The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Day 4. Where to begin... the bad and ugly was the diagnosis of the 2002 Harley. We had dropped a valve into the cylinder which then scarred the cylinder and piston. There was probably more damage and at the least, the top end, pistons,& cylinder would have to be rebuilt. That was only the beginning. It would be at least 2 weeks to have it done with the worries of something else going wrong. After 10 hours of waiting, talking, and deliberating multiple options (like flying to Europe from Spokane) we stuck with our original plan to travel the USA on a Harley. So, we had a little good-bye service for the old 2002 girl and traded her in on a 2011 ElectraGlide Ultra Classic. That is supposed to be the good part! It's a beautiful bike and has all the bells and whistles that we wished we had for the trip anyway! Now we are waiting for a new trailer hitch and wiring kit to get here from overnight express and have it installed by noon (hopefully) and we will hit the road for Montana. Apparently there was nothing we could have done to prevent this and it's one of those "things". We are looking at it as "part of a bigger picture" and know there are things that are out of our hands for a reason. Thankfully it didn't happen when we were in a remote area and traveling at high speed. And like Kyle said," at least it happened early in the trip so we can enjoy the new bike the whole trip." With that all being said, it doesn't mean that we don't have butterflies in our stomachs or that Mark didn't have a sleepless night. :)

We are going to skip Yellowstone this trip and make a more streamlined route to Sturgis. We have reservations there on Saturday for the last night of the rally. We have talked to brother Bruce and he's there enjoying it all! So, it's off to Montana soon and we hope this was the "big glitch" in the trip! Keep up the prayers for safe travels, good weather, and health! M & K.