Christy and Jose Aug 2021

We got the RV back from the mechanic on Thursday Oct 7th and left Great Falls on Sat Oct 9th heading for home.  We were in good spirits even though we had to give up on our plan to spend time on the Olympic Peninsula. But I was glad to have had the extra time with my sister and her family. Those good feelings began to fade once we got on the road and could still hear the front-end noise.  We spent the first night of the trip home at the Clark Canyon Reservoir (where we had stayed on the way to Great Falls) which required driving on a rough road to the campground. We were both just sick to hear the noise as bad if not worse than ever, as well as having no brakes again. We were fortunate that when on paved roads the brakes were fine.  After spending thousands of dollars and over a month waiting on repairs to the brakes, we just didn't know what to think.  Nothing we could do but keep heading for home. 

All the parts arrived and the rv is fixed. We plan to leave Great Falls tomorrow Saturday10/9 and go straight to Kanab by the fastest route, no sightseeing. Good timing, the weather is supposed to get very cold in Great Falls early next week. We will probably drive about 4 hours a day which means we will arrive Tuesday evening.

I might sound like a broken record, we have not posted in a long time. We are still in Great Falls. Here's the story. For over a year the RV made a clanging noise in the front end when traveling on rough roads or hitting bumps around town.  Before we started this trip we took the rv to 2 different mechanics. Both said the brakes were fine, so we decided to go on with the trip. One of our first stops was Green River Lakes Campground where we met with Christy's family. One of the people we met up with was John Kumer, Christy's niece's boyfriend. He took interest in the story of the noisy rv and wanted to take a look. Upon looking at the rv he noticed the shims in the front brakes were out of place and also were bent. He was pretty sure the trouble was in the front brakes. I asked him if it was an emergency and he said it needed to be fixed soon but not an emergency.  Our next big city was going to be Idaho Falls and we thought we could have the rv fixed there. But on seco...

Another one of my favorite access points to the 55 miles of the River's Edge Trail is Memorial Island, named in honor of all those who lost their lives working on or at the Black Eagle Dam, one of 5 hydroelectric dams in the area. A footbridge crosses the spillway under the power house to the island.   A turbine that was in service for 74 years is displayed on the island.  Made of cast iron and weighing 18,000 pounds, it spun at 15 rpm and generated 16,500 horsepower.    Today water flows at a good rate from the dam over the Black Eagle Falls. From the end of the island you can see the silhouette of a statute of Lewis and Clark with Sacagawea on the horizon. And as always, the fur babies enjoyed exploring and reading new "P-mail"  !!!

My sister Carol, my niece's mother-in-law Marlene and I went to see a 26-acre sculpture park located in Lincoln Montana.  Sculptures in the Wild began in 2014 with 5 artists creating works inspired by the rich environmental and industrial legacy of the surroundung Blackfoot Valley. These innovative pieces are constructed using natural and industrial materials.  Today the park features 18 permanent sculptures from local and internationally acclaimed artists.  I'll share a few of our favorites. Picture Frame by Jaakko Pernu of Finland 2014 Tree Circus by Patrick Dougherty of USA 2017 Inside the Tree Circus  Size perspective  Hill & Valley by Steven Siegel of USA 2014 This one really piqued our interest. Its an ongoing community project composed of 28 lodge poles, 400 pounds of nails and 30,000 pounds of newspaper. New layers of newspaper are nailed onto the top each year.  Close up of newspapers....

We are still in Great Falls, Montana. The RV is in need of some parts that have to come from the East coast and will be arriving in a few days. We have been lucky that Christy's sister Carol has been willing to put up with us for so long. Today while the ladies were at the grocery store Carol's husband Lynn and I went to lunch at a place called Street Burgers. They have some amazing burgers and desserts. No we did not order this one, named The Unicorn.  After lunch we visited some interesting Pawn Shops. Nether of us pawned or bought anything, we just looked.  It was a great guys day out.