near Vidal Junction, California

 Headed to Palm Springs we stopped at the Rice Shoe Fence for a bit of lunch.  

Overton, NV

 Pic of the day

Suzi and Boomer

Echo Bay, Lake Mead National Recreational Area, NV

 Last year (2021) the boat ramp was open, 

But this year the water is too low, and the ramp is closed.

Of the 6 boat ramps around Lake Mead the only one open this year (2022) is Hemenway Harbor, and nothing larger than 24ft is recomended.  

Merry Christmas from Nevada

Boomer blends in

 

Our campsite for this Christmas.

Christmas Brownie Bars

 We had our hearts set on having Duncan Hines brownies for desert with our Christmas dinner.  

Problem was we forgot our brownie pan back in Montana.  So we had to make due.  The only baking pan we brought with us was a 13 inch x 9 inch cookie sheet.  

We found they were done in 10 min instead of the normal 

30 min.

They remind us of cookie bars, ergo 

BROWNIE BARS  : )

Stewarts Point - Lake Mead National Recreation area

We decided to scope out some other areas.  

We did not stay here, but we could camp in our motorhome here for free here no problem.

Last year Suzi and Boomer hiked to the water's edge no problem, this year it was way farther away, and they have warnings that while the ground may look dry, it might be a thin crust and people have needed to be rescued when they sink into the mud.  So we did not go near the water's edge.

Wild Burrows at Stewarts Point NV

 Saw this Baby Burrow either rubbing it's neck, or can't figure out how to get away?

momma Burrow was close by 

Last year we only had 1 sighting of the wild Burrows, but this year we had 4 sightings and stayed less days.  go figure.

Valley of Fire, Overton, Nevada

 Just a couple more of my favorite shots at the East entrance of Valley of Fire.

Overton, NV

 East entrance of Valley of Fire State Park.

Overton, NV

 This ravine is looking south from our spot.

Overton, NV

 Found a spot to call home for a bit.  

First sunrise.

When we arrived here, it was 54 above 0, back home it was 17 below zero.

Ely, Nevada

 Got up in the morning and decided we needed propane.  We stopped across the street from Cactus Pete's in Jacpot, NV.  While apologetic they had no workers available to fill our tank.

In Ely we went to the truck stop and they did not have the right connection for our RV. We decided to stop for the night at Valley View RV Park.  They were supper nice.  The app we used said they had propane, but we could not fill up.  The only place in town that had propane had a tight fit and we would probably needed to disconnect, so we moved on.  

  The RV park was fine, but we doubt we will stay again. There were a lot of RV's there probably monthly.  In Montana every park has a bunch of RV's that either have foam or plywood skirting.  Every time Boomer went out side the park would erupt in barking... fresh meat?  

Failed to get a pic of the park, but the cats have been sitting together more lately.

Moapa Valley, NV

 We feel like we have arrived.  We stopped for gas, propane, and a car/ RV wash!

There is a Shell station on the north end of the valley that also has a car wash with an outside bay.  

We did not do a perfect job, but looks MUCH better!

Now off to see where we will live for a bit.

Jackpot, NV

 Left Dillon early road reports said snow and ice on road going over pass at the Montana / Idaho border and Idaho only had the previous days road conditions so we did not know what we were in for.  

Started out scattered ice in the passing lane, but driving lane was mostly bare.  

It was super windy, making it fun to see the snow swirl on top of the roadway.  When we got to Clark Canyon Reservoir it was fun to see all the guys out fishing in the frigid weather with their ice huts and atv's.  One such ice hut looked lonely, and 1/2 sunken in the ice, must have fell in during a warm snap?  There was no one around it.    

When we started moving up the pass the cute swirls went crazy and became a full blown blizzard.  I was assured that I could still see vehicles traveling in the northbound lanes of the freeway.  The driving lane was mostly bare, so that helped to see were on the road we needed to be.  Half way thru the blizzard we saw a dark shadow, and hit the breaks, it was a slow moving white RV towing a dark jeep.  The jeep had no lights, but the RV had its lights on.  We stayed behind them with our flashers on the rest of the way.  (by the way, whenever we get gas we clean off our tail lights on both the car and RV)  

Once we came off the pass the roads were bare and dry.  We decided Idaho Falls was too soon to stop, so we powered thru to Cactus Petes, Jackpot, NV.  This is what our view in the morning was:

We found there are more spaces behind the Casino, and pulled into space 7 and were perfectly level.  We were able to get water and dump our tanks at the campground.

