IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

POTPOURRI
BUFFALO, WYOMING
GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO
MONTROSE, COLORADO
     Ouray
     Telluride
A THRILL RIDE ON THE MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY
SILVERTON, COLORADO
PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK
WE ARE BACK IN MESA
RV COMPANION MAGAZINE
LETTERS
THIS 'N THAT

Just when I thought that Barb was beginning to slow down after two long winters at Valle del Oro, she has the traveling bug again. This summer's travels got the adrenaline going and I think we will be back to our "movin' on" lifestyle during the coming year(s). It's okay with me as long as we have some scheduled nap times.

You have heard me complain about going north too soon in the spring. Well we did the same thing in reverse this year by heading south too soon in the fall---it's hot here. But I would rather err on the side of being too warm than too cold.

Some of our friends think that we should replace our nine year old Toyota pickup (170,000 miles), but we both haven't seen anything better or more reliable. Now that I said that, it will probably start giving us trouble.

Did I feel guilty when Mark washed our motorhome (for a fee) this morning? No, because I took a leisurely walk while he did it. Hofmeister logic: If I lived in a house I would probably hire someone to cut the lawn.

Did you know that the Denver Post still only charges 25 cents a copy and 50 cents on Sundays? It's a bargain because this big city newspaper has a good financial and sports section. Now you know where my priorities are.

We had never heard of Buffalo, Wyoming, before and only stopped because I wanted to go to the mountains to cool off after having been in the heat of South Dakota. Buffalo was simply somewhere on our way to somewhere, but our time there was magical. We had such a great time that I didn't want to leave and we promised ourselves that we would go back soon.

We spent nine wonderful days at the Deer Park RV Park  and our hosts, Kirk and Ann, were very friendly and helpful. They had a nice telephone jack on the front porch so it was very comfortable to get email and every evening they had an ice cream social which we enjoyed one night. Kirk went out of his way to mention some things in the area that we might be interested in.

As we were checking in, Ron asked where a good restaurant was and Kirk pointed across the street while saying that the Winchester Steak House was the best in town. He lied. It was the best anywhere. We had never had such a delicious meal as our first one there. We each ordered steak
and it as well as the salad and vegetables were so perfect that we thought we were eating in an Outback restaurant. If you have ever had a steak at Outback you will know what I mean. Even for hours after dinner, we kept saying how wonderful it had been. We decided to go back the next
night and try something different because besides their regular menu, they have several specials each night which are printed in the menu so  there are no surprises. Our second night we each ordered the Shepherd's  Pie which was a special. How can I describe this super dish? It was at  least 6 inches deep and nearly covered the plate and was so tasty that we talked about that all night. Because that meal was so great, we decided to go back the third night. That time, ham steak was a special and again it was super. We kept seeing other good items going out from the kitchen too like their chicken pot pie or their beef steak and mushroom pie. But on our fourth night to eat there, we ordered the
Shepherd's pie again. I had to interview the chef and owner.

Dick Grabherr. his daughter, Tracey and son-in-law, Biff Short are the owners of the Winchester. Tracy met Biff when she was in hotel-restaurant management school and Dick who had been a developer thought it would be a good idea to go into a business with Tracey and Biff. They had several restaurants including another one in Buffalo. From 1990 to 1995 they owned the Stagecoach restaurant in town. From day one they had a steady stream of business, but when a couple from the
midwest offered more money than they could refuse for the business, they sold out and moved back to South Carolina. Since they were from the southeast, Dick had missed the ocean and NASCAR racing. They opened the Riverwalk restaurant in Buford, South Carolina, which again was a smashing success. Dick explained that the menu has never changed and in fact has been the same for 60 years even though they haven't been using it that long. Biff learned his culinary skills from an English master
chef who developed the menu.

After only one an one half years in South Carolina, their competitor (who said the trio was killing him) bought them out for a handsome price. And in the mean time two other things happened. Tracy and Biff had a baby and the Stagecoach restaurant in Buffalo went bankrupt. Thinking that Buffalo would be a good place to raise a child, they moved back and opened the Winchester across town from where the Stagecoach had been located.

