I met this strange woman who checked in to my campsite in Twin Falls, Idaho before I got here and is demanding to camp with me and tag along for the rest of my trip until Mi.
The strange woman (aka Mom) got cold in Twin Falls, so in the morning, we went to Walmart to get a propane heater for the tent and a French press coffee maker for some real coffee. We set out for the day, looking for a mechanic to fix an oil leak from her clutch. We called three places, including Idaho Falls Harley, and no one could fit her in. We stopped by Idaho Falls to get some oil to ensure she was topped off. And that was their only suggestion for us. The man at the parts counter wouldn't even look up what fluid was used in her bike. We headed up to Jackson for one last try, but they were only a clothing store. We stayed there for the night, but the only mechanic in town was not open on the weekends. So we planned to stop in Butte to see if they could get her in after Yellowstone.
From Jackson, we headed to First the Heart Six Ranch in Moran, Wy., to see the Grand Tetons. We took the scenic route to see the sights before we got to the ranch. Our lodging for the night was a teepee. When they say rustic, they mean it. No light, no heat, and no floor. Not sure how well the heater worked for us that first night in such a big space. Both of us were way too scared to try to get our bikes up the rutted-out hill, and the stairs up to the teepees were very long. But it was worth it. Mom woke up with me very early in the morning to catch the sunrise on the Tetons. I may have gotten a little caught up with getting images of the wildlife on the other side of the dam too, but I've never seen pelicans before! before packing up we got some breakfast at the resort there and saw a deer and some groundhogs. After breakfast we headed to Yellowstone.
We got to Bridge Bay Campground, set up camp, went to check out Grants Village, and got dinner. We stopped by the west thumb so Mom could see a little of what Yellowstone has for sightseeing. She was happy with the heater at 3 in the morning with temps in the low 30s.
The next morning, Jack started acting up, dropping RPMs and stalling. I'd restart him, and he'd act right for a little bit. We went to the prismatic spring overlook and then to Old Faithful. I blew out my air filter with the air hose at the lodge to see if that would help. It was pretty gunked up with oil. Two guys stopped and tried to tighten Mom's clutch, too. We got lunch and made it to Old Faithful just in time for it to go off.
After that, we went to the Prismatic Springs to get some photos. The overlook is nice, but nothing compares to seeing them up close. We took the long way back to camp, getting lost at least once, and got to see some awesome wildlife.
The next morning, we broke camp and went to breakfast outside the west gate. We stopped by the post office so Mom could send 11 lbs of extra stuff home and then headed to Butte Harley. They have a mechanic on site who they don't schedule for out-of-towners. We dropped both bikes off and rented a car. They even drove us to the rental place.
We got to Glacier Campground around 9 pm and made a reservation for Road to the Sun for today. I got a few photos, but because of the heat, there was so much haze. We saw mountain goats, and I finally got to see my moose!
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