Woke up early this morning, the temperature was 19
o, the
driveway was an ice skating rink and the sky looked like more winter yuck was
on its way. Time to leave the dreary sky
and ice behind and find some sunshine and warm.
Arizona, here we come…with a brief stop in Indiana.
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On the road by 9:30 a.m. and
by 11:00 a.m. we were sitting in the Harbor Freight parking lot in Cadillac
because the Road Gremlins had raised their nasty heads.
Road was clear, the truck ran
fine, and the camper was pulling with no problems…until it wasn’t. Hit the part of US 131 where the speed picks
up to 75 mph and soon after that the camper started dancing with the truck
being its dance partner. A sensation I won’t soon forget, that’s for sure.
We did a quick assessment as
to the probable cause…could be low tire pressure on the trailer tires but more
likely it was that the weight distribution in the camper was wonked out.
There’s only one bike onboard and Kim decided to put it in the back chock which
would give us easier access through the front door. Whatever the cause, the
problem had to be checked out and the best exit to do that was the Boon Road
exit into Cadillac. That meant running
at 55 to 60 mph for about 12 miles on a 75 mph highway. And I didn’t really want to but felt
compelled to keep watch in the side mirror--watching the trailer sway was
hypnotic yet disconcerting at the same time. My anxiety in these situations can
be a very palpable thing. That was a very long 12 miles….
Kim went into Harbor Freight
to buy a small air compressor for airing up the tires (to add to the 2 or 3 compressors we have at home) and on his
way back to the camper realized that there’s a large snow load on the top of
the trailer’s back end…add that to the weight of the bike and it’s no
wonder the trailer was dancing. Took about 90 cold minutes for Kim to air up
the tires and then reposition the bike in the front chock. We were back on the road about 12:30 and both
of us were very relieved that the dance party was over.
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In order to not get in the
way I sat in the truck reading when we were at Harbor Freight (book is entitled
‘Stretch’ by Scott Sonenshein). There is a story in the book about Phil
Hansen an artist who had a childhood obsession with pointillism, an art form using small dots to create a larger image
best viewed from a distance. In his late
teens, his dominant hand developed a tremor which led to him thinking his dream
of becoming an artist was over.
However, his neurosurgeon suggested he ‘embrace the shake’. Following his
doctor’s advice made him focus on what he could
do instead of what he couldn’t do
and also allowed him to expand his definition of art.
Well, I was doing a Google
search for Phil Hansen before I even finished reading the little anecdote about
him. OMGoodness, what creativity! I got lost watching the videos posted of him
creating his art…the videos are a work of art in themselves. philinthecircle.com is his website…it’s
worth a look. Ordinarily I wouldn’t post
a picture of Trump but the fact that these likenesses were created using unusual materials made it acceptable.
 |
| This took 36 pounds of raw bacon |
 |
| This took 40 cans of peaches |
 |
| Made with tape from a cassette tape...Things remembered from the 80's |
Phil Hansen’s website kept me occupied not only while Kim tinkered
with the camper but for an hour or so after we got back on the road. 😎
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The temperature was rising as we headed south. In Grand Rapids we saw 41o and yay!
the sun finally popped through the clouds.
And at a gas stop in Millersburg, IN, it felt downright balmy at 51o.
I’ll take it.
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The Charlevoix WonderKids and
their parents have been wintering in Indiana; we planned to stop and see them on
our way to Arizona. The GPS coordinates that brought us right to their driveway
indicated that we were in Turkey Creek Township…might as well have called it In the Middle of Nowhere, IN. Pretty area but oh, goodness, it’s way out in
farm country.
The children were anxiously waiting for us, hopping up and down as we drove up the driveway. They waited for the truck to stop and then made straight for us; as soon as we were out of the truck we were engulfed by squealing
children. Fun for them and fun for us,
too. We were just going to stop for a
quick visit but Kim and Marshal came up with a project to do in the camper so we’re
spending the night with the intention of getting on the road early.
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Starting mileage on truck: 168281
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