It turns out that we are actually parked in spaces belonging to the local post office -- good news the post-master is a car nut. He is offering tools and even crawling on the pavement under the cars. If we had time, he'd take us out on the Yellowstone River.
Maybe the cars were just hot and tired. With a little tinkering they are all back up and running. Barrie has discovered that our battery cables were loose (from all the fiddling around on the first day) and once he tightens them down, the electrical problems simply disappear. An adjustment to the choke and the points and we are set to roll. One concern is that our water pump is showing signs of distress. A trip to NAPA produces the necessary bearing and we tuck it away "just in case".
Don does nothing more that talk nicely to his car and it seems to be running happily. We are wondering if there isn't still an underlying fuel issue but since it seems to be running so well, we decide to press on. Gail makes a few minor adjustments and he is also back up and running.
Our next destination is Yellowstone Park and from there we head east to catch up with Josh & Betty near Cody. We drive 90 happy miles through the North Gate of Yellowstone (where everyone submits their "Geezer Passes" and all three cars are now in the park. We are in the lead and shortly notice that we are alone. We reach Don & Arlene by cell phone and they are again stuck with the dreaded vapor-lock. Gail & Joyce are with them so we press on to Mammoth where we relax in the shade and enjoy an ice cream cone. We expect the other cars to arrive any moment but they are not in sight. Finally we start driving back down the hill -- and find them still on the side of the road in sight of the Park entrance.
Lots of tools are laying on the ground, but it doesn't appear that they have resolved the problem. Barrie joins in on the fun and crawls under the car. In short order, the consensus is that Don needs to get the car on a lift and attend to the fuel filter. The good news is that we can see Gardiner from where we are parked. Somehow we get all three cars rolling in a downhill direction toward town. We stop at the gas station long enough to ask where to find a REAL service station -- one with a lift. We are pointed to Cooper Tire and sure enough the have a lift and the Cooper Tire man has time to help. Voila, the filter is replaced and a new fuel pump is ordered for pick-up in Cody. While we wait, we all find a bite of lunch and in no time we are on the road again. (Well okay, we've been in Gardiner for a bit over an hour but at least we are moving forward again). It is just after 3 pm when we gather the gang for the next leg of the journey.
We head back to the parks with high hopes that this is the fix that works. Nobody (and certainly not Don) wants to call AAA two days in a row. All cars are running well but we don't want to attempt any mountain passes so we won't be taking the scenic route out through the Northeast Entrance of the Park. We take a scenic less challenging route through Mammoth, Norris, Canyon and Fishing Bridge. We expect that along this route we may find some traffic jams but at least we won't find a major mountain pass. Amazingly, there is almost no traffic. We see a bit of wildlife -- elk, geese, ducks and several bison. One of the bison was actually walking across Fishing Bridge creating quite a gaper's block. Cars are running well and we are making great time through the Park. With luck, we will be at our evening's destination before 6 pm.
We are enjoying the scenery along the way but there is no time to stop. Long ago, I gave up on the idea of a leisurely lunch at one of the Park Lodges. But really, the good news is that we are all rolling along under our own power. We stop to make sure everyone is doing okay and I suggest to Gail that since our GPS is on the fritz, that he lead the way to our night's lodging. Instead he hands me his GPS -- so we are still in the lead. Halfway down the mountain, Gail & Joyce pass up -- I figure they must know where they are going. We continue on at a more legal pace and find the Yellowstone Valley Lodge (YVI) 50 miles down the road.
We pull into the parking lot with Don & Arlene close behind. One look at Don and you can tell that he is not too sure about this place. It is an RV park, motel, and rental cabins all rolled into one. There is also a restaurant, bar, swimming pool and hot tub on the property. It is on the river but it really is in the middle of nowhere. The motel part backs up to the river and our rooms on the second floor provide a very beautiful and peaceful view of the river -- but we don't know that yet.
We decide the sensible thing to do is to head for the bar. The question is where are Gail and Joyce? Once seated in the bar things start to look up. We meet the owner who is great and gives us a bit of background about the place. He also provides us with free samples of Rocky Mountain Oysters. Some of us have had this experience before but for Arlene this is new territory. We finally track Gail down by cell phone and discover that he is 18 miles down the road in Cody. They'll be back in plenty of time for dinner. Meanwhile Josh and Betty have arrived and are settling in. So the gang is together at last.
Dinner reservations are for 7:30 and there is plenty of good food and good company. We are all tired and head back to our rooms after dinner. Saturday will be a lay-over day. We are staying put so Betty can observe the sabbath but we are also all looking forward to a chance to relax, work on cars, and see a bit of Cody.
We are indeed in the middle of nowhere and I have never seen so many stars! The night is still and with the sliding door open we fall asleep to the relaxing sound of the river flowing by.
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