Tuesday, Sept 30: Big Horn Mountains/boondocking

I got up at 6:30 and yup heater didn't work again. Put on my jacket and woke David. He began testing at 7am. Damn it! The heater quickly crapped out at purchase (in december in ny and living in it...little plug in heaters in daughters driveway). Then a mobile tech after he tried most things. It was the thermostat that we had that rv tech installed....problem fixed. We were on a time crunch then because we were leaving for New Mexico and would need the onboard heater to work and IT WAS A NEW 2025. Welllll, David worked on the heater for a few hours and he could not figure it out...replaced parts, tested multiple things, and NOPE. JAYCO is absolutely zero help....slow and guessing wrong parts. We will use our little heater and David just put out four other solar panels we had on the ground.

We took Jeep out for a drive to see other potential areas to stay next time. We have used this site for a few years now...maybe this is our fourth time? In the end we are going to stick with this one. Its less than a mile on gravel/dirt road. We usually don't see but a few cars. Its wide open for solar and mali dog on long line. Awesome view...only thing missing is an aspen clone but none of them had that. We did see them on the way up in various degrees of yellow to no leaves.

It sprinkled/rained on an off today but in total not much. Garmin weather said 0% of rain....

Mali dog had her long long line...about 70 feet worth. I am not sure why maybe the more freedom? But she was barky...not her usual. Maybe she heard a dog echo? Maybe she thought there was unseen animals around/lots of scat. She also wanted to play ball more than usual.

Mon, Sept 29: Devils Tower to Big Horn Mountains/boondocking

We rolled early this morning 7:15am. First stop walmart pick up in Gillette, WY...not verizon cell service is spotty in Wyoming. Wyoming IS beautiful. Gillette has EVERYTHING you could need...if they don't have it, you don't need it Wyoming is the least populated state in USA.

Buffalo, WY has a loves travel center. With the ap you get 10 cents off gas and 25 cents off diesel. They also have overnight camping spot....three of them with full hook ups. I do not know the price...don't need any of it and if I did, I wouldn't pick this unless desparate to stop.

When you leave the town of Buffalo (basic services compared to Gillette), the ascent up begins...up, up, up. Our destination is pretty much at the top to boondock for a few days. We arrived around 2:30pm and found a spot. Periodiic rain spits. We are the only ones in our immediate area but there is a trailer that someone dropped down the next site.

David installed the new oxygenics shower head for hopefully better showering...its and rv model. I bought a shower curtain/hooks to use instead of the coil up shower door thing....that I am not convinced gets dry enough for my use as very mold sensitive. I set it up for next showering.

Before we went to sleep, david set the thermostat...going to be 46 at night. Did not work. Off to sleep we went to fix in morning. I like it cold to sleep.

Sun, Sept 28: DUMP at Belle Fourche Res then on to Devils Tower

Today is move day and we dumped at Rocky Point just next to reservoir and filled water tank. Next stop was gas in Belle Fourche as Wyoming gets pricier.

We made it to Belle Fourche campground at Devils Tower by 9:45am and easily scored a spot...saw a few campers coming out. I rode around a couple of times because there was too many to choose from. The camground is small and mostly pull thru sites just off the road. Not much privacy but we secured a spot on the outside of a loop and it had a water spigot. Add trash and recycles and we are good for now.

We have verizon mifi but its really slow..... Went up to visitor center. HOT today 85 ish but no wind. Paid for two days but only going to stay...going up to higher elevation. Had enough of tourist stuff. I saw it, got the picture...time to go. Complete with tourist busses!

Sat, Sept 27: Belle Fourche Reservoir

Walked maybe 1.5 miles today. There was little wind and pretty hot although in the shade it was okay. Did make a trip to town. Best grocery store is Lynn's. Leuders is okay but....

Friday, Sept 26: Belle Fourche Reservoir

Walked a total of three miles today...in 3 segments. Temp was about 83 but it was 22mph winds so decent in heat index. Some haze from fires in the afternoon. Around noon I had some pretty strong discomfort/pain under my boobs so I elected to go to Monument health to see what they said. She was thinking probably acid stomach given that I am on binders for mycotoxins and a lot of meds/supplements. So I will take something like priolosec for a few days and drop the binder/colonization work for 4ish days...to see what happens.

