'25/#6 We're Home!

 Home can mean different things to different people at different times in their lives. Our saying is "Home is where we park it" and that is true. Home is also where the heart is and our kids and grandkids are in Florida so we also consider that home. Our drivers licenses are domiciled in Florida so that is another cause to call Florida home. We also have friends and places that we have spent extended periods of time with and it can feel like coming home when we get back to visit. Now we are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the third season.

There were no banners or marching bands but it was a welcome that made us feel like we were home. The people that we spent time with over the past couple of years couldn't have been happier to see us, and we were just as happy to see them. The campground had that familar feeling of being home and the new people we have met seem like they will become part of our Michigan family.

The trailer is getting set up for the long stay so it also will feel more like home. Things that have been stowed for travel will come out and pictures will go back on the wall. The kitchen will be set up for more regular cooking and we will get back into the daily routine of life. The rig also needs to be cleaned. The front has quite a collection of bugs that need to be removed and the few things we put outside to make it known that "we are here" need to come out of the compartments.

Then we start work. The schedule has been posted and we will learn more about what has changed and what is expected of us this year. Then we will, along with all the other workcampers, get into the rhythm that will be the heart beat of the campground this season.

The bugs are calling me, or is that Mary saying to wrap it up? Either way the cleaning process won't get done by itself so I will sign off from our home in St Ignace because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#5 Giving The Wheels A Rest

 It doesn't seem like it but we have been on the road for alomost a month. Some days it feels like we just left and other times it feels like we have been driving for ever. We are approaching our summer destination and will let the truck, RV, and us get a rest from the road.

The past few days were spent in Munising Michigan, the home of Pictured Rocks National Landmark. This is the third year we have been in the Upper Penninsula and are finally getting to see this attraction in the western part of the U.P. The past years something has always come up to stop us, so this time we decided to come to the area before starting our workcamping jobs.

We drove through the Pictured Rocks area and saw waterfalls, lighthouses, and huge sand dunes. The cliffs and rugged coast give you an idea of how difficuly it was living and working here when mining and lumbering were the primary industries.  I can only imagine what the winters were like and have no desire to experience them, even now!

The next two days we saw Pictured Rocks as it should be seen,  from the water. The Pictured Rocks scenic tour let us see the colors and rock formations that give the area it's name. The sculpting of the shoreline shows the power of the wind and water on Lake Superior. Some formations are thousands of years old while others have had major changes in the last century. The weather was beautiful so we didn't experience any of Lake Superior's land shaping forces.

Day two we took the Shipwreck Tour on a glass bottom boat. The most famous shipwreck, the Edmond Fitzgerald, like many other shipwrecks are in deep water with the deepest part of Lake Superior over 1300 feet. Others have succumbed to the rocky shores and shallow areas around the lake, even in what many sailors considered save havens from the winter storms. These are the shipwrecks we saw in Munising Harbor in depths less than 100 feet. 

As expected one wreck was more of a debris field. Some of it was broken up by strormy weather while other parts were destroyed by the Coast Guard to eliminate shipping hazards. On the other hand the Bermuda was relatively intact. It sank with a full load of premium iron ore in 1870. Because of the quality of the iron ore and the shallow depth most of the cargo was salvaged. The salvage operation caused a lot of the damage that we saw as we hovered over the wreck. This whole area is called the Alger Underwater Preserve and is dedicated to preserving these wreck for sightseers and divers to explore. 

Well it is time to get ready for the last leg of our journey so I will sign off from our home in Munising because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#4 The Family Tree Grows

 The last few blogs I have mentioned old friends and new family. Some might think of new family through a wedding or a birth, but that is not the case. Some time ago Mary got some family information that motivated her to look into DNA testing. After some " should I or shouldn't I", she did. Whatever the results it wasn't going to change the family that was important and in her life right now. Drum roll, and the envelope please! Actually a Facebook request but I needed a dramatic intro (wink, wink).

