It’s June all right.
First thing this morning, like every morning, Bridget, Spike and I emerge from the Best Little Trailer and walk around so the crew can do their business. That taken care of, we hurry back inside. I want my coffee and they want their morning kibble.
I make the mistake of leaving the screen door open momentarily.
Spike and Bridget are back under the covers and I’m at my laptop with my coffee. I hear the unmistakable whine of a mosquito. I get up and clap my hands, successfully mashing the little devil. Then I hear another. I clap my hands. Missed. I clap again. Boy this guy is good. He lands on the wall. I pound him into oblivion with the side of my fist. Take that! Another whine! Where are all these mosquitoes coming from? Finally, after much clapping, the pests are eliminated.
Now where did Bridget go?
I open the bathroom door and there she is, crouched on the floor, looking up with a face that says, “Please don’t hit me!” She must have nosed the door open so she could hide from my clapping. What a nut.
“Come here, sweetie. I wasn’t after you!”
She won’t budge.
I pick her up and carry her over to the bed. I hold her belly-up, like a baby, and reassure her with a soothing voice. All the while I’m thinking . . . She’s never been hit in her life and she cowers in the bathroom because I’m clapping my hands. This dog is insane.
I hear more mosquitoes whine. The buggers are flying in circles above the screen of the fan ceiling vent! They’re determined to get in here and eat us alive!
I first noticed a potential mosquito problem yesterday while Bridget, Spike, and I strolled the path along the reservoir. It led us into a reedy area where the mosquitoes greeted us with gusto. Spike was the first to notice. He spun around and sprinted back up the path with Bridget and me running behind.
We’ll stay at Freeman Campground north of Craig, Colorado for one more night.
Then we’re out of here! I’d put us on the road today but I like an early start and the BLT is a mess. I’m talking about mud smears on the floor from you-know-whose paws, plus residual sand and dust from the desert.
It doesn’t help that the back window won’t stay shut when going down the road.
It opens about an inch letting in the dust that flies up the rear of the BLT. (Heh-heh. Nice phrasing.) The little butterfly latch goes in the slot in the window frame but it doesn’t hold. Tightening doesn’t help, and taping is a joke. I considered rigging up a tension rod. The roads we go on, it probably wouldn’t hold.
This campground is pretty with lush grass, abundant wildflowers and several varieties of butterflies.
We even have a resident robin that patrols the campsite ignoring our presence. Yesterday I saw him catch a large, yellow butterfly in his beak. The butterfly did not give up, fluttering his wings until the robin lost his grasp. The robin seemed stunned as he watched the butterfly fly away.
Now the campground is empty except for me and a guy in a pop-up camper.
Yesterday evening before dark I look out the window and see this guy approaching. He’s tall and lanky with an unshaven face. The crew barks wildly as he stands outside our door. Immediately I notice one of his fingers is wrapped in gauze. His hand is clenched as if to stanch bleeding.
“Could you open this thing for me? I can’t because of my hand.” He holds up a zip-lock bag with gauze and other medical stuff inside.
“Sure.” I push aside the small, plastic section of the screen door so he can hand it to me without me having to open the door. I open the zip-lock and hand it back. “Are you sure you don’t need stitches?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you have an antiseptic or . . . “ He cuts me off. “I used to be a nurse’s assistant.” His voice is gruff and I get the message that he doesn’t want any advice from me. He leaves quickly and hurries back to his camper.
This morning I notice he’s gone.
The crew and I will stay inside today. I’ll research the next leg of our journey. Should we go north, then west, then north again to the Tetons and Yellowstone? Or should we continue toward South Dakota? I’m leaning toward the latter, so when we do camp at the base of the Tetons, I won’t be restless to reach a destination.
In the morning I’ll spray my clothes with insect repellant and break camp.[slideshow]
rvsue
P.S. rvsue and her canine crew is now available on Kindle! You can see my ad and read the reviews by searching “rvsue” at the Amazon Kindle site.
I know you are gonna laugh, but it works…. take a dryer fabric softner thingee like bounce or snuggles and wipe the dogs (and you too) down good with it before you go outside. It really does keep the mosquitos away! Helps to carry one in your posket too so you can do Spike again after he gets wet from a soak! Might help to tape one up covering the screen ceiling fan vent!
Good idea about the fabric softener sheets. I think I knew that once and forgot it, along with a lot of other information!
The ceiling fan vent screen is keeping them out. I like the thought of it making them mad.