It being friday, more people came into the reservoir. Hopefully it remains quiet and the utv/atv crowd is somewhere else..so far so good.

thurs, Sept 25:ne quilt...not the two I have. Walked 2.3 miles in the morning while still cool. 85 degrees today with no electric. There is a small cool breeze right off the water and we are waterfront! The decision was made to stay here for two more nights instead of leaving in the morning and then move on to Devil's Tower Campground hoping a Sunday arrive will be better than Friday. Let's see what the weekend brings here. The Rocky Point state park is right across the way with services as opposed to our pit toilet/NOPE and trash services.

Went to Dollar General in Belle Fourche town to get milk.

Walk in the evening for a today total of 3.5 miles.... Belle Fourche Reservoir

It was a very quiet night and a cool one. We left big bedroom windows both open but I still only required o

Weds, Sept 24: Buffalo Gap Grasslands to Belle Fourche Reservoir

We rolled after a quick Mali dog walk...around 7:30am. Stop for ice cream. Riding by the rolling, cattle/grass fields of ND and then SD. Driveways 5 miles long!

We drove about 4.5 hours today to get to Belle Fourche Reservoir...always longer than it says. GPS wanted to take us on a dirt road off route 85 but NOPE not doing that unless we have to. I took the jeep and went ahead to find a site for us. There were so many to pick from that it was hard making a decision. There are 3 campers here and one car dweller. Trash is the only perk and there is Verizon cell service.

Tomorrow we will take Mali swimming which is really just fetch stick in shallow water. Too much swimming and its a NOPE from Mali dog. Hopefull she will smell a little bit better...it is a reservoir (with motorboats!).

Tues, Sept 23: Buffalo Gap National Grasslands campgrounds

Early morning walk because Mali dog needed some exercise...she keeps us on our feet...so we don't blob around. A few more camping units snuck in last night. I won't swear they all paid though....no tags! Not right! There is no camphost here except for me removing old tags. No ranger presence to keep people honest.

Boo hiss.

Mon, Sept 22: Diamond Prairie Ranch, Steele Idaho to Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, ND

A quiet night was had by all EXCEPT for Mali sounding off twice last night in succession...she's normally quiet but this is a ranch and there IS: a horse, cats, multiple dogs, lots of goats that could make noise. I did no hear anything. I am prety sure that this type of Harvest Hosts is not for us. Maybe a winery or something next time.

We tried to order up a oil change but we will just wait until Vernal, UT.

The decision was made to stop for the night (or two) at Buffalo Grasslands to have a short day. We arrived around 12:30...nice and short. A walk .9 miles and more later. Our set up is quick: unhook jeep, back in/level, Mali dog tie out. We have a nice large site with plenty of room for Mali dog. There is trash at entry, water for jugs and maybe to fill tanks. The dump station is currently closed...boohiss. There is a shower too and flush toilets.

Dinner if we care is pasta/sausage and peppers and salad. Today we hit another time zone....quicker than I thought we would. Mali dog was just getting acclimated to the previous one...what no dinner now...gotta wait an hour?

We walked again after dinner and realized that the campground where we are is more hidden from the route 94 traffic (not much traffic...its ND). You can hear more in the other campground. Two small loops. 1.8 miles total...need at least two in one go.

Sun, Sept 21: Leech Lake Recreation Area to Harvest Hosts location in Steele ND

We were at dump station around 7am this morning because we knew a whole bunch of weekend warriors would be leaving....first one out the gate. Stop for gas $2.90 gallon. Stop for ice cream. $7.99!!! Along our journey we saw two groups of Swans roadside with their cignets...it was right by water. I wanted to stop and gawk but did not want to disturb them...no picture. We arrived around 3:30 and the Diamond Prairie ranch. Owner warned us that yard would be muddy but it had dried up so we were fine with it. Bought some ground beef...7 one lb. Packages at $6 each.

We walked Mali dog out the driveway and up the road. Farm dogs did not bother us...thankfully. Didn't want Mali ganged up on...she doesn't appreciate that.

Tired so early to bed after tv

Sat, Sept 20: Leech Lake Recreation Area

It is really quiet here and no on else near us...nice! Yesterday we saw a lot of rvs and a fair amount of them were what I would call “ice house rvs” but I didn't realize that until we saw one pull in across from us. We watched has he lowered it to the ground...aha moment. Multipurpose!

