Monday May 19 -
Monday May 26
Just Get There!
The goal for the week is to just get there! Our first
destination is Bloomington, Illinois to visit our friends Bill and
Diane Fahrenkrug before heading off to Racine Wisconsin to visit
Andrew and family.
To "just get there" requires traveling from Sacramento,
California to Bloomington, Illinois--cross country 2042 miles.
Since our goal is to "just get there," we are not stopping along the
way for sightseeing (or picture taking); just get on Interstate 80
and head east. While this goal sounds easy, it required
getting ready, making sure everything is set, and then GO! But
then…
Snapshot of week's route
Monday, May 19th - We're off:
Hurry up, let's go! Are you ready yet? Did you put the cat out (oh, we don't have a cat)?
Oh, forgot the truck. Won't get far without that.
We left Sacramento and started heading to Winnemucca,
Nevada (314 miles). We stopped for a tasty lunch at Donner
Summit, just like the Donner party. You remember them from
grade school studies?
|
 |
After lunch, we headed into Nevada, past Reno and then
WHOAP! I looked back in the mirror in time to see the left rear
trailer tire tread fly up, hit the side of the trailer hard, and
land in the roadway, causing traffic to dodge it for 45 minutes
until a patrol officer stopped to remove it. The tread ripped
part of the plastic fender off, bent the lower-back trim (sheet
metal) up under, and mark the trailer with black tire rubber.
Irritation! Frustration!
I called Good Sam Road Service and they took 45+ minutes to
locate a service provider and then told us the service provider
would arrive in about 75 minutes (was actually 80+ minutes).
Then it took them 45 minutes to change the tire; it was up against
traffic and they needed two jacks and one of theirs didn't work,
they used mine. So, we lost 3.5 hours but were back on the
road and made it to Winnemucca by 7:00 pm. Well, at least that
is over.
Tuesday, May 20th:
We headed to Salt Lake City, Utah (354 miles), but first a
detour to Les Schwab Tire Center. We were there by 8:20 AM and
had them replace the disintegrated tire (it was free on warranty)
plus I had the older spare tire replaced, just in case. The
mechanic working on the tires heard one of the other tires (right
side) leaking and found a screw in the tire, must have just happened,
he fixed that also. There were a few others ahead of us but
they got us back on the road by 9:45 AM.
It was a comfortable drive through the rest of Nevada and
we came down the hills heading into Utah and the Bonneville Salt
Flats (where they do the land speed records). But somewhere I
lost an hour. I thought for sure I had put it away but right
when we entered Utah, it was gone. Well, we will have to look
for it on our way home.
Bonneville Salt Flats
Then … 8 miles into Utah and WHOAP. Look in mirror,
see tire tread flying off, pull over (bigger shoulder this time),
get upset, get out, put out the emergency triangles again.
This time, the front left trailer tire had exploded. It tore
the front of the fender lose and left a lot more black tire
marks on the side of the trailer. I called Good Sam again and
they found a provider to dispatch. The person arrived in
40 minutes and he was able to change the tire in 20 minutes and
we were back on the road after about an hour.
With the visit to Les Schwab, the second blown tire, and
the loss of and hour (still don’t know what happened to it), we made
it to our RV park at 6:45 PM.
Time to relax. Meatballs for dinner! I lit the pilot
on the oven, turned it on--it works--turned it back to pilot, and
then when it was time to cook, the burner wouldn't relight.
Becky microwaved them and they were still good.
Wednesday, May 21st:
We headed to Rawlins, Wyoming (296 miles), but first
another detour to Les Schwab Tire Center. We were there by
8:45 AM and they replaced the other disintegrated tire (free again
with warranty). The tires that haven't disintegrated look
good. Possibly, the second tire was damaged by
the first; I can hope. They got us back on the road by 9:30
AM.
We made it through the rest of Utah and into Wyoming with
the same tires on the wheels!
Thursday, May 22nd:
We remained on schedule with a planned day off from travel.
But, this was now a work day. I assessed the damage to the
fender and other parts and wires hanging loose next to the wheels.
We headed to the hardware store (True Value) and got some fasteners
and a hand drill I needed to work on securing the fender and stuff
under the carriage. I also got some cleaner. Back at the
trailer, I was able to secure the loose fender and dangling parts.
Then I spent a couple of hours cleaning all the tire marks and tar
off the side. Surprisingly, it now looks okay, still damaged
and torn up but OK.
I read my RV Maintenance book about the oven. It
appears the way it is reacting that it is the safety switch that is
malfunctioning. I will have to see if I can find a place with
the part and try and replace it along the way, but not today.
The first couple of days have been a pain but we have been
able to press forward without delay or serious issue. While I
do get frustrated and annoyed at the problems that crop up, I do
settle down and remember that these are really small annoyances and
are trivial compared to what could happen and what other
people may be facing. I will still grumble, but I am happy we have the
blessings we have and are still on our way.
Now it is time to BBQ hamburgers for dinner :)
Friday, May 23rd:
Back to traveling. We headed to Ogallala, Nebraska
(319 miles) AND NO BLOWN TIRE OR DETOUR TO THE TIRE CENTER! We
did hit some heavy rain part of the way. God, thanks for the
assist on cleaning off some of the dirt and grime from wind and dust
earlier in the week, but while you were at it, couldn't you have
squeegeed off the windows? Okay, okay, sorry, thanks for the
rain that did clean off much of the dirt and grime. I guess I
will do the windows sometime.
Saturday, May 24th:
We spent the whole day in Nebraska as we headed to Waco,
Nebraska (234 miles). I was able to start relaxing a little
more as it was a shorter driving day but we did lose another hour
somewhere. We arrived at the RV park mid-afternoon and took
care of some planning and to-do's. In the evening, the park was
showing the movie "The Monuments Men." It was enjoyable,
relaxing, and worth the watch.
Sunday, May 25th:
Another day on the road. Off to Marengo, Iowa (320 miles). It was a normal travel day without any issues but it was overcast and dreary all day.
Monday, May 26th (Memorial Day):
Finally!!! 205 miles for the day; 2042 miles in seven
travel days and one day off and we have arrived in Bloomington,
Illinois.