Time to catch up.

Saturday Judi and I had an all day private fly fishing lesson. The guide from Jacklin's Fly Shop in West Yellowstone, Andy was a 22 year old native. He told us that he really doesn't remember when he started fly fishing he was so young. We had so much fun!

Fishin' was great, catchin' wasn't too hot. Judi landed her first fish on a fly rod, a nice 14” whitefish. While not as glamorous as trout, they are native, and a nice fight too.

I hooked a real nice German Brown that stayed on line just long enough to show us how big he was, and then he got off. Oh well.

The outfitter provided lunch at one of the most scenic spots on the planet. After 10 hours of fishing we were whooped.

Grizzly RV Park only had one night spots, so even before the lesson we had to move the Pontslerósa ll into overflow parking, then after the day of fishing re-hook and re park the rig. On most of the one night stays, we aren't even bothering to unhook the truck, just put down the rear jacks, put out the slides, connect water, tv & electric and call it good for the night.

The drive from West Yellowstone to Missoula is amazing. We are trying to stay off the interstate as much as we can. We took US Highway 287 up to the I-90. 287 is a lot like 189 down in Utah/Wyoming in that it is a very rural route. Local traffic & commerce only. But they both wind through the most beautiful prairies you'll ever want to see. No nasty grades, no heavy traffic, just lots & lots of wide open spaces with an occasional small town thrown in. One of the neat things about Montana is it must be the fly fishing capital of the world! In one little town on Ennis they even had a sculpture of a fly fisherman at the entrance to the town.

Any how we made it to Missoula last night spent the night at Jim & Mary's RV ranch. Today we are headed to Kalispell to hit their target store and then on to Glacier.

Later,

John

BRRrrrrr, Baby it's cold outside!

When I got up a few minutes ago I saw frost on the tops of the cars parked near us! I just checked weather.com, they said 27. Judi will not be amused!

This is going to be short. I've got to get the rig ready to move before we go fishing. I will try and get some pictures of Judi learning how to fly fish.

Yesterdays drive here was easy, almost no traffic coming out of the park at noon. I'm not sure how far we will drive tomorrow, but we will take it easy to get to Glacier.

Later

John 

 My how time flies when your are having fun! I just take the time to update, and now we are leaving.

When we arrived in Jackson WY the mountains were shrouded in haze, locals tell us that it is due to the fires in California. Great! I made reservations to do a float trip for Judi and I on the Snake River for Wednesday. We took our time getting ready and actually stopped for a photo op on the way to Moose to board the van to the put in site.

Judi got some great photos and some very good advise from another rafter on how to best use our new Canon.

This is only one of the many great shots. This Mama eagle just checking us out.

Later, on the way back to the RV we spotted one of my favorite critters: TA-TAN-KA!

Man I love those Bison! The bison herd here in Jackson Hole is huge! We saw them by the hundreds.

A few years ago we were in Yellowstone with family and friends for 3 weeks. The one disapointment of the whole trip was that we didn't see Moose. I really wanted to see Moose this trip. Everywhere you drive here you see warnings about Moose crossing the road. Yeah right!

One of the suggestions that Bill gave us was to drive a loop that started on Antelope Flats Rd. and continued around to through Kelly and Gros Ventre the back to main Hwy.

Judi got this picture of the Tetons and wild flowers.

As we neared the highway Judi saw a lady painting a landscape and said she wanted to take a picture of her. While talking to the woman, Jude found out that the woman had seen Moose just across the river from where she was standing. Just our luck 5 minutes late again!

We went on with our sight seeing and search for the ever elusive Moose!

By 7PM I was ready to head back to the RV for dinner, Judi said she wanted to go back to where the painter saw the Moose. I told her it was 30 miles, her reply was “SO?” It was a nice drive.

We got into the area and pulled off the road to see what we could see. I spotted a Moose across the river and back in the weeds.

We drove north about a half mile and were rewarded with the best Moose viewing ever! A mom, 2 two year olds and a one year old. Right across the river.  We walked down to the edge of the river and were not more than 20 yards from the magnificent creatures!

Judi just kept snapping away, (the joys of digital) this was just one of the best of the Mom.

We had a great stay here in The Tetons. Later today we will head north again. I am thinking about spending a couple of days in Yellowstone, if I can find an outfitter that can give Judi and I fly fishing lessons, and if I can find a camp site.  We'll see.

Later

Where to start?
Here is a photo of Judi and me as we were leaving the ranch.

This is where we spent the first night on the road.

