Not all of our stops are deserving of their own post. I mean, sometimes we only stop for an over-nighter and never leave the RV, let alone the campground. There are plenty of times we simply *unplug* from sight-seeing and hiking, opting instead to *plug in* to the boob-tube and just sit. But sometimes, even though we only stop for a night or two, a place does deserve it’s own post for one reason or another.

Jocko Hollow Campground in Arlee, Montana, is one such place. It’s a tiny little campground with just 8 RV sites and an area for tent campers. But the grounds are beautiful and the Jocko River flows right through it all. The owners are friendly and the attention to detail was a nice surprise (see the flower box on our picnic table). With so few sites, some of them being on tight turns, you might want to call before attempting to squeeze in. There’s also a low overpass to navigate…and even though we knew we would fit there was a little pucker factor when I saw this…

The entire Jocko Hollow Valley is gorgeous and is home to the National Bison Range (and just 16 miles from the campground). From the Fish & Wildlife Service website:

President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Bison Range on May 23, 1908 when he signed legislation authorizing funds to purchase suitable land for the conservation of bison. It was the first time that Congress appropriated tax dollars to buy land specifically to conserve wildlife. The overall mission of the National Bison Range is to maintain a representative herd of bison, under reasonably natural conditions, to ensure the preservation of the species for continued public enjoyment.

But the real highlight of our short stay was this:

The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas, or Ewam, is found nestled in the Flathead Reservation just north of Arlee. The garden was constructed to resemble the Tibetan Eight-Spoke Dharma Wheel and houses 1,000 Buddhas and 1,000 Stupas. It is truly a sight to behold.

Down the road we stopped in at the historic St. Ignatius Mission, also located on the Flathead Reservation. Built in the early 1890’s the church is home to 58 original paintings by Brother Joseph Carignano. And while neither of us are practicing Catholics we love checking out the architecture, history and art found in many of these churches.

Salish Lord and Mother in Native American form.

I can’t really tell you anything about Missoula, the closest city to Arlee, except that we went there to do laundry. Perhaps we missed out on seeing some great things or eating at some remarkable restaurants? There is some risk of “missing out” when you travel fast…or travel at all. But we’ve learned (mostly) to embrace the experiences we do have rather than lamenting over those we didn’t.

We’re constantly learning how to do this whole full-timing thing…refining our style and gathering lessons so that we can have a more enjoyable time while not going broke. As I mentioned in a previous post, when we first hit the road we tried to stay at RV parks that accepted the Passport America discount almost exclusively. Then we realized how much gas we were burning to get to some of the RV parks that were a bit out of the way. The same can be said for choosing to stay at a far-away park and driving the toad to tourist destinations to save a few bucks (you often end up spending more in gas than makes it worth it).

Unfortunately, we hadn’t learned that lesson yet when we chose to visit Grand Teton National Park last July.

Our site at Flat Creek.

We opted to stay at Flat Creek RV in Thayne, Wyoming because the prices of RV parks (with hookups) near Jackson were a little shocking. Truthfully, Grand Teton wasn’t exactly on our places to visit at the time but when we saw we would be passing right by it we thought it’d be silly not to go. Like most fulltimers we always say we’ll come back but then other adventures (or obligations) call our names and before we know it 2 years has passed! However, since we were on our way to meet friends in Glacier we knew we lacked the time and funds to make this a proper adventure. But that didn’t stop us from trying.

Fences can’t hold this guy back from mingling with the cows…

Tetons!

Yoga and National Parks go together like peas and carrots…

Some may say we were nuts to make the hour and a half drive (one way) to see Grand Teton National Park and we might have to agree with them. But the drive was beautiful and the destination was worth it, even if we wouldn’t do it like that again. We hiked to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point and then took the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake back to the Jeep.

