Musicland! Branson, MO

I hear the camper crying out on long weekends - "Please, take me out..." So we had to oblige. Labor Day weekend sent us to Musicland Campground in the heart of Branson, and a wonderful camping experience. It's a beautiful terraced park, well maintained, and just behind the Titanic at 76 and Gretna. We will definitely stay here again.

Some high points of the weekend: stopped at a Dollar General in Alpena, AR and found their camping supplies 70% off. Came out of there with a whole bunch of stuff for $22.  Then, Coleman Outlet was having a truckload sale and we got a bunch of bargains there...cast iron Dutch oven for $30, 13x9 canopy for $60, and an electric cooler that was half price.  Finally a good option since the refrigerator in the trailer is still not working.

Tried trout fishing on the White River just below Tablerock Lake dam but no joy, but it was still fun. So back to the campground for some relaxation.

It's about 90*F with high humidity but we're still outside and enjoying it!  Amazing the difference when you're camping vs. being at home.

Surprise Weekend

So I get a text from my bride on Friday:

And here we are. A beautiful little Oklahoma State Park about 6 miles west of Siloam Springs, Ark. Never heard of it but she found it by Googling Oklahoma RV Parks and Natural Falls State Park had 4.5 stars. 

They name each of their camping areas. Bike trails, paths, a beautiful river with "falls, naturally". We'll do this again!  Plus, very relaxing since it's about 80* F, nice breeze and light rain. 

Weekend at Petit Jean

We had a free weekend last week so hooked up the trailer and headed for Petit Jean State Park. It's a beautiful place and we hadn't been there in years. 

It was super-hot (at least 100 and high humidity) so we looked for ways to spend time inside. The air-conditioned Rainbow actually became frigid where I had to turn the temperature up to make it comfortable - and still with all the condensation, no leaks!

We visited the antique car museum on the mountain, Petit Jean's grave sight, and Cedar Falls overlook. Matthew and Meredith came up Saturday evening so we enjoyed dinner at Mather Lodge with them. All in all, a great, slow weekend. 

More Early History! Love the Pics...

My older brother Dave continues to find old pictures of family history, and several of them include our travels with the Rainbow. Thought you might enjoy these...

 

Probably the best picture I've seen with Dad's 1959 Ford Country Sedan pulling the Rainbow

These first three pictures were a trip to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

I love this color pic at the Air Force Academy in 1964.  That placard on the right-front of the Rainbow was the Douglas Jetliner's Trailer Club, from the Long Beach plant of Douglas Aircraft - later McDonnell Douglas and now non-existent.

These two pictures were at Klamath River in Northern California.  The trailer still has hydraulic safety brakes, attached by a light-duty chain to the tow vehicle.  Theory being if the trailer breaks from the vehicle, the chain will pull the manual lever to activate the trailer brakes.  You can also set them manually, and I assume he's done this, but even with the brakes set I don't believe I am brave enough to try an angle like this.  I'd look for another spot.

This is from our property in Southwest Utah, when Dad pulled the trailer there every year on vacation.  It wasn't until the mid '70's that Dad built the A-frame cover and left the Rainbow there. The tow vehicle is Dad's 1971 Ford Country Sedan.  We pulled the Rainbow out of its resting place of nearly 40 years over the 4th of July in 2014.  If you haven't checked it out, go to the Welcome Page of this blog in 2014 for some great early pics and the history.

Homeward Bound 😥

One of the saddest pictures on the trip...Glacier and the mountains in the rearview mirror.

We drove the length of Montana on Tuesday and made it to North Dakota on the "Hi-Line", U.S. Highway 2.  There is a whole lot of nothing but US 2 goes through some really quaint communities that have been the life-blood of the farthest north east-west highway.  Towns like Cut Bank and Havre were fascinating, with Amtrak and freight trains still serving these communities.  Our attempt was to follow the Lewis and Clark trail.

We got to Williston, ND and saw first-hand what a boom-town looks like. Hundreds of oil companies with millions in equipment, housing, vehicles, and wells.  Oil rigs and fires dotted the landscape for as far as you could see.

We stayed at Lewis and Clark State Park just outside Williston. It started raining through the night but was a beautiful spot for an overnight.

On Wednesday we mapped out our route home south from Williston into South Dakota, through Rapid City and continued south to North Platte, Nebraska.  In Sturgis, I just had to snap a picture with the Rainbow.

We thought Arkansas had a lot of bugs - nothing like Nebraska.  The truck and trailer were plastered with 'em, and it's also where we noticed the temperature beginning to climb.  Oh how we love the mountains.

