Monday, September 5, 2016

Polkas, Wing Dings, and Burn The Point

Billings, MT   High 56  Low 47

We left Canyon Ferry Wednesday morning headed for Billings. We decided to get to the Moose Lodge early because they told us they got really busy over the week-end. The temperatures were in the 90’s so we really wanted an electric site. Good timing on our part. We had our choice of six electric spots and so we picked the first one closest to the driveway. Shortly after we got set up, a motorhome arrived and then another travel trailer pulled in next to us.

These two rigs are parked at the electric sites on the flagpole and everything seemed to work okay for them.

moose lodge1

If you can’t handle train noise, this is not the place for you. The train tracks are just across the road and trains run 24 hours a day. Jim and I aren’t bothered by trains but it is noisy.

Everything was good until he turned on his air conditioner. Our surge guard let us know that power had dropped below 104 volts. None of the rigs here were using surge protectors. I wish them luck. After a couple of tries we decided we best move to another spot. We pulled over to the next power post but it was being protected by a wasp nest. So Joe (the Moose guy in charge) brought out the spray and killed a bunch of wasps. We plugged in and set back up again. We didn’t have anybody next to us until the next day when a motorhome pulled in. This time we didn’t lose power and we could stay put.

The RV with the trailer is the spot that we were in originally. The RV on the far right is boondocking.

moose lodge

This is where we ended up parking. We’re the Salem trailer.

moose lodge2

When we checked in we found out that the entire building including the bar had been rented out for the week-end for a Polka group. They were expecting 500 people from all over. Sure am glad we got here when we did. We thought that we might go in and watch some dancing but we got turned away because the chairs were all taken by the dancers.

This was quite a week-end for Billings. Not only did they have the Polka folks in town, the Wing Dingers were also here. For those of you who don’t know, Wing Dingers are people who ride Honda Gold Wing motorcycles. They hold a yearly get together and this year they chose Billings. So there are around 10,000 riders in town this weekend. Some of the folks come from other countries. The local TV station interviewed a couple from Israel who had nothing but nice things to say about America.

cars2Also this week-end was Burn the Point. Old classic cars cruising around the downtown streets of Billings just like in the 50’s and 60’s. We didn’t go to the parade Friday night but Saturday morning Todd and Jim went up to the college where the meet was and drooled over all the cars. There were about 500 cars that showed up for the party. (Skitz and I stayed home and watched all the Polka dancers show up.)

unnamed

cars4

cars1Needless to say – we tried to stay out of stores and restaurants this week-end. Today is Sunday and it’s raining and supposed to rain again tomorrow so I’m sure by tomorrow afternoon the town will be back to normal. We are loving this rain – nice and gentle and continuous which is what is really needed.

cars

cars6

15 comments:

  1. I've been in SD when lots of motorcyclists were on their way to or from Sturgis, but I don't know about being in the midst of 10,000 riders! I do think they are beautiful to look at. It's a shame you didn't get to see the polka dancers. What a crowd in Billings!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You got lucky with a good site there. nd all the activities sure would have made things pretty busy. Nice to see the long weekend wind down and back to some peace and quite again (except for the trains)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the red roadster wit the rumble seat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You were lucky you were there early to get a site. That usually is the advantage for early - goers. I"m glad we're just finishing up with the Labor Day weekend. It's a sign that many parks will start having lots of available sites. It's been way too cool this weekend which probably kept others away. We're ready for the return to 80 degree temperatures.

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW sure was a lot going on there. I think I would have not left the coach.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rained her most of the weekend too. Campground will be a ghost town by this afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rained her most of the weekend too. Campground will be a ghost town by this afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Moose looks much nicer than when we first checked it out.

    ReplyDelete
  9. WOW...how can one town have so much going on.

    We didn't even know any Moose Lodges had campgrounds. Are there very many that do? Might pay to be a member.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was a Wing Dinger once, in fact we even went on our honeymoon on our Goldwing, complete with a "Just Married" sign on the back. Wish I still had that bike.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aren't those gentle, continuous rains wonderful? So good for the plants. That's the best kind to go walking in as well.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yep, I'm thinking the Moose is not the place for us! Looks like Billings was really busy this weekend, glad we stayed away. Nice, gentle rain but cold enough up here to have a fire in the wood stove!

    ReplyDelete
  13. When I thought of all the sleep I've lost since arriving here not being my trailer, but the campground, it makes me angry. I wouldn't have stayed more than a night or two even after signing up because of the pool and the wifi system. I'm using my personal hot spot, now. It could be worse. It could have been the trailer and I could have gotten stuck here while they fixed it.

    I love watching Polka and Line dancing. No of any good places for line dancing in SW Colorado? I won a polka contest with a boy named Jimmy Hughs on our our class outing to Bear Mountain in NY. We took a boat. I haven't though of him in years. He had red hair and freckles and was very handsome. That was a Loooonnnnggg time ago!

    I can't believe you are in the 90s. I'm hoping to find cool weather wherever I land, tomorrow.

    If you and Jim like old and classic cars, I'm sure you know about Deer Lodge. Rich was in all his glory. He loved anything with wheels. :) In the museum they had some of the very first campers. The first Montana State Prison is there, too. Must have been a hard place to serve a sentence.

    Hi to Jim and pats, hugs, and kisses to Skittlez.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.