The restaurant was full every evening we were there and in fact if we arrived any later than 5:30 the line was long. We didn't learn until the end of the week that they had only been open a few weeks. Everyone in town was so glad to have them back that they were coming in droves. Dick said that they were serving 250-260 meals per night. Oh and the prices are very reasonable ($8 to $15). Bonnie and Tom Reece (readers of Movin' On) found us in Buffalo and we told them about the Winchester. We planned to go to dinner with them, but I came down with some sort of
bug. They went planning to order the shepherd's pie, but ordered the prime rib which they said was the best they had ever tasted. So if you ever find yourself within 200 miles of Buffalo, do yourself a favor and go there to have a terrific dinner. They are only open from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Besides eating, we did a lot of touring in Buffalo. There is a wonderful museum downtown (Jim Gatchell Museum of the West) and we spend a whole morning there. It is one of the best small town museums we have ever toured. The Occidental Hotel in town is also a museum in that it is no
longer an operating hotel, but is open for looking. The old saloon and the rooms are just as they once were with original furnishings.

We enjoyed browsing the many neat shops downtown. Two were especially interesting. The Sports Lure was large and had everything any sports person could ever want. It was fun to just look at all the clothing and equipment. Deer Field Boutique and Expresso Bar was charming. In the front they had unique things for sale (some clothing of the free sprit nature and stationery, cards and miscellaneous items) and in the back was an eclectic assortment of tables and chairs. Nothing matched yet it was charming and in the very back was a coffee bar. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and muffin while playing a game of chess that was set up on the table we chose. There were different games on a few other tables.

Another day we finished our history lesson by visiting the Fort Phil Kearny State Museum and the site of the Wagon Box Fight. The fort was burned down long ago, but a neat museum recounts its brief history of trying to protect travelers on the Bozeman trail (a short cut to the Montana gold fields) from Apache Indian attacks. The Wagon Box fight site near the fort's original location remains important as one of the few times where the solders were victorious over the Indians in this
area.

One day we drove to Sheridan looking for a bicycle shop. We found a very good one in what looked like a very nice town. Even though a Wal-Mart was on the outskirts of town, the downtown (about 6 blocks) was very much alive and thriving. We put that town on our list of places we would
like to stay some time.

The drive through Crazy Woman Canyon was highly recommended and we had been told that our Toyota truck would have no problem managing the one way, steep, dirt road. The first time we went, we were a little scared, but we went again because it was so beautiful and interesting. It was on the second trip that we got a lot of good pictures of the huge boulders which hug the road and the Crazy Woman Creek.

Our morning on the Buffalo Golf course was super. The air was clear, the course beautiful and well manicured and a bit challenging especially the fourth hole. We got a good work out on this hilly course. Notice I never mention our scores; we just love the game.

We left Buffalo on Thursday, August 19, and headed south on I-25 to Casper then headed southwest on State route 220. Route 220 was a great road and a pretty drive. Just 20 miles east of Muddy Gap by the Sweetwater River, we saw a huge rest area complete with all services including a trailer camp. It looked every bit like an interstate rest area, but it was too early for us to stop. We turned south on state route 287 which was heavy with truck traffic in both directions until we met up with I-80 at Rawlins and went west for just a few miles to exit 211 and the RV World Campground. As we traveled through Rawlins, we thought that it looked old and run down and the campground was just okay. The best part about the campground was the price. Because it was a Good Neighbor park (affiliated through Coast to Coast) our total cost was only $11 ($10 plus a blue card). We were able to get email easily at no charge. Since we did not unhook the car we didn't do any touring in Rawlins so our negative report is not fair; we were still missing Buffalo.

