Friday, August 12, 2016

His and Her New Toys for the New 5th Wheel

A new toy for each of us.

Lightweight and portable. Nothing fancy but will do the job of piecing a quilt nicely.



Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Another Morning with My Hummingbirds

One of my favorite things to do in the morning. Just me, my coffee, my camera and my hummingbirds.

The hummingbirds are getting used to having their picture taken.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Hummingbird Photos

July 21, 2016

I love hummingbirds. We have a very active hummingbird population in our backyard in the mornings and evenings. One of my favorite things to do is to sit and catch these tiny birds in action. These photos were taken this morning. I usually use a tripod but I didn't have it set up this morning so the camera was hand held.


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

2016 Keystone Montana 3721RL

About 7 weeks ago (May, 27 2016), we stopped at our local RV dealer to "just look," we found a 2016 Montana 3721RL on the lot that sparked our interest. After touring the 3721RL and going over some numbers (the part we hate), we agreed to trade in our 2011 Montana High Country and purchase the new unit. Because we had three weeks before we departed on a 3 week (June 17 departure) adventure to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and South Dakota; we thought we had plenty of time to get a few issues repaired on the new 5th wheel before we needed to leave on our trip. Well....we were so wrong.

The new 3721RL needed a part (yes, one part) for the suspension but Keystone would not allow the replacement of just one part, they wanted the entire suspension replaced in order to not void the manufacturer's warranty. After 3 weeks, and delivery of several wrong parts, we ran out of time so ended up taking the "old" 2011 Montana on one last trip. We were disappointed that we could not take the new 5th wheel as planned, but we had a wonderful time on the trip.

Fast forward to July 13, 2016
We spent 6 hours at the dealers doing a walk through on the new Montana 3721RL. We found several small things that needed to be fixed and some minor cosmetic details that needed to be  touched up but we managed to get it home from the dealers. The new 5th wheel is just beautiful and we are happy with just about everything except the air conditioning (more on that later). The 6-point leveling system is so nice to have and there is so much room in the new unit. I can't wait to take it on a shakedown trip...hopefully in August (somewhere cool).





Saturday, July 16, 2016

July 7, 2016

Our last stop on our 3 week journey before home, was in  Trinidad, CO. We camped at Trinidad Lake State Park. We were so pooped by the time we got situated at our site we didn't even unhook the truck. We had a pretty nice site here. Tour of Trinidad will have to wait until next time.






We arrived home in New Mexico on July 8, 2016. What a trip. Three weeks, 5 states, 3909 miles. We got to spend time with family, met new friends and checked a couple of items off of the bucket list (Coeur D'Alene, Mt. Rushmore).

Gene's stats: We used 355 gallons of fuel, spent 92 hours riding in the truck, and got 11.0 mpg.

I think next trip we will spend less time in the truck and more time at a stop. 

This trip was the last trip for the 2011 Montana High Country. Her oxidized exterior and peeling decals made us decide to upgrade. She has served us well and has been reliable but it is time to trade her off....

Peeling decals on 2011 Montana High Country


July 5-7, 2016

We were going to drive the 276 miles back to Cheyenne, WY but decided to cancel those reservations and drive a little further to Fort Collins, CO where we stayed 2 nights at the Fort Collins/Lakeside KOA. We had a great site here (although a little unlevel). We had the lake behind us and even did a little unsuccessful fishing.
Our camp site in Fort Collins.


Fish were not biting but the lake weeds were.

While in Fort Collins we took a tour of the New Belgium Brewery. We were told that these tours are booked months in advance so we were lucky that some folks that had reserved a tour didn't show up. Lucky us! Once again, our guide, Shannon, was great!

New school brewing.

Old school brewing

Shannon, our guide.







July 3-4, 2016

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

After a 4 hour drive to Hill City, South Dakota, our home for 2 nights was at the Mount Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch.

The KOA was a nice KOA but we were put in the overflow area as we piddled around making our reservations here, forgetting that we were going to be there over the 4th of July. Our fault for taking our time on this one.

Gene had seen Mt. Rushmore with his family as a teen but it was a first for me. I am happy I was able to check this item off of my bucket list. Mt. Rushmore is really something to see.

After seeing the memorial we took the short drive to Keystone, SD and had lunch at the Ruby House in Keystone. Fun little restaurant. 



July 4, 2016

Deadwood, SD

Fun, fun, fun. We took a tour of Deadwood with Alkali Ike Tours in Deadwood. We really enjoyed our guide, very fun and informative.



We visited Kevin Costner's Midnight Star and loved seeing all of the Kevin Costner memorabilia on display there.

We also spent some time giving away some of our hard earned cash here. There are casinos everywhere. Gene was able to win $200 at the #10 Saloon so we came out ahead on that deal. Yay!

Next stop....Fort Collins, CO