Sheridan to Missoula~

Leaving Sheridan~

The days are getting longer!  Last week when I was heading east - it was still dark when I left Sheridan at 7 a.m.  This morning, there was light!  I'd worried that the roads would be icy, but it was warmer than yesterday morning's six degrees!  Sunday morning the sun was shining & it was so pretty out.  I went out to the Bronco to get my camera & the minute I opened the door, the cold hit me!  My fingers went numb in an instant!  I rushed back to the house to the loud laughter of my family!  :-)  Even my tea was frozen IN my thermos!

Racing the train :-)

 After taking a day off - I was back on the road.  Over a week of mostly traveling, I'm actually getting used to it!  Watching the country roll by is almost like being in the middle of a travel video.  The higher the sun got in the sky - the more beautiful the day became.  Stunning blue, wide open sky, a high layer of clouds & the dazzling white of the snow.

East of Livingston~

Soon though - I had another challenge...  Wind!  It hit like the blast from a bomb!  Sweeping the snow across the road with a fury.  I had to keep the wheel tilted to the outside to even begin to stay in my lane.  It was brutal & the Bronco was bucking like his namesake!  My gas gauge was dropping fast!  I'd planned to stop in Bozeman, but hadn't seen a mileage sign for quite a while.  Instead - Livingston was coming up & I decided to get off there.  Oh My Gosh!  What a BEAUTIFUL place!  The mountains were all around & so amazing!  The guy at the mini mart was so friendly, I told him he must really enjoy living in such a beautiful place.  He had been born & raised there.  He said that they used to get lots of snow, that now & for the last few years, hardly Any snow.  Instead - he continued;  the temperatures have been colder for longer.  Weeks of sub-freezing temperatures.  Across the street was a jeweler.  In my hurry to leave home I'd forgotten a ring & my watch.  I walked in & asked the sales person if he had a ring with a local stone for a reasonable price?  He took me to a case with an amazing ring with three small Montana Sapphires.  The first I'd ever seen & the exact color of the river below!  The cost was a paltry $3,500.  :-)

Missouri River

 The river was Montana Sapphire blue - darker than the beautiful afternoon blue sky.  It's a long haul across to Butte, but my audio book helped & so did a dry road over the pass.

Almost to Butte

Finally - another town to check off.  Another quick stop for gas, another shorter pass & up ahead the day's goal, Missoula.  I was surprised at all the haze in the air.  Not sure what kind of plant is putting the up the plume of steam?

Missoula~

I was happy to see the exit for the motel come up.  Another fill up & check in.  The staff remembered me & after hearing the distance I'd traveled since they'd seen me last week - they upgraded my room.  Four flights of steps, I ask for a top room on an end of the building next to the stairs.  I actually enjoyed going up & down those steps - at this point - any exercise is Oh So welcome! 

The Bronco below

Tomorrow - Washington & HOME!

The Long Road Home~

I-25 Heading North

Unexpectedly, I found myself heading back home.  It was mid-day & I hadn't even checked the weather report.  I called Butch & told him I planned to make Sheridan my destination - but since I had no idea what the road conditions would be like, the plan was to go as far as I could.  If I couldn't - to stop & spend the night wherever I ended up.  I could see a gray pall in the air up ahead, as I traveled north.  Soon, light snow was flying through the air.

Wyoming State Line!

It didn't last long & by the time I was at the state line the sun had reappeared!  Traffic was light after Cheyenne.  Soon though, I started hitting patches of ice.  One section was several miles long & I was the only one on the road.  I slowed the Bronco Way down & luckily ran out of it just before Chugwater.

South of Chugwater

Just a few trucks were coming south, I could see clouds again up ahead.  I called my Aunt, she had checked the road reports & said I was due to come into a very bad area.  She was right!  From shortly after I took this photo - all the way to Douglas - the highway was covered with a deep layer of ice & snow with slush on top.  Bitter cold too. Northbound was down to just the right lane, a long line of trucks & cars trying to stay in the ruts, treacherous doesn't describe it.  As Douglas came up I needed a break & decided to go ahead & top off the tank.  The exit ramp was a solid sheet of ice.  Pulling into the Broken Wagon Wheel truck stop I  was amazed to see the outside of the Bronco!  The wheel wells were full of frozen slush!  So frozen that I couldn't knock it off.

Frozen Slush

I talked to the people working inside - who told me it was only going to get worse all the way to Casper, north of that the roads were reported clear!  Back on the road - the sun was setting & the sky turned pink & purple!  Amazing colors, but I was way too busy staying on the road to get any photos.  I carefully re-entered a line of cars & trucks - that went on for miles.  White knuckle driving - Casper couldn't come up quick enough.  Wyoming weather is so changeable & just as I'd been told, as we entered the edge of town, the sun set & the roads cleared!  I called my Aunt to tell her that I was going to continue on.

Traffic thinned & I had Sheridan in my sights - it was a relief to turn onto I-90 & finally be heading west!  Auntie was keeping dinner warm & said she'd be waiting up.  I didn't want her waiting forever so didn't waste any time.  Taking the Sheridan exit I decided to gas up.  Getting out was like walking into a deep freeze!  12 degrees!  Yikes!  There was never a more welcome sight than seeing my Aunt watching for me from the living room window!  Her esp is still working! :-)

The afternoon after!

Dinner never tasted better!  Sleeping never felt better - I was instructed that my husband & my Aunt decided that I was not going anywhere for at least a full day!  :-)  No way was I going to complain!

Westward Ho ~

Snoqualmie Pass- Day 1

Unexpected - life throws those events at us from time to time.  Colorado was again calling my name...  Flying is not my thing!  Crowds, confined space & stale air - since Butch didn't nix my plan to drive, the Bronco & I hit the road.  When I checked the pass report, it was to close for avalanche control at 9 a.m.  I took the back roads to North Bend, then headed up onto I-90.  Even with slow going I made it through with 30-min. to spare.

Near Spokane

By the time I was coming into Spokane - the day had turned stunning! 

Lolo Pass 3 p.m.

Once into Montana - the 80 mph. speed limit really helped our time.  I wanted to be to Missoula before dark & just made it by 5 p.m.  Tired didn't describe it, so made my calls & turned in early.  Of course I couldn't sleep...  Up early & back on the road.

Leaving Missoula - Sunrise, Day 2

It was still dark, but before long the sun was coming up & I love seeing sunrise in the west!  Montana is a big state & my audio book helped the miles click by.  By 1 p.m. I was in Billings - making the turn south toward Wyoming.  The goal for this day, my favorite Aunt & Uncle's home in Sheridan, WY!

Bronco covered with road grime!

Butch called & said that the Bronco wanted a little oil.  I got out my step, climbed up on the hood & with the phone on speaker - started the process.  Within a minute, I had three guys offering to help :-)   It's friendly in the West!  Driving along, I was surprised to see two women on horses with their dogs heading toward a small horse herd.  I beeped the horn as way of saying;  "Hi!" They waved & how I wished I was out there riding with them!

Big Horns in the distance~

Back on the road, the sun shining on the snow was brutal.  Even with my good sunglasses, my eyes were tired.  By 3 p.m. I was pulling into Sheridan!  First stop - the car wash!  The Very Best car wash I have ever used!  It blasted that road grime right off!  Visiting family that I seldom get to see - is always so wonderful!  Of course we never stopped talking & going to bed was hard!  Next morning when I went out to warm up the Bronco - it was frozen solid!  17 degrees felt darn cold!  :-)  It was sure fun motoring around on the snow covered streets.

Leaving Sheridan - Day 3

Another gorgeous sunrise in the West.  I would have loved to stop & take photos with the camera, but it would be another almost full day's drive.  Over the years, & the drives back & forth - Auntie has always sent me on my way with a packed lunch!  Chicken salad sandwich, chips, cookies - yum!   I don't think anyone would argue that Wyoming can be a bit dull out in the middle of the state.  I was looking forward to crossing the Colorado state line!   Traffic picked up the further south I drove.  Two-lanes each direction once on I-25 seemed small after being so used to I-5! By just after 2 p.m. I was at Mom's door!  So good to see her!

The Early Days~

I have our oldest daughter to blame for this post!  :-)  I was visiting this week on Grandson Mason's 14th birthday!  We were talking about how quickly the kids are growing up.  Courtney asked if next time they visit, I could pull out the old photo albums to show the kids how things were when their mother was their age.  Cassidy will be 12 in Oct.!  I seldom write about the past, or personal stuff - but those albums reminded me of how far we've come~

10/81 Grand Tetons, WY

When Butch & I found each other - lives changed.  He was happy & I was happiest I'd been since the girls were born.  That happiness was so big & wide - that it colored our world!  We decided to make a clean break & leave Colorado for Butch's home state of Washington.  He promised us both mountains & an ocean!  (The girls & I had never seen an Ocean!)  The above photo was taken on our drive out.  (Courtney was 12, Jentry 4)

July 82, Wallace Falls~

By the time we arrived, our funds were running out & we both were desperate for work!  Butch found a job as maintenance on a large apartment property, I found one working for Gloria Marshall Figure Salon, both in Lynnwood.  Luckily - an apartment came with Butch's position.  We were poor, but we had a roof over our heads, food on the table & it didn't cost anything but gas money to go out & enjoy the incredible state that we now called home!

