Our Home for 12 days

Our first week in Jackson was fun with a bit of an adventure. We figured it would take about a week for the Subaru dealer to get the needed transmission parts flown in and to get us back on our way, so we started making plans accordingly.

But at the end of the week, when I called the dealer to learn that they still had no idea when the parts would be delivered or when the car would be ready, I finally could no longer be kind and forgiving. After a morning of very frustrating calls with the dealership's service manager and general manager, and now at my wits end, I was finally given a hotline number for Subaru's national customer service center. What a breath of fresh air! Even the rank-and-file customer service rep I first made contact with was empowered to get things done-- she immediately offered to cover my expenses and escalate the service situation with their regional management. The next day, my case was escalated to their wonderful customer service manager, Jody, who promised to see the case through to the very end for me. But, try as she could, the dealer would not get the car finished for another 3 days, so we'd need to stay another weekend in Jackson.

By this time, we'd become fast friends with the staff at the KOA. Their campground was booked solid every night, mainly of people stopping for one night as they drove to or from Yellowstone. They said we were the first to stay there this summer over a week, but what a challenge it was for them! Because I only had a rental car (and no tow vehicle), we had no way of moving the T@B from the campsite we first got left at. So every few days, I would go up to the check-in desk to see Beth (apparently, she was the only one with expert knowledge of the KOA reservation software)! Beth would sometimes spend an hour or more moving reservations around so that we would be able to keep our same campsite a few more days.




While Mom and I were starting to tire of staying in the same place so long, Millie, on the other hand was having the time of her life! She would take long morning naps on the cot in the screenroom....



Then before dinner, I'd take her down to the Snake river (that ran along the back of the campground) where she had a blast riding the swift currents and trying to swim like crazy to "stay in place". While she had become quite a good lake swimmer at home, river currents were something completely new (and fun)!



Before leaving Jackson, we had to get some of the iconic shots of downtown. Here's mom in front of the famous antler arch ...




and the cowboy who drives the stagecoach around the downtown square...





Finally, one of the most famous sites in Jackson... the Cowboy Bar with it's distinctive neon sign.