After leaving Cody, Wyoming, we stopped for 2 nights in Butte, Montana. At one time it was a thriving town, but due to steep, continuous declines in copper prices the Berkeley operation was shut down in 1982. Currently there is only a very limited amount of mining in operation and the population has shrunk considerably. We took a trolley ride to learn the history of the town and to view the mining area. The guide told us there was still a lot of pride in the city, but that jobs have been lost and many people have left the town. As part of the tour we viewed the Berkeley Pit. The Pit is 7,200 feet long, 5,600 feet wide and 1,780 feet deep. The current volume of water is 40 billion gallons of polluted water, that rises an average of 1 foot per month. Sirens went off during our tour which happens when any flock of birds tries to land in the water or anywhere near the Pit. These sirens were put in place to protect the birds from the contaminated water. From what the guide told us, it appears the EPA and the mining owners have been in contentious discussions for many years on how to clean up the contamination.
Continue reading “Butte, Montana to Coeur d’Arlene, Idaho – Start of the Fantasy RV Tour 07/10/2019”Back in Westminster!
It still doesn’t feel like we were in the Keys for (almost) 6 months. The last few days were really stressful with all of the packing needed and with Ty’s medical issues. Ty had his final checkup at the Marathon Veterinary Hospital on Monday morning as we were on our way out of the Keys. The Vet said all of his blood work looked good and he was over the 72 hour window where he was still in danger from the poison. They were so good to us there. They squeezed us in when they didn’t have an open appointment for Monday morning and saw us as soon as we walked in the door. It still added a couple of hours to the first day of our trip home, but it was a relief to know that Ty would be OK.
Packing Up and Emergency Visit to the Vet 4/29/2019
I can’t believe our time in Florida is over. We had some wonderful times here this winter! We met some amazing people that I hope will remain lifelong friends. And visits to the Keys from family and friends made our time away just a little more special!!
Continue reading “Packing Up and Emergency Visit to the Vet 4/29/2019”Looe Key Marine Sanctuary: Snorkeling and Grouper 04/11/2019
Thursday was another beautiful day with rare calm winds so we went back to Looe Key Marine Sanctuary. We don’t get very many mild days when the ocean is flat, so we take full advantage when we can. This time Heidi and Greg joined us for the trip out to the reef. We also invited our neighbors, Bill and Gail. They wanted to follow us out in their boat since they are not as familiar with the waters here.
Bahia Honda State Park 04/03/2019
We had a few hours in the morning before Kat had to get to the airport so we spent the morning at Bahia Honda State Park. Bahia Honda means deep bay in Spanish and the channel on the west end is one of the deepest natural channels in the Keys.
Kayaking Tarpon Belly Key 04/02/2019
Randy finally got to visit the second canal on Tarpon Belly Key when Kat was visiting. We took the 2 smaller kayaks with us on the boat. It was a tight fit but we all squeezed in.
Looe Key with Kat 3/31/2019 and 4/01/2019
We had 2 beautiful days with low winds and calm water to spend some time at Looe Key Marine Sanctuary. Looe Key Marine sanctuary is about 9 miles from our campsite. From the No. 1 channel marker (off the Atlantic), it is a straight shot for 5.1 Nautical Miles @ 148 degrees to the reef.
Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory 03/29/2019
On Friday, we visited the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, 1316 Duval Street. I was so glad Kat wanted to go because it was on our “to do” list. It was one of the highlights of our time in the keys.
Sawyer Key 03/17/2019
Our neighbor across the canal, Bruce invited us to follow them out to Sawyer Key. Before we left we needed to fuel up so we left a little early to get gas. While we were heading to the fuel pier we noticed one of our neighbors catching (and releasing) a nurse shark from the Block 3 bulkhead. The kids were very excited with their catch.
Continue reading “Sawyer Key 03/17/2019”Different Kind of Visitors to Our Canal 03/17/2019
We are enjoying most of the animal visitors to our canal and RV lot. So far I have not been able to get any pictures of the sharks that have visited the canal. We have seen several nurse sharks and at least one small bonnnethead. The manatee is still my favorite visitor!