We left Red Ledge about 10AM Monday morning, drove almost 350 miles and made it all the way to Evansville Wyoming. That is where I wanted to by at the close of Monday so things worked out great.

The drive from Kannarville went well; we stopped in Payson UT for a Wal-Mart run and diesel fuel.

GPS routed us off the I-15 near Provo onto US HWY 189. Jude and I spent about 20 miles discussing this route and in the end we just chose to wing it and follow that route.
What a great idea! US 189 is a great road, and just to beautiful for words. Stayed on it all the way to I-80 and then into Evanston, WY. That set us up for a very easy drive today.

We left Evanston about 9AM, headed east on I-80 to pick up US 189 once again. If you ever find yourself in this area and need to get to Jackson WY this is the route to take. No mountain passes, good 2 lane road, no traffic, just miles and miles of high prairie with many antelope.

We got to Grand Teton Park RV. Once again Judi found us a great site with views of the Tetons, except for the haze. One local blames it on the fires in California.

Tomorrow we will be taking a scenic rafting trip down the Snake River with Barker & Ewing rafting outfitters. Our friend Bill Dawson gave us many good suggestions for things to do here. The rafting thing was just one, then we will do some of the other items on his to do list. I am thrilled to have his insight and ideas, saved me from fretting about  what to do and what to see.

Judi and I had dinner at our table in our RV for the first time tonight, I am not sure that I could be more happy.

More tomorrow

J

 

I have a pretty slow connection this morning, here in Red Ledge RV Park, Kanarraville, Utah. It is a small family owned park with 22 spaces. It is in a beautiful valley about 10 miles south of Cedar City. We had a brief thunder and lightening storm accompanied with a little rain. Nice show while having dinner. Due to the slow connection speeds I will have to upload the photos later.

I had wanted to leave the resort on the 5th, but the way things worked out we didn't leave the resort until 8:30 even though I started driving out at 7:30, more on that later.

The 4^th at the resort was fun. Judi had invited friends out for the golf cart parade and the BBQ following. She had a great time.
She and Jana did the parade, then lunch at Georges Cafe. Later Judi's sister Cathy came out and Just shortly before here were Phil & Luann. The BBQ was excellent.

The band was too loud for my taste, so I left shortly after dinner. After dinner and dancing, Phil & Luann went home and Judi, Jana & John (her husband) and Cathy went to the Stage Coach for some Karaoke.

She got home around 11, Cathy spent the night in the Pontslerósa ll. Jude was up and at the fishing lake by 6:10 the next morning for the fishing tournament. She caught 20 pounds of Catfish, that was good enough for 2^nd place. She also caught the 3^rd largest fish 4 pounds. She had a great time.

Then came the Chili cook off. She didn't enter this year just so she could enjoy the fun of driving around and tasting every one else's chili.

All the while this was going on I was happily preparing to hit the road! I am so glad that Judi was having fun, that allowed me to get a lot done, and I was having fun doing what I was doing.

But still it was not enough! After her friends went home, I stopped working long enough for a quick salad, then back at it.

When it got to be 8PM I finally gave up hope of getting on the road that day. We finally got to bed at 1AM Sunday morning.

I was up at 5:30 and at it again. By 7:30 we were ready! I pulled out of Suzan's lot and drove around to Rollie's to return his golf cart. On the way we stopped and had Lúis take our picture standing next to the rig. As we were leaving Rollie's lot I realized that I'd left Judi's hand lotion at Suzan's. Drove the rig back around to her space, said good bye to Roger and Jerry, then Petra, and got the lotion. Then on to our place for one last walk though. Headin' out, got as far as Diane's only to realize I hadn't packed my Handicapped placard. Said good bye to Diane, drove back to our place Said good bye to Mike for the 2^nd or 3^rd time, the first street was blocked by an RV getting ready to leave, so back down Rollie's street. Said good bye to Petra, Roger & Jerry AGAIN! Then got back to our house. Found the placard right where I had left it on the visor of Judi's car. On our way for real this time!!!!

The drive was not too bad. Traffic was light going north. It was HOT though. We stopped briefly at State Line for a truly forgettable buffet lunch. Then back on the road.

Going through Las Vegas it was 111 degrees! Yikes! We kept pushing north. The temperature dropped 10 degrees after going through the Virgin River Gorge. By the time we got the Red Lodge at about 6:15 it was only about 85. Just perfect.

I my plan is still to only drive 250 miles a day, but yesterday we made about 450, not counting the 25 we spent driving around the resort! Today I want to make it to Evanston WY about 320 miles. Then we will be back on track for arriving in the Tetons tomorrow afternoon.

