Luck is a funny thing…you think you have it, then you think it might have run out. Then, life goes on despite what you think or thought!!!!
Had it occurred an hour earlier…we would have been (best case) buried to the axles in a runaway truck ramp.
As I pulled up to the ranger at the entry station to check into the campground at Dinosaur National Monument, I heard MASSIVE AIR LEAK applying the brakes to stop. The low air light came on, the low air siren came on. The bus came to a stop at the guard shack just b4 the brakes fully failed. For those unfamiliar with air brakes on large vehicles…this is a potentially catastrophic issue. Had it occurred an hour earlier, as we descended a 7% grade, we would have been (best case) buried to the axles in a runaway truck ramp. I don’t even want to think about or disclose the worst case.
As I was stopped by the shack, with the emergency brake on, the air pressure built back up to normal. This told me 2 things.
- The problem MUST BE a broken hose or fitting, and
- The bus would again lose air pressure if I applied the brakes. We could not drive even the last mile to our campsite.
our good fortune was, in fact, still, intact
I told the ranger that we were not safe to drive farther than the shoulder just in front of the shack, and he acknowledged this and said he would let the park/cops know we might be there for awhile. I pulled forward and got the bus stopped on the shoulder. Took a brief pause to change my shorts (!) and realize our good fortune was, in fact, still, intact since we were alive!
I REALLY DID change my shorts…donning my grubby clothes to crawl under the bus. I IMMEDIATELY identified the broken fitting and also immediately understood why the fitting had broken: a nut had worked its way off the brake can stud, and so when the brakes were applied, instead of the plunger pushing the brake, the plunger pushed the can itself backwards to about 45 degree angle. This flexing every time the brakes were applied had eventually snapped a brass fitting, so that when the brakes were applied, air rapidly gushed out of the system.
Now that I knew the problem, I needed to find a brass fitting and a nut…in a pretty remote place in Western Colorado/Northern Utah. I went to talk to the ranger, and he said there was a hardware store in town, about 10 miles away. The fittings and nut I needed were not unusual, so I set off hoping the store had them. Which they ABSOLUTELY DID! I returned to the bus, crawled under and repaired the fitting and reattached the can. Now we were safe to drive.
At least (only!) as far as our campsite.
While I was repairing the fitting, I noticed that the brake hose itself – a 40 year old, high pressure rubber hose – was severely cracked from repetitive flexing as the can moved. It did not look safe AT ALL. So, now what to do?
It turns out that the same town, Vernal, Utah, had a Fleetpride! Think of Fleetpride as Pep Boys, O’Reilly’s or Napa for big trucks. According to their online inventory, they had the correct Brake Hose IN STOCK!!! In fact, I decided to buy replacements for ALL the brake hoses (they are all 40 years old). And they had them all in stock!!!! Problem was, it was Late Saturday, and Fleetpride would not be open until 7AM on Monday. No reason not to enjoy the Monument, go to the quarry, see dinosaurs and the SPECTACULAR DARK SKY after sunset!
I mean, REALLY SPECTACULAR, including visibility for MANY satellites, meteors etc. The Dinosaur Monument is actually a quarry where dozens or hundreds of fossils have been found. HUGE dinosaurs…Stegosaurus, Allosaurus and many others. Really interesting.
First thing Monday AM, I went to the Fleetpride and acquired the hoses. Checkout time was 11, so I needed to get under the bus and get to work post haste. Now, its not that easy to replace hoses while under the bus…there is space to shimmy on one’s back (just barely) and I could reach the fittings, also just barely. I managed to replace the 2 really badly cracked hoses, and in the process, skin most of my knuckles and get covered in grease.
There was not enough time, at that rate, to replace any more. The other hoses did not look bad, though they are still 40 years old. I decided it would be safe to replace those in November when we visit our favorite truck mechanic in Alabama. I will keep my eye on them, tho, and I have replacements onboard!
I guess, in retrospect, our luck hasn’t really run out…if it had, we might not be publishing this blog anymore!! Instead, brakes failed at the best place we had been for such a failure in the past 3 weeks, and near a town which, tho TRULY IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, was a place where I could get all the parts I needed.
Finally, we visited the town of Ouray. This is known as the Switzerland of America, and is truly that. Nestled in a valley, our RV spot was right on the river, and a footbridge across that river took us to the Municipal Hot Springs. REALLY relaxing!
We also visited a worked-out Goldmine for a really interesting tour. We noted the burned, scarred landscape just next to that mine…there had been a fire a month or so before, and the town was VERY FORTUNATE that the wind was blowing away from town or there might not be anything left!!!
So, after our 3-week loop thru Colorado, we started towards the Minnesota State Fair. Not to be confused with this summer’s totally-failed Great American Fair, this is affectionately referred to as “The Great Minnesota Get-Together.”
THAT sounds like a friendly gathering where casseroles and hot dishes are exchanged over the back fence. I can ASSURE YOU, there is NOTHING as healthy as a casserole at the Great Minnesota Get-together! Its all about ample grease and fried things on sticks and MANY bacon options… and ample evidence through people watching that the USA is the most Obese Nation on the planet. This is really NOT about body shaming…more about lamenting the coming wave of healthcare cost for inevitable chronic diseases.
