I have so much to share about week one and living in a popup camper, so I decided to tell the story in a condensed best of/worst of format.

Best innovation: Hangers with clips to dry wet clothes

Best camp food: Lentil stew cooked in dutch oven over the fire

Harmony House Foods, available online

Best drink: Iced tea made from Celestial Seasonings, brewed every night before bed, poured into hiking water bottles, and then placed in refrigerator overnight

Best restaurant food: On my birthday I went to Pizza Ranch in Rapid City, SD. They had dessert pizza called Cactus Bread. It is a coffee cake/pizza. Unbelievable, dreaming about it

Most mundane human behavior: I was floating in the lake for my nightly swim. A gal next to me began taunting her husband to come in. “Take off your shorts and just jump in”, she said. After a few minutes of this, the beer-saturated man said, “I don’t have any underwear on, I can’t just take off my shorts”. More taunting, more yelling. Finally, the man unzipped his pants and pulled “it” out to show he didn’t have on underwear or shorts for swimming. I really did try not to stare.

Best bird: Mountain Bluebird

Best animal encounter: Startling a wild turkey who yelled at us for 10 minutes

Best vista: Needles area in Custer State Park, SD

Best tool/repair thingy: Fuse tester

Best item I packed for trip: Anti-itch cream (mosquitos!)

Best conversation starter: My solar panel

Best accomplishment: Remembering to fill the gas tank in the Flying Cloud before the dashboard reminder light told me I am nearly out of gas

Lowest temp in the camper:43 degrees, Black Hills, SD

Highest temp in the camper: 96 degrees, Keyhole State Park, WY

Weirdest logic: Delivered by the RV Resort sales person, something about how we make decisions, something about now or never

True confession: I reorganized Half Moon and the van–Flying Cloud– twice. Yes, I am happy now.

Ah-ha Moment: I can wear some clothes more than once

Best reading: Practice of the Wild, Gary Snyder

Best new book added to my Kindle wish list: A book of letters between Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder, to be released in September

Best decision: Stay in one place for a while, sink into lifestyle and routine before traveling on

Biggest annoyance: at RV resort where I stayed in the Black Hills, the people next to me (a few feet away) were smokers and had awful smoker’s coughs–all day and into the night

Greatest concern: wildfires in WA and OR and their effect on air quality in MT, where I am headed

Want list: Men’s nylon shorts for swimming

Best side trip: Devils Tower, but it wasn’t the monument that wowed me; I took a back road and fell in love again with the zone where rolling high plains meet patchy pine forest and creeks wind through the hay meadows

Best Home Remedy: Before I left I put 30 drops of peppermint oil in a 3 oz spray bottle and filled it with purified water. It is great for a headache (spray on back of neck) and to cool down during the hottest park of the day.

Most used app for camping so far: Weather.com

Best website this week: Inci Web (wild land fire updates)

Random Weirdness: Private Shooting Club located near State Park

Worst kid prank: “Look mom, I found a snake. Don’t worry, I killed it” (there goes another Bull Snake, a wonderful predator of mice and other annoying critters).

 Cutest dog: Tango

Overall Best of the Best Award: Nightly swims in lake after hot day

This coming week? Smoke from wildfires continues to hover over my Montana destinations.Temperatures at my current location will climb to nearly 100 degrees. Therefore, on Monday I am moving to the Bighorn Mountains (WY) and hunkering down in the cool high country until the wild fires simmer down. I know of dispersed camping areas and can stay up to 14 days if needed. Will fill up water tank, food pantry, and propane tank before I head up the mountains tomorrow. If the fires continue to send out smoke over Montana, I may reroute all together and head to Tetons and other western WY high country. Flexibility is key. Onward!

I thank those who have previously bought from Amazon through Janesjournals.com. I just consolidated the Amazon Links in one place so that they don’t distract from my primary goal: to share information about my adventures!