Catching up

No posts for a few days, so a short one to catch up.

We are still parked at the roadside pull-out, chain-up, ATV-loading site in the Big Horn mountains. Nice and quiet here, being as the highway is not a major byway for trucks, except a few logging trucks, and none at night. Generally low traffic.

I get the occasional RV or truck making a short rest stop which sometimes results in a conversation, and a rare truck that stops overnight.

The advantages are that Annie the Dog (and I) can wander around without a leash, and she gets the occasional deer passing by to bark at. There is a large paved area so Barth does not get as dirty. And I do not have to listen to other people’s Annies. There are forest roads to hike or drive.

But by far the main advantage is that IT IS COOL! I keep monitoring the temps off of the mountain, and will head down when the weather cools or it is time for a new mail-call.

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Visit to Little Big Horn Battlefield

My stop over at Uncle Wally’s place for two nights was hot and uncomfortable. It was also unpleasant due to the typically 16 RVs parked there. So off to the Little Big Horn Battlefield the day I was in Sheridan. This was the main reason for this somewhat out of the way trip leg.

The National Monument is very well done, with Ranger Bob giving a maneuver-by-maneuver account of the battle, and an optional bus tour with another account of the battle as the bus goes through the battlefield. It is easy to get information overload here.

This is a worthwhile stop if one passes by, or even drives a distance as I did. I took no pictures as I forgot my camera. But there isn’t a lot of photogenic stuff here.

Speaking of forgetting, on this trip I went into a convenience store for gas and candy. I paid for the gas at the pump. As I was leaving the store passing by the front door, someone opened the door for me. Now, I wasn’t headed outside just yet, but it was very nice of the person, so I went out, got in the truck and drove off.

It was several miles down the road that I realized that I had not paid for the candy. Alas, since I saw no cops in the rear view mirror, I decided it was too far to go back to pay.

A correspondent told me that this story reminded him of the movie, My Cousin Vinny. Gotta rent that and refresh my memory as to how this story relates to the movie.

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Arrival near Sitting Bull CG, Big Horn NF

Where is pullout near Sitting Bull CG, Big Horn NF?

Today’s travel: map item #34 to #35, 76 miles

Today’s short trip took us to the Big Horn National Forest. I went to the Sitting Bull campground but found no spaces that had a good solar aperture. Two spots I had in mind were occupied. So we backtracked up the mountain a couple of miles to a winter sports staging area, a large paved semi-level pullout. Not a bad place as we are alone here. A little close to the road, but there is not much traffic. The campgrounds along highway 16 across these mountains are secret gems.

Here is a picture of Barth grinning at the woods that we peer into.

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Dog surcharge clarification

The issue of the NFS allowing concessionaires to charge extra for a dog, in fact $2.00 per dog per day, needs some clarification for those that do not understand, but may care.

When camping, dogs are normal companions. Many folks bring their dogs. And many, if not most, full timing RVers have at least one dog. A dog is almost as common as a water tank at camp grounds. And I would guess that there may be more dogs in a campground on average then kids.

Keep in mind that in a campground dogs cannot soil carpet. They cannot scratch furniture. They cannot cause the campsite to smell. They have two ‘functions’ that may apply to this situation. They bark, and they crap.

A very large percentage of campers mind their dogs, keep them on a leash, keep them reasonably quiet and most importantly pick up after their dogs. So you see, there is no reason for a surcharge as dogs damage nothing in the camp ground.

So, let me enlighten you as to why there is a surcharge. It is a backdoor manner to conceal additional charges that go into the concessionaire’s pocket. They cannot charge a tax, so they have contrived the surcharge to accomplish the same thing.

Consider the fact that reservations do not disclose the surcharge unless asked. Consider that most everyone has a pet. And consider that the Golden Age Passport holders pay half for campground fees, but must pay the full amount of any other charges and fees.

So, the indefensible surcharge is simply a hidden tax that is imposed at check in. Further, it is a hidden charge asked for by the concessionaires that the NFS cheerfully grants because they know that the sheeople will say and do nothing. Look around you, open your eyes. This is only one tiny example of what your government is doing to you on a grand scale.

I ask again: Why cannot the NFS accomplish even the simplest task without jumping on the outsourcing bandwagon, which is what is happening here.

Outsourcing. I asked the National Park Service visitor center for a box to mail a gift in. The nice women emptied a box of official National Parks Service brochures and leaflets in order to give me the box. The box clearly indicated “they were printed in an Asian country forgot which).

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