Lucy's 2018 Western Adventure

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp this morning at the city park in Drummond. We headed out on I-90 with thoughts about stopping for the night at Reed Point, Montana. The campground that we were considering was full, so we decided to continue toward Wyoming. We hit some heavy rains between Bozeman and Billings. We stopped at the Sam's Club in Billings and got Lillian a tank full of Diesel at the best price (under $3.00) that we have seen in over a month. While there, since it was pouring rain, we decided to dine large on pizza at the Club.

After dinner, we continued east on I-90. Even though it was another 120 miles to Ranchester, we decided to go the rest of the way. We continued to Ranchester, Wyoming, arriving around 6:30. We got Lucy settled into her campsite, and got settled in ourselves. We briefly visited with our next door neighbors who had been through a severe hail storm a few days ago. Their travel trailer and truck were both heavily damaged. It was a little scary seeing their trailer.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Motorcycle with sidecar along I-90.
- Montana Countryside.
- Lucy had a new admirer in the next trailer.
- The 1910 Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks, Montana.
- Small towns here always seem to have a lot to park your trailer.
- The 1916 Ruby Theatre in Three Forks, Montana.
- I-90 in Montana.
- Entering Wyoming.
- The Girls at their campsite in Ranchester, Wyoming.
- Our neighbors' hail damaged travel trailer.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy is camped at the Lazy R RV Park in Ranchester, Wyoming. We took off and headed up into the Bighorn Mountains in the Bighorn National Forest. The town of Ranchester is at 3,800 feet above sea level. when we got up in the mountains, we were at 8,500 feet. This area is one of our favorite Moosing grounds. We scoured the back roads and came up with four Moose sightings. We stayed in the mountains until dusk. We headed back down to Ranchester before darkness fell. US 14 down the mountain gets a little treacherous after dark.


We made it back to Lucy before dark, had a nice dinner, and got settled in for the night.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Approaching the mountains from Ranchester.
- Forrest Road in the mountains.
- One of the many streams in the Forrest.
- We had lunch in Lillian with a view.
- This young Bull Moose appeared along one of the back roads.
- Some of the back roads were quite rough.
- Dispersed camping is permitted in many parts of the Forest.
- Cow Moose near the Tongue River Campground.
- Young Cow crossing the road.
- Large Bull Moose feeding on willows along the road.

Brian

[GettinAway]

We love the Bighorns also.. Last time there was a late August trip several years ago. Definitely the coldest nights we ever spent in the pop-up. There was a moose in our campground when we got there. Great fishing and hiking. Lots of cattle up there though. You all are covering come ground on this trip! Really enjoying following along.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by GettinAway

We love the Bighorns also.. Last time there was a late August trip several years ago. Definitely the coldest nights we ever spent in the pop-up. There was a moose in our campground when we got there. Great fishing and hiking. Lots of cattle up there though. You all are covering come ground on this trip! Really enjoying following along.

We have been Moosing in the Bighorns for quite some time. We have been here every year since 2007. I guess that this is our favorite place to visit on the planet. We have camped in both Ranchester and Buffalo. This has gotten us into both the north and south ends of the Forest since they do not interconnect internally.

We have dispersed camped in the Forrest on several occasions. The sites in the Forest Service campgrounds are very difficult to get.

On this trip we were disappointed to find that the Visitor Center at Burgess Junction has been permanently closed due to lack of funding. Also, the driving is rougher this year. They are redoing US 14 west of Burgess Junction, so you have 20 miles of gravel road to deal with on the main highway.

Brian

[TheOhioSean]

It's a shame they've closed the visitor center at Burgess Junction. On my Yellowstone trip it was like a welcome oasis. Being able to use the restrooms was great, we got a little bit of information, and the short trail was a nice break from driving.

[moosetags]

Lucy is still camped at Ranchester. We headed into Sheridan this morning to do some shopping. Sheridan is the big town in this area. It is the third largest city in Wyoming with a population of 18,000. It even has a Super Wal-Mart. While we were in town we got fuel for Lillian. We went to Wal-Mart for various food and supplies.

We went back by Lucy with the supplies before heading back up in the mountains for some Moosing. We had another very successful outing. We spotted two young cows up on a ridge. We saw another group of three cows in a willow field. The best sighting of the day was mature bull sitting by a small stream right in the Dead Swede Campground. He was kind enough to stand and pose for us. As we were leaving the mountain, we spotted a Cow with her calf close to the highway. We also saw a Marmot during our Moosing.

We headed back down to Lucy in Ranchester, arriving just before dark. We had a nice dinner in Lucy and got settled in for the night.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Lucy and Lillian at their campsite in Ranchester.
- Downtown Sheridan, Wyoming.
- Art Deco Hammer Chevrolet Building in Downtown Sheridan.
- The Mint Bar on Main Street in Sheridan at this location since 1907.
- The 1923 Wyo Theatre in Downtown Sheridan.
- The Marmot we saw while Moosing.
- Pair of Moose Cows on ridge.
- Three Mooses in field.
- Mature Bull
- Cow with her Calf.

Brian

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by TheOhioSean

It's a shame they've closed the visitor center at Burgess Junction. On my Yellowstone trip it was like a welcome oasis. Being able to use the restrooms was great, we got a little bit of information, and the short trail was a nice break from driving.

I agree. It was always nice to hit the Visitors Center for a bathroom break. They used to leave the lobby open 24/7 to access the rest rooms, even when the Visitors Center was closed. Now the only option is the pit toilets at the various campgrounds. We also miss being able to buy Bighorn National Forest t-shirts and souvenirs at the gift shop in the Visitors Center.


Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy is still hold up in Ranchester. We spent the morning doing housekeeping chores to get Lucy ready for departure tomorrow. This afternoon we went back up in the Forest in pursuit of Mooses.

We had quite a number of moose sightings today, and couple of them were up close and personal. We stayed up on the mountain a little later than we had been. It was already dark by the time we got back to Lucy. This has been an excellent Moosing season.

We had a quick dinner and got settled in for the night.

Tonight's pictures include:

- The town of Dayton, Wyoming from half way up the mountain.
- Some of the Forest Roads are pretty rough.
- Cute Aluminum Teardrop in one of the Forest campgrounds.
- One of the Bulls of the two spotted.
- Second of the pair.
- Two Cows near Dead Swede Campground.
- Moose Cow along highway.
- Two Cows in field.
- Cow in the distance.
- Sunset over the mountains.

Brian

[Airstrip]

Bighorn is beautiful country! Our favorite campground on trip from Jacksonville to Portland was Middle Fork CG 14 miles west of Buffalo.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Airstrip

Bighorn is beautiful country! Our favorite campground on trip from Jacksonville to Portland was Middle Fork CG 14 miles west of Buffalo.Attachment 319155Attachment 319156

We also like and frequent the South End of the Bighorn National Forrest. We have been Moosing there a number of times. As you know, the South End is accessible From Buffalo, Wyoming on US16. The North End of the Forest is accessible from Ranchester, Wyoming on US14. There is not a road that joins the two ends inside the Forest.


Brian

[moosetags]

This morning Lucy Broke camp in Ranchester and we headed east on I-90 through Sheridan and on to Buffalo, Wyoming where we picked up I-25 south to Casper. We made a stop at Wal-Mart in Casper to get some needed DEF (Diesel exhaust fluid) for Lillian. We got Lillian taken care of, and continued south on I-25. We turned east on US 26 and passed through several small Wyoming towns before arriving in Torrington, Wyoming where we got Lucy a great campsite at Pioneer RV Park which is a City Park that has campsites with water and electric service.

We got Lucy unhooked and went to tour Torrington and get some dinner. We came back to Lucy in time to watch a nice sunset at our campsite.

Tonight's pictures include:

- The Wyoming countryside with baled hay in the field.
- The skyline of Casper, Wyoming.
- The 1916 Higgins Hotel in Glenrock, Wyoming.
- The 1917 Commerce Block in DowntownGlenrock.
- Downtown Guernsey, Wyoming.
- The old Hall Chevrolet Building in Lingle, Wyoming.
- Downtown Torrington, Wyoming.
- The 1932 United States Post Office in Torrington.
- The 1925 Wyoming Theatre in Downtown Torrington has been showing current-run movies for nearly 100 years.
- Lucy and Lillian at their campsite in Torrington.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp this morning in Torrington, Wyoming. We headed east on US 26 and crossed into Nebraska pretty quickly. We continued on US 26 for about one hundred miles where we picked up I-80 and continued east. We entered the Central Time Zone putting us back in our home time zone.

Late this afternoon we found ourselves approaching Grand Island, Nebraska. We found Lucy a campsite at the Hall County RV Park in Grand Island. This campground is part of a county park. We got Lucy settled in a campsite. This is the most attractive campground that we have ever been in. We made a quick run to a nearby Wal-Mart to get some dinner and bring it back to Lucy. We had a nice dinner in Lucy and took a walk around the campground.

We came back to Lucy and settled in for the night.

