Full Nelson

We are parked at a free Bureau of Reclamation camp site on Nelson Reservoir, west of Saco, Montana (map). There are about ten undesignated sites here along the shore line, accessed by a pair of well-graded dirt roads. A bit further from shore are a handful of vault toilets and covered picnic pavilions; all the camp sites and pavilions have picnic tables and grills or fire rings. We have our own private little beach right at our site.

When we arrived Wednesday afternoon after a short half-hour drive from Malta, we had planned for just one night here, since our package was slated to arrive in Glasgow yesterday. But when we arrived and saw how beautiful and uncrowded it was, we decided to make it two. Our package did arrive yesterday, according to UPS, so we'll leave here shortly to retrieve it. Besides, we need water.

Speaking of water, yesterday afternoon's weather was so nice, I decided to spend a few hours working on the new hot tub. I figured to get as far as mounting it, so it wouldn't be kicking around the bay any longer, but it turned out I was also able to get it plumbed in and hooked up, and after a bucket test we decided to deploy the tub and try it out for real. With the lake just a few feet away and actually overfull to the point of some trees being inundated, it only took one hose and one extension cord to pump 250 gallons of lake water to the tub.

The new pumps are stronger and quieter than the old ones, and all the controls work properly now. There seems to be some discrepancy between the controller's idea of the temperature and our spa thermometer's reading, but I would guess we can iron that out. I have a few more finishing touches like rerouting the power cables, connecting the fan, and installing the cover, but it is mostly done. At our next fair-weather stop (it is raining today), I'll disassemble the old box for disposal. We had a nice soak last night, although it feels a bit weird to us to be out there in broad daylight (it's light here till 10pm).

Here a panoramic video of our site. Pretty nice.



Tonight I expect we will be in Glasgow, staying at the Elks lodge. Installing the new satellite hardware will have to wait for clear weather, as most of it goes up on the roof.