Well hello there friend! It's been awhile! 2020 has been and continues to be a year of challenge for all of us. Grab you a cup of coffee and pull up a chair, lets visit for a few.
When I left off, we were finishing up in Williston, ND. So far that has been my favorite place. I had come home for a couple of weeks to visit my Dr. for some routine stuff and take care of a few things at home, like getting the kitchen remodel underway so we can eventually, maybe, sell the house. Maybe. Meanwhile, hubby went to Mission 4, Killdeer, ND.
Killdeer, ND
Obviously I was not on this job but for the last week of it. But I can tell you there is some great fishing in the area. Of course this is coming from my husband so they could just be fish tales! No, he actually sent pictures to me. One of the places he went to was Lake Ilo . This is a beautiful lake but the shore fishing was just ok. The place he really caught A LOT of fish was The Little Missouri Public Use Area.
The last week he was there I rejoined him. This was the week after Labor Day weekend. We went in to the small town of Killdeer for groceries and that was all I did there. Except pay a crap ton of money to fix our heater! Oh the joys of RV living! But you live and you learn and you let go. On to Mission 5.
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| Almost 600.00 later and we have heat back! |
Miles City, MT
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| Welcome to Miles City! |
This is a place I would love to go to during non-Covid times. Unlike North Dakota where everything was open all summer, most everything that had to do with tourism was closed down in Miles City, Montana. First things first. There is pretty much ONE campground in Miles City. Thankfully, it's a beautiful KOA! But there is more to that story and I will explain in just a bit.
I went to the chamber of commerce and had a wonderful visit with a lovely lady there. Unfortunately, again there was not much happening at this time. They do put out a great visitors guide, but because of Covid, they had not done one for 2020, so I have the 2019 book. We had planned on bringing our grandchildren up in mid-October but, going back to the KOA story...that didn't happen. I will get to it, I promise. First, I'll tell you of the places I wanted to visit, but was unable to. Then I will tell you what we did do, and finally, I'll tell you my KOA experience.
What we wanted to do:
I really wanted to go to the Range Riders Museum. This is a collection of 13 buildings that began back in 1941. The museum is a history of Southeastern Montana.
Another place I wanted to visit is the WaterWorks Art Museum. This unique place is located inside the old 1910 water plant. This museum sits at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Tongue rivers. It's actually on the opposite side of the Tongue from where the KOA is. There is actually a place we went to that is on the river kind of behind this place, I'll get to that in a minute.
They do have a winery you can visit called the Tongue River Winery. We did not go as neither of us drinks alcohol, but they do sell their wine at the Walmart, so I brought a few bottles back for my daughters. I'll be honest. They did not like the wine and I wasted a lot of money for them to try it.
OK, so WHAT DID WE DO? Great question! I walked A LOT. He fished a little. WE rocked hunted like crazy!
So, what is the great Miles City past-time? Looking for agates! Yup, that is what you do when you are in Miles City Montana! Why, I don't know, but if the bug bites, you can't help yourself, you are searching for them everywhere. I have 2 five gallon buckets and then some, of rocks we brought back from Montana. Some really are agates, others are just really neat rocks and a few pieces of jasper and we found quite a bit of petrified wood, which is always cool to find.
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| Big Agate |
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| Big Agate |
Where did we find all of these cool agates? Another great question! Most of them did come from hubby's job site, which all the dirt/rock for that came from a local quarry, so that's kind of the bummer because that is on private property. But some of our largest agates came right off the Yellowstone River!
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| Yellowstone River |
The coordinates I've given in the previous link are for an island that is accessible in the late summer into the fall when the river is low. If you look at it on the satellite image on google, it would seem impossible to get to. We were there Sept. into Oct. and while we did have to cross over a shallow stream (take your galoshes) it was easily accessible. This is the location that is behind the Waterworks Museum.
