Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park

May 15   Dillon, Montana to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park   72 miles  1hr 50mins

Our campsite at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park

We've spent the last 6 days in Dillon and now it's time to move on. Judy, Lindsey, Kawika, and Alika left yesterday to fly back to Hawaii. Kawika seemed pretty sad...I think he'll miss Dillon, Montana.

 Bryce spent last night with us, today we need to take him to Bozeman airport. He's flying to visit Sheri in Seattle, then on Friday, off to Alaska. We decided kind of last minute to make this move today to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. It's located between Butte and Bozeman. We arrived at the park at about 2pm and had to hurry and park the RV and unhook the car to get Bryce to Bozeman for a flight at 3:50pm. We got him to the airport at 3:10pm. Lucky this airport is small, he checked in and made his flight. That was a close call.

I forgot to mention earlier....while we were in Dillon, it was getting pretty cold. At night it would get down to the low 40's. We went to Arco and found an electric blanket that was on sale. What a lifesaver....I don't know why we didn't think of buying an electric blanket earlier. Between our portable heater and electric blanket, we're sleeping real good. 

May 16   Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park to Helena, Montana   107miles   2hrs 15mins

This morning we went on a tour of the caverns which is one of the largest limestone caverns in the Northwest. These spectacular caverns lined with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and helictites are naturally air-conditioned. From the campsite, we drove 3 miles up the mountain.

Joe on the trail

This is where the tour started with a 1/2 mile hike up to the mouth of the caverns. This hike was long and steep, the elevation was pretty high and Joe & I felt so out of shape. There were 8 people in our group and we were the youngest so was kind of "make ass" to be breathing so hard next to all these seniors. Once we got into the cave it was pretty dark and cold.

Ready to go in

Our tour guide gave us the history about this cavern and all the formations. Then we had to go down 600 steps to the first room, and let me tell you...what we saw was incredible. For the next mile we hiked from room to room. It wasn't an easy hike. We had to stoop down a lot, the path twisted and turned all kinds of ways,  and there were steps up and down. There was a short slide that we had to go on, and Joe said his ass was too big for the slide so he couldn't slide smoothly like the rest of us. Lucky he was last. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves. The caverns are amazing and breathtaking.

When we came out of the caverns, there was another 1/2 mile hike back to the visitor's center where our car was parked. When we were driving back to the campsite Joe told me his back was sore. When we got back to camp I made us some lunch and could tell that he was in a lot of pain so I gave him some 800 ibuprofen. I was a little worried about him but I think the meds helped. After lunch he felt okay so we made the drive to Helena. We're staying at the Lincoln Road RV Park. We're staying for 2 nites so Joe can take it easy and rest his back. The rate for 2 nites here is $77. It gives me some time to plan our next few days. It's pretty chilly here...the temperature ranges from high 30's to mid 60's.

Mother's day

May 12   Happy Mother's Day!  We had breakfast with the whole gang at Sparky's Garage. The food was real good and the portions were big. The boys were a little hung over. Bryce kept leaving to go to the bathroom.

Then we were off to a ghost town at Bannack State Park. We all had a great time. This was a good ghost town to visit because we could go into the buildings to explore. Lindsey was kind of scared but she was a good sport. When we got to the Bessette house, at first the Yama's would not go in. They say this is a haunted house where you can hear babies crying. Kawika and Lindsey finally came in, but Judy would have no part of it. Then there was a house with someone playing the piano. I say "someone" because we couldn't tell if this was a man or woman. It was kind of eerie.

Inside Hotel Meade

This hotel operated until the 1940's

Entering church

Praise the Lord.

Bryce waiting for a hair cut

Alika ready to bust out

 We had a late lunch at the Mexican lunch wagon. This is Kawika's favorite place to eat in Dillon.
 We agree....the food was ono!

Must be good...nobody's talking

Kawika's graduation

May 10     Lava Hot Springs, Idaho to Dillon, Montana     226 miles     5 hrs
We're staying at the Southside RV Park for a few nights. They offer Good Sam discount so the rate here is $35 a nite. This park is pretty nice and the people who run it are very friendly.

