"Monument Valley- Utah"...Monumental

We  headed north towards Cascade Lake, Idaho from Boise  and Timmy was especially happy as he and a group of "crazy motorcycle guys" were scheduled to attend a 3 day tour of antique motorcycles that one of his best buddies was hosting.

Ron was nice enough to let us park at his house in the mountains near Cascade Lake,  and we arrived and
 set up camp for the next 4 days. 
I guess Timmy and Ron were not too concerned about the "leveler", they just started digging  holes and moving things around after we parked, and before you knew it, the rig was level.
 I really appreciated the fact that I wasn't leaning sideways anymore and more importantly, could set my cold beer on the table
 without it tipping over and spilling.  
All the while, I am thinking... what if we weren't here, and couldn't dig holes, I am sure most campgrounds don't allow reconstruction of their landscaping,... but then I started reminiscing about our 
"swampland" episode in Maine again,..
 and slapped myself out of it. 

The boys had a wonderful ride, and for 3 days the sights of northern Idaho, it's mountains, and it's  lakes kept the boys happy!  

 

I opted to take a day and do some hiking and exploring.  
I found this quaint little lake just a half a mile down the road 
from Rons place.
I have been here at least a dozen times, if not more, 
and never knew this lake existed.
It was so peaceful and serene and I enjoyed the solitude of silence instead of the steady rumble of all those antique motorcycles.

The Stevens family hosted a great BBQ the final day of the tour and everyone enjoyed ribs, brisket and chicken that  
had been cooking all day.
It was a safe and successful tour!

***** 

Our next leg of the adventure was to head back to Boise again, and  Ron was nice enough to let us park the Jetson Mobile in 
front of his house again.  

We were heading to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah for "Speedweek" and had a few days to get the RV ready.
Timmy found out that the parts for the "leveler" not only were not in, but had not been ordered, so after Timmy calmed down,
 it was  my turn to fret.
Timmy assured me that we probably would not need a leveler at the  Salt Flats,... because,... the Flats were flat.
(aren't we quick?)

We loaded up the RV with all kinds of food, including steaks and fixins for shrimp pasta too, and the next day the "Jetson Mobile" was cruising towards Bonneville.

*****
Speedweek is quite the event. 
 The views of nothing but white sand can almost be overwhelming.

This event has been going on for over 50 years and you see every make, model and year of racing.
From what I understand, some of these cars reached up to 450 miles per hour and the course runs to 5 miles of sheer flat sand.
The gears on these cars are set to start so high, that they all had to be pushed to start until the car reaches a 
fast enough speed to drop in gear...
 Crazy!!  
I don't know which is scarier... to be in the race car, or
 be in the car or truck pushing from behind!!

This went on for 5 days, and after the 2nd day,... I conveniently realized  I  had unfinished work to do on my computer and opted to stay in the RV as opposed to spending another day in 110 degrees, with the sound of wind and race cars piercing my ear drums.  

Every night was a fun filled night with dinner back at the RV and the most beautiful sunsets of the mountains.

  

We even rendezvoused with friends we met on our first motorhome trip to Ventura.  They were  from New Zealand and are here until October living in their motorhome.

(crazy people  :)

We even threatened to visit them down under and rent a motorhome and travel with them.

We just laughed the night away with them and really hope to see them again soon!

Back to Boise Again!

*****

Seems we just can't get enough of Boise. 

 It is fast becoming one of my favorite cities.

We parked in front of Ron's house again, and by this time, the neighbors were not quite sure what was going on.

I'm sure they were happy when we left, and to keep coming back is probably quite confusing, but then again.... 

I am confused!! 

 Forget about them! 

The next morning, we woke up to the smell of burnt rubber and for a moment I was thinking,.. I probably should have put Timmy's clothes he wore at the  race track in a large garbage bag and sealed it.... as the smell of burnt rubber was the main course of each day 

at the Salt Flats.

Timmy mumbled something ...

"I think we burnt out the belt for the air conditioner"....

at first, I just wanted to believe he was still sleeping and 

was having a bad dream....

but he opened his eyes and said....

"I think  the belt burnt out on the air conditioner..."

"You think, or you know.... 

this is a very important question Timmy"  

"He mumbled,.... "I know".

Instead of getting upset,.. I calmly replied...

"of course it did...."

Thank God we were in Boise and we could stay in Ron's  house while everything was to be fixed. 

  ***

Ron let us use his BMW motorcycle and Timmy and  I decided to take a ride  up to Idaho City for a late breakfast, before the heat setled in.

