Spokane to Montana and Wyoming

I left Spokane, WA and headed east to visit my friends, Clay and Susan in Montana. Clay and I had business partners for several years and I had not seen them for 15 years. The road I took out of Spokane, was the 195 which went for a couple of hundred miles along the beautiful river and mountains in the first picture to the right. It was part of the Lewis & Clark Trail. The first "RV park" I stayed in was 5 spots next to a bar and grill right off the highway. It was not very nice but it was inexpensive. The next night I found a park right along this beautiful river in Idaho.

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Just when you start to believe you are a most brave and admirable person for what you are doing with your life because so many people have said this to you, you meet someone even more brave and admirable.

Related Read: The Wonderful people One Meets RVing

This morning I met a woman, one year older than myself, who is traveling by herself from Canada but not in an RV, on a motorcycle! And camping on the ground in a one person tent!! I have had so many people say to me, “I could never do what you are doing.” And I’ve always thought, “It really isn’t that big of a deal.” But, I could not do what she is doing! And she probably doesn’t think it is really that big of a deal. Whatever level you are at or where you are in your viewpoint of yourself determines what you can and cannot do or believe you can or cannot do. I think most of us do not try something that we say we “could never do.” But the truth we should be saying is, “I would not want to do that.” Because I believe that whatever we want to do we can do. We are not given the desire for something if we do not have the wherewithal to do it or have it. It is just a matter of whether we are up for or want to take on the challenge. Do the rewards, joys, or advantages out-weigh the struggle, hardship, or inconvenience?

It is very exciting to be out here on the road meeting people from all areas of the country and seeing what their lives are like. To me that reward out-weighs the fact that in a few minutes I have to go dump my sewage. HA! That is one of the biggest things people comment to me about RV living. It is really no big deal and not gross like people think. It is quick and easy… assuming I am doing it correctly! HAha.

I have had several people tell me that I can no longer use the excuse “I’ve been too busy” because I am retired now and have all the time in the world. Well the truth is, we ALL have all the time in the world and life takes it up in whatever ways we allow it to. My day these days is taken up with getting up, feeding the dog, walking the dog, showering and getting ready just like everyone else. Then if I am traveling that day it is taken up by getting the RV ready for travel which includes putting everything I have taken out to “live” with the night or day or week before to make sure it is all secure and will not fall or fly around as I rock and roll down the highway.

Unhooking the electricity, the water, dumping the gray and black water tanks, putting all those things securely away under the RV, having breakfast, etc. Then driving for 4-6 hours (I don’t like to drive longer than this because then I am too tired to enjoy my fantastic life on the road visiting beautiful places). Then some time during the day I have to stop and find WiFi good enough to find the next place to stay for the night, this is sometime easy and sometimes not so easy. Then when I arrive at the place, I have to hook up the water, the electricity, and if I have a full site the sewer/dumping equipment. Set up can be fast if everything is perfect or can take a bit longer if it is less than ideal. This is the part that so many people say they wouldn’t like but it is just a little different than what other people do with their days.

My first stop in Montana was at Virginia City and Nevada City, both "ghost" towns preserved for the delight of tourists and visitors. I stayed at an RV Park in Virginia City and had a delightful time visiting the town and then took the train a mile or two away to Nevada City. Since I don't have a tow car, this was a nice option.


Above is the tour guide for my visit around Nevada City, much of which was "imported" from other old western towns from around the country.


Above picture is of my RV (Serenity) out in front of Clay and Susan's beautiful dream home in Bozeman, MT. It was so nice to get to spend time and reconnect with them.
Once again, since I don't have a tow car and was so close to Yellowstone, I had to go and visit. So, I rented a car and Dolly and I drove back and forth two days in a row to explore the beautiful sights there. This fourth picture is of Dolly, obviously very popped out after our long day.