Missing Montana

 

I just can't ever be able to soak up enough of the beauty of Montana to last very long! I am so thankful that we have our pictures and memories of the time spent in the last Best Place! There was a lot of fires burning in Montana this trip. The lightning and drought have been brutal for many mountain communities this year. We visited several places that we had not been. Saw one wild bear and spent a couple days with some dear friends. We met them in Arizona a few years ago and really enjoy their company. Just so happens that they live outside of Manhattan Montana, have a full RV hook Up by their shop...for their own Coach or visitors and we were lucky enough to pass through at a time when they were home and had time to visit! They talked us into staying an extra day, and I'm so glad they did. The girls went to a Farmers Market in Bozeman and the guys went to explore where the Missouri River Begins. Then we met back at the ranch and headed off to Virginia City Montana, to explore the old west streets and rode an old fire truck for a historical narration of the town and country. One night we had the best steak I've had in years! The next night we stopped at a little place for a very good burger....you know....when in Rome.... Eat Beef!!! We said our good byes and headed out for a long trek across the country to Elkhart Indiana. We made a stop in Billings Montana at their Cabelas Store and trekked on to Buffalo Wyoming for the first night. The second night we spent in Presho South Dakota, where we were invited to a wonderful Fried chicken Dinner prepared by the gal who runs the RV Park. The next night was at the old Home Place in Sioux Falls South Dakota. Sometimes we need to take care of business and I also got my mail. The next night was Kellogg Iowa and this little Park and Cafe boasts having the best Burgers in Iowa. They are darn close to the best ever!!!! Scooting on the next day, we crossed into Illinois and stopped at a wonderful RV park at Utica Il. We got to use our Passport America Card and for $18.50 we were escorted to a large level pull through in "Green Acres." I wish that we could have spent more time there, and hopefully that will be a stop on the way back. The rain started about 6 am, and driving through Chicago in the rain wasn't planned, but by the time we took off for the last 175 miles, it sprinkled a couple of times and cleared off, arriving at the Elkhart Campground pretty proud of the trip and the way the coach performed. I am much less tired at the end of the day now then with our other bigger rig. Our new home on wheels has an appointment on Monday Morning at the Thor Service Department. When you buy a new Motor Coach, you can expect to have some construction issues...and it seems like ours has it's share.

Tomorrow we will move from this campground into the parking lot of the Thor Factory Service Department. That will be our home until they let us go. At 7 am every day, our technician will take our coach to have the things on my list addressed and fixed.

While we are there we will tour the factory and learn about Thor. I have planned a side trip to drive around the countryside and visit some of the Amish Communities in this area to fill some of the hours that we wait. We will come back at 4 pm and spend the night in our space in the lot. We also did this in Arizona when we bought our other coach. That time it was for two weeks. Hopefully this will only be a few days. I have never been to Indiana and so far it is a nice place, really green, lots of trees...but I can't stop missing Montana!