The views were spectacular and I had no idea this reservoir was just a few  miles outside of Boise.

 

We had a great day of riding, and got home right as the temperature started to soar. 

We ended up back on this lake again with 

my dear ya ya sister Jill and  her husband Jim. 

They  have a boat and had invited us to go out on 

"Lucky Pete" for a day on the water....

We had a great time and the views of mountains all around us was truly magnificent.

 It is always

 a great day when you can spend it with a Ya Ya!!

***

We had a few more days in Boise, and decided to celebrate my birthday out on the town. 

Timmy and I have a good friend who previously owned

 Te Amo Italian Restaurante in Laguna Beach.

 We spent years going to this great little charm on the water, and my son Matthew even proposed to Erin at Te Amo, so needless to say... when we  found out Robert had a restaurant in Boise, called Barbacoa, we were beyond estactic.

Robert wined and dined us and we had no use to look at the menu,..

Robert kept ordering food, and  they served us at least 6 different courses, which the halibut sauteed in pumpkin seeds was my favorite.

I was happy that Ya Ya Jill,  her hubby Jim and Ron could join us and it was a wonderful evening, even though I might have had a little too much wine. 

Ron Stevens, is absolutely one of my favorite people in the world!!

We just love  him!!!

*****

Timmy had made plans to go back out to the

 Salt Flats for more racing and it is very obvious these guys can not get enough of burnt rubber!!

Apparently they have the cars race one week and then 2 weeks later the motorcycles race.

Although another one of our good friends "Vegas Bob" was scheduled to race on Saturday...

I conveniently remembered I had a few of Billy's famous  unfinished margaritas to drink at my sisters house in Denver, so I caught the next days plane and was  excited to see Mindy. 

Even though the air conditioner and the hydraulic level

 had been fixed,  deciding to 

either 

 stand in 100 degrees for 4 days with 

a bunch of rowdy motorcycle guys

getting  high off all the fumes,

 or 

float in my sisters pool, while Billy the cabana boy served us margaritas  was a tough decision ... 

I took a chance and opted for Denver.

Billy's famous blended "Blue Margaritas"

We had a blast, as we always do,..

and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty, as I thought about my hubby in the heat, on the salt...

and then I would take a sip of my blue margarita ...

and  everything was okay!

***

Meanwhile... back at the Salt Flats...I had asked my hubby to take lots of pictures of Bob racing. Timmy was thrilled to be his pit crew and they wrenched for 4 days.

Bob rides an old 1953 Indian Chief and beat his old time

 from 94 miles per hour to 97.2 miles per hour!!

Could you imagine racing one of these old machines,

 just you, the bike and the sand....

Nice job Roberto!!!!

****

I was all set to fly into Salt Lake from Denver as Bonneville is only 2 hours away from Salt Lake, and Timmy could drive from the Salt Flats straight into Salt Lake and pick me up at the airport. 

Timmy's sister Teresa lives in Salt Lake, and was kind enough to let us park in front of her house.

We had a dinner out on the town with the best ribs 

I have ever tasted in my life.

I can't believe I have never been to Salt Lake before,..

it is a beautiful city nestled up against the mountains.

It was a quick stop, and we had big plans for some beautiful sights in store on our way home through 

southern Utah and northern Arizona.

 *****

Capital Reef  Bound

I had gone through Capital Reef a few summers ago when a few of my girlfriends decided to take a cross country trip 

from California to Iowa.

Capital Reef is a huge national park in Utah and you simply can not see it all in a one day excursion.  

We drove 8 hours and found a great little RV park near Capital Reef and planned to get up early and drive the sights.

We had no sooner pulled in and was unhooking the jeep,.. 

and we hear...."Hey, I know you..."

It was the people from the very first night when we stayed in Zion who were parked next to us and enjoyed glaring at us and 

our every move.

They also had the canopy that goes up with a push of a button...which they had reminded us of that, as they watched us try and unroll our canopy while Timmy was perched on the ladder.

Remember??

I am feeling a dejavu as I am getting everything set up and they continue to  watch the show...

and I am thinking,...

 what are the odds that we would ever run into these people again?

Timmy had a strange look on  his face and excused himself and motioned to me to meet him in the RV...

he whispers..."Janis,... I almost told them to check out our travel blog and they can see where we have been for 3  months... but I remembered you had written about them the first night... so I caught myself before I said it.... so don't tell them to read our blog cause 

they will know it is them....."

I looked at my husband and chuckled.....he sounded just like a girl. 