Great photos, Sue! I was missing seeing Spike in the water 😉 How do you find these lovely places? what is your secret?
These mosquitoes can be so nasty, I would leave too and not risk get infected with West Nile virus. Poor little Bridget, she is so cute.
Good luck with your next camping spot! We are officially taking off on the 29th!!!!
Patricia
I find these places by first picking my destination, such as Craig, CO. Then I do an online search for “boondocking near Craig, CO” or “camping near Craig, CO” Some of my maps show me where Bureau of Land Management and National Forest land is. Sometimes that will influence my destination. I search blm.gov and nfs.gov.
Bridget is back in the bathroom. I hit another mosquito and she ran in there. What a tortured little soul she is. I love her but she can be exasperating at times.
Good luck to you as you launch on the 29th. I wish you many wonderful adventures!
My Lily is the same way. She crawls under the covers after giving me strange looks. She seems to have a screw loose at times. However, a little more like Spike most of the time as she’s a runner and a water dog. She’s miniature poodle so she come by water naturally.
Thanks a lot for the information, Sue! I am not ready yet to boondock but I am learning as much as I can. In a first time, we are going to stay in RV resorts not too far because we’ll have to come back to work during the week, but at least we can enjoy our RV (and a cooler weather) during the week-ends until the end of the year. Taking the RV out for the first time is a major event for us… and leaving our neighbors for a week will be such a treat! All your camping spots with the water nearby are lovely.
I have to confess that I have a crush on Bridget 😉
Have a great weekend! Your crush on Bridget is sweet, but you don’t have to live with her.
Sue, if you crack your overhead vent just a tad when going down the road, it reduces the interior pressure and you won’t pick up so much dust. Really does work.
As for where to go, I think the later you visit the Tetons and Yellowstone, the happier you’ll be as per crowds. The best time is in Sept or Oct as the crowds are gone and it’s really pretty w/ the fall colors. This time of eyar both are pretty much totally crowded. Just my two cents’ worth.
And RVSue readers, you can now get this blog on your Kindle! Just search for it on Amazon.
Thanks for mentioning my blog is on Kindle.
I was thinking the same thing about the Tetons and Yellowstone.
http://www.amazon.com/rvsue-and-her-canine-crew/dp/B008CL3HFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340155713&sr=8-1&keywords=rvsue
We had trouble with the butterfly latch unhooking in our Scamp, I solved it by getting a couple of thumb screw locks for sliding windows & placing one under the ‘wing’ of the butterfly lock to keep it in place. Should be able to find them at a Wally World or any hardware store.
Looks likes this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=sliding+window+lock&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1219650995193976212&sa=X&ei=6rngT47HGKiD8AH8i8HvCA&ved=0CIkBEPMCMAE#ps-sellers
As long as the lock it tighten well, & gripping an edge of the metal of the window, the window can not open up while driving.
After checking a photo I have of the latch, the lock is on the top of the ‘wing’ not the bottom.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scampers/photos/album/368041079/pic/1235948003/view?picmode=large&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&dir=asc
Thank you, DesertHawk. You are so helpful. I hoped someone would give me the solution.
Just for a quick fix….had the same problem in my Casita with that back window. I have used a couple of straws and pencil duck taped in the window valley till I could get it fixed….=) Ahh, the mother of invention !
Hey, not bad, Latte. I may try that this morning. There isn’t a Home Depot on this mountain.
I followed the link. Thanks again. I like two-dollar solutions!
Yes they bite and then we itch.. We have lots of those up here in the North of Canada. I am packing getting ready to try a new spot with my son for camping the long weekend in July. Should be fun, hardest thing is finding a babysitter for the two cats and the rat lol.. I bring my dog Mashka with us, and he even likes to kayak lol…. Sue I agree with above you find the most amazing spots, I put a hint on your camping resources for more info about solar panels. I want to get set up so we can boondock, my son wants to to. Right now we only have a pop up but first year not tenting, so its a nice break. Upgrade vehicle first then upgrade to small trailer. First need a second job to pay for all this, lol… Poor Bridget, mine is like that to, but of course I rescued him at the age of 5 so not sure what he has been put through, but they sure are cute. You take care and same with the crew. looking forward to hearing more adventures – hopefully all good – your northern ontario reader
You have a good plan, bearwise. Upgrade the vehicle and then upgrade to a small trailer. It sounds like you already are set with your pop-up and can enjoy camping until you’re in a position to get something else.
