Sorry it has been a long time, but we have moved from Retama in the southern tip of Texas all the way back to the North Western Part of Montana. Along the way you could say we "stopped and smelled the Roses" (or Blue Bonnets !).
BUT, before we left Texas we had to make one more trip to Mexico !
One more Mega Margarita !
Another Plate of Lonches !
Even Carly likes em' !
The reason we hung around Mission so long was JEEP BEACH ! It was a big meet of of Jeep folks at South Padre Island ! There we 267 Jeeps !!
We met at a local shopping center and then caravaned to the beach !
Lots of Jeeps....
Some of these guys were hard core !
It was a beautiful day !
We basically rolled on the beach and took over about a mile of sand !!
FUN !
Shot from the dunes !
Then we were off. 1st stop was Llano Texas, about a 5 hour run North West. Here we hooked up with some friends that we met on our Cruise last December. Llano is a cool little town in the heart of the Texas "Hill Country" and Hilly it is ! Right downtown LLano is Rock Park. It is a neat little park with all kinds of rock structures........
My favorite......
Another............
As you can see they are all over............
We also heard of a State Park that has a Cavern, so we were off to see the Longhorn Cavern...........
Scenic view on the way to the park......
The entrance.....
It is big !
Cool formations............
Never know what you will find ! LOL.
The Caverns have a lot of history. Turns out that is was discovered to have been an underground river that over the years filled with sediment. It was discovered in the early 1900's during an Ore Rush in the area. It was not until the depression and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) was formed that the cavern was dug out. The CCC was the governments way of putting out of work men to work. They received their room and board and a dollar a day to dig out this cavern. Keep in mind that this cavern is huge and long, about 3 miles long. The next bit of history was when they actually held a Speakeasy in the cavern during the prohibition years. It was compete with a bar, a band, and a wooden dance floor ! It was a very cool tour.........
I even got a change to do some rock climbing.,........:)
Also while staying in Llano, we headed south to San Antonio to wander the Famous River Walk. It is a section of river that is lined with shops, bars, and restaurants........
It is a beautiful 1.4 mile walk.
As you can see little cafes line the river.
This is a very cool metal sculpture along the river......
A shot of the old court house........
Also, right around the corner is the Alamo. REMEMER THE ALAMO !!
They had a history time line.....................
The Alamo ! Not much to see, but very important to the Texas History !
It was a great way to spend a day and we would recommend it if you ever get to the area !
We stopped into the Llano Chamber Of Commerce to get info on the area and met a gal named Kim. Turns out she is friends with our local friends. She started to tell us about the old jail that they are restoring and then offered us a personal tour after hours. Sooooooooooooooo...............................
Cool old building built in 1907 to deal with the Crime and Debauchery that followed with Ore Boom.
Note the jail itself is up stairs and the keepers living quarters and the Kitchen are on the main floor. Trouble makers would be taken through the front door (note the bars) and taken through........
This heavy gauge steel door to be taken upstairs......
Typical Jail cell door.....
This was the door that you had to open to activate the cell door locks....
Typical Cell.....
Looking up at the Gallows, yep, Gallows. See the gate and the attachment on the ceiling for the hanging rope !!
Some modern day convicts !
It was a cool tour and the jail had a lot of history. It was used as the local jail until 1987 !!
Friday night we went to the local Crawfish Festival. Lots of food, Live bands, and we two stepped the night away. There was also a rodeo........................
From Llano, we ran two day on the road up to a little town in nebraska called Scott's Bluff. Besides the actual Bluff, there was lots to do in this area as well.............
Scott's Bluff.
You can actually drive up to the top and they have several trails to hike to different look outs.....
This bluff was one of the several land marks that wagon trains heading up the Oregon trail would use.
Tried a panoramic shot.....................
Just above the farm is our Campground......
And the view from our rig !!
Also in this area is Chimney Rock, another famous landmark for where the wagon trails split.....
And these two rocks........
Courthouse Rock.
Jailhouse Rock.
Our last stop in the Scott's Bluff area was Nebraska's largest attraction........ Car Henge !
Yup, some artsy fartsy guy with a junk yard decided to recreate the famous Stone Henge using some very cool cars........ The cloudy day gave this photo a cool feel to it.......
More......
This one is suppose to be a salmon jumping....... hmmmmm.
This one is called Low Rider !
And this one is called Seasons..............
This area had a snow storm about a week ago and along the roads there was quite a bit of snow. So you know what that means.........................Snow Angel !!
Nut case !
Another couple of days on the road and we ended up in Bozeman Montana. Bozeman is home to Montana State University and is a cool little (make that medium) sized town. When I called to make reservations at the rv park she told me she would be pretty full due to the concert. When I asked what concert she said Luke Brian, Little Big Town, Dustin Lynch !! So the hunt was on. Craigslist and Stubhub wanted $200 a ticket for a decent ticket, so in Peretto fashion I found the local fieldhouse ticket site that still had lower bowl / next to the stage tickets for face value - $74 !! Great Seats !!
Close enough ? !!!
Little Big Town !
Another reason that we picked Bozeman for a stop is that my Son got me a Montana Brewers card two years ago for Christmas. This card gets you a free pint of beer at all the major brewery's in Montana. Bozeman had 3 ! And would you believe, Bridger Brewery is right across the street from the Field House where the concert was !!
The Concert Crew !
Pizza and Beer make Howard Happy !!
We had Reuben Pizza !! MMMMMMMMMMMM !
And they had an excellent IPA, Vigilante IPA !!
We also hit the other two brewery's !
Bozeman Brewery, Just so, so. And the Bar Keep was a loser.
And 406 Brewing ! Here they gave me a Free sampler of all their beers. Free beer is good !
Also in Bozeman is a Grizzly Sanctuary. I have always had a fascination with these bears, so off we went !
Bella !
Brutus, he was beautiful !! 8 foot tall, 900 Pounds !!
Jake and Maggie, the twins !! 10 years old. Jake is 7 1/2 feet tall, 800+ pounds.
That tree will not last another month !
Close up with Jake !
Grizzly encounter was awesome. The enclosure allows you to get REAL close, safely. All the bears there were rescued from various situations and will live out their lives here. Another cool thing about this facility was the education we received about the bears and how to handle an encounter in the woods if you should have one. We spent a couple of hours just watching there beautiful creatures.....
We also found some of the best BBQ since we went on the road here at the Bar 3 BBQ !!
Cool Sign !
Awesome BBQ !
We left Bozeman for on more day of travel to Polson where we will be for the summer. Upon arrival Bren decided it was time for a change on the hair style so here is the before and after shots.......
Long and really Blonde........to.........
Short, cute, and blended colors of blonde and brown. Looks very nice !
And last but not least, today is one of our best friends 40TH Birthday !! Happy Birthday Alicia !!
Wish we were there to tip one with you !
Sorry about the long post and the long time between posts. When you are on the road, really good internet is few and far between. I promise to do better !!
More to come................................
