7/30/15 - On 7/26, I went to church with cousin Onita.  We came home and made dinner and then sat and talked and talked.   I had also learned that early morning, that my Uncle Lee Schlabach had passed away, so we started to look for tickets for me to go to Phoenix.  Since he had donated his body to science, I was told that the memorial service would be held later but I soon learned that because of many various family schedules, it was much better to arrange a memorial service right away.  So I spent many an hour trying to find the best deal.

7/27 - I learned that the memorial service was planned for 7/30 so knew I had better get a ticket soon.  We did some more research and I soon had a ticket leaving Wednesday afternoon.  

7/28 - Onita's son Shay had a doctor's appointment in Missoula (about 50 miles) north so I went with them for the ride.  Onita and also stopped off at the dairy queen.  It was great.  She had a school board meeting that evening so I got to packing some clothes to get ready to leave the next day.

7/29 - I finished my packing and decided to do some dishes but since it has been rather chilly in the morning,  I had a little heater going, the TV going and decided to run the mircowave for a little hot water and soon  I had no electricity!!  Stan (Onita's husband) came by, we did some elimination regarding what could be the problem to soon learned that I must have tripped the breaker.  Sure enough so now I know what that outlet can handle!!  Anyway, we sat on the front porch and did some visiting, had some lunch and then off to the airport.  Onita drove my car since Stan wanted to change the oil in her car.  I took off for Salt Lake at 5:50pm.  Got to Salt Lake and since I was on a small commuter flight, I had a LONG walk to the terminal to learned that I had to walk two more terminals before I would be at gate C-12!!  I did not have any time to be slow but did get to the gate before they started to board.  I was able to change my seat assignment so I could have a window seat which was great.  We got into Phoenix on time and I met up with my brother Daniel from Delaware and my Aunt Esther from Cleveland.  We all were picked up by cousins Rick and Robyn.

7/30 - today is the memorial service at 6:00pm and I am writing this at 3:00pm.  Since everyone is traveling from the east and with time changes, everyone is resting so decided to write a little.

07/25/15 - On 7/22, I did some chores around the RV to getting to pull out on Thursday before noon, otherwise a very quiet day.

On 7/23, I got up and put things away, closed up all of the water, sewage and electric to get ready to head for Bozeman, Montana.  I moved the car out of the way and pulled the RV to the other side of the campground so I could hook up the car.  Everything went well and I pulled out at 11:00am.  I had kinda mapped everything out in my head but decided to put the Walmart address in Bozeman in the GPS.  I drove through construction, lots of wind and some rain and then got to a "T" in the road, the GPS stated to go left and I did but learned later I should have gone right to get to I-90 faster.  I drove some windy roads and finally got to I-90 to learn that I had missed the rest stop where I had planned to have lunch so had to drive a ways to the next rest stop.  Finally, got some lunch at 2:00pm.  I got to Bozeman and knew the Walmart was right off of the freeway but the GPS kept telling me to go to the right so I totally missed the Walmart on the left.  Anyway, drove about a mile out of the way until I found a parking lot big enough to turn around.  Got to the the Walmart and there were at least 10 other RV's already there but I did find a spot and settled in.  I decided to do some reading, crocheting and have dinner while it was daylight.  All of a sudden it got dark and we had a nice thunderstorm and it rained hard enough on one side to clean the car up a little which was great. I then decided when it got a little darker, I would post and play computer games since I did not need much light. Well, I got this huge post ready to publish and I lost my mouse and so could not publish, save it or do anything but shut down.  Well, shutting down did not work either so I ended up going to bed instead.

On 7/24, I got up, called my friend Jesse to see what happened to my mouse, he asked for pictures of the keyboard and in the process, I started hitting my "F" buttons and I got the mouse back but then  I needed to leave for Missoula to meet cousin Onita since I would be at their house for the week.  She actually lives about 50 miles south but was in town for the day, so we met at the Walmart and I followed her to her house.  As I left Bozeman and got on the freeway, all of a sudden an alarming buzzing sound came on and the rear tire pressure gauge stated "0" pressure.  I knew that I did not have a flat tire but knew something was wrong.  In the 8 miles I drove to the truck stop where I planned to get diesel, the gauge moved about three times and then completely over to 130 pounds of pressure!!  I did get the diesel and right across the street was a truck tire shop so I had the pressure checked on all the tires and everything was fine so decided it was the gauge but knew it would be a horrible ride.  I hit the gauge with my knuckle several times and it has been working ever since!!

