Great Road Trip of 2017....Part Eight/Day Six & Seven

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

After we got into the car and jacked up the a/c we headed back into the actual town of Laramie, Wyoming.

Back over the Platte River.....that river seems to be everywhere out here.

And then we headed North through Laramie, WY-the town.
And we drove and drove.....

And drove a little more.....and more. We started questioning our directions and sanity at this point(maybe 3 hours out in that heat did a number on our brain cells).

Then I spotted a couple of houses set off from the road but no signage for a ranch entrance or a B and B.  This was a head scratcher for sure.  So I prayed for cell reception and whipped out my phone and called their number.

Kathy, one of the owners, answered and said she could see our car so we just needed to go a bit further down the road, so we did and bingo, bango, we found the entrance.

Welcome to Fort Laramie Bed & Breakfast on a working Cattle Ranch.

                     

We headed into the main building to sign in and get situated.  Thankfully this building was air conditioned!  Kathy had drinks and fresh cookies ready to greet all the guests.

                       

Then we took a little tour around to see all the accommodations....

 

You could stay in an authentic Sheep Wagon.  It fit two cozily.

A gentleman and his deaf daughter who were on a trip together were staying in this wagon.

He scared the bejeezus out of me that night when I had to go to the "outhouse"(An elegant outhouse with one side for the sheep wagon guests and another with our bath area.  It had all the modern conveniences except the shower was outside behind the building.) This classy outhouse was between our accommodations and theirs.  The guy was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the front porch area attached to the wagon, out under the stars and he rolled over just as I was within eyesight of the wagon making my way in the very, very dark back to our "room".

The sign for the Out House on the main building.

The campfire in the forefront with the chuck wagon and a family cabin(we didn't check that out as their was a family already in there and a teepee.

Here's a shot of the sheep wagon in the center with the outhouse to the left and the teepee on the right.

And here was our accommodations for the evening.....

Yep, it's 103F degrees and we were going to sleep in a genuine teepee.  I've always wanted to stay in a teepee(must be my 1,034th%+ Native American ancestry, right?)so here we were on one of the hottest days in the year. sigh

I took all these photos of the teepee.

It was constructed on site by a local craftsman who knows how to craft an authentic teepee.

The we went inside and checked it out and man, was it steamy in there!

The roof of our teepee with a dreamcatcher hanging from it.

After taking that shot my camera lens fogged up. lolz

Kathy assured us that once the sun went down it would cool off in there.  I had my doubts but said OK.  No one was staying in the Officer's Quarters that night which were in part of the main building with a/c so if I wimped out we could move into there.

So we ditched our luggage in the "sweat lodge" and hung out in the main building or on it's large front porch.

The porch....

And the view from the porch of part of the ranch with cattle grazing.

Here's the ranches cat having his dinner.

There were all kinds of ranchy type things to look at, like this assortment of cattle brands hanging on the front porch. 

And this old saddle turned side ways with a mirror on it.  One of the owners, Kathy, was off making our dinner(paying for and getting dinner here was optional).  She was going to prepare an old fashioned western "milk can" dinner, cooked over an open fire, but discovered the milk can she borrowed from a neighbor had no bottom(or had holes in said bottom)so she had to think fast and whip up something else in her kitchen.

Arnold, Kathy's husband, paused a few second so I could capture this on my camera........

Time to put on the ol' feed bag with all the other guests in the main building......

We still have a one pot cast iron dinner cooked over an open fire....

Here's my plate with grilled chicken, carrots, cabbage, small ear of corn, a potato and a drop biscuit.

It was quite good and filling.

Afterwards we sat a spell in the rocking chairs.....

Here we are by the Chuck Wagon..........

Then the sun began to set........

I tried my hand at steer roping......without much success.

A beautiful visa behind the ranch........

Nighttime over takes the day.......

Our hosts, Kathy and Arnold, pose in front of the Chuck Wagon for me.

And as the night fell on the out house on the left and the sheep wagon on the right(taken from the platform/porch of our teepee)it was time to turn in.

And indeed Kathy was correct.  The inside of the teepee cooled off at sunset and was a warm but comfortable 80F degrees.  I slept most of the night on my back, looking up at the stars I could see from the opening in the top of the teepee and falling asleep.

