Days 82 & 83 Yesterday we thought we had the RV back on the road. The transmission was fixed and we were heading 25 miles east of Fort Stockton. After leaving the shop, we had an exploding tire!!! This happened only 160 miles of traveling. It ripped up all the electrical wiring. Also, we now have no fridge or water pump. We waited 5 hours until we were able to get help. Errr. We got a new tire put on, but the wheel housing was still touching the wheel!!!! While we were driving, it felt like we had the furnace on. Since there is now a hole near the rear wheel, hot air from the spinning tires is blowing straight in the RV. It was like a sauna and at 10 PM when it is cooler. We got off the next exit and saw the same crew helping someone else that was broken down. My dad explained the issue about the tire. Fred, one of the owners, told us to drive to his shop. We drove to the shop and they let us hook up the RV until they were able to look at it in the morning. Day 83 We woke up and had brunch at the trucker restaurant. It was the best breakfast we have had. The guys still have not begun working on the RV. I really did not want to spend the day without getting some miles in. I was able to grab a ride with a super nice truck driver named Craig. Craig is awesome!!! We hit it off from the start. It seemed like we had met before because we were laughing the whole ride. I was telling him about my journey and he would tell me about some of his. He told me I should run in Alaska some day. He mentioned how beautiful it is there. Craig has driven past the arctic circle 3 times. When I got to my mile marker that I needed to be, Craig gave me a patch of Alaska. It says "I crossed the Arctic Circle. Mile 115 Dalton Highway. He told me you have to earn a patch like this and he thought I earned it. Craig did not feel right about leaving me alone in the middle if nowhere. I smiled and shook hands and told him I would be fine. It was great to laugh after so many issues with the RV. I got into Fort Stockton in the late afternoon. I felt like a cowboy riding into town. The locals could tell i was not from around there. I got some funny looks when they saw me with my camel back when i was heading off the highway into town. I called my dad and the RV still had not been worked on. It took them till 6:30 to start. I decided to have dinner at Pizza Hut. It was 8:15 until my dad got on the road. I decided to get some more miles in. I got some even stranger looks when the locals saw a stranger on the road in a Big Lebowski shirt with a camel back, carry a large pizza box tucked under his arm:)
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 05:06:21 +0000