And the way west continues

We've been gone from North Dakota since Monday. Today is Friday, so you'd think that I'd have said hello to the world of bloggers in the interim. No way! No, literally. No way. We've been in the mountains, parked alongside the Shoshone River in a little place called Eagle Creek Campground in the Shoshone National Forest. Here's how I described it on Tuesday when we arrived.

"Oh sweetheart, we have to stay. It's so pretty. Look at the wildflowers, ahh, and the river. Oh, I bet it's cold and refreshing. This place right here is open and is right on the riverbank. We can sit on those flat rocks with our feet in the water and enjoy the morning. Or come back from the mountains and cool off under the shade trees. Hey! Look that little guy! What is he? A chipmunk? Aww, how cute is that?" 

I wanted to stay two nights. Just two. I figured the lack of electricity and fresh water would probably make things difficult. I'm not a fan of difficult. Richard paid for three, just in case we couldn't find anything else. We didn't look for anything else, but we did find a few places. Those places were so congested and crowded that we returned to our Shoshone River camp and reveled in the quiet. 

There were few other campers, and like us, they were rambling through Yellowstone during the day, returning exhausted and ready for bed. Only the camp host stayed longer than we did. Everyone else seemed to come to their senses on day two. But we're tough Louisiana folks and can take the wilderness. Aren't we the ones who trekked through Arizona dragging three preteens tent-camping in a different place every night? Dang right!

So day three arrives and Richard says, "We have to decide what we want to do: stay here or move farther west so we don't have to drive so much." 
Me: "Oh, we're moving." 
Rich: "Okay, so you want to move? Any idea where?"
Me: "Where there's electricity and water and full services." 
Me: "FULL services."
Rich: "We could stay one more night."
Me: "Sure, if they put in FULL services while we sleep."
Me: "Let's be clear. That ain't happening. We're moving. If you pay for another night, you'll lose your money. We are moving!"

I woke up when the camper suddenly jerked onto the truck hitch. For those of you who don't know: Richard was packing and hooking up the camper to move. 

Yes, we moved. Tonight we will sleep on the Montana-Idaho line and go back into Yellowstone a few more times before going to the Grand Tetons and then somewhere west of here. That has not been decided yet.

So what does a girl do when there's no electricity? Hand-stitching, of course! This little bird quilt has patiently been waiting its turn for some needle attention. Remember the bird on the left is the one that Preeti sent me quite some time ago. 

I made a reverse one to "match," quilted them to hold the two sweethearts in place and put the whole thing aside for this trip. I've pulled it out and in the tiny bit of daylight that was left at the end of each day, I've been stitching. You can see that there hasn't been much daylight! But it's a start. 

Now except that in the picture the bird's wing looks too much like a penguin wing. Hmm. I don't want a penguin bird. Oh, so much stitching to remove! I'll leave you with that happy note.

What do you think? Isn't this a cute little lovebird? Forget the wing, something's going to happen with the wing. But the rest of it? I think this is the girl since it's not very bright and colorful. The other will have some gorgeous thread...but we'll see how that works after this wing gets a makeover. Have a great weekend!

Linking up with:

TGIFF
Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts

        Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict