When I departed the Walmart parking lot in Laurel, Montana, my course was set for Cody, Wyoming. This would be my last stop before driving the final 53 miles to enter the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park.
As I pulled out of the lot where I had spent the night, I saw an O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store just around the corner. It drew my attention because I had just reviewed Sam’s inspection report that he emailed me the night before. While he did great work on the engine overheating problem, in Sheridan, WY, he also gave me the results of the rest of his thorough inspection, and I remembered he suggested I keep an eye on my battery, that it failed the diagnostic testing, and should get replaced sooner than later.
I stopped in. 15 minutes later, my new battery was installed, and I was on my way.
The drive to Cody had a few moderate elevation climbs and descents nothing steep or excessively curvy. The call to Walmart there had the same welcoming message as the one in Montana. Just park in the area we ask you to, and you’ll be fine.
So I did.
The town was teaming with tourists as I wound my way through the city and eventually arrived at the lot and could see the area they were describing for RVs. It was about 3 when we arrived, and we settled in before getting dinner prepared by 6.
I used the time to gather a lot more information about that last leg of the journey, and there was something nagging me. It had been nagging me ever since the engine overheating issue.
It was the sense that the strain on the ‘Beast’ might not be worth the visit to Yellowstone. The advice from the O’Reilly’s guy was to be careful, the elevation grades were substantial on the way to the gate and the pass just after you enter. It is a huge National Park, and I didn’t have any reservations to stay within the park. Meaning, I would need to just drive through from one end to the other, and with the reports I had been reading, that could very well include long delays due to traffic, wildlife crossings, accidents, or other unforeseen circumstances.
By morning, I had weighed all the arguments inside my head, and opted to just stay in Cody another day, re-evaluate my plans and make an ‘executive decision’.
I’ll let you know what I decide in the next post. How’s that for giving you a teaser so you” come back for more?
