Butch & Dave's Great Road-Trip!

This morning, Butch & Dave saw the sunrise in Montana.  There's just something about sunrise in the West~

Dave's amazing photo~

Leave it to these two - to take the route that puts them just where they wanted to be :-)  Not in time for the big rally - maybe not driving a U-Haul - but a great place to make a stop~!

Sturgis!

By now, they've traveled well over 1,000-miles - with the Ford U-Haul truck cruising right along!

Dave & the U-Haul~

It's great that even when they don't have much cell phone reception - in most cases they can still sent out a text.

In Town~

They walked the town & had nachos & beer!

Dave & Butch at lunch~

So glad they're taking a little time for some stops!  :-)

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!

Going for Hay

Butch's Construction Trailer

Justin gave us a lead on some nice Eastern, WA grass hay.  I called - it was still available, so we made arrangements to go over yesterday.  With rain coming down in buckets, it wasn't the best start to the day trip!  The camper came off the truck & we headed to Ballard, where Butch is currently working on his latest project.  It was the first time in forever that I'd been in Wallingford or Ballard.  It was nice to go through on a Sunday - when traffic was minimal.   Once at the job site, we picked up a nice big, long trailer!

The trailer

Finally, after some changes to our hitch to accommodate the trailer - we were on our way!  Did someone say "Rain"?

Crossing Lake Washington on I-90

The rain stayed with us all the way over the pass, but by the time we were in the traffic jam created by the highway being narrowed to one lane near Easton - blue sky was appearing!  The leaves are really starting to turn now - it's always so nice to get out into those wide-open spaces!

Butch & Don moving bales!

It wasn't long until we were going off the exit ramp - I placed the call to Don & could see him waving from his field!  What a great field!  What nice grass!  So much nicer & richer than anything we can grow on our wet side.  The price was right too - right enough to make it worth us paying for the fuel & making the trip to bring a couple ton home.

The first bale hits the trailer!

It wasn't long at all before it was all loaded up - tarped & tied!  Now mid-afternoon, we thanked Don, made arrangements for his next cut in June & headed back to Ellensburg for a late lunch/early dinner :-)   Feeling better after our meal, we were back on the road & could see that the clouds were moving east with the rain back behind it.  Hardly any traffic - at least going our direction!  When we got back into the Easton area, the backup on the far side went on & on & on...  We couldn't help but feel sorry for the people trapped in that mess.

The rain hit hard, we took 203 from Fall City & by the time we were close to home, the rain had temporarily let up.  Butch maneuvered the very long trailer into our gate - we were both thankful that we'd widened it this year!  Next was the unloading!  I got on the trailer & pulled the bales toward Butch - he started stacking!  We'd just pulled off the last bale when the rain hit!  It hit hard too!  What a relief to have the job done - just in the nick of time! 

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!