RVing Beach Bums Status

Above, Dave & Lorraine from Ottawa, ON about to hand-off "Teddy" to our wagon Master Ben at Watson Lake, YT. 

I guess I need to bring our readers up to date as to where we are, where we have been recently, and some of the events that we've encountered during that time.  After our 60-day Fantasy RV Tour to Alaska via Calgary ended (Sept 6) at Prince George, BC, went to Jasper NP in Alberta, then on to Fort Steele, BC (where we spent our first night after leaving Coeur d' Allene way back on July 6) and then backtracked to that city for a day or two.  We camped at the Walmart there in Coeur d' Allene.  We got our Direct TV turned back on, as it had died on us in Canada.  Yippee!

Above, Nancy and two RCMP. 

We left CdA and drove to Missoula, and while there we replaced our front tires.  I had noticed that a vibration had crept into my steering wheel and knew that the "cupping" problem needed to be taken seriously.  So, two new Michelin's (replacing the Goodyear G70s) and $1400 later we were like new.  It's always safety first on RV tires, especially on the fronts.  We also had the front end aligned as well to correct the camber/toe in.  We also made stop by Cummins Northwest while there to have a filter replaced within the engine, as we numerous faults during the past 3000 miles or so.  It was pretty serious, so that was fixed.  No more "stop engine" warnings!

After taking care of business in Missoula, we headed for West Yellowstone, MT after an overnight stop in Belgrade, MT.  At the Grizzly RV Park in W Yellowstone we visited a couple (Waid & Vicki) that had been working in the Park all summer and we had shared volunteer duties at a State Park in FL last winter/spring.  We had a nice dinner with them.  After three nights and four days in Yellowstone, we then left there went to Billings Walmart overnight, then onto Broadus, MT overnight (Cottonwood community park), drove thru Sturgis, SD to see where the annual motorcycle rally is held each August, and then on into Wind Cave National Park for a couple of days at the Elk Mountain Campground.

Above, chuck wagon races at the Calgary Stampede.

We left Wind Cave NP and drove to one of our favorite Parks, Badlands, just east of Rapid City, SD.  We stayed at the campground there as they had full hook-ups, made our usual drive thru the mysterious landscapes, and devoted most of the rest of the day to cleaning & organizing our motor home.  It needed it!

Above, our RVing friends from the Fantasy Tour.

We left the Badlands NP at Cedar Pass RV Park, (Visitor's Center there too) and drove to Rushville, NE, via Scenic, SD and the Badlands Visitor Center at White River.  I mention these two places because they were unusual.  Scenic, because it just looked interesting.  I'll blog later about this place.  I'll also blog later about our visit in Badlands, but our short visit at the White River Visitor Center, about 50 miles from the Cedar Pass Visitor Center, was memorable in that we were engaged in conversation with a Lakota Native American who was most informative about the Sioux/Lakota/Oglala Native Americans. 

Above, RVing Beach Bums, Joe & Nancy at the Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park, Alberta.

So, that brings us to where we are today, at Modisett Community Park in Rushville, NE.  It's Sunday morning, Sept 22, the second day of Autumn.  It was 90 degrees yesterday, but cooled off nicely around 10 last evening, so we rested well (except for the late night cookout/party at the golf course nearby) and will be heading east once again this morning down route 20.  Stay tuned as we continue to share our journey thru the blog.  Till then, RVing Beach Bums.