Desert Blowout

We left Pecos, Texas this morning, Sunday, March 14, after a good night sleep and filling the gas tank again. We headed out across the Texas desert just enjoying the scenery. We passed through the little town of Marathon on route 385 headed for Big Bend National Park.
About 30 miles from Marathon at about 11:30 am we heard some big thumps coming from the rear of the moho. I immediately knew what had happened........a flat tire. Actually, I had tread separation on the right outside tire, but it did not lose its air. I quickly stopped on the shoulder of the road. Before I even had a chance to get out, a Border Patrol vehicle had stopped to check on us. Of course, there is little, and in our case no, cell phone service in the hot Texas desert.

Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Jauregui was tremendously helpful and radioed his dispatch with the particulars for Good Sam ERS. A really great guy! The dispatcher verified the call had been made, but did not get an ETA. The Border Patrol agent left after about a half hour, and we began our lonely wait.

It is now 2:45 pm and still no help has arrived. Another Border Patrol Agent stopped to check on us about 10 minutes ago to verify we were ok and had plenty of water. Very nice fellas.

(Tongue planted firmly in cheek)

We are rationing the water, as Barb is concerned we may die out here in the HOT Texas desert sun. I must admit, I too am a bit concerned, but I am keeping a positive attitude so as not to upset her more. ;);)

As we look out across the desert, in all directions is nothing but yuccas and mountains in the far distance. We are on the lookout for rattlers and other wild desert animals that could do us harm.

I am writing this on Notepad on the computer, because, of course, there also is no internet in the HOT Texas desert, in hopes that someone will read this should any harm come to us. I have visions of us trying to walk out of here and with buzzards circling overhead waiting for us to fall.

Finally, after about 4 hours, a truck from Oasis Truck Center pulled up along side us. What a welcome site! We were saved!

(Tongue removed from cheek)

A big burly fella with tattoes all over his arms and some on his face, got out of the truck. He was a real gentleman and quickly got to work replacing the tire. It took him about a half hour, and left with just the cleanup for me to do. I only found one wire which had been torn by the shredded tire. I repaired that, retrieved my reflectors and finished putting my tools away. (Question: Why do the RV manufacturers run wires through the wheel well where they are vulnerable to this sort of damage? Huh?)

By 4:30, we were back on the road just 7 miles from the gate of Big Bend NP. We had planned to camp in the park, but all the campgrounds were full. At the visitors center we asked for the most scenic route we could take with the moho and were on our way. We were racing the clock against the darkness as we stopped many times to take pictures. We arrived at the turnaround point just as the sun set over the mountain. I must say, the scenery was awesome (bet you thought I was going to say spectacular again), especially since we saw most of it at sunset.

Now we had a dilemma. Where to spend the night? We drove in darkness, and I mean DARKNESS, back to the entrance, which was about 45 miles, and then on up 385 towards Marathon. About 10 miles from Marathon there was a picnic area alongside the road where we pulled into and spent the night there. It had gotten VERY windy and the stars were as bright as we had ever seen them. The wind rocked the camper through the night, but it didn't flip us over, though at times, it felt like it would. We woke up to cloudy skies and the wind had subsided.

We got up early Monday, March 15, and headed for Kerrville, TX, where we are now at the Take-It-Easy RV park. The folks here directed me to a garage where we could have the Tracker looked at. In fact, the owner drove me to the garage to talk to the mechanic. I took the Tracker in this morning and a quick analysis showed the mechanic it was not a head gasket, but, he thought, an electrical problem. Seems like a very reputable and competent fella.

A worker drove me back to the campground. Barb is at the laundry finishing up as I write this, waiting for a call from the garage.

We had a thunderstorm during the night, but right now the weather is clearing and the sun is peeking through at 11:30 am. We will spend another night here before moving on to San Antonio tomorrow, providing the Tracker gets fixed. I still have not fixed the other gremlins, but my workarounds are working ok.

So, that's my story and I'm stickin to it.

QUIZ ALERT: G.O. Where do the holes in the giant saguaro cactuses come from?

Ron & Barb