Accommodation

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Scobey to Haven and Rediscovering Miranda

I’m home!!!!!!!

I barely slept last night in Scobey, which was absolutely not the motel’s fault. I woke up around 4:00, read for a bit, and then dozed till 6:30. The room had a microwave, so I was able to make coffee, my last cup of the Mexican stuff!

I was packed and on the road by about 7:38. It was only 14 miles to the border, so I took it slow, about 40MPH, even though the speed limit was 70MPH (there was no one else on the road and I was still going a legal speed!). I got to the border exactly as it opened.

The customs officer was pleasant in taking my declaration, but based on how much he was writing, I knew I was in for it. Scobey is not a busy crossing, so I was probably going to be the most interesting crosser they’d get today and I paid for it. Like the Americans, they emptied the entire truck. Unlike the Americans, they did the work themselves. And unlike the Americans, they went through everything. I couldn’t see much from my vantage point, but I’d been asked to leave my purse and I saw them rifling through the receipts in my wallet; that’s how in depth their search was.

I was absolutely mellow about all this. I mean, I had made a truthful declaration and had absolutely nothing to hide. I wasn’t too happy to see them rooting around in my dirty laundry, but, hey, imagine how they felt!

Finally, I saw one of the guards pull out a piece of paper and take it to his supervisor. I knew exactly what it was. If that’s all they were worried about, I was in the clear. The guard came to me and said that he found what appeared to be a receipt for a 1TB hard drive shipped to me in South Dakota from California and had I included it in my declaration? I explained that it was a warranty return for a hard drive that crapped out in Mexico, that I had it sent to SD because UPS doesn’t come to Haven, that I have the paper trail on my computer, etc. The guard seemed to find that logical and then asked me why I have so many hard drives. I explained that I live in an RV and have pretty much digitized my life, so I have movies, books, pictures, and business backups on them.

The guard appeared to find all of that reasonable and moments later I was told they were both satisfied and I could go. And then guess what? THEY REPACKED MY TRUCK FOR ME.

I was there just shy of 40 minutes. Since they did all the work, it really wasn’t painful and I’d consider that a non-event of a border crossing. I do wish I had been as well packed by this point as I was when I crossed back into the US because I had a lot of loose items!

Both Google and my GPS refuse to route me from Willow Bunch to Haven via the gravel road, so they both put my travel time as double what it really is, claiming I was two hours from Haven at the border when it was actually just one hour. The paved roads were really bad and made me think I was back in Quebec! It was a real obstacle course! I was glad to hit the last 18KM stretch on perfectly graded gravel.

Before I knew it, I could see the green roof of C&C’s garage and then the blue roof of my shed. The property needs a really good mowing and still has trash that Charles had said he’d get rid of (he’s been busy!), but otherwise it looked good.

I’d left them my house key, so I entered through the cab. The first thing that hit me was just how fresh Miranda smelled. It was really surprising! I came in and found no dust worth mentioning, no evidence that mice feasted on the poison I left out, no signs of mould or water infiltration, and only an inordinate number of dead bees.

Satisfied with Miranda’s condition, I went out and removed the tarp that covered her all winter, then opened all the windows and roof hatches. I should point out here that it’s hot and sunny in southern Saskatchewan!

Next, I went to check out the water hydrant and was happy that it had been turned on for me as promised. I was going to start on laundry when I realised that I’d left my grainery key with C&C and that they weren’t home.

So I decided to start on the next most pressing issue, Miranda having settled over the winter and no longer being level. Her starting battery was dead and I didn’t feel like waiting for it to charge, so I just gave her a boost from Moya and her engine cranked right over! Good old V-10, doesn’t even care about the stale fuel! Getting level was a bit of sport, but the whole thing amused me. How many people leave their home for the better part of a year and the first thing they have to do is start its engine and move it around?!

Once I was level, I hooked up to power. My batteries are still in C&C’s garage, but I really don’t need them now that I have shore power, so moving those heavy suckers will be a task for another day (as will emptying C&C’s basement of the stuff I stored there!). With the power on, I was able to start the fridge.

