Day 88 - All's well that ends well

Day 88 - Thursday - Some companies are a delight to work with

After an early breakfast Vicky goes into Camping World and finds a service man who comes out and inspects the tire that has no valve stem extender.  He goes back inside, comes out and tells us he has the part but they come in sets of 4 and we'll have to buy a set.  Since we previously saw them at over $50 each we're ready for a large expense but tell him to go ahead.  He's able to install the extender without removing the tire, tells us there's no charge for the installation and takes me inside to pay for the parts.

The cost - for 4 - is just $49.95 plus tax, so I'm a happy camper - and we now have 3 more extenders that we'll need eventually since they do seem to give up!

It's a short drive to Time Rental, where we see our red Focus and our new white Fiesta sitting together in the parking lot..  I pull the RV into the lot.  It's not very big but there does seem to be a clear way out again.  Vicky follows in the loaner car.  We find the people from the Ford dealership are already there, so it's just a matter of finding Don, who did the work of transferring the tow equipment from the Focus to the Fiesta.

We bid goodbye to the Focus, the loaner and the folks from Spearfish.  We pay Don for the part he had to replace, and we're ready to go.  We need to get some cash from the bank and decide it's easier to take the car into town rather than hook it up to the RV and drive both.  Don has no problem with this but asks us to back the RV out of the parking lot to a large space on the street behind.

Vicky is backing up with Don and me directing.  We simultaneously yell "Stop!" as the bottom of our ladder, which is lashed to the built in ladder on the back of the RV, starts scraping the ground,  Vicky does stop immediately which is a good thing,  There's no damage to the ladder but the tow bar would have been the next thing to hit the ground!

Although I had no problem driving in, backing out over a deep gutter is another matter.

Don is able to get someone to move a truck and Vicky drives through their parking lot and out to the road.  We park the RV in a large lot just up the road, do our banking and then hook up the new car.  With the manual transmission it's much easier to do the hookup.

We're delighted with the service both from Don at Time Rental and the staff at White's Canyon Ford.  Such a pleasure to do business with companies who care about customer service, in contrast to yesterday's experience.

So we head south after a brief stop to discuss the best route.  We're heading for Elk Mountain Campground in Wind Cave National Park.   The Google lady wants us to drive down to Hot Springs and double back.  Vicky wants to go through Hill City and Custer as the road is good.  I feel that going through Custer State Park, as well as being more scenic, will be much shorter (which it is).  Vicky is worried that there might be some sharp bends in the road (which there are).

We settle to go through Custer Park and I'm able to get my SD Parks sticker put on the new car.  Although there are sharp curves, including a couple of 15mph hairpins, we take it easy and make it to our destination with no problem.  The surprising thing, given that we take the Wildlife Loop Road, is that other than the ubiquitous prairie dogs, the only wildlife we see is a lone bison and a few pronghorn.  This, remember, is the park where we saw the black footed ferret and lots of bison a few weeks ago.

We find a spot we can drive the RV into, unhitch the car (which has no problems - yeah!).  Quill decides this is a good spot and scoots out the door before we can stop her.  As usual we try to get her and finally give up.   I drive down to the Visitor Center to find out about evening programs while Vicky prepares dinner.  The ranger talk will be on "Women of the Prairies".  I get back to discover that Quill decided home and carnivore food are better than freedom and grass (which makes her throw up!) so the family is united again.   The outdoor amphitheater is just up the road from our campsite, so after eating we mosey along, carrying umbrellas since the forecast is for rain.

The speaker is a personable young woman who is a park volunteer.  She shows a lot of interest in her audience.  While her presentation skills could use more practice, her research into her subject is obviously thorough.  We learn about a doctor who came west and the first Native American doctor.  They have a huge campfire at the side of the amphitheater which, of course, is where Vicky sits!  Just as the ranger is talking about her second subject there is lightening and thunder.  Although it's not raining, Park policy is that outdoor programs must be stopped if there is lightening in the area, so that's that!

We walk back to the RV without getting wet, sharing part of the walk with a couple from Florida- full time RVers like us - who are staying outside the park since they don't like dry camping.  Once we get back home, the rain starts, and continues for most of the night.  Fortunately, no leaks and we and the cats stay dry.

Looks like the new car, and the stabilizers, are good investments, and the leaks are fixed, at least for now!