I’m glad you have your son to camp with. It must be fun sharing the outdoors with him and your Mashka.
Afternoon, Sue. You are kind of in my neck of the country now–my son and his family has lived down in Oak Creek over in Routt County since 1997. If you are headed east on 40 you’ll go to Hayden and on into Steamboat Springs which is a quaint little town. Just before you get into town you can go North along the Elk River and I think there is some camping up near Steamboat Lake and the Zirkels. There is also a campground up on Buffalo Pass. After you go through Steamboat you can turn South on CO 131 and go down to Stagecoach Reservoir and State Park. There is some camping there and up on Lynx Pass. On down 131 I think there are some reservoirs up in the Flattops that have some camping as well. Do be sure to check out Routt County if you plan on going that way. I’ve been enjoying it for the last 15 years!
Collier Carlton
Holly Springs, MS
Excellent information, Collier. Thanks for taking the time to write it down for me and everyone else.
BTW, nice to hear from you again!
One more comment. If you want to see Steamboat Springs, you can head north from there on the road up through Clark. It’s a very pretty drive, and you can camp at Steamboat Lake. If you keep going west from Steamboat on Hwy 40, you’ll soon be up on Rabbit Ear’s Pass and then heading for Denver over another big pass, Berthoud Pass. I would personally avoid both, unless you just want to see the country. You can also head north through Walden, after R.E. Pass, but it’s prettier going up through Clark. But given where you are now north of Craig, I’d just keep heading north from where you are. There’s lots to see and do in the Black HIlls, and you can traverse Colorado later. The autumn is also a good time to see Colorado, as fewer tourists.
I’m thinking go north from here and onward to SD and get the driver’s license. I can see more of CO, WY, and UT later.
The pictures are so much clearer and sharper now. They just jumped out at me.
Really? Glad to hear that.
Wow, glad you have the barking dogs with you!! That guy would have made me feel uncomfortable!! Tho’ one can never tell by looks either.
He’s probably a guy who likes to be left alone.
If you are heading over to the Black Hills/Custer/MountRushmore Area, Maybe you can find something in this to help:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25460059/gotomsg/25460475.cfm#25460475
In WY, Overnighting Sites & Sights in the [url=http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23680867/gotomsg/23680926.cfm#23680926]Douglas & Wheatland Area[/url].
When we are entering the Black Hills/Custer from the south, we have found getting off I-25 @ Exit 126, US 18/20 to Lusk, then N on US 85/18, then E on US 18 (at Mule or Burro Jun’t or something similar) to SD route 89 which takes you to US 385 & on to Custer.
We have also gone to Newcastle before getting onto US 16 to Custer, or one could get off at I-25 Exit 92, US 26 to Guensey/Fort Laramie Area & on to US 85 N to Lusk. Our first trip out, we did the latter route.
One trip, we got off at Exit 17 just out of Cheyenne & used US 85 all the way to Lusk, etc. Lot of rolling hills, not a bad road, some two way traffic.
When our son was in Minot, ND we went up each summer through this area.
For the Tetons, twice we have stayed at Colter Bay Campground, the one without hook-ups, the last time was in mid-June 2010, it was a nice place for such a large campground and close to showers. Our daughter & her hubby needed them, not having showers in their A-Liner. A neat “Indian” Museum by the visitor center & close to the large Lake.
I have heard good things about Gros Ventre Campground…get more animals walking by or close by, etc. Nice views. The French used the term Gros Ventre (Fat Belly), for a local native population/people which was mistakenly interpreted from their sign language. Instead, the Gros Ventre people call themselves by the autonym A’ani or A’aninin, which means “white clay people,” or more loosely “ourselves, our people, us, we,” etc. The French is pronounced “Grow Vaunt.”
No Boondocking in the Park, but I have heard of some doing it in the Nat’l Forest East of it, but then one will be driving a lot, lot of driving to see both Tetons & especially Yellowstone.
Wow! I’ll refer to your comment several times in the near future, I’m sure. Lots of helpful information and interesting background about Gros Ventre. Thank you for writing.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23680867/gotomsg/23680926.cfm#23680926
I was beginning to wonder if there were any low-priced places to camp in Wyoming. Thanks again, DesertHawk. Wheatland City Park sounds good as well as others. I love my blog. People are so helpful!