May 11   Today we attended Kawika Yamanouchi's graduation from the University of Montana Western. This is the school that some Waialua boys attended back in 2007, including our son Josh.
                               Kawika is the only one that finished....we are so proud of him.

Judy got to wear a gown too!

The Yama's....Lindsey, Kawika, Judy

Dawn and Kawika

Dustin, Blake, Kawika, Alika, Bryce

Alika, Kawika, Bryce

Utah and Idaho

April 28 - May 7  We've spent the last 10 days getting everything ready, visiting some old friends, making new friends, eating, and gambling. We got the tow package installed and had to buy a lot of other necessities to get the RV ready. We shared some meals with Winki & Leslie. We finally got to see their house and all their dogs. They know all the good places to eat in Vegas. Greg, aka Pepe, drove over from Laughlin a couple of times. He even transported our new bed for us and got rid of our old one. Thanks, Pepe! Our neighbors from Kaamooloa Road, Scott & Donna, who now lives in Vegas, visited with us a few times. So nice to see old friends. We also made new friends. Dean & Vivian who are living in Vegas now, are friends of Winki & Leslie. Wendell Nunes, originally from Kauai, has traveled in his RV all over the US. Lloyd & Lorraine Uto are also RVers from Hawaii. They parked next to us at Mainstreet RV park. They drove to Alaska last summer so they gave us a lot of tips. They're on their way to Branson, MO.

Lloyd & Lorraine

On my last night in Vegas I was playing 3 card poker and got a straight flush. That's a first...my $20 bet turned into about $480! That was the most I made, the other days was only small stuff.

Leaving Las Vegas

May 8  Las Vegas to Cabela's in Lehi, Utah.   397 miles   8 1/2 hrs
We don't normally travel that much in one day but decided to just go for it. I ordered hiking boots for us and had it delivered to Cabela's in Lehi. We also took advantage of camping for free in their parking lot. Joe started the generator so he could run the TV to watch basketball but it irritated our neighbors so we had to move across the parking lot, that pissed him off. But it was very scenic with snow capped mountains all around us.


 May 9   Lehi, Utah to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.   176 miles   3 hrs

Joe hooking everything up

We're staying at this RV park called Mary's Place. It's run by Bannack County Deputy Sheriff's Association. We just lucked out by picking this place.We met some of the officers that were doing some work on the campground and when they found out Joe was retired HPD they gave us a discount. Still kind of expensive...$40. Lava Hot Springs is a really small town but they have some water attractions.They have tubing down the Portneuf river in the summer, the Olympic Swimming Complex, which has indoor and outdoor pools, big slides, a rock climbing wall and other fun stuff  will open later this month. But the reason we're here is for the hot springs.

The natural hot springs is absolutely amazing. There's 5 different pools and the temperature ranges from 100 - 112 degrees.We went for a dip after lunch today and had such a nice time, we went back after dinner. Was kind of chilly this evening, about 50 degrees. The water was wonderful. I already told Joe we need to come back.

What now???

April 25   Yesterday was a terrible start to our big adventure. Joe and I was really pissed about the Suzuki but what now? Do we really need a tow car? Do we chance used...again?  Do we just buy new? Joe checked different things and we decided on a Kia Soul. It was difficult finding a dealer that had a Kia Soul with a manual shift. It had to be manual so it could be towed. After spending all day at the Kia dealership, we finally left with a brand new Alien green 2013 Kia Soul and a new loan that we don't need.

April 26   Today we checked in at Las Vegas Oasis RV Resort for 3 nights. We won these 3 nights on a previous trip,so we finally get to take advantage of it. This place is really nice. We plan to clean the RV and get more organized and just relax. Donna and Scott came over for dinner so we had a nice cook out.

April 27   Most of the morning was spent cleaning. Went to Target to buy some plastic bins and get organized. I even bought some plastic containers for the outside so Joe can organize his stuff. Spent the afternoon at the pool. Oasis has an adult pool, so that means no kids running around, splashing, and screaming. We're back on track and life is good!

