Sunday, July 24, 2016

Back to the Boulder and I Spoke Too Soon On the Non-Working Slide :-(

Thursday, June 21 - Sunday, June 24, 2016
Helena - Big Timber, Montana


Thursday is warmer in Helena, and other than a grocery run and lovely lunch in the newer downtown, we hang out at home for the day.


The Fusion Grille has a nice shaded patio
Fish tacos with lots of veggies
Prime rib and bleu cheese quesadillas 
Friday morning we prepare to pull out early for the 150 mile drive back to Big Timber. All goes per usual until I push the button for the big slide. And nothing.

Sigh.....

This time there is a fault code - the same short at motor one that we had on the dining room side in the spring.  The override brings it in and we head out. Note: Bill is still my hero.

Hwy 12 is a beautiful drive through Helena National Forest. Narrow and winding, it follows Deep Creek before dropping into wide open spaces. The diversity of Montana is incredible. Hwy 191 takes us back to I-90 in Livingston. 

We return to Spring Creek Campground for the weekend. It's going to be in the 90's while we're here, and we only have 30 amp. So it's really a good thing that we're living in much smaller quarters.....less to cool? No? Well we try to find a silver lining here :-)

A much tighter kitchen
I reach the extended warranty company, and find a service center in Billings, MT, that can get us in Monday morning. Nothing to do but chill 'til then.

Bill is feeling puny Saturday morning so Tessa and I let him sleep and take off for the forest. I want to see the interior of the Boulder Main Ranger Station, and the Natural Bridge State Park, that we missed last time.


From the south side Lion's Head looks much more like its namesake (I like his "little" ear)
Food storage dug into the hillside
Wagon made by Studebaker, used for hauling wood
I could almost feel Coral sitting here with her foot on the treadle, looking at the amazing views out her windows
The Kaufman's original marriage certificate. Can't imagine they thought people would be looking at it over 100 years later.

Lamps, pottery, textiles and toys were returned to the park service by Kaufman daughter Betty before she passed about eight years ago.
Ranger Carl is my tour guide and knows wonderful tidbits about the Kaufmans and the early forest service. After working for the parks for 38 years, he assisted in the restoration of the station, and then began volunteering his summer weekends here. Delightful gentleman.

Tessa and I find a trail to the river
The water sparkles in the sun
Spots of color
on the forest floor
The parking lot at the state park is nearly full, but it's a pretty day and I'm hoping it won't be too crowded. 

Luckily most of the people are on the other side of the river or down in the falls platform. I'm more than happy to have the trail on this side all to myself :-)

The Boulder enters the canyon above the foot bridge
When the water is low it drops under the rock here
During high volume, the river roars over the top
The natural rock bridge crossed the canyon between the rocks at the top of the photo above. Although the bridge is no longer here, the area is still amazing.

Large pools swirl 
and torrents splash among the rocks
Wildflowers line the trail
High flow water fall above, low flow water fall below. Just beyond this pool, the water goes underground for several miles.
It is strange to hear the water running in a completely dry canyon
Braver souls walk the other side of the canyon
Wonderful formations line the walls
I could watch the moving water for hours
Wonderful patterns 
Back home Bill is feeling better, and we take a drive to check out more of the area.

Sunday's route takes us to Hardin, MT. Probably a mistake given that we have to backtrack nearly 50 miles for our appointment on Monday morning. 

Grandview Campground is pretty rough and I pay for one night instead of the three we planned. The office looks like a hoarder stocked it, and the cat pee smell is so bad I'm nearly gagging. I planned a couple days in the area to check out the Little Bighorn Battleground but Hardin wasn't a good choice.

Depending on what happens with the slide, we'll either stay in Billings or move further east to see the monuments and museums.



19 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about yet another rig problem. I think I'd be out of patience by this time. REALLY good thing you have an extended warranty. We have never had one and so far haven't had enough problems to pay for the cost of one. I could look at moving water forever too. Your water shots are wonderful. I can almost hear it.

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    1. The dining slide, steps and windshield took so long to get fixed they seemed like twenty problems! Fortunately this slide was fixed today :-) That was a very happy water place.

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  2. It seems like it was just yesterday that you were still counting the days until you could take off. You've sure been to plenty of places and seen lots since then. The slide will soon be taken care of and that worry will be behind you. Who knows what other adventures you'll find ahead.

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    1. The prep seemed like it took forever while it was happening - but now it seems like it flew by! Slide all good, more adventures tomorrow :-))))

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  3. Yikes! I hope they're able to fix the slide. Gorgeous pictures as always. :)

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    1. Thanks, hard to take a bad one when the place is so amazing. All fixed :-)

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  4. I thought the 80s were warm in Idaho. We had slide problems and waiting is tough.

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    1. 80s sounds lovely right now :-) At least it was cool in the service center waiting room.

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  5. Uggggh ....the slide and the Jeep. Keep plugin' away at it, Jodee; you will eventually get those issues resolved!

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    1. At least we get to see pretty places when we get the ugghs :-) Still looking for Jeeps.

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  6. Love the water shots...I could sit for hours as well.
    Sorry to read about your slide.

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    1. Thanks :-) Now I'm just glad it didn't get stuck in the out position.

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  7. You certainly have had enough trouble with your slides. I can't wait to hear what Thor has to say.

    You and Tessa had a lovely time:) The water and rapids are beautiful. It is so strange to see the river just disappear! Isn't nature wonderful:) I love listening to the water and just sitting there looking at it. So peaceful:) Glad to hear Bill felt better when you got home:)

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    1. This one was a day's stay in the shop and we're all good now. The Swintek slides are not well thought of by most of the industry - all shops say they work on a lot of them :-( Nature is truly incredible!!

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  8. You certainly have had enough trouble with your slides. I can't wait to hear what Thor has to say.

    You and Tessa had a lovely time:) The water and rapids are beautiful. It is so strange to see the river just disappear! Isn't nature wonderful:) I love listening to the water and just sitting there looking at it. So peaceful:) Glad to hear Bill felt better when you got home:)

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  9. Grrrr that slide!!! Glad to know that it's all taken care of now. Love the tour of the inside of the ranger station. It's easy to imagine a simple. peaceful life there from your photos and descriptions. Natural Bridge State Park is gorgeous!

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    1. While we were waiting I looked at a Minnie Winnie with no slides and no exterior step - I thought how sweet that must be :-)))) That ranger station is a gem, and in a gorgeous spot.

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  10. This is gorgeous. How I miss the sound and feel of running water. Sorry to hear about the slide problem. Hope it's been fixed as I catch up on your adventures.

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    1. We've been missing rushing water as well so this was a real treat. I'm hoping there's still some left when we get to northern NY!

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