At one point a short storm came up and woke me.  Mostly it was just stiff breezes blowing on the prairie but it make a racket with the tent covering flapping but cooled things off even more.  

Before dawn I had to use the out house.  The teepee had two of those pop-up lanterns so I carefully and slowly made my way to the bathroom staying on the wooden walkway(remember this is rattlesnake country!) 
As I returned to the teepee I noticed a fawn near the outhouse and it's mother a distance behind it.  I grabbed my camera but it was much too dark(and they were too far away)to get a good shot.

By the time I got this shot the fawn at moved away but you can maybe make out mommy deer above.  I sat for awhile in the dark watching them from the Adirondack chair on our platform.

Time to rise and shine......

The campfire is going bright and early.

And Arnold is preparing "cowboy coffee".  I had a little of Hubs' just to sample it as I don't drink coffee.

Then it was time to sit down to a hearty breakfast at the main building's spacious dining table with all the guests.

Afterwards we bid our hosts and fellow travelers farewell and headed out.

We headed back down the long driveway.

And saw some cattle also heading out for greener pastures.

Here's the close up of the ranch's sign we didn't see at the entrance heading in.

And in town we saw this sign advertising the B and B.

Pretty soon we hit this town.......

And then this State Historic Site where part of the Oregon Trail Ruts are preserved in rock the wagons traveled over.

And they mention my ancestral cousin, Bill Sublette, in this landmark sign.

                                

We had to hike up a bazillion stairs to get to the trail ruts.  We stopped and took a breather at the sign above before continuing up. 

 A woman and a child were coming down and said watch out because the rattlesnakes are out up there.  Yikes!

Here I am standing in some of the ruts at the Guernsey WY site.  See how deep all those wagons passing along this same trail carved into the rocks here?  It had to be 1.5 feet deep, almost to my knees at this section.

I got to thinking while standing in those wagon ruts about my paternal 4 x Great Grandfather, John Spencer Bowman.  When his first wife died in 1833 in Ireland, he soon married again and he and his new bride jumped on a ship headed for Philadelphia, PA.  They kept traveling West over the years, never staying in one place for more than ten years and having 10 more children(he had 4 with the first wife and left them behind in Ireland but they eventually made it to America as well).

                      

By 1860 the newer family had made it to Jackson, Iowa and by 1868 John along with two of his sons(by his first wife)were in Montana.  John was 58 years old in 1863 when their last child was born in Jackson County, Iowa, so he traveled to Montana sometime after that date, making it to Montana by his 63rd year in 1868.

When we were there seeing the wagon ruts I was 58 years old.  I just kept shaking my head and saying, "How did he do this at that age?"  It was a hard and long journey by foot and wagon, exposed to the elements and the threat of native American attacks, illness and everything else that could befall a person.  I guess Americans back then where made of sterner stuff.  Even though life was harder back then and life expectancy wasn't as long as it is now, I certainly would have never made that trek at that age and lived to see the destination!

Back down the winding stairway and back to the car and sweet, sweet a/c.  And since we almost had to go right by this other landmark we stopped here........

This is another landmark along the Oregon Trail.

This is Register Cliff.  It rises 100 feet above the North Platte River.

Many of the wagon trains headed West stopped here either for a rest or for the night as it's shelter gave protection from the elements a bit.

This rock formation is made of limestone so a very soft mineral/rock and as time went on travelers began to carve their names and dates into the cliff and then dig caves into it's side.

I walked around and wondered about the lives of all those people who made the trek and "left their calling card" on these rocks.

It's impossible to make out anything legible from a photo(plus some of the less well inscribed names/dates into the rock weren't very legible in person.

How did these folks fare in their new surroundings once they made it to their destination?  As an amateur genealogist it gave me pause.

You can read more about Register Cliff HERE. 

After some time there, we headed back toward the road out of town and passed right by this unobtrusive monument/marker...

I guess the Pony Express ran right along this same route by the Register Cliff on it's 1860 to 1861 route.  

Next time, we finish up leaving Wyoming and experience a brief overnight stay in Colorado before hitting Utah.

Sluggy

                        

                       

                       

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Nothing Much to See Here" Edition.....     

