Cheney Washington-Bettered by a Bitter Bitch

This is a wee saga about "life" on the road, when one is dependent, to a large extent, on the kindness of strangers.  In recognition of the more graphics-oriented on my list, I am sending a second "lite" email with photos.
This post comes with a T-rating for "Text" intensive.

As a result of this experience, I now hate Jellystone parks as much as KOA's.



One is truly marooned when one finds themselves in the Montana bush without satellite TV during the American Idol Finale!  I am a dedicated Idol fan.

With shock, I calculated that the night of the final performances would land us in a boondock site between two mountains and satellite reception would be impossible.  So, we decided to stay an extra day at our full service campground outside of Butte.  As only bad luck would have it, we were unable to get a satellite signal at our RV site, despite the fact that we had stayed there on every previous cross-country trip over the last 5 years and never NOT received a signal!  But, as Frank explained, one hump on yonder mountain could hide our precious line-of-sight.  

So, as only a devoted spouse would do, Frank had me crawl into the RV basement for the spare dish, tripod and cable so he could set up the manual dish and receive programming.  BadaBing--a signal!  Yippee---I got my popcorn, diet soda and fuzzy slippers and settled in for a great 2 hour Idol!  Then, without warning, another RV pulls into the spot directly in line with our satellite dish causing the signal to go out and in and out etc...  So, even though I had satellite, I had a less-than-satisfactory "Idol" viewing experience.

The following day, Frank agreed to travel an extra long day to get to our next serviced campground and skip the boondock spot so I could watch the Part 2 Results Idol show.  What a guy!   It was with relief that we pulled into Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Cheney, WA.  

It was lush with every shade of evergreen flora and fragrant with piney smells--quite attractive but a satellite would NEVER find us through the dense forest!  On check-in, I learned that my reservation service had mistakenly misrepresented the size of our rig, so I sweetly informed the nice lady at the front desk about the correct size and requested one of the pullthru sites which were in a clearing and appeared to be satellite-capable.  

She looked over her snooty pignose and prissily stated that she would "have" to put us in a back-in site (despite the fact that the park was half empty on a Wednesday at 4PM).  She is one of those rare people I instantly want to bitchslap and, I commented what a huge job waited for her later that day when hordes of campers arrived to fill the park!  She then lied through her teeth and informed me that people were arriving early to "beat the rain" forecast for the Memorial Day weekend.   I asked her if the site she "had" to put me on had cable and instant phone (for those not familiar with the term, it is having full phone service inside your coach so you can make and receive calls and slowly navigate the internet on dialup) and she replied that it did.

On approach up the steep hill, the site did not look big enough for us and even if our rig could maneuver into it, there was no room for the caddy and car.   We paced off the site and decided to try rather than confront the office bitch who had assigned this loser site to us.  The site was "terraced" up a hill with trees and boulders at the edges and steeply graded on one side so there was no room for driver error.  It was surrounded by permanent residents who had cars, trucks, bicycles and "stuff" scattered everywhere--an eyesore.  

Difficult to access AND unsightly.  Possibly the least attractive RV site we have ever seen.  We began to hum the theme tune from Sanford and Son to each other through our walkie talkies while  I mentally bitchslapped the office lady.  With extreme difficulty and a group of campers watching and probably making bets, Frank deftly maneuvered the Muthaship's "10 lb butt into the 5 lb pair of panties".

Knowing what kind of a mood I was in, Frank then feverishly tried to get the cable to give us a TV picture in time for the "Idol" show.  No signal on cable.  Satellite was impossible even on a tripod; we were in deep forest blackout.  The phone didn't work.  

Frank thought our rig must have a wiring problem; perhaps some connections came loose.  He began  troubleshooting all the wiring, tearing apart our entertainment center equipment, inspecting and testing wires.  He asked neighbors if THEY had any problems, wanting to be certain we had double checked our end before we complained to the creepy campground lady.  

Then, we saw a cable truck ride by and figured that he was there to fix the cable, so we decided to do the best we could with antenna.  That didn't explain the telephone problem but we decided to buy a new phone line the next day, since one of our connector thingys was broken.  

Had a really lousy Idol viewing experience on the antenna and my favorite contestant didn't win.   Sue is wearing a very dark mood.

Next day, we went to Radio Shack and bought new phone line.  Still no phone service....NOW it was time to complain!  

I marched with righteous conviction to the office and asked to see the Check-In Bitch.  She emerged and listened to my tale of woe.  She explained that they had "changed over" their cable provider the day before, which explained the cable TV problem.  Ok thanks for the heads-up, Bitch.  The phone--well--she disappeared into the inner sanctum of her office and handed me a torn-off sheet of paper with a phone number and mumbled  "It'll work now."  I asked her if she had just activated the line and she said "Yes".  I asked her if she remembered me checking in yesterday and asking about the phone and she said "Yes-sorry!"

I  knew at that moment that I had been "Bettered by a Bitter Bitch". One of the unfortunate realities of traveling is that many RV campground owners/managers get burned out dealing with the public and one hopes that they have the good sense to retire their positions sooner rather than later.  In this case, the old cow was way past due for pasturing.

Mo' Mud and NO GO in Idaho

Oh NOoooooo!  Not mo' Mud! 

Holy Cow--the Muthaship got stuck in the mud in Idaho near Coeur d'Alene!  I loved this scene where the boys all gathered 'round and scratched their heads planning the best way to remove the Muthaship from the mudmuck.