We took a walk around campground and there are only 4 pull thru campsites here. Fall colors are pretty much here now. Nice campground and sites are mostly well spaced.

Friday Sept 19: Leech Lake Recreation Area, a COE park

This will be our fourth COE park so going to be interesting. For the most part the parks are fine...the facilities (bathrooms) are usually OLD. The last one in Pennsylvania had very aged bathrooms that I would not even go in when I peeked inside. This one is by a Federal dam and usually they are by water or dams. We arrived around 2:30pm. It is a pretty good sized campground and about 7 miles off route 2 in Minnesota. Free laundry and bath houses looked clean by anyones standards. David is doing laundry as we speak while getting a shower. Our site is in a less used loop...yay and it is a pull through so we don't have to unhitched for our two night stay. Plenty of roads to walk and dam to visit. Gate code on bathrooms/showers and laundry room. Its by the reservation. Route 2 is well surfaced and not chucked with pot holes and its an easy drive (for david as no traffic). I would come back here again (free laundry which we much needed). $26 for two nights with the old guy pass!

Thurs, Sept 18: Twelve Mile Beach to Walmart in Ironwood, MI

Uneventful drive to park overnight at the walmart in Ironwood, Michigan. Stopped for gas once. Also stopped to dump tanks in Munising, Michigan at Munising Tourist Park. We arrived around 1:30 (CST...new time zone) Did a pick up at walmart. We grabbed a cart and stood by the #2 for pick up and let them know via text we were here. We see the guy at the door with presumably our order just standing there. Since we are the only one waiting for pick up, we know it has to be our order but he's not getting that we are there to pick up our order. Before we walk over and tell him, you can see he gets it. I point to the shopping cart SILVER in color and say see, silver vehicle. He thought it was funny and evidentally no one else had done it. We COULD have just parked the rv in a bunch of spaces (have done that before) but decided to not hog up so many. A quiet night but it did at some point rain. We run a sound machine that sounds like a babbling brook so it was hard to tell. We lost our poop tube elbow and the cap although David assured me this one was on to stay but the screw fell out and so did our stuff. He went into walmart to get this and a watch to replace his old one.

Weds, Sept 17: Twelve Mile Beach

A quick partial walk for Mali dog. Then off to Grand Marais to send in last of the Walmart order for Ironwood Walmart. We got rv ready for moving tomorrow and did showers to ready for dump. Dinner was whatever you could find.

Tues, Sept 16: Twelve Mile Beach

Last night there wasn't much breeze and it was a warm 77 degrees yesterday. I put the diy screen in my emergency window and the prop stick...hokey dokey as it is it worked well for cross ventilation. 59Ish degrees last night. Early walk to avoid sable flies because it warmed up today but they were not as bad as yesterday. We could walk fast and avoid them and david had the tennis racket thing to zap them. We burned the last of our free scavenged firewood. This is too relaxing for me...one more day. Getting 2 miles in daily but not necessarily in one go...just works out that way with Mali dog. She does NOT like the sable flies biting her and wants to go inside

Mon, Sept 15: Twelve Mile Beach at Picture Rocks National Lakeshore

David said it would be okay to run the fan and sound machine (for mali dog) last night and we did. I slept with just a sheet on. We went to Grand Marias to hang out and run generator for the day and came back around 2:30. We got lunch there as take away...the breakwall. I had whitefish sandwich on cauliflower thick wrap...delicious but they paired it with potato chips. David had chicken cheese “steak” and his was good as well. We ran the generator the whole time to really stuff our power up while he trouble shooted with our expert, son Graham. We spent a bit of time at the beach and Mali dog played stick fetch in water....her favorite. I get a knock on the door and david is there with a wet dog which he managed to keep from rolling in the wet sand. She feels compelled to wipe the water off by rolling....after a bath, swimming...in whatever is available...the rug, the grass, the SAND! David held her upright in her harness the walk back to car. Maybe now we can postpone a bath... When we got back it was aparent the sable flies were out! Bug spray does not work on them...just cover up and its 77 degrees. Although most sites are full, no one was “home” avoiding the flies. Not at the beach either...no one! Mali was getting bit and I was pretty sure the tennis racket bug thing was not going to get them before they bit so we are in the rv hiding from them.

