End of Fourth Month

Golf Ball Sized Hail
Today is the last day of our fourth month RVing around America. We only travelled 1072 miles (1725 km) this month as we holed up at Lake Audubon in North Dakota for three weeks to make the most of the beautiful summer weather and idyllic location. We have survived another month of storms, although last night we got hit by hail the size of golf balls and narrowly avoided a tornado. We had our evacuation bag packed, but fortunately it missed us by a few miles to the south. Walking around the campground today everyone is keen to tell me how much damage was done to their cars and RV's. Most cars had dents, and several RV's had their plastic roof vent covers smashed. Fortunately Murray had climbed on our roof 10 mins before the storm hit and covered our vents with mats and tape to protect them. Good job! Yesterday Murray caught his biggest fish yesterday, a 23.5” Walleye as shown in the picture above. He and Wes have gone back again today to try and find its brother! We only have three more days left here on the Lake before driving to our next destination, still in North Dakota.

Indian Village, North Dakota

Custer's House 1873-1876
Indian Earthlodge Village 1650-1750

What an interesting history lesson we had yesterday. The RV was booked in at 8am to have some new gas springs fitted under the bed (allows us to easily lift the bed base and get to the underbed storage area). The service centre was an hour away, so we had to be gone from the campground by 7am. We were going to hire a rental car so that we could go and do some sightseeing while they had the RV in the workshop, but the service centre gave us a courtesy vehicle instead which was wonderful.

We drove about 7 miles to Mandan, just West of Bismarck, where Fort Lincoln is a preserved historic site right on the Missouri River. First of all we visited General Custer's garrison including the barracks where his men (650 troops) lived, the stables, and the lovely two-storey home he lived in with his wife and 3 African American house workers. They had two rooms set up just for visiting guests, who because of the long distances travelled, usually stayed a minimum of one month. This was in the time before Dakota was part of the United States - it was still considered a western territory at the time. The Fort was set up to protect the locals from the Sioux Indians. Custer moved there in 1873. His troops were responsible for ensuring the expansion of the Northern Pacific Railway went ahead with minimal disruption from Indian attacks. As we know from history, Custer died in 1876 at the battle of Little Big Horn while fighting the Sioux. (We visited that area with Benn back in 2003) and saw the black marker that indicated where Custer fell & died.

About half a mile up the road is a reconstructed Slant Indian Village and you guessed it, the village is built on a slant. The Mandan Indians (an agricultural tribe) lived here from 1650 - 1750, and instead of living in tepees, they lived in earth lodges. The remnants of the villages remain, and a historical group has reconstructed the village to how it would have been during the time of the Indians. They survived by hunting buffalo (bison) and growing crops. The main crops grown by women included corn, beans, sunflowers & squash and the men grew tobacco. They had rakes made from deer antlers, and hoes made from the shoulder blades of bison. When an Indian died, they were laid outside the village on a raised platform and mourning began. When the body fell through the platform (the willow matting rotted) the mourning period ended.

We bought tickets that entitled us to separate interpretive tours of both Custer's House and the Slant Indian Village. On the tour at Custers House, you are met by a young guard, dressed in period uniform and once you enter through the door, visitors are spoken to as though they are back in 1875 to give you a sense of how customs etc were back then. Interestingly, the table was set with cutlery, plates and glasses, but they were all turned over as was the custom to reduce the amount of dust and flies getting on plates etc until the food was served.

Right at the start of our tour we had a phone call from the service centre to say our RV was ready to be picked up, so as soon as we had completed both tours, we thought we should return the courtesy vehicle in case someone else needed it. All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our glimpse of history right where it all happened.

A Visit to the Taxidermy Shop

Mowing the Yard
Inside the Taxidermy

Inside a Hobby Lobby Store
Murray Checking out a Wheat Field

Did we have an interesting day today! At 9.30am Wes drove us down to Bismarck and out to their business 15 miles (24km) East where he has his taxidermy business. He only works there in the winter months and is kept busy mounting deer, antelope, fish, ducks and other wildlife. He and Avalyn spend the warmer months of the year fishing here at Lake Audubon. Murray spied their drive-on mower and decided to crop the front lawn. Avalyn drove us back to the Lake but not before dropping into a Barnes & Noble book store to pick up some challenging sudoku puzzle books for me, and Murray dropped into another store to pick up some bait. Just on the outskirts of town they have a Hobby Lobby store - I had never heard of them, but they are in over 2/3 of the USA states east of Montana, so Oregon, California and Washington states miss out. They are very much like a Michaels Craft store. Amazing place. When they finally dragged me out of there Avalyn drove us along a dirt country road down to the Missouri River until we joined up with a main road. All along the road were ripe wheat fields, some in the process of being threshed. The colour mix of the green prairie grass, fields of golden wheat and blue skies was breathtaking. My camera kept clicking, but as usual, the photos just can't capture the essence of nature. A few deer crossed the road in front of us, but by the time I put the window down to take a photo, they had sprinted into the trees beside the road. We finally arrived back at the campground just before 8pm. It is now 9.45pm but only just getting dark - I can still see the lake out the window. It is 79F (26C) and just beautiful.

