After a relaxing and isolated night at the Sheyenne National Grassland we set out for a short-ish drive to the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We stayed in the South Unit two years ago and loved it--a buffalo walked right through our camp there! So, we knew we would see some amazing views and get up close with nature.
After a 6 and half hour drive, we arrived at the park and drove to the Juniper Campground loop. We picked out a secluded and shaded site--#23--and backed the Scamp into her new home away from home. We were so excited. Things were going so smoothly, and this would be our first multiple night stay of the trip. But...as Kevin climbed under the trailer to check on the welds that repaired the Scamp just before we left for our road trip he made an awful discovery: there was a new crack in the frame. A bad one. One that meant we couldn't tow the Scamp safely. We were stuck and had no cell service in the campground.
After the panic subsided, we set a plan into motion. Thankfully we knew just what to do from Kevin's breakdown before we left. We hopped in the truck and drove back towards civilization. Once we got cell service, Kevin found a welder with a mobile unit who agreed to drive the hour it would take to get from his location to our campsite the next day. But we knew we couldn't continue the trip with a frame that kept breaking. Something else had to be wrong. So, we returned to camp to investigate. Kevin always brings some tools with him just in case something happens while we are on the road, and so he quickly removed the bench at the front of our trailer to investigate more closely. There we found the answer--the front portion of the Scamp was no longer attached to the frame and he vibrations/looseness was causing the frame to crack. So we--well, Kevin--hatched a plan to fix it. We drove into a nearby town to a hardware store (twice) to reattach the frame to the Scamp.
We went to bed early on Friday night--stressed and worried--and awoke early to await arrival of the welder. We truly were at the mercy of others. Thankfully, our fellow campers and campground hosts were kind and kept checking on us to see if they could be of any help. In the early afternoon, "Mike the welder" arrived. In less than an hour he had repaired the cracked frame and even reinforced other parts of the frame. Once he was on his way (for much cheaper than I was expecting for a two hour drive plus labor and parts), Kevin and I worked together to reattach the trailer to the frame. As if we weren't stressed enough, we had a new challenge to face. A storm was rolling in, and as the dark clouds and thunder loomed in the distance, we raced to get our "home" put back together so that we could have shelter for the night.
I still can't believe it, but we beat the storm and even had time to make tacos before the rain started to fall. Needless to say, our first 24 hours at the park were not awesome. At all. And...we basically ignored the dogs the entire time, but they were so well behaved. They didn't bark at the multitude of strangers coming through our site, and even though they were bored and hadn't been walked all day they just sat and watched as we worked to get everything fixed.
One thing I love is the sound of rain on the Scamp, so I couldn't help but feel happy and relieved as we all climbed into our repaired trailer for the night. We played a game of "Hive" (Kevin won) and then crashed early--exhausted from the stress of it all.
Sidenote--the park sits directly on the line between the central and mountain time zones so we were so confused about what time it was the entire time we were there! The truck and our cell phones all said different things depending upon where we were standing! If someone were to have overheard our conversation about what time to set our alarm for because the welder said he'd try to be there at 8 am they would think we were crazy!
In the morning, desperate to see something other than the campground of the national park, we decided to head out for a drive on the park's scenic loop before packing up camp and heading out to our next destination. I am so glad we did! The previous night's rain cooled off everything, and the buffalo were out in full force.
I'm glad we made sure to make time to see the park before we left! Our stay ended up being memorable not just for the breakdown but for the wildlife as well.
Once we finished our morning drive through the park, we headed back to the campground to pick up the Scamp and nervously put her new welds to the test...
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