Turnkey Camping

  We read about a hitch issue with the Anderson hitch on Facebook - apparently the whole ball can shear off in an extreme braking situation.  We have been looking for a reason to upgrade and this morning our pin wouldn’t engage.  We got it halfway in and drove two hours to Bismarck.  There was a hitch shop that closed within 10 minutes of our arrival.  The people we have met along this trip have been so kind.  The shop gave us his personal cell number because they were closing and wanted us to have a way to reach him if we encountered issues installing the hitch.  We got back to the campground and worked on the hitch.  After a bit of adjusting we took a break to go have dinner with Stu’s cousin.  We had a great time with her family - they foster kitties and Charlie was obsessed with all of the cat toys and cat trees.  It was so funny.  After dinner, we headed back and got the hitch finished up.  Off for a long drive day tomorro...

We drove from Billings, MT to Medora, ND.  After today, we’ve camped in 35 states!  13 in Continental US to go!  We drove around Teddy Roosevelt park and went to the visitor’s center.  The landscape was so beautiful!  We loved the prairie dog town the best.  At this point, we were getting hungry, so we had dinner in town.  P and I ventured out to look for the petrified loop trail - but it led to an off road trail and I wasn’t comfortable taking the dually off road just yet.  It’s super smoky out - the campground said it was from Canadian wildfires. Tomorrow we’re off to Bismarck to see Stu’s cousin!

We made a quick decision to split a 9 hour day into two 4 1/2 days, so we winded up in Billings, MT.   The road thru Montana was gorgeous!  I ended up remembering that a college friend lived in Billings.  She was a communications major and business and Spanish minor, so we had a fair amount of classes together! The last time we saw each other was at a mutual friend’s wedding in 2005.  Prior to that, we did a college summer together in Russia and Japan.  She came out to the campground and we caught up for quite a while.  It was so fun!

 We visited Yellowstone in 2019 but our quest to check North Dakota off the list led us so close that we just had to go back.  Last time, we missed out on the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook hike, so this time, my eye was on the prize.  We use a great GPS audio guide called Guide Along whenever we can.  It’s a great way to learn about the park!  You feel like your grandfather is telling you stories as you ride along.   We had lunch near the lodge and finished just in time to see Old Faithful blow.   We were sleepy by the end of these two adventures, so we headed back to the town of West Yellowstone and hit the grocery store.  We have several days of back to back driving ahead, so we ventured back to the campground (Red Rock RV) to relax a bit.   We feel a little bit like traitors because this campground is the host of Camp Airstream - a week-long “camp” where Airstreamers enjoy the area together.  It’s a beautiful evening and we new off ...

Charlie woke up this morning and asked “Are we in Idaho?”  I explained that we were in Nevada but we were heading to Idaho!  It was a beautiful drive and Stu masterfully pulled the rig into a really tight site!  We dropped the trailer and pets and went to Stu’s aunt and uncle’s for a great burger dinner.  They had other family and some camping friends over and we chatted all afternoon!  It was a great evening.  Off to Yellowstone tomorrow.

 We had a nice down day yesterday.  We drove to Camp Richardson and walked to an ice cream shop.  My aunt and uncle stopped by to tour the rig and it was so fun to see them again.  Stu and Lucy got more groceries and we cooked a yummy salmon dinner.  This morning was a little hairy getting out of the campground - there were lots of rocks and trees at the departure.  We made a wrong turn right out of the gate and had to spin the rig around - so that wasn’t very fun.  Just a reminder to slow down and plan ahead as much as possible.  Today we venture to Nevada (a new state!) for an overnight.  We switched up our plans for the week because Stu is on vacation all next week.  We were going to have five days at Yellowstone, but we’re going two hours beyond our original route to see Stu’s aunt and uncle.  It will be fun to reconnect - they haven’t had the chance to meet Charlie yet!  Off to focus on navigation!

We had the most magical day possible with my aunt and uncle at Lake Tahoe!  We rolled out of our campground at 11 and graciously, my uncle and aunt had gone ahead of us and reserved a spot on the beach - complete with umbrellas and chairs!  We met my aunt at their house and unloaded food and then went to a gorgeous beach.  They graciously pulled out all of their fun toys!  The kids kayaked and paddle boarded and they even took us on their boat!  It was so fabulous!  Afterwards, we went back to their house - with a stunning view - and enjoyed a delicious bbq meal.  The day was absolutely perfect!