By the time all this was done, I saw Caroline’s school bus was parked in front of the house, so I went over just in time for coffee break! We caught up on each other’s news and I went through my mail. There was nothing major except for a very overdue bill for gravel that I forgot would be incoming since I had sent payment for its shipment. I hope they will be understanding. Needless to say, I will send a cheque promptly, a letter of explanation and apology, and an offer to send me an invoice for interest!

Caroline and Charles are super busy retirees and I had tons of stuff to do myself, so I didn’t stay long. As it turns out, our May long weekend doesn’t coincide with that of the US, so today wasn’t a holiday Monday after all. So I decided that I might as well go to town and pick up propane and groceries.

Before I did that, I got my water hoses hooked up to the hydrant and by the time I was nearly done, two more neighbours came by to welcome me back and catch up on the winter’s happening. What a lovely community I have!

The road to Assiniboia was also terrible and very good for practicing my reflexes! Propane was crazy expensive, $38 for 29 pounds!!!! Groceries were also terrible. I spent $80 and came out with almost nothing. As an example of the culture shock I felt, a watermelon that is 0.65CAD in Mexico and 1.20CAD in the US is 3.99CAD here. I was pleased to see that the grocery store is being expanded, that the produce that was there was better than anything I’d ever seen there (but they were out of onions!), and that they are starting to carry more international foods (like haloumi, halva, and thin pita; be still my beating heart!). I still don’t want to shop there again this summer for anything substantial and look forward to a Moose Jaw trip, if only for meat. Oh, and the non-alcoholic beer I discovered last summer was almost half off today and, I’m happy to report, is still as good as the real stuff!

The fridge and freezer were surprisingly cold when I got in. I put away the food and got started on laundry. I have almost zero water pressure, so I didn’t waste any time, filling the motorhome holding tank in between loads. I have tons of laundry to do because I discovered in Keystone that I picked up a mouse along the way and a lot of my bedding is mousy. Yuck!

When the RV was full of water, it was time to test my water system. And this is where I got bad news. I was able, after a lot of work, to get my water heater to fire, but I discovered have a bad leak in my hot water system. I can see it, but I can’t get to it to work on it. I knew this was going to happen at some point, having recognized since day one that I’d be screwed the day that I had to work on the water heater since the only way to do so is to literally cut a hole in the exterior wall to pull it out.

My only hope at this point is self-sealing silicone tape, so I’ll pick up a roll next time I’m in town and see if I can seal the leak with that. What’s leaking is a shut off valve, but there is literally no room to work to cut it out so that I can replace it with a new one. I’ll have to think about whether I know anyone with a smaller frame and much smaller hands who knows plumbing. My friend Croft has had similar issues. It sucks to have the technical competency to do something, but to not have the room to work!

So I have a tank full of hot water, but no shower tonight. I’m glad that’s the worst of it!

Somewhere in all of this, I got my booster and antenna set up so I could have internet. The signal I’m getting is worse than last summer, so I really do need to make a better antenna installation a priority. My office is partially set up now and I plan to be back at work Thursday.

I’m waiting for the last load of laundry for today to be done, then I’m calling it a day and will start to work on supper. I wonder how my bed is going to feel!

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Keystone, SD, to Scobey, MT

The Black Hills region really is a tricky one to visit. It’s just not a safe bet in the shoulder season. I’m lucky that I got a good day for Mount Rushmore and will only return to the area if I can afford time off in the dead of summer. I do not regret my detour in the least though since it meant meeting Vicki, getting work done, and, of course, seeing Mount Rushmore. Oh, and eating amazing free food, too! 🙂

It was raining so hard in Keystone today that the bridge between the main road and the camping area was closed for fear that it would get under water! A local guy showed me an alternate way out, a little rough, but doable in the truck. I was worried that that would wash out, too, so once I knew about the bridge closure, I was in departure mode!

I’d emptied a lot of the truck so I could transport passengers, so I had the fun task of refilling it in pouring rain today. Let’s just say I didn’t care to make it neat and tidy! I was done by about 10:30 and it was time to go since the rain wasn’t letting up and I was taking the flooding warnings seriously. It was almost 20 fake degrees warmer in northern Montana/southern SK and clear skied so, really, there really was no point in hanging around.

