CODY CATTLE COMPANY

They've only been open a little over a month. Out near the rodeo grounds.

I was so tired of sitting in Billings watching the grass grow that when our friends, Judy & Gary, said let's go to Cody this week-end, I was packed and ready to go. And what a week-end it was. We went down to Cody on Friday and stayed at the Absoreeka Bay RV Park. Judy & Gary had the site right next to us and after we got set up, we were ready to go explore.

We thought we'd go to the gunfight at the Irma Hotel but while we were visiting we heard this music and thought somebody had really turned up their radio really loud. But it really wasn't a radio - it was the Rockin' M Wranglers. They were advertising their Chuckwagon Dinner and Show. They were so good that we changed about our minds and decided to go hear their whole show.

The food was excellent - barbeque beef, chicken, potatoes, baked beans, applesauce, cornbread, and a brownie. All you can eat and more if you want it. Great lemonade.

After dinner we were treated to a fantastic show. Jim & Jeanne Martin are wonderful as they give us a Sons of the Pioneer type of show. Jeanne is amazing at yodeling and Jim does a skit that had us laughing so hard our sides hurt.

They also have a comedian, Jim, who is the warm-up act and then during the show he gets on stage and sings which just blows you away.

The fiddler player is only 17 years old and is the youngest person to ever be inducted into the Fiddler's Hall of Fame. What a cutie and when he fiddles - it's unbelievable.

We really enjoyed this show and hope if you're ever in that area that you'll take a chance to enjoy yourself. (www.codycattlecompany.com and www.rockinmwranglers.com)

P. S. Jim had to get the picture of Jeanne climbing over the wagon when they came through the campground. Notice the leg.

WELCOME TO BILLINGS, MT

At the Billings, MT visitor's center (Chamber of Commerce) is this momument to the Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive. This cattle drive started in Roundup, MT and ended near the Yellowstone River in September of 1989. This is a tribute to all past, present, future, and wanna-be cowboys.

Fun Facts:

Billlings is 3,126 feet above seal level and has an average annual precipitation of 15 inches which includes 60 inches of snowfall.

The world's first Kampgrounds of America (KOA) began here in 1962 and is still headquartered here.

Calamity Jane earned a living driving a stagecoach and selling backed goods near Billings. She was notorious for smoking cigars, drinking and wearing men's clothing.

The sandstone rimrock cliffs surrounding Billings rise 400 feet above the Yellowstone River Valley. They were created by the inland sea millions of years ago.

Charles Lindbergh lived her and performed as a barnstorming aviator before his famous nonstop flight from New York to Park.

From atop the rugged rimrocks that border Billings, seven mountain ranges can be seen: Pryor, Big Horn, Bull, Snowy, Crazy, Absaroka and Beartooth.

I'M BACK

Hey There! Remember me? It's been so long since I've had anything to post I've almost forgotten how to do this. But I really wanted to share this beautiful sunset with you and also our super fun time in Cody, Wy. So here we go.

STILL WATCHING

We're still watching the grass grow very, very slowly. Not much else happening.

MY DAD

My Dad was selected as resident of the month at The Lodge where he lives. Good going Dad! I love you.

DINNER WITH FRIENDS AND A RAINBOW

We drove to Columbus to have dinner with Kyp and Deb who spent a couple of nights in Reed Point. Had a great time with them. Fun to see and visit with our new friends.

Coming back to Billings, we were blessed to see this rainbow. It's hard to see in the picture, but this is a double rainbow. Really beautiful. And the main rainbow could be seen from one end to the other. A complete rainbow - something I haven't seen in many years. Enjoy the beauty. What more could you ask for.

LAWN TIME

Here we sit watching the grass try to grow. This putting a lawn in is really slow, boring stuff. But it requires a lot of watering so here we are until it takes hold and can grow without constant attention. That means we aren't doing a whole lot of fun stuff to put on the blog. It may be awhile before I get anything posted so please bear with me.

Have a great 4th of July. Please take time out of your festivities to remember those who have given us our freedom and the right to enjoy these festivities.