Onita and I got to her house, we unhooked the car and back the RV up against her house and I got plugged in so I am all set for the week.  Last night we sat around a pit fire in the back yard facing a beautiful mountain range.  It was wonderful.

Today, we went to a farmer's market, got some tomatoes which have a great flavor.  She was looking for spinach but learned there was none for the rest of this season.  The had some craft things there as well but we just looked.  She needed to do some grocery shopping and we returned home and had lunch on the back patio and all of a sudden deer came out of the corn field and wandered through the hay field.  It was wonderful.  

07/21/15 - On 7/20, I went downtown Cody, walked around the main street and then did a trolley tour.  It was for an hour and they had a lot of history but I had visited some of the places that they hit so some of it was boring.  We did see some downtown history that was back in the residential areas which was interesting but most interesting was how the mule deer wandered around the residential area.  We saw a big buck under the slide at an elementary school, two little fawns up against the corner of a house in the shade.  Then we drove a little farther and there were two fawns right on the sidewalk just watching some kids walk by.  It was so cute.

7/17/15 -  On 7/16, I left at 8:11am and headed for the north end of Yellowstone.  It was kinda a cool day but nice traveling since no rain.  It got a little windy on the north end but was OK.  I went to Mammoth Hot Springs and walked around the fort area for a little while.  I found the herd of elk taking a break in a court yard so I am not sure if they were wild or not.  They made sure that everyone stayed on the sidewalk and a little distance from them.

                                            The herd of Elk

I then drove the west side of the park going home and got into major road construction and it was quite the mess.  Sure was glad when that ended.  I then stopped off at what they call the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with upper and lower falls.  I stopped off on the upper falls.

                                                                The upper falls

After 8 hours and 50 minutes and 259 miles later, I arrived back to the campground.

Today, it is very cool and cloudy so I am staying in and taking it easy.  Since it is cool I have decided to make a peach cobbler for my dessert for the next week.

7/15/15 - On 7/14, I had to stay around the park all day since I was waiting for a repairman.  He did not call to give me any kind of time but told me, he would be here sometime on Tuesday.  I then decided to go through all of the baby yarn that I had acquired in Delaware.  My niece (Deborah- hospice nurse) was taking care of a patient who had lots and lots of yarn and quilting material so Deborah brought it back to her house and I got some various colors and lots of white.  Anyway, when I got the box out, I learned that I had another water leak.  I was so disappointed but immediately called the repair guy to add that to my list.  He did arrive, changed my plastic vent in the bathroom and then took a look at where it was leaking and tightened up the end of the pipe.  We waited for a while and NO leak.  I was grateful.  The plastic piece (vent) was a little over $21.00 but labor was $100 an hour but he was here maybe all of a half an hour!!  Oh, well I am once again all repaired.

Today, it was cool and cloudy and I had the car loaded down with all the stuff under the RV where the leak was so decided not to go anywhere. It finally dried enough for me to put everything back so now I will still plan to do the north part of Yellowstone tomorrow.

7/13/15 - This morning I got up at 7:30am and got ready to drive to Yellowstone for the day.  I decided to pack a lunch including two containers of ice tea.  I took a rain coat, umbrella, binoculars, GPS and headed out at 8:15am.  8 hours and 50 minutes and 250 miles later, I returned to the RV Park.  It was a long tiring day but I saw a lot of things.  It was not far before I saw 4 bisons on the edge of the road.  In fact, I thought one was going to cross but he didn't.  Later, I saw a deer at the edge of the road and also saw two very cute little fawns.  Most of the time we drove about 40 to 45 miles per hour but I got to Old Faithful at 11:34am to learn that she was scheduled to go off around 12:10pm.  So I ate half of my sandwich and some crackers while waiting.  She erupted at 12:06pm instead.