I headed to Rapid City and did a pointless Walmart stop since they didn’t have what I wanted. I then continued on to Spearfish, where I decided to get lunch. I haven’t been to Applebee’s at all on this trip, so I stopped there, but there was a huge lineup. I instead went to a Perkins across the interstate and had a pot of coffee and a burger. The server told me I had to order dessert and was very insistent about it, so I decided to try their chocolate pie. The bill came with the slice and as it turned out, they had a coffee and pie special that meant that my meal was about 30 cents LESS expensive with my buying the pie than if I hadn’t! Too funny. I didn’t feel guilty for leaving most of it behind as it was way too sweet, but the couple of mouthfuls I had were a treat.

Then, I drove in incessant pouring rain. So much water… But I could see a clearing to the north and I finally got patches of blue sky and white clouds as I approached Miles City, Montana. The weather remained fairly clear until just shy of Glendive where the sky let loose again. The rain was falling so hard I knew it couldn’t possibly last, and it didn’t. The rest of the drive was in increasingly clear and warm weather. It was about 70 fake degrees when I pulled in Scobey, versus about 50 in Keystone!

Coming into Scobey, gas was foremost on my mind. With tomorrow being a holiday Monday, I knew I had about a 0% chance of being able to get gas in Coronach and about a -100% chance of being able to do so in Willow Bunch. I didn’t think I had quite enough to be able to get to Assiniboia on Tuesday, so, really, I had to find fuel tonight. Moreover, I much preferred to fill up on cheap US gas! But this was late on a Sunday night in a small town, so I had a feeling the gas station would be closed. It technically wasn’t… but it’s pay at the pump place and it’s difficult to pay at the pump with a Canadian card at most stations. I swiped my Visa and was relieved that it was approved immediately! That done, it was time to find a bed for the night.

There are two places to stay in Scobey. The first wanted $86 for a room. PASS. The next wanted $58, more than I wanted to pay, but not enough to make me want to find a place to sleep with the truck and reorganize everything to clear the bed. The ‘room’ is hilarious. It’s actually a two-bedroom suite! You walk into the main room and there is a bed, dresser, etc. Then there is another bedroom with a fridge and microwave. The hallway has a big closet, then there is a bathroom! The suite even has a proper desk and computer chair!!!

By the time I lugged in my valuables, I realised that my noontime burger was very far away and I was actually feeling a little faint. I asked the motel lady about the odds of there being a place open for dinner and she said the restaurant nearly right next door was open till 10:00! I went and spent my last $20 in cash on a beer, steak, and baked potato. Yes, it was a big restaurant day, but it’s back to reasonableness tomorrow, what with Canadian food prices and all. 🙂

Time for bed. I want to be on the road by 7:30 tomorrow so I can be at the border for its 8:00 o’clock opening. I only have 60 miles to go to home and Google claims that will take two hours. Unless the border crossing is disastrous, Google is being ridiculous!

 

 

 

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Almost Home

It’s majorly raining in the Black Hills this morning and will continue for a few days. Thankfully, it held off yesterday so that we were able to have a fun day around Keystone, but there is absolutely no point going to Deadwood today or to Devils Tower tomorrow. It’s not just a question of being dressed appropriately since there are flood warnings. Meanwhile, it’s 10 Fahrenheit degrees warmer at home and sunny there. Time to do the final push.

I am leaving Keystone later this morning, late enough to ensure that I absolutely cannot get to the border by the 6PM closing time, will take a motel between Glendive and Scobey, and will be home tomorrow morning.

It’s going to take time to set up the internet booster when I’m home and depending on the condition of the rig, that could end up not being an immediate priority. I will tag in on Facebook when I can.

For my own sake, I do want to do a post about this last leg of the journey, but since I’ve noticed a distinct lack of interest in the blog since I left Santa Fe, I’m not too motivated to do a post about Keystone or a few other things that I could have updated about. Since nothing much is going to happen in the next few weeks anyway, my posting rate is going to go down. I’ll post for myself to record anything interesting, like how the rig survived the winter, but regular updates are done for the foreseeable future.