We enjoyed a quick visit to Afton to check off one of Eccentric America suggested stops, the World’s Largest Elkhorn Arch…because how could you not got to see that?? And then hiked Intermittent Spring (also known as Periodic Spring). This is a short, easy hike suitable for most and great for families, including dogs (watch the kids around the water). The water supposedly shuts itself off every 15 minutes but we didn’t get to witness that…just our luck! Seems that with the snow melt going on the water levels were so high that the natural syphoning action, thought to be responsible for the on/off flow, was bypassed. Go figure! Anyway, it was still a great hike.

In case you’re wondering why we’d have our backpacks on such a short hike…we like to carry a picnic lunch with us everywhere we go.

We then got a wild hair and decided to book a trail ride at Mill Iron Ranch outside of Jackson, Wyoming. So, even though we had decided to camp an hour and half away to “save money” we ended up splurging on a two hour trail ride and dinner at the ranch.

Our horses were in great shape and lugged our butts 2000 feet up the mountain passing through meadows of spring flowers and to epic views of the Tetons in the background. It.was.cool.

My horse was not nearly as impressed with the flowers as I was…

Clark and his horse Edwin.

On top of the world!

Now, if any of you know me (Lynn), you know I am a vegetarian (actually I’m vegan with enough wiggle room that if a well-meaning friend makes me a cake with eggs and/or butter I’ll still eat it, mmm cake). And if you were paying attention you read that we got a steak dinner with our trail ride. Well, do not freak out ya’ll…the family who runs the ranch was so accommodating that they made me a HUGE plate of pasta, some salad, a baked potato and corn on the cob (note: Clark asked if they had a vegetarian option when he made our reservation. They asked a few questions and said they’d have something special for me.). They also offered a full bar.

Grub’s on!

Home grown steaks.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture but look at that pile of spaghetti!

As far as our RV park…it was a great little place to be. The area is beautiful and rustic and full of fresh air. On the Fourth of July we sat outside of the Mutiny and watched some fireworks. The people that run the place are very friendly and helpful so it all worked out in the end.

As soon as we found out the campground we book in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Enchanted Trails, was right next door to Camping World we planned a long (for us) layover. Like most RVers, Camping World is not our first choice for RV repairs and/or maintenance but we have a warranty on the Mutiny and CW direct bills the company, so we sucked it up. We were overdue for an oil change and general inspection and our converter had not been charging properly for several months. (Tip: It’s important to take care of your home on wheels…even if it means giving your business to CW.)

Enchanted Trails is very friendly park…they have an onsite repair man who seemed very knowledgeable and was totally fine with giving out free advice. They also have a bunch of vintage trailers you can rent (like a hotel room). It’ happens to be a Passport America campground but while they only accept the PA discount for 2 nights they will still give you the discount even if you get the weekly rate (so it’s $140 a week plus you get $32 off for the first two days that would have been half price). It’s the only PA campground that has done that for us.

Before we tackled any repairs…we had people to meet and things to do…

People: We found out through social media that one of our favorite fulltime couples was staying at the very same RV park. Many of you have already heard of Watsons Wander and, like us, follow their blog so you can imagine how exciting it was to finally meet them in person. It’s probably similar to how you’d feel if you got to meet us (just kidding!!). But get this…not only were the Watsons there but so was Imperfect Destiny! You just can’t get better than that, right? Well, apparently you can. Amanda Watson had befriended a new nomad…Finding Marshall, and had arranged a Happy Hour get-together for all of us to meet.

You know it’s a good time when someone busts out the Box o’ Wine.

It’s always fun to meet new friends on the road. Sometimes you may not hit it off but a lot of time you find that you really connect. We still keep in touch with all of these friends and it makes it fun to try to see if and when our paths will cross again. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt except the treasure keeps moving around. We’ll actually be camping with Imperfect Destiny and a few other friends very soon.

Petroglyphs: While we didn’t get to do as much exploring as we wanted, we did take advantage of our proximity to Petrogylph National Monument.

The funny thing about Petroglyphs NP is that you will not see any petroglyphs anywhere near the Visitors Center. However, you should stop here to get maps and information regarding which trails are open and how to get to them.

