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The Road Home – Down Memory Lane

June 28, 2017 By frugalrvT! 2 Comments

The Road Home

As we made our way across the northern states and back home to Ontario,
we continued to include as many stops as possible from that epic first RV trip we had –
the trip that started it all – 17 years ago.

Cody Wyoming
Jaw-dropping scenery at every turn on Hwy 14 from Yellowstone NP to Cody, Wyoming

We often stop at public pools (as much for the shower as the
swimming). We remembered 2 pools in Wyoming with free access on this
route: Buffalo and Gillette.  Can you believe it?  17 years later, both are still
free!

Actually, Buffalo, Wyoming has the largest free swimming pool anywhere in North America! It’s huge!

Devil’s Tower National Monument

We spent and afternoon hiking around Devil’s Tower National Monument. As impressive as we remembered.

Deadwood, SD

Seventeen years ago we suffered a broken brake line in Deadwood, SD.  We recall coasting to a repair shop (closed for the weekend) where we parked and put a note on the window. We couldn’t have chosen a more entertaining town to hang out in. We just had to revisit a few of those experiences.

Wild West history  – true or embellished – is everywhere
Poker Alice. Randy teased that I’ll look like her as I age. Not the cigar, of course, but he may have a point. I  see a resemblance to my mother and maternal grandmother.
Randy also asked me to sit here for a photo. And then dared me to post it. Done!
This is North Dakota. Grassland as far as the eye can see.
Moving house in North Dakota literally means moving your house. All traffic, both ways, was sent right off the highway to let this complete, wide house  pass.

Theodore Roosevelt National Monument

Theodore Roosevelt National Park badlands.  Another park we have not revisited since our first trip.
The park is home to prairie dogs, wild horses, 
And bison
“Cannonball” rock concretions
Another memory of the park we repeated:  picnic dinner in a historic shelter overlooking the river.

Someplace Else Lounge, Martin, ND

Martin ND has a population of about 60 (and decreasing). We had to stop here for a beer (again).

The story behind this stop?

Thirty seven years ago, Randy rode a bicycle across the country, stopping in many watering holes. It was a hot summer.

The Someplace Else bar holds a particular memory.The afternoon he stopped here went on well into evening when the bar’s  patrons (local farmers) stopped by one by one and, hearing how far he had ridden, bought him a beer. And another. And another.

On our first RV trip, 17 years ago, we found the place and were surprised to find that nothing except the bartender had changed. (Don’t expect any of them flowery, crafty beers here! )

The place is still the same now! Bonnie, the bartender and owner, who served us 17 years ago, was still there, too! Since Randy’s been coming for the past 37 years (whenever he’s in the area), he now considers himself as a regular.

Bonnie, the bartender with ‘regular” Randy.

The last significant stop on our trip was in Michigan. We spent a day at Picture Rocks National Lakeshore. On that first RV trip, 17 years ago, it had been our first stop at a National Park.

Picture Rocks National Seashore, Michigan
We hiked to several waterfalls
Miners’ Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Didn’t let the cool weather stop us – we had a beach picnic.
Picture Rocks Lakeshore
Grand Sable Dunes from Log Slide Overlook at Picture Rocks. Amazing view!

Boondocking and other Scenic Camping

The last leg of our journey included a couple of paid campsites but also some great free stops. Seventeen years ago, when we didn’t have nearly the resources we now have for finding legal, free camping. We often just parked in stealth mode. Now we have so many options.

We consult Harvest Hosts, Days End Directory, Overnight RV Parking, Free Campsites, Campendium, Allstays   and, of course, our own invention: Boondockers Welcome. RVers today have  access to a myriad of free camping tools and suggestions.  When we pay for camping, it’s because we chose to.

We stopped with Minnesota Boondockers Welcome hosts, Carpodiem, who treated us like family. They put on a sumptuous dinner and a campfire. (I know it wasn’t because I own the web site. They hadn’t even noticed that.)

What a fun evening!
Our hosts directed us to the most amazing tree house. It’s a vacation rental. The owner even gave us a tour. So cool!
Other camping along memory lane: A free campground on a quiet North Dakota lake.
At another very private, manicured, free stop, we saw deer and wild turkeys.

And here, again on Lake Superior, on our final night  in the United States
A final sunset. The trip home, following memory lane, is almost over

We crossed into Northern Ontario at Sault Ste Marie and stopped to visit old friends, who we don’t see nearly often enough.

The Best Scene of the Road Home

We saw so many world wonders in the last 3 and 1/2  months. But  it was on the 3-hour ferry ride from Manitoulin Island to Southern Ontario that we realized we were looking at the best scene along the road home: Our Canadian Flag.

We love traveling to the USA. So much beauty there . We’ve been drawn back over and over for 17 years now. I’m sure that will continue for many more.

As flag wavers, Canadians could never compete with our neighbors to the south. But for many reasons, too many and too complicated to mention, Randy and I are more proud than ever to be citizens of Canada!

We are so glad to be back in time to celebrate this big event:  Happy 150th Birthday, Canada!

Days on the road at time of posting: 109
Total camping costs to date: $177

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Filed Under: Boondocking, Canada, Free Camping, Hiking, Ontario, Road Trip, RV Travel Budget, Scenic Camping, Uncategorized, USA

Comments

  1. Sunny Harvy says

    June 29, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    Saratoga, Wyoming also has a free pool AND hot springs. Showers too of course. And, Landers, Wyoming has FREE camping in the City park. You gotta love that!

    https://travelswithharvy.com/2014/08/08/free-camping-love-it/

    Looks like you had another great trip. Thanks for sharing and especially for Boondockers Welcome. Now that we are home for the summer we are hosting BW guests in our driveway. Feels good to give a little pay back to all the great hosts we stayed with over the past 6 years.

    Reply
    • frugalrvT! says

      July 30, 2017 at 1:34 pm

      You are a font of great information, Sunny, and a perfect example of the generosity of typical RVers we’ve met through all our travels. A big part of the reason we knew a pay-it-forward concept like Boondockers Welcome could work. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

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