Wild West day 41

Bright and early Monday morning we hit the Billings Mercedes dealer. They hadn't even had their coffee yet.  But, it didn't take them long to bring us in and, wow!  I don't think I've ever been in a Mercedes dealership before. They know how to put on the dog. Now if they just know their products and maintain them as well.

Actually, the RV was due its 20,000 mile service anyway, so this stop served two purposes - I hoped.  Anyway, they checked me in and took my complaint information and Lil Pumpkin went out of sight.  Sort of like checking your kid into the emergency room at the hospital, leaving you sitting in the waiting room. But, it wasn't that bad. Their customer lounge was well outfitted. We had a TV remote so we could watch what we wanted. There were the usual coffee and a vending machine and several relatively recent magazines. Even Ditto was allowed to sit and wait with us. The wait wasn't too bad, either, maybe an hour. Then the service manager said Lil Pumpkin was ready, but there were a couple of problems.  #1 - they couldn't duplicate the miss problem, the main reason we brought it in. I'm sure the tech tested by stomping on it. #2 - as part of the 20,000 mile check-up, the on board computer software is checked for updates. As service bulletin indicated there was an update, but their Internet service was down and they couldn't do it. I asked if driving the RV back home might cause damage with the miss they could not duplicate. They thought not. So, $300 later, we hit the road, hoping we wouldn't have any serious trouble going home.

By now, Joyce was smelling the barn and, I guess I was too. We were beginning to feel the need to get on back home.  But, part of my bucket list was Devils Tower National Monument, even though we've been there before. So, we headed southeast down to Greybull, Wy. where we picked up US Hwy 16 east. We camped at Lost Cabin Campground in the Bighorn National Forest.

We were on the outside row of the main road through the camp.  Behind and below us was a long low creek valley.  We had a perfect view and a fellow camper told us to watch for the deer and maybe a moose or two.  Of course, we didn't see any.  But, we did see a beautiful field of blue wild flowers in the creek valley and a camp full of kids on bicycles across from us.

The worst thing about this campground was the mosquitoes. Boy! They could swarm you. I made the mistake of walking down to the entrance to drop our payment envelope off in the self-pay box. I'm old and don't normally run anymore. However...

Wild West day 40

We left the Mountain Range RV Park and took County Route 313 east to Crow Agency just outside the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument.

For the past several hundred miles, the RV has had a miss or sputter when accelerating through about 40-45 MPH and only if the acceleration is mild.  It has seemed to not do it if I mashed the pedal down and has been very intermittent and mostly unpredictable. Well, as we were touring Little Bighorn, it began to happen more and more and I was able to reproduce the problem almost at will.  We were not that far from Billings which was the nearest Mercedes dealer.  We decided to backtrack to Billings and have it looked at.  But first, we'll finish our Little Bighorn tour.

We visited Little Bighorn in 1970.  Since then, the area has been enlarged and several Indian monuments have been positioned where an Indian was known to have been killed.  There were not many because most of the Indian casualties were carried off by survivors and the Indian women.  Of note, is the relatively new "Peace Through Unity" Indian Memorial honoring the Native Americans who died in the battle.

It was getting late, so we headed to Billings.  We did not know what the next day might hold and if the RV would be in the shop for quite a while leaving us without wheels and homeless, so we wanted to locate as close to the dealer as we could and, hopefully, near restaurants and motels.  We opted for Billings Village RV Park.

Wild West day 39

Moving on, we headed for Cody, Wy.  My plan was to pass through Cody then take the Chief Joseph Hwy (State Hwy 296) up to the Beartooth Hwy (US Hwy 212).  A quick stop at Wal-Mart and hello-goodbye, Cody.

We found the Chief Joseph and headed north.

Now, this road had real promise, but a quick stop was required.

As we headed up the Chief Joseph, we were followed (and usually passed) by motorcyclists, bunches of them.

Below is a 10 minute video taken by a motorcyclist last year riding up the Chief Joseph.  I chose this video because of the motorcycles.  There were literally hundreds of them up and down this highway and the Beartooth.

The Chief Joseph tied into the Bear Tooth Hwy just east of Cooke City, Mt.  So, actually, we didn't go into Cooke City.  Instead, we made a hard obtuse right turn and headed up the Beartooth.

