Happy 4th of July from Wyoming

One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore! -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happy 4th of July from beautiful Pinedale, Wyoming!  We are staying in a great little rv park that borders on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. I love Wyoming! It is spacious and empty and wonderfully serene. In the midst of this crazy, busy world, I truly appreciate the peaceful solitude of this place.

Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.  -Theodore Roosevelt

The beautiful rv park where we are staying. Most of the land you see in this picture is actually national forest.

We heard a strange squeaking sound coming from the grass just outside our rv. We discovered countless burrows and saw at least a dozen prairie dogs scampering about. Here is one of our little neighbors.

This forest is just beautiful!

We will be spending our day in the Grand Teton National Park appreciating this beautiful country and the blessing it is to live here.

Utah

The best part of our brief stay in Utah, has been the chance to see old friends! Last night we went to dinner with John and Tracy, friends I made two decades ago when I lived in Japan. After 19 years, we just picked where we left off. It was a wonderful visit! I am so thankful for the gift of forever friends and the blessing it is to get to see them!

The downside of Utah has been staying in Park City. It is a fine little place and I am sure many wonderful people live here. That said, I can’t remember the last time I dealt with so many pretentious, snobby people. They clearly have no idea how ridiculous they look with their turned-up polo shirt collars and turned-up noses. Even our rv park is pretentious  (Seriously. It’s an rv park. Let’s keep it real, people.).  Park City, lighten up. Life is a lot more fun when you don’t take yourself too seriously.

(Ahem. If you are, by chance, from Park City, please do not take offense. Of course, I’m not talking about you.)

Boondocking and Day Three

I’m sick and feeling very miserable, so this update will be brief. I am trying to take it in stride, but it was a rough day of traveling… especially over very bumpy roads.

Last night we “boondocked” for the first time. It wasn’t too bad. We parked at a rest area just outside Kansas City, MO. It all went well,  other than someone trying to steal our sewer hose… I really don’t know what to say about that except, “Eww!”

Today we drove from just outside Kansas City to Mitchell,  SD. We had to make a long stop in Iowa for some repairs, but my handy husband got us back on the road.

Tonight we are staying at Mitchell KOA. Once again, we’ve had a great rv park experience. Friendly staff, clean facilities,  pleasant scenery (particularly if you like cows).

Day Two

Yesterday ended at Baileyton RV Park. Thankfully, our first rv park experience was a great one! The owner was very nice and helpful. The park was scenic, clean, and quiet. There is quite a checklist to go through when you stop and again before you leave. We were a little nervous since it was our first time (there are lots of stories of disaster on rv blogs and forums to warn (aka scare)  new people – haha), but Nick got us set up for the night and the back on the road again in the morning without any problems.

We’ve made good progess today. We have been through Knoxville,  Nashville,  and St. Louis. We are currently headed for Kansas City. We’d like to get past as many of the larger cities between here and Montana as we can before the weekday traffic is back on the road. Driving an 33ft. , 9000+ lb. trailer through city traffic and all its construction is a wee bit stressful. 😉

Happy Mother’s Day! 🙂