Getting to Glacier

July 23, Randy’s birthday

Poor Randy had a rough birthday. First, as we were driving down the road, seemingly smooth sailing, we felt a bump or jolt that seemed funny, then the Check Engine light went on. Not funny. We texted and called Luke, our family mechanic, and he suggested we bring it to the next city of any size and get it checked. He found there were 2 auto repair places there that might be able to help. We called ahead and one of them said they could check things out. We wondered what kind of delay we’d be looking at. Bummer. We went to the place in Grand Forks, ND, and the guy there was very friendly. He took a look and found the transmission fluid was low. Randy had actually checked that and even topped it off, thinking it was full, but maybe he misread it or something. At any rate, the mechanic cleared the error, filled the fluid, test drove it a while and it seemed okay. We were delayed less than an hour and it was only around $20. If that’s the worst car trouble that happens, hooray!

The second not-so-nice thing of the day was when Randy tried to empty our “black water” line – the sewer line – of the trailer. It was clogged. He tried everything, including calling the trailer support line. Nothing worked. Finally, he put some dissolving stuff down it and we started down the road. No fun working on a sewer line, and it was quite hot outside besides. And you add on trying to get the trailer hooked up, which involves backing up and lining up this little ball with the connector of the trailer (with me directing), and Randy got in the car pretty hot, sweaty, and bothered.  I tried to be kind and not add to his frustration but was not completely successful. Anything I said did not go down well, but it wasn’t too bad. LATER, I did talk about taking deep breaths and preparing mentally for frustration, and therefore patience. I’m sure he found that extremely helpful.

I found a YouTube video with a way to clear the sewer line which sounds hopeful, so we’ll try that at some point. We are at the Glacier Point Campground right now and it does not have full hook-ups (just electricity and water, not black water), so we’ll probably have to do the clearing of the sewer line after. I am trying to be a good sport about having to walk to the restroom down the hill from us at 3AM when I always wake up having to pee, which was actually one of the things I was looking forward to not having to do since we have a trailer. Randy kindly walks with me, and I am hopeful there will be many future trips where our toilet will work just fine.

The rest of the trip

Now that we have thoroughly discussed bathroom issues (well, really, there’s more, but I’ll spare you), I can tell you the rest of the drive went well. The distance from Michigan to Glacier National Park, MT, is surprisingly long. 3 8-ish hour days and 2 nights. It was quite hot and muggy all the way until we got to Glacier, where it is very pleasant. We’ve had great luck with weather so far, for which I am very grateful. It was super windy through Montana, so Randy’s arms and neck were tired from having to keep the truck and trailer going straight.

At one stop for construction, Randy hopped out of the trailer to help a couple behind us whose RV canopy was shredding in the wind.

The husband said: “This is our third canopy. We had a flat tire, and we’re on our 3^rd day of a 2 week trip.”

Randy: “Well, I’ve got a black water tank that won’t drain, a truck that’s shifting funny, and I’m on day 6 of a 3 week trip.”

Him: “So much fun, right?!”

His wife was driving, and also noted how hard it was to drive in the wind.

We saw lots of fields with crops and wondered what they were. This yellow-flowered plant was really pretty.

Also saw lots and lots of trains.

Super long ones!

Old house. Love the look of old wooden buildings.

These flame-shooting poles were at oil drill sites. Seeing the flames dotted along the landscape reminded me of the scene in "The Lord of the Rings" when they lit the flames to communicate with each other.

Ran into a few traffic jams on the highway. Funny to see a traffic light in the middle of nowhere.

Big sky country indeed. Reminded me of Chris Overvoorde's skyscape paintings.

We saw lots of grain silos. This one has an image of the state and says, "Get lost -- in Montana."

Stopped at a cafe named "Char's" - and met Char. They had a couple local newsletters, including this one with pretty "punny" riddles.

Early glimpse of the mountains we'd see soon in Glacier.

Another old barn. I'd have loved to stop and take a photo of every old abandoned building, every beautiful field, every homey looking herd (?) of cows, and on and on and on, but I had to do my best from the car window.

Thought I'd take a picture of something other than the casinos to represent Native American land we went through. Totally unrealistic representation, but better than a casino anyway.