Mary has a sister she never knew about. Without going into all the details it turns out she has two sisters and another brother! Back and forth communications and it turns out that their lives had criss-crossed in the same area durring their early years. Mary and sister Brenda were getting along well through on line conversations and decided to take it to the next level. Ever the skeptic I cautioned Mary about getting her hopes up. 

Cheryl, Mary, and Brenda

Our travels were taking us through Mary's old stomping grounds so plans were made. The big day came when we pulled our monstrous RV into their front yard. My concerns were unfounded. These people are awesome! Even if there wasn't a DNA connection I could see us being friends with them. We met Brenda's husband Victor who welcomed us with hook-ups right there at their home and just got along with them both as if we had know each other for years. We met Cheryl and Robbie, Susan and Jay, Greg and Viki, Payton and Parker, and of course Pat. 

Four generations on the family tree that we never knew about and I think everyone had a good time! Talking about our current lives and of course events in the past helped fill in some of the gaps that may or may not have been known prior to the DNA tests. The answers were illuminating while others just created more questions. With many of the people from the past not with us any more some of the quetions will never be answered.

After spending ten days with the new part of the family promises were made to keep in touch and to get together when we can. My skepticism was unfounded and the reunion worked out as good as Mary could have hoped.

Our next stop was in western Virginia where we caught up with Joanie and Greg. It was just an overnight stay but is was good to see them and the next time we pass through we will spend more time visiting. Back on the road and continue our trek north.

We still had some rain but it looks like the weather system is passing and the rain will be gone for the rest of our trip. I will sign off now from our home outside Toledo Ohio because ....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#3 Maybe We Need A Boat!?!?

 It has been seventeen days since we returned to the road. The travel has gone well with no incidents, but I do have to say it has been challenging. This has been the wettest trip we have ever taken. I don''t think we had a single day of travel without some rain. It slows us down and caution is the watch word and that makes the driving more fatiguing. Fortunately the rain did stop whenever we were spending time with people along the way.

Our first stop was between Greenville and Spartanburg South Carolina. We have known Sherry and Terry for almost thirteen years and whenever we are near enough to stop in we will. They bought a home there and are what they call "homesteading". All I can think of is the theme to Green Acres with Terry is on the lawn tractor and Sherry is getting eggs from the chicken coop. The place is awesome and they are happy. That is all we want for our friends.

The next stop was Brunswick County North Carolina. This is the first time we have seen our friends Chris and Chuck since they left Florida to be closer to family. It was a brief visit but everyone looked great and we had a good time catching up. Our friends Terry and Bob from the Charlotte area built their retirement dream home down near the beaches and we also got to see them. Our timing was off so it was again a short but sweet visit. Maybe next time we will have more time.

We will be traveling through Virginia next to see old friends and new family, but that is a story for another blog. By the way I am catching up on my blogging. We are a ways down the road from Virginia. In fact I am going to call it a night from our home in Lake Milton Ohio because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

"25/#2 Finally Got Something To Blog

I know that it has been too long since my last blog but I didn't think anyone wanted to hear about my aches and pains. This winter was all about doctors, medical tests, and prescriptions. We are doing better and back on the road again. 

We had broken our rule of one and done when it comes to our destinations already last year and are going back to Michigan for the third time in three years. Having seen so much of the country we are finding that we are getting picky about where we want to go next.  We have enjoyed Michigan and the people we worked with so going back was not an issue. We'll see what happens next year. 

Our trip north is not a straight line. It is not even anywhere near the shortest route. There will be three stops to see and stay with old friends and one to see new family. More on that later.

Like the rest of the country weather has been less than cooperative. No real problems but still wetter than we would like. Such is life on the road

We're doing laundry now so I will continue this later. Signing off from our home in Callao Virginia because...

