May 23 we leave Billings behind us with the plan of putting some miles under this rig. We need to get moving toward the Canadian Border before much more time slips away. Just on the west side of Butte, we cross the Continental Divide.
The Continental Divide West of Butte
We call the Missoula, Montana, Walmart home on the first night out of Billings.
Still heading west on Interstate 90, we enter Idaho on a very foggy, rainy, wet stretch of road.
Idaho and Pacific Time Zone
The Post Falls, Idaho, Walmart is home on the second night out. You gotta love these Walmart folks that let us park for free. It really makes a difference when we can get a few nights of “no pay” when all we are doing is moving across country. We are starting to see gas at $4.00 a gallon. It is time to save where we can.
At Moses Lake, Washington, we tuck into a Camp Club USA campground for $20 a night. They are few and far between up here. We love the half-price campgrounds.
Thursday, May 26, we arrive in Ellensberg, Washington, where we hunker down for the coming Memorial Day Weekend. We will stay in this lovely little town until Monday morning.
Rodeo Bull
It doesn’t take long for us to notice something a bit interesting. The map of the campground has “bull pasture – no admittance” noted in the upper corner. I’m not sure I would have had an over-whelming urge to enter the pasture after seeing these bad boys. Sure enough. There is a pasture to the side and in front of us that has about 12 to 15 bulls in it. Where I come from, there are usually a lot of cows in a pasture and maybe one bull if that.
After talking with the lady that owns the place, we discover that the bulls are rodeo stock.
Lazing About
It’s hard to feel sorry for these big guys when we see them grazing away in knee-deep grass. True, they have to be loaded up from time to time to be hauled to a rodeo, where some crazy person tries to ride them for a few seconds, and then they get to come back to munch on the grass. I think they get to be older than their steer counterparts that are sold for beef!
Bull Pasture
The whole trick is to never let a cow near this pasture. They have been entertaining us doing some pushing and shoving with the heads down, pawing the earth, and making very bull-like sounds. However, at no time has it truly gotten serious. Let one cow come by and flutter and eye in their direction, the whole picture in this pasture would change in a heartbeat!
Lilacs
My most favorite flower in the whole wide world is the lilac. They are blooming everywhere in this little town. There is even one little bush in the park that I get to go by and sniff whenever I want.
Lilacs
I’m really sorry I can’t make this a “scratch and sniff.”
Monday morning we are underway to Ferndale, Washington. Here we will get our last mail drop before entering Canada.
Ferndale is also where Ed and I celebrate four years of being together. It was June 1 when we had our first face-to-face meeting in 2007. In some ways the time has gone so fast, but we have created a lot of great memories in those four years. I think for that reason it seems like we have known each other a long time. Our first date was dinner at the beach. Tonight, June 1, 2011, is dinner at the beach in Birch Bay, Washington. It has been a good four years. We have decided to go for another four!
Tomorrow we cross the border into Canada. It feels like we are entering the second phase of this year’s journey. Life is beyond good!