The Millers Go RVing - Day 22 & 23

Originally we had planned to spend this day in Grand Teton National Park or Jackson WY area, but with all the mountains in that area and Big Bertha's aversion to crossing them, we decided to just move on. We did some research on the RV-friendly way to get from Yellowstone over to Cody WY. Going up to I-90 so we wouldn't have to cross any mountains was a good choice. We saw more mountains and beautiful ranches along the way. It seems to us like a lovely place to live if you don't mind being miles & miles away from the closest neighbor.

By the time we got the RV back and tried to book a site in Cody, the only thing left was a KOA deluxe site with a premium price tag. "Beggars can't be choosers". 

We had our own grill, patio set and the whole 9 yards. A shame we didn't have any use for any of it.

We wanted to do a chuckwagon dinner somewhere out west, and it didn't seem like it was going to work out elsewhere so we went to Cody Cattle Company (even though friends had told us the dinner show isn't that good). All-you-can-eat beef brisket, fried chicken, baked potato, baked beans, applesauce, cornbread, tossed salad, brownies & lemonade. And they know how to feed a crowd in short order.  

The food was good, although a couple of us didn't feel well on it later. The emcee joked that the baked beans were carefully cooked upside down so as not to produce gastronomical distress, for the benefit of those of us traveling together in RVs. lol 

I would have to agree with our friends' assessment- the show wasn't that good. It was all singing. When we arrived there was a cowboy practicing with a lasso in the back so I expected some western roping tricks or something more. They sang mostly songs we were not familiar with- western songs but not necessarily country. It was ok, but I can think of better ways to use an hour. JR enjoyed the guitar picking though.   

When it was over, we walked to the rodeo next door. We knew it wasn't going to be PBR, and it definitely was not professionals. But they had a lot more than just bull riding.

 Kids from the audience chasing calves -whoever got the ribbon off the tail won a prize. 

 Team calf roping -quite a challenge!

 Favorite rodeo sport for A & I- barrel racing!

Only 1 bull rider stayed on for 8 seconds. I was struggling with the camera settings -to freeze the action in low light (I miss that setting on my old camera!), so I didn't get any pictures of bull riding that aren't blurry. Actually, the longer the trip went, the more I struggled with the camera; it got dropped accidentally on concrete in D.C. and it randomly decides to switch back & forth between different settings of its own choosing at inconvenient times. 

The rodeo was over at 10pm. We walked back to where our RV was parked and drove back to the KOA. While we were gone an RV had arrived in the neighboring site and extended their slide-out into our space, crowding us. I have never seen the likes of how campgrounds in the west stack 'em in! But this was the only time we encountered a neighbor taking liberties with our personal space. If we wouldn't have had the a/c running I am sure we could have carried on a conversations with them with how close our slide-outs were. 

We were planning to go whitewater rafting the next morning in Cody. We had even made a reservation. But a cold front blew in overnight. It was windy and much too chilly to get wet! Foiled again. I guess we just weren't supposed to go whitewater rafting. When we called to cancel our reservation, the rafting folks didn't argue with us at all, so I don't think they really wanted to go either. We let the kids sleep in longer, then we ate free pancakes the campground was serving. 

We left Cody, thinking we could drive to Mt Rushmore in time for the evening lighting ceremony. Boy, were we wrong! Before we had gone very far we came to Bighorn Mountain.

 There for awhile it was like an optical illusion- it looked like the road was going downhill, but Big Bertha was huffing & puffing so we knew we were actually pulling uphill. We pulled off by this bit of loveliness around 5000 ft. to let her catch her breath.

The map we had with us had all the steeper mountain ranges marked with the elevation. Since this one wasn't marked we mistakenly assumed it was a little one. Surprise! We kept climbing & climbing. And thinking surely it will summit around the next bend. I think we pulled off every mile, or maybe it was every 1000 feet in elevation, to let Big Bertha cool down. Drive a little bit, pull over and wait 30 minutes, drive a little bit, pull over and wait 30 minutes. That is slow going!  Somewhere around 8000 ft. R decided to change the oil while we waited. Right here. 

 I bet no one has ever changed oil on a mountain turn-out before!

Not a drop of oil was spilled and there was no evidence left behind- without these pictures as proof no one would even know. Making memories we can laugh about for years to come! 

We were still climbing when we came around a switchback on this gorgeous scene...

 And still climbing when we happened upon this moose cow grazing beside the road...

 A. missed out on seeing moose in Canada last summer so she was really hoping to see one/some in the northwest on this trip. All of a sudden, there one was. I was yelling "moose, moose" and frantically motioning to A. who had earbuds in and would've missed it. I bet it looked hysterical. Too bad it wasn't a bull, but a moose is a moose. Another check on the bucket list. We never did see any more after that.

We finally reached the top of Bighorn Mountain around 2:30pm. 9666 ft! (The GPS shows the elevation in the lower left corner; this was shortly after we started heading down.)  Wow, no wonder it was such a hard climb! 

  

In spite of the name, we didn't see a single bighorn sheep on the mountain. We even looked with binoculars. Disappointing. 

It is a good thing we didn't try to whitewater raft in the morning and still make it over the mountain on the same day. It took us basically all day just to cross the mountain.  

Coming down the other side was just as stressful. It was a 7-8% grade. There was a mandatory brake check for all large vehicles. And a couple runaway truck ramps with a unique safety system that we had never seen before. At the bottom there was a town and we needed to turn at the traffic light. Our brakes were hot & pretty much non-existent -we almost didn't make the turn. Use your imagination what Big Bertha was muttering this time. We promptly found a parking lot that was large enough for Big Bertha and poured in more brake fluid. Is this crazy or what?!

The red roads of Wyoming..

 We drove by Devil's Tower off in the distance...

 Definitely driving through ranching country...

 South Dakota at last!

 We were still hungry for the cheese curds we couldn't get back in Oregon, so we found a Culver's listed on the GPS near our RV park for the night. But we were running low on fuel so we hopped off interstate an exit early to feed the hungry Big Bertha first. While R pumped the gas, I walked 2 doors down, to the KOA, to check in awhile. I thought it was a little odd that he wasn't there to pick me up when I was finished; I walked back to the gas station and discovered the RV doesn't start. Turn the key, nothing there. Now what?! He was fiddling with the batteries but it wasn't helping. I was praying for wisdom when JR suddenly got up, flipped the 2 battery switches above the door off & on, and viola! The RV started right up. We almost melted with relief. By the time we get back home we'll know all of Big Bertha's quirks, eh?
On to Culver's and cheese curds. So here we are in the parking lot of Culver's in SD where we don't know a soul, when an older couple asked if we're from [undisclosed midwestern town known for the Mennonites]. We said no, we're from 1.5 hours south of there. Turns out their son-in-law is a truck driver from north of us. Someone R knows of, doesn't know personally, but knows of him. You can even play the Mennonite game in SD! lol  
Then back to Spearfish SD KOA. R did some maintenance on Big Bertha, including replacing a battery terminal that was going bad. Even though that didn't seem to be the problem earlier, better $5 now than be stranded somewhere later. Last time doing laundry at an RV park. Notice how we have as much wide open space at this RV park as we were crowded the night before!  

to be continued...