Scott in the Slammer - The Road is calling... OWGrv is answering.

We woke up fairly early at the Riverbend RV Park and we all had a fresh-cooked egg breakfast. Scott researched nearby museums and came across the Museum of the Mountain West , which opened at 8:30AM – early for us to see it before leaving our campsite. Steve declared there was nothing in a museum he hadn’t seen before, and opted to take pictures of wildlife around the park and adjacent lake.

Carolyn – our tour guide

After entering the main building Scott decided this was the western equivalent of Bills Old Bike Barn in Bloomsberg, PA – in both cases an old guy had been collecting stuff his entire life. Richard Fike, the proprietor of MMW, was 84 and still collecting – we were told he was out of town for the weekend, but generally was there to greet guests.

We had two options for seeing the place, and we chose the more-expensive option of a $15 guided tour. We started out as the only guests on the tour, but a nice couple from Fruita joined us after 20 minutes or so.

Unlike Bills Old Bike Barn, there is a theme to this – articles from the west – particularly Montrose and neaby Olathe – from the mid 1800s to the 1920s. Scott was particularly fascinated by the mechanical devices used to entertain saloon guests and separate them from their money. One amazing device played both a piano and a violin.

Among the most interesting stuff were dentist and doctor offices, groceries, dry goods, and pharmacies from the turn of the century.

Violina – Player Piano with a violin

Very interesting find, but no photos of the guns were allowed

Except this one found in an outhouse pit, where he found a lot of artifacts because they didn’t have regular trash pickups and where else would you throw your trash. In this case, the revolver was found with bullets chambered except for one.

A true Bean Counter

Scott was a bad boy

After the guided tour we walked around a bit and headed back to camp. We left the campsite a bit after 11:30AM after some adjustments to our surge braking system for Polo.

There was great scenery for most of the 4+ hour drive to our campsite at Vernal Utah. The campsite itself was a bit disappointing – will be nice when they finish their “under construction” bathhouse but for our visit all toileting and showering will have to be in the cramped bathroom in Khan. And no picnic tables.

Ominous Sky

And then came the rain – first we’ve seen since the first day of this trip

Steve and Tom went to Plaza Mexicana in Vernal while Scott stayed in the camper for a video chat with his family in Pennsylvania and Washington State. Tonight’s planned movie is Blazing Saddles – we were going to watch A Ticket to Tomahawk in honor of the Durango and Silverton, but apparently that is not available for streaming.