Yes. We did go home.

Ah HA! Just as I suspected. They didn't publish my last dictation and now I don't remember what I said. And you know, Linda won't remember. She hardly remembers... Oh, never mind. Let me get on with this.

We did rest and relax at Flathead Lake and then headed over to the Eastern side of Glacier Park and found a nice quiet park with a good view where we could park for a few days. The peeps left me alone every day but it was good because I got to rest.

They were really happy every time they came home because they saw another wild animal. They finally saw a black bear and even more Big Horned Sheep and Mountain Goats. The mountains were really beautiful.

After a few days, the peeps packed everything up and we hit the road again. This time, I could tell we were heading east toward home.

I'm not sure what happens but they seem to be able to find really strange places to stay. One campground was nearly washed away and the neighbors had a barking dog that was off leash way too much.

We stayed one night in North Dakota at Graham Island State Park near Devil's Lake. It was a nice camp but the road to the park had washed out. Anne had to wheel the trailer over a mushy narrow road while following a lead car for about 10 miles. It sure looked shorter on the map. What a mess. I bet the trailer weighed a lot more after we picked up all of that mud.

Anyhow, after a long and exciting road trip, we are home and all is well.

Flathead Lake

We took a few days off from the National Park circuit and went down to stay on Flathead Lake - the largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi (question: where is the largest fresh water lake on either side of the Mississippi? - you guessed it - back home on good old Superior!) The peeps caught up on my blogging and Anne did some work since it was one of the first times they had internet on the trip - these mountains sure do a number on electronic connectivity!

We stayed at a place that also had a marina - the best part for me was that there was a little white dog living right next door - Sam - he looked a bit like my buddy Barkley and was very deferential to me - I liked that -we visited every time he could sneak away from his peeps, which was often since they were determined not to tie him up.

I also had to remind them to post the picture of their trailer parking job at their campsite on the west side of Yellowstone. It was one of those times when Linda showed off her true trailer maneuvering skills - please note how VERY close the trees are on both sides!

OK next we go back to the east side of Glacier.

Glacier National Park

Well, it was a short day to get to our new camp in Glacier Park. This is a great camp for me because we are right next to the water faucet so lots and lots of people can drop by to meet me when I'm outside. Most of them are so impressed that a cat goes camping and is hooked up on a leash. I really like being such a good example for my species and am able to dispel some of the silly ideas people have about cats. Several folks had to tell some crazy story about someone camping with a cat who BOLTED out of the camper and ran across a road, went missing for weeks or otherwise had a heck of a time getting home again. Sounds like an urban legend to me.

When we were on our way here, something came undone under the trailer (drain pipe) and so Linda kind of fixed what ever it was. The peeps are very happy about that.

They were out and about for the three days we stayed. I guess the mountains are really beautiful and the rivers are really full. I've been sleeping a lot.

The peeps like this park a lot because it has shuttle service to some cool places where they could walk around. They don't do the big hikes but like the easy ones. They walked up Avalanche Creek which was kind of like a rain forest. It was a cedar forest that hadn't burned since the 1500's. That's pretty rare for the forests around here. Fire is an important feature in all of these western parks so it was nice for then to see the big Cedars and some of the biggest Aspen ever. Linda took several pictures while her camera was set to a weird setting. They all turned out to be tiles - why anyone would want that, I don't know but I know she'll do her best to figure out a way to get them posted on my favorite links.

Glacier has rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The peeps drove up to Logan Pass which is the high point on the Going to The Sun Road. It must have been beautiful and exciting. They were talking about snow and seeing mountain goats when the came home.

The Ride Between the Parks

After Yellowstone we took a short day's ride to Riverside RV Park in Garrison, Montana. We got there in the late afternoon and who showed up but my friend, Sara. She is working at a camp near Trout Creek, Montana and had a few days off so she came to visit me. She had to leave her cat at home and really needed a cat fix. I was happy to oblige her. She petted me for a long time which was very nice. The peeps did their laundry and since the hot water heater in the little house doesn't work anymore, they got to take hot showers. We were late leaving the next morning so, I hope that means we get a short drive before the next camp.

Climbing up to Yellowstone

Wow. I'm really sorry that I'm not able to update my story but the peeps have decided to spend a lot of time in places without any Internet connections. Finally, they are at Woods Bay, Montana where a bit of technology has seeped in. I'll try and catch up on my Western adventure.

