Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Note to Self: Avoid the West during Fire Season

The last time we saw blue sky was August 31 on our boat ride up the Clark Fork river (see Fire, Water, and Eagles).

Click on map to enlarge

Smoke from the many Western wild fires have been “hazing” our views . . . as well as making it difficult to breathe at times.

When we were in Saint Regis near Thompson Falls, the smoke was as thick as fog and we could “taste” it. Ugh.

We figured by the time we got into Idaho that the smoke would be gone. Think again. It looks like we’ll be near Las Vegas before the air is clear again.

Smoke from Western Fires

Fire, Water, and Eagles

We’re camped near Thompson Falls, MT for the Labor Day weekend.

Great View from Our Front Window

Our Campground’s “Mining Town”

It’s beautiful country — mountains, rivers, and that big sky — but just incredibly dry (see our previous post Wildfires).

This is as bad as it gets

CLARK FORK RIVER BOAT RIDE

We took a boat ride up the Clark Fork River from Thompson Falls to Trout Creek and got a bird’s eye view of the dry country . . .

Clark Fork Boat Ride (click to enlarge)

Our Boat

EAGLE FISHING

FIRE ON THE RIVER

Fire on the River

We spotted at least two large fires in the mountains as we travelled up river. On our return trip back to Thompson Falls, we saw a large helicopter getting water from the river and flying it to a nearby fire.

Poor Port Aransas

Port Aransas is between Corpus Christi & Rockport

Last March we stayed at Pioneer RV Park in Port Aransas, TX right on the Gulf Coast.

Here’s a YouTube video of some of the damage just caused by Hurricane Harvey. The first part of this video looks like it was shot in downtown Port Aransas. However, from about 0:20 seconds on, it’s a view of the Pioneer RV Park shot from Highway 351.

River Edge Resort – Alberton, MT

The River Edge Resort campground & restaurant is only a one-day stop, but a very good stop.

The campground is located right on the Clark Fork River.

Clark Fork River

We went to dinner at the campground restaurant, had a great meal, and listened to some local musicians.

We also met a great couple who were camped right next to us. We talked the night away on a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

Wildfires

Wildfires Near Us

We forgot about these. When we worked at a campground in Bishop, CA, we experienced several wildfires near us. One of them created smoke that we originally thought was fog.

About mid-way through Montana while driving on Interstate 94, we noticed haze in the distance on the horizon.

That Haze (click to enlarge photo)

We thought it was pollution at first. However, when we arrived at our current campground near Anaconda, MT, the smell was unmistakeable — something was burning.

Besides the smell, we’ve been noticing how dry Montana is. The ground looks like straw . . .

Flirt Matches the Ground

Luckily, we’re only in the path of the smoke from these fires. On Friday we’re on our way again to a spot up the road from Missoula. Here are some photos from our current campground . . .

PHOTOS FROM A PREVIOUS CAMPSITE

We met Micky, a retire nurse, full timing in a small casita. Her blog is here — Wandering Spirit.

She is traveling with two beautiful Golden Retrievers — 11-year-old Shiloh and 14-year-old Joy . . .

Shiloh (left) & Joy (right)

Micky was also traveling with a cardboard cutout of Mick Jagger . . .

Mick