Two Weeks of Rallies in Northeast Wyoming

Hello again. Our last chapter ended on Saturday, July 7^th when we arrived in Gillette, Wyoming for 17 days of RV rally fun. The first week will be the Monaco International rally, the second week the FMCA Convention, and then a final two days at a 3Ts Chapter rally. All of the rallies will be here at the Cam-Plex event center and we will only have to move the coach at the end for the 3Ts rally, and then only a very short distance to another part of the complex.

Sunday, July 8^th, we were supposed to be in one of the buildings at 8:00 a.m. to help put together the “goodie bags” for the rally, the bag they give all the attendees with schedules and advertising and local information. We got up early, but then found out that things had changed. We had a brief meeting with the rally chairman, Wilma Jean Alexander, and found out that they didn't have everything they needed for the bags, so we were supposed to come back at 1:00. We came back then and found they still didn't have everything and everyone was going to gather after dinner at 7:00 p.m. With that we went out and did a Walmart run and then a couple of geocaches in the area. We came back and had happy hour with our group, which now included Clark and Judi McKay, who arrived today and got parked right behind us. Our Yuma group is now back together, yea! We had a quick dinner on our own after happy hour and went down to the event building to help with the bags. There were a couple dozen people helping, so we got all the bags, over a hundred, done in about a half hour or so. After that, we went back to the coach, watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, July 9^th, another basically free day for us. Today is the first “official” early arrival day for the rally, but since we were volunteers we had been invited to come in on Saturday. The weather was really iffy today, with a lot of wind, so much so that I had to get out of bed at 5:00 a.m. to go outside and put up the window awnings and put my flagpole down. We had a restful morning and after lunch went out with the Bullock's in our car to do some exploring. Our first stop was the Frontier Auto Museum, a private museum and antique store. Although the emphasis was on automotive memorabilia and old cars, there was a lot of neat old stuff to look at. The car part of the museum had some really nice old cars with a number of restored cars you don't see a lot of at car shows. They had at least four Hudsons, a couple of Packards and a '56 Pontiac sedan delivery, a model I have never seen before. We spent about an hour in the museum and had a really good visit.

After the car museum we drove north of town to one of the large, open pit coal mines where they have an overlook set up so you can see the operations. The Powder River Basin, which includes the northeast corner of Wyoming and a small part of southeast Montana, is one of the largest coal producing areas of the U.S. Gillette is the largest town in the basin and calls itself the “Energy Capital of the U.S.” Currently there are 13 active coal mines just in the immediate Gillette area. In 2009 they produced over 450,000,000 tons of coal. About 40% of the coal produced in the USA. The equipment used to mine the coal is massive. There are haul trucks in some of the mines that will haul 360 tons of coal (almost 4 train cars full) The trucks have 2750 Horse power engines and empty they weigh 220 tons. We saw a number of these huge trucks working in the hole. The coal mined in the basin has the lowest sulfur content of any coal in the USA and as such is in high demand as the cleanest coal available. The BTU of the coal is about 8500. There are over 100 trains full of coal that leave the local mines daily delivering coal to 37 states. While we were at the overlook we did a geocache that was there. After the overlook we drove around downtown for a while, then went back to the RV park.

About 4:30 we went down to the big happy hour gathering with all of the Monaco rally volunteers, but after a half hour we went back to our own little happy hour area so we could have shade. It was very hot and humid today. We had cocktails with the eight of us, and then we and the Bullock's did some BBQ. We had chicken, Peggy and Vernon had pork chops, and I did some corn on the BBQ. We had all that with some sweet potatoes and had a very nice dinner. After Peggy and Vernon left we watched some TV, then went to bed.

Tuesday, July 10^th, we went out after lunch and drove to the other museum in town, called the Rockpile Museum. This is a free museum that focuses on the history of Gillette and Campbell County. It is called the Rockpile after a large, rocky hill which lies right next to the railroad tracks. It was used in frontier days as a local “signpost” of sorts to let people on the railroad know they were close to town. The museum is built right next to the rockpile. There were a lot of interesting exhibits covering the history of the area all the way back to the Native American residents, a lot of information on the oil and coal industry and also the ranching history of the area. We spent about an hour wandering the museum and also got one geocache which was one a train caboose on display in the parking area. After the museum we spent some time driving around the residential areas looking at homes, then we headed back to the RV park. We had a couple of hours of downtime, then left the coach at a little after five to go to the volunteer dinner. The Bullock's went with us as they are volunteer bartenders. The Babcock's and McKays did not volunteer for anything. We had a great dinner of pork loin and fixings and had a good time talking with other people here at the rally. After dinner we went back to the coach, relaxed and watched some TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, July 11^th, the first official day of the Monaco Rally. We and Peggy and Vernon went down to the exhibits area at noon to do a quick walk through of the vendor area and to sign up for some of the activities in the coming four days. There are only about a dozen vendors, so that didn't take too long. By 12:30 or so we were headed to downtown Gillette to have lunch at the Railyard Restaurant. The place is right next to the train station and rail yards and is in a building which was once a hotel. It has been completely transformed now and is a very nice eatery. It had great reviews on Yelp, but the Babcock's and McKay's had come here last night and had not been too happy with their meal. We went anyway and as it turns out we should have listened to them. The lunch was not overly expensive, which was one of their complaints, but the food was not very good. I would give it an OK at best. Vernon and I both had sandwiches with beef, his a French dip, mine a Philly Cheese, and in both cases it as a little bit of sliced deli beef just laid on a bun. No flavor, no texture, mine was not chopped which it should have been. Peggy and Jackie had Walleye tacos and the fish was little bits of breaded fish that looked like tater tots. They also said that it had no flavor. A three star at best, probably closer to two.

After lunch we did a couple of errands and a quick Walmart run before going back to the coaches for the rest of the afternoon. At 5:00 we all went down to the exhibits hall again for the welcome party put on by Paul Evert, the RV dealer who brought the sale coaches to the show. They had really good food, BBQ beef and chicken, salad and other fixings. We didn't eat a lot because we were full from lunch, but we did have a little. We talked to some old friends and went through the five coaches they had brought into the building. None of them were new and some were in really poor condition. Not impressed with their stock. After the welcome party we headed back to the coach, sat and talked with Peggy and Vernon for a little while until they went home, then we watched TV until bedtime. We did get a decent rain shower while we were sitting with the TV, it cleaned the air and cooled things down a little.

