captbunzo
Premium Member
I just got back from a vacation that ended in the true style of a Chevy Chase vacation movie.
The trip started off great and as expected. My family and I and a friend loaded up the minivan to the point of near explosion (we were camping in Yellowstone, afterall) and then left north for Mount Rushmore. A day and a half later, we arrived in the area, visited Mount Rushmore and did some spelunking (ok, cave tours) in some great caves (Wind & Jewel Cave).
From there we headed west toward Yellowstone, stopping off at Devil's Tower for a hike. We got to Yellowstone later that day and spent the next 6 nights and 5 days enjoying the splendors of my favorite national park. We saw great geyser, hot springs, countless bison, some elk, and even a mamma & baby moose on the way out of the park. We hiked a total of about 10-12 miles in the park, with my longest hike coming in at 6.8 miles. Whoa baby.
So we get everything all squished back into the minivan last Saturday morning, have a final meal with some friends from Idaho that we met in Yellowstone, and then headed out of the south entrance of the park.
And that, my friends, is where the fun REALLY started.
About 10 miles west of the top of the Togwotee Pass, our minivan decided to die. In short, the transmission pretty much went out. Fortunately, we were able to coax enough life out of the minivan to make it to the parking lot of the Togwotee Mountain Lodge, just about a quarter mile down the road.
From there we called our insurance companies roadside assistance program (well worth the extra $3 a month or so), and then waited for 2 hours (while eating dinner) for our tow truck to arrive. When it does arrive, we load up on the back of the town truck. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the front of the tow truck, all of us have to ride IN the minivan on the BACK of the tow truck.
From there, it was a short (ha!) ride, 1 hour to Jackson, Wyoming, and then another 2 hours to Idaho Falls, Idaho. And finally, we slept.
The next morning we got up and started putting our makeshift emergency plan (and credit card) into action. We managed to get a new minivan rented from a the Avis at the airport, and then went to pick up a 10 foot U-Haul & auto transport that we had reserved in town over the phone.
Of course, they didn't actually HAVE a 10 foot U-Haul. But no worries - they were glad to rent us a 26 foot U-Haul for the price of the 10 footer.
So picture this - me loading our minivan onto the auto transport and then towing it down the interstate with an EMPTY 26 foot U-Haul. Flipping crazy...
Fortunately, an hour down the road in Pocatello, Idaho, we were able to trade the 26 footer out for a 10 footer, which was so nicer.
So we get that hooked up and get back on the road, stopping for the night in Salt Lake City, Utah. And there the story gets even more interesting...
You see, the day before, while lying under the auto transport which was under the minivan (I was hooking something up, not contemplating ending it all), I had an extremely screwy thought come to mind.
Why the heck was I even bringing the old minivan home???
I mean, the car was a 10 year old piece of crap domestic made minivan with 150 thousand miles on it and was just not worth much of anything. It was going to cost 4 times as much, or more, to get it home and fixed then it was even worth at all.
Why not, hmmmmmnnnn, just buy a new minivan? So that next day in Salt Lake City, we did exactly that. That night we had coordinated a hotel near a Toyota and Honda dealership. And that morning, my friend and I hit the street to check out some new minivans, specifically a Toyota Sienna and a Honda Odyssey - they are the best rated minivans available across the board.
Unfortunately, the Toyota dealership was out of Siennas. But the Honda dealership had some shiny new Odysseys ready to be sold. So after a test drive back to the hotel for my wife to check out the van, we stated the purchasing process.
Now, do we trade in the old minivan? Well, we sure tried, but they didn't even want it. In short, it was worth so little, that they really weren't interested. But at least they DID point us toward a place that could ship it home to us (in 7-14 days).
And so we buy our new minivan (which is REALLY cool, btw), return the U-Haul, the rental minivan, turn in the junker minivan to the shipper place, and then hit the road. And finally, 2 days ago, late Tuesday night, we finally arrive home.
