We made it to Utah- one state closer to Washington! Our challenge Monday was making sure there was enough air in the spare tire so we could get to Utah. Putting air in a tire is not usually a challenge, but we have to go back to Saturday night when the spare was put on. As you know, it took forever for the fella to get there so it was after 10pm. He asked if we had tools. Um, no, you’re the tire repair guy that’s being paid to fix the flat.
Little did we know until it was time to put air in the tire that the air valve stem was facing toward the inside of the vehicle. Now that would be a pain on a regular vehicle, but it was even more challenging with the rv since there’s another tire right there. It was near impossible to get your hand in between the two tires to try to get the air hose onto the air valve stem. And then it was even more challenging to squeeze the thing for the air to enter the tire. Rick duct taped the thing down so the air would flow and we tried again and again. I prayed for the tire to get air. I laid hands on the tire. When I put in the fouth set of four quarters the last quarter wouldn’t go in- the edge had a flat spot on it and wouldn’t fit in the machine. Are you kidding me? We had to laugh.
Holding my breath, we made it to Moab, UT, a few hours away with Rick driving the rv and me driving the van. It was a relief to arrive early in the afternoon and not stress about finding our way around the new town. We did some laundry (our washing machine/dryer works perfectly thanks to cousin Mark and Rick for installing it) and headed to Arches National Park. Arches has spectacular rock formations- spires, fins, balanced rocks and, of course, arches. We were only there for three hours and it was not enough. We’ll have to come back next year. Utah has five national parks- impressive!
Tuesday morning we took Faith to the visitor center to get her Junior Ranger badge. The Junior Ranger program is a free program in the national parks. Upon arrival you ask for a booklet on the park and the kids have different pages of activities to complete based on their age. It’s fun and educational. Our little brownie has completed three now- one for Carlsbad Caverns, Mesa Verde and Arches. I’m going to buy her a special national parks vest on which to sew/pin them.
Then it was time to head north. I was holding my breath once again hoping all would go well. I googled tire centers in the area we hoped to reach, thankful the long weekend was over and businesses were open. Les Schwab was happy to help us out. They gathered the tires from surrounding stores, let us stay in their parking lot overnight, offered us water for the rv and told us they had free internet and popcorn! Woohoo!
So if you’re keeping track that’s three days now that we haven’t had a major problem! Looking forward to a smooth ride to Washington on our new tires. I’ll be happy to get there and relax for a bit before actually starting our “trip”.
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