Not Salt Lick City, goat…I said Salt LAKE City!

Get it? A goat joke?
Okay, so we roared through the rolling hills and through the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains with the truck making a heck of a clicking, whining noise, and emitting random odors. Both Dinosaur and Fantasy Canyon in the rear view mirror. At one point we came around a curve in the road just in time to drive through a highway covered with water bottles! As we approached I could see these random streams of water squirting from under passing cars… something overtook me, it was better than popping bubble wrap! I aimed for the most effective bottle popping path through the spill! It was operatic!
The main goal was to get to our campsite and IF we didn’t get lost, and IF there was room for us, even IF the area was still viable, to set up and I would take the truck in on a Saturday to see if I could get a diagnosis . We could no longer hope through the problem.
Lucky for us, we didn’t get lost, there was plenty of room, the area was still viable…. Miner’s Canyon and the Knolls were wonderful

….and a hideous breeding ground for spiders! Hundreds of them surrounding us. Probably twenty in every sagebush and setting up webs and eggssacs overnight in a folded up camp chair, or our porthole, or our wheel wells. The western orb spider! Thankfully harmless but oh so spidery in their spiderness….big and spindly with fat bellies.

The car news was bad… cracked exhaust manifold. Luckily, Wrench’s in Pleasant Grove  arranged a way to fix it on the spot, and 3 hours later, and a lot less flush, I was on my way! This shop was fantastic by the way… if you are ever in danger of a catastrophic breakdown around Salt Lake City, it would behoove you to pay them a visit. Later, Cate, Maggie, and the Franks recieved their first taste of In-n-Out Burger!
After the repair and a few errands, I rushed back to collect Cate and the animals to travel into the city. We had a dinner date with the family of a friend.  It was such a pleasure to meet Dave, Mary Beth, and Mary. Such wonderful hosts and a fun evening!
Sunday Cate needed to work during the afternoon so we got up early and I was able to procure supplies to redo our camper floor which had seen better days. While cate worked in Salt Lake, I tore out the old laminate and installed new flooring. It’s kind of fun working on a construction project in the middle of nowhere with a generator and limited tools.
Today (monday) we woke before dawn and climbed the knoll, careful to avoid the spiders, and watched the sun rear its head above the Wasatch.

We performed the stowing ritual and began the journey to the Tetons. As we passed through Park City we noticed things with the truck were not quite right, between the strange engine behavior and a rapidly deteriorating/leaking water pump, our concerns grew. Shortly after arriving in the middle of nowhere the truck screamed at us to shut-er down. almost all thecoolant was gone, we had to use the water from our hot water heater tank on tray tray to fill the radiator on the truck. Cate stayed with the camper and animals,and I hobbled the GMC to the nearest town. Twenty miles away. Kimmerer, Wy. In a great stroke of luck, I was referred by a road construction worker to a mechanic in town, and Don just happened to have time, and the local store just happened to have the part, and three hours later, and a lot less flush, we were on our way. 
The goal was Jackson Lake, but under the circumstances we made it as far as Afton. Tonight we camp at Salt Creek Sportsman’s access, and tomorrow we prep for our week stay at Tetons/Yellowstone!

We have come to the realization that it is about to get crazy here. The eclipse is in 6 days and they are expecting the busiest days ever in the park. It is rumored that Jackson Hotel rooms are going for $800/ night! This promises to be interesting!

6 comments

  1. We travel with our goat too! Although when we were at the salt lakes she refused to lick it. I was really surprised!

    Someone on Facebook saw that we travel with our goat, dogs, and cats in our converted school bus and told me about you. Super cool! We thought we were the only ones!

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