Yellowstone or Bust

Eating breakfast and waiting for Big Red to warm up

Day 13 – Yesterday was such a wonderful day, today we will explore the Yellowstone National Park – or maybe not. We got up, cleaned up, packed up and pretty much got fed up when Big Red did not start. My first thought was that it was too cold in the night so Henry ran me an extension cord to plug into the truck’s block heater. Hopefully I can warm her up. Since we had an hour or so to kill, we walked across the road to the Café and had a wonderful but not cheap breakfast. Back from breakfast but Big Red is still not cooperating. I decide it must be a fuel filter. It only takes me a few minutes to drop in a new filter since I always carry one with me. Big Red still will not start. It becomes obvious that something beyond my limited diesel mechanic skill is wrong – I must get some professional help. Henry gives me a few telephone numbers for mechanics in Cooke City but neither feels confident to handle a diesel repair. It looks as though we may me stranded, one mile from the Park entrance in a place that is just this side of heaven. Even though we really love Silver Gate, it is not our intention to make it our new home. The guys at the Market are good enough to let me use their telephone since our cell phones have not worked since the Bears Tooth saga began. I manage to keep there phone tied up, on and off, all day. They don’t even begin to get annoyed. I had Mom sitting by the phone at one point waiting for a return call and one of the guys brought her out a hat to wear. After the negative mechanic attempt from Cooke City, I decide it is time to call the Good Sam Club and see about getting a tow to Cody and the nearest diesel mechanic. Fortunately, less than a month ago, I signed up for Good Sam RV Road Assistance. I switched from AAA to Sam because Sam will tow both the truck and the RV, unlimited miles to the nearest authorized mechanic. In this situation alone, the cost to tow us from Silver Gate to Cody would easily approach $900. This is Saturday morning and the first person I talk to tells me that they cannot send anyone until Monday morning. That does not sit well with me so I call back a second and third time until I get someone that specializes in hard core situations. Although she promises to call me back, on the Market phone, I do not hear anything for hours. When I call back in the late afternoon, I am told that they have dispatched someone from Cody to rescue and tow us in. Cody is about 85 miles away, over the pass.

It may be the fuel filter - I always carry a spare

I used the store phone most of the day

Here is a shot of the cabins behind the store

Hurry up and wait

Hurry up some more and wait

At 5:30 Brian from Eagle Recovery drives up in his wrecker and backs up to Big Red. Brian looks as though he may be 15 years old at the most but he takes command of the situation like a pro. It takes him about an hour and a half to get us set up and that is only because he does not have the correct wrench to drop Big Red’s driveshaft. We located one in Cooke City and the mechanic was good enough to loan it to Brian. We said our goodbyes to the gang at Silver Gate and headed out for Cody with Big Red in tow and our 5th wheel still attached. We looked like a small train going down the road. I was sitting up front with Brian while Ma, Patti and Toby sat comfortably in the back. We felt pretty safe in Brian’s big truck. Just as the trip began and even before we got to Cooke City, we passed a buffalo standing quietly by the side of the road. It is not something us city folk see every day.

Eagle Recovery to the rescue

Saying goodbye to the guys at the store

I have to tell you, I was more than concerned after our experience pulling the 5th wheel up and over Bears Tooth Pass. Brian assured me that he has done this many times and we are not going over the 10,000 foot Bears Tooth. He is taking the cut off through the Chief Joseph Pass, which is only 8,500 foot high. I’m totally not relieved. This kid knows how to drive a truck and even pulls over several times so that Patti can take photos. The drive is only 85 miles but it takes almost three hours.

We stopped along Chief Joseph's Pass to take photos

Patti is hanging on to the rail for dear life

When we get close to Cody, and within cell phone range, Mom starts calling to find us a place to put the trailer. Brian is going to drop the trailer, in our not yet found RV site, help us set up and then take Red over to the Ford dealer in Town. Mom finally locates the last available site in Cody at the Absaroka (it means Crow) Bay RV Park. I don’t even know how to pronounce the place and when we drive in after 9:00 pm, it looks pretty bad. We are tired, stressed and in grave doubt. I even ask Mom to call the KOA outside of town to see what they may have. No luck as there is a very large Indian Pow-Wow in Cody, plus a rodeo and some sort of Boy Scout thing. We decide to take the site and hopefully get to bed in the near future.

I would like you to close your eyes and picture this, but you can’t read with your eyes closed so just imagine. Here is a very large tow truck with Big Red hooked to the back and the 5th wheel tagging right behind. The park is on overload with cars and trucks parked everywhere, not counting the RVs. He negotiates turn number one without incident. Turn two is a lot tighter but Brian whoops the train around like it is on a track. Turn three is the hardest because after making it happen, he must back up Big Red which will then back up the trailer into a space that is normally reserved for a tent trailer. It is like watching magic. For those of you that have ever tried to back up a trailer, you know that you turn one way to make the trailer go the other. It is confusing at best but consider backing up with a third vehicle behind the second. It goes way beyond confusing. The kid had the magic hands and before we knew it, the trailer was set and Brian was gone with Big Red in tow. Everyone in our camp was exhausted and quickly asleep. We are sorry we did not make it to Yellowstone but so very happy to be where we are. Red will stay at the Ford dealer until at least Monday.