We have now moved on to Billings, Montana. We have stayed at this KOA park a couple of other times when we have been traveling in this area. According to their ad this is where KOA parks started. It is a very nice KOA, quiet and very well maintained. We stayed here in 2017 when on the way to Glacier National Park. It is a very good stopping point for staying a few days as it convenient to plenty of stores and restaurants.
We got in on Friday afternoon and set up then relaxed a little when there was a light rain shower. We then headed out to eat at Famous Dave’s BBQ. We both like this restaurant, Bruce because of the Burnt Ends he likes to order. The first time we ate at a Famous Dave’s was on our first trip to Glacier and since then we will visit them when we spot them. I will admit we have been to a couple that were not as good as the original one we ate at (particularly the one in Branson, MO) but over all we like the taste of their BBQ.
After eating we went to Walmart to stock up on groceries and a few other items we needed. Interesting Walmart, they were apparently remodeling, big areas were empty and other things were moved to strange locations. Who knew you would find needles and thread in the lawn and garden area, the staff I asked for help from weren’t really sure but thought they had last seen sewing items in lawn and garden. We nearly got run down by some young boys who thought it would be a good idea to ride bikes inside the store and apparently their parents did’t seem to mine. An employee finally yelled at them to get off the bikes and she then had to walk them back over to that area. While Bruce went to get something in automotive/hardware he came across some boys opening cans of spray paint and spraying them on an empty shelf. They took off when he came around the corner. We grabbed a few things and headed out. Went to a regular grocery store the next day to finish picking up what we needed.
A really good rain came Friday night, with thunder and lighting. It rained off and on all day Saturday so we just stayed in the RV. We had discussed going to the Zoo, it was only about 6 miles away but with the rain we cancelled.
On Sunday morning most of the RVs around us left and that afternoon new RVs started to move in the empty sites. New couple moved in next door and we met them. They were on the way from Bend, Oregon to someplace in Wisconsin. The woman was originally from Wisconsin and still had family living there so they tried to go for a visit every year. He mom turned 90 earlier this year and they had missed her birthday because of all the Covid restrictions. They are all now vaccinated so they were heading for a visit.
We spent some time comparing all the places we have all visited and where our families live. They have a son in Alaska that used to live in Magnolia, Texas. They had been there for a visit to help the son and daughter-in-law get moved into a house. There is daughter that lives near Austin, Texas. Of course we were also discussing Hurricane Ida. They are not yet retired but are looking forward to going full time at some point.
We used our time here to relax, review our plans, check supplies and make any adjustments to our reservations. We got our reservation made for a half day fly fishing trip while we are at Glacier National Park. Added one extra day to our reservations at Glacier and reduced our time at Butte, Montana by one day.
This trip has certainly been a little different from previous road trips. Packing included things like self covid test, prescriptions for tamiflu just in case we got ill, lots of mask and hand sanitizer. So far it seems that New Mexico is the most concerned with wearing mask. Everyplace we have been has had a shortage of staff for restaurants and most of the fast food places still have their lobbies closed you can only use drive through. Restaurants have also cut their menus significantly, they only offer their most popular items. You look at their menu online and pick out what you want, then get to the restaurant and they give you a completely different menu or tell you which items are not longer available. Of course we do part of our meals in the RV so we can get what we want, I just have to cook it and Bruce has to do the dishes.
We have determined that the next product to be experiencing a shortage is ice cubes. The further north and west we have gone the fewer ice cubes you get in your drink, plus lots of places don’t have sweet tea. At one place I asked them to bring me just a glass of ice cubes as the tea I got was warm and the few ice cubes I got had already melted. I was told they could not get me any ice as they had a shortage of ice. He said he would ask but they had been told to limit the ice in glasses as their ice maker was broken. You would think the restaurant would just go buy bags of ice. He finally brought me a half a glass of ice when I had finished eating. Probably the next we will hear is that ice makers are breaking down and the parts needed have to be shipped from overseas so they can’t get them repaired.