June 10 - July 1: From Mt. Pleasant, UT to Custer, SD

We left Mt. Pleasant after 10 days and headed 120 some odd miles north to East Canyon Resort, which is about 30 miles east of Salt Lake City. We did very little siteseeing there. We spent the days reading and watching the hummingbirds on our bird feeder. We had to fill the feeder every day. There were hummingbirds on the feeder all day long and would let me sit within 3' of them and take pictures.

We also drove into Salt Lake City to visit our friends, Robyn and Sherri. We had never been to their house before and were very impressed with it. I especially loved their garden. It was beautifully designed with sitting areas and plants. We sat and talked with them for a few hours and had a great time.

After Salt Lake we headed towards Casper, WY. Our friends, Terri and Karen, who we met in Custer, SD, live there. We met them in Custer, SD, two years ago when they were looking for directions. We have kept contact with them and , in fact, visited them in Casper last year.

On the way to Casper, we stopped for a night so we could go see the Martins Handcart exhibit and the Independence Rock. Both of these areas were part of the Mormon trail. The handcarts were the means of transportation that the Mormons used as they traveled from the east coast to Salt Lake City. While traveling , they discovered that they had left too late and the cold weather got to them before they arrived. Their leaders found a valley they could stay in during the snow storm that protected them from the elements and cold. Rescuers came from Salt Lake area and carried them across the river to safefy. This area is now protected and we were able to tour it. There were many Mormon volunteers from the area who gave us the information and stories and the history.

Independence Rock is a huge boulder that the Mormons etched their names into. It was this rock that they used as a siting to be sure they were going in the right direction and it represented their independence.

We spent two days in Casper visiting with Terri and Karen. It was nice to see them again. During the day while they were working, we took a drive up to the Casper Mountains.

Our next stop was Ft. Robinson State Park in Nebraska. It is a beautiful state park. It is on the site of the fort where the soldiers protected the travelers from harm as they traveled.

From Ft. Robinson, we headed to the Black Hills and spent a week at Hart Ranch, just south of Rapid City. We used this week to work on the motorhome. We gave it a good washing including the roof. Barb spent an entire day up there washing it since it had not been washed in over a year. Our neighbor across the way was an RV repair person. We talked to him about caulking the few cracks on the roof. He went up there with Barbara and found many more than we thought.

We asked him if he would repair and he replied, "no, I do not like to do that but I will teach you how." And he did. Barb spent that day in 90+ degree temperature on the roof, pulling off the old caulking and recauking the areas that needed it. She did a great job and I am very proud of her.

And finally on July 1, we arrived at Big Pine Campground in Custer, SD. Not only is this our favorite place to stay in the Black Hills, it is the place where exactly four years ago we decided to become full timers. So this is our "full timing" anniversary.

That's all for now.

Love and hugs to all of you,

Linda and Barb