100729 - Jerome, Idaho

July 29, 2010
Jerome, Idaho>

Our next destination was to be a simple straight interstate drive of about 3 hours.
We slept late, awakened slowly and had a leisurely breakfast. The weather was sunny and clear when we started out a little after noon.

We have noticed quite a bit of stimulus money being spent in the form of highway construction, but mostly in short stretches and signs warning of double fines for speeding in work zones, We rarely had to stop but 45-55 MPH was posted and going slower was a bit relaxing.

As the afternoon dragged on, we had no idea we were heading for the perfect storm. First, we were detoured off the main highway and forced to travel in single file along a partially finished temporary roadway which was defined by orange barrels on our right and red rubber cones on our left, which was all that separated us from oncoming traffic. The space between the cones and barrels might have been spacious for most cars, but for The Beast, it felt a little tight, and traffic was busy on either side.

Soon after being herded to this detour, the sky started to darken prematurely (it was only late afternoon) and soon after that it started to rain. Thunder and lightening were next on the menu, and then the gusty cross winds kicked in.

It was dark as night, with only our headlights for illumination, I could swear that the barrels and cones were getting closer together with each mile as the wind tried to blow us into oncoming traffic. Our windshield wipers were barely keeping up with the storm and sometimes flew across the glass without even touching it. The cars in front of me kept up a brisk pace since the signs suggested 55 mph but I refused to drive more than 45. I was having trouble keeping between the lines and felt like I was running an endless gauntlet. Danny came up front to look out the windshield to see what I was complaining about. He barked once and then retreated to the rear. I thought I heard him mutter something under his breath like “ I wish I knew how these damn seat belts work”.
After about an hour (which felt like 2), an exit appeared and I chose it with glee and relief. There was nothing at the exit, no gas station or fast food place, but I found a spot to pull over onto and just took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Not knowing how much longer the highway construction zone was, I summoned up some courage and forged ahead, back to the highway. The service road was slower and less nerve raking than the highway detour and lasted about 10 miles. I finally had to enter the mainstream gauntlet again and it lasted another 40 miles. As the road became once again a normal 4-lane interstate, the sky lightened and the storm lessened. By the time we arrived at our Wal-Mart de joure, the rain was down to a drizzle and believe it or not (see photo) there was a rainbow over the store. It was a great sight to see and would have made a great commercial.

I turned on the generator, then the air conditioner (it was warm and muggy), and threw dinner into the microwave oven.
I don’t know who ate their dinner faster, Danny or me, but we both stretched out on our beds and took a nap.
I woke up 2 hours later, shut down everything, and went back to sleep. No shopping tonight. Just sleep.

100728 - Afton, Wy

July 28th, 2010
BeLong Pet Rescue
Afton, Wyoming

Deciding to go to Afton Wyoming so Danny could visit his old home and the woman that raised him to be so smart and handsome was a major decision. Afton is not near any major highway or interstate so the driving is scenic, but labor intensive with lots of hills, valleys, and twisty roads. Nevertheless I decided it was something that should be done.
I had emailed Bonnie that we were coming, but unknown to me; she was having Internet problems and never got the message. The morning of the day we planned on going, I tried calling, but only got an answering machine. I could only guess that either they were away on vacation or something had happened.
I did not look forward to driving 3 hours to arrive at an empty house, but if I didn’t try, I might miss the opportunity. Off we went with positive expectation.
When we arrive at the property, a couple of dogs rushed out to greet us which I took as a good sign, since I knew someone had to be around to take care of them. Calling the house still got me the answering machine.
We sat patiently in the RV and after about 30 minutes, Bonnie came around from the back of the house and greeted us. She explained her computer problems and said she had been spending time with the horses for the afternoon.
Danny immediately went crazy when he saw her and I had to let him out before he made a hole in the side of the Beast trying to get to her.

We spent a few hours talking about Danny, animals and events. Unfortunately, the bad economy leaves little to be spared, and She and Buzz are forced to downsize; selling their ranch for a smaller property and were actually in the process of packing up for the move. It may limit her ability to continue her noble commitment to save orphaned animals, but she has done a wonderful job of it so far, so I believe she has earned her place in heaven.