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary 

'25/#1 January 1st And A Clean Slate

 Many people look at New Year as a fresh beginning, a new start, and maybe a reset but is it? The past year, or ten years, or fifty years don't go away. So no matter how you look at it the new year is just the next building block of our lives. The past cannot be changed and it can't truly be ignored and it will most definitely affect the future. That is what the new year is. It is a time to look at the past and decide how you want to live your future. Check out the triumphs and the mistakes and learn from them as you plan the next year, or ten, or fifty. And most of all keep laughing and enjoy!

That being said, instead of resolutions or bucket lists this year I am looking toward the past. Our life, with it's ups and downs, has been absolutely amazing. I look at the places we've been, the things we've seen, and especially the people we have met. Our list of friends is longer than my arm and has people from coast to coast and also across four continents. As in the past I refer back to the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" and quote Clarence the angel when he writes "No man is poor who has friends". I may not be able to put it in the bank but it is a richness I don't take for granted.

So I will start this New Year with the goal to keep living my life, seeing new things and places, smiling and laughing, and most of all doing it all with old friends and new friends. And it goes without saying, I will do all that with my best friend, my partner, my wife, Mary. For thirty-six years it has worked out better than we could have hoped for so we will keep on doing what has worked in the past.

Here's hoping that everyone had a good holiday season and will have a great year to come. These wishes come from our home in Zephyrhills because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#46 Busy, Busy, Busy

 It is amazing how fast the calander fills up. Between the holidays, getting together with people, shopping, appointments, and I'm sure I am leaving stuff out, that's why we have a calander, all our time is accounted for. I still don't know how we got all this stuff done before we retired and were working full time?!?!? 

Anyway, the doctors tell me that I am doing OK and that the aches and pains are normal for someone my age. I guess I don't like the new normal. Mary's doctors are helping her feel better and also that she is doing OK managing her health. Oh well, no one said getting older was going to be easy! 

The Christmas decorations are up inside and out and we are pretty much ready for the upcoming holidays. Again dinner will most likely be just the two of us. It is easier and we don't have to travel in the insane holiday traffic. The most we will probably travel will be to our friends in the park next door, and that is just a short bicycle ride.

Gift shopping for the each other is not such a big deal. We pretty much buy each other whatever we want all year long. So unless we find something last minute or pick up a couple of stocking stuffers, Christmas is sleeping in, opening the few gifts we have, our own traditional Christmas morning breakfast, watching holiday movies and our Christmas lights, and enjoying our Christmas dinner for two. The holidays should be spent with the ones you love and I don't love anyone more than the woman I am sharing my life with.

Today is lunch with friends and some big box store shopping before it gets too insane so i will sign off from our home for the holidays in Zephyrhills because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#45 Why Is The Clock Thrown Out The Window?

 As the old joke goes, "to see time fly". Well for us all we have to do is look at the calendar. It is just five weeks since we left Michigan but it seems ages ago. After 3500 miles, multiple stay overs, chores, and arriving in our winter home. We already had our calendar filled for November and now it is December.

We had to get set up and settled in. Our mail was ordered, friends were seen, doctors were visited, and more appointments made for follow ups. Then we had to go shopping. Groceries had to be replenished and we shopped for the local charities that we regularly support.  On top of that we started our winter jobs in the park.

Then...... Thanksgiving was here. Yes we only have to cook for two but the usual dishes stll had to be made. It's not Thanksgiving without whatever is traditionally on the table. Whether it is the turkey, Granny's stuffing, or Aunties mac-n-cheese it has to be there to make the holiday offical. I hope everyone had the Thanksgiving they wanted and also were able to give thanks for all that life has brought.

Today we will be getting together with more friends and getting all the Christmas decorations out and set up. I put my foot down years ago that Christmas will stay in boxes until after Thanksgiving no matter how early the stores start their holiday season. It is crazy to see Halloween, Thanksgivng, and Christmas all at the same time while shopping! No wonder it feels like time has flown by.

Breakfast is done and it is time to start getting ready for the rest of the day in our home in Zephyrhills because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#44 Home Is Where We Park It!

