Ok – so I already typed out half this post – then I have no idea how but I deleted it.  Seriously, no idea how I did it.  May have had something to do with the fact that I was typing on my phone at 4:12am when I couldn’t sleep – maybe.  What do you all think?  I’ll try to reconstruct it as best I can.

One would never guess, based on my last few posts, that I actually posted in my first year end summary back in Aug 2015, that Bill and I actually prefer to stay in a place 2 weeks, up to a month.  We’ve traveled over 3,300 miles in 2 weeks!  We left Seward AK on Tues 9/27 and arrived in Boulder County, CO yesterday, Tues 10/11.  How completely crazy is that?  Well, the first 2 installments about this trip talk about getting out of AK and through Canada and back into the USA, this one will tell you about getting from our first USA stop in Great Falls, MT to here.  Hang on tight – it was a rough ride!

We arrived in Great Falls, MT with the intent of staying at the Walmart, but we spied a Sam’s Club as we were on our way, and decided to stop there instead.  The store was already closed and there were 2 other rigs parked and clearly settled in for the night.

The impending snow wasn’t supposed to start (based on checking 3 different apps/sites) til noon’ish – we were up about 7:30 and flurries had started already!  Checked my 3 sources again and now was going to be in full force in about an hour.   UGH!  Bill set up the gennie and went to get fuel and propane.  We needed to charge the batteries b/c we hadn’t had any sun for the solar.  We emptied one 40lb tank of propane running the furnace; no electric heaters running while boondocking.
Bill returned and hitched back up and we talked about our options.  There was a CG nearby we could wait it out, but it would be at least 2 days, as it was getting worse before it got better.  It was supposed to be much better where we were going.  We checked the MT DOT website, which said the roads were wet but no ice.  So, we decided to push on before it got worse and we would drive out of it.

We did eventually drive out of it, but not before finding out that even though the MT DOT website said it was recently updated – they lie!  About half hour into our ride – the roads started to become snow covered.  Bill didn’t notice any slipperiness but I was not liking it at all.  Bill put the truck in 4 wheel drive, just in case.

Thankfully, we made it to Billings without incident and filled up with fuel.  Since the predictions for that area had deteriorated over the course of the day, we decided to head further south to Sheridan WY, where hopefully we could stay in front of the worst of it.

That plan did pay off, as there were only a few flurries in the morning, and predictions were still saying it would be ok til later that afternoon.  Bill decided we didn’t even need to fuel up – we would wait til Casper where prices were lower.  Our final destination for the day: Cheyenne!

We fueled up in Casper and the ride was actually good.  No snow, not even rain.  We listened to some Bruce and were actually enjoying the ride.  Then, not too far from Cheyenne, maybe 40 miles or so, it started clouding up – or I should say the existing clouds were getting darker, and filling in the spots of blue that were peaking out.  Next thing you know – Bill sees lightening off to the west!  Then rain was coming down in buckets!  Like barely can see kind of rain!  Oh!  Can’t forget – there was also some hail mixed in!   Couldn’t believe it!   We couldn’t seem to catch a break!

As we approached the exit in Cheyenne for the Walmart (where we were planning to stay), Bill asked how far til we got to Quynn?  I quickly used GoogleMaps to answer – 79 miles!  YAY!  Let’s keep going! It was still early – barely 4pm!  We had driven out of the storm, but it was right behind us!   We didn’t feel like hanging around for a second dose of it!
I texted Quynn to let her know we would be arriving a day early!  She was very excited, as was I!  She was working, but we would see her in the morning!

So, here we are – set up for a WEEK! at Boulder County Fairgrounds CG!  Callie will be so happy to not be in her crate!   She doesn’t even know yet that she is free for a week!

Stay tuned for details on our time in the Boulder CO area.