| Each comments entry box in the guest book is limited to approx. 250 characters including spaces. For longer messages please e-mail us at morton@rmortonc.com |
| Each comments entry box in the guest book is limited to approx. 250 characters including spaces. For longer messages please e-mail us at morton@rmortonc.com |
Our Motto: Home is, where our RV is.
Travel Journal June 2009
Area of operation
Travel Journal June 2009 (begins in Lander, WY)
- We had spent the weekend in front of the repair shop and at 8 AM on Monday, June 1st the repair began on the RV
axle. The day was sunny and cool, and since the mechanics didn’t need our guidance and supervision, we took a trip
to the nearby 1838 Rendezvous Point < - - (see photos). The grounds and markers appeared to be neglected and in
need of care, but according to Bill, the mechanic and local resident, a rendezvous is held each year in early July
so we hope that it receives the needed maintenance for the event. Jim Bridger < - -, Kit Carson < - - and
Sacajawea < - - are some of the famous persons involved with the 1838 Rendezvous and have their images etched
in stone at the site.
After touring the Rendezvous site, we took a drive along US 26 North through the Wind River Indian reservation,
passing through a small town called “Morton” and then turned left on US 287 toward Lander. In Fort Washakie we
visited the burial site of Sacajawea (see photos). Fort Washakie serves as the base for the east Shoshone tribal
government. Fort Washakie is named after a military post of the same name abandoned in 1909. It was named after
Chief Washakie, the only fort whose namesake is an Indian. Before leaving Fort Washakie, we stopped at the Wind
River Trading Post where Chuck found a bargain on a pair of Minnetonka moccasins that he had been searching for in
every trading post since leaving New Mexico. While trying them on, a German tourist couple from Berlin also
became interested in the moccasins and they each purchased a pair. We had a short conversation with the man while
his wife continued to shop. When we left, it was raining heavily as we drove back to Lander.
The following morning the weather was cold and wet. Since the RV would not fit in the workshop and the work was
being done outside, this hindered the progress. Even though we were sitting on the concrete, it was too wet
underneath for them to work.
We went to the Fremont County Pioneer Museum that we had mentioned in the May journal (see photos). It was
recently moved to a large, new building with exhibits and artifacts emphasizing their importance and relevance.
When we arrived back at the repair shop we were surprised to find the RV finished and ready to roll. We paid the
repair bill which was quite reasonable and less than we had expected. We spend the rest of the evening getting
ready to leave early the following morning. But we didn’t get on the road as early as we expected since Bill, the
mechanic, wanted to show us his gun collection, his wife’s clock collection and his house and garden. They have a well-
kept little house with rock garden and waterfall. The gun collection was impressive with many antiques and relics.
Although we were not able to appreciate the collection, it is no doubt worth a lot. It is comforting to know that such
a cache of weapons is in the hands of a person who appears to have a calm demeanor and attitude.
At 10:30 we finally left Lander where we had been for 12 days. We drove on US 26 and WY 789 through Riverton
to Shoshoni and on US 20 through the Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis. There we rented a spot for a week at a
small private campground. We intended to make a trip from there to Buffalo, WY where Chuck’s father had lived in
1930. This was to be a long day trip rather than a trip with the RV since there is a very high mountain range, lots of
curves and construction underway. After not being able to find anything other than a listing in the census, Chuck
contacted the local genealogy expert in Buffalo. She was also unable to locate a specific address since they have a
gap in the available information for that time frame. Since she was not successful, it was somewhat certain that a
trip would not be worth it.
We really enjoyed our week in Thermopolis. On the first day we visited the nearby buffalo herd (see photos).
Thermopolis has the world’s largest hot springs and was “purchased” from the Indians. Thermopolis, "Home of the
World's Largest Mineral Hot Springs," was founded in 1897 following the signing of a treaty with the Shoshone and
Arapaho Indians. As part of the treaty, the mineral springs were made available to the public without charge. They
still are today in the state bathhouse. To the left is a larger commercial facility that offers other amenities and to
the right is a water park. The state bathhouse has a free indoor and outdoor soaking pool, which we enjoyed every
day while there. On the day before we left, we met the Berlin couple (see above) again while at the pool. They
were visiting an elderly friend who is a ceramic artist with a shop outside Thermopolis. That afternoon we visited
the shop, now run by her son, who studied in Westerwald, Germany.
Lobo also enjoyed Thermopolis. He made two new friends; a little black dog and George, the cat. They lived at the
campground. The dog was protective of the cat but when he wasn’t around, George would sleep near Lobo under the
RV!
On the tenth, we left Thermopolis and headed for Cody but before we left town, we stopped at the bathhouse for
one last session.
Cody is in the northwestern portion of Wyoming and near Yellowstone. We had been in Yellowstone in 2006 so we
concentrated on Cody and what it had to offer. It is billed as the “Rodeo Capital of the World”. Our campground
was near the rodeo grounds and every evening we could hear the loud speakers in the distance. We don’t find a
rodeo entertaining, so we concentrated on other things. Cody was founded in 1896 by Buffalo Bill Cody, whose Wild
West Show toured the world. Rather than duplicating what has already been written, you can read about him and his
accomplishments at (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill).