Thursday, July 12^th, we had a quiet morning and about 11:30 Jackie went to the Ladies' luncheon with Peggy and Judi, while Vernon, Ray, Clark and I all went to the Men's luncheon. The men's lunch was pretty simple, pizza from Papa Johns and just sitting and talking among the other guys. The ladies' luncheon is a little more structured with talks and games. I left the lunch venue about 12:30 and drove out to the Campbell County Airport, north of town, to pick up tonight's entertainer. Jackie and I were given the job of being Entertainment Coordinators for the rally. Although we had nothing to do with picking the entertainers, that was the rally master's job, we have to greet them when they arrive, see to it that they get what they need from the sound guy and facility staff, water on the stage, that kind of stuff, and just make them feel welcome.

Tonight's entertainment is Mark Maverick, a Stage Hypnotist and comedian. He is English, but has lived in the States for 25 years and just recently became a naturalized citizen. He is flying in from his home in Dallas, via Denver, and I was at the airport to pick him up. He is a very pleasant person who looks a bit like the British actor Patrick Stewart, although not as tall. I dropped him off at his hotel, which is right across the street from the fairgrounds, and made plans to come get him again around 4:00. I then went back to the rally building to attend the Monaco International board meeting. I am part of the board as one of the Regional Directors for the Chapter. Around 4:00 I left and picked up Mark at the hotel and brought him back to the event center so he could get with the sound guy and do a run through of his program. That went on for nearly an hour and at 5:00 the open bar happy hour started for all the rally attendees. One of the features of the Monaco rallies is three nights of open bar and dinner, along with breakfasts for each of those days.

Mark sat with Jackie and I, along with Peggy and Vernon, and we hosted him through the bar and then through dinner. Dinner was Mexican food, or what people in Wyoming think is Mexican food. OK, but very bland and ordinary. After dinner the show started. Mark had me do the introduction of the show, which was about a minute long, then he went on stage and did the usual Stage Hypnotist show. He got a dozen people up on stage, put most of them under, and got them to do and say funny things. There were only about four people that he had to let back off the stage because they were not going into trance. The show was very entertaining and very funny. After the show Mark hung around and talked to people for about 30 minutes, then Jackie and I drove him back to his hotel. We went back to the coach, watched an hour of TV and went to bed.

Friday, July 13^th, oooooo, scary! We had a quiet morning and went down to the events area about 11:30 to go to a meeting and lunch for the Monaco's in Motion (MIM) Chapter. Although MIM is technically a separate and independent Chapter of FMCA, it is considered sort of a sibling chapter of Monaco International. It is a chapter that exists only to develop and conduct member led caravans or tours. We joined because the tours are considerably less than than similar tours put on by the commercial tour companies and you would be going with people you know. Unfortunately, in the ten years of so we have been members we haven't yet found a tour that was close, convenient and interesting to us, so we haven't used them. It is only ten dollars a year membership, so we keep it up just in case. They had a box lunch for the meeting and I ate my lunch and then left a little before noon to go pick up Mark at the hotel and drive him to the airport. Jackie stayed for the rest of the meeting.

I picked Mark up, got him to the airport, and then went back to the meeting hall. The meeting was over, so Jackie and I went over for one last look at the vendors. They have to pack up after today because the FMCA rally is starting on Sunday and they need the building empty before then. The only thing we bought was Jackie decided to try some CBD oil, a hemp derived pain relief medication. Our friend Suzie Babcock, and Jackie's cousin Pia, both talk about CBD as a great thing, so she thought she would give it a try. After touring the vendors we went back to the coach. I took the car down for a badly needed car wash, then came back to the coach also. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. At 5:00 we went down to the events area for happy hour, dinner and the evening entertainment. We sat with our group, the Babcock's, Bullock's and McKay's and had a good happy hour. Dinner was Italian tonight with several different kinds of pasta dishes. It was pretty good. The entertainment was a four person country western band that was from the Gillette area. I did the introduction of the band, but after that had no other responsibilities. I was worried they might be too loud, and too young, for our group, but the sound guy was able to convince them to tone the sound down some and they actually did a pretty good job. At least two thirds of the audience stayed until the end of the show at 9:00, which is unusual for live bands at these rallies. After the entertainment we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Saturday, July 14^th, the last full day of the Monaco rally. We didn't have any thing we had to do in the morning. After lunch we went down to the events center for the official business meeting of Monaco International. Most of the information and discussion was the same as what was talked about in the Board meeting on Thursday. After the general meeting I had a brief meeting with other Regional Directors and then I met with Thomas Michael Riley, the entertainment for tonight. He was doing his sound checks with the A/V guy and I talked to him briefly to work out the introduction. His act is just him and a bass player, and he has a very low voice, so I don't think we have to worry too much about being too loud tonight. After meeting with Tommy, as he is known, I went back to the coach, changed clothes and then Jackie and I went down to the events center for happy hour, dinner and entertainment.

We sat with our group of eight again and had a good happy hour and a wonderful dinner of filet, potatoes and veggies. The caterer that they are using also has an actual restaurant here in Gillette and we are going to have to go and do lunch there one day during the FMCA rally. I introduced the entertainment after dinner and he put on his show for about an hour. He is a six foot six country star and his show is all original material, no covers at all. He writes some really fun stuff, a lot of story type songs along the lines of the old country great Tom T. Hall. We really enjoyed his show, although at times his low voice made it hard to understand the words. After the show we went home, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, July 15^th, would normally be a travel day during any other series of rallies we have attended. On Sunday you have to pack up the coach and travel to where ever the FMCA rally is being put on, then get parked and set up again. This time we are staying right in the same full hookup site that we used for Monaco and just relaxing for the couple of days between rallies. We started seeing the FMCA advance crews, security, parking and the like, coming in yesterday, along with the FMCA staff people getting set up, but there are no FMCA activities for us until Tuesday. We took advantage of the day off to go with Clark and Judi for a drive to the Devil's Tower National Monument, which is about 60 miles east of Gillette. Movie buffs will remember Devil's Tower and the surrounding area being the setting for the classic 70's movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That has always been one of my favorite SciFi movies and I loved the visuals.

