Up early, at 7 this morning i stopped by the Sinclair garage in Sundance and they told me they could not take the Defender until Thursday. I returned later and Kayla told me to come in at 1 PM. In the meantime, I visited the wild west espresso café in town twice and had the most delicious cinnamon buns I have had in my life, and later a delicious veggie wrap with a superb cappuccino. Donner got none of this, but was amol rewarded for my selfishness twice today with 10 ounce servings of roast beef. He is not a vegan like I am.
I drop the Defender off at Sinclair's at one, and returned at 3:30 to find it working perfectly now. Ranger, the mechanic who worked on the Defender, gave me confidence from the start that he would solve the problem. It sure paid to be lugging around a 60 pound container of spare parts for the Defender. If i did not have the two parts that were needed, I would be here for at least two more days. Dean, my mechanic back home, was extremely helpful in helping me diagnose the problem. The problem, by the way, was not a matter of a simple headlight being out. This was a more serious problem involving the ellectrical system. Again, planning and preparation paid off.
As for Donner's day, he had a three dog day, Tiny at the garage, and Sully and Ozzie back at the camp. He never tires of meeting a new dog, and treats all dogs he meets equally.Someday I hope to learn what information dogs get by sniffing other dogs from head to tail. Or maybe i don't want to know.
My plan for tomorrow, assuming the Defender cooperates, is to travel four hours west and to the Little Big Horn battlefield (think General George C Custer). Dogs are not allowed on the battlefield, so it will be a drive through for us, just like Mount MoreRush. Since we will probably finish there by 2 or 3, I think i will overnight at the Hardin KOA, and then drive another four hours to Yellowstone on Wednesday, arriving early enough so that if there are no campsites in the Park we can find one outside the park. I will stay in Yellowstone long enough to at least start reading thst my book i brought, weather, Defender, Donner, and the world famous campfire girls of Yellowstone permitting. After Yellowstone? I have no idea. I will set out my options, and after getting on the road, i will wait until i have to make a decision at some intersection or exit ramp traveling 70 mph, which i have done before, and never regretted.
In addition to my now working headlights another bit of good news is that I am losing the weight I gained over the last two years because of my mobility issue. I probably have lost about 10 pounds since I started preparing for this trip actively two weeks before I left. I only have 10 more to go. Also, for the first time in almost 2 years,I am no longer using a cane. I have been through several hundred physical therapy sessions over the last two years, but no physical therapy for that pesky mobility issue I was having bests what i am experiencing on this trip.
By the way, as you might have noticed, most of my blog postings focus on the day's happenings and logistics. I wish I had to write something more profound, but there just is not time. I will defer to readers of the blog to draw their own profound conclusions about what i am experiencing.
Time to turn in. It is cold here now after a beautiful day. The weather is expected to get much colder in two days, something i am not looking forward to.
See photos from today below.
Ed and Donner.
