June 17, 2013

Finally woke up to no rain. Sister Bear and I headed over to the laundry and to catch a shower. $12.50 later all the clothes and towels were clean, dry and folded. Outrageously expensive since this is less than 1 week. I can’t imagine a family living with a laundromat as their standard method of laundry. How expensive!

We headed into town to get some groceries to replace all the food that went bad in our refrigerator when somehow the lever got moved to the top and it was nearly 60 degrees inside. Too warm for refrigerated food… The milk came out in a chunk in the morning cereal. Yuck!

We also stopped at the auto store and picked up some oil and the additive for the gas. Flyer is doing a little better but we have decided the roads across Wyoming into Yellowstone will be too taxing for her if we go up and then down from the mountain that lies between us. So we are headed straight North into Montana. Then we will cross over through Montana and then down into Yellowstone from the top. It will add a day, but that’s ok.

The road up through Wyoming was beautiful and even more beautiful on the sweeping roads of Montana.

Oscar had a new sleeping position

Everything was calm and beautiful until Sparky announced from the front, “The steering and brakes are very hard.” We came to a stop off the highway on exit 544 Wyola, population 186. With 8 houses by average per square mile, per Wikipedia, there was not a person or building in sight.

We called Good Sam (AAA for RVs) and they were able to find a tow truck big enough for our rig. In the hour and a half that we waited we saw two other vehicles. One looking for gas from us. Nope, we are full but no way to share. And another RV that had a battery issue but was able to continue on their own.

The kids didn’t seem to mind the wait when we broke out the jump ropes and took down the bikes (#4 for those counting).

If we had to be broken down somewhere this would be on the top of my list. Not because it was far away from everything, because that did make it more difficult to find help. But because it was in the middle of beautiful green rolling hills bordered by a mountainous range.

Yup, that’s us in at the intersection in the middle of the picture.

The kids checked out a local herd

on a dirt road just up from where we were parked that interestingly enough needed a I90 junction sign to warn its many travelers of the impending collision with civilization.

The tow truck arrived and hooked Flyer up.

We all piled in, the kids and I in the sleeper part of the cab and Sparky in the front with Oscar on his lap. No seat belts in this rig.

The driver clipped along at a high rate of speed, topping 80, on this sweeping road with Flyer bouncing in tow. The driver warned Sparky that sometimes the passenger door opened so he should lock it and do not lean.

As we headed back over the border into Wyoming, backtracking more than 30 miles of our already traveled path, Sparky’s door flew open. He clung to Oscar with one hand and grabbed the door to slam it shut with the other. Legendary; no seat belt, high rate of speed, unpredictable animal, and an open door. Yup, you can’t make this stuff up.

The driver delivered us to Steve’s Truck Service in Sheridan, WY. The kids quickly found a log which made a nice balance beam to occupy themselves while Flyer was unhooked.

Sparky found an outside outlet and slowly moved Flyer close enough to plug her in for the night.