When we left Rawlins we continued west on I-80 only until Wyoming route 789 turned south; in Colorado it became route 13. The scenery for the last 100 miles had been boring; there was nothing to look at but yellowish brown hills. There were no trees, few if any houses and I was tired of the open plains. Shortly after we hit the Colorado border, things changed. The road remained good and the scenery got greener. We saw houses ranches) and one would only have to go a mile to borrow a cup of sugar rather than the 10 miles you'd have to go in Wyoming. We were excited about seeing things growing; the rolling hills looked like a neat patchwork quilt with different colors for each crop that was growing. Big round rolls of hay laid in the fields where they had been cut and wrapped.

The town of Craig looked charming. It was large enough to be fun and I wanted to stay there, but we kind of had a schedule (naughty word) so I added Craig, Colorado, to the list of places we should visit yet. South of Craig, the road followed a river with the hills on either side. It was a lovely valley road. Although it was not marked as a scenic route (dots along the red line on the map), it was very scenic to us. Remnants of old ranches appeared now and then. These weather worn buildings were very picturesque and yet I wondered about the lives they once protected. I wondered who they were and why they left? If only the walls could talk. But there was life on one ranch. A lone black steer grazed amongst the obviously abandoned ranch house and several out buildings. I wondered if he was lost or if I was dreaming. When route 13 met up with I-70 at Rifle, we got on and headed west. Our destination for a few days was Grand Junction.

It had been about three years since we had visited Grand Junction and we felt like we were visiting an old friend when we pulled in to Junction West RV Park on the western side of town. The owner, Penny, greeted us warmly. Ron was always impressed with this well laid out campground. They have two sewer outlets for each wide site; one is at the rear and the other in the middle. You can tell that this park was designed by an RVer who knew what they were doing. Again this campground was very accommodating for those of us who do email. Once settled in the campground, we took off for the City Market which we had fondly remembered for the ice cream counter. We needed some groceries and an ice cream cone seemed in order. But things change. Oh the market was still good, but they had taken out the ice cream parlor and put in a bank.

When we had visited Grand Junction before, we toured the Colorado National Monument and other things (see page 50 in Movin' On) so did not do them again. Since our last visit had been in May, we hadn't been able to travel the Land's End road because it was still full of snow. This time, our goal was to do that road. We did, but didn't see anything. From almost the minute we were up in the Mesa, the clouds rolled in. We traveled, the winding dirt road in rain and clouds and had to use our imagination. It was probably a good thing; the narrow switch backs minus guard rails probably made for a thrilling ride if you could see how far down you might fall. The first thing we did on our way back to the campground was find a car wash for our mud covered truck.

We only stayed in Grand Junction for two nights and our biggest treat was the Saturday morning run into town (they have a nice downtown) to get bagels at a favorite bagel shop. We walked the four blocks again as we had done before admiring the art on the corners (see the pictures on What's New). I think the art was a clever idea to make the shopping area pretty. Grand Junction is a large town and they have the typical sprawl near the Wal-Mart on the outskirts like most big towns have, but the down town area still retains a main street atmosphere. Down towns are important to the romantic part of me. They remind me of a simpler time and I like knowing that there are still some of them around.

As we were driving around we happened upon a wonderful farmer's market. We bought more than our refrigerator could hold and gladly overdosed on veggies and peaches. Monday morning we left Grand Junction on U.S Route 50 for the short drive to Montrose then turned south on 550.

This is another area we had visited before and longed to visit again. The mountains and nearby towns are lovely. Our campground, Country Village RV Resort, is part of the Coast to Coast system so we enjoyed the price of only $6 per night. This park is about 9 miles south of  Montrose and in a nice setting, but for the first time in three months, I ran into a park that could not accommodate our need to get email. They sent us to the library in Montrose, but the librarian said they never allow anyone to use their own computer to get email and that is what I needed to do. I had mail ready to send and needed to save mail that I get on my computer so I can use the emails in the Coffee Break and/or Letters section of our web site. But the librarian was good enough to direct us to Computer Business Solutions on Main Street and they were  very helpful. Not only did they let us get our email, they did not charge a penny as long as we were using a toll free number. During our five day visit, we got email there twice. Actually a better place to camp if you are not in the Coast to Coast system is the state park at Ridgeway. Every time we passed it, I thought it would be a wonderful place to camp. They have three sections to the park which includes a marina, and a big roomy campground. Since it is a little closer to Ouray, the views are simply spectacular.

