Great Road Trip of 2017....Part Sixteen/Day Thirteen

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
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

The next morning we bid our hosts, Cindy and Ty adieu and headed out toward Montana.

Some large silos in Ashton as we drove out.

Driving North toward Missoula Montana by Henry's Lake.....

And then we were in Montana.

                                           

Who are these Bozos?? lol

Then we hit the Continental Divide at Raynolds Pass.  You would think that the Atlantic Ocean Watershed would be on the right and the Pacific one on the left of this sign.  Nope.

So as we drove toward Missoula we made a little detour at Ennis MT....

Quake Lake?  Not named after a religious sect but probably the site of a caldera(extinct volcano)that filled with water and formed a lake.

Ennis Montana is the Home of World Class Trout Fishing evidently....

In 1863, gold was discovered nearby here in Alder Gulch.  Ennis is named for a prospector named William Ennis, who set up shop on this site along the Madison River back during "the Montana Gold Rush" there.

We drove past "Willie's Distillery" in Ennis.

This awesome statue of a stag Elk sat in front of a shopping mall in town, but it was for sale and closed.  Pity.

We spotted one of the "Fish Out of Water" art installations in town.

Another kitschy spot in Ennis, though we didn't stop as we were heading elsewhere for a stop....

After awhile we were rolling into Virginia City Montana.  This town was established during the Montana Gold Rush and it became the 2nd Territorial Capital in 1865.

A sign on one of the original buildings from it's founding that has been preserved.

Info on Virginia City HERE

From the Montana Government website......

"Today, Virginia City is considered the best preserved example of the many placer mining camps that flourished during the 1860's throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

It provides an exceptional sample of commercial architecture of the mid-nineteenth century.

The greatest concentration of historic buildings dates to the 1870's, but some of the buildings' later modifications also have historical significance."

A sign in one of the gift shops telling about the discovery of gold in Alder Gulch.  The assay value of gold in the 1860's $16 an ounce.  Imagine if you had just a portion of all the gold today that they took out of the creeks there back then......

Today Virginia City is a slightly tacky but historic semi-ghost town.  About 150 people actually live here fulltime.

Here's a video about the history of Virginia City.....

And just why did we stop here on our trip out West?

My paternal 4 x Great Grandfather and two of his sons, my 3 x Great Uncles, ended up near Virginia City.  They didn't travel together, I believe the son William John struck out from the family's homestead in Iowa at 32 years old in 1863 and John followed in 1864 along with son Francis, who was barely 16 at the time.

Remember me standing in the Oregon Trail wagons ruts earlier in this trip?  John Redfern was the one who made the trip out West along that trail at the age of 59.

Here is the only known photograph of John Redfern the Montana Pioneer.

So we bopped around Virginia City.

Most of the old buildings there house gift shops, selling treats, t-shirts and assorted Western themed tchotchkes.

We hit some shops in town and just soaked up the old western feel.

                                        

Here I am in a dirt parking lot off of Main St.  They were running rides in that red trolley thing through town.

We then drove North of VA City to Laurin, MT where the Catholic church was built in 1901.  

There had been a wooden church there before where my Montana Redfern family members had attended.

We stopped in a hole-in-the-wall store on the main highway there to ask if they knew where the Laurin Cemetery was.  The clerk didn't know but he called someone who was familiar with it(got to love a small town!lol)and we got directions.  It was a couple of miles up and off the main road and not well marked.

One of the more interesting headstones......

I am a fan of old cemeteries and could spent hours in them but I didn't want to subject Kim and Joel to it so we didn't stay long.  Just long enough to check if there was a grave marker for John Redfern(there was not)and any other Redfern relations.

There was no marker for William John "John", but there was quite a large stone for Francis and his wife.......

There were stones for 12 Redfern relations in all.  William John and his wife are known to be buried here too but no markers were found.  There was also a grave where a stone had been but it was gone next to numerous Redferns.  It's possible that was were John Redfern was laid to rest.

This was Francis' grandson's grave.  Arthur's father was also Arthur Joseph and was nearby.

There was also a huge monument in the center of the cemetery which marked the grave of Jean-Baptiste Laurin(pronounced La-ray).  He was the the founder of Laurin, a Frenchman who set up a trading post in this area in 1863(likewise the cemetery is also named for him).

Gold was found in the Alder Gulch area so his business boomed with people moving in the prospect and trap.

He was the wealthiest man in Madison County at one time, owning quite the empire of businesses and land.

More on Laurin HERE.

As we left the cemetery I noticed a road sign that said California Creek.  I had read that John Redfern had a placer mine at one time on California Creek.  There was really nothing there anymore 100+ years later so we didn't drive along it but I think I took a photo of that road sign.

So we drove onward out of the Alder Gulch area toward Missoula, passing lots of interesting sights.

Old railroad train cars.

