Bear Country USA

Saturday morning we awoke to sunny skies but knew that if we wanted to see anything that we had better get going as they were calling for rain during the day. We drove about 4 1/2 miles down Hwy-16 to Bear Country USA. This is a 200 acre natural Black Hills habitat where the animals can roam freely. Being a cool day they animals were up and moving all over the place.



http://picasaweb.google.com/pfradycate/BearCountryUSA


We saw Rocky Mountain Elk, Wild Turkey, Reindeer, Arctic Wolves, Big Horn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Black Bear, Timber Wolves (who were after the bears at times), Mountain Lions, Buffalo including a white one, Miniture Donkey. we went to the small animal exhibits where we saw river otters, porcupines, red fox, coyotes, lynx, raccoons, badgers, and the bear cubs. The cubs were all over the place and just made for a wonderful time of watching them play and frolic. I could have stayed and watched them all day.

We then took a ride down to Keystone and something was going on as traffic was backed up about 2 miles from town. We decided that we would not wait to find out what was happening. We turned around and went to the Christmas Village, just looking at all the Christmas ornaments that they have.

We decided to come back to the RV and just as we opened the door, there was a flash of lightning, a roll of thunder and the rains started. Along with the rain was some hail but now real winds. Thank goodness. This lasted about 30 minutes and then we had a little sun but mostly clouds.

At 2:30 pm it was cloudy but no rain so we decided to go and see the Chapel in the Hills. This is an exact replica of the Borgund Stavkirke located near Laerdal, Norway. When we got there the host told us that there was to be a wedding at 3:30 pm but that we could visit the chapel until then. There was a narration all about why and how they had brought the buildings from Norway and what all the meanings were in the sculpting around the doors. Very interesting. There was also a Norwegian Cabin on the grounds with many interesting pieces of furniture and living tools. This is a must see if you are in the Rapid City area.



http://picasaweb.google.com/pfradycate/ChapelInTheHillsReplicaOfTheBorgundStavkirkeLocatedNearLaerdalNorway#


While we were at the Chapel, the rains again started so we came on back home and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon working on uploading all the pictures I had taken for the day. Bear Country (95) Chapel in the Hills (25). I hope that you will take a look at them and enjoy as much as I am.

Until next time, Take Care.

7th Ranch RV Camp and Historical Tours

This morning we awoke to cloudy skies and cool weather again. Just as we were leaving Bear Canyon Campground it began to sprinkle. Not bad and we soon ran out of it and were on our way to Garryowen, Mt., 204 miles away.





We arrived at the campground at about noon and checked in Chip and Sharon Richardson, owners/managers. We could not believe how big the grounds are, sites are 70' long and very spacious. We are overlooking I-90 and wide open spaces all around. It is a very nice place and they honor Good Sam and Escapees.

We got all set up and then headed back to "The Little Bighorn Battlefield". We did the tour and also went to a 17 minute video explaining about Custer and the battle that took place here in June of 1876.




We then went to the museum in Garryowen. Garryowen comprises of a museum, trading post, post office and a subway shop all in one building.




This evening I took a walk around the park taking pictures of the sunset and views. It is a very nice area and I would love to come back here again.

Well until the next time, take care.

What Happened to Summertime?

Yesterday, September 1, 2008, Labor Day, we awoke to very cold temperatures. It was in the very low 30's and foggy, mixed with rain and wind. It stayed like that all day long. There was nothing that I could do that would warm me up, even having on the house heater. Thank goodness that we had topped off the propane tank when we stopped at Flying J last week.

The Leivas' and us went out to dinner at Applebee's as last night was their last night here at Bear Canyon. We had a very good dinner, all of us having there riblets and something else. It was then a stop at Safeway as they had orange juice and milk on special. We then came back to the motohomes and just hunkered down for the night after taking a quick walk around the park.

This morning the park began emptying out early including Jim and Nancy. We were looking out at the surrounding mountains and there was SNOW all over them. It is hard to believe that a few days ago it was in the high 80's and today SNOW. The remainder of the day was partly cloudy and the temperatature only got into the 60's but we did okay.



