Camping with Suzi

We have met tons of super people over the years.  This year we met a delightful couple our last week in Ennis, MT.  Super people and hope we meet again somewhere down the road.

They are ranchers who decided it was time to take a break from their ranch.  Afterall, they old enough to have sons that can manage the ranch.  However, it is hard to break all your old habits like buying cattle.  I’ve never bought a cow, much less multiple cows, but according to Mr. Lindamoon , your best method is to buy smaller numbers of cows in groups over a period of time.  In other words, Mr. Lindamoon spent a portions of his “vacation” going to Sales Barns and buying up to 30 head of  cattle at numerous locations across Montana.

Interesting but what I found “cool” was his business card.  Here is a photo of that card.  Note the size when compared to my pen.  It definitely doesn’t fit in his wallet.  There is a reason for the oversized business card and it is so it can double as a log for his cattle buying activities!!!  The back has a grid where Mr.   Lindamoon can enter the needed information and present it to the auction folks to claim his cows.

Another interesting tidbit about this couple is they are neighbors to Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman blog.  I think that’s about as close to meeting a “celebrity.”

We saw some incredible sights this past summer.  Here are just a few.

South Dakota roadside art

Bird’s nest in trail map holder

Storm is coming

Quilt Sphere

Children playing Hoo-la-hoop in park

Fred loves just about everything when it comes to our 31-foot motorhome.  I’m not as thrilled by this behemoth, especially when we get caught in heavy, bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic in any big city.

This year we had to go through several major metro-areas and I was a wreck long before the traffic thinned out.  No, I wasn’t driving but still found the whole thing painfully stressful.  I mean the headache I had was enough to make a marble statue weep!!!

What to do?  I remembered a trick from way back – tea bags, slow breathing, and a little pressure point rub.  I used this trick back when the children were young and when I felt a migraine coming on.  Try it after a day of driving or doing some other stressful activity.

First, lay down on a comfortable surface.  Place two cool used teabags (regular Lipton or some other brand of good old everyday tea) on your closed eyes.  (Cucumber will work but I always have tea bags around.)  Just lay there for a couple of minutes or so, letting the tension slip away.  Next, place your right index finger on a spot below your eye and in front of your ear on the right side of your face.  Place your left index finger in the same spot on the left side of your face.  Press down firmly, moving your fingers in a circular motion up, down, and around from your ear to your chin to your eye but do not pick up your fingers.  Do this about about a count of twenty.  Remove your fingers and left your whole body relax as completely as possible.  Take a deep breath and continue your day.  Be careful when returning to your feet as you might feel a little faint until the blood circulates through your upright body.

Did you know  the front windshield of your car has UV (ultra-violet) UVA filters to protect you from the harmful (as in cancer causing) ray’s of the sun?  However, side windows DO NOT!  This is a lesson we learned the hard way earlier this summer.

During our annual predeparture check, our doctor noted “a little something” on Fred’s nose she wanted him to check out immediately.  The “immediately” request got our attention and a follow-up appointment with a specialist confirmed her concern.  Yes, it was skin cancer but easy to treat with just some surgery.

After listening to Fred’s explanation of our lifestyle, the doctor just nodded and told us about the absence of UV filters in the side windows of cars.   That explained why very often Fred ends his day of driving with a reddish hue to the left side of his face.  Even with the window up, the sun is giving him a sunburn!

The dark stripe across the top of the front windshield and the side window is the sun-shield. Now the slightly darken tint on the side window. Also part of the sun-shield.

A week after his surgery, Spurt, our little Suzuki, was fitted out with UV shades on the side windows (front and back) as will of a across the top of our front windshield.  Now we have less to worry about.  An added bonus for Dan and Ralf is those filters also reduce the baking effect of sunshine in the back seat.

Not that my dogs are lazy but I do worry they don’t get enough exercise while we are traveling from here to there.  I guess there are others that share my concern because at a Rest Stop on I-35 near Blackwell, OK we were delighted to find these dog runs.  Count them – Two runs!

They’re big, with a footprint of that of  a house, and little shade but with grass and benches, they were such a delight for puppies and people.  A great place to stretch both human and canine legs.   An interesting observation of the rest stops of this area, whether in Oklahoma or  Texas, each has some feature targeting a segment of the traveling populations.  There were playgrounds, ramada topped picnic table, dog runs, and such.

We aren’t thrilled about traveling on an Interstate.  The boring repetitiveness of the scenery, the heavy truck traffic, and high speed limits have us preferring the US highways or “blue roads”.  However, with the diversity of the Rest Stops we saw  maybe our opinion might change.  (Not likely but at least who knows. LOL)

Do we really need more campsites with full hookups?

Just heard about a movement by private industry to “modernize and upgrade national forest recreation sites, particularly campgrounds and marinas.” Full hookups, wifi, yurts, and the list goes on. Sounds good, but it means the campground or marina would be privatized, meaning handed over to a concessionaire, for upwards of 20 years. FYI: One of the suggested “improvements” is for “year-round storage.”

Here is the presentation used in the initial meeting between American Recreation Coalition and the Forest Service.   The Forest Service has had a follow-up meeting but haven’t heard of any results.

My question – Does any one care if concessionaires take over recreating in our national forest?  Your comments are appreciated.

This is how I want to spend my summer afternoon

Floating on the river – here on the Allegheny River, PA

So what am I doing here!!!

I-94 in Chicago, IL

Answer:  Heading for the national forests in Montana and my grandbabies.

When we research a campground, we always ask about things to do near that campground.  Vermont Country Store, in Weston, VT, is close to the Green Mountain National Forest’s  Hapgood campground and a must.  This is a store you could spend all day browsing through and still feel like there is more to explore.  Wood floors polished by thousands of shoes walking across it.  Doors that lead to another discovery.  Smells of cheese, coffee, candy, leather, shaving lotions and more.  So much to see, smell, touch, feel, taste – reminded me of my visits to a little 5 & dime store when a child.  Here are just two photos of the interior.

Here’s a quick look at the kitchen gadgets section (the toy section is behind the wood soldier).

Looking into the grocery section – coffee to your left, crackers to your right, and straight ahead, Vermont cheese.

There are other things to do but a visit to the Vermont Country Store when camped at Hapgood campground is a must.

Anyone who has camped at different campgrounds in different forests or grasslands knows grilles vary.  Here are just a sample of what we found in the forests and grasslands visited last summer.  All work well enough but we still rely on our little Weber dome grille.

When cooking on a grille over a campfire, built your fire in the front of the fire-ring and push hot coals under what you are cooking.  You add more fuel to the fire in the front so you have a steady supply of nice hot coals.  This method is referred to as a “Keyhole” fire and will help you better control the cooking temperature.

Sometimes you just don’t need the children’s help in setting up camp.  A Campground Scavenger Hunt might be just the answer.   The follow are just suggestions.  Please, modify and make your own list.-

For young, pre-school age children, find:
Three different bugs
Three different flowers
Three rocks of different colors
Three trees with different leaves or needles.

For older, elementary age children, find:
A bug that flies.
A bug that crawls or wiggles.
A bug that walks.
Something red
Something blue
Something white
Something yellow
Something purple
Three different kinds of conifer trees.
A deciduous tree with oval leaves, with pointed leaves, and with blade-like leaves.