We stayed in Cody for a week. After a visit by Chuck to the dentist and a doctor for tests and refills, and a visit to
the Sierra Trading Post Outlet that had real bargains, we toured the town which had plenty of things to offer.
Some of these (see photos) were:
1. Old Trail Town: A collection of authentic buildings and relics from the Wyoming frontier times. Bob Edgar, a
local historian and archaeologist, realized that the old historical buildings and associated material were rapidly
disappearing from the landscape. In 1967 this site was chosen and the 26 buildings, built between 1879 and 1901,
were disassembled and moved there. It was the original site for the town of “Cody City”, but after discovering the
water supply was laden with sulfur, it was moved east a few miles and in 1895 was named simply “Cody.”
2. The Cody Gunfighters Re-enactment: In front of the historic Irma Hotel, a free Old West melodrama is
performed at 6 PM. Characters portrayed include, Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickock, Ned Christy, Wyatt Earp and
Teton Jackson. The street is barricaded and a sketch is performed with lots of loud gunfire. On the evening we
saw the show, a Californian disregarded the posted signs and parked his (her?) car in the position where the show
was to take place (see photos). Rather than towing it away, it was included in the show, with lots of fun being poked
at the owner, who was probably in the audience and, by then, too embarrassed to admit it.
3. Buffalo Bill Dam < - - (see photos)
4. Cody Trolley: The typical tour bus outfitted to look like an old trolley. A very informative, professional tour.
5. The Buffalo Bill Museum < - - (see photos)
6. The Irma Hotel (see photos), we also had dinner there.
7. Heart Mountain War Relocation Center < - - An internment center where over 11,000 Japanese-Americans
were housed in 450 barracks style buildings. Only four building remain standing. A Memorial was erected in 1977
and in 2006 the grounds were designated as a National Historic Landmark (see photos).
8. The Old West Miniature Village & Museum <- - In the middle of the back room of a typical tourist trading
post is an indoor exhibit that depicts the historical events of Wyoming and Montana from the 1600’s - 1800’s. 66
scenes are depicted in one large expanse which covers over 7,000 square feet (see photos). It is the life’s work of
the owner, Jerry Fick. On the outer walls of the room are show cases with an extraordinary collection of Indian art
and artifacts from pioneer days.
That ended our visit to Cody and on June 18th, with cool, wet weather we drove north to Billings, MT. Billings is the
largest city in Montana. We shopped at various stores around the city and at Wal-Mart where we spent the night.
By this time we had travelled far enough north, that we were out of the footprint for the satellite Internet
connection, so we had to contact the provider and have our account moved to another satellite. After this was
accomplished, we continued to drive north to the small town of Roundup where we had made a reservation at a
campground. We wanted to stop for a week or so, order a few things to be delivered and to have Michael send us
the mail. But the campground turned out to be one where you would not want to spend a week. The only available
spot was next to the building where the electric connection consisted of a single 20 amp plug; water from the
faucet on the wall and no sewer connection. That would suffice for an overnighter but not a week! We declined the
offer and drove on, hoping for something along the way. About 45 miles further we came to Grass Range, a town of
141 with a truck stop on the highway, and a sign for campsites. We found a shady spot with green grass (in Grass
Range!) and full hookups. The other eight spots were rarely occupied and when, only for a single night. With lots of
grass and little traffic, Lobo did not have to be tied up most of the time. The manager made friends with Lobo and
came to visit him every day.
While in Billings we learned that our prescriptions could not be filled until July 10th. We would be needing a full
three months of medications while in Canada, so we decided to wait it out in Grass Range and have our mail sent
there. The weather was quite unusual with cool temperatures and almost daily thunderstorm and lots of wind.
Lewistown, 31 miles away, has a true supermarket. On the 25th we drove there for grocery shopping, but for the
most part, we stayed in Grass Range. There is a small store with life’s absolute necessities and across the
intersection from us was a saloon/casino that had a Country & Western Jamboree on the first weekend after we
arrived; lots of noise and most of the county was there.
As if that was not excitement enough, an oversized load on a long, extremely low trailer got hung on the road as it
crossed the road from the saloon to the truck stop. The road is higher than the parking lots and since the middle of
the trailer was sitting on the road, it couldn’t move forward or backward. It took several hours to raise the trailer
enough to move it to the parking lot. It looked something like this one: http://www.rmortonc.
com/images/Illinois_005a.jpg. Quite a spectacle for the inhabitants of Grass Range!
Our other, more personal and less public excitement during our Grass Range visit included:
-a broken spring in the commode valve causing fresh water to overflow into the basement from about 4 AM until it
was discovered at 8 AM.
-a hard disk crash that required a new hard drive.
-a windstorm that blew over the satellite TV dish, breaking the fiberglass shell.
As the month of June came to a close we were still sitting in Grass Range, MT waiting for repair parts and happy
that these things had occurred when they did and not later when we are in the back woods of Canada.
To be continued…
 |  |  |
| | |