October 82, LaPush, WA

We were oh so lucky in so many ways...  We both worked with some great people - who became life-long friends.  By October of 82, we married - to the great relief of our families :-)  Mom came out for the wedding & we had to take her to the coast!  She's in the red hat :-)

July, 83 The 59 Bel Air - a gift from Butch's grandparents :-)

We left our jobs to move to Bremerton, we both had job offers with a substantial increase in income, but they didn't pan out.  We loved living on the peninsula & were lucky enough to rent a cute little house from a couple who - we scared at first.  They stopped by to find us tearing apart the kitchen.  Soon though, they realized we were making improvements!  We are to this day, best of friends.

It wasn't long before word had traveled that we were again "In the market" for a building to manage.  We were offered a property in Bellevue.

February 84, at Bellepark East  (I'd made the "Holly Hobby" dress for Courtney years before, now it fit Jentry!)

Finally - we had our very own multi-family building to manage!  We took the ball & ran with it, never looking back!  We gained a reputation for turning around the most difficult properties & from that point on - worked at buildings owned by the management company that employed us.

Thanksgiving 89 - Harbor Point

A few years went by, we moved up from small properties to larger ones.  Butch left to work in commercial construction.  I continued my education & began managing a large condominium portfolio that included buildings in Mercer Island & Bellevue.  We purchased our own house in Marysville, to use as a rental - eventually turning the gains we made there into the purchase of the Homestead.

We'd written a list of goals, early on in our marriage.  The day we moved to the country, the top goal was crossed off that list.  Now, 34 years later, our two daughters have blessed us with five wonderful grand-kids, who are too busy to come as often as we'd like!   The world, has indeed, moved on~

P.S. I took all the photos with a tripod & the camera's timer :-)

The Long Winding Road~

July 26, 2012 - The Chugwater area of Wyoming

I feel like a Road Warrior!  Ten days on-the-road so far & another to get back home.  The final mileage will be interesting.  The landscape is something out of one of the old Westerns.  As I sped along about 75 mph - watching the scene roll by - how I wished I was in Farah's saddle, feeling her big walk & hearing the quiet of the country.  Maybe back about one-hundred years in the timeline.  When I dared to pull off to the side of the Super-slab - noise was the biggest onslaught to my senses.  Even so - just taking in the scope of the country is such an amazing experience.  It had been years since I'd taken a drive of this magnitude by myself.  The last time was about 1995 - driving a black Ford Mustang 5.0 that the truckers nicknamed;  "That little muscle car!"  :-)  This time, it's still a Ford, but a full-size Bronco - with four-wheel drive, not smart to go over 80.  With the Mustang?  Safe to say that the upper limit was over three figures :-)

July 27, 2012 - Just after 10 a.m. West of Billings

Butch & I had taken the trip in 2008, but the changes are startling.  Almost every town along the major interstate highways has grown even more.  So many new interchanges, each with the mandatory gas stations & fast food.  Gone are the days of the small unique restaurants where you took your chances of getting a great meal, or not!  Getting gas is a challenge too, with all the large motor homes - especially the ones towing jeeps or other vehicles behind.  When they pull into the pumps - they take them ALL!  Lines were common, even during the week days.

July 27th,11 a.m. - Grizzly Mountains, near Big Timber, MT

The majesty of the views become almost overwhelming & certainly awe inspiring.  I wished that grandson Ben had been able to come with me for the trip.  His mother & I had taken my orange 78 Mustang with T-tops (The Starman Mustang) all the way to Iowa in the summer of 1990, to visit my grandparents - when she was about the age he is now. That time we took in the Corn Palace of Mitchell, SD & Devils Tower, WY.  Travel Gods willing, one more long driving day & I hope to see the green, green grass of Home!

On The Road Again~

Welcome to Wyoming

Wyoming has a new welcome sign since my last visit here!   I'm taking a road-trip.  It was unplanned but not completely unexpected.  I have family things to do in Colorado, so decided to drive, flying isn't my favorite thing.  Driving gives me time to reflect on the beauty of our great Country's wide open spaces, since I've been lucky enough to go through the width of Washington State, across the top of Idaho, through Montana & from the top to the bottom of Wyoming!  Finally - back to Colorado!

Peaks of Yellowstone~

Hot!  Have I said something about the heat yet?  Not the best time of year to travel & when the air-conditioning went out on the Bronco - I didn't think I'd make it!  Thanks to my husband calling ahead, he found a great little repair shop in Bozeman, where they took the Bronco in & replaced the blower.  Sweet relief.  Problem is though - that the heat is so intense during mid-day - that the blower just can't keep up with the cooling.  Every so often I have to shut it down, wait, then turn it on again.  Otherwise, the miles have been flying by.  I've made stops to visit friends north of Spokane the first night, then family in Sheridan - where I met my cousin's grandchildren for the first time!

Hydrangea's & Aspen

I haven't been posting - but have been taking pictures & enjoying a audio book along the way!  Have threatened to bring a wolf-hybrid home with me too :-)  Missing the Homestead though -  blooms on my hydrangea's, blueberry picking season & even the cool of the rain!