Ouray

The highlight of our visit in the Montrose area was our visits to Ouray (U ray) which is about 25 miles south on Route 550. My pictures didn't come out very good because both times we visited it was cloudy and in fact raining. That's what fall in the mountains is like and Ouray is at about 7,000 feet. High, rugged mountain peaks surround and dwarf this charming old town. Ron said that it looked like the Swiss Alps and they advertise it as the Switzerland of America. Shopping and eating is great, but the big treat is the hot springs. The city of Ouray has their own bathing facilities at the edge of town and we noticed huge pools, but we headed for the same place we discovered four years ago. The Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa and Lodgings a little off the main street is an attractive lodge with a wonderful surprise in the basement--- a vapor cave.

The fee is only $10 per person for three hours of pure indulgence at the Wiesbaden. We took our bathing suits, changed in the small curtained dressing rooms, then took our normal morning shower before opening the big door to the cave. Immediately we felt the warmth from the first springs which were running down a huge rippled wall of hardened minerals---a beautiful byproduct of the spring. We opened the second door (there's a great picture of it on What's New) to find a large open cave room with a resting bench up against the far wall. The room was steamy but it was easy to breathe and we immediately felt like we were in a warm cozy cocoon. To the right was the pool. Crudely fashioned out of cement at the point where the hot spring enters the cave, this eight foot square pool contains about two feet of nice hot water which is cooled to 108-110 by cold water which runs into the pool at a steady trickle from a garden hose. First we laid on the ledge by the pool and just watched as the vapors danced on the rough ceiling of the cave, then we put our feet in the pool and finally our whole body. When we got too warm, we went back to the showers and took as cold a shower as we could manage, then went back for more cocooning . We were beginning to feel like limp noodles when we decided to go upstairs to the outdoor mineral pool. With the most spectacular view of mountains, we swam in the 100 degree mineral pool which is fed by the hot springs and is free of chlorine. We also laid in the lounge chairs while the sun was shining and even when it started to rain again. The rain didn't seem to matter. Then we went back to the cave and showers and so on for nearly three hours. If you ever get to the southwestern part of Colorado, it is well worth the trip to the Wiesbaden. Besides the vapor cave they offer massages, accupressure, and aromatherapy wrap or mud wrap. It might be nice to just check in to the lodge and be pampered. They don't have a web site, but they do have an email address. wiesbaden@gwe.net

Lunch in Ouray after our soak was the frosting on the cake. Pricco's restaurant on Main Street looked like one of those old buildings that had been in Ouray since its beginning and I noticed that "Pricco" and some other name was part of the architecture. Hmmm, has this building been in the family all these years, I wondered? It had. It used to be a mercantile store and is now owned by the granddaughter to one of the original owners. We had a wonderful lunch; Ron had a rubin which he said was the best he ever had and I had a Philly steak cheese which was superb.

Telluride

We drove to visit this town on another rainy day. Even though it was cloudy and dreary we enjoyed seeing lots of deep rusty red rock covered in evergreens; the colors complimented each other perfectly. The rivers were rushing somewhere and many of the trees were fading. It was definitely a fall day and when we got to town, it was raining so hard that we only got out of the car for a few short minutes.

Telluride is definitely an upscale mountain town known for skiing but with lots of festivals, and great shopping and dining. Like Ouray the scenery is breathtaking, but Telluride is a much bigger town with a lot more going on.

If you don't look at any other pictures on our web site, we hope you have a chance to look at this one. Thrill Ride  It will give you just a tiny glimpse of the highway which goes south from Ouray to Silverton then on to Durango. This road is not for the faint of  heart and has been rated the most scenic drive in Colorado. The highway was named for the millions of dollars worth of gold mined along the route. Still today there are many relics of old mines along the stretch of road from Ouray to Silverton. Imagine starting at over 7,700 feet in elevation and going up another 2,000 feet over a two-lane road (without shoulders or guard rails) full of switch backs and huge drop-offs. When the route is taken from Ouray the drop-offs are on the passenger side so I had the most thrills.

