Camp Dawg

AT THE BASE OF UTAH’S MOUNT TIMPANOGAS lies Sundance Mountain Resort. For half a century this has been a haven for creative souls and for over a decade, a quiet, solitude stop for me whenever we are in the area. Founded by Robert Redford in 1969 as a home for creativity whether in film, art or dance, today it provides anyone seeking solace, or a need to disconnect and feed their soul, a place to visit. The Foundry Grill remains a popular stop for a wonderful lunch; and the mountains have just begun to share their autumn colors. I do question this once quiet ski resort’s addition of a new high-speed quad. Somehow it just seems a bit out of place for such serenity. Ahhhh, progress. When you visit be sure to bring your hiking boots and take a ride up Ray’s lift for some incredible views!

THE GEESE ARE FLYING SOUTH, therefore, it’s time to roll west! We’ve enjoyed our time discovering the midwest but all good things must come to an end as we roll to California.

Our evenings are not all campfires and conveniences. We’ve been known to occupy a WalMart parking lot; we’ve pulled over on the side of a gravel road when dispersed camping was full; and even enjoyed a rest stop! This one, the Painted Canyon Overlook on North Dakota’s I-94, allows overnighters and oh my, what a view! You never know who your neighbor will be, but we have always felt at home.

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DU BOIS, WYOMING….no French spoken here, just plain and simple…Dew Boyz! While not a thriving town as others have been, this hamlet of 1,000 people has something no other town has and that’s an incredible, over-the-top, outstanding, heart-touching National Museum of Military Vehicles. Sound boring? I thought so, too, but as appraisers of all things with wings & wheels, off we went.

What we found had us collectively scratching our heads and dropping our jaws. Our docent-led tour around the $100 million, 140,000 square foot museum was nothing short of amazing…both the docent and the collection. We learned more about WWII than I’ve read in all my history books, combined, and if you know me, you know…that’s a LOT!

Equally impressive was doing my homework after the tour and learning the museum’s benefactor has done very well, in a round about way, in life. His respect for the military is what brought him to begin collecting one tank, then two, then three… Once Dan Stark and his wife, Cynthia, hung up their career hats, off they moved to the simple life in Du Bois, just an hour’s drive from Grand Teton National Park.

The National Museum of Military Vehicles which opened in 2020 is picking up steam, and print, and most definitely exceeds anything I have ever seen in any major metropolitan city. Yes, I would venture to say this museum is well worth making your way to Du Bois on your way to/from Grand Teton National Park. And if you don’t leave here with a touched heart and a tear in your eye, well, better check your pulse. (Note: all wars are represented at the museum, not just WWII).

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TWO NOUNS THAT GO WELL TOGETHER brought us to Buffalo, Wyoming in early August. How could you pass up a western town with that moniker? However, when we arrived, little did we know that mystery author, Craig Johnson, resides in this town. Doesn’t ring a bell? How about fictional Absaroka County and Sheriff Walt Longmire? Yes, THAT Longmire!

Johnson calls Buffalo, Wyoming home and while the Netflix series was not filmed here (hello, New Mexico!), Longmire Days are celebrated here every year with fans descending upon this town of 5,000 people to meet the characters that gave life to Johnson’s books….Walt and daughter, Cady Longmire; Victoria Moretti, Henry Standing Bear, The Ferg and Jacob Nighthorse. I’m also a sucker for towns that display colorful murals depicting their heritage and Buffalo, Wyoming is no exception. Stop by, grab a great breakfast at the Busy Bee Cafe…then head over to The Red Pony “Where it’s a beautiful day and continual soiree”. Wait, that a fictional bar, but I sure wish it existed here in Buffalo!

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And this season brought our family to Minnesota to say farewell to David Schneider. David is my daughter, Miranda’s, father; Jack & Lauren’s Papa, a friend to many, and my first love.

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TUCKED AWAY IN THE BLINK-AND-YOU’LL-MISS-IT TOWN OF CLEAR LAKE, MINNESOTA you’ll find the Minnesota Airstream Park. This bucolic, spacious park, with about 120 Airstreams, has been attracting Airstream owners since its inception in 1970. Jim and I have been enjoying this park for the past decade and this week decided to make it a permanent summer location when we’re in the area by purchasing a share. This provides us with a shady spot, all our own, complete with gazebo and shed.

Surrounded by oodles of aluminum, and some great people as passionate about Airstreams as we are, we’re looking forward to enjoying this little slice of heaven. It’s nice to be back ‘home’ here in Minnesota after pulling up stakes for California almost 40 years ago!

