Plan B

Plan worked pretty well. I arrived at the DFW airport at 0100 on the 16th, slept in the Employee Parking lot in my 1977 VW camper, and was up in line at security later that same morning at 0800 for the 0940 flight to Jackson, WY. Noting the initial line-up was a long one, I headed to a secondary screening area just around the corner. Two gentlemen exited the line and followed, explaining that while waiting in airports they keep an eye out for 'seasoned' looking travelers, and then follow them. Interesting; sort of a modern wilderness tracker. Sure enough the new line was expeditious until they x-rayed an 8 inch 12 point 10/12mm box-end wrench I wanted to take along. Seems the TSA limit on 'tools' is 7 inches. So what's a fellow to do? Well I exited the airport, found some heavy ground cover near the employee bus stop, and buried the wrench out of sight. Will it still be there when I return? 31$ question.

Got a seat on the jet straight away for another nap en route Wyoming, disturbed only by the tittering of a gaggle of unaccompanied 12-16 year old girls on their way to camp. Evidently the uniform for travel was flip-flops, t-shirt and shorts. Not enough material between all of them for one decent pair of blue-jeans!

Found a share-a-ride van with a friendly driver to take a 25$ ride thru town to the storage area (check what it cost me to get FROM the unit TO the airport), where the bike was waiting patiently. Quick change and short elevator ride to ground level and we're on our way through town to pick up my pocket knife from Josh. Who, it appears, has been 'let go' from the motel desk, taking any knowledge of my pocket knife with him. Oh, well.



I passed on the Teton Park road, having already done it with Emily when the views were clear, and rolled directly to the Yellowstone entrance and my 20$ ride-thru pass. A little bit of construction held us up but provided an opportunity to meet two HD riders from Oklahoma, they and I and the flagperson (girl) chatted waiting for the pilot car, and then pressed on along the eastern side of the lower Yellowstone loop. Along the way I wandered through endless lodgepole pines, several lakes, a few buffalo and a nice uncrowded geyser called Mud Volcano and Dragon Mouth Cavern. Pretty self-descriptive.

There are basically two loops in Yellowstone, attached one north of the other, and four entrances to the NE, NW, SE and SW. Roughly. To avoid the geysers (double entendre there, I do mean gushing geysers as well as the older geezers who slow-down and stop on the road to watch them) I opted to stay to the east side of both loops, and camp at the NE corner of the park at Slough Creek Park.

Which was full by the time I got there. However, a friendly biker pointed me further east to campsites outside the park, and the first one I came to - Cooke City - was open and only 9$, so there I pitched my tent. Shortly afterwards two riders on K1200R and S BMW's pulled into a site just above mine and dismounted. One did the 'happy dance', and that was all it took to encourage me to amble up and say hey. I met Kristin Ackerson and Dave Wilson of Albuquerque NM, 3 month's pregnant and 4 days married on their honeymoon! Well, how about that. We celebrated with a Buffalo Steak dinner in town, comforting ourselves that we wouldn't be cooking in the campsite in bear country.

What, me worry?