Our route to our next stop should have been Hwy 90 the whole way, but it was closed over the mountain due to flooding. So we talked with locals and decided we just had to get out of there and if it was too awful, we'd turn back by the halfway mark and just wait it out. They gave us an alternate route that sounded fine. It WAS absolutely beautiful, that's for sure! We were on Hwy 14 and climbed 9,000 feet with twists and turns like crazy and 3-4 feet of snow on the sides at the summit. I was pretty proud of myself....I kept checking my mirrors and I kept that coach and truck in my narrow lane the whole time. Some of those dang curves were 20mph. The scenery was wonderful and we really enjoyed it. Stopped at a rest stop to have lunch and then back on the road. That's when it all went to HELL!! Montana and Wyoming have two seasons according to the locals......winter and construction. We have driven miles and miles of hwy cut down to one lane for no apparent reason....or there is one tiny thing and still 20 miles of one lane! You know how a dirt road gets rutted when people drive too fast? Ok, now imagine that same road with 6 inch deep ruts all over the road! The speed limit was posted at 35mph, but I never got over 25mph! After about 8 miles of this, I come up on a carload of blue hairs (yeah, yeah, I know, but I don't drive like one!!!). The woman driving is not gonna go over 5 mph, NO MATTER WHAT!! It took me about 3 miles to get mad enough to honk at her and, let me tell you, we have a big honking airhorn! I kinda liked the power!!! She pulled over and we continued for a total of 13 miles of this rutted, crappy dirt and mud road. I felt like my fillings were gonna fall out! It did break the latch on the pantry door, so we'll have to fix that somehow. Drove about 10 miles longer and realized I really needed a break, so we pulled over and Alan took over from there. Arrived in Livingston maybe an hour and a half later, but not before we had to go thru flooded areas on 90. The Yellowstone River was just raging as were all the little creeks going into it. We even saw some poor schmuck on a motorcycle lined up to go thru 5-6 inches of water......glad we were in a nice high motorhome!
When we got here to Livingston, we were happy to have found it and end the longest day of driving yet, but as we looked around we weren't at all impressed. I couldn't believe my eyes, but there are several tents set up! It is COLD out there at night! The sites are very cramped, supposed pull thru's, but I wouldn't want to try it.
Typically, when we get to a campground, the person not driving handles the check in, so that was me. I got to the office door only to find a sign saying the manager was in #6 in the mobile homes. What mobile homes?? Took me a minute to realize they were next door! I found #6, stepped around the huge piles of dog shit, climbed the rickety wooden steps and knocked on the slider. At once, the biggest German Shepherd I've ever see was there lunging, barking and growling!! Scared the pee waddle out of me! The manager appears and she was so classic, I couldn't believe it! Housecoat and slippers, cigarette in hand and screaming at the dog. "Yeah?" "yes, hi, we're the Kinnes. we have a reservation?" " Oh, oh yeah (drags on her ciggie). I got a 30 amp pull thru and a 50 amp out there, no sewer" She points to what looks like to be a storage yard....piles of wood and trash, weeds, and gravel. "um, ok, I'll go take a look at it" "Yeah, whatever" and she walks away. Once I got there, I realized it really wasn't too bad and was much larger than anywhere else. I walked back to the office (man, getting some exercise today!) and it's LOCKED! She's apparently gone back to the damn mobile home!! Shit!! So, I trudge back there and I can just tell Alan is looking at me thinking WTH is going on?? I find our lady and her massive dog (still barking and snarling at me) and tell her we'll take the one in the field "Twenty five" she says and holds out her hand. I handed her the cash and went back to the coach. It took a bit of maneuvering and unhooking the truck, but we did it.
Our neighbors were interesting. I honestly try not to judge people, but I do love to people watch. Our neighbor was a class C coach, maybe 25', torn curtains, metal blinds bent so many different ways and sitting in the front 2 seats were at least 3 big dogs and 1 little one! My first thought was "oh, no, these dogs and our Irie are gonna bark all night long!" But we got lucky, the owners came back and immediately pulled down all of their blinds and we never saw them again. No barking, yeah!!
We decided wine was in order and also water, since we were afraid to drink the water here, so Alan took off in search of a grocery store. I locked our door and had the bear spray handy, just in case! LOL! The wine was a nice Californian called Chill Out , cheap and very good! And the name was pretty damn perfect, too!
No comments:
Post a Comment