Square Dancing RV'rs: July 2011

Our first overnighter with grandson

We took the fifth wheel up to Bridgeport, WA - about 45 minutes northeast of Chelan to meet my brother, Steve, and his wife, Nancy. We took our grandson, Hudson, on his first overnighter without mom and dad. He had a great time at the campground riding his bike and playing at the playground. That evening we drove to Grand Coulee dam to see the Laser Light show. Hudson really enjoyed it, but was pretty tired when it ended at about 10:40. That was a really late night for him.

At Grand Coulee Damn

Hudson with Great Aunt Nancy and Great Uncle Steve in the background

Hudson squatting over the top of the sprinkler

Us at square dance in Oregon

Horesetail falls, Columbia Gorge Oregon

Oregon Summerfest Square Dance

Here we are in our National outfit

Home in Wenatchee

We made it home after almost 5 weeks on the road. We spent about $2100 on fuel! Yes, that is a lot. Diesel prices ranged from a high of 4.29 to a low of 3.68 per gallon. I would say the average was around $3.90 per gallon. It's a lot of money, but we saved where we could by using our Passport America 1/2 price campground membership for which we pay about $45 a year.

After leaving Great Falls, Montana we drove over Rogers Pass to Missoula, and then to Lolo Pass and along highway 12 which follows the Clearwater River. This is the route that Lewis and Clark took and it is really scenic. We think this is one of the prettiest drives in the United States.

We ended our trip by driving along the Columbia Gorge to Portland, Oregon where we attended the Oregon Summerfest square dance weekend. We had a fun time dancing with our friends, Loyce and Wendell. Sunday, July 10th we drove home to Wenatchee.

So, now we're home ready to enjoy the rest of the summer. Grandson, Hudson, was very glad to see us. We've been out riding the loop trail with our daughter-in-law, Toddi, several mornings. She tows Hudson behind in a bike trailer which makes us sort of even since she is almost 30 years younger. We saw both osprey and eagles on our bike ride.

Prickly Pear Cactus Theodore Roosevelt NP, North Dakota

Badlands of North Dakota (National park)

Our trip home

We're now in Great Falls, Montana. We left Mackinac City, drove over the Mackinaw Bridge, and through the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan. We found a cute little township RV park for $10 a night in Michegan. Next we drove through Wisconsin, and into Minnesota. We stayed at a campground near Detroit Lakes. And, boy was it hot and muggy. Once we setup in the campground I never went outside.

After Minnesota we drove through North Dakota. We were driving on I-94 and decided to stop for the night in the Badlands National Park (Theodore Roosevelt NP). In one of the tourist magazines there was information about the Medora Musical. We called and ordered tickets and were sure glad to we did. We went to Burning Hills ampitheater where the musical was performed. The show started at 8:30. It was a really nice evening - although we were glad we had our coats. It offers a breathtaking extravaganza of fireworks, horses, and outstanding professional entertainment. The music ranged from Patsy Cline to Kenny Chesney to a fiddler playing the Orange Blossom special. They danced, they clogged, they sang, and kept us thoroughly entertained.

The next day we moved from the commercial campground in Medora to the National Park (for $5 a night). We took a drive around the 36 miles south unit loop to see the badlands. We did a nature walk that had lots of blooming wildflowers including many Pricly Pear Cactus.

Sunday morning we drove to Great Falls, Montana. We are staying at the AF base family camp. It's a beautiful RV park with full hookup sites for $19 a night. We decided to stay over for the 4th as we heard from a friend that driving on the 4th would be difficult with the holiday drivers. So, today we did a bike ride along the Missouri river, saw two falls along the river, saw the Lewis and Clark Interpretive center, and in the afternoon saw the C.M. Russell museum. Charles Russell completed about 4000 during his lifetime. He was the first Western artist to live the majority of his life in the west.

We would highly recommend a visit to Great Falls, Montana. It reminds us a lot of our home area of Wenatchee. I think the weather if fairly similar.