The fair itself featured MAGNIFICENT WEATHER for our day, which resulted in record crowds. At one point, I had an epiphany: You can tell a lot about a person according to whether they prefer a Pronto Pup or Corn Dog. They are both members of the “Corn-ish Dog” phylum, but Pronto-pups are sort of more dough-ey and greasy (IMHO) than the REAL CORN DOG, so I guess you can tell which I prefer. We did discover one person who said they had found, acquired and actually eaten a VEGAN CORN DOG. I do not know what that is or how it is possible or what that says about that person’s soul, though they seemed perfectly nice on the outside!
As you might imagine, we also attended the Craft Beer Pavilion, where I struggled with their serving strategy. It seems they know better than we what we want (kinda like Apple!) and therefore you can only buy pre-configured flights of beer. You do not get to choose what YOU want, you only get to choose from what THE MAN wants you to have in one of 6 or 8 different assortments. Invariably, I liked 2 or three, but would have NEVER ordered the others. I am certain that this has to do with moving crowds thru the pavilion…they cannot allow the time necessary for someone to vacillate and then eventually CHOOSE among the dozens of beers offered. Still, it seems kinda authoritarian!
So, after our day at the fair, it was time for the Bonnie Raitt concert. The weather was STILL MAGNIFICENT, the evening was clear, the full moon rose, and then the near-total eclipse happened. AND Bonnie had a gr8 night…a REALLY, REALLY excellent concert. Almost a mystical experience, what with the eclipse and all! Raitt regaled us with stories about how Minnesota was very instrumental in her early career, and how she so fondly remembers and recognizes this. In fact, I remember Bonnie playing at the Gymnasium at Carleton College when I was a Sophomore(?). She played with a totally forgettable group called “Willie and the Bees.” I did not really realize, then, what a legend she would become.
“OMG, SH*t why didn’t some one tell me…”
There was one anomaly of note at the concert . Of course, there were jumbotrons on either side of the stage with live video of the performance. I can say that 50’ tall Bonnie looks pretty good (and displays amazing virtuosity and enthusiasm and humor) for a woman in her 70s, but she played the ENTIRE CONCERT with a partially detached false eyelash. There it was…at least 10 ft across, in full view on the HUGE jumbotron! It was distracting!!!! I assume she did not realize this, because had she realized, I imagine she would have stepped off the stage during someone’s solo to fix it. I also imagine when/if she sees the video, she will say, “OMG, SH*t why didn’t some one tell me…”
While we were in the Twin Cities, we also had the chance to celebrate my Dad once more, through a sort of memorial Tree Walk. The City and The Park Board planted several trees in his honor, all downtown and near the Dog park and neighborhood his extraordinary vision helped create. My Sister had these cool Cards printed on a special paper stock that contains wildflower seeds The cards can be planted and a wildflower garden will grow. We hung hundreds of these cards in Dad’s trees so people walking, exercising their dogs or just enjoying the city Dad was so proud of could have and enjoy a living example of his influence.
While on the subject of Dad, my Niece (his granddaughter), Aleah, who had worked with Dad to publish his blog for many years, has created a compendium of all the articles they collaborated on. This PDF file is available by clicking here. I would be so honored and pleased if you would download it and read (or re-read, if you followed his blog) what represents his life story and vision in his own words. He inspires me, still!
And, while in the Twin Cities, we found the time to engage in more senior debauchery. This included quality time and food and drink with College friends, hosted by Betsy at her fabulous place in Osceola, Wi.
I also helped Jim and Cheryl fix some wiring in their RV, as a prelude/excuse for breaking bread and enjoying their pool. It was a win-win…great food and company in exchange for a couple of connectors and a switch!
And, now, in the immortal words of Smokey (or perhaps it was the Bandit…) we are Eastbound and Down, Loaded up and Trucking… Headed to the Northeast to be “Leaf-Peepers” for the next month or so. Upstate NY, Vermont, New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Newport, RI and ultimately NYC and New Jersey. Friends along the way, of course. And, we made a quick stop in Chicago to visit MANY friends and family (Barb, Howard, Sandy, Ron, Mary, Walt, Loretta, Susie, Julie and Gikas and Mary, Bruce and Chris) and engage in…you guessed it…more Senior Debauchery.
One visit was especially unusual…to a friend’s house… As we were discussing our arrival, our host-to-be said, “We live in a Nudist Colony…” There was a pause on the phone, while I considered what I had just heard. AT which point, our host broke the silence by saying that they live on a secluded wooden lane, and because the “Nudist-season” (which is apparently a thing, but surely is NOT on my calendar!) was over, so we would be welcome in our cloths, and they would honor our visit with the same! We had a GR8 time, and I gained a new perspective on a lifestyle that had never, ever occurred to me!
And, now, a teaser!
There is SOMETHING BIG in our future. Our NEXT blog post will disclose how (and where) we plan to spend our winter. Suffice to say, in a lifetime of really fantastic, worldwide travel, the coming months will feature perhaps the most FANTASTIC VOYAGE OF ALL. You’ll have to stay tuned for the details!!!