Hawaiian RV Party

Never a dull moment at this RV park. Yesterday evening some neighbours called and invited us to join their group for s'mores around the campfire. We took a rain check until tonight, which turned out to coincide with a Hawaiian party they were holding. There were 22 attendees and it was a very pleasant evening. Cathy & Leo had set up their annex up with a blow up palm tree, decorated their awning with little palms and set the mood with Hawaiian music. All of the ladies bought something to contribute to the feast. We had to keep moving to keep in the shade, as the setting sun kept getting in our eyes. Three of the ladies wore T-shirts they had picked up in Texas which had painted bikini bodies on them. Murray took a photo of me with one of them as a souvenir!Murray & Wes went out fishing in the boat again today and they caught 19 fish all up, 8 of which were 16-18" walleye which is all they ended up keeping. They tossed back anything 14" and under. Here is a photo of Murray and the catch, and one of him with Avalyn holding one of the bigger catch.

Congratulations Jan

Jan & I in New Zealand
Jan & I in the Whitsundays, Queensland
Murray, Dick, Jan & I at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Two years ago my special American girlfriend Jan emailed to say she was accepted into a Masters program. So on top of a demanding job, she added college studies. Many weekends she spent reading up on coursework and doing assignments, followed by the efforts required to submit a thesis. Today it is finally all over and she has graduated. Well done Jan. I wish we could be there in DC & Frederick to celebrate with you, but we will catch up in Nashville, Tennessee in a few weeks.

North Dakota State Fair, Minot

Today Wes & Avalyn drove us 40 miles north to the North Dakota State Fair which started in 1922 and is held annually in the city of Minot. It is the largest event in the state, and draws crowds of one quarter of a million people. It brought back fond memories of attending the Wisconsin State Fair with Randy, Andrea & family last year. We enjoyed looking around the pavilion that housed the school kids entries...coming from a farming community, some entries included sheafs of wheat and flax that obviously came from their parents' farms. If you click on any photo, it will bring it up full size for a better display. In the livestock area we watched some cute black face sheep get judged, and I chatted to a young lady caring for some very pretty goats. Murray spent some time talking to a couple who had pens of pigs. There were a few different jewellery and craft stalls that I spent time browsing around, and a couple of the beaders gave me some different beading ideas. The day started cool enough, but ended up hot and humid. We were grateful for the airconditioned pavilions dotted around the place. On the way home we called into a sporting goods stall where Murray & Wes were like children in a lolly shop...While I was waiting there I took a photo of just one area of the store to give you an idea of the hunting guns etc. All in all we were gone for 10 hours and had a most enjoyable day.

Beads for Men & Women

Who would have thought that Murray would have been so envious of me playing with my pretty Swarovski crystal beads that he would buy his own beads to play with. The photo above shows him in action, working on an outdoor table beside our RV! Actually, being the keen fisherman he is, Wes has taught him how to tie some special spinners for trolling to catch walleye, bass etc. After he finishes tying knots to secure fishing hooks, he arranges colourful beads and floaters on the fishing line. He then wraps the line, hooks, beads and all, around the black & green cylinder you can see in front of him. That keeps the line free from tangles and makes it easy to access the spinners when he needs a new set too add to his line. He just threads a worm between two hooks, and he is ready to troll. A fish called a Northern Pike has very sharp teeth and they have no trouble biting through the line, so he needs to have a few spares on hand.

Summer pastimes...

After some simply brillliant summer days here on the lake, there is a 30% chance of thunderstorms for the next few days. That should give Murray a chance to catch up on sleep and jobs around the RV. He and Wes have been going out in the boat each morning at 7.30am and not coming in until about 4pm. All that fresh air, sunshine and exercise hauling in the big ones (well, they did catch a few 17 & 18" walleye over the past few days) has them plum tuckered out. The fillets were filling up the fridge faster than we could eat them, so fortunately a neighbour across from us bought over her vacuum seal bagger, and we were able to package them up very compactly and put in the freezer. Everyone is so friendly in campgrounds.

