easy with sway bars. I need clean them up surface rust somehow.