Next stop, sunny and warm Montana!

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Cheyenne, WY, to Keystone, SD

It was quite a good night in Cheyenne. The trains ran all night, but it was a soothing background noise that didn’t bother me. I would have slept late had I not been woken by a gaggle of kids around 7:00. I’ve been waking up between 5:00 and 6:00 for months, so that was a good stretch!

I took full advantage of the modest breakfast offered as well as the surprisingly good in-room coffee before leaving at 9:30. I had nothing planned for the day but to get to Keystone by mid to late afternoon.

It wasn’t far past Cheyenne when the landscape turned to the olive green rolling hills I consider to be ‘home.’

Wow, looks like home!

Wow, looks like home!

If I didn't have this labeled as Wyoming, I would think it's southern SK.

If I didn’t have this labeled as Wyoming, I would think it’s southern SK.

The first part of the day was along I-25. If I had kept going north, I would have hit home. But instead, I turned east on route 18 to head to the Black Hills.

Snow on rooftops.

Snow on rooftops.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but you can see on the GPS screen the state lines separating WY, NE, and SD.

It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but you can see on the GPS screen the state lines separating WY, NE, and SD.

SD also looks like SK. :)

SD also looks like SK. 🙂

It got colder the closer I got to Mount Rushmore, with snow on the ground, but the sky was clearer.

Blue sky!

Blue sky!

First mention of the Black Hills!

First mention of the Black Hills!

First mention of Mt. Rushmore!

First mention of Mt. Rushmore!

Snow on the ground as I get closer to Keystone.

Snow on the ground as I get closer to Keystone.

Tons of blue sky!

Tons of blue sky!

Approaching Mt. Rushmore.

Approaching Mt. Rushmore.

Entering Mt. Rushmore area (I saw Washington carved in stone just a moment later!).

Entering Mt. Rushmore area (I saw Washington carved in stone just a moment later!).

I actually saw Mount Rushmore as I drove past. I know of people who park illegally on the roadway to save on the parking fee and take a picture that way, but I’m going to do it properly.

Vicki was awaiting me when I got to her RV park. She pointed out that we could see Washington, Jefferson, and a bit of Lincoln from her spot! Too cool! We did the introductions and settling thing, enjoyed a bit of sun, and then she surprised me by making an amazing dinner, a much appreciated gesture! We’re both working tomorrow and Friday, but the weekend will be for adventuring.

(Sorry for two boring posts in a row, but you might as well get into it since I’ll be home soon! 🙂 )

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Walsenburg, CO, to Cheyenne, WY

There really isn’t anything interesting to report about today, I’m afraid. If you were planning to go to bed soon, keep reading as I’m sure you’ll fall asleep halfway through. 😀

I stayed at the Anchor Motel in Walsenburg and it was a great stay. The room was $50 with the tax. The motel is located at the quiet end of Main Street so there was almost no road noise. The room was very dark and the bed nearly as comfortable as the one in John’s RV. I only slept six hours straight through, but they were solid hours, and then I snoozed for another two and a half. 🙂 The room itself was neat, clean, and not worn or shabby even though it hadn’t been updated in my lifetime, I’m sure (except for that mattress!). I like that it had a proper desk and chair and that the shower was hot with good pressure.

The only negative was that they didn’t offer coffee. I did a quick Google search and found a coffee shop a couple of blocks away. I drove because it was pouring rain. The lady working the shop was a complete flake, but the coffee and scone were both excellent.

I didn’t leave till nearly 10:30 since I wasn’t doing too much mileage today. I had to drive through downtown Walsenburg and wished the weather would have been nicer as I would have stayed for a bit to poke through the antique shops, but it was definitely not weather for walking around. The streets were deserted, it was just that nasty and miserable.

I bought fuel before getting on I-25 and then headed north. By 11:30, I was ready for another coffee and getting peckish. So when I passed near Pueblo a sign for a Cracker Barrel, my guilty pleasure, I decided to stop for lunch. Service was unbelievably slow because the restaurant was packed, but my server was attentive, the coffee kept coming, and I had a full charged phone with good service, so I didn’t care.

