Off to Jim & Mary’s

Tuesday  August 23, 2011
Jim & Mary’s RV Park Site A 7
Missoula, Montana
 

On Monday we left Mammoth Hot Springs
and Yellowstone National Park
with a sad good bye and drove about 5 miles
outside the park to Yellowstone RV Park in Gardner to dump. $6.


It’s a really lovely drive leaving the park
and going through the original entrance arch.
Its cornerstone was laid down
by President  Theodore Roosevelt in 1903.

We drove on to Bozeman Montana
where we filled up with gas at $369.9.
Over $200 OUCH!!
And THREE separate receipts.
I agree with a commenter, if you gas companies are going
to raise the gas prices then also raise the limit per pump.
I feel sorry for some of the really big rigs.

Grocery shopping was next on the agenda.
Then propane for the gas grille, trading in our
Cobra walkie talkies
that quit working within a month of buying them ,
for an upgrade to the next level model.
At additional cost of course.
This is Cobra’s last chance. If these don’t turn out
we’re turning to Radio Shack unless any of you have a better idea.
If you use walkie-talkies and are happy with them,
please let me know.

And of course on the 5^th use of the credit card that day,
it was denied.  We’re in a “new” state and
they just don’t get it.
I had to call Citi Bank and yell at them and they assured me
they would put a note on our account that we are traveling.
Of course this is about the 4^th time they’ve promised to do this.
Do any of you have this problem of your credit card company
trying overly hard to protect you??

I’ve never had a charge denied in my life until we started full timing.
No matter how many times I call them on my dime,
they just don’t seem to do what they say they will.

We stopped in Butte for the night at the 2 Bar Lazy H RV Park.
What kind of a name is that??
It was the only place in Butte
that got even a remotely decent review in RV Park Reviews.
We had a big pull through so we didn’t have to take the car off – nice.
But we had a lot of trouble leveling up and had to use blocks,
very unusual for us.
The park is right by the interstate so ear plugs are a must
if you stay here – not so nice.
But, the place served the purpose.
Didn’t think to take a picture of it.  Sorry.

 

Up Tuesday morning and out on the road to Missoula
where David wants to go to Harbor Freight
and get a 45 watt solar panel
to see if we can top up our batteries with it
and improve our boon docking situation.
I personally think he also wants to go to
Big Sky Brewing Company
and have some more Moose Drool.  :-)

Looking out the window at a rest stop on the way,
I thought, this may be taking walking your pet
at a rest area to the extreme.
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a  “Horse walk area”
or clean up bags.

As we approached Missoula on Interstate 90,
we could actually see flames from this forest fire
but I wasn’t quick enough on the draw
to get pictures  of anything but the smoke.

 

We pulled into Jim & Mary’s RV Park shortly after 1:00.
You just know with a name like that it’s going to be a cute place.
And it didn’t disappoint.

Trees, flowers in gardens and planters and the Pièce de résistance 
is the white picket fence around the office
with  flowers all along the front of it as if you were in Mayberry.

We had reserved a space for one night.
When I went to check in,  David said make it 2 or 3 nights
– is that the Moose Drool talking?
But after talking with our neighbors
who had been here a week,
we too decided to chill here for a week
at their weekly rate of $190 before moving on to Glacier.

 

Set up was a snap. The site was pretty level already.

 

I did the laundry

while David ran out to Harbor Freight
for the solar and then to Lowe’s to get the fixings
for a real flag pole for my Earth Flag.
Can’t wait!!

Of course the Blue Sky Brewing Company Tap Room
is very close to us so he also stopped there on
his “errands”.  :-)

Beer aficionados feel free to
click the On Tap Menu picture to enlarge it.

At 7:30, Jim & Mary had entertainment
in their small “club house”.
LeGrande Harvey on guitar is the composer of
Montana’s Official State Ballad ‘Montana Melody’.
Rod Brod is a retired University of Montana Professor
of Native American Extraction.

After an hour of stories and songs,
we were treated to a complimentary ice cream social
with huckleberry ice cream.
What fun!
AGAIN, too busy eating that ice cream to get a photo.
But after as many times as I’ve talked about
ice cream, I know you can picture it.

Since this full hook up also comes with cable
we came back and actually watched
both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
on Comedy Central.
Pretty amazing for us!
And very funny!