Big bucks, no whammies…. STOP!
- Jennifer Chapman
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 24 hours ago
Just completed a 3 week road trip in our truck & trailer. Fun times! We set out on a Sunday morning and stayed our first night at an RV park at a casino in Corning, CA. After hooking up (the trailer) we headed into the casino. After a nice dinner we decided to gamble a little. I was discouraged they didn’t have many old school slot machines, but I eventually found one and JUST LIKE THAT on my first pull I was $250 richer! BIG BUCKS (to me anyway). Was able to quit while I was ahead & headed off to bed - had to be up early to get to The Olive Pit before hitting the road again. If you're not familiar, The Olive Pit is a giant store filled with just about every kind of olive you can imagine... along with lots of other good stuff.
Hit the road and made our way up to our friends' house in Bend, OR. Spent a few days hanging out there, and then went over to Brooks, OR for a 2-day truck show. SOOO many cool trucks there! So much to see & do. My favorite is probably the night glow, when the trucks show off their lights. Fun times...
From there we headed (along with our OR friends) up to Kalispell, MT to the Flathead Lake area. We were in a nice campground, Spruce on the River (https://www.spruceparkrv.com/) that was great for big rigs and as the name would imply, was right on the river. Beautiful spot! Staff was SUPER helpful and friendly - would stay there again in a heartbeat. We spent a day in Glacier National Park and did the Going-to-the-sun Road. Talk about beautiful…. Stunning vistas, and so majestic. Also did exploring of the local area: Whitefish, downtown Kalispell, boating on Flathead Lake. No whammies there! Well maybe some would consider the pouring rain on our boating day a whammy, but we consider it making memories and having a story to tell later!
After Kalispell we headed to McCall, Idaho for a family reunion. We parked the truck and trailer at a campground storage lot and stayed in a great timeshare in town. So thankful for the staff at Black Bear RV Park there in McCall that allowed us to park there - was a lifesaver! Was wonderful seeing family (both those who made the trip up from back home, as well as those who came from other states). While there, we golfed with my brother and parents at the first course my mom ever golfed on…. Was a fun time! We did another boat ride around the Payette Lake, only this time it was warm & sunny and someone else did the driving!
After a few days in McCall we said our goodbyes to the family and headed to the Boise airport to pick up our friend Janene who flew up from home to spend the next leg of the trip with us. Happened to be a Cracker Barrel there (imagine that) so we had breakfast while waiting for her plane to land. Once she was there we headed up to West Yellowstone, MT, which is at the west gate of Yellowstone.
We stayed in a great RV Park in West Yellowstone called the Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park (https://grizzlyrv.com.) Spent the next few days exploring Yellowstone as well as Grand Teton National Park. It’s hard to put into words, or capture in a photograph, the beauty up there. It’s something you have to experience in person and FEEL. It truly is amazing and such a work of art…. God’s art if you ask me! We saw elk, bison, a bald eagle, a mama bear and 3 cubs, pronghorn… and countless different landscapes and terrains. Something to put on your bucket list if you’ve not been!
We left Yellowstone early morning with the intent of staying the night in Mesquite, NV. But… STOP! Blown trailer tire in St. George, UT. Thankfully we were only a mile from the next exit where we had plenty of space to park our rig…. Which just happened to be a Cracker Barrel parking lot! Imagine that. Had some dinner, did some shopping, and got a hotel right across the street. Watched a few episodes of Press Your Luck and saw those contestants yell, “Big bucks, no whammies, STOP!!” before falling asleep.
In the morning we got a new tire, had some breakfast (yes, at Cracker Barrel) and set out on that final leg home. Stopped in Baker, CA for some alien jerky. Been passing that place for years, but have never stopped. And I will say, the jerky was excellent! We didn't stop at any of the Vegas casinos to press our luck though, because in my book, we already won the lottery… We are so blessed with our family and friends, and our ability to travel this great country and see all that she has to offer. God bless the USA!
Until next time..... keep on truckin!
Wow! Beautifully well written blog! Love all the photos! Great times, great friends 🧡.