Tonight's pictures include:

- US 26 in Nebraska is straight and flat.
- We saw several very long coal trains today.
- Neat gas price sign in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
- Chimney Rock along US 26 near McGrew, Nebraska.
- Combine making its way along US 26.
- Downtown Broadwater, Nebraska looks pretty sad.
- The Broadwater Motel has not seen a guest in some time.
- Lucy and Lillian at their campsite in the county park.
- There are beautiful flower beds in the RV park.
- Subset in the RV park.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp in Grand Island, Nebraska this morning. We made our way south on US 81 into Kansas. We covered over 400 miles today and made it to Parsons, Kansas. We got Lucy a campsite in the City Park here in Parsons. We took a quick tour of the town before returning to Lucy to settle on for the night.

We have started to make our way back to Santa Rosa Beach with no particular timetable in mind.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Endless Nebraska corn fields along US 81.
- The 1928 Blair Theatre in Belleville, Kansas.
- Downtown Belleville.
- Main Street, Concordia, Kansas.
- The very ornate 1888 Bankers Trust Building in Concordia, Kansas.
- the 1892 St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Parsons, Kansas.

Brian

[TG Twinkie]

You missed us by 1 mile. We live just inside the Nebraska border when leaving Wyoming on Hwy 26.
Sounds like you are covering some ground.
Travel safe.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

You missed us by 1 mile. We live just inside the Nebraska border when leaving Wyoming on Hwy 26.
Sounds like you are covering some ground.
Travel safe.

Hi Doug,

I remember going through Morrill. SuEllyn didn't get a shot of Morrill, but she did catch both Henry and Mitchell on either side of you.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp in Parsons, Kansas this morning and headed out. We got on the road early as we wanted to cover the 340 miles to Little Rock, Arkansas. We crossed into Missouri early in the day. We made our way into Arkansas later in the day.

We arrived at our campground in North Little Rock around 5:00 PM and Lucy settled in. We toured around Downtown Little Rock for a little while. We then found our way to a nearby Popeye's for great chicken that we brought back to Lucy.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Lucy and Lillian ready to leave Parsons.
- Very unusual load on a flatbed along our route.
- Campground on the Arkansas River overlooking Little Rock.
- Street car in North Little Rock.
- Downtown Little Rock skyline.
- The 1887 Pulaski County Courthouse in Downtown Little Rock.
- The Arkansas State Capitol Building.
- Bridge across the Arkansas River.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp this morning in Little Rock. We headed out through the Arkansas countryside and made our way into Louisiana. We continued east and crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. We drove through Mississippi to Jackson where we turned south on US 49. We have stopped for the night at the Forrest County RV Park

After getting Lucy settled in her campsite, we went out for a nice dinner at the Club (Sam's Club). We felt a special dinner was appropriate for our last night on the road. We are about 250 miles from Santa Rosa Beach.

We came back to Lucy to get settled in for the night.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Main Street, Dumas, Arkansas.
- Entering Louisiana.
- Downtown Lake Providence, Louisiana.
- Mississippi River Levee along US 65.
- Transylvania, Louisiana water tower.
- Sad boarded-up high school in Tallulah, Louisiana.
- Mississippi River Bridge in Vicksburg.
- Barge traffic on Mississippi River.

Brian

[A W Warn]

Welcome home!
Thanks for sharing your trip with all of us.

[moosetags]

Well, we actually made it. We are writing this from our desk in Santa Rosa Beach. We arrived late this afternoon after about a 250 mile drive from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We got home in time to get Lucy tucked into her home spot behind the house. We did some unloading, crunched the trip numbers, and made it for Sunset down on the ocean.

We were gone for 73 days. We camped at 35 different campgrounds. Lucy was towed 7,600 miles. Lillian covered 11,500 miles. Our average fuel economy was 13.26 mpg. Our total fuel cost was $2,804.50 at an average Diesel fuel cost of $3.24 per gallon.

Both Lucy and Lillian performed without a single problem. We are glad to be home, but we are already planning our next Airstream Adventure.

Until next time, Lucy will be resting at home.

Tonight's pictures include:

- The county park campground has over 100 sites
- Lucy and Lillian at their campsite in Hattiesburg.
- US 49 heading to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
- Skyline of Downtown Mobile, Alabama.
- Entering the Mobile Tunnel.
- The USS Alabama on display in Mobile Bay.
- Home at last.
- Great sign to Pensacola Beach.
- Destin Harbor.
- Sunset on the beach at home.

Brian

[Hittenstiehl]

Thank you for taking us vicariously on another great trip. Very enjoyable.