We were aiming to make a campfire this afternoon but the sable flies were out and Mali dog kept hopping about getting bit and david was also. No campfire...hole up inside. No one on the beach so must be worse there. Tomorrow we go in water...cold or not! Downloaded tv at night.

Sun, Sept 14: Twelve Mile Beach at Picture Rocks National Lakeshore

Did I mention most people don't stay here more than a few days? We are here for a week this time. Temps are going up to 77, 78...so we MAY go in the water.... Our neighbor reported that water temp was 63...about 20 degrees colder than I would like but the lake bath would be nice. Walking. Another campgfire courtesy of menonites. Evening power issue with lithium batteries...a subtle hidden beeep, beep, beep. David thinks one of the gauges is wrong. Going to town tomorrow to run generator for hours and not torture our neighbors who are in a tent...generator is louder than we would like. We get internet and David can confir with Graham, our son/expert solar guy as he is off grid. OR it could be the lithium batteries. We did run our generator until 8pm cut off time from about 7pm.

Sat, Sept 13: Twelve Mile Beach

After a morning walk, we decided to go to Grand Marais for gas $4.19 gallon!!!! because we needed it in jeep. Ice cream. Cell service. We were not there maybe 1.5 hours. Their gluten free offerings are paltry.

We decided to make another fire after the hostie made us aware that the menonite group left a bunch of firewood. David and like three others were there gathering. I managed to get enough smoke to make a fire with fallen birch bark David gathered. We probably now have enough for two fires...woot, woot.

This campground has the North woods trail going thru it so we see a fair amount of hikers in all shapes, ages, and sizes walking thru. A young woman came back asking where the hostie was and we knew he was out to lunch in Grand Marais but due back soon. Her Brother back home was in need of help so she needed to get back to her car in Muinising falls...roughly 30ish miles away. Knowing that there was no service and not knowing when hostie was coming back and not knowing if/when a ranger would pass by and would they do anything and no radio (hostie has one), David volunteered to take her. She offered money but no way in hell would he take it. So off they went in jeep. David came back about 1.5 hours later as Muinising Falls was not around the corner. I found out the true story when David came back so here it is. Apparently she had prepared somewhat for the trip but not enough. She was holding the group back but had hiked 12 miles yesterday and 8 today...backtracking to get to this campground. She was holding the group back and realized it with a couple more days to go. When she got out of the jeep when david dropped her off at her car she was immediately stiff and sore from sitting for 45 minutes. That tells me a lot because I had the same issue when I biked with david's sisters after giving birth to three children within 18 months (twins) and thought I could pull off a hilly bike ride in Lancaster, PA....immediate sore and stiff when we went to dinner. She could have stayed in the tent pad on our site and caught the shuttle in the morning. She had a six hour ride home but I am guessing she hit up a hotel for a nice warm shower and a nice bed before going home tomorrow. On a positive note, she did like the backpacking but will prepare better for it next time.

We ran the generator today as making brownies ate up solar power...ditto on cookies last week.

Fri, Sept 12: Twelve Mile Beach

We spent maybe 10 minutes in the Lake Superior in 2024. Temperatures are cooler this year so not going in the water. High 60's during the day and low 50's during the night. A bit of rain twice today...just a brief spit. Aiming to walk 2 to 3 miles...in separate spirts at first. We made a campfire today and I didn't have much hope because we/david forgot to bring the campfire starters that I made. We did in the end get all the wood to burn up with the help of hand sanitizer (covid leftovers) and some fallen birch bark. I didn't have much hope at first but we did it. Flies were out a bit in p.m. But the tennis racket zapper worked well. This is a nice simple campground but most people only stay a few days. Because there is not much sun to reach our solar panels we will have to run the generator tomorrow...made GF brownies today and that ate some bips/amps/power.

Thurs, Sept 11: Lake Michigan at St. Ignace to Twelve Mile Beach @ Picture Rocks National Lakeshore.