We also went to this place. Again, looking at google maps satellite, you'll wonder how, but I assure you, this one you can drive right out onto when the water is low. There were tons of people using this as a boat lunch. When we visited this little island, we had no idea what an agate is, so we didn't take the time to look for them here, but I'm sure they are there.
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| On the Yellowstone River |
There are also piles of rocks right next to the campground so we searched those several times and there are several places along the Tongue river that you can access very easily. There is a road that runs along the Tongue that makes for a nice walk and you can walk right down to the water.
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| A short walk from the campground |
OK, enough with the rock hounding, because for real, I could probably talk about searching for rocks all day long. It's silly, but it's a super relaxing hobby!
A place that I really enjoyed going for walks is the Spotted Eagle Recreation Area. This is a beautiful little lake with tons of activities from swimming to fishing to kayaking. There are so many well maintained walking trails all over this recreation area.
Another nice place to visit is 12 Mile Dam. Again, hubby fished, I walked. It is worth it to make the short trip out here for a picnic!
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| 12 Mile Dam |
There is a State Park called Pirogue Island, we actually drove out here but did not go in. It was seven dollars to get in which is fine, but we were just there to take a walk and didn't feel like paying to go for a walk, lol. If we had the grandchildren and/or were making a day of it, then definitely! But just for a walk, nah, I'm good.
As with all places, there is always so much to see and so little time to see it all! Again, I hope we get the opportunity to come back to Miles City post Covid and really have some fun!
Are you ready for the KOA story I promised you? Um, you didn't forget amid all the cool happenings in and around Miles City did you?
OK, this is what happened. As you know, hubby travels for work and I travel with him as much as I can. Duh. USUALLY, we stay in work camps (livin' the glamorous life!). This time however, we got to stay at a KOA. LIVING BIG! And this spot is GORGEOUS! There's grass and huge cottonwood trees, inexpensive laundry facilities (because seriously, you never know what you're going to get at a laundromat), the river is right there! This is glorious!
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| KOA Miles City |
And under new ownership.
Two days prior to our arrival.
By people who have never owned a campground before.
And who apparently have zero hospitality skills.
But, I am full of grace for these people. Hey, who doesn't love a new adventure! And as great as making new lifelong friends would be, I'm kind of used to work camps, people don't really socialize. I just do my thing, mind my own business, keep my campsite spotless, usually I would sit out at the picnic table and do my bible study and smile and wave at the people coming and going. They pick up the trash daily but I don't mind the walk over to the dumpster. I take the dog out for a daily walk anyway. Ohhhhh yeahhhhh, I completely forgot to mention the dog! I'll get to that.
Anyway, a little bit about their back story as I was told from the owners mother: Their son, who appears to be in his mid to late 30's, was injured in a lawnmower accident as a child which resulted in the loss of one of his eyes. They sued the person who had been mowing and won. They set up a trust fund for their son. Before the last of it was gone, they decided to invest it into something for him, long term, so they purchased this KOA. They are from Nevada. They all moved here together, the son is the owner and the mother and father are helping him run the place.
We arrived Sept. 10th with a month long reservation until the 10th of October. We actually wanted to stay even longer but, and here is a key part to the story, the old owners were ok with this. The new owners wanted to close the campground on the 15th of Oct. Their reason was that they wanted to shut the water off before any freeze could damage the lines. And while that is fair reasoning, we were told by the old owners it would not be a problem because they could keep the side near the residence open and close the other side of the park. The new owners however, just had no clue. So we just kind of figured we would take it one day at a time and see how it went.
BUT THEN...