                                       

This is the dashboard of Hubs car.  Notice the temperature reading.  99Fdegrees.  And that was our "low" early in the morning before we went off to PT on Wednesday of last week.  Yesterday it read 104F degrees(without heat index and it was pretty muggy out). We went to the dentist office for our cleanings on Thursday and the hygienist told Hubs while she was working on his teeth that this prolonged heat spell(AKA Hell's Front Porch")is not normal Summer weather here.  I call bullsh*t! but then again I've never been down here in the Summer, just the Spring. ;-)

This is day 64 of the "diet".  Yay!

My PCP is on board with this way of eating to reach a short term goal so no unsolicited advice on this eating plan please.  While I appreciate the concerns I am fine and I am losing weight.  I haven't had any sugar(other than a bit of honey in some hot tea)nor any white food.....bread, potatoes, rice, pasta since returning from the cruise on June 4th.  But I am holding fast to my plan anyway.....so far.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday-Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms, Collard Greens

2. Monday--leftover Roasted Broccoli and Carrots, SF Jell-O

3. Tuesday--Protein drink, an apple, leftover SF Jell-O

4  Wednesday--Zucchini Fritters, more yogurt?

5. Thursday--Protein drink, a yogurt cup

6.  Friday--Something leftover(Collards)?

7. Saturday--Something else leftover(Chicken Marsala?)

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday-Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms, Collard Greens

2. Monday--a yogurt cup

3. Tuesday--leftover SF Jell-O

4  Wednesday--leftover Roasted Broccoli and Carrot, SF Jell-O

5. Thursday--a yogurt cup, tempura Zucchini and Shrimp

6.  Friday--a yogurt cup, Leftover Zuke and Shrimp

7. Saturday--SF Jell-O, Salad with(can you stand it?)Croutons on top, a bowl of cherries

Most of the plan happened but not necessarily when planned.  I know I did have some evil white food(the batter of the tempura-ed items on Thursday but I ate very little(if anything)the 3 days before that and there were few leftovers of that to eat on Friday.

I go back to the Orthopedist on Monday(already been when this gets published).  I've plateaued again with my weight even though I've been denying myself food and working hard at PT. sigh.  I'll be so glad after I get the new knee and can up my calories a bit and be more mobile.  But no going back to old habits and eating patterns for me!

I also drink, water, iced tea(unsweetened), and the odd zero sugar soda or Zero sugar Powerade/Gatorade and keep my stomach full and it also keeps me hydrated.  I mostly stick with the water or unsweet iced teas with lemon added.

This one mini-meal per day where I change between vegetable matter and a lean protein and a yogurt cup when these other meals won't suffice.  There also is a regime of supplements I am currently on, either to maintain my body's condition or were already taking them for various conditions.

I guess you'd call this an extreme intermittent fasting deal with many supplements to keep all my innards working and healthy.  I consulted my PCP and my food plan was given the green light and my blood work came back aok. 8-)

What got taken out of the freezer last week...

*  1 bag of BSCB

*  1 bag of Gulf Shrimp

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  leftover Collards

*  2 packs of Bratwursts

*  1 hunk(2 portions)of Salmon

Last week we spent $121.81 on grocery shopping.  A lot of that amount was marked down produce(mushrooms, colored peppers, bagged salad and cole slaw)plus in season fresh fruit, laundry needs, even more dog food(get it while it's on sale and with Qs/rebates!)and stocking up on Protein Drinks.

Total shopping comes to $121.81 for August.   

There are 24 shopping days left in August.

I've earned $25.60 on Ibotta in August.

I've earned $8.00 on Shopmium in August.

I've earned $0 on Coupons dotcom in August.

I've earned $0 on Kroger Cash Back in August.

I've earned $0 on Checkout 51 in August.

I've earned 130 points from food shopping on Fetch in August.

I've earned 100 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in August.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in August.

That is $33.60 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $121.81 of grocery spending so in reality it's $88.21 in food spending after the 5 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 35.88% and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 35.88% so far spent.

