Once I crossed back into the States, my cell phone worked again. My cell phone plan didn't cover Canada and Alaska, which I didn't find out until I was there. I have the Straight Talk Wireless plan through Walmart, where I'd bought my smartphone, and I suppose I could have bought another SIM card while in both places which would have given me coverage. But I didn't, and one of the reasons why is because there isn't much cell phone service there to begin with, and certainly not in the many areas I'd visited. And I thought that I could always use a public phone if need be. The problem with that is pretty much all of the public phones have been yanked out because they're hardly used any more. So I ended up asking if there was a landline phone I could use, and I was usually directed to the local visitor centers, which are located even in many of the small towns in Canada and Alaska. And yes, they did allow me to use their phones. Something to remember for next time...
I was going down the interstate when just outside Great Falls a car came on the freeway from an onramp. Usually the merging car would either accelerate to get ahead of you, or go slower to allow you to get ahead of him. This is what is known as common sense. This driver, for some reason, didn't want to do either; he went right alongside me. I was in the right-hand lane, and he was merging right into me. I had to swerve into the left lane, which luckily for me didn't have any cars. Though he was at fault, he glared at me as he finally sped up and passed me. WTG in this case isn't "Way To Go", but rather "Why The Glare?"
I returned to the small Montana town of Grass Range, east of Lewistown ("The geographical center of Montana") for a return visit -- I'd dropped by while heading north -- to my friends Jan, Dan, Paula, and the rest of the Roat clan, who have a cattle ranch south of town. Paula and Jan also run the Little Montana Chuckwagon Cafe, located on Hwy 87 on the east edge of town. If you're ever in the Grass Range area, make sure you stop on by for a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner --
The sunrises there can be special, too --
And be sure you try the made-from-scratch chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, and ask for the white gravy. Yum!
Here are Paula and Jan, the proprietresses of the Little Montana Chuckwagon Cafe; Jan has her notepad in hand, ready to take your order --
I continued south after spending a few days at Grass Range. The "check engine" light was still on, a constant reminder that something was still not quite right with Tundra. I found out how serious that something was while coming down a grade on the interstate east of Butte, when the light started flashing. Oh oh. Come ON, Butte is just down the road! But the truck started losing power, and finally died. But at least I was on a level stretch of road. I called up AAA to get a tow, only to discover the truck was covered, NOT the trailer. I couldn't leave the trailer on the shoulder of the interstate for what would probably be a few days, so the AAA-recommended towing company brought out a flatbed truck for Tundra, while pulling the trailer. I decided to have them taken to the Toyota dealership in Butte; no fooling around with an independent garage. I ended up spending 3 nights at the dealership, living in Discovery. I guess you could say I was "boondocking" as there were no hookups; I had to depend on the solar panels, batteries, and propane, plus the water I had in the fresh water tank. The first night started out promising, and I was relatively comfortable --
Then it snowed.
I really wasn't expecting this...The truck was taken into the service area and disappeared for 2 days. To while away the time I made a "snowman" which looked like Frosty in a straitjacket -- and wearing a skirt...
The problem was diagnosed as the catalytic converter; it was pretty much toast. Since the garage at Whitehorse in the Yukon never checked the cat it was just sheer luck that it had lasted this long. (BTW, I did call the Toyota dealership in Whitehorse to bring the truck in, but the earliest appointment available was in 2 weeks, and the RV park where I was staying was closing for the season in a few days.) So a few days and a few thousand dollars later, I was able to hitch Tundra back up to Discovery --
And head back down the road. With no "check engine" light on.
I was heading for Meridian, Idaho, where Discovery had an appointment at Camping World for a checkup and wash, the first time for both since I left home. I stayed at the Jerome County Fairgrounds in Jerome; full hookups for $10 --
And continued south again 3 days later, with a clean and maintenance-checked Discovery. I went through Twin Falls, where the shadow of the bridge over the Snake River caught my eye.
I was about 20 miles south of Jackpot, Nevada when I saw two huge birds on an electrical pole. Hmmm, they looked like...SCREECH! I found a place to turn around, hoping beyond hope that they would still be there. They were. Two Golden Eagles, and juveniles, by the look of them. But where could I pull off the road? I found an overgrown dirt "road" that barely fit my truck and trailer and pull into it, head first. I could deal with getting back on the road later; I
wanted to check out the birds. They were still there --
But not for long. They were getting antsy from the attention, and flew off in different directions. But I got an in-flight photo, so I was happy.
But boy, did I have a heckuva time backing out with truck and trailer onto the highway...
I wasn't quite sure how far to go that day. The trailer had been serviced, the fresh water tank was full and the gray and black tanks empty, and the backup generator was now working -- Camping World serviced that, too -- so I could boondock without worry again. I use the website Free Campsites.net for finding off-the-grid spots and saw one on off Interstate 80 on a loop of the Humboldt River near Carlin, southwest of Elko. It's a bit out of way and you have to know it's there -- and ignore the "road closed" signs. The sites are pullouts along the road, which used to be the old California Trail used by emigrants. The road winds through Carlin Canyon and after being the California Trail became a railroad, then a highway before Interstate 80 was cut through the mountain range that forms Carlin Canyon. The loop road dead-ends before the interstate so the traffic is less than minimal. The choices for boondocking are minimal as there are few pullouts to park, so I kept my fingers crossed that the best one would be unoccupied. I lucked out. You can see Discovery in the distance as a white dot on the right side of the river --
Discovery and Tundra at the boondocking site.
I spent 3 days there; 14 days is the maximum as it's BLM land. I did a day hike on the second, climbing to the top of the hill overlooking the river; my site was on the left part of the loop. The canyon is what's called an unconformity, where two geologic events are preserved, and you can see them in the rocks. So this area provides fascination both historic and visual. It will be my camping spot whenever I'm going through the area. And you can't beat the price...
It's hard to believe there's a busy interstate a little more than a mile away. And there are also beaver here, too. Here's the river, turned into a reflecting pool by one of the beaver dams --
And one of the industrious builders. It's neat to see beaver making a comeback here after being trapped to near-extinction in the 19th century to make beaver hats.
I think I'll stay a little longer next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment