“Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me” (Psa. 23:4-5). God is our refuge and strength, a very
present help in times of trouble” (Psa. 46:1).
Hey Gang: No pain, no gain, right? By the time we had the Econo Van repaired it
was time to feed our bodies and stopped for breakfast. During the night, the temperature had made a
rapid decline and, I mention again, the MG had no top. A storm was predicted for the Rockies so we
said our goodbyes and parted ways - Von back to California and us to the East.
Shortly after
continuing our journey, crisis three came in the form of a loud squeal from the
engine housing of the Econ Van and a red light came on the dash indicating “You
have big problem!” The water from the
freeze plug had poured over the generator and it was no longer generating full
power. Water holes (meaning towns with
services in Gramps lingo) in the middle of Nevada are extremely few and far
between. We had no choice but to
continue until we had no power left and then tow it with chain to the first
watering hole.
Surprisingly,
but yet not so surprisingly, the Van ran with very limited generator power for
several hours. As we were approaching Elko, Nevada, we were blessed with crisis
number four, the generator quit completely.
And how was that a blessing? The
Elko, Nevada, cross road is in no man’s land and consisted of buildings on
three corners and nothing else for many miles.
While sitting
by the highway, in a driving rain storm trying to decide if we had any options,
I noticed a very faded sign on one of the buildings - similar to the faded sign
we had found in Reno that said, “Generator Shop”. But, it also said, “Out of Business”
and by the looks of the building I was not sure it was occupied.
Yes, the shop
was “Out of Business” and this was Sunday afternoon, but I had no other options.
So, I knocked on the door and an elderly gentleman - who had clean coveralls on
- answered the door, and I stated my problem.
Do you have any idea what the odds might be for finding a generator for
a fifteen-year- old Econo Van, in the generator shop at a crossroad called
Elko, that had been out of business for many years might be? About the same as finding a freeze plug in the
middle of the night in Reno, Nevada!
On this day,
more than fifty years after I greeted that man and stated my crisis, I will
never forget the look on his face and his next words: He said, “Years ago, someone ordered just
such a generator and never came to pick it up”.
Wasn’t that lucky?
I wonder, if the name of the person who
ordered the generator many years before the vagabond crew of six and one
Chihuahua arrived on his door step, might have been Gabriel or Michael?
Within an hour
we were on the road again, with full power in both vehicles but the power in
the drivers was beginning to run thin. So, it was thought best that we end Day
Two, which was really two days of continuous problem solving. As we pulled into the motel parking lot at
Wells, Nevada, and vacated the vehicles we noticed the temperature had
continued to fall and there were the ever-present ominous clouds saying
“beware”.
In the middle of the night, my bride woke me
to inform me it was snowing, heavy wet stuff!
Remember the freeze plug? All the water and ANTI FREEZE had spewed forth
from the missing freeze plug opening.
Morning
arrived and we began Day Three with temperatures near the freezing mark and we
were seeing ominous signs of the storm that had been predicted. Shortly after departure we encountered crisis
number five, but who is counting. The
heater and defroster hoses were exposed in the front of the van and soon froze
cutting off all heat and defrosters but the van kept running.
It required our driving with sox on our hands
and changing drivers every half hour.
Also keep in mind we had two small children and a Chihuahua dog in the
van (the other two in the truck) and fortunately we had warm clothing and
blankets to wrap them in. To add insult
to injury, I did a Moses thing and, in frustration hit the on switch to the
blower and it locked into the ON position.
We now had, not only near freezing temperatures in the Van, but also
blowing air on the driver! Gloves
anyone? No, but sox work!
Crisis number
six occurred when crossing the Salt Flats of Utah. By then the storm had caught up and we were
in a driving snow storm; the roads were more than a little hairy. The pickup, with all the weight it was
carrying, slipped off the road and went down a moderately-steep
embankment. Having not seen the truck
for a couple miles, I pulled into the gas station to wait. But, learned that
four vehicles had had similar fates and one was Boys Village – our pickup. In
that stretch of road across the Salt Flats there is only one gas station and
nothing else.
We were twenty-
five miles from Salt Lake City, which we were sure was the closest tow-truck and
would take - who knows how long and cost how much green stuff? I had no idea. BUT!
the owner of the gas station, upon learning of the problem said his neighbor had
recently purchased a tow-truck for his business”. A call was made and we were soon blessed with
a spanking new tow-truck. He had us out of the ditch and on the road in a
matter of an hour. Oh, by the way, he
charged us the huge sum of five dollars each vehicle, to pull us out. Now
wasn’t that lucky?
Well, so much
for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow
for the next chapter in the Saga of the Six Vagabonds and one Chihuahua dog.
Blessings,
Gramps
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