Buffalo and Beautiful Scenery, a trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul, a visit to Branson, Missouri and a new truck are just some of what we did on this 7 week, 6500 mile roadtrip.
Our first day out heading North on Hwy. 395. Our first night on the road was spent at the Highlands RV Park in Bishop, CA. We had full hook-ups as we were to find out, we would never have an issue finding a place to stay during our entire trip. We also got to travel on the new portion of Hwy. 395 through Cartago, CA. which they had been working when we came through here in 2023 and 2024.
It was pretty Hot when we rolled into Bishop, CA. so we were anxious to get set up and turn on the A/C in the Coach. Well, as it turned out, the plug for the shore power was getting pretty hot to the point it was smoking! So we had to do without A/C until I could get that plug changed out. Luckily it started cooling off as we were setting up.
The new Hwy. 395 through Cartago, CA.
Where the old Hwy. 395 went through Cartago, CA.
Our stay at The Highlands RV Park in Bishop, CA.
After an overnight stay in Ely, Nevada, we headed east for a stay of 3 nights at Castlegate RV Park in Helper, Utah. This is a very nice, well maintained Park with Laundry and Shower Facilities and a small water park for the Kids. And for me, it's located just across the Hwy. from the Union Pacific's Moffat Line to Denver, Colorado. This is also where I changed out the plug on the shore power and we had A/C finally, YAY!
Our site at Castlegate RV
The old shore power plug cooked like a crispy critter
The new plug just about ready
The new plug ready to go to work and a Union Pacific Coal Train in the background as my inspiration
On our last day in Helper, we did a hike to Gordon Creek. It was a chance to enjoy some natural vistas as well as some beautiful scenery. I imagine the Falls are going pretty good during the Spring snowmelt but during our visit, the Falls didn't have a lot of water running over them. It's about an hour hike into the Falls and an hour hike back to the Trailhead so it makes for a very good hike before lunch.
The Trailhead for Gordon Creek
Arlene on the trail to Gordon Creek
Gordon Creek Falls
The abandoned Utah Railway Bridge
Just upstream from the Falls
A PANO view of Gordon Creek Falls
There's Pa Truckee!
To show you how close our site was to the tracks. Castlegate calls these sites "Railfan" sites and are perfect for watching the show!
After our stay in Helper, we headed North to Vernal, Utah home of Dinosaur Nat'l Park of which we've been to several times so it was just an overnight stay at the Fossil RV Park before we headed east but not before we had lunch at The Sloppy Pig BBQ. They don't have a website at least I couldn't find one but their Brisket and Ribs are DELICIOUS! You can also take some for the road like we did. If your ever through Vernal, Utah, stop by The Sloppy Pig for some delicious BBQ, you won't be disappointed!
I wasn't looking for to our trek east from Vernal, Utah, not that Hwy. 40 is a bad road but that coming out of Steamboat Springs the 40 climbs a very steep and long grade. We asked Blake the manager at Fossil RV Park if he knew a better way for getting to Interstate 80. Blake told us that Hwy. 13 going North out of Craig, Colorado was a good road with no grades so we had lunch in Craig, CO. then followed Hwy. 13 North out of Craig and Blake was right as Hwy. 13 was a nice smooth road with no grades to contend with and before we knew it, we were on I80 heading east to Rawlings, WY. Thanks Blake!
Our Site at Western Hills Campground & RV Park
Plenty of sites available during our stay
Plenty of visitors in Rawlings
The next morning with a good nights under our belts, we heading out and north on Hwy. 287. Our goal was to reach Lusk, Wyoming so off we went! With a stop along the way in Casper, WY. for lunch and some grocery shopping, we then headed south on Interstate 25 to Orin, WY. where we diverged onto Hwy. 18 which would take us to Lusk, WY. and our nights stay. The thing about these parts is storms move in rather fast. We had made camp and I got set up to BBQ some Dodger Dogs when a storm rolled in and rained on my Dogs :( . I was able to get the Dodger Dogs cooked just in time to watch the thick of the storm pass over us while we ate inside the comfort of our Coach.
The thing about Lusk is every time we come through here, I'm reminded of the Blizzard of 1949 as Lusk was one of the Towns amongst many that got hit pretty hard in that storm. To find out how sever this Blizzard was, you can watch a documentary about it >HERE<.
Our site at BJ's Campground in Lusk, WY.
The open Prairie outside Lusk, WY.
The video above is of the Storm that rolled in while I was cooking our Dodger Dogs. These storms roll in pretty quick. I don't know but I think it was wanting a Dodger Dog, can't blame it cuz they were sure good!
It was on to Chadron, Nebraska and Crawford Hill. Crawford Hill is BNSF's busy Mainline that runs from Alliance, Nebraska to Gillette, Wyoming and the coal fields of the Powder River Basin. In Chadron, I wanted to check out the old Chicago & North Western Railroad's Yard which includes a Roundhouse and Turntable as Chadron was the C&NW's division point for this part of the world and was hoping to find some remnants of the old C&NW which I was able to do. I also managed to take measurements of a Grain Elevator that I would like to model sometime soon. The funny thing about all of this was I walked around this Yard for a good couple hours and no one approached me to ask me what I was doing there, I had free rein to take pictures and videos of whatever I wanted! I remained respectful of my time here and I Thank the people of Chadron and the Nebraska Northwestern Railroad for tolerating a curious Railfan.
The Roundhouse and Turntable at Chadron, SD.
The Turntable Control House is still painted C&NW Yellow & Green!
The Grain Elevator I took measurements of
As I came around the corner of this Grain Elevator, I was greeted by some Buddies!