A hotel that replicated an old Western building.

A huge house and compound.

Another old looking store.

A ranch with an antler covered post over the entrance(I only got a small piece of it in this shot.

A giant Rooster on the roof of a building that must have been a restaurant at one time.

And then we were in Sheridan, Montana.

An old brick building from the early 20th century.

A livestock business in a picturesque barn.

Sheridan proper....sidewalks and fenced yards.

This house had some interesting creations in the yard.

Then we hit the highway and made tracks.

Old cabooses.

Some old industrial wheels.

Those things were enormous!

Oh look!  A gas station with a "casino".  Seems to be a "thing" in a lot of places.

On the interstate we passed this semi hauling a professional racers vehicles......

Vaughan Gittin Jr., the, the Formula Drift Driver who spearheads the RTR brand.

More HERE

More lovely scenery....

Exit for Anaconda, home of the famous Anaconda Copper Mine and seat of Deer Lodge County.

Oh goody, only 104 miles to Missoula and our stop for the night.

Sign for the Old Montana Prison and Auto Museums.  Not this time.....

About dinner time and we made it to Missoula.  Kim wanted us to eat at one of her favorite places in Missoula, the Paradise Falls Restaurant.

A slightly out of focus Kim and Joel showing off their GINORMOUS Chicken Fried Steak slathered with gravy.  They shared it since it was so big and they got an extra serving of mashed taters with even MORE gravy! lol

I opted for an Elk Burger.  While in Rome after all.....

I think this was one of the best burgers I ever had!  I loves me some elk on a bun. ;-)

After being stuffed Joel drove us around town a bit.  We went to see the house where Kim lived as a child in Missoula.

Then we headed to the hotel to check-in.  I believe it was a Days Inn.  I do remember there was some issue with getting 2 rooms there.  I waited out in the car, sweating to death and choking due to the fires in the area that Summer.  

I noticed a woman in a burqa across the parking lot standing next to a car.  She evidently thought that no one was nearby to see her because I watched as she hiked up her skirt and took her hand to her nether regions and then put that hand to her nose and appeared to be smelling herself.  ?!?!  I bet she was roasting in that burqa and that hand didn't smell too good. ;-)

We finally got the rooms and checked in.  Once in our room I noticed the bed was quite tall........

The mattress came up to my hip!  There was no way I was getting in that bed to sleep.  Hubs ended up standing on the opposite side of the bed, while I took a jump and got my torso onto the bed, then he grabbed my hands and pulled the rest of me onto the mattress.

Oh, the perils of being short in a tall world.....

The "art work" in our room. lol

We went down to the very small indoor pool for a bit as it was so hot and we had been in the car for quite awhile.  Burqa women was down at the pool, still covered head to toe.  She seemed to be traveling with a handsome man and a cute girl in her 20's wearing a skimpy bathing suit.  She sat by the pool and kept folding and unfolding a piece of paper, rocking back and forth and chanting something.  It was a bizarre scene down at the pool.

We headed back to the room after a quick dip and hit the hay before setting out on more adventure on Day Fourteen.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Turning 65 Sucks" Edition.....  

This turning 65 and going on Medicare stuff sucks.  That's all I am going to say about that. 8-P

And I can't even sooth myself by eating comfort foods.

This is day 92 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 nor any white food(mostly).....bread, potatoes, rice, pasta since returning from the cruise on June 4th.  But I am holding fast to my plan anyway.....so far.  I am down an additional 37 lbs. since starting this eating plan(not counting the 8 lbs. I gained on the cruise and then dropped after coming home).

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke, Rice(or not for me)

2. Monday--yogurt cup, otherwise not sure, might go out

3. Tuesday--Grilled Salmon, CA Veggie mix

4  Wednesday--sm. cup of Chocolate Milk, Protein Drink

5. Thursday--yogurt cup, leftover Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke

6.  Friday--yogurt cup, Caesar Salad(maybe some chicken on top)

7. Saturday--Lobster Ravioli w/Beurre Blanc, Brussel Sprouts

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

1. Sunday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke, Rice(or not for me)

2. Monday--yogurt cup, a Garden Salad out

3. Tuesday--sm. cup of Chocolate Milk, Grilled Salmon, Brussels Sprouts

4  Wednesday--1/2 a Tuna Sub, Caesar Salad

5. Thursday--Yogurt cup w/Flaxseed, other 1/2 Tuna Sub, leftover Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke

6.  Friday--Catfish, Green Beans, Cole Slaw, a Pimento Cheese and Veggie snack pack

7. Saturday--a Banana, a cup of Chocolate Milk, Steak, CA Veggie Medley

Most of the plan happened but not necessarily when it was planned to happen.  I made the Lemon Pepper Chicken, the Salmon and the Steak meals.  Hubs was responsible for his own dinners beyond those and any leftover meals.