                                                             Old Faithful

                                                          Watching the aftermath

On the way back, I went a different way which was a little longer but wanted to see more territory.  I saw many bisons grazing in the meadows.  Because it was hard to stop to take a picture, I did get one but they are kinda far away.  I also stopped off at a beautiful water fall and  a hot spring that was making all kinds of noice from the opening but was only steam and no water.  It was a very good day and the weather was good.  Right now the wind has arrived and it has cooled down but I don't think we will get any rain.  I am off to bed early.

7/11/15 - Well since that worked I am going to try two more.  Today, I went to Buffalo Bill Dam.  That was quite interesting.  I then toured a old western town that they re-located the buildings and put them all together.  It included Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid had spent some time in some of the house the saloon.  I will attach a picture of the dam and a picture of the old town:

                                                             The Dam is at the bottom of
                                                                      picture

                                            A row of the houses and saloon in old town                                      

7/11/15 - I am not sure that I am going to be able to get this picture on but I am going to give it a try:

                                             Parked in Cody, Wyoming

07/09/15 - It was rather chilly in Casper, Wyoming so I got up early and left at 8:00am.  All of the driving today was on a two lane highway but traveling went well.  I got to Cody and the campground around 12:30pm but park a little out of the way since the car was not running.  I learned there is a maintenance man on duty.  He informed me that he was watering the space I was scheduled into but in the meantime,  I unhooked the car and he jumped it.  I then drove around town for almost an hour to get the battery to charge.  At 2:15pm,  I was able to pull into my spot.  I am at the end of the row but it is very busy with traffic.  The campground is rather large but well kept.  Since I am here during the peak season, everything is rather expensive so plan to make the best of it and enjoy since I am not planning to revisit Yellowstone.  I got a name of a mobile repair man so will find out if he can replace the vent in the bathroom.  Plans are to get some rest tonight and maybe not plan much tomorrow and then outline my Yellowstone experience the first of next week.  I was going to attach a picture but am doing something wrong.  So will try tomorrow.

7/8/15 - This morning Annie was working from home so she was able to help me get things ready to travel.  Since she has an excellent vacuum cleaner, she decided to quickly vacuum and also treated the leather seats.  It was great and the RV is cleaner than it has been for a while.  I am not sure what time I took off but just outside of Denver it already started to rain.  Sometimes, it rained fairly hard but not enough for me to stop.  I crossed into Wyoming and stopped off at a really nice information center and got some information so I can plan my two weeks.  I was not very hungry so had one of Annie's brownies and a glass of milk.  I then drove just a few miles and decided to stop for diesel since it was only $2.39 a gallon!! I had over a quarter of a tank but was not sure when the next service would be.  Since I had someone behind me waiting, I decided to pull out and then paid the bill.  When I started the engine, my heart almost stopped because the engine light came on but the stop engine light did not.  I turned everything off, went in to pay for the fuel and learned that there was a truck repair shop just down the frontage road.  When I got back in and started the engine, the light did not come on. I waited a minute and then decided to continue my journey.  The light has not come on since.

I got to the Walmart in Casper, Wyoming at 4:19pm.  Now, I was hungry so wanted something quick.  I ended up making mac and cheese and it was very good.  I then put more things away, emptied  a small bag and put it back in storage underneath the RV. Well, there was mouse food that I had inside the RV so how it got there I will never know.  When we were doing the vacuuming, Annie found a lot of mouse poop all over so who knows how many were living in the RV!!  I sure hope they are all dead by now.

I went to check the car and now I have a dead battery.  So will drive to campground tomorrow and see ifsomeone has a car I can use because I have jumper cables but if not I will call AAA.  It had not been driven very much the past 7 weeks but this morning it was fine.  I started work and heard a shrieking noise to learn that my battery needed to be changed in my smoke alarm.  Lucky I was able to reach it by standing on the dining table!!  Now, I have ran the generator for an hour so am getting ready to go to bed.  I believe I have about 230 miles but none of it is interstate so will take longer.