The hike we chose, based on the rangers recommendation, was Piedras Marcadas (a 1.5 mile loop). This is actually an open space located pretty much in the back yard of a housing development. But once you get a little ways past the sound of lawnmowers and car radios you’ll find peace and quiet along with over 500 petroglyphs.

 

Another nice way to spend the day is with a visit to Old Town Albuquerque. Our first instinct was to skip this place for fear of it being a complete tourist trap with overpriced “Native American” pottery (made in China) and huge crowds of people. But it’s really an interesting area consisting of 10 blocks of historic adobe buildings, a central plaza and a church. The church, San Felipe de Neri, was built in 1793 and is open for worship…and tours.

There are art galleries, restaurants, gift shops, bed and breakfasts, ice cream parlors and street vendors (Tip: be sure to go down the alleys too). Just like Old Masilla (see our post from our stop in Las Cruces), we found the prices overall to be beyond reasonable for most gift and decor items. As a matter of fact, it’s probably the one place I wish I would have bought more “stuff” (Mexican blankets for yoga!!) while I had the chance.

This is where we purchased the hand-painted Mexican tiles we installed in the Mutiny’s loo as a back-splash.

 Quirky: True to form we opted to find something quirky to do rather than some of the traditional city things (shopping, breweries, more shopping and shopping)…and that meant a road trip up Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway. The goal…Tinkertown!

For a mere $3.50 each (geezers over 62 get a 0.50 discount and kids 4-16 are only a buck) you too can have your creative spirit recharged (or your mind blown) by the somewhat bizarre collection of circus memorabilia, hand-carved figures, animated music boxes, miniatures and more. Everywhere you look there’s something to see at Tinkertown.

Wood-carved miniature diorama…so much detail!

Drop in a coin and they’ll sing you a song. Kinda creepy but also totally awesome.

Glass bottle walls and metal cut outs welcome you.

Read this daily.

Wondering how they found time to make all of this?

 We rounded out our stay in ABQ with some laundromat yoga, water pump repairs (a small leak that Clark was able to fix handily) and, of course, a stop at a local coffee shop:

Make the most of your laundry day with a few fun yoga poses…

Clark was a plumber in his former life…he doesn’t like to bust out his tools anymore but sometimes you just gotta do it.

One way to make mundane chores seem a little better is to treat yourself to some excellent, local brew. We just prefer ours to be of the coffee sort.

 A couple of highlights of adventure (besides meeting new friends and exploring Tinkertown):

Michael Thomas Coffee: Located (literally) in a residential neighborhood you might think you’re GPS screwed you over again when you pull up to the curb. But fear not, you’re in the right place. Smartly located at a bus stop this coffee shop is worthy of a visit. They have a lovely seating area inside and on the front porch but that’s nothing compared to the little garden area on the side yard. Pet friendly!
1111 Carlisle Blvd SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106

Sadie’s of New Mexico: Granted this was the only Mexican restaurant we tried and we both got Huevos Rancheros, so it’s hard to say if it’s the best but it was good enough to eat at twice during out stay.

Camping World: By far the friendliest and helpful CW we’ve dealt with so far. Our service advisor, Marellano, called when she said she would call and had our RV and paperwork ready exactly when she’d told us it would be done. Repairs done: Norcold Refrigerator recall, Converter replaced, Water Heater fitting replaced (labor intensive due to location), Oil Changed, Tires inspected and inflated to proper specs, Jack alarm inspected and fluid topped. Total cost: $1322.53 Amount we paid: $253.00 (our extended warranty has now paid for itself plus some).
14303 Central Avenue NW
Albuquerque, NM 87121

We know there’s tons more to do in ABQ but we just couldn’t do it all…at least not the first time around. We’d love to come back at some point for the balloon festival and fortunately we love New Mexico enough that this just might happen one day.

For more information on Albuquerque check out these blog posts from Marshall and Amanda…who are both way better at being timely than I…

Read Marshall’s blog post about Albuquerque here.
Read Amanda’s (aka Watsons Wander) blog post here.