 It's time to catch up. Last week we were in Texas at what was our winter home for three years. That was where we went to Mexico for business and pleasure. That was also when hurricane or tropical storm Rafael reared it's ugly head. It was forecast to head to the Texas/Louisiana coast the same time we would be passing through that area. The decision was made to leave Texas a day early and get in front of the storm. The storm petered out so it was an unnecessary early departue but would get us back to Florida a day early.

Well here we are in Zephyrhills, our winter home for the next several months. Even though everyone in our extended family survived Helene and Milton with minimal damage it was still upsetting to see the damage that both storms did leave behind. We are getting settled in and getting together with everyone we missed this summer. We were gone almost eight months this year. That is the longest we have been away from family and friends except for our winters in Texas. 

Our little group of seniors here have a mess of birthdays all in a few days time so there will be cake, food, drink, and just good times with good friends. The friends we work with are also on the list to get together with as well as friends from our pre-retirement and especially our family. 

Today is Mary's birthday so we will do whatever she wants and just get back into the Florida Snowbird lifestyle. Signing off from our home in Zephyrhills because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#43 A Short Rest

 We are in Texas for a short time. It is nice to take a break from the grind that is daily travel. Even though this is a rest from travel we will be busy. There are friends to see and I also see a trip into Mexico.

We found an excellent dentist when we wintered here in the valley. We have made it a point to pass through every so often. Not necessarily once a year, but often enough to take care of our dental needs and not pay the rediculous prices in the states. I know a lot of people will say that we are crazy but we did our research. He and his staff are educated in the US and the facilities are modern and spotless and the recommendations are neck deep from people we have met all around the country during our travels. When somebody in South Dakota, from Oregon, during conversation just pulls a dentists cardout of his wallet with rave reviews....it makes you think.

We also got some of the medications that we take while we were in Mexico. Again, the meds are in Mexico but they are the same drugs that are sold in the USA for as much as ten times the price. See one of Mary's posts of CVS branded pharmaceuticles right there on the shelf in the Mexican pharmacy. We also did a little souvenir shopping.

Last year we had some suspension issues on the trailer that tore up a couple of our tires. I decided to change all four tires but could not get the brand I wanted so agreed to another brand that were recommended and I heard were good. One year and 13,000 miles later I was very unhappy with the way they wore commpared to the brand I wanted or the brand that came on the trailer. It was time to get the tires I wanted and have peace of mind traveling down the road.

Well it is time to get busy again so I will sign off from our home in Texas because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#42 Changes In Latitude....

 As predicted the last day in Michigan was cold and busy but everything got done and we were ready to roll southward. Monday morning we left St Ignace and over the next six days we made stops in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas before arriving at our destination in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Our latitude change from traveling 2000 miles south changed everything. Now the temperatures are hovering around 90 degrees. A big change from the highs in the 50's that we left in Michigan. First thing, after turning on the A/C,was to pack away our cold weather coats and dig out shorts that were forgotten about since I can't remember when. We are at the same park we worked at several years ago so we alerted friends that we were in town. The RV is set up for sitting still for a week before we hit the road again.

We are in the Valley to take care of some things that are better done here and across the border. I have also decided to put new tires on the RV. The tires currently on the RV are not wearing as well as other brands I have used in the past and I prefer to err on the side of caution. That's a lot of vehicle going down the road and and it is everything we own, not to mention our personal safety. 

Once all the errands are done and we have decompressed from all the travel we will continue on our adventure. The next destination is Florida. We have family and friends that we have missed all summer and it sounds like we were missed also. 

We were glad to hear that everyone made out well during the hurricane. It was on our minds and we were worried until we heard that everyone was OK. I think we need to see it with our own eyes and give and get hugs to confirm the good news. 