We will leave here tomorrow headed for Garryowen, Mt. and Little Big Horn.

Until later, Take Care.

Museum of the Rockies

This morning we were greatly surprised with sunshine and mild temperatures outside. The lady parked behind us had given me home grown tomatoes yesterday so Russ and I both had bacon and tomato sandwiches for breakfast. It was soooo good and we really enjoyed them. Thank you so much.

I had talked with a guy at the pool yesterday and he was telling me about the "Museum of the Rockies" over at the University of Montana. It really sounded interesting so I looked up some information on the internet and we decided to go and check it out. They were featuring "Out of this World", Extraordinary Costums of Film and Television; "Glow", Living Lights; Raymond Lowery; Dinosaurs Under the Big Sky; Enduring Peoples, Montana's American Indian Culture; and The 50th Anniversary of the Museum. It was very detailed and interesting. A must see if you are in the Bozeman area.



Today also they were having a "Farm Festival" to celebrate the harvest for the year. There were people dressed in the 1890 dress along with people showing their collection of rifles, those showing the Thrashing machine, doing apple mashing to make cider, baking bread over coals and making stew also. We watched border collies herd sheep in the field. There was also fresh vegetables being grown and the farmer was allowing children to come and harvest carrots from garden. It was a real treat to enjoy this type of day.



Late this afternoon it clouded up and we had thunder and lightning along with rain for a short period of time. The temperature fell drastically. Right now it is showing at 48 degrees.

Time to hit the sack so until the next time, Take Care.

God's Glory

Today started out with sunshine, then some clouds, then more clouds and very hard winds all of a sudden, then sunshine again and this evening the most awsome sunset that I have ever seen. The ski was the riches reds and golds that I have ever seen. It was just beautiful.

To see the pictures go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/pfradycate/SunsetsAtBearCanyonCampgroundBozemanMT

Bear Canyon Campground

Wednesday morning we awoke at about 6:15 AM and decided that we would start getting ourselves ready to move on down the road. We heard the neighbors start up their rig about 7:15 so knew that we could continue with the outside chores without bothering anyone. We pulled out of Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Park at 7:40 am headed for Bear Canyon Campground in Bozeman, Montana. According to Tom Tom, it was a 216 mile drive across I-90. It was a very cloudy day with us getting only spits of rain all the way. The road was very good and we had no delays. We stopped in Butte, Montana at the Flying J for diesel, propane (which we had not gotten since last March) and a late breakfast. We were able to get diesel for $4.169 lowest we have seen in a very long time. Propane was $2.999 which seems awful to me.

We arrived at Bear Canyon at about 12:30 pm and were assigned to space 27 on the back row but overlooking a beauiful area; fields, mountains and trees.






We have even seen deer out there grazing. We are very happy with the campground. It began to rain and was very cloudy and windy so the rest of the afternoon was spent inside just resting. We also checked out some of the brochures for Yellowstone NP as we want to visit there on Thursday.

Will do a posting on that next.

Take care.

Wind

Late yesterday afternoon the wind started to blow and it continually got worse as time passed. The slides on the west side of the motor home were just bouncing so I told Russ that I was putting in at least the living room one. We then went outside just to see what was happening around and saw that our neighbors topper was getting caught by the wind and going almost all the way across the top of their rig. They were not home so we found a rope and got it tossed across the top to hold the topper down. I made sure that I was watching for them to come home so that we could let them know what we had done. They were appreciative that we had taken the time to help them out.

We then saw the people on the end having problems with their topper. They had had a real problem last week with the winds putting a hole in it so we went down to help them save things. What happened this time was that he had forgotten to lock down the releases.

The winds did finally calm down to a minor roar after about an hour and a half of 45 mph gust. We did have rain during the night and it was cloudy most of today.

Just after dark last night we had new neighbors pull in. They have a 45' Provost pulling a 30' enclosed trailer with a Mercedes and two big motorcycles. They are a very nice couple from Alabama and they are traveling with another couple with the big Provost but a 22' trailer. Very nice rigs.




From Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Park, Missoula, MT.


Today was spent getting laundry done and then we went out to dinner with the Leivas' to Outback. Very good dinner. We then went to the Sportsman's Warehouse where Russ picked out his birthday present. He has wanted a metal detector, so that is what I got him. It was then back to the RV and over to the office for a Huckleberry Ice Cream Cone. I then came home to watch the DNC and Hillary Clinton's speech.

Must get up from here now and get things ready to move tomorrow. Take care until the next time.

Snowbowl Ski Area

Today Russ and I started our day out by going back down to the Downtown Area of Missoula to the Farmer's Market. We found fresh tomatoes, green beans, carrots and lettuce. We did have a small ice chest in the car so were able to store our purchases in that.

We then traveled up Reserve Street to the Snowbowl Ski Area. During the summer they open the ski lift on the weekends and let people go up and hike, ride bicycles or play Frisbee Golf. The base height is 4,960 feet above sea level. At the top it is 7,000 feet and you can hike up to 7,950 feet at the very top. (We did not go that far.) The views were awsome and we did get a chance to see two guys playing golf and a number of people riding bikes down the ski slopes. It was really nice and a very in-expensive trip, Seniors went up for $4.50 and Adults cost $7.00.

Snowbowl Ski Area, Missoula, Mt

After that we stopped by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation & Elk Country Visitor Center. There the center features conservation and hunting heritage exhibits, wildlife displays including world-record elk. Very interesting and informative.

Of course there was food to be had so we stopped at the Mackenzie River Pizza Company. The pizza was excellent.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up by a cat nap, watching the olympics and then the NASCAR race from Bristol, TN.

Until next time, Take Care.

"A Carousel for Missoula"

On Friday afternoon Russ and I went downtown to see the famous Carousel of Missoula. It is a beautiful art of work done with much love from Mr. Chuck Kaparich and the people of Missoula. Mr. Kaparich had said:

"If you will give it a home, and promise no onewill ever take it apart, I will build A Carousel for Missoula." That was the promise Missoula cabinet-maker Chuck Kaparich made to the Missoula City Council in 1991. Kaparich, who had spent many childhood hours on the carousel at Columbia Gardens in Butte, Montana, had already carved four carousel poinies and purchased an antique frame in thousands of pieces. When the carousel opened in 1995 over 100,000 hours of volunteer time had gone into the construction of more than 40 ponies, two chariots, 14 gargoyles, gargoyle frames and mirror frames and the largest band organ in continuous use in the United States, all within a jewel-box building.

Also downtown they were having an Indian Heritage day with mucic, information and just a good time had by all.

Later in the afternoon, we met bloggers, Ron and Elena Engelsman for dinner at Cracker Barrel. I have been reading their blog (Ron & Elena's Odyssey done on Hitchitch) from the start of their beginning as full timers. Both Ron and Elena write to the blog and they are doing something different and interesting every day.
We will continue to follow their travels and also go to some of the areas in which they have already been. Thanks Ron and Elena.

When we arrived back at Yogi Bear Jellysone, it was time for the ice cream social. I walked over but just could not eat any as I was still full from dinner. It was just fun to visit for a while. After that Nancy and I decided to go swimming as they said that the pool was heated to 86 degrees. Someone cannot read a thermometer because it was oh so cold. We did swim for about 30 minutes and then just had to get out and get warm.

It was then time to just relax and enjoy the rest of the night.

Until the next time, please take care.

"SmokeJumpers"

Today as yesterday, we had periods of rain for most of the morning. Russ and I had a nice breakfast and watched some TV while waiting for it to clear. Our mail was also delivered to us so I went through that finding only a couple of things that need real attention.

We then decided to take a ride finding the "SmokeJumpers" School. We stopped in for a great tour given by Kelsey, a junior at University of Montana. She was very informative and we all got a better understanding of what the courages firefighters do and what they go through. If you are in the Missoula area, this is a must see.