Next stop was the Walmart in Colorado Springs because the forecast for the weekend is just more and more wet and I needed at the very least some waterproof footwear and hoped to find a fleece hoodie and some sort of waterproof windbreaker. I found a really cute pair of rubber booties for $15, but struck out on outerwear. They only had summer stuff. I didn’t think to check the time and headed to a Target, where I struck out, too. It was only as I was about to head to JC Penney’s that I thought to look at the clock and realised that at the rate I was going, I was going to hit Denver at 3:00, right at the start of rush hour! Moron!

By this point, I was so deep into Colorado Springs and away from I-25 that I had to drive 15KM to get back on it, so I got a chance to see quite a bit of the town. It’s really nothing special. The name Colorado Springs features on two favourite TV shows of mine, Dr. Quinn and Stargate, but of course those Colorado Springs have nothing to do with reality. I’ve been to the Stargate Colorado Springs; it looks suspiciously like the Greater Vancouver Area. 😀

From Target, I hurried back to the truck and drove and drove and drove, not daring to take any time to stop even though I passed a Cabela’s where I could have gotten what I needed.

Heading out of Colorado Springs into Denver.

Heading out of Colorado Springs into Denver.

Traffic through Denver was thick and slow, but fluid, and I made it through in 30 minutes flat. Phew! Only the scenery around the city looked familiar to me after 20 years. There was a bit of clearing and a wisp of blue sky past Denver, but it didn’t last.

Castle Rock.

Castle Rock.

I pushed on from Denver, with the plan being to stop in Cheyenne for the night. That was as far as I was willing to go tonight and it would mean a reasonable day tomorrow to Mount Rushmore.

Something tells me the Wyoming border is approaching.

Something tells me the Wyoming border is approaching.

I was right. :)

I was right. 🙂

It started to sleet heavily as I crossed the Wyoming state line. I pulled into the rest area to do some motel research and found the pickings dire. There is tons of accommodation, but it’s firmly divided between luxury accommodation and roach motels with barely any middle ground. I read recent review after recent review of motels in the $70 range that are the cheapest in the area pricewise and have bedbugs and other major issues. It looked like my two best options were the iffy Motel 6 (middling reviews) and the Super 8 (great reviews, but pricey at over 100USD. Yes, for a Super 8!!!).

I came into town and checked a couple of the better reviewed non-chain motels and they were terrifying! The cheapest one I could find was $75 and I’m not sure I would have used the bathroom! I went to the Motel 6, which was $50 and right on budget, but there were four people ahead of me in line complaining about their rooms. So I headed to the Super 8 and was quoted $83 with the tax, much better than the online rate, and it includes a basic breakfast of toast, fruit, and coffee. I really wasn’t happy dropping 100CAD, but I was done shopping for a bed and the room was nice and about as far from the railroad tracks as I can hope to be.

There were no food options period within walking distance (which I would have done even in the sleet to avoid getting back in my truck), so I resigned myself to either not eating or doing more driving, neither option being particularly appealing. I searched for pizza and found a Little Caesar’s 10 minutes away, so that was perfect. I made it there without incident and they had my favourite $5 pizza (sausage) ready, so I took that as a sign that I’d made the right dinner choice!

I got back to the motel and called Zenni Optical between slices of pizza. My latest order is taking a bit longer than usual to process, so it won’t make it to Mount Rushmore by Friday, as I had hoped. I was able to have the shipping addressed changed to home, so now I don’t have to worry about having the order sent on to me by reader and host Vicki.

I’m so close to home I can almost smell it… I am really glad to be taking in the Black Hills this weekend and still want to make the relatively minor detour there, but wish the weather was looking better so I could enjoy my stay more. I’m getting to Mt. Rushmore later tomorrow afternoon and will be working Thursday and Friday. Vicki, a friend of hers, and I are going to do touristy stuff over the weekend, including Mt. Rushmore and the town of Deadwood. Monday, it’s off to Devils Tower and then an overnight in Scobey. I can’t believe I’ll be home this day next week.