Y E L L O W S T O N E   -   D A Y   # 3

Saturday, August 7, 2004

Early in the morning, while sound a sleep, the local sheriff stops by, announcing his great displeasure with four solid raps on the van's side door. While putting on my t-shirt I announce I will be right there and a second round of raps ensue. Then a third round of raps sound and a deep voice follows, exclaiming "Sheriff!"

I'm sooooo busted. Apparently parking on the main drag in Gardiner, MT isn't such a good idea. But the van doesn't look like an RV at casual glance so what tipped this fella off? I open the door and spill out of my van-cocoon onto the sidewalk, feeling rather groggy from being rousted so early in the morning.

Yup, it's the Sheriff. He looks at me kinda funny then says it's illegal for me to park and sleep in my vehicle. I plead ignorance, chanting the same mantra that I'm positive untold numbers of past offenders have told him. He then tells me my headlights are on. MY HEADLIGHTS WERE ON?!?! Yes, I left my headlights on.

My van doesn't chime to tell me when I leave the lights on. When I parked the van the previous evening I exited the driving cabin to the back of the vehicle from the inside, I didn't step outside. The sun hadn't gone down yet so I didn't notice when I parked the van that the dashboard lights were lit.

So from 8:30pm until 2:00am my lights were on. Basically I was a big, white, headlight lit beacon shouting, "Hey, check me out!" Had I not left them on I doubt I would have been caught.

The Sheriff takes pity on me and tells me I can stay and go back to bed. He doesn't want me wandering around in the night. I thought that was rather nice of him. But before he leaves I start the van to make sure I didn't kill my battery and it starts up without pause. I let it run a while to charge things up then went back to sleep. Thank you Mr. Sheriff!

After a few more hours of sleep I wake then plan in detail the day's activities. I will drive to Mammoth Hot Springs to hike Sepulcher Mountain, drive south to Bunsen Peak for another hike, drive to Yellowstone's Canyon Area to soak up the views, then head southward out of the park and down to Jackson, WY.