Sing along with us!

Jane here:

Please join us in a rousing version of “Happy Birthday”…….
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear SCOTT, Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Can’t you just see us singing to you at the top of our lungs (we really are) here in the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park. The elk are covering their ears and the bears have run to the mountain tops. Denver and Brea are howling (no joke). We will celebrate appropriately (thanks Steve for the great wine – no ripple tonight) in your honor this evening. I know you’ll miss our big family birthday celebration this year (you know, the one with the great big home made cake and gourmet dinner) but we’re thinking of you and hoping you have a great day!

We’re happy to be back in the mountains (8600’) staying in Glacier Basin Campground. Even though it’s the Fourth of July week and the campgrounds are busy here we are lucky to have a beautiful location that has great views and is relatively private (kudos to Jane’s great planning). The photo is of Glacier Basin taken from the edge of our site. The days are warm with thunderstorms rolling through starting around noon. It’s neat to hear the occasional shower hitting the metal roof. There are a lot of families tent camping in this area and it is fun to sit out at night under the stars and see the campfires burning and the soft glow of light from the tents. The nights are cool and very quiet. Very conducive to sleep! Our first couple of days here have been dedicated to R and R. Tomorrow some hikes are in order and Ron will be fishing again.

Jet here:

Now tell me……if you do nothing most of the time, like these two, why do you need two days of R and R? How low can you go? And sleeping? That Jane awakened at 10:30 this morning! You would have thought something hit her with a board. She says it’s so nice and cool in the mornings you have to snuggle in your Travelsak and snooze till it’s warm outside. Even the dogs think this is their new routine. There’s no sense of time or order here!

Jane here:

Now wait a minute! There are a few days of serious activity, as in doing chores. When we left Cheyenne on Friday we had to shop (the Walmart thing), refresh our tanks (we did), do laundry (never got to it), and do the restaurant thing (we did). One of the things we like about our rig is that it’s easy to roam in and out of parking lots. We spotted a “Red Lobster” in Cheyenne and before you know it we were enjoying a delicious (it’s all relative) seafood feast in our RV at the back of their lot. Even had a view! Sitting in a parking lot and saying what fun this is…….are we nuts? Here are some of the things we’ve learned so far: 1) Microwaves are really bread boxes and serve no other function. You have to be hooked up to electricity to use them or turn on your generator (makes noise). Since we’re not on electricity and don’t want to make noise it’s turned into a storage area. 2) You can’t trust the gauges that tell you how much you have in your tanks, ever! In Cheyenne our fresh water tank kept going down at a rapid pace (58 gallons) but our gray and black (the yucky stuff) kept showing empty. We kept looking for leaks – there were none. Finally after 5 days the gray and black tanks managed to get up to 1/3 but then Ron used the facilities and the black tank went back to empty. Go figure! Bottom (no pun intended) line we made it six days before we added fresh water and it was day seven before we dumped tanks. Imagine living in the desert and only using 58 gallons in 6 days! Have to admit we did have the use of some supplemental facilities on the spot, if you know what I mean. It’s basic living. 3) You do nothing all day and think you’ve been busy. Time flies. We’ve never had time to turn on the TV and I haven’t even finished one book in three weeks. There’s lots of walking, talking, sipping, soaking up all the beauty in this country, and managing all the stress

Denver here:

Talk about stress! Cheyenne was really fun but I started to get really stressed by the end of the week. Those big dogs kept walking by looking at beautiful me. It’s tough trying to look your best all the time. I constantly had to check my eye liner. And the people…..one more pat on my poofy head and………well you know. How do you like it when you do your hair and someone comes along to mash it? I had to rest for two days after that. I have slept, slept, slept.

Brea here:

Like I’ve said before, what a high maintenance dog that Denver is. She thinks she’s a camping dog just because she’s covered in brown dirt but deep down inside she’s one of those frilly, Princess type dogs. I’m the real camping dog. Nothing rattles me. I dig holes in the dirt under the RV and nap all day. My coat stays silky and shiny. I love this life!

A note to Kathy from Jane: I have your Mom’s itinerary. We’ll pick her up in Bozeman Aug. 9. Think how Ron will be smiling when he steps out of the RV with two women!

A note to Jim from Jane: In Cheyenne there was access to internet set up for us and several of the satellite rigs were operating unsecured so others could lock on to them. That may be why you didn’t see locater numbers stacked up. Also re your kitchen question. We are actually eating better while on the road. It’s easy to cook here because you stand in one place to do everything. One benefit is Jane’s Cajun cooking has gone by the wayside (i.e. Blackened stuff) because there’s no place to wander away from the stove! Princess Lack of Focus is forced to pay attention. As of this time there’s no cooking fish. You gotta love catch and release fly fishing!

All of us must go take a nap. The great sound of big raindrops on the roof beckons. Life is good, good, good, and may yours be too!