A Little Bit of Everything Today

Day 35

Spokane WA to Bozeman MT

400 Miles

It was cold when we got up this morning, the hot coffee was very much appreciated. We left the Spokane KOA around 9:30, but we lost an hour going from Pacific Time to Mountain time in Idaho, so I guess it's like leaving an hour later.

Beautiful scenery around Cour D'Alene, the lakes and mountains are so pretty. Later going through the Bitterroots we encountered deep snow again, not on the highway, but everywhere else. We stopped at the rest area in one of the rest areas and walked the dogs...that was quite hilarious. Oh heck, I'll let them tell you about it themselves.

ROOKIE: My name is Rookie (actually, 'Rookie of the Year' is my formal name) and I was born in Goose Creek, South Carolina. I am a warm weather dog.

My mother, Molly, and I are stuck in a 30 foot box with the humans. That's okay, because we get to go for lots of rides. Today we got out of the 30 foot box with our leashes on to take a walk. I though the grass looked really funny...it was all white and about three feet higher off the ground that it was supposed to be.

The humans made mom and me climb on the white grass. It was so cold on my 'southern' paws and it made them wet. What happened next scared the crap out of me. The white grass made noises! Every time the man and woman human stepped on it, it crunched! And that made me jump and turn around to see what was happening. Got me so flustered (I scare easy) that I couldn't pee. I mean, how could I pee on something that makes noise? Finally the man human found a place with dirt and a tree, I was so relieved...heh, heh, so I relieved myself!
I was so glad to go back into the nice, warm, 30 foot box.

MOLLY: My Name is Molly (Good Golly Miss Molly) and I'm an 11 year old bitch, in every sense of the word. I like being in the 30 foot box. I have the two humans at my beck and call 24/7. I make them scratch my back whenever *I* want and they don't eat ONE meal without me knowing about it and getting some of what they're eating.

My son is a wimp. God, he disgusts me, being afraid of every little sound, jumping and putting his tail between his legs! Every step the humans took he was scared of the crunchy noises. Me? Hey, I'm old, I can't hold it too long, I'll squat and pee anywhere...even if it's on cold, wet, white grass that crunches!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weather threw everything at us today. It was sunny, rainy, sleety, and snowy off and on all afternoon driving across Montana. Too bad, because this is an absolutely gorgeous state. It gas just about everything, huge mountains, beautiful lakes, rivers you wouldn't believe, ranches...HUGE cattle ranches and horse ranches. In fact I'm sure I saw more horses today than I have in my entire life up till now.

We passed a small town that had a large sign that declared that it was the 'Home of the Testicle Festival'. I thought it was quite appropriate that the name of the town was CLINTON. Hah!

Later in the afternoon, just after we passed Butte, we had to go over a mountain pass. This one was listed in our book as being rather intense, with sharp curves and steep grades...6 miles of them. I remembered this stretch of highway from our 1991 trip and wasn't looking forward to it. We decided to unhook the Jeep and I drove it up and over and waited for Jim and the RV on the other side. I think it did both my nerves and the RV transmission and brakes good!

Bozeman was just a little over an hour east so I made coffee while we drove (pouring water while going 65 mph on a curvy/hilly road is interesting) and pulled into the RV park around dinnertime.

We saw billboards for Fuddruckers (we stop when we find one) so Jim decided I needed a break from cooking and I told him that he needed to take me out for a special occassion anyway. What occasion? My friend Mary's brithday...hey, I'll use any excuse I can think of!

Oh yes, Happy Birthday Mary in Gainesville, Florida!

Tomorrow, Yellowstone...IF it doesn't snow!