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JUST WHEN I DIDN’T THINK I COULD LOVE THIS GUY ANY MORE THAN I ALREADY DO….BOOM! Thanks to an 18-wheeler who gave us a nod, we pulled over and were met with our first blow out in 16 years! Ready for this??

On an Interstate, check!

Rush hour/big city, check!

12-hour driving day, check!

After assessing the ordeal, all was good. Will need to replace the banana wrap behind the wheel, but no body damage. Shout out to Rich Luhr and his handy dandy bag of goodies we purchased at a mid-winter IBT (Airstream event) years ago for tire changes. Along with the Trailer Aid (pictured) we purchased separately, the bag was put to use and we were on our way with a double-cocktail in our future. In checking the tires, production date was 1815 (manufactured the 18th week of 2015). Time for new shoes for the Silver Palace all around!

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REMEMBER THAT MAGIC TICKET into Glacier National Park? We put it to great use! Within Glacier National Park there is a simply amazing road which connects West Glacier (closest to Whitefish, MT where we camped) to East Glacier. This road is known as the Going-To-The-Sun Road and is so spectacular it made the National Register of Historic Places AND is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Completed in 1932, this two-lane road ascends, twists, turns and descends over the course of it’s 50 miles which peaks at Logan Pass with an elevation of 6,600 feet. The issue with this stunning road is that it opens late to vehicle traffic, usually late June/early July, due to road clean up and maintenance repairs to clear rocks and mend guard rails lost over the harsh winter. This is what we experienced five years ago while camping in the park and we missed the road opening by a handful of days. However, if you happen to have a bicycle, this is an extraordinary time to ride because the road is open to cyclists and hearty hikers only for a short window of time. And if you have an electric bike, which, by the way, is the ONLY way we could have made this behemoth climb, therein lies the magic of Glacier National Park and Going-To-The-Sun Road.

We parked in the Avalanche lot and made the 17-mile climb with numerous stops along the way to soak it all in as we ascended the peak at Logan’s Pass. Along the way we counted a couple dozen cyclists and a dozen day-hikers but more waterfalls than we could count and not one. single. vehicle. We have had some astounding experiences along the way but this ride is definitely near the top. I am thankful for the kindness of a stranger in a parking lot who gifted me her unused ticket which enabled Jim and I to make this ride together. The pictures posted do not do justice to this beautiful national treasure Note: We summited on June 16 and the road officially opened to traffic on June 25.

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WHITEFISH, MONTANA is a sweet mountain ski/hike/bike/kayak town located just south of the Canadian border and a short 30-minute drive east to Glacier National Park. Some of our national treasures, like GNP, are on a lottery system to enter these days. If you have a secured campsite (resvs made months ahead!) or booked a boat tour on Lake McDonald, BOOM! you are in the park. If not, you’re online at 8:00 a.m. every day to secure one of 125 tickets available to enter GNP. I, unfortunately, was not one of the lucky ones. So our mornings would begin at the beautiful, fenced 5-acre dawg park or heading to Polebridge, MT to pick up a warm, huckleberry turnover while our afternoons were spent in town or biking Lion Mountain from our campsite.

Lion Mountain was one grueling ride up (for me) and a heart-pounding ride all the way back down into town but the views were worth the ride. In the parking lot at Lion Mountain we met Sherry from the East Coast and chatted about Whitefish, e-bikes and my disappointment in not being able to secure a ticket into GNP. I was shocked when she pulled out a pass that had to be used the next day and with a tear in my eye, thanked her for her kind gesture. You see, she was also online every morning and eventually got a ticket, but her local friends also had one to surprise her. Being at the right place at the right time; chatting up someone with a smiling face; call it serendipity but what it did was change up our visit in a magical way. Stay tuned!

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AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO OUR FIFTH MONTH living life in our Airstream, in our rearview mirror is Idaho’s panhandle and Farragut State Park. Once a naval training station it is now Idaho’s largest state park. On the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille (think: pon der ray), which is 43 miles long and up to six miles wide, we pulled into a beautiful spot and settled in for a week. Located half way between Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene, this was a great state park (some sites with full hook ups!) to explore, grab a bite to eat on the floating Lake House and take in some sweet bike trail rides.

A big thank you to Kathy and her husband who we met early on in our journey, as they ventured north to their summer gig as campground hosts here at Farragut State Park. Based on their recommendation, were able to secure a last minute reservation and met up with them in Idaho.

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