Day four....the long story.

Day Four. May 24th.

By now I felt pretty good on the road sections. I figured if the
engine was going to scatter it would have probably done it by now. I
was headed north to Missoula montana to meet up with my friends for
the actual 'wheeling' portion of the trip.

The drive up went fine. I had to stop and visit some old friends. Cell
phone coverage was a bit spotty so trying to figure out the meting
time involved a bit of phone tag. We where both coming from opposite
directions...I traveling much slower and stopping more often. I don't
know what it is about an old Willys jeep and being well hydrated but
my tank was much smaller than the Willys. Maybe its the seat angle and
the frequency of the vibrations...but I had to pee a lot! Well, except
for that oven section through Salt Lake where I drank like a gallon of
water in 3 hours and never had to stop once! Is that bad?

Anyways. Right after I crossed into Montana the rain clouds showed up
on the horizon. Shortly after that I got my first 'road shower' on the
way into Hamilton, Montana. The weather forecast concerned me enough
that I stopped into the local hardware store for some rain supplies. I
found some nice thick 40 mil clear plastic, some tape, and some
magnets. I had an idea!

Only a few wet roads and rain showers to dodge on the way to the last
fuel stop. I topped off the fuel cans with 15 gallons total and met up
with one friend while another was going to meet us at camp that night
having left work later that day.

The drive into the 1st campground was good. 4wd required, tires aired
down, etc. I think we where the 1st 4 wheel vehicles in that year. The
weather was spitting rain but it wasn't too bad. We had stopped for
firewood down lower earlier in the day. I set up my hammock that
night. I love not having to sleep on the wet ground on trips like
this!

Not too long after we got into camp my other friend showed up.
Everyone was safe and sound. The fire....a real fire....was started.
Dinner was cooked. We stayed up a little too long talking around the
fire, but boy this was the life!