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.

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

*  4 Chicken Thighs

*  2 pieces of Salmon

*  1 bag of Steaks

*  1 bag of CA Veggie Mix

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

*  1 piece of Salmon

*  4 Hamburger Patties(1.3 lbs.)

*  a bag of Burritos(Hubs)

*  4 Lean Cuisine meals

*  1 Spinach Soufflé

*  1 lb. Sea Scallops

Last week we spent $113.99 on grocery shopping.  

Total shopping comes to $245.22 for September.   

There are 20 shopping days left in September.

I've earned $80.75 on Ibotta in September.

I've earned $23.00 on Shopmium in September.

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

I've earned $1.00 on Alexa app in September.

I've earned $0.00 on Kroger Cash Back in September.

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

I've earned 1,280 points from food shopping on Fetch in September.

I've earned 158 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in September.

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

That is $104.75 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $245.22 of grocery spending so in reality it's $140.47 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 46.63% and the monthly savings total for September comes in at 39.20% so far spent.  

Leftovers going into this week....1 small steak, 1 helping of CA medley veggies.

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

1. Sunday--Lobster Ravioli in Beurre Blanc, Salad

2. Monday--cup of Choc. Milk, Salad, Pasta w/Mushroom & Meat Sauce

3. Tuesday--Yogurt cup, Roast Chicken, Carrots, Broccoli

4  Wednesday--Protein Shake, Grilled Salmon, Spinach Soufflé

5. Thursday--leftover BBQ Pork, Cole Slaw

6.  Friday--leftover Chicken meal

7. Saturday--leftover Pasta meal or ?

I'll cook the Ravioli, Chicken, Pasta Sauce and Salmon.  Hubs will eat and do his own thing on other days or have leftovers from those meals.  I've got baby carrots that are long in the tooth I need to use up so pair them with broccoli and serve with the roast chicken Tuesday.  5 of this week's meals will utilize proteins from the freezer.

I also drink, water(usually with lemon), 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.

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Cabbage or Shredded Cabbage for Slaw.

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?  

Sluggy  

To-Do List.....August 2023

Here's what got done(or didn't)in August......

* Pay Bills  DONE  Always paid in full on time or a little early.

* Go to 2 in-person DR appointments  DONE  Went to see the Orthopedic surgeon and the Interventional Pain Dr.   Neither of which was very helpful.  The orthopedist keeps putting up roadblocks to surgery and the interventional pain guy is a joke.  He won't put me on anything for pain other than a weak muscle relaxer and half the dose of the prescription NSAID the ortho had me on while I was having PT for my back.  Really?  I might as well take an Aleve!  I don't get why they make you sign something promising not to sell your drugs, drug test you and count how many pills you have left at each appt. when they won't even prescribe anything that helps with the pain.  He tried to put me on half the dose of the anti-inflammatory med the ortho had me on.  Walmart called and said a month of pills would cost $1,996.86!  I was taking twice the dosage and it was costing me ZERO OOP.  WTF?  Then he tried to get a pre-authorization and my insurance company denied it.  Eventually he kept me on the dosage the Ortho was prescribing.  Insanity.....
When I get back from Ohio and surgery the interventional pain guy wants me to have an MRI of my back(Oh joy!  Another MRI)before he'll do anything that will help me.

I also went to a third doctor, a dermatologist, to treat my HS.  She was totally underwhelming and I have no confidence that she actually "treats" HS.  She never even examined me!  She certainly is not a specialist in it.  This office is more interested in giving Botox injections, removing moles and selling overpriced skin care products in their waiting room.
So I have set up an appointment with a "real" dermatologist connected with the U of Mississippi(there are no HS specialist in LA)for early next year.

Ok, this screed is over for now. '-)

*  Go to 9 PT appointments  DONE  I finished up the Physical Therapy for my lower back pain.  I'll be going back there for PT on my knee after the joint replacement in October.

*  Schedule TeleMedicine Appointment with Another Dr.  DONE  I had my Teledoc appt. later that same day I saw the local Orthopedic surgeon who kept gaslighting me.  Ohio Doc green lighted me for a TKA and put me on his schedule for surgery.  I feel much better in the hands of this surgeon than the local Ortho guy for numerous reasons.

*  Submit all Paperwork to Surgeon  DONE  I got all the paperwork submitted(so far)through the 3rd party Healthcare Organization for the surgery.  This month I have a few blood workups and an EKG locally and then need to have it faxed to Ohio and then the paperwork will all be done.

*  Clean and Organize Stuff in House  PASS  Still figuring out how to organize the pantry and where to put some other stuff.  I went through all my mom's jewelry and tchotchkes I inherited in August.  I am in the midst of distributing some of it to kids and putting some things aside for my granddaughter when she is an adult.(It will be put in trust until then as I have no relationship with my son.)

