Leaving Half Moon Bay and heading East found us in Fernley, NV at the Desert Rose Campground. It is a very nice campground that I recommend to anyone traveling through. Out in the desert with new clean laundry and bathrooms, asphalt pull through sites with nice shade trees, and excellent wifi. This is where Scout’s incision started leaking out from under his bandage. It was a mess and we were lucky that Laura had gifted us with a doggy first aid kit before we left California as we used all the gauze wraps and pads to begin to soak up the fluid running out of his incision. Peg and I were pretty panic stricken until we realized that the hole in the bottom of the wound was likely in place to drain any infection or fluids.
Our journey continued across Nevada to Wendover on the border of Utah. It was a windy day with sustained 20 to 30 mph cross winds for the entire 366 miles. The Wendover KOA was a fairly typical Journey and the overnight stay was uneventful. Out of Wendover through Salt Lake City and north to Rigby, ID. Another tough day fighting the wind and a virtual white out. The Winnebago is handling all this as well as possible. I am glad that we had the springs and shocks updated because it sure makes a difference. Rigby is a nice town and we took in some well deserved relaxation before moving on east. Scout’s incision was almost dried up by now; however, we continued to worry.
The drive to Dick’s RV in Great Falls, Montana was calm and pretty. On east to Glasgow, Montana we picked up US 2 which is my preferred route across the far north. Much less traffic and fairly good road, a lot of it is interstate grade. In Glasgow we stayed at the Cottonwood Inn and Casino. Scout had been doing well in his healing; however, the stitches at the top of his incision came unwound. This occurred where the original abscess hole was and even though it was about time for the dissolving stitches to begin to disappear a large hole opened up. We had another night of hunting down gauze and tape to try to keep the rest of the incision closed.
Monday morning rather than leaving as planned, Scout and I found ourselves at Valley Veterinary Clinic just before 8am. The folks there were wonderful. Scout got two new stitches, a laser treatment and more antibiotics. We were back on the road by 10 am and prom ptly ran into about 10 miles of construction with nothing but gravel mud and one lane road. Gracie and L’il Red got a real good coating of Montana clay. The trip going on to Rough Rider Campground in Minot, North Dakota for 3 nights was uneventful. This is a great place to rest and relax. Lots of big trees and grassy areas.
We pushed on to the KOA in Bemidji, Minnesota. This is a laid back campground on sand for the most part with a big dog park. I had found the Trek store in Bemidji online a few days earlier and made an appointment to have the Allant finished up, reset and made safe for the road. Northern Cycle in downtown is a great place. Alex and the crew there are excellent professional bicycle mechanics and fixed me up in two days under the quote price. Love these guys and if you are ever in the area check them out.
As things would be, Scout started to vomit. Basically, he would eat a little then several hours later he would throw up. My first thought was that all the antibiotics he was on was making him sick. Even though the original course of drugs was just about done there was still a few days to go on his Glasgow prescription (poor guy was taking 18 pills a day) so I bough him some canned food that was good for sensitive stomachs and determined to soldier on as everything else was good with him. With Gracie and L’il Red cleaned up, the Trek back to normal and Scout soldiering on we moved on to Klint Stafford Memorial Park in downtown Iron River, MI.
This City run park is a great place. Walking distance to the 2nd best pizza in all of Michigan, the Subway, McDonalds and the bars downtown. The park sits on the Apple Blossom Trail next to the Iron River. From here we took in Bond Falls and other sites and generally had a good time. Scout though continued to vomit then quit eating altogether, necessitating another 8am visit to the vet. Apple Blossom Pet Clinic is downtown and took Scout in right away. His vitals were good; however, his abdominal x-ray showed an area of concern in his small intestine. Barium and multiple x-rays were the recommended course of treatment so Scout got to spend the day. Thankfully nothing was found and it was thought that all the meds he had been on probably upset his system. Pills to stop the vomiting and Omeprazole (my personal favorite) got him started on the path to recovery.
This brings us to where we sit today, Gerometta’s Resort Manistique, Michigan. Frankly, we have just become squatters here. I know that I was looking for a place to sit and regenerate mind and body. We were fairly exhausted mentally from the travails of this journey and were very lucky to have found this oasis. The Gerometta’s are great hosts and have a very good campground and resort on Indian Lake next the State Park about 11 miles from Manistique. Peg and I have a large flat grass campsite with picnic table, fire ring, large amounts of fire wood delivered for $5, pool and wild life. Scout loves Indian Lake. We have taken in Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Museum, Fayette Historical State Park and Mackinaw and Manistique. We are staying here through Labor Day.
The link below is to an album that has all images taken in the UP. It is a big album and some of you might find looking through my Flickr images and albums is easier, this is the bottom link. There are over 36000 images in this account all of them are public except the ones that aren’t. If you find one you like please fave it. If you see something you want prints of, a book, etc., please contact me at harshy@mac.com and I will try to accommodate you.
As always enjoy!
Sjh
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sjharshman/albums/72157719692342291
Steve and Peg's Adventures 