Back in 2005, our first year on the road as full timers, we were in the Black Hills of South Dakota after our first FMCA rally in Minot, North Dakota, and I went with some of the friends we were traveling with to visit Devil's Tower. At that time we were about the same distance east of the monument. Jackie wasn't feeling good that day and stayed home, so she didn't get to see the tower or the surrounding desert. Clark drove and before we went to the monument we stopped in the little town of Sundance for lunch. We had lunch at the Longhorn Saloon and Diner and it was pretty good. Sundance is a very small town, but is, in fact, the Sundance from which the famous 1880's outlaw The Sundance Kid was from. He and Butch Cassidy and the rest of the Wild Bunch gang are famous in movies and books, but they were a real outlaw gang from the area of the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. After lunch we continued to the Monument and spent about an hour inside, going to the visitors center, listening to one of the docents speak, and taking pictures. Since we don't hike or climb, that was about all you can do here, just look at the very interesting scenery.

After our visit we drove back to Gillette, getting back in time to rest for an hour or so before going over to a nearby park for a pizza party put on by Monaco International. As I said, normally the Monaco rally would be over as of this morning, but since no one had to move or anything, the Board decided to buy pizza for everyone. They also had the beer and soft drinks left over from the evening bar they had every night. We stayed for an hour or so, then went back to the coaches and had another happy hour with our group. After happy hour we went in the coach, relaxed with the TV for a while and went to bed. Tonight we had some real thunderstorms come through in the early morning hours. Not a lot of wind, but quite a bit of rain and a LOT of lighting and thunder. We had a small leak in the bathroom vent, not unusual when it rains hard, but beyond that it just kept us up for an hour or so.

Monday, July 16^th, we had another mostly free day so we went out after lunch and drove to a laundromat in town to do laundry. After washing clothes we went back to the coach, put everything away and made the bed. We spent the afternoon doing some chores and then at 5:30 or so we drove with the Bullock's down to the events center for a “meet and greet” with members of the Overland Trailblazers Chapter. We became members of the OTB group a couple years ago because they have a big presence and a lot of activities at the Western Area rally held in Indio every January. We have gone to the Western Area rally nearly every year since we started full timing. This is a large Chapter with a couple hundred members and many of them are people we already knew, so it was a good fit. The group had about 35 or so rigs come up to Wyoming for this rally and most of them came in together today so they could get parked together. They had a great gathering with lots of snack foods and beer, wine and margaritas. We stayed for about an hour, then went back to Peggy and Vernon's coach for another cocktail. By 9:00 we were back in our coach, watched a little TV then went to bed.

Tuesday, July 17^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove a few miles away from the campground to the Gillette/Campbell County Visitor's Center. We came over here to catch a small tour bus which will take us on a two hour tour of one of the several large, open pit coal mines in the area. The visitor's center runs two regular tours each day, but this 11:00 tour was an add-on special set up by the members of the Overland Trailblazers West Chapter, the same one's we had happy hour with last night. It was only five dollars a person, so it was a good deal. In addition, everyone on the bus was an OTB member and we knew a number of them. The tour driver was a young woman, probably in her late 30's, who was a school teacher most of the year, but works as a tour driver in the summer. She told us that she worked several summers in the past at the same mine we are going to tour, driving one of the huge haul trucks carrying coal out of the pit.

It was a great tour and she did a good job of telling us a lot about coal mine, how it worked and what the various jobs in the mine were like. Because it was an authorized tour we were actually able to drive down into the pit and see the coal seam close up, as well as all the huge shovels, haul trucks and other heavy equipment used in the mine. We drove around the area where the raw coal is dumped and then crushed, stored and loaded onto trains and trucks. It was a very interesting tour and we were glad we had a knowledgeable guide to take us. After the tour was over we drove back to the campground. Our original plan was to go over to the events area at 4:00 for the Chapter Fair, where all the various Chapters set up tables to talk about their chapters and recruit members. We were also planning on going to a karaoke session at 7:30, however by about 3:30 the weather radio was going crazy with severe thunderstorm alerts and it really looked like it was going to be another stormy night. We didn't want to be out in the bad weather, so we just had a 5:00 happy hour with our group and then stayed in for the night. As it turned out the worst of the weather bypassed the fairgrounds, but we did get some rain for a while.

Wednesday, July 18^th, the first official day of the rally. We were up early and actually showered, dressed and had coffee and were out of the coach by 7:45! We had to get an early start because for this rally both Jackie and I are delegates on the Governing Board of FMCA which is holding it's annual meeting today. FMCA is a member run organization, unlike Escapees and Good Sam which are corporations. FMCA has an elected Executive Board, President, several Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, etc., but it also has a Governing Board which is made up of elected representatives from each of the over 500 Chapters in FMCA. Each chapter has one delegate on the Governing Board and most of the actions of the organization have to be approved by the Governing Board, including changes in the governing documents and the budget. Jackie is a regularly elected National Director (as the position is known) for the 3Ts Chapter. I am a temporary appointed Delegate for the Military Veterans Chapter, appointed because neither their National Director or Alternate National Director could be at this rally. Because we have been involved in FMCA for 13 years now, we know a great many of the delegates that are on the Board this year. After we got checked in we visited with people we knew and had a donut. The meeting started at 9:00 and was, for the most part, very noncontroversial this year. Only a couple of the proposals presented generated any comments at all from the Governing Board members. We were actually finished with the business of the meeting by noon, just in time for the box lunch that they provide the members. In years past, when membership was declining and revenues tight, meetings would go on all day, sometimes even into the next day. Things are better now.

After we finished our free lunch we went out and relieved Peggy, who had been doing the sign ups for the two craft sessions that Jackie, Peggy and I are doing on Thursday and Friday. The turnout was not real good and both of our classes are going to be fairly small. I think most everyone who wants a pop top lanyard has probably already made it. Since it didn't appear that hanging around was going to generate any more participants, we left the list on the table and went out to explore the vendor tent. Unlike the Monaco Rally which only had a dozen vendors, the FMCA rallies get close to a hundred fifty or more, so there is lots of stuff to look at. We spent about 90 minutes walking through the vendors, then caught a shuttle ride back to the coach and relaxed.  We also learned that this was one of the larger FMCA rallies in recent history with nearly 1,800 RVs on site.  I found this aerial photo of the Gillette Cam-Plex during the rally.  We were kind of beat, so we just rested for the afternoon. At 5:00 we had happy hour with our group, then Jackie and I did some burgers on the grill and had dinner. We spent the rest of the night with the TV. For the first time in a week there was no threat of bad weather at all.