I am surprised Mr. Friendly even came and asked for help. I would have though he would have torn it open with his teeth before asking for help! :))))
Who knows what Bridget went through in her life before you got her. We have a rescued Cocker Spaniel that loves to go for walks until you come to her with the harness. She cowers and runs away. Someone did something pretty awful to her to have that ingrained in her little mind. We have had her for 6 years and have never hit her, drug her around by the harness or any other type of cruelty. We can’t seem to get her over it.
I thought the same thing about the guy with the cut hand. Maybe he doesn’t have front teeth. I didn’t notice. Or he was too impatient.
Bridget would’ve had to be hit as a puppy because she was pretty young when I got her. She is very noise sensitive.
Sue, please take all the mosquitoes to SD with and LEAVE THEM THERE!!!!! Thank you for listening to my humble request.
Too late, Chuck. We had strong winds today, gusting to 32 mph in places, and it took the skeeters away.
Y’all are on Kindle? Oh boy!
Ain’t that sumpthin!
Boy Sue you are in the big time, on Kindle. I am very impressed. Your audience is just getting bigger and bigger. I really loved Gros Ventre in the Tetons but it is still a campground with a lot of folks rather than one of the great places off to yourself that you are so super at finding.
Hi, Sherry! I’ve researched and researched online for our next camp and I’ve come up with nothing except $28-$36 rv parks. I’m making a dash to SD via I-80 east from Rawlins. It looks like we may be sleeping at a truck stop tomorrow night. Unbelievable, I know.
Ever think of asking to stay overnight in a church parking lot?? My folks did that sometimes when just needing to stay one night. Never were refused…but of course, if you are say a Baptist, you could introduce yourself as such, etc. Just an idea…
I haven’t needed to do that so far.
Hi RV Sue,
Do you have a screenhouse somewhere in that PTV?
Maybe I do under all the other stuff packed in there. I haven’t seen the bottom layer in months! LOL
No, I don’t. I’ll have to keep moving . . .
🙂 In July/August in Michigan, my home state, if you don’t keep moving in the woods, both the mosquitos and the horse flies come calling!
Time for you to head up to South Dakota! My husband and I are bicyclists and we planned a trip there last summer….during Sturgis. Wow. Being the true bicyclist that I am, I had never heard of Sturgis…but I learned pretty quick!! It was pretty awesome, wearing our spandex and walking our bikes through towns FILLED with motorcycles and leather clad, tattooed motorcyclists who looked at us as though we were from another planet!
I hope you can make it up there then–great people watching! And the Black Hills are really something to see. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures.
You must have looked out of touch! Uh… this is for bikers not bicyclers!
I’m avoiding SD in early August when this year’s biker round-up takes place. Not my thing.
One other thing you can consider later when visiting Colo is traveling during the week in Sept/Oct is advisable. You’ll probably forget this but when the leaves start to change colors, which varies from place to place, the roads leading to the intermountain complex are literally a ‘parking lot’ on weekends. Haven’t said hi for awhile, so HI! cheers br, k and kids
Hi back to you, Bill!
I know what you mean about fall foliage season, both from living in GA (people going to the GA mountains) and from growing up in upstate NY near the Vermont border. I like to stay put on weekends anyway, if it works out okay.
Cheers to you and Kathy and your crew . . .
Your pictures show how connected you are to nature. I really appreciate your blog.
You are Awesome!
What a great thing to say! Thank you, Dedra. I appreciate YOU.
Hi Sue,
Here’s a 50 cent solution to your back window opening while traveling. Small “A” clamp, about one inch long from Home Depot, clamped right at the bottom of the window track. Buy several they’re very useful.
Thank you, Brian. The simplest solutions are best. I was ready to redesign the window.
I can relate to your aggravation with the mosquitoes – it’s beginning to be that time of year here in Texas. We’ve already had a few cases of West Nile virus reported, thankfully just in mosquitoes and not people yet. I’m enjoying reading about your travels, starting to think again about doing this ‘full timing’ thing myself.
The swarm of mosquitoes left this afternoon. I guess it was the wind. Good thing because the crew was fussing to go for a walk!
Oh how I dislike the mossies. So glad it’s too dry for them here.
I’m interested to hear about your choice to publish on kindle. I looked at the site and might consider it.
Chinle urged me to do it. Geri and Chuck have been wanting me to publish, too. I don’t expect any money from it. It’s fun to see my blog is on Amazon Kindle!
