When we woke up in the morning, we were so surprised to see this amazing site out the window.
The Hole in the Mountain Peak is more than 11,000 feet. Wells, Nevada had a snow storm earlier this week so the mountains were covered in snow. Really beautiful. We had a leisurely breakfast and slowly got ready to go.
We were so excited to head north towards Idaho. Highway 93 is a two lane highway with lots of truck traffic on it. But it was fairly quiet as we drove north. We were impressed to find a wildlife overpass along the highway. Tall deer fencing went along the highway for miles before and after the overpass to funnel wildlife towards the safe crossing point. Really cool, Nevada!
We got about 10 miles and boom -- literally, the motorhome started backfiring and losing power. Not good.
We nursed it up the hill aways, trying to find a safe place to pull over. As we eased to a stop, it died all together.
The next few hours were aggravating. Greg would try to start the FMC and end up flooding it. So, we'd sit and wait. Then we'd try again. We got close to getting it going a few times but no luck.
Finally, we decided to unhitch Liza's car to drive into town and get a couple of parts we thought might help. We unhitched the car and when Liza turned the key. Nothing. Dead battery.
We'd been having trouble with this and thought it might be related to some work on the wiring that attaches the Suzuki to the FMC when we're towing. We tried out portable jump starter and that didn't work. So, we called AAA. Pancho was out in about 30 minutes. He gave us a jump start and Liza headed down to the parts store. There she had the battery tested and it checked out okay. Good news.
Meanwhile, Greg was still trying different things and eventually got the FMC started. He turned around to head back into Wells. We wanted to have it all checked out before continuing on our way. He didn't make it back to Wells and was stuck on the side of the road again. Liza drove up to wait with him while he waited for the tow truck from CoachNet. We unloaded all the chairs and tents and things we carry in her car so we could all fit in the Suzuki when the FMC was being towed.
As time went on, we decided it would be best to go get some food with the kids. Liza loaded them into her car and went to start the engine. It started but was running ragged and rough and all the lights on her dash lit up. At this point, we've got two dead vehicles on the side of Highway 93 north of Wells, NV.
We call AAA again. Thankfully, this seems to be unrelated to the earlier call and we get a tow.
Both vehicles were towed to The Otto Clinic in Wells. The owner is already gone for the day and warned Greg on the phone that he's booked solid on Friday and won't be able to look at our vehicles until Monday.
FMC being towed back to Wells
Suzuki being towed back to Wells
We walk down the street to a dinner place that was recommended to us: Luther's Bar and Grill. On the way, we stopped to check into the Wagon Wheel Motel. Wells used to have a bunch of very cool motels on it's main street. When Highway 80 went through, it destroyed the businesses here and Wells lost some of it's charm. Still, the remnants are there and beggars can't be choosers.
Donna, the manager at the Wagon Wheel, set us up with a room for the night. The motel is mostly long-term residents now but they were very kind to us. Both Donna and our neighbor offered to drive us to a restaurant if we wanted to. Everyone we dealt with in Wells was so kind.
Luther's was a good find. Good food, which we needed. There were a few video poker machines. A few locals offering some local color. And lots and lots of extremely conservative bumper stickers behind the bar for our entertainment. Our favorite was "Green is the new Red" with a hammer and sickle symbol on it. That gave us lots to talk about with the kids.
We walked back to the Wagon Wheel and went to bed.
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Note: To read about the next day, click the "Newer Post" link below.
Oh, dear. Of course, I have been following the "journey" on FB. But the details do give more color to your adventure.
ReplyDeleteMaybe now would be a good time to read The Odyssey--and you could match up your adventures on the journey going nowhere to Odysseus'?
Anyway, much fodder for future writing. And here's hoping your sunny attitude prevails.
Motto for your journey: if it ain't one thing, it's another.