Locked Out But Lucked Out

We had a 14-hour drive to West Yellowstone, our next stop, and had paid for a campsite that we couldn’t cancel. But, after letting kids swim on Monday morning, shopping at Trader Joe’s and Costco, we got a late start. That meant driving not so far as we’d hoped on Monday and arriving later on Tuesday.

We finally got into West Yellowstone just before the RV park office closed on Tuesday. I ran into the office with my wallet while Dale stayed in the truck with the kids.

As luck would have it, Dale let kids out to play at the playground next to the office and he then got out of the truck. A bag of mixed nuts fell out of his door so he went to retrieve it and as he did that, shut his door which promptly locked all doors. This, of course, meant that both sets of keys were locked inside.

We called AAA right away and they said they would send someone out. The office also suggested calling the local police as they might provide some help. The office gave us bottles of water and offered to get us dinner if we would need it.

After we waited for nearly 45 minutes with no response from AAA I called them to see what we could find out. Then, after waiting another 15 minutes on hold, we gave up and called the local police who recommended a local (1/2 hour away) locksmith.

I called the locksmith and he said he would come right away. By this time it was getting dark and cold. We could see our sweatshirts thru the windows.

The locksmith came within ½ hour and opened the door for us. We chatted as he worked and he said that this was his evening job, he worked at a non-profit animal rescue center during the day. As we walked to his truck he reminded us of the rescue center and said that the kids would enjoy it. He gave us a brochure and went on his way.

We got into the truck with the kids and I looked at the brochure. There were bears, wolfs and birds to be seen. There was a bear feeding time in which kids could participate in hiding the food. All of this 2-blocks away from our campsite and we would have missed out if we would not have met the locksmith. What great luck!