On The Meandering Road: May 25, 2018 - Ashton, ID to Three Forks, MT

It was around 7:45 am when we left the pullout and got back on US 20 N after spending the night. As soon as we pulled out Erwin noticed smoke coming out in the back of our Lil’ Home (LH). I was horrified because I thought the tailpipe was the problem. No, it came from the Pilot! What happened??? Erwin forgot to set the gear in N, he left it in P. That caused the tires to lock and drag on the road. It was a good thing that we did not drive very long with that happening.

Well, a couple miles north of Island Park, ID we suddenly felt wobbles, knew something was wrong. Erwin quickly pulled over to the shoulder to see what the problem was. Ahhh, damaged front tire on the passenger side. This also caused damages to fender and wheel well.

Just before coming to a stop on the side of the road, Erwin noticed
the bicycle rack violently rocking back and forth causing Edith's bike
to come off and land right in front of the car! Good thing the RV
had stopped by then or Edith's bike would have been totaled!
The highway patrol kindly assisted me in loading the bike back on.

While Erwin was in process of changing tires I quickly filed claim with our insurance company. A passerby stopped by to see if we were okay, and there was not much he could do for us. We were going to go ahead and drive, but after a close inspection Erwin noticed that the left front tire looked bad. That was about that time the police came by, took a look at the tires and suggested Erwin to drive 4 more miles at 20 mph to the service station. The police followed us from behind all the way.

We got to Elk Island Gas Station ( Phillips 66) in Island Park, ID where there is a small repair shop n the back. Unfortunately, they did not have tires for us, and Joe called Jake’s Auto in West Yellowstone.

Jake's Auto had 4 tires ready for us, so we left the car behind, drove in our LH, which took about 28 miles to West Yellowstone. Mike, one of the shop workers, helped us load 4 new tires in our LH. We then got back to Elk Island Gas Station.

That was where the tire blew out

Precious cargo??

Joe was somewhat miffed when he found out how hard it was to take out the shredded tire, took a while to figure it out. It took him about half an hour to replace all four tires.

It was 12:45 pm when we finally got back on the road to Three Forks, Montana. As usual, the drive along Highways 20 and 287 was so pleasant and the view was to die for.

Ennis, MT

Shortly after we left Ennis town we stopped at Madison River Propane to get the propane tank filled up, since we will be "dry camping" in Three Forks, MT for one month.

Painted Propane Tank

The Country Road to "Home"

Backing in at Keri and Dustin's property

This is where we are staying "home" for one month ❤️

Keri and Dustin were still out of town when we arrived Three Forks at 3:15 pm. Keri asked us to do her a favor by doing few things while she was away. Erwin went on to work on the Styrofoam prop, while I got the supper started in Instapot (my first time using it).