Monday, September 1, 2008

Still Managing


We made it to Billings and things seemed ok. Well, ok, kind of. Both Pete and I were kind of surprised at how loose and wobbly the driving seemed. We just figured it was all the extra weight on the vehicle. Granted, the 'burb is way better than the mini-van but it still left us a bit unsettled.
Luckily, God told us what our problem was. When we went to the car Sunday morning, the right rear tire was completely flat. Pete looked maddly for the portable compressor while his nerves, and his attitude, deteriorated. We found the compressor and started the inflation while packing all the gear. I talked to the hotel desk clerk to find out our best options for getting the tire repaired. Then, we realized it was Sunday, on a holiday weekend. Fortunately, the Walmart was about 1/2 mile down the street. Pete decided our best plan was to just have all the tires replaced, since we were going to do that before we decided to take the mini-van on this adventure. We weren't able to get exactly what we wanted but we got very good tires for about 1/2 what they would have cost us in Everett. That was kind of nice.
All-in-all, this little side note couldn't have happened at a better time on this trip. It was the least involved day and we had very little driving to do. Billings was ok and the weather wasn't horrible. We made it to Little Bighorn in plenty of time to really enjoy it and take lots of pictures. I'll post those later. We're off today to Devils Tower and then to Sylvan Lake.

2 comments:

Nancy said...

Beth, I am so glad that heppened there and not in Yellowstone or someplace like that. Now the rest of your trip should be a breeze!!!! Heh! Heh!

Natalia said...

Hi friends,

Nancy is right, better at that location than Yellowstone. It sounds like it was the right time to get it done. God always gives us reasons. You needed new tires and that's why one of them went flat. That was your clue. You are having quite a trip! Seeing all the mules and having them come to your car looks fun. I am looking forward to seeing more photos of all your animal encounters. Hugs!