It is time for dinner so we can get to bed early. The to-do list won't do itself so I will sign off now from our home in Pharr Texas because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#41 Tick Tock

 The last time I blogged we had two days off and four more to work. Now we have two days to work and then we will have the Upper Peninsula in our rear view mirror. Our check list is done and as always every time we check something off we find some thing to add. It's usually just little things that we overlooked or something new we should have added to the original list but it still needs to be done. 

The weather has turned the corner towards winter with highs only about 50 degrees and lows in the upper 30's and just plummeting from there. We are looking forward to temperatures a little bit warmer as we trek south. The heat we have in the RV works well but we still have to go outside. Brrrrrrr!

Today should be an easy day at work but tomorrow is another story. Sunday is the last day of the season here at the KOA. The last guest will be leaving or kicked out and the final steps to winterize and close everything will be completed. Early Monday morning the wheels will be rolling and the next stage of our adventure will begin.

The next blog will probably be from the road, so I will sign off for the last time from our home in St Ignace Michigan because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#40 And The Countdown Begins

 One week from today we will be on the road again. Lots of "places to go, people to see, and things to do" are in our future and we need to set our priorities and get through the list as well as we can. Yes we are headed back to Florida but will take a circuitous route. That seems to be the theme of our adventures this summer.

We have two days off and then four more days of work and then we depart Northern Michigan. This last week of work is going to be busy getting the campground shut down for the winter. Everything needs to be stowed and prepped for the freezing temperatures so the park can open smoothly in the spring. Four days of busy, busy, busy.

Our two days off we will be getting the rig road ready for our departure. Again things need to be stowed and prepped for travel so we will have smooth traveling over the next couple of weeks. During this time we we will also be making our reservations at RV parks on our route south. We have already done the research to find the parks that are still open this time of year. When we left Maine a few years back we couldn't find open campgrounds along our east coast route until we hit North Carolina. Lesson learned!

We will also try to spend some quality personal time with the few workers that are still here before we say goodbye. Once again we have made friends that I am sure we will keep in touch with. But right now I am starting my third cup of coffee and it is time to wake Mary so we can get started on our "to-do" list. 

The countdown has begun and time will run out soon here, in our home in St Ignace Michigan because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#39 Moving Day

 No, we aren't leaving Michigan yet. As workcampers we get our RV site free therefore the site is not a premium one that will produce more revenue during the season. Our site was a water and electric site which means no sewer hook-up. To get rid of our waste water we used a pump and an auxiliary tank to take our black and grey water to a dump station and dispose of it. It wasn't a big deal but once a week it took about an hour of our time. We did do it on the clock so we were getting paid to get rid of our poop!

Now that the season is winding down more sites have become available and we have moved to a full hook-up sit with sewer. This will give me the opportunity to back flush all the waste water tanks and have them clean and ready when we hit the road. We are also closer to the office so our commute to work is three minutes instead of five.

In addition to taking care of our tanks we are starting to stow things away so when "D" day arrives we will be ready. "D" is for departure. The next two weeks will be spent shutting things down in the campground and trying to stay warm. This mornings temperature was about 30 degrees and the high will not reach the 50's. 

Gotta get ready for work so I will sign off now from our home in St Ignace because......

Home is where we park it, 

FRank and Mary

'24/#38 Time For Introspection

 It has been almost two months since my last blog. This summer is just one of those periods of time when the excitement of travel wanes. In the last blog I mentioned that coming back might have been a mistake because of our "one and done" rule of not going back to the same place twice. Looking back ( introspection...wink, wink) it turns out we may have been wrong. This summer has not turned out as bad as it seemed.

The disappointment we were feeling turned out to be caused by one particular couple that was working here. They were the type that tries to make everyone around them look bad so they look better than they actualy are. This created dischord an animosity amongst the workcamping group. As the only returning workcampers we were in a unique position to compare and share our experiences of last season to this year. Most of the people here realized that things could and should be better if we all just did our jobs and didn't interfere with anyone else. Eventualy the managers (first year managers at that) were able to get everyone to just work and ignore the disruptive personalities. 