Thursday, July 19^th, we didn't have anything in the morning until 11:00 when I took Jackie, Peggy and Judi down to the events area for the Ladies Luncheon. It was supposed to go until 1:00, but Jackie called a little after 12:30 and said they were done, so I went down and picked them up. Our next obligation was to go down to the events area again with Peggy so the three of us could put on the Pop Top Lanyard craft class that Jackie had set up. We had 18 people in the class, all women except for two young boys who came in with their grandmothers to make a lanyard. It was a little slow at first, it always is as there are always a few who have trouble getting started. The class lasted an hour, which is not enough time to finish one of the lanyards, but everyone was off to a good start, so they will either come back tomorrow to finish, or finish on their own. We went back to the coach, relaxed for a while, then at 5:30 we left with Peggy and Vernon in the car and drove to dinner at The Prime Rib restaurant. All eight of our group went to dinner, sort of a belated birthday party for Clark, whose birthday was earlier in the week.

We chose this place because they were the people who catered all of the Monaco International rally meals and we all enjoyed their food. Unfortunately, the place did not live up to the promise in my opinion. Service was spotty, although our server tried, everything was very slow and several order mistakes were made. It could be they had more customers than the staff could handle with the rally in town. Jackie and Vernon both ordered rare, end cut prime rib and were very happy with their meat. Peggy had a regular cut and it came out nearly raw when she ordered it medium, and it had a lot of fat in it. I had a rib-eye steak that was cooked as I like it, but was also very fatty and tough. Not even close to as good as the last two I have had in Rawlings, Wyoming and Buffalo, Wyoming. Several other people had fish and they enjoyed their meals. Personally, I wouldn't go back. Jackie, Vernon and Peggy did get to enjoy an escargot appetizer which you don't see on a lot of menus. After dinner we went back to the coach, relaxed and watched some TV until bedtime.

Friday, July 20^th, another busy day. We were up and out of the coach about 10:00 and headed over to the events area so that I could participate in the Full Timing Chapter's seminar on full time RVing. The Chapters traditionally puts this seminar on at every FMCA Convention, as well as a number of Area Rallies. I have participated as a panelist a number of times and the seminar went well. We did not have as many attendees as we have had in some past rallies, less than a hundred. Earlier this year in Perry, Georgia they had over 200. Nonetheless, it was a good seminar with a lot of interested attendees and some good questions and comments. After the seminar was over we went back to the coach and had lunch, our leftovers from last night.

About 2:00 we were out again going to put on our second session for the pop top lanyard craft class. Today's was a much smaller class, only eight new people and a few that didn't finish yesterday and came back for some help. The class went well with most people picking up the craft fairly quickly. Right after the craft class we had to hurry over to another building for the meeting of the Military Veterans Chapter. I had to be there since I am the current Vice President of the Chapter. The meeting got started late because the Elks International Chapter who had the room prior had their meeting go long. Once we started the meeting for the Veterans Chapter went about an hour and went pretty well. Right after the meeting Jackie and I went across the street to the Gillette Elks Lodge for a cocktail and dinner. Both the Elks Chapter and the Veterans Chapter had made arrangements with the Elks Lodge here to provide meals for their members tonight. The Chapters picked up the tab for the food, all we had to do was pay for drinks and a lodge pin. The meal was actually quite good, pork loin, potatoes, beans and slaw. We had a nice meal, a drink and got a new pin for our banner as we have never been to the Gillette Elks before. After dinner we went back to the coach and had another cocktail with the rest of our group outside. None of them went to the meetings or to the Elks, although they are all Elks. After happy hour we went back in the coach and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

Saturday, July 21^st, the last full day of the FMCA rally. For the first time we had no obligations for the day. After lunch we went down to the events area to got through the vendor's tent one last time. We bought a couple little things, not much. About 1:00 we took a break from shopping and went to another part of the events area, a large tent set up outside the building. We were there for the karaoke which had been rescheduled from Wednesday night because of rain. There were not too many people there, but I stayed long enough to do a couple of songs. We then went back into the vendor's area and finished going through the place. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for a while, then had cocktails with our group at 5:00. This will be the last time for a while that the whole group will be together. The Babcock's and McKay's are both leaving tomorrow to start working their way slowly back to Southern California. We and the Bullock's are staying two more days, in a different campground, for one last rally, the 3Ts Chapter rally. After happy hour we all had Ray Babcock's famous taco salad for dinner. Ray was a fireman and he was the house cook and the taco salad is a left over recipe from those days. After dinner we talked for a while then we went back to the coach for the rest of the night.

Sunday, July 22^nd, my middle daughter Tracie's birthday. Today was moving day, although we are only going about a half mile to another part of the Cam-Plex grounds. We moved about noon and got parked with our 3Ts group. This is a small chapter that only exists to have a post-rally after every FMCA convention. We have belonged for about ten years. They always have a two day rally with a lot of free time to get stuff done that went undone during the busy times of the FMCA rally. After we got parked we drove to town, stopping at Wendy's for a quick lunch then going to Walmart to get some supplies. After Walmart we drove back to the coach and put stuff away, and finished getting set up for our two night stay. The chapter group, about 28 people, got together at 4:00 for happy hour, and then at 5:00 the whole group car pooled to a restaurant in a little town called Rozet, Wyoming, about 18 miles east of Gillette, for dinner. We went to the Rozet Bar and Cafe, which is actually closed on Sunday. However, Wilma Jean Alexander, the host of the 3Ts rally, knew the owner from past rallies and made arrangement for them to open for us tonight and serve us dinner. They had a nice buffet with potatoes, gravy, veggies, fried chicken and BBQ ribs. All for nine dollars a head. They also opened the bar so we could have drinks. We had a nice dinner and after an hour and half we were on way back to the campground. We had another cocktail with Peggy and Vernon, then went back to our coach for the rest of the night.

