Let the month begin

Our drive from Victor, Idaho, just outside Grand Tetons National Park, to Valley View RV Park in Island Park Idaho, was only 90 miles, and went quite smoothly.

I like it when we take our time driving across a state on the smaller two lane highways because we get to really see the countryside, and understand more about an area than we could from Interstate highways. The Interstates are wonderful if you need to go long distances quickly, or if you already know an area quite well and the destination is more important than the journey. All of my life, Idaho has just been a funny shaped western state that produced my favorite potatoes for baking. Now after a couple of weeks camping in her parks, I have come to appreciate this beautiful state, and have many treasured images of her countryside.

Valley View RV will be our home base for the month of July as we explore Yellowstone National Park and the many special places nearby. 

But we are not rushing over to Yellowstone these first few days of the month. Many working people and families choose the weeks before and the week after the Fourth of July holiday for their vacation period. I know the park will still be crowded after this time, but we can wait for some of them to go back home.

When we arrived at the park on Wednesday, we were surprised to see two other Alfas, one in the spot next to us! After getting settled in I notice the lady outside and went out to say hello. What a wonderful treat! Betty had just found my blog the day before by following the link to the post about the radiator, that Craig had put onto the Alfa DP Yahoo group. She then went back and read some of my other posts when she realized we were heading her way. 

I called Craig out, and she got her husband Joe to join us. After introductions the men started chatting, and Betty and I gabbed like old friends. We all went into their Alfa See Ya, and spent a great two or three hours together. What great people! They will be here until the 9th, so we are sure to have some fun times. I hope we get a chance to meet the people in the third Alfa before they leave. If I see them out I will stop by.

I've mentioned my love of fun socks before, and I am always on the look out for new ones to add to my collection. I bought both of these in the Lodge at the Grand Tetons. Maybe they will bring me luck and I will see a real moose this month.







Odds and ends: although we limit our shopping to "essential" items, there are still a lot of little things we need to procure. We use Amazon Prime and other online shopping venues for many purchases we can't find in local stores, or just don't feel like looking for. However, when we are moving frequently, or staying in state, national, or local parks, getting Amazon deliveries can be a little tricky. We can easily get our mail forwards at US Post Offices, but UPS and FedEx are not generally delivered there. This is no problem at most commercial RV parks, UPS delivers to the office, so we try to wait until we are at one before placing orders. If something is not needed ASAP, it goes on the Amazon wish list.

Today was order day, and next week will be like Christmas with a dozen things arriving both from Amazon and other vendors. We were also able to request a mail forward here. It's nice to have an address again!

Every time I ignored the dust buildup on the window frames, I promised myself I would do detailed cleaning of the Alfa once we were settled here. Thursday afternoon I washed half of the inside windows, and Craig did the same on the outside. Friday I did the other half in the morning before the sun heated up the windows on that side. 

The weather has been nice for that kind of job. The air temperatures are in the 70°s - 80°s, and the sky has been crystal blue. This is a good place.

Neighbor at Valley View CG 

For my Wisconsin friends: the best flag to fly below the Stars and Stripes!