This is part 3 of our big RV trip. If you wish to start reading at the beginning of the journey, please click here.

Day 10 – Custer, South Dakota to Dubois, Wyoming

We started the day with a bang.  A real bang.  Not too far from Custer, we heard a sound like something big had fallen and broken.  There is one compartment under the coach that has a large slide in it – that compartment door had come open and the slide had come out and hit the pavement in the other lane.  Everything that had been on the slide was in the ditch.  By the time we came to stop with the RV, we were about a kilometre from the debris.  Al unhitched the truck, and we headed back to clean up. While we were picking everything up, 2 guys showed up in a side-by-side quad, and one of them stayed to help us.  Then a state trooper showed up.  He checked to make sure we had it under control and then stayed with us with his flashing lights on until we had everything stowed in the truck.  Then he followed us back to the RV and sat with his flashing lights on while Al hooked the toad back up.

Further down the road when we found a small parking lot to pull into, Al put the slide and some of the stuff back in the compartment.  That allowed us to close the tonneau cover again to keep the furniture safe. 

No pictures to share from that misadventure — we were too busy cleaning up debris.

After that, it was an uneventful but beautiful travel day.  No rain and magnificent scenery.  Wyoming has great vistas with a variety of terrain from grasslands to the Rockies.  We also saw an unbelievable number of pronghorns.  A sign at one rest stop said that Wyoming has two-thirds of all the pronghorns in the world – I believe it!

The heavy equipment at Black Thunder Coal Mine looked like overgrown Tonka toys.  Very impressive!

We arrived at the Longhorn Ranch Lodge and RV Resort in the late afternoon.  Nice to be able to see the mountains from our site.

Day 11 – Continental Divide and Jackson, Wyoming

The RV park had recommended a dog sitter in Dubois for Ozzy, and we dropped him off before we headed to Jackson, Wyoming in the truck.

We found it interesting that Dubois is pronounced Dew-boyz; not at all like the French Duwb-wah.

The drive through the mountains was spectacular.  At the Continental Divide, it was 4 degrees C, and there were spots of snow close to the highway.  The altitude was 9,655 feet.

The National Elk Refuge was our first destination in Jackson.    Two trips through the refuge and the only wildlife we saw were pronghorn antelopes and ground squirrels.  Pretty area just not what we had hoped to see.

Our next destination was downtown Jackson.  The weather was warm enough that we were able to eat on an outside patio.  Jackson is a bustling place; much like any other tourist destination.  We wandered through some of the stores and made a stop at the Roadhouse Brewery retail shop.  Al picked up some beer, and we both tried the huckleberry ice cream sandwiches.  We’d never had huckleberry before and quite enjoyed the ice cream sandwiches. 

I liked Jackson, but I’m not a big fan of the crowded sidewalks and shops.  It was late June, so I’d hate to be there in July or August.

When we crossed the Continental Divide on the way back to Dubois, the temperature was up to 15 C.

We picked Ozzy up at the doggy daycare and headed back to the RV for the night.

Day 12 – Dubois, Wyoming to Choteau, Montana

We were up early to start our trek into Montana.  Back over the Continental Divide, but this time in the RV with Ozzy and the toad.

When we arrived at the entrance to Grand Teton National Park, we were able to show them our receipt from Badlands National Park and use it for a credit toward an annual pass.  The yearly pass was less expensive than individual passes to Badlands, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  From Grand Teton, we entered Yellowstone through the south entrance and drove through to the west entrance.  We passed by Old Faithful but did not stop.  The southbound traffic to the more northern geysers was backed up likely 3 or 4 kilometres.  Any thoughts to stop were quickly squashed by the traffic line-ups.

We loved the drive through Montana.

After we had set up our site in Choteau for the night, our neighbour came to visit.  It turns out that he and his wife live about 20 minutes from our home in Ontario – small world!

I hope you enjoyed our journey from South Dakota through Wyoming and into Montana. Check back soon for the next instalment.