We left around 8am but not in a hurry since in theory it only takes 2 hours to get there...hahaha. We stopped at an IGA grocery in Newberry to top our groceries. Of course, it took longer than two hours. We arrived around 1:30pm and did our quick set up but put out the camping rug due to sand. Our stay is for a week and it is our third time here. I got a nap and david took Mali and himself on a walk. NOTE TO SELF: make sure he turns on gas before taking off. He is most likely chatting with someone/anyone and I need to start cooking. There is no cell service here so we will go to Grand Marais in a couple of days to check emails and make phone calls. New hostie this year. Did some walking in evening and went to get firewood. The firewood turning right out to pavement was about 12 miles away! $10 and short cuts...not doing that again. Grand Marais has choices and probably won't be that expensive.

When David went out to take a picture of the sunset last night, he saw people on the beach...its down, down, down from the campsites. He was out there long enough on the top of the dune taking a bunch of photos and waiting a bit inbetween. He saw our next door neighbor (not young) with a beer in his hand get up from the blanket, stumble around/almost falling and then go back on the blanket. I should have brought lawn chairs out to watch his antics coming up, up, up the dune to his site. It's one step up and half slide down...we missed it. There are stairs but they would have been aways away for him to use...other end of the campground and the set nearest him is washed out.

Weds, Sept 10: Lake Michigan at st. Ignace

Despite a road (route 2) being right next to this strip of a campground, a quiet night was had by all. The higher the number on campsite and closer to the road. There are 4 spaces taken currently out of 32 (midweek, rain came thru two nights ago?). Camphost is gone. It closes on 9/15.

Tuesday, Sept 9: East Harbor State Park to Lake Michican at st. Ignace

I was awake by 5am so I got some things done quietly. After showers we took off

for Lake Michigan at St. Ignace another long day...poor planning on my part and I knew better we usually break it up but.... We arrived around 4:30pm and left in the morning around 7:30am. Another day or two in Michigan would have been nice before going to UP. McDonalds just over the Mackinaw bridge or is it mackinac? Because I was hungry. Walked Mali dog back and forth in campground because she needed a bit of a sniffy walk. David went to help rescue a couple who were aiming one of their back wheels over the side of site. And then they tried to use a wide side as a pull thru site......I sent David again to help them out. I don't think they do this much....

Monday, Sept 8: Southwick beach state Park to East Harbor State Park, OH

left Southwick at 7am because long day ahead...a good 7 hours. Stop for pick up at walmart and gas. Well as it turned out it took a good 10 hours because I didn't know we would end up at a walmart for gas (cheapest with the $.10 off with walmart plus) plus another walmart for pick up (again didn't know it would be walmart for gas because I didn't know gas status which david tells me when we are driving so the pick up order didn't jive with the gas). So two separate walmarts very convient along the route 90. A long day of travel. We did get a short ¾ mile walk in upon arrival for Mali dog and us...too much sitting.

Thursday, Sept 4: Southwick Beach State Park

RAIN today. Spent some time hanging with Debbie and tj in the morning and then in evening.

Friday, Sept 5: Southwick Beach State Park

walking 2 miles and visit with deb and tj

Sat, Sept 6: Southwick Beach State Park

walking 2 miles and visit with deb and tj

Sunday, Sept 7: Southwick beach state Park

walking 2 miles and visit with deb and tj. Saying good bye to deb and tj...sunset on the beach.

Weds, Sept 3: Southwick Beach State Park, NY

Departure time was about 9:15am heading to Southwick Beach state Park (full hook ups), north of us about 5 hours. Arrived around 3:15 AND they never let you in despite it not being summer before 3pm. I've never known a park to keep to entry times. Honestly though I get it because they don't have parking room for big rigs or any rv's of size. However, they could have a list of empty/cleaned campsites that could go in. Our friends, debbie and tj, arrived around 5:30pm...having picked up their rv from service at Alpin Hause.

Tuesday, Sept 2: We had a part to play in this (unbeknownst to us but ready to do what she needed) and were responsible for everything after the sedation and removing certain possessions (bed and toys that grandson had picked out to send with her) from the yard site. It was a very sad day for everyone. We had lived with Kota Girl for awhile and were living in her driveway for summer so we saw her everyday. RIP Kota Cason!

Monday, Sept 1: Our daughter was not taking this well at all...her much loved pet of two. We could not leave her alone to handle this alone and she needed some help with 4 year old grandson. We spent time with her and our granddog today as euthanasia day was tomorrow.