TheByc'sBlog

TheByc'sBlog
My Many Hats

2008-12-08 9:26 PM
Montana Camping, part I

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Glad it is over and we all survived

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This is a story I wrote after a camping trip 2.5 years ago. What a disaster! I am breaking it into two parts, to spare the readers. (your welcome)

Okay, the reason we chose to camp in Montana sounded reasonable at the time. My brother Gary, and his wife Karol, bought 20.5 acres late last summer. The property was in need of cleaning up, as the prior owner left a lot of stuff there. It has a 20+ foot travel trailer, in very bad shape, and piles of "junk" that does not fit into the landscape. They had planned on going this summer (from Arizona) and start hauling away loads to the dump, and build a shed where they can leave some tools, and a woodstove that they plan on using in the future cabin. There was a septic tank built recently, that will be used for the cabin, but other than a creek, there is no running water.
Now, our 77 pound dog, Mickey, has always been extremely frightened of fireworks, and thunderstorms. She cowers in the bathroom, shaking, drooling, and breathing very hard. It is hard to watch. Last Fourth of July, our neighbors dog was rushed to the vet, where they ended up putting her down, as she had suffered a heart attack. Knowing that the noise in our neighborhood is awful, and my family no longer enjoys the noisy festivities associated with the Fourth, I thought it would be cool to go visit that property, and help them out, while getting away. Killing two birds with one stone, sort of.
Over the last couple of months, my siblings and I have been sending e-mails back and forth, getting ready to go, and who is bringing what, and what power tools will be needed....what are we eating, where are we eating it, where will I poop, that sort of stuff. My sister and her family backed out a week prior to leaving, because they had just bought a new house, and had a hard time getting the old house ready for renters. Money was too tight for them. I wanted to rent an SUV, as our Jeep has a lot of miles, and wasn't running at optimal condition. We decided to save money, and drive it anyway. I had taken Mickey to the vet a week or so before, and got her ready for a mosquito infected week. Heartguard, with tests, runs $75 or so. I also got 15 sedatives for her, as I do every year in June, getting ready for the Fourth, but wondering why I was doing that, if we were to be in the middle of nowhere.
We left home finally Saturday afternoon (July 1st), around 4:00. We had spent that day getting the bearings re-packed on our utility trailer, and a new thermostat in the Jeep. We headed east on I-90, knowing we needed to pack it in at a hotel one night. No big deal, but we never stayed in one with a dog before. Mike, Mickey and I were in the room together, and Brittany and Caitlyn went to the pool. Mick began prancing around, and wimpering as they left. She never really settled down, and we thought she wanted to go with them. Turns out, she had diarhea, and left a trail on the carpet in that room. Man, let me tell you, cleaning up dog crap with a hotel towel, while simultaniously barfing is not an easy job. Mike took her out ASAP, while I was stuck with the sh***y job. I was able to get the towels I used into a plastic garbage bag, and Mike dumped them outside in a dumpster. Night one down...
We again headed east on I-90, and didn't stop except for gas and food until we arrived in Anaconda. It is 30 miles on my side of Butte (my girls just call it Butt). My brother had come down off the mountain, and we were to meet "at the red house", before hitting the gravel road, and heading uphill. His directions said 5 miles from the road you will find the red house. Well, we went by a red house at 4.5 miles, and kept going. At 6 miles, we decided to turn around. That was when the transmission decided to leave us. Now, we are stuck, and keep losing cell phone contact with Gary. Somehow we managed to get across that we were past the red house, and he found us. we hooked our trailer up to his truck, and piled into the crew cab. We then went up the 8 miles of road. Now, this road starts out at 4,000 feet above sea level, and 8 miles later is at 7,000 feet above sea level. If you are lucky, you can make it in 45 minutes. They like it, as it keeps the "Looky-Loo's" away. Whatever...Day 2 down, The Jeep down, but we are safe, and there.

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