We had been over the road twice before. Once in the Toyota to Silverton and back to Ouray. The second time we were leaving the area in the Bounder and Ron decided to unhook the truck and drive the motorhome separately. He thought that the grades would slow down the Bounder too much and put too much of a strain on the engine. This time we towed and  Ron did not have the least bit of trouble with power. But as we were leaving Ouray and starting up, we felt like we were riding a rollercoaster---you know the part when you go up and up and up. It went up fast and in no time Ouray was just a tiny speck down below. Ron did a superb job of driving and only after we got to Silverton and he saw the picture that I took did he admit to being a bit nervous prior to the assent. Our only regret was that it was another rainy, cloudy day and the sights were blocked by clouds much of the time. I could still see the drop-offs clearly though. Let me know what you think after looking at the picture. It was only a short drive to Silverton so we were able to rest after just a few hours of driving.

At 9,318 feet above sea level, Silverton was also rainy. At the campground which was very muddy and dreary, the next door neighbor said that it had rained nearly every day for a month and he was leaving. He added that that they always come up from Texas and it had been the worst summer he could remember. Silverton Lakes Campground  is one of only three campgrounds near town and they did not allow us to get email; we also did not have phone service on our AT & T phone.

As soon as we checked into the campground we were told that we would have company shortly. Our writer friend, Ray Parker (author of RV Having Fun Yet) who lives in Durango was coming up for lunch. What a thrill to visit with this guy. We had a nice lunch/talk and tried to catch up on
four years worth of adventures.

Only the main street in town is paved; the rest are dirt which adds to the charm of this rustic old mining town. Normally the big activity during the day is the arrival of the Durango to Silverton train. It wasn't coming the day we were there because of a rock slide on the tracks. Passengers had been stranded there the day before and had to be bussed back to Durango. None of the shops were busy and in talking to one merchant he mumbled that it had been a bad summer for business too. "No one is even buying the trinkets," he said. Unlike Telluride, the season in Silverton is short; the majority of shops are open from May 1 to October 31.

We had dinner at Handlebars Food and Saloon. Ron had their buffalo chili which was advertised as "double award winning." After Ron's first bite and with little beads of perspiration on his forehead, he said, "Whew, this is great." I had the beef vegetable soup and it was excellent. Both of our orders included fries or salad. We had nice snippets of conversation with our waitress Nicole. She lives in Silverton year round with 300 other souls and said that the winter is the treat for enduring the summer. With about 300-500 inches of snow and most of the businesses closed it is peaceful and beautiful in the winter. She said that only two hotels, one gas station, the coffee shop and two small convenience stores are open through the winter. Government services stay open and there are about 70-95 children in the school (from pre school through the 12 grade). When I asked her what she did, she smiled brightly and said she hikes up to the top of the mountain and skis down. She usually gets in 150 days of hiking and skiing but added that she just had a baby (in April) and thinks that she is back in shape. Every time she walked by, I would ask a question then before she was gone too long, I had another one. I wondered where she went for groceries; she drives once a week to Durango (50 miles) where her parents live. Oh and when I asked if she had a computer, she said, "No, and I don't have a TV either." We couldn't take up space in this busy restaurant any longer. Nicole promised to look up our newsletter at the local library which also stays open all winter and has internet access.

Just as we stepped outside, I heard a band and rushed around the corner to see a marching band without uniforms playing beautifully. The big base drum proudly proclaimed them as the Silverton Brass Band and all 20 members were marching proudly while only a hand full of people watched. I learned that they do their little march on weekends. They played more than they marched which was a treat; they would only march a few feet then stop and play another song. I was very frustrated that I didn't have my camera and felt bad that there weren't more people in town to hear them.

