Back in Buffalo (Wyoming)

Big Horn Mountain Range

...or, back in the best one-horse town in the US.  Take your pick.  Either way we were here about this same time last year preparing for the Escapees Escapade 2011 in Gillette, WY.

We're fine and continuing our trip to Storm Mountain Youth Center at Rapid City, SD for a NOMADS three week mission.  If all goes well, we'll get to Hill City, SD tomorrow.  Then visit the youth center on Saturday to get a look at available sites to place the trailer.  The plan is to move on over on Sunday.

We had a good trip so far with stops at St Regis, MT; Deer Lodge, MT; and Billings, MT.  Unlike last year, we've learned to stock up in Billings - more choices and no sales tax - than stock up here in Buffalo.

We've also started lining up things for the fall.  Current plan is to have the trailer serviced at Sunshine RV in Lake Havasu City, AZ.  Got that locked in for late October, so now it's find a place for a couple of weeks near Lake Havasu so we can hangout there should it take a while to get any parts.  Called a place late this afternoon and got a phone message.  They were on summer hours 8:00 to noon.  I guess it's still hot there! We'll try back in a day or two.  Always something to do.

Rough plans so far are to move over to Hermosa, SD after Storm Mountain to visit some friends from the Hitchhiker Owners Forum & the buffalo roundup at Custer State Park. Actually, that part's pretty well set.  From there it's head south to Rocky Mountain Natl Park, stop at Colorado Springs, CO for another friend visit, head down to Petrified Forest Natl Park, move over to Williams, AZ and visit the Grand Canyon, and then down to Lake Havasu City, AZ.  That should get us to November.  At least that's the plan.  Only issue is that route takes us right through some of the worst of the wildfires this season.  And we don't know just how bad things are at the moment or the conditions at any of the campgrounds we're considering.  And if the Air Force Academy is playing at home while we're there, that could put a monkey wrench into Colorado Springs, too.  Oh, well...  Later, David

PS - in the unlikely event that someone from my high school class reads this, have a great class reunion this weekend!