For a while during the traveling it was only 53 degrees but in Casper it was not raining and was 65 degrees.  The RV had 75 degrees and right now it is still 72 degrees so hopefully won't be totally frozen by the morning.

7/7/15 - On 7/5, Annie, Boj and I drove out to the storage place to bring the RV back and park in front of a neighbors house for several days.  Annie drove back with me and when I got there Boj and Mike (the neighbor) decided that I should park next to their house.  They have been talking about buying an RV but never knew if it would fit next to the house.  I am happy to say my fit.

7/6 - I started to move things from their house back into the RV.  They had kept all my freezer and refrigerator food.  I tried and tried to start the hot water heater since I had some dishes to wash but it just would not catch on.  I gave up and decided I need to repair that as soon as I got to Cody, Wyoming when something hit me and I realized that I had turned off the propane while the RV was in storage.  So turned the propane on and I have HOT water.

Today, I emptied my suitcase, did some dishes, put more things away and I should be ready to pull out tomorrow morning.

7/4/15 - On 7/3, My sister Rachel and I left her house at 2:55am to meet up with friends of hers that were traveling to the Rochester, New York airport and since it is quite a distance, I decided to travel with them instead of having my sister make the trip 4 hours later.  The driver did over sleep and we did not leave their house until 3:40am.  There flight was out at 5:15am but the airport is small and they did OK.   I found a couch to settle into and slept for about an hour and half and then went to the counter to see if I could get a better schedule but soon learned it would cost me another 25,000 miles to make any changes so just waited it out.  We left Rochester at 9:38am and arrived in Philadelphia at 10:55am.  I then found the gate, found some food and got the computer out to past time since I was not leaving until 3:30pm.  We left at 3:30pm and arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina at 5:00pm.  After arriving, I soon learned that my flight to Denver was delayed by one hour due to mechanical problems in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  So we finally left Charlotte at 9:15pm and arrived in Denver at 10:45 but until I had luggage, Annie and I finally got back to her house a little before midnight.

Today, we are taking it easy.  Annie is making baked beans and brownies to take to a cook out across the street.  I have been invited so plan to attend.  Not sure when we are going to check out the RV but not until Sunday afternoon or I will go by myself on Monday and then will know my schedule for Yellowstone.

7/2/15 - On 7/1, my sister and I babysat grandchildren in the morning, made some lunch for the family and then we ran errands all afternoon.  We caught up with a son (Peter) and his wife and went for dinner at the Crow's Nest.  It was really good.  While, there it poured rain and so between the heavy rain, we ran for the car.  I have attached a picture:

                                            At the Crow's Nest (Ivan, Rachel, Peter)
                                            could not get Lawanda on picture

7/2/15 - Wow, it has been a while since I last wrote so of course I am not going to remember everything but will write what I remember.

6/23 - I was invited to a birthday party for Aileen Warfel at her daughter's house.  My nephew Weston came and picked me up.  We had a delicious meal and ended up eating inside since a big rain storm was brewing.  It was great to see another nephew (Jay) and his family that were vacationing at a Delaware beach.  It was a fun evening.

6/26 - Daniel, Mary Ann and I left for Waterloo, New York for a family reunion.  We had a great trip up but found New York cold and rainy.  We had pizza on Friday night and quite a few of the family came in.  We build a fire in a fire ring and had a pleasant evening.

6/27 - We think we had about 63 people for Saturday lunch and did a barbecued chicken menu with all the fixings.  Some gathered around to visit, some played a corn hole game and the younger kids played a lot of volleyball.  One family had to leave so there was a little less for the Saturday evening sub sandwiches meal.

6/28 - Since I have been fighting a cold, I decided not to go to church and take it a little easy.  We then had a large lunch meal and some of the families where starting to depart for home or other destinations.

6/29 - Some of my sister's (Rachel) family came over since we had a lot of hamburgers and hot dogs left and we had another cook out by the fire ring.  I have attached a picture:

                                              The fire ring cook out