They may have a push button canopy,... but I felt a sense of pride when we asked them where they have been traveling... they said... 

"oh just around here... "

which is great,... I have nothing negative to say about that....

but I must admit when we told them we have put on almost 17,000 miles and traveled to the East Coast, Canada, 

and back toward California...

the looks on their faces were priceless.... 

I'll show you a push button canopy!!

*****

Driving the Capital Reef

We had all day to explore Capital Reef and I was so excited, 

 I could hardly contain myself.

This park is home to the most beautiful rocks 

and formations in Utah.

The views were so spectacular,

 we just kept stopping to enjoy the sights.

As our Great American Adventure is winding down to a close, I find myself sentimental about the " Jetson Mobile".... I mean, just look at those retro rockets on the side....

We made many stops along the way...

 One can never be to cautious when it comes to rattle snakes...

Eekkks

  The shape of some of these rock formations were unreal.

Some looked like pink castles and others looked like domes.

 As we were heading out of the Capital Reef area, we stopped to read and learned, the best was yet to come.

 On down the road to

Monument Valley

The drive to Monument Valley was the best of all.

Monument Valley is famous for  the thousands of rock formations that look like monuments.

 Have you ever seen anything like it?

It is also famous for many western movies and there are pictures of John Wayne all over the Indian Reservation Casinos.

Timmy had taken a motorcycle tour group through this area a few years back, and kept pushing to get to our final destination 

to hit the sunset.

We hit it.

This observation deck is so popular, there were professional photographers catching the sun and snapping pics for at least an hour.

I'd like to think mine weren't too shabby either,.. but really...

 how can anyone take a bad picture in this amazing place?

Dinner at the casino and we caught this little gem walking out.

*****

Our last leg towards home was to stay in Laughlin, Nevada, one of my favorite gambling places on the river.

You know, there is nothing better than being able to shoot craps and look out and see the river.... most of the casinos here are right on the rivers edge and  have windows over looking the river, so you don't feel like you are indoors....

(which could be dangerous)

They even have water taxis to take you up and down the river.

FUN

Timmy and I had dinner at our favorite prime rib place over looking the river and we shared tears of joy as we reminisced about our trip.

We talked for 2 hours about our trip, things we loved, things we would not do again, we shared our favorite places, ...

I guess we were just trying to hold on to the last fleeting moments of this great adventure.

***

As we headed home I contemplated the past 3 months and 

all that I have learned.

I have learned about canopies, cannolies  and cannons

I learned about Belfast, buoys and Bar Harbor

I learned about Thunder Bay, Thunder Mountain and Toledo

I learned abut the Salmon River, the Snake and St. Lawrence

I learned about canyons, Quebec and cathedrals

I learned about Gettysburg, Gouldings and Gloucester

and I learned that this list just went on and on...

but

the thing I learned most...

and the thing I learned best.....

is...

I learned 

that basically

I KNOW NOTHING AT ALL

Thank you all for sharing in

Grabers Great American Adventure

*****

The "Jetson Mobile"  officially signing off....

Over and Out

I'm just going to "level" with you......

We were so happy to be back in the States and had some great driving time with views of Lake Superior!

We decided to stay in Grand Marias on Lake Superior and found it to be a charming little village.

Timmy and I set up camp and headed into town for some dinner at the "Raven Spirits" water hole.

As I looked around there were all kinds of "Figure Heads", the old wooden mermaids that sat on the front of old boats.

I took some pictures, but they were so risque I am surprised they let families in for dinner and didn't ask for I.D.'s.

I thought of the days when pirates must have sailed the waters and as we were driving  home I glanced out of the jeep and caught

the black sails of this schooner.

Hmmmm

Coincidence.... I think not.

I snapped a few more pics of the harbor and it was time to head home.

*****

Our next stop as we continued to head west was Devils Lake, North Dakota.

We tried several campsites before we found one that

had space for the "Jetson Mobile".

The campsite was right on a very popular fishing lake and

we were happy to be near water, once again.

A cute young boy, near the age of 13 was manning the front desk and was bombarded with phone calls as we were registering....

"yes, we sell worms.....

.... no we don't have frogs....., he rolls his eyes...."

He tells us there is one site left.... and after we arrived,

 we could understand why...

 it has probably been the one and only site

most people don't even attempt to use!!!

It was so uneven, and the back end of the site

near the hookups looked like a sheer drop off!

(Now why would they put the hook ups way in the back, knowing that big RVs can't back all the way towards the back, without major damage to the entire structure of the RV, not to mention falling over the cliff? )

Timmy used a few cuss words upon arrival and

walked the grounds masterminding

 "The Plan".