While Murray has been fishing, I have been keeping myself occupied by making up some bead orders. The lady who loaned me the vacuum sealer ordered 10 of my phone charms, and I had a second order for 6. They plan to give them away as Christmas gifts. I really enjoy playing with the different colours and designs. In the photo you will see kangaroos and koalas featured and they were by special request. My supply of them is dwindling rapidly. Might have to come home in September and stock up again.

Speaking of returning to Aus, during the week we were thrilled to be offered 6 months tenancy of a Bed & Breakfast in Ballina, commencing in October. It is half a block back from the river, and just a short walk from the centre of town and not much further to walk to my sister Gemma and my Aunty Dymp. It is only a one bedroom B&B, but with ensuite, kitchen, lounge and dining area, as well as a covered outdoor patio area, it should do us perfectly. The owners are having a washing machine and clothes line installed. Spending 6 months in Ballina will give us a good idea of whether that is where we want to retire to eventually.

North Dakota

Here we are back on Lake Audubon in North Dakota. We stayed here for a few weeks last year and enjoyed the area. The two photos above are taken from me standing just inside the step looking out to the water. The top photo is looking a bit to the left, and the bottom photo is looking straight out. When I am sitting at the computer my view is the bottom photo and more water to the left. Very peaceful. The weather has been lovely for the two days we have been here - warm sunny days (today 26C) and cool nights (tonight 16C). A few thunderstorms are predicted for later in the week though.

There is some nice wildlife around the park - robin red breasts, striped ground squirrels, Canada geese and cottontail rabbits. On the road into the nearby town we saw some pheasants this morning, and if we delayed our evening walk and took it after dark, it should just about be time for the fireflies to be flitting out and about. I bought some firewood today, and have some marshmallows ready to toast. Each campsite has a fireplace which has a grill above it if you want to cook outside. We prefer to cook on our Baby Weber. We don't often have a fire, but when we do, we would usually light one after dinner and sit there with a glass of red and some peanuts in the shell; for a change we will toast marshmallows. Dick & Jan taught us how to make s'mores when we camped together in Kentucky last year, but for now we will just stick with the minimalist approach and just have the marshmallows on their own.

Farewell Wyoming

This morning we left our Wyoming campground and backtracked 3 miles to check out an old Indian buffalo jump site on a back road. Between 1500 - 1800 AD, Indians lured bison to a cliff or edge of a natural sinkhole and then herded them over the edge into the cavity below. Then the Indians would kill enough bison to provide them with meat for the coming winter months. The sinkhole pictured was 200' wide and 50' deep. The canvas you can see to the left of Murray is part of an archaelogical digging site where hundreds of bison bones are being recovered. Signs everywhere warn to be careful of rattlesnakes, so we made a lot of noise just in case any were around.

From the buffalo jump, we drove 10 minutes east and crossed the border into South Dakota, and traversed only about 100 (160 km) miles in that state, travelling north and parallel to the Montana border which was about 30 (50km) miles to our west. The late snow falls and subsequent rains have left the fields looking very healthy - fresh hay bales were dotting many acres, and green young corn crops were waving in the breeze. One property even had a pretty blue oil derrick pumping in a field amidst the hay bales! Very picturesque. Once over the border into North Dakota we pulled up to check out a cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. Murray noticed a farmer across the road, so he went over to chat with him. Turns out his family migrated from Holland to Minnesota and then to this area in North Dakota in 1909. He was 63 years of age and had lived on the same farm all of his life. His farm was 480 acres and he had alfalfa crops and ran 48 head of cattle. Angas cattle are everywhere in this area and look so sleek and healthy. Around 2.30pm we arrived at our campground in North Dakota (it was 100 F (38C)) , and within minutes, the first warning for a tornado watch came across our TV screen. It is now a few hours later, and we are waiting for it to get a bit cooler before pulling out the BBQ and cooking our steaks. The tornado watch has moved to the East of us at this stage. Tomorrow we will drive the 100 miles (160 km) to Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota where we plan to stay for 2 nights.

Devil’s Tower, Wyoming

Yesterday we did a short drive to Devil’s Tower, a mammoth rock obelisk in the Wyoming Black Hills that is dated older than 50 million years. It was decreed as the first US National Monument in 1906. It is a significant sacred site to various Indian tribes who come here. “There are things in nature that engender an awful quiet in the heart of man. Devil’s tower is one of them”.
Prairie dogs and their holes in the ground are prevalent all along the first mile entrance to the area. They are only a tiny, burrowing ground squirrel, but have a very social network and their underground tunnels are 3-10ft deep then another 10-15 ft horizontally.

