We went on a snipe hunt this morning. Nick Russell had mentioned a Gillette Farmers Market in his blog post, so Linda looked it up and got the address. Because of the way we eat, Farmers Markets are a real bonus for us when we can get to them. We skipped breakfast and drove to the location, and found … nothing. Nada. Not a farmer (or market) in sight. Surely Nick wouldn’t lead us astray? He and Terry said they were headed there themselves. Out came the smartphones (both of them) and we started Googling away. Ahhh, the market starts on July 20th. This was Just another example of the emotional roller coaster of extended/full-time RVing. But roller coasters are exciting, and the unexpectedness keeps you on your toes, presenting opportunities for problem-solving and unplanned discoveries.
One of our favorite statues in downtown Gillette, WY
We decided to drive to downtown Gillette and walk around. It was still early, and a holiday weekend, so the shops were not open yet and Main Street was deserted. Downtown Gillette has a nice collection of bronze statues that we enjoyed viewing as we strolled main street. We discovered the 311 Restaurant and studied the menu in the window. If we were going to dine out, this looked the place to go. We passed a bakery/coffee shop that was closed, although their signs suggested that they should be open. Someone else must have had the same impression, and more than once. A 3″ square sticky note was pasted on the window over the “hours of operation” sign that said “Is this place ever open when it says it will be?” Honest, I could not make that up.
When we got back to the bus we had a late breakfast. I continued working at my computer while Linda went for a walk. The sun was bright on the passenger side of the coach, so when Linda got back we deployed the awnings on that side. At some point John and Cheryl came over and we sat in the shade and had a nice long chat. I say “at some point” because I rarely know what time it is unless I look at clock or the shadow of our coach.
Being as it was our last night in Gillette, we decided to go to the 311 Restaurant for dinner. Thunderstorms were forecast for later, but the weather outside our window looked fine, so we left the awnings out and the windows and roof vents open. We started to back our car out of our site around 4:30 PM when Linda saw a large flash of cloud-to-ground lightning directly north of the RV Park. I opened The Weather Channel app on my smartphone and pulled up the current radar. There was a large cell to the north that appeared to be moving east and an even larger cell to the southwest that appeared to be moving northeast towards Gillette with strong winds and hail indicted. Rather than close everything up, we decided to cancel our dinner out plans and eat at home. This sort of flexibility is a necessary part of this lifestyle.
It was still early, so I resumed my photo organizing, and started selecting images to include with each blog post. Linda made the pasta salad that she is contributing to the HFH pot-luck welcome social tomorrow at the HFH affiliate ReStore in Sheridan. With that done, she started preparing African yam and kale soup, only to discover that the (organic) yam she bought was rotten to the core.
Plan B. Although not a whole-food, we keep a few prepared things on hand for just such situations, or when Linda doesn’t feel like cooking (it happens, but not often). The Amy’s brand has a particularly good selection of canned and frozen items, including soups, chili, and the best vegan pizza we have ever had. (The roasted vegetable, which has caramelized onions, but doesn’t even have vegan “cheese”. Vegan or not, this is a fabulous pizza.) They also have “fake” substitutes for traditional dishes. Other companies, such as Morningstar, Dr. Praeger’s, etc. produce similar products, and one of our favorites is “riblets” in Bar-B-Que sauce. The sauce is one of the best I’ve had (it’s sweet, naturally). The riblet has the texture of pork, and a reasonable facsimile of the taste, which I retain in memory to some degree. Riblets and Bush’s vegetarian baked beans; quick, easy, and tasty, with plenty of protein (for those of you who are concerned about the nutritional balance of our meals).
As we finished dinner the storms thickened and intensified all around us. We were treated to quite a lightning show for some time before the rain started. The rain began gently so we left the windows open to enjoy the sound and the cool air. (We have awning style windows that open out from the bottom, so they tolerate a certain amount of rain.) The rain gradually, but steadily, increased to the point we had to close up and turn on the air-conditioners.
Every time we have had a 30% chance of a storm in Gillette, we have gotten a storm. It appears that the 30% forecast means the storm will only be 30% as strong as the worst storm you can imagine.
We had fresh strawberries and sweet red wine and then turned in for the night.