Family Reunion Trip, Day 29

Jacob and I left to go fishing around 0900. It was an hour drive to get to the ponds. These are the same ponds Cath and I used to take the boys camping and fishing when we were stationed at Ft Lewis. The whole area has improved and is now Camp Wooten State Park. I told Jacob stories about his Dad and Uncle fishing and eating the marshmallows we used for bait. I think the boys were probably 8 and 6 years old.
Here's a pic of Jacob and Kaylee fishing.

And here's the best pic of the day; Jacob's first trout! He got it in all by himself, but would not touch it. He said that's something he doesn't do. I guess we'll have to work on that...LOL

Jacob and I got home around 1600. I grabbed a shower and then we all headed out to Umatilla National Forest to meet Jason, Melisa, and family. We roasted hot dogs and brats over the fire. Maggie provided Strawberry Shortcake and whipped cream. It was delicious!

Here's a couple of pics of the view from our outing.

A few more pics of the gathering.

We had a fun time catching up on old times.

One more pic. All the kids had a blast and Jacob was happy to be with some kids his own age. He is going over to their house tomorrow afternoon to play with them.

The drive up to this place was probably 20 miles from Bob and Maggie's house. 15 miles of this was on dirt roads. The dust was terrible. Driving behind Bob was like being in a fog. The truck is dirtier then I ever seen it, and it will take me all day tomorrow to clean it up. Dust even got into the truck bed and covered everything, but it was worth it, we had a really fun time.
Got home and off to bed right away, it's been a long day.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 28

Had coffee with Maggie first thing. Bob came up early from the shop and asked what I was doing. I said nothing and he promptly but me to work in the shop.
The girls left for hair appointments and some shopping around noon. Jacob and I hung out and cooked some 3-2-1 ribs for dinner. Maggie is craving BBQ food.
Jacob found a water cannon in the trash and low and behold it still works. I guess we inherited a water cannon for the camper!
Here's a view of the camper in their yard.

Kaylee was guarding the ribs, like she's going to get some...NOT!

Here's Kaylee just before dinner. She thinks she's at her place for dinner. We ate outside as the weather is perfect.

Finally got to bed around 2200. It gets cool at night and the sleeping is great.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 27

Left Shannon and Cheryl's at 0730. Had a beautiful drive to Spokane, WA. Weather was perfect and the scenery was spectacular. Stopped for lunch at a nice roadside rest in Idaho. Cath made sandwiches and the Vizsla got a run.
Took a stone to the windshield and now have a good size spider right where the registration and inspection stickers are.
Arrived at Bob and Maggie's around 1400 as we are in another time zone again. Spent the afternoon yakking and Maggie made a great dinner.
Camper is all set up and the view is great.
Check out the moon! 

Another view.

Bob and Maggie's house. It's a construction zone as they are having a new sidewalk and concrete patio put in.

It is good to be with family and all is well in the Boss camper.
CTC count today was 247.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 26

Jacob and I spent the morning washing the camper and the truck. He was a big help. He was the rinser and a good one at that. He loves to play with the hose, I actually avoided getting soaked!
Shannon had to work today, but we will see him in the morning before we leave.
Cath got everything packed up in the afternoon.
We spent the rest of the day and evening on the porch yakking with Cheryl. Her and Shannon have been great hosts and we really appreciate all they did for us. We look forward to seeing them again at the reunion.
Early to bed as we are leaving in the morning.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 25

Another beautiful day. Temps were in the low 80s, no humidity, and just plain nice!
Shannon and I left to go fishing around 0830 and had a good day. We probably caught over 100 bass and perch. I used one of their Kayaks for the first time. I think I will be getting one this fall. On the way home we stopped a Dixon to have a cold one. This is quite the bar, check out the pics.

We think it is a "hoarder's bar". 

Picked up some U-bake pizza for dinner. It was really good. After dinner we were rewarded with a gorgeous sky. Here's a few pics. 

And then the moon came out!

In bed by 2200. I'll sleep good tonight after a day of fishing. Tomorrow is pack up/cleanup day. We have had a really good time here.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 24

OK, I'm a day behind on the blog, but more important stuff has been happening...like FISHING!
Shannon and I went fishing and hiking to Bass Creek and hiked up to the beaver pond. Had a nice hike, but no fish. The forest and views were really spectacular.
Cheryl, Cath, and Jacob went up to Seeley Lake to visit the James Girard Memorial Tamarack Grove, named after her Grandfather.
Here's a plaque that explains it. 

Here's the next sign that explains "Gus", the largest Larch tree in the world. 

Here's a pic of Cath and Jacob with "Gus".