Our RV park in Beulah is about 10 mins from the South Dakota border. At 6pm we took our glass of wine and joined our neighbours who were sitting outside and got lots of travel tips. They are full time retired RVers and told us where we could find a casino where RVers have free power & water. Also where we could see an Indian bison fall hunting ground nearby. They also told us about a diamond mine in Arkansas where for $6.50, anyone can spend the day going through the excavated dirt for diamonds.

After chatting with the neighbours, we then walked a block to the only two businesses in Beulah, a population of 33! One business is the Trading Post with saloon and steak house, and the other is a Steak House Restaurant. We weren’t sure which one to choose, so we sat outside for a while to see where the action was. Four bikies pulled up out front and I asked them if they were locals. They said yes, and recommended the Steak House, so we went inside and didn’t regret it. Murray had a buffalo T-Bone, and I had a prime Angas Beef ribeye. The service was amazing and the owner (a physician in a nearby South Dakota town) went from table to table chatting to the patrons. Another table had 4 generations of locals – interesting to note that the guys kept their cowboy hats on during the dinner. One had a white hat, and one a dark hat. Both hats curled up at the sides which is the common trend around these parts.

Indian Hex, Wyoming

Our campground last night was in Keyhole State Park, Wyoming, only about 50 miles from the NW South Dakota border. It was located on a huge reservoir that was once Sioux Indian territory but they lost control of these lands when gold was discovered in the nearby famous Black Hills in 1874. When we checked in, it was a lovely sunny day with a nice breeze and we parked right on the water's edge as per the photo. Almost as soon as we found our spot, the wind sprung up and was very brisk. There are no hookups at this park (no electricity, water or sewer) and usually campgrounds are clearly laid out, but here, we were told just to park where we liked. The area we chose was used mainly by day visitors for fishing, swimming and boating, and we were told that overnight campers usually went across the bay to another camping area. We liked where we were, so stayed. By 10pm, the wind had died down and it was quite pleasant, and all the day visitors had gone home. It was a bit eerie as we were totally alone for the first time in our RV travel experience.

We went to bed around 10.30pm (easy when you have no TV to watch and don't want to drain the batteries by having the lights on to read). At 2am we were woken by a loud thunder and lightning storm that became increasingly more intense, and directly above us. There are often lightning strikes in this country, and I had visions of the park staff finding us burnt to a crisp when they opened the park up to day visitors the next morning! Splatters of rain started as the thunderstorm moved away from us and I breathed a sigh of relief. Within 30 mins the storm was back with a vengeance – I couldn’t believe it. I covered my head with a pillow and tried to blank out the flashing bright lights and the cracks of loud reverberating thunder. Phew, it slowly faded into the distance and we got back to sleep again. At 4am something woke me up and I realized it was a howling wind and the RV was being buffeted by strong winds. What was going on? Were the spirits of the ousted Sioux Indians wanting us to leave? Murray got up and lowered the automatic jacks to brace us against the wind. That was very effective in reducing the buffeting, but the noise was very unpleasant. It was a relief to wake up in the morning and find a bright, clear day to greet us. No rain, no wind, just a lovely, summers day! Things always seem worse at night, but it was scary nonetheless.

Hummingbird Video

When we were staying with friends on their ranch just out of Austin, Texas, I got up close and personal with a hummingbird at a feeder on their porch. I captured a short video on my camera. Turn your sound on and enjoy.

Wyoming

We are spending the 4th July Holiday weekend in Casper Wyoming. Not quite as exciting as our previous DC Independence Day parades and fireworks! It is hot, hot, hot...34C (93 F) but supposed to cool off on Sat & Sun. The drive from Cody to Thermopolis was pretty ho hum as far as scenery was concerned. Thermopolis itself is home a famous hot spring site which was bought from the Shoshone Indians in 1868. The waters are supposed to be therapeutic and are channeled to feed into a few nearby bath houses. The actual spring itself (pictured) bubbles away at 57 C (135 F), smells of sulphur and dotted with algae. On the southside of Thermopolis is the beautiful Wind River Canyon and on the other side of that we drove past a lovely big Reservoir (Boysen ). In hindsight, it would have been a nice place to stay for a night or two. No hookups though.

The rest of the drive to Casper, Wyoming was lovely. We lost count of the number of antelope we saw in the fields beside the road. Our Casper campground in at the back of Fort Caspar which was established around 1862 as a military post to protect the Oregon and Mormon Trails and the Pony Express from Indian attack. It is on the banks of the North Platte River and the wagons crossed here. As we arrived yesterday an inquisitive white tail rabbit came to check us out - Murray caught him (and the dusty campground) with the camera. Around 9pm last night, when it had cooled down nicely, we went for a stroll along the river and saw rabbits eveerywhere. There are supposed to be deer around too, but we haven't seen any yet.