I tried to show the extremes of the town in the pictures of the houses; some are falling down and others look quite nice. I loved looking at the abandoned mine across the river from the campground.

We left as scheduled after only one afternoon and evening in Silverton. I'd still like to spend a month and rent a jeep to explore old ghost towns in the San Juan Mountains. Our drive to Durango was not nearly as thrilling as the road the day before. Basically it was downhill all the way although we did have to cross two mountain passes which were at about 10,000 feet. Again Ron did a superb job and I felt safe on the inside of the mountains instead of the edge. We stayed on route 550 until Farmington, New Mexico when we headed west on Route 64. At Shiprock, we took U.S. Route 666 south to Gallop. It was sad that the big trees of the mountains had been left behind; the landscape had turned to a flat reddish brown and was not very exciting and it stayed that way all through New Mexico and even into Arizona. Yes, we jumped on an interstate again at Gallop. I-40 was the best way to get to Holbrook and the Petrified Forest National Park a park we had passed many times but never explored.

I don't know how many times we had passed that section of I-40 that indicates that we are near the Petrified Forest National Park. It has been our goal to visit all of the national parks and we have missed the one we passed most often. We planned our return trip to Mesa to include two nights in Holbrook so we could do the park properly. We chose to camp at the OK Campground and found the hookups very good. There must have been 7 sewer hookups for each site and all sites were very long pull-throughs. But you might not want to do email there. It's a rip off. They have a very nice set up complete with a desk, chair and all, but they charge $2.50 and to top that off you must use an 800 number (they had all other numbers blocked). Because I had business to take care of I had to use it, but it made me mad. When I asked why they charge when most do not, the gal said that if I didn't like it I didn't have to use it. Besides that charge, I didn't like their attitude. On our way into the national park we noticed a free camping spot that would have been perfect had we known about it. Now you do; it is at the south entrance of the park.

Ron, in his letter to his mother described our visit to the national park beautifully so I will let his words speak for us here.

We camped at Holbrook and then drove our car back the next day. The national park is a 30 mile drive-through with lots of stops and overlooks along the way. We were really impressed with the volume of petrified logs laying around and the beauty of the individual pieces. There are many marbled colors depending on the amount of silica that entered the log in the process of becoming stone. They are so beautiful and there are so many small pieces laying around that there is a temptation for people to take some. The park has become very strict about that and there are heavy fines for even taking a small piece because if they allowed it there would be nothing left in years to come. They warn you on the way in and check you on the way out. The whole area is an archeological paradise and holds a lot of bones from prehistoric animals-- much  of which hasn't been unearthed. We enjoyed the museum and learning about this interesting area. The second part of the park is the painted desert with many layers of colors in the large hills which makes for a breathtaking landscape. It's particularly neat to view a vast expanse from the overlooks. We did do a little hiking in the petrified area so we could see the logs close up. Even though it was hot we hiked for about two miles.

You have probably heard of the historic route 66 that used to be the main highway west with its gas stations and motels. Interstate 40 west to Flagstaff follows the route fairly close and there are sections that are actually the old Route 66 in some of the little towns along the interstate. For the most part, most of the towns are rundown and dilapidated. We have driven though several and could still see remnants of old gas stations and some real old motels. That was quite a time with the mass exodus to the west. I can't imagine traveling that route through the desert in some of the old cars.

It was time to head down to Phoenix and we did it the fastest way---I-40 to I-17. Lately we had been getting to Mesa by way of the Salt River Canyon which is much prettier than the busy interstate. We had an appointment for early on Wednesday, September 1 to have the oil changed in both the motorhome engine and the transmission at Massey's Diesel Repair on the west side of Phoenix. We had had work done there before and think they are terrific and it made sense to have it done before we got settled at Valle del Oro. We spent the night before at Phoenix Destiny RV Resort which used to be Phoenix West KOA. Since it was only a few miles from Masseys it was a good choice especially since this was another park with good email stations which are free. The majority of  the campgrounds we stayed in offered good free email stations.