Another "Gus" pic.

And one more with Jacob.

This is the plaque that dedicates the Grove to Cath's Grandfather.

Here's the plaque.

Jacob the nut!

Seeley Lake.

Nice pic of a deer along the way.

Back at the house we did 3-2-1 ribs.

A good time was had by all.

We really enjoy Shannon, Cheryl, and the kids. They are great hosts and have a beautiful place.
Late to bed and more fishing tomorrow.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 23

Woke to rain again today...what else is new. The rain continued most of the day. The girls and Jacob were going to go to Seeley Lake, but canceled due to the weather. They ran a few errands. On the way home they got these pics of a few bucks just a few blocks from their house.

Here's few pics of their yard and our camper.

Nice back porch. We spend a lot of time here. Lots of BSing (not baby sitting).

The back yard and a wonderful view.

A view of the mountains just west of here.

Shannon had to work today, but we had a nice dinner of chicken thighs on the Trager. Off to bed early and of course it's raining! Supposed to be nice the rest of the week.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 22

It rained this morning during final pack up and hook up. Got the camper dumped and hit the road by 0730. The rain was actually good as the camper was all muddy from the trip to here. 70 mph on the Interstate got almost all the mud off.
Drive today was good, the rain stopped, and we saw some beautiful country. Snow in the high mountains and beautiful vistas.

You can see the snow on the peaks.

Another view.

We stopped at Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge, MT. Got our stamp on the passport and saw this guy nest to the visitor center.

The place was not dog friendly so we only stayed a little while. Arrived a Cheryl and Shannon's around 1500, got the camper set up and had a fun time catching up with them. Jacob had a blast with Chris and McKenzie, 4 wheelers and video games. We sat on the porch for dinner and talked until 2200. They have a beautiful place with great views of the mountains in all directions. I'll get some pics tomorrow.

Off to bed as we are all tired after another 400 mile drive.
Almost forgot: The CTC count today was 447! That is a new record we are in camper central!

Family Reunion Trip, Day 21

Wanted to share this pic of my view from the camper in the morning while drinking my coffee. This is my quiet time as Cath and Jacob are still sleeping. The riot will begin when Jacob wakes up......LOL

Cath did laundry this morning and I washed the truck. Jacob managed to get about two hours in the pool. here he is with one of his famous named dives. He has about 100 of them and prefaces each one with "this is what I call my ......(dive name).

Here's another!

Leftovers for dinner (but we aren't complaining). Everything is packed up and we plan to be on the road by 0730. Of course we had to get a little rain and thunderstorms late afternoon just to make packing up interesting.
And here is Jacobs blog post for today:
TODAY WAS SUPER AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! being at the pool all day is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN.I helped dry dishes today. (Comment from Granddad: First time for the dishes. He thinks this is a month long shopping spree and entertain Jacob trip...LOL).

Family Reunion Trip, Day 20

Here's a pic of Jacob in his Ninja state first thing in the morning, I was still drinking coffee.

We left camp and drove about an hour of back roads to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

Here's the entrance. Our Senior Pass comes in handy, entrance is free.

Here's the tombstones of descendants of the Soldiers who fought there. The grave sites from the Soldiers are marked all over the area, most could not be identified, so they just have a stone that says "Soldier, 7th Calvary".

Here's my latest "Geo Shirt", read the fine print, the last line is a hoot!

We headed back to Billings, MT, did some grocery shopping, got gas, ice, and beer, then spent the late afternoon in camp. Laundry Day tomorrow.
Here's Jacob's Blog for today:
Swimming today was EPIC. The new move in the following  video is called a Double Cross. Captain Crunch tomorrow for breakfast. BYE.

Family Reunion Trip, Day 19

The rain finally stopped sometime last night. Finished packing up everything, got the camper hooked up and we were on the road by 0730.
We took a detour to see Devil's Tower. It was worth the extra miles.

This tower is bigger than it looks.

The clouds and mist kept rolling in and out.

This is the view from the campground at the park.

One last view.

On the way out we got this shot of some longhorns and buffalo. We also saw prairie dogs, deer, and pronghorn antelope today. Wyoming is really beautiful and it was nice to get off the Interstate for awhile. 

Arrived at Billings, MT around 1530. The campground is just off the Interstate, but really nice. Here's a few pics of our site.

Picked up another "geo shirt" at Devil's Tower. My closet is almost full!

We did schnitzel and spatzle for dinner, then we buttoned down the hatches again as it is going to rain tonight, but tomorrow is supposed to be nice.
The CTC count for today was 231, the total now for the trip is over 1200!