Don't Panic

Yesterday, I was packed up and raring to get back to Seymour. I could spend Friday digging out plants which I could then sell at the citywide rummage sale.

At 11:30 I was on the road. At noon, I had passed Laona, Wabeno ands Townsend and came to the Shell station where I got gas and treated myself to a big ice cream cone. Then I drove through Carter and Lakewood until I came to the Lakewood Ranger station where I pulled in to pick up some camping information and find out why Morgan Lake was still closed when we checked on it on Wednesday.

The power steering on my car stopped as soon as I made the turn into the parking lot. The engine light indicated the engine was running hot. This was not good. I lifted the engine lid to let it cool and found that a belt was broken. Again, not good.

I went into talk to the rangers who were concerned. They suggested that I go either to the Lakewood auto repair or on to the village of Mountain. They first started giving me instruction to the closest one, in Lakewood, but it was out in the country with lots of winding roads and turns on to other roads. I had no power steering. Not good, I said.

Wilson's in Mountain was right off the highway, a straight run. We called and they said bring the car in. I explained that I would be starting but stopping whenever the engine got hot. Good idea, the mechanic said.

I set off, thinking about my experiences with engine overheating on my trip out west last summer. Once again, I reflected that the good thing about getting into lots of trouble is that I know I can get out of the trouble eventually. In other words, as Douglas Adams wrote in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, “Don't Panic”, about the best travel advice I've ever found. I would be fine, plus I would get a blog out of it.

I left the ranger station and headed south on Highway 32. Luckily, this stretch is almost all down hill, so I coasted along until the engine was too hot again and pulled into the Riverview town hall, built after a devastating tornado wiped out the old one. No one was around. I spent the fifteen minutes cooling off period to call neighbor Elaine and son Chris to let them know I wouldn't be home to take care of the cat and they agreed to step in and help. I called Gary who said he would pick me up and take me back to Laura Lake for the night, almost a hundred miles round trip.

Then I sat and read a book for a while.

It was only five more minutes to Wilson's auto repair shop. They immediately looked at the problem. If they could do a bypass on the air conditioning unit it would be a cheap fix, but not many auto parts stores had the right belt for the right car. If they couldn't find the belt, it would cost around a thousand dollars. If they could it would be $250. They made the call and huzzah! Napa had the part.


It took Gary another hour to make it to Wilson's.  I used that time to finish my latest short story for Black Coffee Fiction.  http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com I finished just before he drove up.  

So the bad news is that I will not be selling plants at the citywide rummage sale but that seemed a lot of work anyhow. The good news is that I got to spend another lovely night at Laura Lake, listening to the loons, watching the hummingbirds and grosbeaks, and just relaxing.

This afternoon, I retrieved my car. Eventually, I'll pay off the credit card bill. All's well.