He does such a great job of leveling every time we park and it is amazing how the jacks under the motorhome can make such a difference in keeping our RV level.

Timmy unhooked the jeep and it was "Gametime"

We already had one of our neighbors, (the ones directly behind us) voice his opinion  and he was pointing and advising Timmy

 what he thought was best.

 I am sure he was  more concerned that the " Jetson Mobile" might tip too far over and come crashing down on his 5th wheeler

parked about 20 feet from us.

After about 10 minutes of inching our way back, bit by bit,...

I could barely bring myself to watch, as I was holding my breath

 most of the time.

What you are about to see is very similar to the "Mackinac Bridge"...

considered an engineering wonder....

Do not adjust your screens.

This is not an optical illusion.

I had to be careful exiting the RV as the steps were so high and there was so much distance to the ground, I  had to hang onto the railing on the side of the rig and kinda swing myself to the ground, guessing when the right time would be to jump.

But never mind that...

Getting back into the RV was the real challenge.

Pole vaulting immediately came to mind...

and our next door neighbor yells....

"maybe you  could use our kids trampoline"

  I mean seriously,... look at those steps,... I could do chin ups on that thing!

 Thank God this part of the country is not known for earthquakes....

We survived the "cliff hanging" experience and

we didn't even break any bones.

I  think they must have a hidden camera somewhere in the trees and use this camp space as a streaming live "reality" show, 

and quite possibly show it in the local casino,

 as people with a warped sense of humor place their bets.

*****

My hubby had told me to " sleep in"  the next day and

 not to worry about anything,

 the morning of

"Lift Off" ...

that he would 

move the  "Jetson Mobile"  

 hook up  the jeep

 and take care of everything...

I thought ... how sweet...

I found out a few days later as he was talking with a friend on the phone,

 he was a little more nervous about the "situation" than he led on,..

and probably didn't want me to

bite off the rest of my nails during our departure at " Cliffville"...

so he kept me secured in bed with no visual contact of the "situation".

so as far as I was concerned....

everything went great!

(good cover up Timmy)

I am just  so grateful that we didn't fall over and go boom!

  

*****

Timmy's youngest sister Annie and her husband Duane live in

 Lewistown, Montana, and we were excited

 to spend a few days with family.

The fair was in town and reminded me so much of the days in good ole Webster City when the county fair came to town.

We went to watch the demolition derby and of course everyone in town was there hooting and hollering.

 Annie and Timmy - Graber siblings!

It was a beautiful night at the fair and after the derby we walked the grounds and checked out the rides.

I couldn't pass the opportunity of catching the sun go down with the silhouette of the kids on the carnival rides.

And speaking of kids,... I absolutely fell in love with

Duane and Annie's son, little Duane.

He is quite the gentlemen and was a very happy boy as he took home a blue ribbon showing pigs at the fair.

They served great meals while we were there and I was surprised that I liked Buffalo meat as well as I did.

Duane is an avid hunter and,... and has a huge collection of Deer and Elk.

 I did feel better when Annie reminded me that this particular buffalo was injured and was going to be put down anyway.

I believe other than that, it is against the law to hunt buffalo, so you won't see many of these....

    

look at the size of that flat screen T.V.!!

We said our goodbyes and headed down the road towards Idaho.

*****

I have been a mortgage loan officer for over 25 years and one of my dearest friends who did most of my title business on my loans, now lives in

Coeur d' Alene, Idaho.

I had come through here last year and missed her, so we made arrangements to get together.

Timmy had work to do, and being the gentleman that he is, told us to go ahead and get our "girl talk"  out the way, and he would join us later for dinner. June picked me up and it was great to finally see her lovely home!!

Timmy met up with us in downtown Coeur d' Alene and we enjoyed a great dinner at a really chic restaurant just a block from the lake.

Timmy had a meeting with some guy a few miles outside of the city, who wanted Tim to sell some of his antique motorcycles, so I took advantage of a lovely walk around the RV park, which was right on the lake.

A storm was brewing, and you could smell the rain coming.  As we headed south towards Boise, we enjoyed the brief thunder storm and we knew my favorite highway in the country was on the menu for the day.

Highway 95 in northern Idaho is absolutely incredible.

  

It seems that everywhere you looked, you would either see hay fields, mountains, valley, rivers, ... you name it.... Highway 95 has it.

Devils Canyon is a beautiful gorge cut in the rocks by the Salmon River.