After all my exploring and snooping around, we headed to downtown Chadron and >Wild's Bar & Grill< for a delicious French Dip Sandwich. I must say, this was one of the best French Dip sandwiches I've ever had as the meat was SOOOooooo tender and flavorful. Watch out Phillipe's, you have some serious competition! The following day, we did a day trip to Crawford, Nebraska. I wanted to see where the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad interchanged and crossed the Burlington Northern (now BNSF) tracks in Crawford. Though the C&NW is long gone, the RCP&E Railroad still comes down from Rapid City to interchange with the BNSF.
Welcome to Crawford, NE.
The old C&NW Right of Way just west of the old Interchange in Crawford
Looking North where the C&NW and the Burlington Northern once crossed each other
The former C&NW ROW looking east toward the Town of Crawford
From Crawford, the C&NW headed west too it's final terminus in the Town of Lander, WY., over 300 miles to the west. In 1974, the area around Riverton, WY which is just east of Landers, experienced some heavy flooding which washed out the C&NW's tracks. After using the BN to get into Riverton and Landers, the C&NW shut the line down from Crawford to Lander in 1974/75.
The abandoned C&NW line looking west
Enjoying a Nebraska Sunset in Chadron, NE.
After departing Chadron, we headed north/ northeast to Wall, SD. Wall is just outside the Badlands Nat'l Park and in 2017 on our visit to the Badlands, we discovered Wall Drug and it's delicious chipped beef sandwich and homemade pies. They take two slices of bread and place two huge scoops of fresh mashed potatoes on that, then they cover that with chipped Beef and smoother all of this with a delicious Beef gravy. Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum!
Wall Drugs Chipped Beef Sandwich
A slice of Wall Drug's homemade apple pie, YUMMY!
After our lunch at Wall Drug, we went for a walk to work off some calories when we noticed a storm moving in from the North. The storms in these parts move in quick so we headed back to camp and just in time too! When they say hail the size of golf balls, they're not kidding!
Pelted by golf ball size Hail
When they say golf ball size Hail, they mean golf ball size Hail!
Getting concerned was an understatement
This Hail Storm I believe was a contributing factor to something I'll share with you when we get to Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park. Stay Tuned!
Our next stop would be Buffalo, South Dakota. We found a nice quite RV Park just off the main Highway called Three Toes Campground. Full hook ups, showers and a laundry room. We went for a walk around town and Buffalo is a very quaint little Town I must say.
Our site in Buffalo, SD. at Three Toes Campground
A Buffalo, SD. Sunset
Looking out over the High Plains after a rain shower
Main Street Buffalo, SD.
The next morning and our next stop will be Medora, North Dakota and Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park! It took approximately 2 weeks to get to Medora but it was worth it as you'll see.
Medora, ND. is just outside the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park. A Quaint little Town with lots of History and character, we were able to book a site (Electric & Water only) for a weeks stay at Red Trail Campground. On our arrival and check in at Red Trail, we were pleasantly surprised when we were told there had been a cancelation so our site would have full hook ups. Thank You Red Trail Campground!
Our first night in Medora, we attended a Dinner Show that was about the History of
We made it!
Me & Teddy Roosevelt
Main Street Medora, SD.
Our site at Red Trail Campground
We spent our first full day in the South Unit of Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park. We packed a lunch and off we went for a day of adventure.
Prairie Dogs are a fun sight
A Prairie Dog Village
The South Unit of Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park
We had to approach our truck with caution
The next day we packed a lunch and headed for the North unit of Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park. Though we didn't encounter any Buffalo, there was more beautiful scenery to take in. The Little Missouri River meanders through much of the Park, adding to some already spectacular views.
Cannonball Concretions
Bentonitic Clay (The Blue ribbon in the middle of the picture)
One can see the Park Border
On our way out of the Park, we started hearing what sounded like a spare tire on our truck. It became louder as we headed south on Hwy. 85, so loud that we pulled over several times to see if I could find the origin of this sound. At one point, a North Dakota State Trooper stopped and eventually found himself crawling under our truck looking for this elusive sound. A Rancher came along and secured the down pipe coming from the turbo thinking, hoping that would resolve the issue but no luck. This noise sound like a teenager learning to play the drums. We made our way back to Medora and our campsite after Dinner and decided it was time for a new truck. So that evening I made a phone call to the FORD Dealer in Dickenson, North Dakota to arrange for a time to look at new trucks.
While the Dealer was doing an appraisal on our old truck is when I discovered that the noise was coming from the front windshield weather stripping which had come lose and was banging against the top of the truck. And now for the rest of the story. Remember back when we were in Wall, South Dakota and we had that really bad Hail storm? I believe that Hail storm was the cause or at least a contributing factor in prying this weather stripping lose which goes to show you how sever that Hail storm was.
The weather stripping separated from the windshield
It could sure bang out a tune that's for sure!
Our old truck
Saying goodbye
Meet Henry!
4 wheel drive this time!
It was a bittersweet experience for me letting go of our old truck but must say, our new truck is so much better. With a 6.7L Diesel, pulling our 5th wheel is a breeze and the braking power is awesome! Henry is a FORD F250 Lariat with the heavy duty tow package and Cirrus XM so no more having to fiddle with the iPod to get it to sync with the radio. Also, Henry has a 48 gallon fuel tank so no more grief that comes with a reserve fuel tank. Henry uses Diesel Emissions Fluid or DEF for short which isn't the dreaded heartache I feared it would be as we discovered that we can buy the DEF along with fuel at many truck stops eliminating having to deal with the 2.5 gallon containers. Plus, Henry uses B20 (Bio Diesel) which I wasn't able to use in our previous truck. So far, the pluses far outweigh the minuses and we got ourselves a really nice truck. Welcome to the Family Henry!
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