Update at 9 a.m.: We played cribbage last night until about 10:30, then set about tucking ourselves in for the night. Pulled the bedspread back, sat down on the bed and realized that it had some sort of plastic covering because it made a crinkling sound (Kim called it a 'staph' cover). Oh, great! Those things always make for a noisy and hot sleep experience for me...and it didn't disappoint. 😕 But we had nowhere to go this morning so I wasn't too worried about having a restless night...since check-out wasn't until 11, we could certainly sleep in. However, in my sleeping in plan I hadn't factored in the possibility that Door #7 might be the bus stop gathering point for the area school kids. (There's a mobile home park behind the motel.) First there was just some general talking which is what woke me up and eventually the voices got more excited. "There's snow...that's snow...Yay! I see some snow coming down!...See, I told you there was snow!" While I lay there listening to the kids, the Eeyore in my head said, "Oh, yippee skippee...there's snow."
We walked to the Circle K to buy something for breakfast, then returned to Room #7 to watch TV while waiting for check-out time. Not going to break out the cribbage game until we get back to the dealership.
Update at 1 p.m.: Packed up our belongings and left the room at noon because we got an extended check-out time. Stopped at The Pour House again to eat lunch...we decided it would be beneficial to eat before we headed back to the dealership and sat around for an unknown amount of time. It was our third time eating there in our 24 hour Star Valley odyssey. The waitress gave us both a laugh when we ordered our burgers medium rare and she confessed, "So glad you didn't go with rare...'cause he can't do...he just doesn't do a good job with rare." My burger didn't come out as a true medium rare but it wasn't dried out either, so he gets a 👍 from me...whoever 'he' is.
After lunch we gathered our belongings again to start the 1/2 mile trek back to the dealership. This time Kim was carrying my computer bag. He didn't realize it was a heavy load for my shoulder until he read the journal...he then insisted the burden be his this time. 😊 We walked into the dealership to find that the truck was out for a test drive and as soon as it passes muster, we'll pay up. Have to hitch up the trailer and re-attach the bike rack and we'll be on our merry way. Yay!
Update at 3:30 p.m.: We've been stopped for about 20 minutes now alongside Highway 87 waiting for the mechanic from the Star Valley dealership to ride to our rescue! We were rolling along fine, all happy in our nice warm truck when suddenly it didn't feel so warm anymore. I mentioned it to Kim...he agreed...the gauge watching commenced. Maybe 5 miles further down the road from that point...it was both figuratively and literally down the road because we're coming out of the mountains....anyway, 5 miles down the road the temperature gauge skyrockets to HOT and we pull over immediately. Kim called Ben, the service manager at the dealership, to let him know of our predicament while I checked out the front of the truck. Not only is there a big puddle on the ground but there's a steady stream of coolant below the radiator. Oops! And we're 55 miles from the dealership! Kim got under the truck and noticed that the 2 parts of the new radiator hose had come apart. All this information was relayed to Ben who could relay it to the mechanic that was dispatched. So now we wait.
As we were pulling over, my first thought was 'Shit! Really?! We're in the middle of nowhere!' After my initial panic about what we were going to do subsided and after contact had been made with Ben, I moved on to figuring out how I could discreetly pee alongside this busy road if necessary. Depending on how long this takes to resolve, the need could be real and having a plan in place seemed prudent.😏
Kim thinks it will be a quick fix because the clamp is still attached...just of matter of reconnecting and reclamping the hoses. And I hope the mechanic has lots of coolant with him because ours is all gone.
Kim thinks it will be a quick fix because the clamp is still attached...just of matter of reconnecting and reclamping the hoses. And I hope the mechanic has lots of coolant with him because ours is all gone.
Update at 4:25 p.m.: Mark the Mechanic has arrived. The problem was diagnosed...it was a matter of reconnecting the hoses and properly clamping them as Kim had thought. Both Kim and Mark
got under the truck and there was a lot of talking going on. Turns out this is Mark's last day at the dealership after being there 5 years as a shop foreman. He's an older guy and isn't that impressed with the work ethic or thoroughness of the young 'techs' that the boss has been hiring lately. He was particularly dismayed that the front of the truck had not been cleaned after the work had been completed...most notably the greasy footprints left on the bumper. Anyway, he knew exactly what to do with the hose and wasted no time getting to it. He sort of reminded me of Kim's dad.
Update at 4:45 p.m.: We're back on the road and Quartzsite bound!
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Traffic through Phoenix was crazy...pulling the trailer through rush hour with an extra slowdown for an accident and all the hot dogs weaving in and out jockeying for the best lane position makes for a tense drive. Plus we were driving into the setting sun which is never a good time for Kim's eyes. No wonder he complained of a headache on down the road. Checking for a leak up front and the smell of anti-freeze and watching the temperature gauge will probably continue for a few days until we're sure that everything is holding tight. But for now we're considering the Star Valley chapter of our great adventure to be over. 😎 We're both looking forward to exploring the area around Quartzsite for the next couple of days. We're in a hotel for tonight but tomorrow we'll look for a campground where the bikes will come out of the trailer and the best kind of fun will begin.
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