The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Our progress over the past 10 days has been steady with lots of interesting experiences which I am calling the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The Good is that despite some set-backs this entire trip continues to be magical. The interactions with our family, the interesting places that we stay, and the on-going magnificence of the scenery has contributed to a wonderful experience.

The Bad is that our feckless ways finally caught up with us and upon arriving in Reno we learned that our travel trailer (the “Magic Bullet”) was in serious condition. It is a 24’ Keystone Bullet Ultra-Lite and simply was not built for over a thousand miles of unpaved roads. The frame was broken and torqued in the left back corner and cracked on the right. All four tires had worn from the insides because the bearings were shot and we had issues with the springs. Wow! We were told again and again how very, very fortunate we were that we made it to Reno and did not break down on the road.

Also Good, is the fact that my cousin in Reno built race cars there for many years and knows everybody in the metal fabricating business. He found us an outstanding company that took on the work of rebuilding a frame and another company to handle the bushings, bearings, & etc. Discount Tire replaced two of the tires, using our two good spares to replace the other two. We left Reno confident that we were road worthy again.

Goodness continued with our journey on US 50 across the desert from Fallon NV to Delta UT. This road may be lonely but it is also very beautiful. The weather was great (temps in the 70’s). Northern Nevada has a multitude of mountain ranges and high plains that are just marvelous. There are also lots of archeological sites, gemstone and mineral deposits, and Great Basin National Park. We camped at Cave Lake State Park; a sweet little canyon nestled in the mountains on a small reservoir.

Next morning we started out to access I-70 and start our cross country trip in earnest.

 I-70 ends at I-15 in southern Utah and driving it eastward to Denver is as good as driving hundreds of miles through a national park. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I knew we really were homeward bound because we kept going despite the temptation to turn south and do the Great Circle of national parks. We passed the turn-offs to Capital Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands but gritted our teeth and continued driving, promising ourselves that we will return. Our destination for the day was Fruita, CO and about 4:30 I called ahead and made reservations

.

The Bad: At about 5:30, we blew a tire on the travel trailer. It made a single “pop”; like bubble gum popping, we heard it and Butch pulled over instantly. The TT stayed under control and nothing was damaged. A deputy sheriff stopped and helped Butch change the tire and we reached our campground just as it began to pore down rain. I hardly remember the campground at Fruita as we came in after dark and left early in the morning.

This morning we took the tire to Discount Tire in Grand Junction CO. The tire that blew was one of our spares (it was four years old but has never been on the ground). Turns out the shop in Reno did not mount the tires as recommended. We were given two new tires and they remounted all four. Very Good.  Also good was the continuation of our drive on I-70 along the Colorado River, through the Glenville Gorge and on to Idaho Springs where we are tonight. 

The Ugly? When we got back into the lower 48 the ugliness of the political situation hit us right between the eyes. We saw signs and heard conversation that made us want to go hide in the wilderness again. After a summer of wandering around among extremely diverse people and environments it is saddening to realize what a narrow view some people have of the world.

Our plan is to continue through Denver today and start across Kansas. We may even reach Lawrence tonight. I am very much looking forward to visiting with my college roommate who lives there.