Anyhow, it was just too crazy and funny of an experience to not share. I hope you enjoyed the story...
The trip started off great and as expected. My family and I and a friend loaded up the minivan to the point of near explosion (we were camping in Yellowstone, afterall) and then left north for Mount Rushmore. A day and a half later, we arrived in the area, visited Mount Rushmore and did some spelunking (ok, cave tours) in some great caves (Wind & Jewel Cave).
From there we headed west toward Yellowstone, stopping off at Devil's Tower for a hike. We got to Yellowstone later that day and spent the next 6 nights and 5 days enjoying the splendors of my favorite national park. We saw great geyser, hot springs, countless bison, some elk, and even a mamma & baby moose on the way out of the park. We hiked a total of about 10-12 miles in the park, with my longest hike coming in at 6.8 miles. Whoa baby.
So we get everything all squished back into the minivan last Saturday morning, have a final meal with some friends from Idaho that we met in Yellowstone, and then headed out of the south entrance of the park.
And that, my friends, is where the fun REALLY started.
About 10 miles west of the top of the Togwotee Pass, our minivan decided to die. In short, the transmission pretty much went out. Fortunately, we were able to coax enough life out of the minivan to make it to the parking lot of the Togwotee Mountain Lodge, just about a quarter mile down the road.
From there we called our insurance companies roadside assistance program (well worth the extra $3 a month or so), and then waited for 2 hours (while eating dinner) for our tow truck to arrive. When it does arrive, we load up on the back of the town truck. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the front of the tow truck, all of us have to ride IN the minivan on the BACK of the tow truck.
From there, it was a short (ha!) ride, 1 hour to Jackson, Wyoming, and then another 2 hours to Idaho Falls, Idaho. And finally, we slept.
The next morning we got up and started putting our makeshift emergency plan (and credit card) into action. We managed to get a new minivan rented from a the Avis at the airport, and then went to pick up a 10 foot U-Haul & auto transport that we had reserved in town over the phone.
Of course, they didn't actually HAVE a 10 foot U-Haul. But no worries - they were glad to rent us a 26 foot U-Haul for the price of the 10 footer.
So picture this - me loading our minivan onto the auto transport and then towing it down the interstate with an EMPTY 26 foot U-Haul. Flipping crazy...
Fortunately, an hour down the road in Pocatello, Idaho, we were able to trade the 26 footer out for a 10 footer, which was so nicer.
So we get that hooked up and get back on the road, stopping for the night in Salt Lake City, Utah. And there the story gets even more interesting...
You see, the day before, while lying under the auto transport which was under the minivan (I was hooking something up, not contemplating ending it all), I had an extremely screwy thought come to mind.
Why the heck was I even bringing the old minivan home???
I mean, the car was a 10 year old piece of crap domestic made minivan with 150 thousand miles on it and was just not worth much of anything. It was going to cost 4 times as much, or more, to get it home and fixed then it was even worth at all.
Why not, hmmmmmnnnn, just buy a new minivan? So that next day in Salt Lake City, we did exactly that. That night we had coordinated a hotel near a Toyota and Honda dealership. And that morning, my friend and I hit the street to check out some new minivans, specifically a Toyota Sienna and a Honda Odyssey - they are the best rated minivans available across the board.
Unfortunately, the Toyota dealership was out of Siennas. But the Honda dealership had some shiny new Odysseys ready to be sold. So after a test drive back to the hotel for my wife to check out the van, we stated the purchasing process.
Now, do we trade in the old minivan? Well, we sure tried, but they didn't even want it. In short, it was worth so little, that they really weren't interested. But at least they DID point us toward a place that could ship it home to us (in 7-14 days).
And so we buy our new minivan (which is REALLY cool, btw), return the U-Haul, the rental minivan, turn in the junker minivan to the shipper place, and then hit the road. And finally, 2 days ago, late Tuesday night, we finally arrive home.
Anyhow, it was just too crazy and funny of an experience to not share. I hope you enjoyed the story...