We arrived at the Top-Of-The-World-Store/Resort at Beartooth Pass, only to find all the motorcycles in the world (so we thought). We pulled off in a parking area across the highway from the store.  Several motorcycles were parked there and as we stopped, a couple of women cyclists were just dismounting their bikes. I asked what was the big attraction and why all the motorcycles. One pointed to the Coors and Budweiser tents with the beer kegs stacked around and the other explained this was a pit stop for the annual Beartooth motorcycle rally.  Today is the 1st day of a 3-day rally held by Red Lodge, Mt. just up the road.  Oh great! There go our chances for a campsite near Red Lodge.

We continued on, leaving hundreds of motorcycles at the beer trough. Now keep in mind, this is mid-July.

Beartooth Pass was well worth the drive...and the motorcycles.  But, let me say, the motorcycles were NOT a problem.  It was not the old Hell's Angels.  Many were professionals (doctors, lawyers and such) and many were just good old boys.  All were mostly just motorcycle enthusiasts out for a good ride.

Rest stop...a scenic pull-off just outside Red Lodge.

Beartooth Pass on a Goldwing

Then we hit Red Lodge sometime around 5ish in the evening.  The motorcyclists were gathering for the evening.  Keep in mind, we are ahead of all those at the Top-Of-The-World Store and the scenic overlook and strewn up and down the highway.

And the last one as we continued on through town.

We continued on up to Columbus on I-90 west of Billings.  Found a Good Sam park that fit the bill for the night, Mountain Range RV Park.  A bit off my intended path and little more expensive than planned, but a nice park.

Tomorrow we're heading for the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument.

Wild West day 38

Did Yellowstone today...or it did us.  It started at the gate - where else?

My plan was to take to southern loop around by the West Thumb and up along Yellowstone Lake then up to the Upper Falls and take the Norris Canyon Rd over to Hwy 89 then the north loop and out on Hwy 212.  But, plans change...

We proceeded on the southern loop as planned.

Swimming in the Firehole River.

Then we came to Midway Geyser Basin parking area.  The traffic jam was a mess, people parking anywhere and everywhere, narrowing the driving lane so at some points it was one lane.  With this being the only way in AND the only way out and inconsiderate or just plain rude people, it was a mess.

Even the restrooms had long lines.

We did not stop.  We headed out of there as fast I could.

Next stop Old Faithful.  Yeh, right.

It was nothing like this in 1970 and since we had "been there, done that", we decided the battle wasn't worth it.  We decided we'd just head out the east entrance and find something less stressful.

So, out we went on US Hwy 20 along the Shoshone River toward Cody, Wy.  I remembered there being several campgrounds along that route and it was getting late in the day.  We found a nice one,.  I think it was called Eagle Creek campground, but not sure.

Joyce and Ditto enjoyed looking for unique rocks.  That's all we need, more rocks!

Wild West day 37

Continuing on our way to Yellowstone. We hit I-90 at Livingston and caught it west to Gallantin where we took a shortcut over to US Hwy 191.  I believe it was at Four Corners we "dieseled up" and the place we stopped actually had pumping service.  A youngish guy, probably in his 20s came out to pump and while pumping I made a comment on how hazy the sky was today.  We could see the mountains in the distance very well yesterday, but today they were pretty hidden.  He told me it was smoke from the Washington State forest fire.  It had just now drifted its way over lower southwest Montana.  It reminded me of the Los Angeles basin smog back in the 60s.

From Four Corners, we headed on down toward West Yellowstone.  Now we had a decision to make...do we camp near West Yellowstone or do we keep going back down to Ashton and crash Rosie's party again.  Let me tell you, Rosie was tempting, but we decided to stay at the Rainbow Point campground on Hebgen Lake and hit Yellowstone tomorrow.  No picture here, but I do have a story.

The road into the campground was not paved and had many water filled potholes and puddles from an afternoon rain shower.  Inside the park the speed limit was 15 MPH and any faster was really bone jarring.  We arrived there well on into the evening after trying another campground closer to West Yellowstone that was full.  The campground host there told us to try Rainbow Point and we lucked out, there was a spot.  Not far from the loop our site was in was the lake.  We had to cross the main road to get there.  It was nearing dust on the way back from our walk to the lake.  A family in a mid-sized motorhome pulled up and stopped to ask if we knew where any open sites were.  We had already crossed the road, so I turned back to speak with him.  As I walked across what one would consider the lane going the opposite way as the guy I saw a huge motorhome barreling down on us.  He must have been doing 50 MPH.  I held my breath, waiting for the crash I knew was coming.  I was sure he was going to rear-end the fellow in the first RV.  Zoom!  The big RV tore passed the one with the family who had stopped.  I did not know it, but luckily the guy had stopped with just barely enough room on the right for the idiot to get through.  I'm sure his hurry was in trying to find an open spot before someone else got it.  What he obviously did not know or maybe did not care was that not 5 minutes before, several kids were puttering around the area on bicycles.  There is no way he could have stopped or avoided them.  The thought almost made me ill.