Monday, July 23^rd, we were up early because the 3Ts rally always includes breakfast on the second day. The several volunteer cooks made sausage, bacon, pancakes and eggs to order and breakfast was served at 9:00. After breakfast everyone cleaned up then at 10:15 we had the business meeting for the Chapter. That took about a half hour after which everyone had free time until the pot luck dinner tonight at 5:00, preceded by a happy hour at 4:00. Peggy and Vernon had some errands to run, so we went out and did a little geocaching, getting six new finds, including one cache that we had DNFed the right after we got here to Gillette. After caching we did a little shopping, stopping at Petco for some new food and water dishes for Benji, then some supplies at Albertson's. We then returned to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

We had happy hour with the group at 4:00 and the longer we sat out the worse the weather began to look. The radar was indicating that we could be getting some fairly heavy rain soon, so at 5:00 Wilma Jean, the wagon master, told everyone that the pot luck was going to be held inside one of the buildings on the fairgrounds instead of outside by our coaches. Just as we arrived at the building the rain started, along with a lot of thunder and lightening. Everyone brought their stuff into the room, which turned out to be the same one Jackie and I did our craft classes in. We had a very nice dinner with more than enough food. Wilma cooked a pork roast and everyone else brought the side dishes. Fortunately the heavy thunderstorms bypassed us again and all we got was a half hour of moderate rain showers. It had already quit when we packed up and went back to the coaches. We had another cocktail with the Bullocks, then went into our coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Tuesday, July 24^th, another travel day, leaving Gillette after 17 days of rallying. I was up early cooking up the leftover eggs from yesterday to make hard boiled eggs for this morning's light breakfast. Everyone met at 8:00 for a light breakfast and to say goodbye. Peggy and Vernon left around 9:30 and we left at 10:30, both of us heading for Sheridan, Wyoming, about 100 miles west and just 23 miles south of the Montana border. We arrived at the Peter D's RV park about 12:30, got checked in and quickly parked right next to Peggy and Vernon. We will be together here for two days, then they leave and we stay for another two days. As soon as we drove in I recognized the park from when we were here back in August of 2005, our first year on the road, when we were returning from another FMCA Rally, that one in Minot, North Dakota. We were traveling with friends then too, just different ones. After we got parked we spent some time getting set up and having a light lunch, then just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.  About 5:00 we got together with Peggy and Vernon for cocktails and then had dinner at our coach. Jackie made her chili relleno casserole for dinner and it was great. We had a nice dinner, talked for a while, and then we watched TV after they left.

We are finally done with 17 days of rallies and will now be working our way west and south for the remainder of the summer. Our arrival here in Sheridan after more than two weeks in Gillette marks a good place to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time, remember the words of Albert Einstein. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. See ya soon.

From the Coast to the Mountains and High Prarie

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Wednesday, June 6^th when we arrived at the at the Santa Maria, California Elks Lodge RV park after spending a month in the mountains of southern California at the Silent Valley Resort. Thursday, June 7^th we left the Elks Lodge RV park and went to Walmart for some supplies. After Walmart we stopped and picked up a big bucket of chicken from KFC so we could take it to Jackie's Aunt Donna's house for dinner. We stopped briefly at the coach so we could put the groceries away, then headed over to Donna's house in Pismo Beach. It has been almost a year since we last saw Donna and her grandson Corey, who lives with her as a caretaker. Jackie's cousin Pia, who lives in nearby Grover Beach, also came over for dinner. The five of us had a great afternoon and early evening talking and catching up. We had the KFC for dinner and it was great. We left Donna's around 7:00 and went back to the coach where we spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Friday, June 8^th, my brother Dennis' birthday. Happy Birthday Bro. We left the RV about 1:00 and went out to do some geocaching. We haven't done a lot of caching lately, mostly because when we are in Silent Valley it is a long way to go to an area where we haven't gotten most of the caches already. We have cached in the Central Coast area quite a bit, but there are still a lot of “new” caches for us to look for. We were able to get 11 new finds, along with two DNFs, by about 4:00. We then quit and drove to Pismo Beach to spend some time with Donna. We had cocktails and stayed at Donna's until about 7:00. We stopped in Oceano on the way home to have dinner at Juan's, a good Mexican restaurant near the Oceano Elks Lodge. We have eaten at Juan's a number of times and the food is always good. We had a great dinner, then drove back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Saturday, June 9^th, we had a mostly stay at home day. I did go out after lunch and took the car for a badly needed car wash. I did a few chores and Jackie worked some on her crafts, but w

e mostly just had a relaxing day. Sunday was pretty much another relax day. I went out and got the Sunday paper, our first in a month since there were no papers readily available in Silent Valley. We had coffee and the paper and then just did a few chores. About 4:30 we left and drove to nearby Nipomo to have dinner at Jocko's Steak House with the family. Regular readers will know that I always tout Jocko's as the best steak house in the country, bar none. We always go at least once any time we are in the Central Coast area. There were six of us, Jackie and I, Donna, Corey, Pia and her boyfriend Wil. Wil is the bass player in a couple of different part time bands in the area. We had a great dinner. Jackie had lamb, as always, I had a huge steak, as always, and we had a great visit. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night. One interesting point is that last night was the first time we ever tried to use the Wifi function on the TV to watch a movie. The Elks Lodge here has excellent free wifi so I connected the TV to it and we watched a movie from Amazon Prime last night. We did it again tonight, watching a really bizarre horror flick called “Dead Body”. It is nice having a huge selection of movies at our fingertips.

Monday, June 11^th, we left the coach around 2:30 and drove to Pismo Beach where we met Corey at one of the local bars where he sometimes hangs out. We met a few of his friends and had a couple of drinks, then drove up to Donna's house and hung out there for a couple of hours. About 7:00 we left Donna's and headed for home. On the way we stopped in Nipomo and had dinner at a cafe called California Grill. It was mostly sandwiches, but the food was pretty good. I had a pastrami sandwich and Jackie had a burger. After dinner we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we went out after lunch to do some more geocaching. We were able to get eleven new finds in a little over two hours. After caching we went back to the RV park and relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday, June 13^th, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do some shopping. We stopped at the Ulta store first so Jackie could pick up some stuff, then moved on to Costco. Our main purpose was to start to stockpile our vodka supply because in less than a week we will be out of the states where you can buy liquor in grocery stores, which means the price gets significantly higher. We did the same last summer when we left the Southwest. After Costco we hit Walmart, then went home to put everything away. About 4:00 we left again and drove to Donna's house for cocktails and a visit. Pia also came by and we had a nice visit. About 7:00 we left and stopped at a place in Pismo Beach called Pismo Fish and Chips, which was recommended by Pia. The fish and chips was quite good and we had a nice dinner. We then went back to the coach and spent the rest of the night in with the TV. Thursday we left the coach after lunch and drove to the Pismo Beach Outlet Mall to do some window shopping. I needed some new underwear and like the Jockey brand and there was a store in the mall. After the outlets we drove north to San Luis Obispo and made a stop at the Costco there to get some things that the one in Santa Maria didn't have. We also got a couple of nearby geocaches while we were in the area.

After Costco we went to downtown San Luis for the Thursday street fair. We walked around and shopped for a bit, then stopped in Mother's Tavern for dinner. We have eaten here before, but it has been a few years. Although the service was a little slow because of the huge street fair crowds, the food was outstanding. I had the meatloaf dinner with mashed potatoes and grilled veggies and it was the best meatloaf dinner I have ever eaten. I also had a tequila chicken soup that was excellent. Jackie had a burger that she said was good, although she wasn't as impressed with the food as I was. But, a burger is a burger. After dinner we walked the street fair for an hour or so, then got in the car and drove back to Santa Maria. We watched TV for the remainder of the evening.

Friday, June 15^th, we left the coach after lunch and went to do our laundry. After we got done we went back to the coach and put stuff away. We left again about 3:00 and drove to Pismo Beach and met Corey at Scotty's bar again for a drink. After one drink we went up to Donna's house and hung out until about 7:00 when we left to go home. We stopped at In N Out for a quick dinner, then went home and watched TV until bedtime. Saturday we left the coach about 2:30 and went over to Donna's house. It was just Donna, Corey and us, but we had an early celebration of Donna's 93^rd birthday, which comes in another week. Since we are not going to be here then we celebrated today. We made a lasagna and some garlic bread and had a salad. Corey got a nice ice cream cake and we had a great afternoon with family. We left around 7:00, went back to the coach and spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Sunday, June 17^th, we had a stay at home day. I spent a little time working on some projects and putting stuff away in preparation for our departure tomorrow. We thought maybe Corey and Donna might come over for a visit, but Corey called and said Donna was having a tough day and didn't want to go out. Monday, our first travel day and the “official” start of our summer travels. We are done with our winter retreats and family visits and are ready to head out. We are due in Gillette, Wyoming for a series of FMCA and Chapter rallies, starting on July 7^th, when we go into the Monaco International Rally. That gives us about two and a half weeks to go about 1,500 miles. We were packed up and on the road leaving Santa Maria about 10:00. It was an uneventful ride to Bakersfield, where we stopped for an overnight stay. We didn't unhook the car, just stayed in and stayed cool.

Tuesday, June 19^th, we were packed up and on the road again by 9:30, heading another 140 miles to Yermo, California, just east of Barstow on Interstate 15. We arrived in Yermo about 1:00 and met up with Ray and Suzie Babcock, who had also traveled today from their home in Menifee. They are enroute to the same set of rallies as us and will be traveling with us for much of the next month. We had cocktails at 4:30, but as this was also just an overnight stay neither of us unhooked our toads, we just stayed in and relaxed.

Wednesday, June 20^th, We were on the road again at 10:00, heading northeast on I-15 towards Las Vegas, about 155 miles. We both stopped in Baker and had lunch at the Mad Greek restaurant, a tradition for us when we travel to and from Pahrump or Vegas. After lunch we set out on the last 100 miles of the trip. Jackie and I had a bit of a problem with the coach overheating on the long grade out of Baker towards Vegas. Although I only had a red warning light once for about a second, I did get way hotter than normal, up to 225 at one point. I think I might have been pushing a little to hard up the hill when the outside temps were well over 100 degrees. We pulled over twice and let the engine cool a bit and only lost a few minutes. After we got over the summit we did see another older motor home on the other side of the road burning to the ground. I guess my overheating wasn't so bad. We pulled into the Hitching Post RV park in North Las Vegas about 2:30 and got settled in. This will be a two day stop. After we got set up the four of us went in Ray's car to Walmart for some supplies.

After we got back from Walmart Ray discovered that his air conditioners had stopped working while we were gone and the inside of his coach was like an oven. The two of us worked on it for an hour or so, taking the inside cover off and checking things, with the assistance of a technician on the phone. Of course, the tech was just guessing and eventually began trying to sell Ray on just replacing the units. As it turned out, after we got everything put back together the A/Cs were working again. I think maybe there was a loose connection or plug that we inadvertently fixed while taking it apart and putting it back together. We had cocktails with the Babcocks at our house while theirs cooled down, but no dinner since all of us were pretty full from the big lunch. After Ray and Suzie left we watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, June 21^st, the first day of summer, although you couldn't have known that from the temps here in the desert. Ray's air worked all night, so he was happy. We left the coach after lunch and went out in Ray's car to run errands. We first went to the Desert Orthopedic Center so Jackie could go to her knee doctor to get a cortisone shot. That was the reason we left Santa Maria a couple of days early, so she could get an appointment here when we came through. The doctor gave her a gel type shot this time, claiming it should work better than the cortisone with fewer side effects. After the doctor we did a Costco run and a quick stop at Walmart for supplies. Once our errands were done we went back to the RV park and hid out in the coaches from the heat. About 6:00 the four of us walked over to the Hitching Post Steak House and Saloon, which is on the property of the RV park and motel. They do it all here. It is just a little place, kind of plain, but the food of excellent. I had a porterhouse that was very tender and Jackie and Ray had rib eyes. The service was good, the food excellent, and the prices very reasonable. We had a great dinner, then walked back to the coaches and spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Friday, June 22^nd, another travel day. We left Vegas around 10:00 and started on the fairly short, 75 mile trip northeast to Mesquite, Nevada. Mesquite is the last town on I-15 before you head out of Nevada and is not a real big town. We arrived at the Oasis RV park and found it nearly empty, not surprising since the temp was well over 100 degrees. We got settled into our spots and set up, then the four of us drove over to the Casablanca Casino to register for our spots. The casino runs the RV park, a couple actually, and don't have people on site at the parks. After we signed up we gambled for an hour or so, then went back to the coaches for the afternoon. Around 6:00 we again drove over to the Casablanca and went to the Friday night seafood buffet. It was pretty good, better than some we have been to, and we had a great dinner. After dinner we gambled again for an hour or two. Jackie did OK, probably breaking even, I lost twenty bucks. About 9:00 we were back in the coach and we watched a little TV, then went to bed. So far Ray's air is still working.