After we left the Grand View place, we headed toward the higher Rocky Mountains of Yellowstone Park. The roads were small narrow country roads and we started seeing lots of motorcycles. Turns out they were heading to the 17th Annual Beartooth Rally. When we got into one town there were hundreds of them! It was all very exciting although sometimes a bit loud. The roads were really narrow and winding but, I was OK 'cause Anne would actively hold on to me while Linda drove.

We stopped a few times in the high mountains to take in the scenery and saw a Big Horn Sheep before we got to a strange campground at Fishing Bridge by the Yellowstone River. I wanted to get out and sniff around but we were very close to other campers who had dogs, kids and even a cockatoo. Give me a break! It turned out OK because I could take a few extra naps if I stayed inside.

The peeps left me home alone a lot of the time so I was very well rested. They were just raving about Buffalo and a grizzly bear when they got home the first day. Neither of the peeps had seen a Grizzly Bear in the wild and so they were very excited about that. Linda didn't know that the Buffalo were so plentiful in Yellowstone. The peeps like those big animals too. It's later in the year than when they saw them at Custer State Park but the cows and calves were in herds and the Bulls were just hanging out alone or in small gangs. They are all still trying to get their winter coats cleaned off so they rub on trees for a good scratch.

The rivers out west are really rushing because of the huge winter snow pack and a late spring. The peeps saw quite a few rivers in Yellowstone. They all drop in elevation so there are also a lot of water falls and cascades in the steep canyons. They kind of go nuts about the rivers and wildlife (whatever that is) so they aren't spending a lot of time with me.

After staying there three nights we packed up and drove a little ways to another campground where I spent another three days. This one was run by the NFS just outside West Yellowstone and was very nice. I was outside a lot when the peeps were home.

Once they got over to the west side of the park the peeps switched to raving about the geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots. I don't know exactly what those are but I think that they are kind of like my frog drinking fountain only an electric pump makes my fountain work and these geyser things are earth powered. Pretty awesome. They got some pics of Old Faithful erupting while they were looking through the windows of the historic Old Faithful Lodge -really something! It was fun for Anne to see this place since her grandparents traveled here a long time ago ( in the 1920's? in model T) and then again with her parents soon after they got married, so this is a place she has seen lots of pictures of but has never visited.

Westward we go!

Well we barely got home from Ely and the peeps started packing up the little house - this summer vacationing can be exhausting!There was a lot of lawn mowing and laundry washing and then we were off!
We hit the road across MN through some places I had never seen ( Like Staples for example and Brainerd and Moorhead; how could I have lived so long in MN and missed these places!) Our first day was really long and we camped in a place just outside of Bismark ND, called A Prairie Breeze RV Camp in Menoken. We had a big rain that night and then a BIG wind came through about 1am which shook the trailer really hard and made us all nervous- good thing we hadn't unhooked from the big car or we may have blown away -the prairie just doesn't have anywhere for the wind to stop.

The next day we drove the rest of the way across N Dakota - there is just a lot of nothing for miles - we did however see the worlds largest fiberglass cow - you can see it for miles from the interstate. We also saw lots of evidence of the major flooding happening out here - including some spots on the interstate that had big barriers to hold back the water and pumps going to keep one lane open.

The high point of ND was our drive through Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where we had a nice picnic and saw some prairie dogs who liked to hug a lot (there are pics we will put up of that!) That night we stayed in Hardin, Wyoming at the Grand View campground - saw some beautiful skies which we all sat outside and watched for most of the evening.

Well I'll try to write more tomorrow about our adventure.

The trip with no little house

I had the strangest thing happen earlier this month. The peeps packed up the Honda Hybrid instead of the big comfy 4 Runner and we all headed up north. Turns out that we were going to the little cabin with the dock. I really like it there so it was OK with me.

I had been feeling a little punky just before we left but when I got there it was like coming home. I was hungry and thirsty and loved being outside. Sometimes I just need to get away and re-group and Camp Van Vac is just the place. I also got to see my old buddies, Barkley and Nubbin. ( see my slide show for pics of them).

The weather was just about perfect all week so I spent a lot of time on the dock with the peeps. I know that a lot of folks think that cats don't like water but just sittin' on the dock and watching the world go by on the lake was just about my speed. Actually the peeps almost never left the dock but I need to go into the cabin and sleep quite a bit.

Fact is, I need to sleep now. (I'll post pics when I get a better connection).