July 28 - Downtown Ennis and Beyond

We had a lovely day exploring Ennis. We went downtown and walked up and down both sides of the streets. The sign says the population is 890, so it is a small town with a lot of character. Flyfishing is the name of the game here. Everyone we have spoken to who flyfishes says now is the greatest time to fish. Poor Phil is afraid to get in the water because of his back. One slip, and he could be right back where he started. He does not want that! We rode around looking at the public places where one can put in a float boat or wade in to fish, but the water is running really fast. I wish he would try just fishing from the bank..... I'd sure like to try my hand at pan-frying some trout! This one couple from California said just about every time they cast, they caught at least an 18 incher. Not bad!

Don't you love the artwork on the building?

On top of a flyshop

mesh art

A view from our drive about 15 miles out of town

We will go to Bozeman next Monday to get the oil changed in the truck and grocery shop. We will stuff as much as we can before we head into Canada Aug. 7. This will be the last chance to shop at a large grocery store and Walmart before going into Canada. Groceries and gas are really expensive in Canada! We did find out that it will not cost any more to have phone coverage there. Only my phone will work, though. Phil will have to take his battery out while we are there. I will not be able to use our e-mail or Internet without buying data coverage, though. We will just turn that off while we are there, but it will be good to be able to be reached by the children and to be able to reach them on the phone.

Ennis - July 25 nd 26

We had big wind yesterday that rocked us pretty good, but it finally died down. A couple in a motorhome from Knoxville parked next to us for the last two nights. Their names are Don and Kay Chase. I think he is a retired oral surgeon. We enjoyed chatting with them and another couple from California.

Today we went to Virginia City and Nevada City, 14-15 miles from Ennis. They are a tourist attraction because of the gold rush. Both look like cowboy ghost towns. We wanted to find Boot Hill in Virginia City, but the Visitors' Center was closed. I took some photos. When we got back, we rode a few miles from town to Lake Ennis. I got some photos there, too.

The amazing thing about being here are the views. This camper has lots of windows, and no matter where one looks, there are gorgeous views.

stagecoach tour in Virginia City

or a firetruck tour

view from an overlook between Ennis and Virginia City

huge flyfisherman art at junction in Ennis

Lake Ennis

White pelicans in Lake Ennis

Lake Ennis looking down toward Ennis

Lake Ennis looking North

We heard on the news that a skier's body was found. He had been missing since March.

Phil's back was much better today, and he is relieved (both of us, actually). We are so thankful!
P.S. I uploaded a lot more photos, but only nine show. I'll have to post more on FaceBook.

Ennis - July 23 and 24

Flyfisherman and Airstream, car art in front of campground office

Trout art at the entrance to the campground

campground office - We are parked in the row to the left.

There we are!

Just a spectacular mountain view - mountain views everywhere you look!

Sandhill cranes - We see them every morning in the field.

We have not done a lot these last two days. I have almost finished my second book in two days. We have walked more because Phil's back has been bothering him. Today we had to stop one time because of cramping (hasn't happened in a long, long time). We are praying for healing. It got warm enough for us to turn on the air conditioner today. The weather report on tv said Ennis broke a record low last night and got down to 40. It will be upper 40's tonight. Tomorrow will be quite warm, too, and then it is supposed to cool off again. We are enjoying this campground. It has really nice bathrooms, a clubhouse with books to trade and jigsaw puzzles on tables to sit down and work. The laundry is reasonable, too. We will be doing that before we move on!

Ennis - July 22

back of 5th wheel - bikes hanging off ladder rack outside

right across from chairs is kitchen area

stove has 3 burners, an oven, and microwave above

nice sound system, CD/DVD player - table used to be turned so it jutted out (Phil turned it)

sorry for sheet on sofa, but I like to put my feet up there...

love all the storage - including this large pantry

bedroom with good size shower, queen bed

huge closet, 3 large drawers and tv shelf on side

I keep my linens in the cabinet - also tons of storage under bed

porcelain toilet in its own little room - excuse the mop (gets stored there)

I love the shower! Adjustable height for shower head and lots of room.

closeup of the entertainment center

Cool day today! I had to close a few windows as this cool front approaches and passes through. We have also had a couple of showers with more expected. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be quite warm (89 and 90). I guess we might have to turn on the air conditioner for those two days! It will still get down to the upper 40's at night, though.

We went to the town's grocery store, and it was a nice one with reasonable prices. We took a longer walk this morning because Phil's back was sore from doing things yesterday that were more taxing than usual. He turned our table around and also lifted the generator out of the belly and put it back in after the guy fixed the jack. I made cornbread since it was so cool and will use it in a casserole tomorrow. Lazy day, good day!

 I took some photos of the inside of the camper. I forgot to put in the caption of the sofa that there is a air mattress in the sofa. One thing we like about the camper is the remote control that comes with it. It controls the automatic jacks in front and the rear, the awning, and the slides. Gotta love it! A couple of people have asked for the photos, so here they are!