Sandie

COMFY COZY

We think they are so cute. Even hooked up to the seatbelts they like to be next to each other. Skitz always likes to sleep with her head hanging over the edge of the seat and Scootz think she's people and likes the pillow under her head.

MANLOVE HOMESTEAD

Because of the garage sale we didn't have a lot of time to spend sight seeing but we passed this cabin on our way back to the campground so we took the time to stop and see what it was. The Manlove family built this cabin in 1864 and raised seven children. They were on their way to Oregon and fell in love with the Prickly Pear Valley and didn't ever get to Oregon.

And we sometimes think our RV is too small. This cabin is smaller than our RV and they raised seven! children here. Amazing.

HELENA VALLEY

These pictures were taken as we came down out of the mountains from Canyon Ferry headed towards Helena. Beautiful Valley.

KIM'S MARINA AND RV PARK

Sometimes you find a campground that you love and can hardly wait to go back to and other times you find one that you hate and will never go back. Kim's Marina fits in that second category for us. The campground looks really great. But - when we got there the spot they put us in was down an embankment in a hole so it was really difficult to get the truck and fiver lined up to unhook. Jim's really good and he got the job done. Then when he hooked up to the power using the surge protector, the power shorted out on us. Finally got the power going so we'd have air for the puppies during the day. However, we are so grateful for our surge protector because we know of at least two other times when the power amperage dropped so low, the surge had to cut off the power to the fiver.

No cell, internet or tv service. $30 a night, and on top of that they charged Jim a $5 a day boat launch fee. Very expensive and very noisy. Mostly week-enders with lots of kids. When we got ready to hitch up Jim was emptying the tanks. Got the black tank dumped (thank goodness) but when the grey tank started to empty the septic tank connection backed all the way up and we couldn't finish dumping the tank. What a mess. Then we had to get out of the hole. We certainly will not stay here again and were so glad to be on our way home.

The garage sale went well but we were all exhausted. Got rid of lots of junk and made $300 which covered our camping fee and gas to get there.

CANYON FERRY

Canyon Ferry has become one of Montana's foremost recreation areas because of its proximity to Helena, Great Falls and Butte. The reservoir covers 25 miles. Lewis and Clark's passage of the river from the Gates of the Mountains to the three forks takes in the Townsend and Missouri River Valley areas. The upriver passage in the Helena vicinity was maddeningly slow for the Corps of Discovery. On July 22, Sacagawea recognized the white clay banks east of present day Winston, Montana. In her youth, her people visited the banks to gather clay for pigment. Beginning on the south end of Canyon Ferry Reservoir to the Toston Dam, Lewis and Clark set up nine campsites along this short distance in their travels between July 21 and July 25. Those sites were located near present day Canyon Ferry Dam, a site 2 3/4 miles above Beaver Creek, an island below Bedford and a site near Dry Creek south of Townsend. Entries in their journals refer to Onion Island, Crimson Bluffs, York's Island, Fine Bold Springs, and Little Gates of the Mountains. On July 24th, Captain Lewis referred to the ‘adjacent mountains' - these are the Big Belts to the east and to the west is the Elkhorns -- now part of the Helena National Forest.

This area is so beautiful I couldn't decide which pictures to put into the blog and which not to include. So guess what - you got them all. Please enjoy.

WHAT A BURGER!

Last week-end we headed to Helena to help my sister with a garage sale. We hauled as much of our stuff as possible and hoped for the best. We were really late getting out of town so after we finally got set up (more later on this campground) we were starved and I had heard how good the burgers were at the York Bar. They weren't kidding. This has to be one of the top five burgers I've ever had. As you can tell, I had trouble staying awake while it was being cooked, but it was so worth the wait.

York also has a really neat park across the street from the Bar. Has a tribute to one of their local guys who was killed. Just a really pretty place.

Leaving York we came upon the scene of a terrible car wreck. The woman who was driving and not wearing a seat belt was alive when Jim went down to try and help, but she didn't survive the wreck. The guy with her had his seat belt on and walked away from the wreck. Really a sobering experience for me and makes me so grateful that we never go anywhere without our seatbelts on. We also strap in the girls which they have gotten used to.