Follow the Adventure
| Click on the links above to see our "Wok-umentary" of our three
month journey living in a bus as our family of five converts the
world's first luxury motor home to run on free, waste vegetable oil,
and then drive home, cross country on
The Fat Of America |
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September 15th, 2006
Location: Yellow Stone National Park, WY
Day 65
  
Yellowstone is more beautiful than I remembered. I had driven
through in '86 with Foster, but I guess we did not stop and smell the
roses as much. It was quite amazing. I have to admit, I was
a little bit humiliated to be going to a park can hold how many of my
home state of Rhode Island?
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What was that noise coming from the back?
What are those sparks shooting from the wheels? After
driving down a long dirt road, something bad happened to Elbee
and we could not figure out what it was. I stopped and
looked, but nothing seemed obvious. No flat tire, but all
the insulation in the rear wheel well was torn away.
Searching for trouble, I open a bay door or two, and immediately
realize that my industrial strength, much loved and appreciated
blue DooDee hose was missing. There was a 4" open vent at the
bottom of the bay. About a nanosecond later, I remembered
that I forgot to close that big 4" opening in the bay where the
DooDee hose lives. I guess I figured how could a 30'
massive hose fall out of a 4" opening anyhow. Apparently,
my beloved DooDee hose, the same one that my family and I have
been traveling with, and gone through a lot of shit together,
was dead. Killed by my own neglect. "I am a bad
captain," I thought, as I unwrapped small pieces of about 700
feet of unraveled DooDee hose from the rear tires. If it
weren't for the built in leveling jacks (which since have
broken) I would have really been stuck. I ended up pulling
over, lifting the left side of Elbee a couple inches off the
ground, and painstakingly peeled back the many layers of my
faithful tubing.
Amazing how a 30' spiral tube can unravel to produce a wire
long enough to go around Rhode Island.
Good thing I packed a spare up DooDee hose. I won't be
leaving that trap door open again! |
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Here we are at the gates of Yellowstone. Ot
cost me $25 to get in! I was shocked and saddened. Call me
old fashion, but isn't the point of national parks, and public
land supposed to be so we, the people can use and enjoy it -
paid and maintained by our tax dollars? I quickly paid the
ranger before my wife noticed the small beads of sweat growing
from my forhead. |
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We took a walk up to see some really cool
geo-thermo... stuff. We saw Elbee down below and we all
yelled hi to her. |
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Keeping in mind that if you walk off the approved
path on this part of the trail, you will most likely fall to
your death into a mire of molten sulfuric muck.
While the girls and I walked ahead, Anke and JJ waddled
behind. In a surprisingly aggressive burst of wind,
Jonah's beloved "BopBop" hat (Actually it is a German Sponge Bob
Square pants hat, if you can picture that) blew off his
head and in to the "danger zone" He started crying.
Hearing his faint wimpers in the distance, I turned back to run
after the hat and prove to the crowd that had gathered that I
would brave the molten lava and most certain death and egg
smell, for my boy -- but by the time I got there, all I had time
to do was to fumble for my camera, take it out, turn it
on, dust off the lens, check to see how much battery life was
left, and take a picture of Anke breaking federal law.
How could she ever do this trip without me? |
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Yellowstone. This is the muck I admire. |
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Self portrait at Yellowstone. The kids
waited in the bus while we took a quick walk to see more
bubbling geo-thermal icky ness. |
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This is old faithful. It really is very
cool! The kids knew about it from watching cartoons, so
they were excited to see it..
Having already been so impressed with Yellowstone park,
seeing Old Faithful was like the "money shot" |
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Tacky turist picture, but how can you not? |
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