While the service was done on the motorhome, we ate breakfast out then drove through rush hour traffic to Camping World to pick up a few essentials. It was hot, but not unbearable.

We are here way too early and Valle del Oro is empty. But remember the dental surgery I had done in May? That was just the beginning (and the worst part); now that the surgery has healed completely they will make impressions and make the real thing. This part will take 6 to 8 weeks and so we needed to be here now. We couldn't even have come back any earlier because the dentist takes the whole summer off. So we will get this done, and we expect to be out of here by November 13 and on our way southeast.

This summer has been terrific and we remembered why we started full-timing. Quite frankly the last few years were not as much fun because of the long hours we put in on the old newsletter and a good year on the new book, Movin' On. We were working more than playing but this summer we were foot lose and fancy free and had more fun than we had had in ages. The cell phone made a world of difference too. Always before, I would long for any kind of real phone before we had been traveling for too long. It was just too hard to try to manage business calls from pay phones before. This time I could have kept going forever and we will do just that when we start back out in November.

We have been asked to contribute new unpublished articles to a new RV magazine which will debut with the November/December issue. If you surf the RV sites on the web at all you will recognize some of your other web favorites as also participating. Although we haven't seen the premier issue yet, it promises to be in glorious four color. If you are interested (how can you go wrong?) we are including a blurb from the RV Companion web page.

"Charter subscribers are signing up every hour of the day online to receive one year (six issues) at the special introductory price of only $10.00!"

"Call or fax your name, postal mailing address, phone and email address to be added as a charter subscriber; or for convenience, use this email link to provide the necessary information and activate your charter subscription now!"

subscribe@rvcompanion.com
Phone (970) 663-3295,
FAX (970)  663-3550.

There's the Bozeman Trail, the Lewis & Clark Trail, the Oregon Trail ...and now, THE HOFMEISTER TRAIL.

As I write this we are happily camped at the Deer Park RV Park in Buffalo, and we find it every bit as delightful as you said. The owner fondly remembered you and your lengthy stay. We got a water & electric site, over along the shady back fence sort of behind the swimming pool. We love the modem hookup especially, out there on the porch and soaking in the hot tub, one of Mark's great passions. Last night we went to the Ice Cream Social at 8 pm, and met some really nice people. And today we had a fun round of golf at the public course -- one of the best municipal courses I've ever seen!

Next I think we'll go to Thermopolis, en route to the Grand Teton NP. But I hate to think of leaving here.

Mark & Donia Steel
Full-timers from Virginia
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Sounds like you seen and liked the great Dakota's. Lot of barren land and wide open spaces. Forgot to mention to you, about the big bike rally there every year. They really get the crowds and bikes and all kind's of get-ups. Your comment on door to door salesmen in the Dakota's is what I really want to comment on. That is some of Schwan's greatest area. The people live so far from town that our service is great for them. Some of the best routes in our (or my old company) are in the Dakota's. Some of the ranches even have walk-in freezers or 3 or 4 freezers. Some of our trucks actually drive across the prairie to  get to their customers. So door to door salesmen really do good there if they're Schwan's. However more and more are heading into the towns and leaving the rural life.

Also you stated that the guy who started crazy horse died in the last year. I think you might want to research that a little more, because I believe he has been dead a number of years. We have been there several times in the last ten years and I think he was never alive when we were there. Check it out, as I could be wrong.

Grant & Nancy Joy
Full-timers from Minnesota

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Dear Ron & Barb:
I'm just reading your last newsletter and thought I'd make a few comments:

1) We've decided that farmers should do the nice thing and post signs in their fields that tell people like us what they're growing. Wonder where we should address that suggestion?

2) Sure hope you're running your generator while you are baking cookies in the convection oven.  We have friends who ran their microwave while driving down the road and FRIED their alternator! Check with Fleetwood to be sure this will NOT happen to you. It took our friends several times before they completely fried the  thing, so it may now be only a matter of time.