At a temp of +7F and calm it seemed nice out, (it was -13F at home) so we felt like it was lot nicer.  Since no one was around in the park Boomer got to romp a bit before heading out.

Dillion, MT

Made it to our usual stop spot at Countryside RV Park in Dillon, MT.  We only spent the one night, left shortly after sunrise.  This is what it looked like pulling out of our space.

Suzi reported deep spots walking Boomer and got her boots filled with snow.  It was too cold to really enjoy a leisurely stroll.   

Stopped for supplies, gas and lunch at Costco.  Car is a bit dirty from all the slush and ice getting kicked up from the RV.  I am sure it will get worse before we unhook again.

Great Falls, MT

 We managed to get out of town yesterday, but the roads were bad so it was a late start.  We stopped early, since we prefer to not drive in the dark. We spent the night at the Great Falls KOA.   

Normally we stay at Dicks, now Great Falls RV Park, but with calling and dropping in we could not raise anyone, and did not feel comfortable staying.  

Upper Lot Choteau Montana

This is the last shot of our property in Choteau for the year!

There is a cold snap coming and it won't get above 0F for 4-5 days, and Boomer has requested we head south!  His paws will be much happier.

Cold Moon

 Full Moon 

View from cabin 1

Boomer enjoying the romp at sunset

Sunrise

 We spent Thanksgiving night at Kim's parents house and

 woke up in the morning to this spectacular sunrise!

Natasha cat on Louis Cat

Cuddle time!

Boomer's Hill - near Choteau Montana

 Most around the Choteau area know about Priest Butte, as you are driving to Choteau on US 89 just before you arrive in town there is a Butte on the left that has 3 large crosses on the top of it.  Boomer says "beam me up Scottie"

Priest Butte Lake and Highway 89 

If you venture up the trail, beware of rattlesnakes.  

Though Suzi has never personally seen any, we are told they are in abundance here.

For that reason Boomer normally only runs to the first hill and back to the car.  

Hammer the Dog

 We puppy sat and Louis loved playing with Hammer.

Pelicans - Great Falls Montana

 Photo was taken downstream from the springs at Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls,

 near Rainbow dam.

Blackleaf Wildlife Management Area

We had a moment to take a day trip so we headed North towards Bynum and turned West toward the Bynum Reservoir and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. There is a large wildlife management area called Blackleaf Wildlife Management Area.  

On the way we saw a bit of wildlife.  

This whitetail doe has a super long neck!

At the turn to head to the reservoir we stopped and let Boomer stretch his legs. 

He was checking out the minos in the water

Further down the road we saw a large herd of Antelope.

Once in the Blackleaf Wildlife Management Area we saw no wildlife at all.

Actually it looked like a great place for a post apocalyptic movie to be filmed. 

When we got out of the car we could really tell that we are having a bad drought, 

the ground was dry and crunchy.

We meandered around the roads looking to see if we could get to the Teton Canyon Highway, and we did manage it, but there were spots I would not have wanted to drive if it was wet, or even threating rain.  On the whole journey we only saw 1 group of 3 guys that were working and no cell service. 

Perfect! : )

Going To Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana

We had a moment to get away, so we decided to go for a ride to Glacier Park.  We left the RV park in Choteau shortly after noon, so we knew we should not doddle.

We drove on Highway 2 to the West entrance, of course we did doddle a bit, so we arrived at the West entrance of the Going to the Sun Road about 5pm.  (after 4pm they no longer check passes)

The only limit I saw for vehicles was 21 feet long.  The edge of the road seems much safer now, new morter on the rock blocks, and some railings added in.

There was more trees and bushes than I remember from previous years. 

(we have not driven this road since about 1995)  

I bet that helps with erosion.

Birdwoman falls is just as I remember it.

We did find ourselves spending a bit too much time at the scenic views.

Boomer enjoyed the ride.  He loves his road trips!

We did doddle too much, next we have to face the ride back to Choteau where it seems all the deer and antelope are just waiting for dusk to jump in front of traffic. 

Glad we went!

We did indeed see many deer on our way home, so it took a longer than normal to arrive. 

Before I lost all light we were treated by this group of deer who wandered across the highway just north of Dupuyer Montana on highway 89.

There were 2 Bucks, complete with velvet horns,

Accompanying a doe and her little spotted fawn.