Blogs from Hardin, Montana, United States, North America

After spending a few days on the coach batteries and waking up at night with no furnace or lights, then having to run the generator for hours to charge up again. I started doing my research on alternatives. Wind, water and solar power as a method of keeping systems running when on extended stays in remote locations where fuel is a premium. Getting the right set up for using extended stay propane tanks is a snap but power was a regular issue and I wanted to get it right. First step is to determine what your power needs are, how many amps does your coach draw from the battery at full load (furnace, lights, refrigerator and water pump running at once) and then what is it drawing under normal conditions or average day and night use. ... read more

Arriving in Hardin, Montana we camped at the first full campground we've been in all summer. In fact we shared sites because everyone was coming in for the reenactment of Custer's Last Stand. We made new friends of Bob and Sandy. Bob, like Tom, is a history buff so we spent the weekend together touring. The re-enactment of the Battle of Little Bighorn, aka "Custer's Last Stand," was where we hoped to find out the truth about Lt.Col.George Armstrong Custer. Was he a screw-up? Were the Indians just savages showing no mercy? We thought the performance would take place at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park. It did not. The National Park has been left basically unspoiled from that time, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Many of the 135th anniversary reenacters were descendants of the ... read more

Day 6. Saturday September 5, 2009 Thank goodness it cooled down enough during last night to allow some restful sleep, ‘cept for the trains wailin’ off in the distance, from time to time. It weren’t that bad, if you don’t mind the sound of a wailing train during the night when you have an intention of uninterrupted sleep. I seem to have a lifetime wish to never hear the sound of a train during the night, and to be honest, during the day as well. Oh, sure, there was a time that I was more tolerant of trains; like when I was a kid living in Minglewood; a subdivision on the outskirts of Beaumont, Texas. We kids would build rock pyramids in the middle of the tracks, which the trains would just burst through without even ... read more

This was not just a re-enactment of what happened, but this was a history of what lead up to the battle. But before they started anything - they started with a flag ceremony on horses. All there were respectful. My granddaughter got her first lesson in flag etiquette. She is only 3, but also stood at attention with her hand over her heart until the flag was passed. (I also had to remind my 22 year old son to remove his hat, a mother's work is never done.) This history starts with Lewis and Clark coming out to this area and their dealings with Indians. They introduced the different characters from the Core of Discovery that were with them. Sacajawea actually gave birth during the trip not too far from here. Now giving birth is tough ... read more