Back on the road at 8:40 a.m. after a restful night sleep. Walked out of the camper to find that new neighbors had moved in throughout the night and some had left...all without disturbing my sleep.
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Forty
five minutes into our day we crossed into the Central Time Zone...so 9:15
became 10:15 and another hour of our lives lost to traveling eastward.
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Getting coffee is the first item on the agenda....we had power last
night due to the generator but the only coffee maker within reach was the
Keurig and it was not doing its job. I
don’t even know why we still have it except for a budget
minded "what if it suddenly starts working again and then we can just keep one
in the camper?" mentality. The new coffee maker is stored in the corner of top
storage shelf because that’s where it fit. Getting at it would require climbing
up and over my bike...not an easy task given all the tie down straps. So we are on the lookout for a truck
stop. Been on the road an hour and
haven’t seen anything yet.
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Back
in the Land of the Wind Turbines at the western end of the Texas Pandhandle and
most are moving so that must mean we are back in the wind. I’m still wearing
shorts and sandals but the socks and jeans are in the back seat.
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Cadillac Ranch is stuck out in a flat farm field where it’s always windy. Today a farmer was plowing a field not 20 feet from the cars...luckily he was downwind from all the paint being sprayed otherwise our designs would be a little gritty from his dust. Despite the constant wind, it was warm today. Every other time we’ve stopped there’s been a cool to cold wind coming across that field. Not today...it was about 58o and very comfortable with the wind. And it was a busy, busy place. Artwork is constantly being painted over so a person needs to get a picture of his/her art before leaving because it won’t be there the next time they stop. 😎
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Stopped at a rest area in Texas to have eat lunch. We had bought some salad kits for just this
purpose. The weather was warm and sunny
so we headed to a sheltered picnic area.
Due to the wind I thought it was chilly in the shade so I opted to sit
on a bench in the sunlight until my salad started blowing off my fork before I
could get it in my mouth. I finished my
lunch in the truck. Kim stood in a protected
corner of the shelter to eat his.
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The
truck developed a noticeable shimmy last night...Kim thought one of the tires
was out of balance; he was inclined to wait until we got home to check it
out. Today it seemed to be getting a bit
more pronounced and I started asking questions.
Could an unbalanced tire damage
the truck? Could it cause the wheel
bearing or the u-joints to go wonky? or
the tie rod to fall off? We can’t
exactly call Larry to see if he could pick us up again, ya know. We were approaching Sayre, OK, and Kim,
picking up on my anxiety about the situation suggested I see if there was a
tire shop located in Sayre. Maybe we
could have the tires balanced sooner rather than later.
Found that Sayre did have a tire shop...good deal. Managed to drive past it and had to turn around in a nearby parking lot to get back
to it. As Kim was pulling up alongside
of the building, a guy was at my window saying, “I know what your problem is.
Your back tire has a belt separation.” I
got out of the truck, nodding my head like I knew what the hell he was talking
about, which I didn’t...but I could see the bulge he was pointing at on the rear
passenger side tire. He said, “It’s been
vibrating, hasn’t it? Well, it was have been a lot more noticeable if you
didn’t have the trailer.” Said that he
heard it when we went past and then saw the problem as we were turning around. He didn’t carry 20” tires but did have a decent
used one.
When
Kim got back in the truck I asked if he thought what we were being given the
straight scoop. Yes, as soon as we got off the highway and I felt the vibration at a
slower speed I knew it was a belt separation.
Knew that we were beyond an unbalanced tire issue.
Cost was
about 45 minutes and $50. So grateful
that Kim decided to have it checked out to ease my mind. Another extra dose of God’s traveling grace
coming our way.
On the
road update: Vibration
is gone and an unexpected benefit is that my seat belt has stopped pinning me
to the seat. All day my movement was being
restricted for no apparent reason...so frustrating! Now I’m certain the vibration was the
cause. Anyway, the seatbelt issue is now
but a memory. 👍
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Pulled
into the Joplin Welcome Center and Rest Area at 11 p.m. Drove 602 miles today....time to get out of
the truck!
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