Not a good start

 Joe has been retired for 2 1/2 years now and I just quit my job at JPAC. So we consider ourselves officially retired and ready to start the next chapter of our lives. Joe and I have been planning this trip for a very long time. One thing that took up a lot of time and effort was the Suzuki Grand Vitara that we bought back in December to tow behind our motorhome. It was a used car that wasn't running that great but Joe is such a handyman, I had no doubt that he could get it fixed up. We spent a lot of money to fix it and ship it to California. The plan was to drive it to Las Vegas where we store our motorhome. Well, things didn't work out exactly as we planned. We left on Tues, April 22 and it's been pretty hectic since. So here's how our last few days went.

April 22 - 23   We left Honolulu this morning and got into Los Angeles at 4p. On Wed, we got an early start and took a cab to Horizon to pick up the Suzuki. When they brought the car out, it was full of bird shit...I'm not kidding, all over. So the first stop was a gas station down the road for gas and a much needed carwash. Then we got started. After about an hour of driving, the first stop was Ontario Mills Outlet Mall. Then onto Las Vegas. We were about 3 1/2 hours away. Well about 20 minutes into the drive, the check engine oil light came on. So we pulled into the next town and Joe checked the oil. Of course, it was full and clean. We were at a gas station, so I went in and bought a bottle of water. Then we got back on I15 and got going again. The check engine light started going off and on so we were kind of thinking, what our next move would be. A few minutes later the car started making funny noises and just died. Right there on I15 in the middle of the f**** desert. I think Joe and I was in shock. We were silent for a few seconds and just could not believe this just happened. So needless to say, lucky I bought that bottle of water because we had to wait for the tow guy to find us. He towed us to the next town which was Victorville, where we rented a car to drive the rest of the way to Las Vegas, and ended up giving him the Suzuki.....good riddance. Finally got to Vegas around 7pm.

The Last 2 Years

We bought out motor home in 2010 and went on an awesome 7 week trip with mom and dad. Since then, our family has gone thru some changes.

 At the end of 2010,Joe retired after 25 years of service with HPD.

 Mama Janet passed away in early 2011, we're just glad that we got to take her on our first RV experience. We all miss her very much and will treasure the wonderful memories.

Our daughter Miki, got married in September 2012 and is now Mrs Kirby Avinger.

Casey, Breezy, Miki, Kirby, Josh, Branden

We took some short RV trips.......

July 2011   We took the kids to the Grand Canyon, south rim.

Miki, Dawn, Casey, Josh

October 2011   We went to Albuquerque for the International Balloon Fiesta. Our friends, Donna and Scott Hoadley met us there.  Then on to Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is absolutely beautiful, I know we'll go back there one day.

Taking a tour in Sedona, Arizona

Donna & Dawn in Albuquerque

March 2012   Went to Las Vegas and checked out the RV parks in the surrounding area. We enjoyed Sam's Town RV park, Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort, Nevada Treasure RV Resort in Pahrump, and Lakeside Casino & RV Park in Pahrump. The best was Nevada Treasure in Pahrump. The facility and amenities are great. We could stay there for a month and be absolutely happy. Life is good.

Grandpa Chuck & Josh

 June 2012   Joe and our son, Josh, flew to Baltimore to visit Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Mary. Went sailing on the Chesapeake on Grandpa Chuck's sailboat. This was Enigma's last sail, Grandpa Chuck donated her after this adventure.
Then on to Las Vegas and spent some time in the RV and visited Valley of Fire State Park.




November 2012  Flew to Las Vegas where we stow our RV and drove out to Tecopa to check out some hot springs then on to Death Valley National Park.  Joe and I love hot springs and Tecopa has a few. I'm glad we got to check them out because that is not some place I'd recommend our friends to visit. Death Valley was a surprise. There was a lot to see and the weather was wonderful. You definitely don't want to visit Death Valley during the summer.

Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park

Now we're planning our next adventure.....driving to Alaska.
Stay tuned....