Saturday, June 23^rd, we went out after lunch and drove around Mesquite, just doing some sight-seeing. It turns out that there are a bunch of very nice, newer developments including a big Sun City by Del Webb. We also picked up a couple of easy geocaches, just for the numbers. After our tour we went back to the coach, Ray and I went over to the pool for a little while. We got together about 5:00 for cocktails in the Babcock's coach, then Ray served a nice corn beef and cabbage dinner for the four of us. We chatted and visited after dinner and went back to our coach about 8:00. We just watched TV until bedtime. Sunday was another travel day. We left Mesquite around 10:00 and drove about 140 miles to Beaver, Utah. When you leave Nevada right after the town of Mesquite, you go into what is called the Arizona Strip, the far northwest corner of Arizona that is only accessible from Nevada or Utah. Interstate 15 goes diagonally across the corner for about 35 miles then crosses into Utah. We also lost an hour when we entered Utah and Mountain Time. We got to the Beaver Camperland about 1:30 and got parked. It was 25 degrees cooler in Beaver, of course it's at almost 6,000 feet elevation. We had cocktails and then Jackie served a nice meatloaf dinner for the four of us. After dinner we visited a bit, then watched TV until bed.

Monday, June 25^th, we left Beaver around 9:30 and continued north going about 160 miles to Provo, Utah. We arrived at the Lakeside Campground around 1:30 and got checked into our site. We are here for two days. Since this campground had a whole slew of trees all over the property, I had to dig out the portable satellite dish and get it set up, so I didn't get done until almost 3:30. We relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon and got together with Ray and Suzie at 5:00 for cocktails. Since the weather was nice we actually sat outside in the shade for cocktails, it was very nice. After cocktails we had Ray's leftover corn beef and veggies for dinner. We had corn beef sandwiches and they were excellent. About 7:30 we were back in our coach and watching TV until it was time for bed.

Tuesday, June 26^th, we left the RV park around 10:30 and went out with Ray and Suzie to explore Provo a little bit. We have been here several times in the past, but they have not. We drove through the campus of Brigam Young University (BYU) which has it's main campus in Provo. This is a very large, research university that is operated as a non-profit institution by the Mormon Church. There was not a lot of activity on the campus as it was summer, but it is a very pretty campus. We then went to the next town up, Orem, and went to a little hole in the wall cafe called Joe's that had great reviews on Yelp. It was just a breakfast and lunch place and probably only seats about 40 people max. The owner is a big, gregarious black guy, Joe, who is loud and smart ass and flirty and everyone loves it. The food was outstanding and we all enjoyed our meal. Jackie and I both had omelets which were huge, Ray and Suzie both had big burgers. A true five star eatery for us. After lunch we went to Winco for a few supplies, then headed back to the RV park. We did a few chores and Ray and I did a quick drive to an RV parts store for some stuff. We had cocktails and snacks with the Babcocks, but no real dinner as we were all full from lunch. About 8:00 we were back in our coach and watched some TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, June 27^th, another travel day. Today we were leaving Provo and driving to Green River, Wyoming, about 200 miles northeast. We knew that once we left the Salt Lake Valley we had to climb over the Wasach Mountains with a summit of about 7,000 feet. It was cool in the morning, but the temps were supposed to rise quickly to the high 90's, so we got an early start, on the road by 8:30. As a result we hit a little rush hour traffic in Salt Lake City, but we got up the grade before it got too hot and both of us made it without the coaches overheating. Our coach got warm, just in the yellow warning range, but not for long and I was pleased. We arrived at the Green River Travel Camp about 12:30 or so and quickly got settled in. We were parked on either side of our friend's Vernon and Peggy Bullock, who had come into the park yesterday. They are also traveling to the rallies in Gillette and we will be with them on and off for the next month. We had a great reunion, having last seen them back in early April in Camp Verde, Arizona. We had cocktails with the six of us, then Peggy served a great dinner of penne pasta. We had salad and bread too and had a wonderful meal. We talked until about 8:00, then went back in our own coaches for the rest of the night.

Thursday, June 28^th, the six of us left the RV park around 11:00 and drove into Green River to explore and have lunch. We stopped on the way and picked up a geocache just for the numbers. We are not doing a lot of physical activity because Jackie does not do well in high altitudes and we are over 6,000 feet here. We drove around town for about 20 minutes, which was enough to see most of this town of 12,000 people. We then all went to the China Garden Chinese restaurant. We didn't have huge expectations but the place had decent reviews. We found that the food was actually very good. They had both menu service and a small buffet with a half dozen selections. They even had prime rib, which is what Vernon had. Suzie ordered off the menu and the rest of us did the buffet. We ate way too much and were very satisfied. After lunch we went back to the campground. I did some repairs to the coach while Jackie did some office work. At 5:30 we had cocktails with the group, but no one wanted dinner or even snacks. About 7:30 we were back in the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, June 29^th, another travel day for us. The Babcock's and Bullock's are staying in Green River one more night. We left the park about 10:00 and drove 130 miles to Rawlings, Wyoming. Rawlings is another small, prairie town, even smaller than Green River. We got settled into the Red Desert Rose RV park, got set up, and spent the rest of the afternoon doing office work. We had really bad internet in Green River, but it was good here, so we managed to get a lot of work done. We spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach. We will be here for two days and will be joined again tomorrow by the Babcock's and Bullock's.

