July 31st to Aug 2nd - Sask to Billings MT

July 31st – Sat – Swift Current
Gilbert & Grace made a good breakfast to provide energy for our golf game at 11. We played 9 holes and walked to get a little exercise. We all got scores of 7 on the first hole (par 4!) which set the tone for several more holes. Then everyone except me got warmed up and started to do better. It was hot with a welcome breeze.
We made a few stops before heading home for a late lunch. Like Pauline, Grace bakes buns which make wonderful sandwiches. Just after we finished lunch, a football game (Saskatchewan vs Hamiliton) started so we had to watch it. I took time first to post my blog and catch up with email since Gilbert has a router that I could use for internet access.
Grace & I watched the end of the game (Saskatchewan won) while we were making dinner. We made 3 types of fish – bass, walleye & Northern pike – and did our own little taste testing.
It was late when we finished eating & cleaning up but we were going to play cards again. Then I tried to help Gilbert with email on his laptop and it took too long and we were all yawning so we called it a day.

Aug 1st – Sun – to Billings MT
Again, G&G made breakfast. Goodbye hugs all around and we left around 9:30 for a rare 5 ½ hour drive. This is longer than we normally drive in a day! We drove straight south from Swift Current to Monchy which is north of Malta MT. There was a very nice customs agent who actually smiled most of the time. We had a pretty empty fridge so didn’t have to give away any vegetables or fruit.
I forgot to mention in a previous blog that on the drive from Moose Jaw to Swift Current, we saw HUGE hay fields with thousands of round bales. They dwarf the fields & production of the El Centro area which we thought was incredible. Well, on this trip the fields & bales continued in amazing quantities both in Canada & Montana. Fields with grazing cows look really scrubby but the cattle were sleek & fat.
We are staying at Trailer Village RV park. Our truck is absolutely yellow on the front with smashed bugs and Terry was going to find a car wash but decided that tomorrow will be soon enough.

Aug 2nd – Mon – Billings
We started out by finding a car wash which turned out to be very close to the RV park. Then we went truck shopping. Terry had spent time on the internet and figured we better look at GMC as well as Chev since there is a shortage of new Chev diesels right now. The Chev dealer had only one new Chev diesel – a one ton dually. The GMC dealer had none even though they showed 5 a couple of days ago on their web site. We called a dealer in nearby Laurel and the saleslady said she would do a search.
Since we were discouraged about the truck, we decided to check out the 5th wheels that Terry had also seen on the internet. They had a 2011 Montana 3400RL that we would seriously consider if we had a truck with enough pulling power. We were now closer to Laurel so we drove out there. The only truck they had was a short bed which we had already been thinking about. We haggled a firm price with them and then went back to the RV dealer to discuss changing over our hitch. The new Montana has rounded front corners so it can be towed by a short bed Chev but the service department said we would definitely need a sliding hitch - ??. Back to Laurel we went to make some more measurements. On the way and at the Chev dealer we finally decided to wait for a long box truck to be available – the only one in the northwest right now is in Everett WA. Chev has some type of hold on all trucks being delivered and the dealers are not told what the reason is. This whole exercise has taught us to get the truck first and get it all set up and then look again for a 5th wheel. Yes, I know we said that we were going to stay with our current vehicles for a while but our plan changing is well known!
We found a liquor store (definitely needed that by now!) and a grocery store and came back. I started laundry and alternated that with putting away groceries and starting dinner. There are only 3 washers so I had to do 2 sets of washing & drying which made dinner kind of late.