I have also started and am adding to a "Goodwill" pile to donate.  That's mostly clothes that are now too big for me and some odds and ends.

*  Buy Stuff for House  DONE  The only thing(other than Hubs buying odds and ends to fix shit)we bought was a kitchen counter top.  Still waiting for the handyman to work installing it and the new sink in the kitchen into his schedule.  In the meantime, the 10 ft. section of counter top is living on the floor of my sewing room.  Which is fine as I can't sew in my present state.

*  Schedule MRI  DONE  That was not fun. ;-)  Now to have my Neurologist let me know what it says.....3 weeks and waiting. grrr

*  Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie  DONE  I think I'll take this one off my To-Do List because as my shopping habits have changed(and we no longer to coupon inserts in the paper here)there isn't much to this.

*  Edit More Photos  DONE  Grinding out more editing of photos so I can post about old trips.

*  Post about Old Trips  DONE  Currently in August I posted about our trip out West from 2017.  I posted 7 installments of that saga in August and I'm only about halfway through that month long trip.

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE  I am always working on honing and adding to the genealogy trees.  This is something I do when I have free time in between PT and Dr. visits and tests.

*  Purchase a/c Unit for Bedroom  FAIL  We didn't end up needing one so it's falling off the list for now.

*  Send letter for DRCHC CEO+ cc to 2 More State Medical Entities  DONE  Heard back from all the Medical Entities, sent a Complaint to the Federal Government about a HIIPA violation but decided, beyond that, not to pursue this clusterf**k any further.  Stick a fork in me, I am done with their mismanaged clinic and am moving on.

*  Move Video files to new computer  FAIL  This didn't happen in August.  I am still slogging through files on my computer and getting them in better order and/or deleting stuff I no longer need or duplicates.

*  Celebrate Anniversary  DONE  We celebrated 41 years married by going out to dinner at a pretentious/overpriced restaurant.  Not great but I didn't let it put a harsh on our day.

*  Wash Dogs  DONE  The puppies got bathed outside in their little kiddie pool.  They smelled so much better but they need another bath as I am writing this. lol

What did you get accomplished in August?  Let us all know....

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the September 8th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week but here goes......

*  Hubs and I went out Monday evening to trivia.

We hadn't been there for awhile and they had changed out the Guest Pagers when your food is done for these laminate cards.  They call your celebrity's name out when you need to pick up your food at the counter.  I got a salad(meh) and a water while Hubs got a "Kevin Bacon" burger and a beer.

We planned trivia and won 3rd place even though we blew the last 15 point question(had we not guessed on that one we might have won 1st place).

So now we've got $25 free food money for the next time we go to trivia there. 8-)

*  No grocery shopping except for $1.75 spent at DG Market for a can of crushed tomatoes.  I went to make Lemon Pepper Zucchini and Chicken on Sunday but didn't have any tomatoes.  Hubs went out and picked 1 can up so I could finish making dinner.

*  I found money! 

Nope.  Skunked again.  Only went to Trivia all week.

Total Found in last Week.... .00¢
Total Found this Year.......$3.05

That's all I got.  Just sitting home is frugal, right?

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

Sluggy  

Income & Spending for August 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 August report--

I had 2 goals for August....

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 August in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of August with?....$2,882.00

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3878.950

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $832.92

*  Rakuten Check of $4.57

Total "Income" for August....$7,325.05

Expenses in August---

*  Irregular bills in August were $172.91

*  Variable Expenses in August came to $2,934.05

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,336.09*

Total Expenses....$4,443.05

$7,325.05-$4,443.05=$2,882.00

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare, I include his Vision Care, his Part B and his Medicare supplement in this number with my Healthcare Premium.  His Part B comes directly out of his SS check.

Slush into August of $67,914.85 and the addition of $2,882.00, September's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $70,796.85

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2,882.00.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  The electric bill was $25.02 lower than in July.

*  The cellphone bill was $105.27 lower than last month.

*  There were no charges on either of our Amazon c/c's in August.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $200.61 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Aviator c/c was $46.37 higher than in July.

*  We had an irregular bill for some clothing totaling $87.91.

*  We had another irregular bill for a handyman of $85.00.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for August 2023---August bills were lowkey and overall about $2K lower than July's bills.  The cellphone was a lot lower than in July due to paying for international service in June on the cruise for one of our phones.  That bill was due in July.  We won't have a $100+ savings on that bill going forward, one month to the next.  

THOUGHTS going forward into SEPTEMBER 2023---No irregular bills are due in September, so far.  There will be no vet bills unless one of the dogs comes down with something.  If the handyman gets back to us this month to install the countertop and sink, we'll have expenses there, but no clue yet on when the handyman will get to it and what it will cost.  

Otherwise, it's same old/same old here for September.

So how was your August financially?

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

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