Sherry & Sandy Harper
Full-timers from California

I can't tell you how sad I was to have to come back to Mesa so early. I loved visiting all the new places and reporting on them was so very much fun. While I have to be here, I will make myself useful and do some serious housekeeping on the web page. Also I will get some help on what I don't know.

Two of my boys are traveling right now and one of them isn't real excited about it. Jim (the one who is in the Air Force and lives in Moore, Oklahoma, with his wife and two boys) was sent to Saudi Arabia for four months. He left a few weeks ago so won't be back until early in December. We know his family misses him and visa versa; thank goodness for email because we have been able to keep in touch. Robert is in the Coast Guard and is (as I write this) on his way from Miami to near San Francisco. He and his wife are both excited because this move puts him on land finally (teaching at Petaluma) and Kristen is from San Francisco.

I won't be doing a regular newsletter for just a little while. Since we won't be touring there really won't be anything to write about. But just wait until early in November when we hit the road again. Our plans are to slowly drift towards Florida. Remember that we have reservations at Disney World for December 6-13 then we will go to West Palm Beach and spend Christmas with my daughter Glenda and her son Erkki. Maybe Liisa will be there too. It has been ages since we have seen them all. For the whole month of January we will be at Lazy Days presenting free seminars on full-time RVing. In February we plan to play in Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Texas or anywhere the wind takes us. Other than our month at Lazy Days, we will not be sitting still for more than
a week or two at a time so we will have lots of adventures to report on.

Sad News!!! We received word that Dick Goodman passed away on August 7 at his home in California. Those of you were at our campout in February will remember him.

More Sad News!!! Bobbie Broockmann who also attended the campout with her husband Rich, is having a lumpectomy on September 8 because of early detection of breast cancer. And Bonnie Maus (another who attended the campout) has recently had a biopsy of her breast and is awaiting word on whether surgery is needed. I am sure they would appreciate your prayers.

Another good friend and Movin' On reader, Laurie Waples, is still recovering from a radical mastectomy and much radiation and chemo therapy. She still needs our support.

Speaking of campouts, several have asked if we will be having one this year and the answer is "no." While we are at Lazy Days there will be lots of Movin' On friends there and we will host some sort of happy hour every week so we can all meet each other.

Good News!!! Ron's recent PSA test was well within the normal range and in fact down from the previous test three months before. To us this is totally amazing since he has not been on any medication (mainly Lupron) for 19 months. Remember that his cancer was diagnosed as metastasized and well involved in the lymph nodes five years ago. His prostate was not removed and the doctors sighed that nothing much could be done except the hormone treatment. Ron took that treatment for several years but since he went off of Lupron (on our own at first---then with the blessings of the doctor) the cancer has been in total remission. Your prayers certainly do work miracles.

Coffee Break, Letters and View from the Driver's Seat will be updated before the end of this week (by September 11). Please check on the What's New page later in the week and be sure to reload or refresh your page if you have it bookmarked. I will put a note on that page as soon as these have been posted.

In the meantime we are here (as near as your modem) if you need us.

By the way, we have a fresh stock of books. Our second printing arrived at our fulfillment service just the other day. We are absolutely astounded at the success of this book and so happy that you all like it. We certainly worked hard on it.

You all know how unmechanical my darling husband is; if he even attempts to fix something, it usually spells trouble. Well now I have to report that his words are just as dangerous. Just after Mark washed the motorhome, Ron was relaxing on the couch with a cup of coffee and he said, "This was a great summer. The motorhome ran beautifully during our travels and now we have a perfect motorhome. It is clean, the oil has been changed, we have a full tank of fuel, everything is working, and we are settled in with perfect hookups." Later in the day the rear air conditioner quit and I also noticed that the lights on the Heart Interface were not working. We are not charging batteries, but everything else is working while we are plugged in. It will have to get fixed right away, but this is a holiday weekend. Tuesday I will call American Coach and see if they can tell me what needs to be done and where we should take it. I won't even let Ron call because he couldn't explain the problem.

Till the next issue    Happy trails!