Saturday, June 30^th, we pretty much stayed home for the day. This town is over 6,800 feet in elevation and Jackie is not wanting to move around too much. I did go out and get a geocache that was on the frontage road not too far from the entrance to the RV park. We did some chores around the coach, but it was cloudy and on and off light rain, so nothing outside. The Babcock's and Bullock's arrived in the early afternoon and got parked.  About 4:30 the six of us got together for cocktails, then about 5:00 we all drove to a place in downtown Rawlings, all two square blocks of it, to a restaurant called The Aspen House. It was a steak and seafood place that was inside of a turn of the century Victorian house. The food was outstanding for the most part. Jackie and Vernon had rack of lamb and when it came out it was cold, so they sent it back and, predictably, the reheating had overcooked the meat. They were less than impressed with their meals. On the other hand, Ray and I had blackened Cajun rib eye steaks that were huge and cooked to perfection. Peggy had a filet she said was outstanding, along with a lobster tail. Suzie had lobster ravioli and she said it was very good too. After dinner we went back to the RV park and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, July 1^st, another travel day for us. The Babcock's and Bullock's are staying in Rawlings another day. We were on the road at 10:00, driving 150 miles east to Cheyenne, Wyoming, the capital city. We have been here a couple of times before and stayed at the same RV park, AB Camping. We checked in and got settled into our spot, then went out to do a Walmart run. After we got back we finished setting up, then relaxed in the coach for the rest of the day. Monday we left the coach about 11:00 and went to lunch at a nearby Thai restaurant called Anong's. We learned that this is a small chain with stores in Rawlings, Laramie, and Cheyenne. We had seen the place in Rawlings and the Babcock's and Bullock's went there for lunch yesterday. They told us the food was excellent. A friend of ours also told Jackie online to try it a couple days ago. Everyone was right, the food was outstanding. I had the buffet which had sesame chicken, spicy beef and egg rolls. There were a number of other dishes, but those were the three I had, besides a wonderful cup of coconut chicken soup. Jackie had rack of lamb with veggies that she said was better than we had a couple nights ago in Rawlings. After lunch we went to the laundromat and did our laundry. We then went home, picking up a geocache on the way. After we got everything put away we relaxed the rest of the night.

Tuesday, July 3^rd, another travel day. We left Cheyenne early, about 9:30, because we were driving 180 miles north to Casper, Wyoming. The weather was nice and we had an uneventful drive, arriving at the Casper East Campground around 12:30. We quickly got parked, just a few spaces down from the Bullock's and the Babcock's, who arrived here yesterday. We are actually here for three days because of the holiday tomorrow, the first stop longer than two days in a couple of weeks. After we got set up we relaxed for a while. We had some rain come through, and the weather radio even went off twice regarding some severe storms in the area. Fortunately those were north of us and moving away, all we got was some moderate rain. About 5:30 everyone came to our coach for happy hour. We sat and talked and drank until about 7:00 when everyone went back to their own places. We relaxed, had a light dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, July 4^th, Happy Independence Day! Jackie and I went out after lunch and did a Walmart run. We spent a few hours relaxing in the coach, then around 3:00 Ray, Vernon and I drove to one of the shopping centers here in Casper for a car show. It was a fairly small show, only three dozen or so cars, but some were very interesting. We spent about 45 minutes with the cars, then drove back to the RV park. Everyone spent some time in the late afternoon getting things ready for our 4^th of July dinner. We all gathered outside, because the weather was nice, for cocktails at 5:00, and then had a nice dinner of BBQ ribs, cole slaw, baked beans and desert. Thanks to Vernon for cooking the ribs, I am not so good with ribs. We had a great dinner, everything tasted wonderful, and some great time with friends. By 7:30 we were all back in our own coaches for the rest of the night. We heard a few fireworks and firecrackers around the area, but we were too far away from the official City of Casper fireworks show to be able to see them.

Thursday, July 5^th, we went out after lunch and did a little sight-seeing around Casper. We first stopped at Kohl's so Jackie could exchange some shirts, we then drove to the south side of town to the Fort Caspar museum. When we were here in 2015 we stayed at the RV park which is right next to the museum, but we never got around to visiting it. Today we met the Bullock's and Babcock's there and did the museum. Very interesting history of the area and especially the bad relations they had with the local Indians. We also got a geocache there at the museum. After checking out the museum we drove around downtown and some of the older residential areas of Casper before stopping at the Elks Lodge for a cocktail and lodge pin.  After the lodge visit we headed back to the RV park. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00, then we all had a nice Mexican dinner that Jackie made. Chili relleno, rice and beans. We had a great time and were back in our own coaches around 7:30.

Friday, July 6^th, another travel day. We were on the road around 10:00, heading north about 115 miles to Buffalo, Wyoming for a one night stay. All three of us are going to Buffalo, but the Babcock's and Bullock's are staying in a different RV park because the one we had reservations in had no more room. We arrived before noon and pretty quickly got settled into our spot. We stayed in until 5:30 when we left to go to the Winchester Steak House, just down the road, for dinner with the gang. Today is Peggy's birthday and we all gathered for dinner to celebrate. Again, we had a great meal. I had a rib eye that was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful, as good or maybe better than my favorite, Jocko's. Jackie had halibut that was very good, Suzie had shrimp and everyone else did prime rib. After a wonderful birthday dinner we went back to the coach for the rest of the night.

Saturday, July 7^th, we all left Buffalo about 9:30, headed east for the last leg of our travels for a while. We were going 70 miles to Gillette where we will be for two and a half weeks attending rallies. We all arrived together around 11:30 and got parked together. Unlike most rallies we go to we have full hookup, 50 amp sites here so being in one place for all the rallies will be really convenient. After we got parked we spent the rest of the afternoon setting up and then relaxing. At 4:30 we had happy hour with a bunch of the Monaco International members who are here early. The rally actually doesn't start until the middle of next week, but we are here early because we are helping with various things for the rally. At 5:30 we went back and had another happy hour with our group. We and the Bullock's then did some burgers on the BBQ for dinner and had a nice dinner. After Peggy and Vernon left we watched some TV then went to bed.

This first week will be all Monaco International rally stuff, then the next week will be the FMCA rally. Our arrival here for our summer rallies marks a good place to close out this episode and get it published. Until next time, remember to be thankful for everybody in your life, good and bad, past and present. They all made you the person that you are today. See ya soon.