Shortly thereafter the offending couple left and everyone was getting along and doing their jobs. We became a good social working group which is the goal of most workcamping crews. We work together, we live together, we have to get along together. Since things have gotten better and we have become closer with the new managers we have decided that we may come back for a third season!

YES! Three time is definitely a break from only visiting the same place more than once. If you follow us at all you know that this year was different from any of our past adventures. It turns out that sometimes hum-drum can work. We have been able to pad our nest egg a little since we did most of our exploring in this area last year and the new managers want us back in a new capacity. The new jobs will be easier for us old folks and we will be able to help them bring some of the good things that were done this year over into the next.

Well back to hum-drum or what we now call comfortable. The season is winding down and it's nice to watch the nest egg grow in anticipation of our next adventure. So I will sign off now, with a promise to start blogging more, from our home in Michigan because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#37 Time Marches On

 Well it has been two and a half weeks since we got to the U.P. We have settled in and started working. Everyone here is new from last year except Fred who is the one and only local on staff and it was good to see him. Schedules are different with the new managers so we had to find a system of our own that fit in with the rest of the crew.

Now that we are in our "zone" at work some things have become apparent. First of we shouldn't have broken our rule of "one and done". Coming back to the same job makes it feel like a long term commitment or even a career. The novelty of a new job, in a new place, and with new people is gone and we just drop into that rut called the rat race. It just isn't fun. It isn't terrible, but not knowing what is going to happen next is better than the hum-drum of again and again and again. This is something Mary and I have come to look forward to in our nomadic lifestyle. The not knowing is exciting and afterwards, good bad or indifferent, we have a story to tell around the campfire.

The second thing we have learned is that we are getting older. Hell, I'm just old! We can't do the work we did in the past and will have to look at workcamping jobs differently in the future. We will be looking at jobs that are less strenuous that will probably have less compensation. We will be good as long as our accomodations are covered and maybe even a little cash to go with it. We shall see.

We have our days off now and we will take it easy just hanging around the campground. There are some chores that need to be done and an old work friend is supposed to be in the area. We hope to get together with them and spend a little time.

It feels like breakfast time so I will sign off and start cooking here in our home in the Upper Peninsula because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#36 Let's Recap

 We are now settled in our home in Michigan and are looking forward to not traveling every couple of days. I can now sit down and recap the whirlwind of the last four months.

We started this trip with RV work done on the trailer and now after almost 10 thousand miles I can say that the suspension upgrade was worth every penny. Let's just say that it is easier to drive and making it much less stressful and fatiguing. We caught up with friends in Missouri, saw the eclipse in Arkansas, picked up our mail in north Texas, said a sad goodbye to a dear friend in south Texas, and a happy hello to another while making some new friends. It was then on to New Mexico to the White Sands, Arizona and Antelope Canyon, Utah and more old friends, and Idaho for some falls and Evel Knievel's Snake River jump site. That was the first month!

It was time to slow down a little. Next on the hit parade we saw Crater Lake in Oregon and on to a little off the beaten path campground just to chill for a week. Now that we were rested it was off to Washington State via Columbia River Gorge, Olympic National Park and Pikes Place Market in Seattle. After all this travel west it was eastward bound to Great Falls Montana and more quality time with a friend from the past. A little relaxing and preping the RV for the main event of the summer.

We headed north to hook-up with the RV tour we had booked to see the Calgary Stampede, Banff, and Glacier/Waterton Peace Park also known as Canada's Waterton Park and Glacier National Park in the U.S. Then it was back to Great Falls to unwind and make plans for the rest of the summer.

That led to the race east toward Michigan. We stopped in Sturgis SD for a night while the city was preparing for their annual bike rally and a stop in Mitchell SD with our third trip to the Corn Palace. Sounds a little hokie and it is but we like it. A few more nights on the road and here we are in St Ignace Michigan. 

