From Mile High to Big Sky

Karen returned from her all-girls cruise to Bermuda. I had completed all my maintenance on the equipment while she was gone. Had the oil and filter changed in the diesel truck and a new air filter. Had the wheel bearings on the RV inspected and repacked. We are now ready for another 5000 miles on our adventure. Before leaving the Denver area we wanted to spend some more time with our son Erik's family. Had the two oldest grandkids spend the night in the fifth wheel at Buckley Space Force Base and made some great memories.

We departed the Denver suburb of Thornton, CO and headed north on Interstate 25 for Montana. Spent the first night (6/24/22) in Wheatland, WY then on to the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Billings, MT. We arrived at Malmstrom Air Force Base and Gateway FamCamp in Great Falls, MT on Sunday, June 26. A close family friend, the niece of my mother's best friend Odie, JoAnn Sutton lives in Great Falls so we contacted her. I hadn't seen JoAnn since the 70's so we had a lot of catching up to do! We had dinner at her home the first day and did some local sightseeing the second day. It was wonderful to hear her story, share ours and get reconnected. We had a great visit and plan on keeping in touch. We're thinking about returning to see Glacier National Park later this summer, If we return this year it would be for at least two weeks in the national forest near the park.

We visited the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This was a fascinating exhibit and gave me a greater understanding of their mission's complexities, the challenges they encountered and the importance of their sensitivity/respect to the native people who helped them accomplish their journey to the Pacific Ocean. I had no idea they had to spend two weeks moving their boats up and around the five waterfalls (Great Falls) in the Missouri River. I recommend seeing this exhibit if you're ever in the area.