On Thursday we continued south to Hays, Kansas, and then picked up the familiar I-70 - I-135 - US 412 to the Muskogee Turnpike.  I think it first hit 100 degrees outside just north of Wichita. Ugh.

All in all, 5,000 miles on the Ford and Rainbow that went without a hitch.  Great travels, great memories, and lots of fun telling the story of the Rainbow.

Glacier! Friday to Tuesday.

Tracy and I had never been to Glacier National Park.  We had always heard it was worth the trip, but at 7 hours north of Yellowstone, it's a long way north!  During our stay, we got as close as 22 miles south of the Canadian border.

It was a lot of fun sharing this experience with Tracy's sister Toni, husband John, and two of their grandkids, Bubba (Erick Jr.) and Nathan.

A dwarf among giants.  John and Toni's rig is the Sprinter on the left.

We stayed at North American RV Park in Coram, Montana.  It was only about 5 miles from the entrance at West Glacier and not far from Hungry Horse and Columbia Falls.

Found a replacement hubcap at an antique yard on the highway outside Columbia Falls! The guy had some very interesting vehicles...a running 1949 4-door Chevy in original condition and complete for $3,500; and a rare 1929 Erskine Roadster. He said it was the only one left in the world - $12,000.  We left with a $20 hubcap we needed, but if I had a way to get it home I would have seriously considered the Chevy.

Ah, Glacier!

Glacier was gorgeous.  Beautiful, crystal clear water, mild temperatures and cool nights.  The trout were elusive, at least for us.  We caught several small ones but the large ones just looked and laughed at us. Good thing dinner didn't depend on fish.

Polebridge...

We found Polebridge 22 miles south of the border on a dirt road. Completely off the grid, they get their bakery going at 4:00 am every day and specialize in Huckleberry Bear Claws and Macaroons.  They also have a full restaurant. Browsing through the mercantile store was really fun and interesting.  Wonder what their winters are like!

Going to the Sun Road...

A harrowing road with a length limit of 21 feet, Going to the Sun Road is an engineering marvel. Built in the 1930's, the road scales the side of glaciers and is only open about 3 months out of the year.  Locals told us that an RV driver made the news the week before by getting his rig stuck and shut down the road.  There were places we had to fold the mirrors in to either miss the opposing traffic or the cliff, but the sights were spectacular.

There's a mountain just east of this location called Three Divide Peak.  The literature says that where a raindrop falls on this peak, within one square inch, will make a difference on whether that water falls north and ends up in the Hudson Bay, west and ends up in the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean, or east to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.  Glacier was a sight to see and well worth the trip.

Yellowstone! Monday to Friday.

After driving through Yellowstone, we pulled into the Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone, Montana about 1:00 pm Monday and met up with John and Toni (Tracy's sister and brother-in-law) and two of their grandkids, Erick Jr. (Bubba) and Nathan.  Tracy's other sister Terri and husband Steve arrived in a few hours, along with their daughter Quinn, husband Tim, and their three kids Zeke, Mal, and Asher.  It was great to spend time with them, share the Yellowstone experience, and catch up with the families.

Grand Prismatic Spring in the background. Look close and you can see the different colors in the steam.

Discovered we lost the right hubcap off the trailer somewhere along the way, and while it was a little disappointing, it certainly didn't spoil the beauty of Yellowstone. YNP should be on everyone's bucket list.

Here's a quick outline of our agenda:

• Monday - Arrived at Grizzly RV Park in W. Yellowstone, evening drive to Old Faithful.
• Tuesday - Drive to Canyon, Lower Falls, and Roosevelt for a Stage Coach ride to a Chuckwagon dinner, then home to Grizzly via Mammoth. Road construction between Mammoth and Madison made for some very filthy vehicles.
• Wednesday - Relaxed at Grizzly and checked out some real estate in West Yellowstone.
• Thursday - Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Canyon, then a trip east to Lamar Valley.  On the way back (about sunset) we saw grey and black wolves and bison jam in Lamar, and a black bear right next to the road between Roosevelt and Canyon.
• Friday - Packed up camp and headed for Glacier.

Grizzly RV Park, West Yellowstone. Nicest campground we've stayed in.

Tuesday morning.  Welcome to Yellowstone! The most crowded we've seen it in our 4 trips.

Old Faithful and the Old Faithful Inn.

Lower Falls at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  One day, we'll work at the park (my prediction). One of the most beautiful places on earth.