Leftovers going into this week...Chicken Marsala.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--6 Strawberries, Ear of Corn

2. Monday--Beef Stroganoff, Spinach Soufflè

3. Tuesday--a cup of Yogurt, 6 Strawberries

4  Wednesday--Chicken Fajita(mine on corn tortilla), 6 Strawberries or Cherries

5. Thursday--Fruit of some kind, Protein Drink

6.  Friday--a cup of Yogurt, Veggie Stir-Fry

7. Saturday--Fasting?

I need to have something on my stomach on PT days(besides meds)so I usually have a yogurt cup those days in the morning.  Hubs will eat the Stroganoff, Fajitas and he is welcome to the Stir-Fry but it will be meatless. ;-)

I also drink, water(usually with lemon), iced tea(unsweetened), hot tea with lemon and honey and the odd zero sugar soda or Zero sugar Powerade/Gatorade and keep my stomach full and it also keeps me hydrated.   I mostly stick with the water or unsweet iced teas with lemon added.

This one mini-meal per day where I change between vegetable matter and a lean protein and a yogurt cup when these other meals won't suffice is not hard to do once you get past the first 3 or 4 days.  There also is a regime of supplements I am currently on, either to maintain my body's condition or were already taking them for various conditions.

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I forgot the plain Greek yogurt at Walmart on Sunday for the Stroganoff so I'll pick that up when we are out Monday.  I use that instead of sour cream or a combo of both.  That's the only thing I need to buy so a couple of bucks spending for this week.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any deals on food at your stores this week?  I confess that I don't need to buy anything right now nor have I had any desire to read the ads.

Sluggy  

Frugal Friday.....the August 4th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week and not everything here may be considered frugal but here goes......

*  Got a few things at Walmart on Saturday.....

After rebates on Ibotta and digital coupons(the bbq sauce had a paper Q on the bottle too)these were better than free! I also picked up 2 bags of stir fry veggies.  I spent $32.86 at the register, got back $15.60+a $3 Weekend Warrior Bonus on Ibotta and $9 more in digital Qs(the paper $1 Q for the sauce came off at the register), I got back $27.00 on this $32.86 order which made everything $5.86 which was what the frozen veggies cost.  Nice.

*  Been uploading videos to my You Tube channel and getting posts ready to go.  I still working on editing photos too since it's too hot and muggy to go outside here(unless necessary).  

*  Two PT appointments this past week which costs Zero OOP.

*  Had Dental Cleanings too.  Paid OOP for those and the price is a lot lower if they don't have to hassle with submitting to insurance and waiting months for the payment.  I also asked and got a free bag of dental supplies(paste, brush, floss)like Belinda did over at HER BLOG today. 8-)

*  I found money! 
Had a celebratory "survived the prep/colonoscopy" lunch after PT on Friday.  The restaurant is in a seedy motel.  I checked the soda vending machine return slot in the lobby and found these.....

Purty and shiny quarters!

Then on the trip to Walmart for a few things last Saturday and I found these...

a couple of pennies.

Then on Wednesday I stopped to pick up some birthday cards and this was on the floor at the counter......

After getting skunked for a few weeks the found change is back(for now).

Total Found in last Week.... .53¢
Total Found this Year.......$3.02

That's all for this past week.  Just sitting home is frugal, right?

It's too damn hot here(triple digit heat indexes for FIVE weeks now!)so I rarely leave the house except to hobble to the car with a/c then to wherever I am going that also has a/c.  Can you say I am over Summer down here on Satan's front porch??

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy  

Income & Spending for July 2023

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the July report---On to the June report---

I had 2 goals for July....

The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.

The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fund may be applied toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2023.  

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up July in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of July with?....$6,367.06

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3879.00

*  Quarterly 401K withdrawal of $5,200.13

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $823.76

Total "Income" for July....$12,346.55

Expenses in July---

*  Irregular bills in July were $229.73

*  Variable Expenses in July came to $4,672.73

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,077.08*

Total Expenses....$5,979.49

$12,346.55-$5,979.49=$6,367.06

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare I include his dental coverage in the HI Premium for me and his Medicare supplement comes out of our checking account.

Slush into July of $61,547.79 addition into August's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $67,914.85

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $6,367.06 .

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this July, here are the good and the bad side of things.....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium and internet were the same(the water within $1.97)as last month.

*  My Amazon c/c went down by $52.60 in July.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The cell phone was the same as in June except we had to add an international plan on one phone for the cruise to the UK and it hit on the July bill so that bill was up by $87.37.  This isn't a normal bill for cell service for us.