There are new people at the park this year and they seem just as nice as the last group. We are looking forward to getting into a little routine working and still seeing some of the Upper Peninsula that we missed last year. As I've said before we will also put a little cash back in the savings account for future adventures.

I will sign off from our home, for a while, here in the U.P. because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#35 Piling On The Miles

 It has been a week since we finished the tour and we are back on the road making our own way. Our boss from last year offered us work to finish the season in Michigan and we took advantage of the opportunity. We need a break from all the travel. Since we left Florida on March 22nd we have traveled almost 9000 miles. We plan to sit still until sometime in October.

This summer's travel also took a dip out of our wallet and there is also the wear and tear on the truck and trailer after all those miles. We will be able to replenish some of that and pay for the maintenance working the rest of the summer season. 

Speaking of miles, just this past week we have driven right around 1500 miles. Six days of overnight stays and we will be looking forward to not traveling every day. It will be nice to set up our home for an extended stay. There will be pictures put up, clocks back on the wall, and knick knacks set out to make it feel like a home. We will also be sitting still long enough for our mail to catch up with us. And finally we will have a place for Amazon to find us. I am surprised that Amazon hasn't sent out a wellness check on us! 

Well tomorrow we will be setting down some temporary roots, but for today I will say goodbye from our home in Wisconson because ....

Home is where we park it, 

Frank and Mary

'24/#34 We Are Free To Roam The Country

 We made it across the border in what had to be the easiest crossing coming back to the states. Usually it is the  third degree and the fear of being detained while they search for something that is not there, just because they can. There was a line and a little wait but that was the worst of it.

The next stop was Glacier National Park. This is something that has been on the bucket list for quite a while. The tour we were with made all the reservations for the Red Bus tour on the Going To The Sun Road and the boat ride on McDonald Lake. Glacier implemented a reservation system several years ago to control the crowds and protect the park. No reservation, no trip up the Going to The Sun Road. It is inconvenient for impulse visits but a little planning and the park is all yours. 

The bus ride up the road was amazing. I could have done it with the truck but I would have missed all the breathtaking views. The road itself is a marvel of engineering and the constant maintenance shows. There are lots of pictures on Facebook from me and Mary. The next day was a casual boat ride on the lake with lots of information on the park's geological history and the people who have lived there.

This is the last day of our Fantasy Tour. We met a lot of nice people and we got to see some of the things we always wanted. But we are not tour people. We like to travel on our own, change plans as we head down the road, and explore whatever the road may put in front of us. This is probably our last tour. Tours are great for people who don't like planning all the details of a trip. It is a lot of work, but that is part of the experience. Also there are people who don't like to travel long ways in unfamiliar areas by themselves and tours are perfect for them. We are glad we did it but it just wasn't our cup of tea.

We are winding down for a couple of days back in Great Falls, Montana and will hit the road soon. Glad you could join us on our adventure. I will sign off now in our home in Great Falls because....

Home is where we park it, 

Frank and Mary

'24/#33 Glad To Be Going Home

 It's been twelve days on this RV tour and it is winding down. Today we are traveling back across the border into the U.S. Hopefully this border crossing is as simple as the one coming into Canada. 

We have met a lot of nice people on this trip and seen some wonderful things but it will be nice to get back on our own schedule. I don't think...I know we will not do this RV caravan thing again. Between the rush, rush, rush and the camping they chose it is not for us. The first camping was a temporary set-up in a stadium parking lot with limited facilities. We were aware of this going in so it was not too much of an issue. 

The next campground was a privately owned. This campground is not one we would have chosen. Tight turns, limited electric and sewer hook-ups, and the number of permanent residents is not what we expected on an organized RV caravan. There were a number of RVs that had electrical issues. as we did, and all the campground owner could say is that we were using too much electricity or that we had issues inside our rigs. I expected that for the price of this caravan to be in campgrounds that could accomodate the number and types of RVs that participated.

Almost everything is raedy to go so I will sign off for the last time from our home in Canada because.....

Home is where we park it, 

Frank andd Mary