My sister in law and one of  my best friends white water rafted on this river a few years ago, so it was especially fun to follow it again by road.

The "Jetson Mobile" has done such a great job of taking care of us, so I decided to snap a shot of  him too, with the "Jeepster."

We knew it was going to be a long driving day, 10 hours to be exact.

We normally just drive 5 or 6 hours and find a place to camp for the night, but Timmy had made reservations in Boise at the local " Cat " shop...

 (I think that is short for caterpillar)

 to have the generator and the leveler looked at. 

What?

What does that mean exactly?

I knew that the generator runs the air conditioning, so now I am starting to worry ,... but I began to fret at the thought of not having a leveler....especially after surviving our cliff hanging experience

 in North Dakota.

Timmy was hoping by getting to Boise by Friday morning they could work on the rig both Friday and Saturday if need be.

As we continued our drive south towards Boise, we needed some fuel and stopped at Riggins.  This is where we rented our rafts a few years back and the town was full of rafters. 

 Timmy was bound and determined to pull into this one

and only diesel station available.

Once again, it was time to bite my nails.

Oh Brother, how do we get ourselves into these things....

and how are we going to get out...

the other side was just as close to the pumps and I would have taken a picture of that, but Timmy was standing there and

I didn't want to make him any more nervous.

For the first time in our 25 years of marriage....

I was speechless!!

As I walked into the store to get us a few ice creams, my mind was racing,

... what if we scrape the pole or knock it down...

...what if we take out the fire hydrant....

what if he swings to far to the other side and hits the gas pump...

and that's just the motorhome....

we still  have to get the jeep to make the turn as well....  

I calmly walked back and handed Timmy his ice cream

 while he was finishing the fueling.

A crowd had gathered now and for a moment

 I felt like yelling out the window...

"Why don't you take a picture, it will last longer"...

but realized that was childish and went back to biting my nails.  

Timmy puts the RV in drive and I take a deep breath,... and caught myself  quietly humming "Do you believe in magic" by the  Lovin Spoonfuls....

I always forget Timmy drove a Hook and Ladder, Fire Engines and everything in between for 30 years...

and although it took several slow minutes to crawl out of the space,...

we missed the pole by inches...

we missed the fire hydrant by inches...

we missed the gas pump by inches...

Timmy looks at me with a big grin and nonchalantly says...

"Are you okay,.. what's the problem..."

I just said....

"No problem here....how's your ice cream?

And that was that....

or was it?

About 3 hours later Timmy says he needs to pull over for more fuel....

What?

He didn't like the price at the last station, so he didn't fill up....

Seems, Big Tim might have been more concerned than he led on...

as he found out when he went to fuel up again, he had left the gas cap back at the last gas station...

probably still sitting on top of the pump,

 across from the pole and fire hydrant....

Luckily I had brought some basic office supplies for the RV and had some good package tape that I had used to

 tape our anniversary balloons on the motorhome.

Timmy was able to fill up this time,

 and managed to close the hole with tape.

I was going to ask how long  the tape would stick to the motorhome, if my memory serves me correctly, it didn't stick very good, but decided to just keep my mouth shut.

***

Boise

One of my dear ya ya sisters Jill Timm Wilson lives in  Boise, and I always make a point of catching up with her and her wonderful husband Jim

when in town.

They had relatives in town for the weekend, and had invited us over for Jims famous fish fry. Seems this is the 3rd year in a row I have been able to enjoy his fish fry and I am just glad that Jim is such a great fisherman.

Love that salmon and keep em coming Jim!!

One of Timmys best friends also lives in Boise and is hosting an antique motorcycle ride up in the mountains for the following week.

Ron was kind enough to let us park our rig in front of his house and even told us we could use his shop to do some more work on the RV.

I had a day free to do some shopping and get my nails done...

just basic necessities

 and I get a call from my hubby

he had picked up the RV from the Cat shop and was driving over to Rons shop and the RV just died......

he was waiting for AAA to tow the rig back to the Cat Shop.

My mind was racing...

how can we expect to take the Jetson Mobile up in the mountains for the antique motorcycle tour with all these problems...

now what do we do?

And the problem with the "Leveler" still had not been addressed...

Do we still go up in the mountains?

We have been so excited for this motorcycle tour.

As long as the rig gets fixed and is running properly, I don't see why not...

but

what about the leveler?

Seems to me the main objective

was the

LEVELER

I've always thought it was important to

be on level ground....

 but at that particular point in time.... 

all I could think of was being 

"LEVEL HEADED"

but that is just me.