*  Electric bill was up by $99.39 last month.  I'll take that as a win since we've been running triple digit temps all month.  Heating seems to have been much more costly up in PA compared to what we pay down here for A/C.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $1,047.34 higher than in June.  See cruise above. ;-)

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $300.16 more than last month.

*  The American Airlines c/c was used in July(Hubs made a trip to PA to see his dying brother)so that was $1,208.88.

*  Chester needed shots this past month so this bill was $99.73 higher than their vet visits in June.

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on JULY 2023---Like the food bill for July, there weren't many wins last month in bills overall.  Lots of c/c bills came due from the time in London and the cruise plus an unplanned emergency trip to PA for Hubs.  But we have enough socked away to cover everything without having to carry a balance and pay interest on a c/c.  Even if we hadn't had that 401K quarterly withdrawal we STILL would have been in the black after paying all the bills so that's a "good" thing.

THOUGHTS going forward into AUGUST 2023---The only irregular bills are going to be 2 dental cleanings.  We no longer have dental insurance so we'll be cash customers for that.

Can't really think of much we've put on credit cards except food and home repair stuff for the house so far in August and the end of July after those c/c statements cut.  The other irregular bill is for 2 dresses I ordered from the fat lady store as I had a free shipping code and a $10 reward certificate.  I don't have a black dress and when the nephew finally plans a memorial service for Hub's brother, if I am in any shape to fly there and we can go, I'll need something other than a purple or a lime green dress to wear.8-)

So how was your JULY financially?

Did you spend less than the income you had in July?

Did you stay within your budget or not?

What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?

Did you pay down/off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid on a "want"?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

Sluggy

Food Spending....the July 2023 Edition

Onward to July's Food Spending Report.....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for July 2023.

I have posted July's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

KROGER

OOP  $243.59

Qs/Gift Cards $149.23

Value $392.82

Savings  37.99%

SUPER 1 FOODS

OOP  $45.82

Value  $89.60

Savings  48.86%

WALMART

OOP  $306.32

Qs/Gift Cards $174.98

Value  $481.30

Savings  36.35%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Super 1 Foods with a savings of  48.86%.  My worse rate was  at  Walmart with 36.35%.

I shopped at 3 different stores in JULY.

TOTAL Spent in July......$595.73

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$367.99

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$963.72

TOTAL Savings of........39.18%

This closes out the JULY food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Yikes!  Between grocery prices still continuing to rise at a fast clip and finding some really good/useful deals I spent way more in July than I planned to.  Some of the sticker shock was the cost of protein type drinks that I've been using.  When each person in a couple is eating very differently and very different things most meals, it's driven our grocery costs up because it's less economical to shop this way.

But after all my rebates are added back into my grocery kitty we are still under $400 per month which is the monthly average I used to shoot for Pre-Covid.

I assumed being in a place that has a longer growing season meant we've have access to farms or farm stands more so than up in PA.  Evidently, farms or roadside stands around here(and even "you pick farms")are all fruit ones(orchards and such), no veggies, which has struck me as very strange.  I thought I could eat better and more seasonally down here.  I don't care for organized "farm markets" as they tend to be higher priced than even the grocery stores.

So not having a garden this year has proven problematic(not in tune with this regions planting/growing season and there wasn't any kind of garden already on the property)and I have not been healthy enough this Spring to tend to a garden.

I am still working out figuring where to buy what, where for the best price but still getting the best tasting/freshest produce.  Unless there is a killer deal on meats at Kroger I buy those products at Super 1 Foods(which is owned by the higher priced Brookshire's chain).

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 18.87% in July to 39.18% compared to June's 58.05% savings average.

With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $2,841.99 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,841.99

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$4,808.08

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,966.09

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................40.89%

The average per month amount spent is $406.00 in 2023 at this point.

LOOKING AHEAD TO AUGUST......

I am going to try to slow down the acquiring as we are bursting at the seams in the freezer as well as the pantry because I am eating so little for now.  My eating patterns will pick up a bit after the knee surgery is done.  

I am going to shoot for $350 or less for August's spending.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in July?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

*  Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?

Sluggy