I got filthy crawling in the mud placing boards, levelling pads, small rocks and any hard-surfaced object under the wheels to provide some traction.  Still, the big wheels wouldn't turn.  It looked like we would need the Big Hook to get out!

A fella suggested that his bad ass red pickup might give just enough extra uummpph to extricate our rig, so the guys all started tying the chain to the Muthaship.

I just love seeing men playing nice together solving these kinds of problems!

Everybody watched and held their breath as the truck and RV pushed and pulled together as ONE and --unbelievably--we're Out!  Cheers from the crowd!

ATMO! (And They Moved On...)

Out trip continued east toward
 Montana where we passed an unusual sight--mammoth wind turbine blades being transported over the highway.

 This has been quite an exciting day so far!

We're headed to the northernmost campground in Yellowstone, where we will drycamp for 2 nights at Mammoth CG.

It is our "home base" for a day trip in the car over Bear Tooth Highway, which is one of the top scenic byways in the country.

 This is our view out the front of the RV.

 Not such a bad place to be, eh?

This is our spot in the campground.














While here, we did something we rarely ever do. 
Frank and I took a short hike to a waterfalls--our first hike together!  

It was a miracle of pharmaceuticals that he felt able to make the walk to the falls, but the Ranger promised it would be a gentle walk.

Is this terrain considered a Gentle Walk!!??

Frank made it to the Falls!  Look at that face--such perseverance!   What a guy!

We added the Bear Tooth Highway because we could not go to Glacier National Park.  Avalanches had caused the Going to the Sun Road to be partially closed.

We had crossed Bear Tooth Highway 3 years earlier in the RV, but wanted to take a more leisurely pace in the car.

So, we packed up the car with Cassie in her crate,

(which would double as a picnic table), assorted food, plenty of fluid (climate exceptionally dry despite the mud) and our camp chairs.

We had a picture-perfect sunny day!

Our picnic spot was near a picturesque lake

and we stopped for a couple pics

and took Cassie through a very cold mountain stream.

Later, we stopped along a glacier and let Cassie run free into a snow field at 9000'

She did some stupid dog tricks and attracted a crowd to watch, including some kids who body-surfed down the mountain snow with Cassie in pursuit!  She ended up soaked but happy and we had many giggles!

I got a nice shot of Frank sitting on top of the world

and an awesome photo of a photographer perched on the edge of the mountain





After our picnic lunch, we returned to the M-ship for a beautiful sunset, peaceful campfire and the sounds of elk and coyotes in the nearby mountains.

Butte, Montana & Idaho

A few along-the-way photos.  This is our RV site in Butte with the offending hump preventing satellite TV.

So, with no TV and a gorgeous day, we set out to walk the property, greeting the friendly horses from the adjacent ranch.

We let Cassie climb little dirt hills and sniff all the fragrant "country" smells. 

Teepees were available for guests wanting the "authentic" olde west experience. 

They are quite "minimalist" having only cots.

Cassie loved the fella whose RV blocked our portable satellite.  She launched herself at him without warning as he entered the RV with his cocktail in hand.  Cassie made a beeline to his RV on every walkie, climbed up onto the entry step and looked back over her shoulder at me as if to say "Let's go inside!"

She made pup-pals with Sasha, whose parents are traveling over 12,000 miles in their SUV to "see if they like RV travel".  They live in their SUV--fortunately they are both short and can sleep in the car.  Sasha sleeps on the front seat.










After all that walkin' and playin' on the property, everybody is pooped...

...especially Cassie!

Enroute, an oversized carrier transporting wind turbine blades passed by us and we made the usual Cracker Barrel breakfast/walkie stop.

We made our usual stopover at the 1000 Silver Dollar Casino, the kind of laid back place you only find out west.  They have an adjacent parking area for RV's

which provides free 50amp electric for their guests.  

Cassie got to frolic and 

chase a stick and a pinecone offleash before we went in to make a donation.  We ended up winning $10 and credited it to the General Fuel Fund.

Montana Whack-A-Wolf, Chief Joseph Highway

Next day was another "Chamber of Commerce" day. I saw a pronghorn antelope with her baby--baby pronghorns are almost never seen.  She furiously chased away a stupid coyote who came too close to her baby across a huge meadow and then promptly returned to her baby's side.  

Also saw a wolf pack chase an interloper out of their territory.  I had never seen a wolf, much less a pack, and here I was watching a pack in hot pursuit of another wolf!  

They were in a meadow of tall grass and every few seconds one of the pursuing wolves jumped up about 6 feet to check the position of the pursued wolf!  Looked funny, like one of those Whack-A-Mole games at the boardwalk.  Wish the pics were better but distances and speed of the action were too much.

Enroute to Buffalo, WY we travelled another heart-stoppingly beautiful road--Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. 

Frank is "stretching out" at the Turnout Overlook.  This is very humbling scenery.

While at the turnout, chipmunks came right up to us begging food.  I gave this one a stick of uncooked spaghetti.

Overnighted in a Rest Stop in Emblem, WY which was better than some commercial RV parks we have paid to stay in!  It was extremely windy and we "lost" a slideout canopy-it had been on its last leg at the start of our trip.  The repair will have to wait until our return to Florida where, I am certain the hurricane winds will completely obliterate it and maybe we can get insurance to replace it.