Ennis - July 21

Great sleeping here! We woke up around 8:00, and it was 49degrees. I love it! When I woke up, I looked out my little side window, and there were mountains. I looked directly in front of me out that window, and there were more mountains. Views everywhere you look!

We took our walk around the campground. There is a creek that flows along the back down an embankment that has a hot spring. We saw Sandhill Cranes, Canadian geese, and deer out in the pasture land beyond the creek at the base of the mountains. I had to go back and get the binoculars and my camera to see what the birds were. The bad thing was my card was still in the computer and not in my camera, so I did not get any photos. I'll look again tomorrow.

The man came and fixed the front stabilizer jack. It cost us $100, but it was well worth it. I e-mailed Keystone about it and suggested they put an applique telling a person when to stop trying to retract the jack. I told them the Wildcat fifth wheel beside us had one on it - cheap and would have saved us $100. Letting it contract all the way until it stopped was what caused the problem. It is marked now! Lesson learned!

When the man left, we repositioned the camper to get it more level. We had to leave it hooked to the truck last night. Then Phil turned our table around so it is horizontal along the window. We like that better. He also spent part of the day doing a little organizing. I spent the day getting my nest ready for our extended stay.

Last night's sunset

We are talking about staying two weeks here. We took a ride through town, and it is the cutest little town! We also want to go to Nevada City and Virginia City. Also, I am hoping he will do some flyfishing and actually catch some adult fish we can eat! This place is famous for the rainbow and brown trout populations. There is a section upstream that is all catch and released. The lower part and lots of lakes and streams around here are keepable! Phil likes catch and release because he does not like gutting and fileting fish. I told him to catch them, and I will get them ready for the pan and cook them! So....we will see how that goes....

A front is coming through tomorrow and will bring a chance of storms and rain. This weekend will be very warm, approaching 90 on Sunday or Monday before it cools off again. The nice thing is that every night gets down into the 40's.

We did not think we could get any tv stations here, but we can get two.

July 20 - Billings to Ennis

On the way!

Float boaters taking a break from fishing

The day started out perfectly - cool and clear. We had a great walk around the campground at Billings. The scenery was magnificient on the way to Ennis. The only glitch was getting behind a line-painting truck for about three miles. That does not seem so bad, except the truck was going five miles an hour. We got to the beautiful Ennis RV Village with the best views we have had(I'll try to remember to take a photo tomorrow.), and one of the electric jacks in front would not go down. No one told us not to do them all the way up (until now). Phil called and talked a service guy we know at Chilhowee who told him a couple of things to try, but they did not work. Tomorrow morning we have an RV mechanic who spends part of his year here coming to fix it, we hope. I will call Keystone, but I doubt this will be covered in the warranty. We live and learn! We just hope it will not be horrendously expensive. Otherwise, it has been a wonderful day. It is still a day that the Lord has made, and we rejoice and are glad!

Buffalo to Billings (LIttle Big Horn) - July 19

The interstate was red (like red brick).
The truck did great up and down these hills/mts.

We got up early! We wanted to get a seat on the tour bus for the Little Big Horn Battlefield site. We just made it! The tour bus is owned and operated by the Crow Reservation people. It was a great hour spent on it. I highly recommend this to everyone. The history lessons are amazing. They have grave markers where the soldiers and civilians fell and died. They are beginning to put red grave markers where the Native Americans fell and died. Some times you will see one or two markers alone in a field, and other times you see clusters of markers. Where Custer fell, there is a cluster. With him were several other Custers, I think brothers. I noticed on the markers that one was a civilian and one was a Capt. The visuals at that site add to its gruesome reality tremendously. The museum with artifacts recovered from the site is very good, too. We spent a couple of hours there. Phil went last year. The day was so hot that I chose not to go. It was hot today, but his photos from last year made me want to go. Today should be our last really hot day (in Billings). We are going to Ennis tomorrow for a week (highs in the 70's-80's and lows in the 40's). I am so excited to be going somewhere for a week! These one nighters tire me, and I am ready to play house in my camper!!!

Cheyenne to Buffalo - July 18

Now we really feel like we are in the West! The scenery was gorgeous on the ride today, and we started seeing some pronghorn antelope. I loved seeing the Laramie Mountains and the snow-capped Big Horn Mountains!

We are in a very nice campground with lots of trees, which is nice because of the heat! It is still hot here, but the humidity is low. Tomorrow we go to Billings for the night. We will stop at the Little Bighorn Battlefield on the way. Phil went there last year, and I stayed in the camper. He did not take the tour that is done by one of the Native American tribes, so we are going to do that and get some photos. It will be beastly hot, so we shall see how much walking we will do.... We are not going to walk in the morning so we can get there early and get the first tour. We have been walking every morning before leaving, so we will definitely have to do our usual there in the sun. Phil said his back is feeling better and better every day. We are so thankful! After Billings, we will go to Ennis for a week. I am ready to settle down for a week!