But, all's well that ends well...I guess.

Wild West day 36

Our next stop is the Many Pines campground as we make our way through Great Falls and down to Yellowstone.

Time for a good book.

As much of this blog is being written well after our trip due to lack of Internet service along the way, I'm plugging in this story here, though it may have actually occurred another day.

Ever since we started our trip, I've worn a spare key to the RV around my neck, which is no small matter as it is a big fob with the key built in...not very comfortable in bed.  I wore it because the key is unusual, being a Mercedes key, and I was concerned if we got locked out or lost the key it would be very difficult and expensive to get a replacement out here.

We stopped at a rest stop briefly and as we pulled in, we noticed another Winnebago just like ours, so I pulled up beside it.  There was an elderly man with his dog out beside it.  It was hot outside and he had left the engine running to keep it cool, I assumed.  As we pulled up, I rolled down my window and asked the man how he liked his motorhome.  It was then my paranoid insistence in wearing the spare key around my neck became a wise choice.  The man and his dog were locked out...with the engine still running.  The Mercedes van that the motorhome is built on has a "safety" measure where if the engine is left running for several minutes, it will automatically lock the doors.  Surprise!  For giggles, we tried my key, but unfortunately, it would not open his RV.  He had already called a locksmith who was on the way, but it was 30-40 miles away.  It was going to be expensive, no doubt.  To make the situation even more sad, the man told me he and his wife had bought the new motorhome the previous year (about the same time we bought ours), planning on seeing the country.  But, his wife died shortly afterwards, before they got to travel in it.  This trip was his way of fulfilling their dreams.

Wild West day 35

We got an earlier that usual start this morning.  Lots to see.  Heading out of the campground, we made a left and hit the Going-To-The-Sun Road driving along the east shore of Lake McDonald, although the lake was not very visible due to the trees.  Beyond the lake we began climbing and the clouds covering the mountains were a site to see.

But, alas, we had to turn back.  The park restricts vehicles over 21' in length beyond the Avalanche Campground area due to sharp turns and overhangs.  Drat!  But, I knew this going in.  My plan is to go up the road as far as they allow on this side, then go back down, circle the park and come in from the other side.

Just before we reached the turn-around area, we encountered a traffic jam.  As traffic slowly filtered through the obstacle, we finally reached it, the cause of the jam.  Some idgit in a RoadTrek apparently tried to turn around in the middle of the road instead of going on up to the turn-around area and got hung up.  I'd bet he was embarrassed or should have been anyway.  He had backed off the pavement and got the rear-end stuck in the ditch.

So, we turned around at the appointed place (they had a good turn-around area) and headed back down. The van was still there, but I could see a wrecker coming down the road.  Hope the guy had good roadside service.

As we headed back down toward the Apgar area, we had a good view of the stream filling Lake McDonald.  I'm not sure of the name, but it might be McDonald Creek or River.  Joyce stayed in the RV, but I just had to get out.

McDonald Falls

Out of the park and looping around the south side on US Hwy 2, we stopped at a river access for lunch and a nap.  It's the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Some fellow was there trying his luck, but I didn't see any evidence of it.

 

After my nap, we continued on Hwy 2 and wore our eyes out.

We hit State Hwy 49 at East Glacier Park and took it for a shortcut.  There were signs limiting vehicle length to 21' again, but since it wasn't actually in the park, we decided to look the other way.

Even Ditto was impressed.

Then on into the park as far as we could go.

Wanna see more?

Enough is enough, so we headed out US Hwy 89 to a campground at Valier, Mt. about 10 miles east off Hwy 89.  Amazing how quickly the landscape changes.

It bored Ditto

The side trip was worth it.  The Lake Francis City Park was a nice stop and we had had a big day.