Wow, four 5 star reviews on Amazon Kindle. Hope you show your Kindle income on your expense report. What a life Lucky Lady; well not all luck, planning, research and smart decisions helped.
Thanks for the lovely daily escape.
Mick
You’re welcome, Mick.
Have you used these sites to find free or cheap campgrounds, etc?
http://www.freecampgrounds.com/
http://freecampsites.net/
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=113489473531870469999.0004785d9133690c0112f&ll=32.175612,-99.404297&spn=9.755861,11.052246&z=6
http://hasbeenthere.com/2010/12/05/boondocking-sites-free-places-park-night/
I haven’t used the last one. Thanks.
I opened hasbeenthere.com and it shows several boondocking and free places to camp. I notice it only show 2 places in WY! Too much grassland I guess.
What a beautiful place to be, Sue. I can’t wait to see where you end up next.
I’m amazed. Already we’ve had two reservoirs all to ourselves.
Spike and Bridget can be considered ‘Reservoir Dogs’ now! (1990’s movie)haha
A little background on the mosquitoe population. In certain areas where we have lived, the state would spray for them, as well as flys. That’s became expensive and unpopular (environ types), even around state and NP camprounds!
I remember being on a hunting trip up in CO near Mirror Lake. We let the horses graze but penned the mules!’ (they get into and eat everything including ATV seats)! We got back one evering from a ‘scouting’ trip and the mules in the pens turned from brown to grey! Upon further invest, the mules were covered in msqts’.The horses were fine because they had room to get on their backs and tussel.. LAL (learned a lesson…don’t go hunting!) cheers, br .
Those poor mules! Well, mules are tough critters so I guess they survived the torment. And so did you . . . so I guess that qualifies you as a tough critter, too! . . . rvsue and her reservoir dogs . . .
Hey Sue, Don’t know your route to SD but if you are going up to Rawlins, Wyo and heading east on I-80 there is a nice little FS campground near Buford which is about half way between Lamarie and Cheyenne. I was driving along and saw the teepee/tent sign and turned off. The road went under the highway to the north. There I found a nice little campground for senior at half price $5.00 dry camping, one water spigot for the campground.
Or, if you were to turn north off of I 80 out of Lamarie onto highways 30/34 there is a city park 1st come 1st serve in Wheatland. I’ve never been there but was told of it. That’s how I would zig zag to the Black Hills of SD. Are you headed to any specific town in SD??
Hello, Joy,
I’m very interested in your information. Thanks for sharing it. I am going east from Rawlins on I-80 and Buford would be a good stopping point. How long ago were you at this teepee sign campground?
I probably will stop at the city park in Wheatland, no matter what route I take to get there. DesertHawk mentioned that also.
However, I’m not sure I want to take Hwy 30 to Hwy 34 to Wheatland as it goes through
Morton Pass. The pass is only 7,301 feet but I don’t know how steeply the road crosses it. I’ll research that before I decide to take that shortcut.
If I go the longer way through Cheyenne, I’ll stop at the Buford campground. I have some fond memories of Cheyenne, visited there with a friend long ago.
I’m headed to Box Elder, SD, east of Rapid City. That’s where my mail forwarding and document service company is located.
Thanks again for the helpful information.
Sue it was 4 years ago. I think there are a couple of little campgrounds in that area. My log book shows I went 101.7 miles from filling up in Rawlins to the campground. The campground is just west of Buford. The sign if I recall was one of those brown federal signs with the tent on it. The campground has paved pads, picnic tables and fire rings.
Great! It will be easy to find with those directions. I”ll probably stay on the interstate and take the long way around. I don’t have any information on the shortcut so I’ll stay with what is known.
Again, the pictures are wonderful. Such a beautiful part of the country. I was so excited….RVSUE ON KINDLE!!!!! But alas, not on Kindle Fire….my newest purchase. 🙁 Everyone here is fine…been really busy…kids and the pool. Will get an email off to you soon. Love you!!!!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon makes it possible for people to subscribe to blogs on the Kindle Fire. How nice that you have one! Good to hear everyone’s fine. Enjoy!
RVSue, I am definitely much less trusting than you. I would be instantly on guard if an unknown man were to approach me in a semi-isolated place for whatever reason, because it could be a pretext. It’s no fun, being cautious of strangers, especially when most campers are friendly, goodhearted folks. However, erring on the side of caution could keep one from being a Silence-of-the-Lambs-type statistic, which would be even less fun. Something to consider.