As we drove away, I noticed the:”for sale” sign and sighed.
It was a 2-1/2 hour drive to our Idaho Falls Wal-Mart boondock de joure, and I wanted to make it before nightfall since my cataracts seem to be getting worse.
I know Danny enjoyed the reunion with Bonnie, I just hope he appreciated my efforts. He is such a great dog and companion; I really wanted to surprise him.
At least he didn’t insist on staying.

Afton, Wyoming

100726 - Cub River Lodge - Idaho

JULY 26th, 2010
Cub River Lodge and RVP
Preston, ID.

It has been a while since we made an entry into our travel log but there wasn’t anything to tell.

We spent some time at St George and then Delta, Utah on our way to Willard Bay State Park. The day after I adopted Danny (last year), we spent a week at Willard Bay getting acquainted. It is a well-maintained park with large grassy sites and paved roadways. It also has a great shower for the handicapped. It wasn’t too crowded during the week so Danny got a chance to run and play and stretch his legs. It has been a year since we have been together so it’s our anniversary. Keeping in that mode, I have decided to do something I said would never happen. As much as I felt very grateful to Bonnie and her pet rescue, I never expected to return there. However, we are really not that far away, and the current campsite on our route is within 100 miles so if all goes well, Danny will get to visit his old home. I just hope he doesn’t decide to want to stay.

I also said that we were not planning on doing the Pacific coast this year, but we may still spend some time in Washington and Oregon, just not the coast.

The Cub River Lodge and RV Park is an interesting place. Well off the beaten path, we discovered it by accident. Only 11 spaces, but caters to large groups at its lodge building which has a pool and accommodates over 100 people.

Although we do not pay too much attention to the calendar, it is important to be aware of holidays when it comes to booking campsites. I thought we were safe for the rest of the summer but we were blindsided by Pioneer Day weekend. It is a Utah state holiday, but even though we are physically in Idaho, we are close enough to the border to be involved. In addition to that he following week is RODEO WEEK, so we were very lucky to book a week.
The park filled up quickly with, trailers, ATVs, kids and dogs.

The park owner, Denise, is a bundle of energy. A young woman, youthful and attractive, does a lot of the heavy lifting. When she saw my walker, she sprang into action and had our water, power and sewer lines connected without even asking if I needed assistance.

We met a lovely couple, Lee and Bobbie, who have been here before and enjoy the natural setting and camping life. Lee is a youthful 80 years old and apparently the only health issue is some loss of hearing from his tour of duty in Korea as a sergeant in a heavy artillery unit. Bobbie isn’t much younger but brags of her family of 6 kids, and over 45 grandchildren. They are also major dog lovers and have had many dogs and many breeds in their lives. They took to Danny right away and he reciprocated with enthusiasm. After the war, Lee became a forest ranger and a landscape engineer till retirement. He designed many state and national parks in the area.

Lots of dogs around, some little and some bigger than Danny but he made friends with most of them. One old black Lab mix lives in the area but visited the park during the day. He reminded me of Peter in his last days, walking slow, resting often, but still friendly and appreciative of any attention. Danny liked him and often lay down near him. “Old Timer” would wander from site to site, looking for someone to pay attention to him, and there are always some kids around to pet him when he wasn’t sleeping.

This park was definitely not handicap friendly, with gravel everywhere and rugged roads but “little blue” managed the rough terrain and we had no complaints. However, the battery may be loosing some of its vitality, requiring more frequent charging. May have to search out some replacement.

The weather has been warm daytime and cool in the evening and mornings which made for pleasant sleeping.

We are in another Sprint Wireless Black Hole, so I can’t be sure when I will actually be able to send this out. The last time I spoke with a Sprint rep to request a refund for no service I was told that I am supposed to call them and report my problem as soon as possible to qualify for a refund. I told them that campsites don’t usually have public phones but I did try to find someone with a Verizon or AT&T cell phone so I could call Sprint but couldn’t find one. Not even a snicker from her. No sense of humor.