Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day.  We are at the North American RV Park near Glacier National Park.  We arrived yesterday and plan on staying 3 nights.  I told Richard today that I really like this RV life, and living small, and all that, but I do like stopping for a day with nothing to do.  He said he doesn't like having so many driving days in a row, that is why we stopped for several days in Las Vegas area.  Good, we feel the same way.  This whole trip was an unknown.  We are finding out our likes and dislikes of traveling.  We are finding out what we like to see.  For example, I do like little shops.  We both like small hikes-not overnight excursions.  I don't do heat well.  Drink more water.  There isn't anything for dogs in National Parks, but they do fine for 6-7 hours in the RV.  Just like home.  I know now what kind of clothes to pack.  AND pack a serving bowl because you never know when there will be a potluck at an RV park!  Richard is currently making potato salad for today's pot luck.
Here are two pictures I took two days ago in Montana.

I do have a small fascination for RR's.  There were several little cars like this one on the tracks doing something.  

This was interesting to me..............................

This was taken in the morning at the Deer Lodge KOA.  It had been full the night before.  Many campers seem to travel longer hours than us.  We like getting up around 8, leaving around 10, and arriving around 1-3.  If arrival time is 3:00, then we would stop somewhere for a sandwich from the RV.  So the RV park was pretty full for the night.  About half had already left when we got moving.  This night and the one previous had fireworks going off in the neighborhoods, which make Artie nervous.  I'd put him in his kennel and he'd scratch at the door.  So, for 2 nights I stayed up with him and me on the couch until it got quiet.  

Everything was quiet until the motorcycles came in around 11:00PM, which really wasn't very late.  Just their headlights kept lighting up our living room.  Artie settled down when they settled down in their tents and I could put him in his kennel, and put me in my bed.  BTW-our bed is really, really nice.  Richard bought a memory foam mattress.  Beds in RV's can be a little shorter than regular beds, and ours is.  We buy queen short for sheets and comforter.

I did a zoom on the above picture.  I thought it was pretty American with the mountain, flag, motorcycles.  There is a river between the park and the brown house and flag.  I thought you'd like this one, Dom.  Sunset wasn't one to talk about.

This City Pavilion dated 1919 was bordering on our KOA park.  The side of this old brick building was where the dog walk was.  

Here is the building from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMV807_1919_City_Pavilion_Deer_Lodge_MT

You can see the green grass that was the dog walk.  Here is the story:

Deer Lodge was the division headquarters for the Milwaukee Road (MILW), officially known as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, until their demise in 1980. Here, the MILW was electrified until June 15, 1974, when the conversion to diesel-electric locomotives retired all the line's electric locomotives. At one time Deer Lodge was the site of large railroad yards, shops, the MILW depot and a roundhouse. The roadbed and many of the bridges are still intact across Montana, with BNSF trains passing by daily during the week.

On what was known as the Pacific Extension, which extended the MILW lines in the midwest to the Pacific Ocean, the MILW would have reached Deer Lodge in 1907. Unfortunately for it, the Northern Pacific had passed through more than 20 years previous, in the early 1880s, making Deer Lodge a Northern Pacific town. Possibly it was to curry favour in the town, possibly it was simply to leave its imprint here, but the MILW built this community hall in 1919, donating it to the town. Though apparently no longer in use as a community hall, the solid brick and stone building still stands, one of only two reminders that the MILW had ever been here, the other being the railway depot, now used as a church.

I did also see the depot turned into a church, but I didn't get a picture.  I wonder where Ayako was born, and what it looked like back then.  

As we were leaving I told Richard to drive slow past this tall building.  Is it a grain elevator?  It was on the RR tracks.  Anyway, as we went past I saw the sign below.  Hogan's Ranchers' Agra Services.  I, too, may have family ties to this town.

Just a few pictures of the older buildings in town.  The bank above would have looked better if it didn't have plastic plants in the urns out front.  There was also a prison there that is now a museum, and a few cool looking trains.  I looked it up on the internet, and one is called "Little Joe"  It had some importance about being an electric locomotive.  I was going to take pictures of the prison and trains, but found out we left a different direction than we came in because the main town road was a business loop off the highway.  I do want to come back to this cute town and stay a day exploring.

 More Montana sights while driving

Montana trains carry coal.  

Many signs look like this.  I wonder what language the above letters are.  

Flathead Lake

This one isn't too bad.

Well that is the last of the pictures.  These were taken yesterday.  Yesterday we went to a restaurant to sample local cooking.  I had a calzone stuffed with chicken, spinach, and alfredo sauce.  Richard had buffalo burger.  I drank lemonade with huckleberry.  Everything here is huckleberry.  I bought some gifts of huckleberry jams, jellies, and syrup.  Still not quite as good as Alaskan wild blueberries, which could be also called huckleberries.  Or am I biased?

  Today's plans are reading and cleaning the RV.  Richard's plans are making potato salad.  Leinen's plans are whining everytime someone walks by with a dog.  Artie's plans are sleeping on the couch.  Tomorrow will be a long day in Glacier National Park.  

See Ya Later!