July 10 - Briggs Woods, Webster City, IA

Traveling east, it has been hot and humid. We’ve needed to use campgrounds with electricity so we could use AC. On the 2-lane roads we run, there aren’t many choices for campgrounds. 

We chose Briggs Road Campground in Webster City, IA. Large sites with FHU on the Boone River. 

Saw this red, white, and blue painted barn on Route 20. Thought it was creative. 

Iowa is definitely a corn state. Fields of corn mostly in tassel on both sides of the road. 

Tomorrow we’ll drive drive to Peoria, IL. 

July 9 - Valentine, NE

A travel day from South Dakota to Valentine, Nebraska. Drove mostly 2-land roads. Not many towns. 

We drove on the west side of the Badlands. These striking geological deposits contain one of the richest fossil beds. 

Tonight’s stay is on the Niobrara River, an older campground that needs a lot of work but a nice spot. 

Walked to the river before it started to storm. 

Can you believe I sat in a Huskers bench!!  It was really quiet and peaceful. 

After the storm

Tomorrow we drive into Iowa. 

March 9 - Oak Ridge COE, Benton TX

Weather as we are leaving the Gulf is colder (50 degrees) and windy. 

Will try to catch some of the consolation wrestlebacks later today and watch the finals tonight when we arrive at our campground. 

Arrived at Live Oak Ridge Core of Emgimeers Campground. Set up the StarLink in among the trees hoping there was enough open space to catch some satellite beams 😁. 

Watched the 3rd and 5th place and finals of the BigTens. Great wrestling with competition for Penn State. They won the championship handily with  Nebraska 2nd. Notice I was having an 814 Cider while watching. 

Was able to take a walk around the campground before it got too dark. Really nice campground. We enjoy staying in Core of Engineer campgrounds because they are clean, have hookups and with our America the Beautiful Senior Pass, cost is half … $12/night. 

Monday night we’ll stay in another Core of Engineers Campground in Coleman, TX. 

July 1 and 2 - Yellowrock Campground, Lolo, MT

From Idaho we drove Route 75 north on more twisty and windy roads, following the Salmon River. Beautiful terrain, mountains on both sides and just enough space for the road and the river. (Photos taken through our windshield). 

Eventually it did open up some but the road continued to be windy for about 100 miles. 

All at once we came upon fields of hay. We were still twisting and turning but several hay fields. 

We finally made Lolo, Montana and to the campground I chose. Since we always try to stay at different places, we alway wonder what we are getting into. This was a good choice. Nice spot, walking trails to the Lolo Creek and about 9 miles from Missoula. But the best amenity for us was use of a FREE washer, no dryer but they had plenty of clothesline and clothes pins. Wow, we’ve never had that before and we really needed to wash clothes. Last time we washed clothes was before we left Shan's 😮. 

While I waited for the clothes to dry, we took a short hike to the Lolo Creek with the boys. 

Decided to check out the Tamarack Brewery for dinner. Delicious food and good beers with great service. 

July 2 

Today we took about a 3.5 mile hike on the Blue Mountain Trails. Lots of different trail options. Wildflowers were blooming. The terrain traversed fields and through the Lolo National Forest. 

The view was beautiful.  You could see a long distance. 

June 27 - Oregon Outback - Summer Lake Hot Springs

Driving north from California to Oregon, the wide open valleys were beautiful. 

Stopped at a lookout to read about the Pit River, one of the largest rivers flowing into the Sacramento.

Saw this sign as we drove into the Oregon Outback. 

Tonight we are staying in the outback at the Summer Lake Hot Springs. Here’s the view from the RV. 

If we can stay up till it gets dark, we need to look up. This area is supposed to be a stargazer’s paradise. Unfortunately, the wind kicked up and the alkali dust from the dry lakebed covered the skies. 

August 15 - Andrea flies and we head east

Andrea had an early flight from Salt Lake City Airport so we got an early start to head home. 

Sunrise on the mountains was pretty. 

We weren’t very far out of Salt Lake and got stopped on I-80 because of an accident. Very rugged mountains. 

On the go again toward Ogden, the landscape is ruggedly beautiful. 

As we continued on I-80, we traveled through Echo Canyon. Beautiful red rock with green trees.

Then passed the 12 and a half foot high bronze Lincoln Monument. It was placed here because Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862, the US’s first transcontinental railroad. This act contributed to the westward movement and the settling of pioneers in Wyoming. 

Tonight’s stay is at Vedauwoo Campground in the Medicine Bow National Forest, near Buford, WY (east of Laramie). This is our type of camping/boondocking. No services but fantastic scenery, we’ll maintained toilets. The night sky was showing all her stars. Wish we wouldn’t have been so tired so we could sit out. But after getting up at 4:30, we were both ready for an early bedtime. 

A hiking trail through the boulders.