We got some bad news via Cathy in Canada. Our friend Ed Robinson was in a motorcycle accident and was hurt pretty badly. Broken jaw and other things. Please keep him and Carol in your prayers.

It's 7:45 local and I'd better get cracking.

Love to all,

John

Tomorrow is the day! We have a lot to do if we are going to leave tomorrow late afternoon. I am only planning on going as far as State Line in Nevada, probably to spend the night in one of the Casinos RV parking lot. 

I have vowed to not get in a rush. I will not be getting all frantic or antsy. I WON'T, I WON'T, I WONT! Well that is the plan. I owe it to Judi to not get all flighty 

Even if we don't get underway until late, it will still be worth while to get at least that far, in order to make Sunday's drive an easy one to Beaver Utah.

Not much else at this time, so good night, see you next time on the road.

John 

A couple of things to close out the day. I was able to set up the dish and get a signal in about 20 minutes on the first try. Okay!

The generator I bought won't run the air in the Pontslerósa! We had a power failur at the ranch today, and afte hooking up the genny, it would send it into "protect Mode" No joy! tomorrow I'll take it to the Pontslerósa II to find out it if will run that one. If not I don't know what I'll have to do!

Time for bed,

JOhn 

Our Canadian Assault  Team is well on their way. They will be leaving Antalope Island today for a 2 day run to Glacier National Park. We received a call from them the other night, it was so good to talk to them. I can not wait until we meet up with them on the 18th.

Yesterday Judi and I drove to San Diego to meet Aaron, Maggie and Runic at the USS Midway Memmorial. I had never been there, and we had a great time.

This is a photo of Judi and Aaron as they walked up the gangway.


Geez did I have fun, this is Runic and I in the BRIG!


Judi and Runic comming off a display helecopter



OMGosh did this bring back memories! Just a little over 40 years ago I was sitting in that same spot in a similar CH-46, Chinook flying out of Da Nang Air Base South Viet Nam!



Wow! What a beautiful old war bird! I was so scared that day. I thought that Chinook was going to vibrate right out of the sky before the Viet Cong had a chance to shoot it down!


While Judi was shopping in the gift shop she found a Helecopter pin that was a model of the Apache that Aaron works on.  Aaron pins Runic while Maggie looks on.


What a fantanstic day. Thank you Aaron & Maggie.



On our way home Judi and I stopped by her Mom & Dad's. They had (I said had!) a Directv dish on the side of their house that was no longer being used, So I liberated it to use on our travels. It mated perfectly with the stand I had bought at Camping World earlier in the day. Later today I'll take the whole assembly over to the Pontslerósa II and make the attempt to lock on a satelitte to see if I and get service, and how long it takes.

Day by Day we are getting closer to departing. 

More later,
John

Yesterday we launched the first wave of the Canadian invasion from Rancho HOA!
As the troops gathered at the main gate sprits were high.

The crew from left to right are Margarita the Poodle, Clyde, Nacho the Beshon, Cathy, Donna, Harley the Beshon, Mike, Suzan and finaly Kobe the Beshon.

Not being a real fan of dogs, I am only guessing at the breed name spelling. 

It wouldn't have taken much for me to get hooked up and follow them out of the resort! All Judi would have said was Ok, and we'd be gone!

We got an Email from Cathy last evening letting us know that they had made Las Vegas in good time and with no difficulty. 

I miss them already! :^(

More later.

J. R.

Aaron got home Monday evening. Judi and I picked up her Mom & Dad and took them with us to be there when Aaron landed. Traffic on the 15 south was a nightmare, we only waited 10 or 15 minutes before he came running down the stairs to baggage claim.
This is Aaron with his son Runic, and Judi & I.



It's great to have him home, even if it is only for 18 days.

Last night we had a farewell gettoghether with the part of our group that is leaving for Canada tomorrow (the 20th). Quite natrually I was having too much fun and forgot to take any pictures! DUH! Judi cooked chicken breasts, hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill. We had corn on the cob, Potato salad, fruit salad and a pistachio jello salad that was outstanding! 

After everyone left Judi and I were so tired from cleaning the lot to get it ready for guests, (Did I mention that it was 104 yesterday?) that we just put the food away and went to bed. This morning I got outside early and did all the clean up before it got hot. (85 at 8:20 AM)
I think I'll head over to the Pontslerósa II, I still have to re-work the front closet so as to beable to put our Oreck in it.

About all I have yet to do is get the BBQ taken care of, and get a satelitte dish for the road, and a piece of coax for it.

John