I sit down to write a post when lightning flashes.
That was yesterday, Friday, August 9, around nine in the evening. Quickly I download a book for my kindle, shut down the laptop, pull the plugs, make some popcorn, and settle on the bed with the crew for a good read.
Rain pelts the rooftop.
It almost sounds like hail. I look out the window. All is dark. I’m the only one with lights. Oh, how I love my solar panel and batteries!
If I were asked to list the ten most important items for full-timing . . . I know, you didn’t ask, but anyway . . .
Here’s my List of Favorites.
Everything necessary for solar power, electronic communications (air card, laptop or iPad, inverter, Wilson antenna, cell phone), Benchmark atlases, emergency air compressor, Kindle reader, pen for canine prisoners, big patio mat, lounger and camp chairs, anti-sway bar for hitch, and a good camera! I could add lots more, but these are my favorites.
So where are we camped?
Our latest camp on this journey west is called Slowey. It’s perched on the bank of Clark Fork River a few miles from St. Regis, Montana.
We didn’t leave our last camp, Quartz Flat, until mid-morning.
After a leisurely breakfast and a walk-around with the crew, I take care of routine tasks — filling water jugs, filling the fresh water tank, dumping the waste tanks, and dumping trash. I chat with the camp host. He’s helpful and friendly, as are most of the camp hosts I’ve met.
A few miles up the interstate, we exit at the town of Superior.
I stop at the IGA store for groceries and across the street buy gas from a co-op station. By now the day is hot. We still don’t have air conditioning. I don’t feel like driving all afternoon. We need a place to “hole up” for the weekend.
There are another hundred miles of road to Coeur d’Alene. I figure it’s risky trying to find a camp without reservations in a popular area at this time of year and at the beginning of the weekend.
That’s why I choose Slowey Campground for the day’s destination.
(Photo taken early next morning.) Slowey Campground is only a few miles from Superior and not far off the interstate. It has a camp host. Her presence means we won’t spend the weekend listening to loud music of somebody else’s choosing, nor the obnoxious combustion engines of joyriders.
Soon after claiming a campsite, the crew and I trot down to the river!
We take the narrow trail through brush from our campsite (behind picnic table in photo).
Before Spike can plop down for his typical soak in one-inch deep water, I carry him further out and set him in water up to his neck. He doesn’t protest. In fact, his eyes glaze over as he luxuriates. (I don’t have photos of this blessed event. I didn’t bring the camera for fear it would get wet.)
I set my camp chair in the water next to him.
I’m holding Bridget on-leash which forces her to go out into water up to her belly. (Sometimes Bridget needs to be nudged to try new things.) She seems to enjoy herself for a few minutes. When she whines I let her run back to shore where she shakes and rolls in the grass.
Spike and I are in no hurry to get out. The cool water does feel good on this hot day!
Trains go by on the other side of the river.
The wail of their whistles wakes me a few times in the night. The sound this close, along with the deep rumbling, is loud and exhilarating.
I’d like to be a train conductor for a day.
Spike and Bridget would ride along with me, wearing grey-and-white striped railroad-style harnesses, of course. I already know the whistle… two longs, a short, and a long.
My parents, two sisters, and I lived in a house next to railroad tracks.
I remember waving to the conductor. He always waved back with a big smile for the little, red-haired girl who was me. Gee, talk about getting off-track. How’d I get on this?
Warning: Quick topic change ahead . . .
The Delmoe Lake duck has nine babies. This Clark Fork River mama has ten!
The camp host lady comes by.
She’s making her rounds, checking site posts for receipts. She cheerfully makes a few announcements: “No campfires are allowed, and no smoking either.”
She asks if I’ll be fishing.
I tell her I won’t and she says, “Well, I don’t need to tell you about that then” and moves on to the next site. I already know the third announcement: If you catch a bull trout, you must release it because their numbers are dwindling.
No, no one here caught that fish. Some kid caught it not far from here. (I got this photo from free internet images.) I insert it here so you can see what a bull trout looks like. Well, to be honest, I want to drive my readers who fish absolutely crazy.
My work here is done. Y’all have a great day!
rvsue
THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AMAZON HERE!
See a few of the products recently ordered through my blog . . .
KIND Nuts & Spices Bars
FURminator deShed Tool
Portable Electrical Management System
TravelJohn Foldable Commode/Chair
Battery Filler Rubber Bulb
Portable Fold-Up Travel Stand for the new iPad, iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 7.0, Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Touch
