Big Sky RV Park - Anaconda, MT

Freedom at last and on the road again. The bus is finally fixed (fortunately all was under warranty) and we've headed west on I-90 from Billings to Butte. The drive was so very pretty! Just past Bozeman is especially scenic with beautiful grassy meadows, peaceful mountain valleys and clear blue skies. We're staying for a few days in the small town of Anaconda (near Butte). There is much to do here -- fishing, golf, a tour bus ride we plan to take and just exploring the town on bicycles. The RV park has a great little stream across the road from us and behind us is this steep rocky hill (looks more impressive in real life than in the photo). Loving life.  

Billings, MT

Dropped anchor in Billings, MT for a few days.  Staying at Billings Village RV Park. We're here for service on the bus... need a particulate filter sensor.  Couldn't get an appointment at Cummings until Monday afternoon so we're laying back for the weekend.  Steve is washing the bus today by hand. Thankfully there is cloud cover to offset some of this heat.  We were horrified to hear of the shooting in Denver today. Saying prayers.

Little Willie has made friends with his mentor - Jimi.

Ten Sleep, WY

Today we're in north central Wyoming.  It was a beautiful drive through the Big Horn mountains however the RV struggled.  We climbed a 7% grade and overheated.  Long story short, we made it to the little town of Ten Sleep, WY where we're staying for several days.  We are trying to get parts (air filter, hoses, etc) but we're finding them difficult to come by here in the middle of nowhere.  We'll be keeping Fed Ex in business! In the meantime, we are enjoying the peacefulness and beauty of our surroundings.

Back home to Denver

Back to Denver.  We spent the last week of June & first part of July back in Denver to attend our nephew Tanner's wedding as well as take care of many doctors visits and other business.  It was good to connect with friends... Tim and Nancy are so much fun and our former neighbors, Greg & Sharon... all are very special to us.  We certainly miss them & our family while on the road.

We recently experienced a tragic loss of our most special and beloved cat Tommy.  We'll never forget his sweet personality and "extra large" presence in our lives.  Once we got back to Denver, we had to search for another kitten. After a rather extended search, we found little Willie (William Cooper Fields or WC Fields) at a PetsMart through the Lucky Paws Rescue.  He is precious and is holding his own with his big K9 brother, Harley.    

Learning the Ropes in NE & SD

Our first 2 months on the road was fun.  First we headed north through Nebraska, stopping for a week at beautiful Lake McConaughy.  The beach was awesome and we had it all to ourselves.  Then it was on to Grand Island where we caught a pretty sunset.

Then we headed to our first real destination - Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we'd planned to set up our domicile for tax purposes, voter registration, mail forwarding, etc.  We stayed for a whole month there in a shady RV park that was just lovely.  Met great people too - Joe & Carolyn pictured below were terrific and we found much in common with them.  Other residents - Mr & Mrs Mallard was also always a delight to see as we took our daily stroll.

We visited the falls in downtown Sioux Falls, enjoyed burgers at a great little joint and stopped at the Sertoma Butterfly House & Marine Cove.

We also visited the Black Hills of SD where we found beautiful spots to take a break & walk the dog.  We took a short train ride on an old locomotive from Hill City to Keystone and back.  Nice!

The Beginning

It all began when a little dog entered our lives.  Harley -- our beloved miniature Australian Shepherd. We'd had no intention of getting a dog until we retired, but there he was one day ready to come home with us.  That was in June of 2010 and as it turns out... we retired a year later.  By then, our dream of dramatically downsizing and indefinitely land-cruising in a motorhome had taken root.  We knew Harley would be in doggie heaven with full-time "parents" and endless and ever-changing new territory to explore.

First came retirement (for Debbie) after more than 30 years in corporate America... it was time!  Going from the 24/7 grind of a demanding job, to the utter freedom of retirement was truly a dream come true. After the big day came (July 29, 2011) we spent a glorious final 6 months in our dream home (where we'd lived for the last 11 years).  But we had decided to pull up our roots, sell the house and indefinitely explore America.  So we listed the house in March 2012 and it sold quickly.  In April, it was goodbye dream home... hello adventure!

After a long search for the perfect motorhome, we found just the right one in Tampa, Florida at the gi-normous RV sales & service place called "Lazy Days".  We bought our 2011 Allegro Bus on August 10, 2011.  We stored it for the winter but then moved in to it full-time right before our home went on the market.  And then the adventure began.