About a week and a half before the 10th (now mind you, we were hoping to stay at least until the end of October, our grandchildren were planning on coming to stay for a week on the 17th), I walked into their little gift shop to get some postcards to send to the grand kids to get them excited. I was deciding which cards to buy when the father says to me "I just wanted you to know that we received a bad review because the people were complaining about some long term tenants that were up partying half the night being loud and smoking pot and coming out early in the morning and fighting and yelling." I said to him "well I can assure you it was not us! I am usually in bed by 8pm, we don't even drink alcohol let alone smoke pot! I am sure it was the other campers on the other side whom your wife had told me were a problem!" And then he starts in on telling me they are a KOA Journey, that means you only stay one or two nights, not long term! And how he is doing us a favor because we are essential workers in allowing us to stay! Y'ALL!!!!! My mind was BLOWN! We paid in full, at the time of reservation WITH THE OLD OWNERS! There are no other campgrounds in the area! I still just cannot with this! And you know, it wasn't even that he round about was accusing us of being unruly people, it was the fact that he made me feel so unwelcome. That hurt. I had done nothing wrong.
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| Our site at the KOA |
I went back to my camper teary eyed and proceeded to pack anything and everything that was out, like our rug and chairs and our little portable gas fire pit. I packed it all away. I felt dirty and ashamed and like I didn't belong. It was such an ugly feeling. I called my husband and through tears explained to him what happened and he was MAD to say the least. His company had two other men coming in to the campground in just a few days and now they were not so sure. I am guessing the secretary called and gave the people a piece of her mind because the next day, the father came to my door and apologized saying he doesn't even know why he mentioned that review to me. I spoke boldly instead of just saying "it's ok" because truly it wasn't, I said, you really made me feel unwelcome here! His head snapped up like I surprised him by saying that. But darn it, he needs to know! He apologized again and I said thank you and closed my door. After that, I didn't sit outside, I didn't make one move to bother those people. I went on my walks and made no eye contact. And on the morning of the 10th, we packed everything up and left.
A couple of other things worth mentioning about the KOA topic... when he apologized, he said we had been model tenants. Now, let me set the record straight here.... We are NOT tenants! We are paying guests at your facility! Maybe that's his biggest mistake. Like I said, zero hospitality skills. The other thing is in regards to the two other people from the company that had come to stay. Hubby took me and the camper home and went back and stayed in a hotel. The other two people who were in the campground from our company told us this: Exactly on the 15th, they shut off the water. They said NOTHING to our two guys. Just shut it off. Furthermore, they locked up the laundry facility and the bathroom/shower facility, but continued to charge the regular rate to them. These are not my facts though, only what I was told.
I have yet to leave them a review because I just don't know what to say. I mean, they are new to this, I am sure they are overwhelmed with everything, but at the same time, why did you choose something that takes people skills if you have none? By the way, I read the original review he mentioned to me, they were CLEARLY talking about the other people, they spoke of a FAMILY, and yes, those other people have children. Whereas, for us, it's just me and hubs and the dog...oh the dog.
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| Dwight |
My son got out of the US Air Force in August. When hubby brought me home from Williston, he picked up our son to go to work for him. And our son's dog became my dog, for the time being. Because our son stays in hotels with the other workers who do not camp, he cannot have the dog with him, even if he could, that's not fair to keep a dog in a hotel room all day alone. Especially this one who whines if I close him out of any room I'm occupying. Mind you he does not need to physically be in the room with me, but if I separate him from me with the door, that's a no-go. Except at night, he has accepted that I close my bedroom door, because he will sneak in and he is not allowed in my bedroom. I draw the line there! He is a sweet boy who believes that it's ok for an 80lb dog to crawl onto your lap. Again, I draw the line, lol. He sheds like mad and that is hard for me because I cannot stand dog hair, but he is a great companion.
And now for the intermission! I have been home since the 10th of October. The kitchen renovations have been going on, so very slowly. The backsplash will be done next week and that should be it! Hubby finished the Miles City job, then took a week off, thank God, I needed help with stuff around here and now he has taken the camper and gone to Cheyenne. Which is only three hours away, so he can come home on the weekends. Since we have reno's and holidays, I have opted to stay home for the time being. In to the new year, I am hoping we head someplace WARM, like back to Texas! I'll keep you posted! Thank you for visiting and God Bless!
Jennifer, The Elegant RV'er
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| One of many "hauls" |
