The Big Road Trip – Day 4

Okay! It’s time to play catch-up. I apologize for not posting about Friday or yesterday. I’ve had to keep up with some business – plus, I had my first and, hopefully, only challenge during this adventure. So, here is Day 4 – Friday. Actually, Friday was Day 3.. This post would have been written at the beginning of Day 4. I'm just behind a little. So, these are actually the events of Friday.

It was a beautiful day again. I did believe it was going to be cooler, but it wasn’t – it was running about 90 degrees a good part of the day. Fortunately, the AC, still kept the old Caddy RV comfortable, even without the blower motor working. I did find less expensive gas in Nebraska and Wyoming. That made me feel better.

It took just short time to get to Nebraska. The traffic was light and the speeds were pretty high on the Interstate. As I crossed Nebraska I didn’t realize that I was continually climbing in altitude. I was getting into the high plains, low oxygen range. Bugs started to disappear and eventually I was splattering them on the windshield of the car any longer. The mountains were getting bigger, too. And the sky – it was awesome. I was coming into Big Sky Country and now I know why they call it that.

All in all the scenery was awesome. The driving was exhilarating and I was making excellent time. My plan was to make it across Nebraska and to Cheyenne, Wyoming before dark and pull in for the night in Cheyenne. The plan was solid and I was right on target to do just that until . . . until just before exit 29 on I-80, the Dix, WY exit, flying along at 82 mph – through a steadily increasing wind, I moved over from the left lane to the right lane. In the process, I slipped just a little too far right, crossing the white line on the shoulder side of the road. I hit the rumble strip they now put on many interstate highways to wake a driver up if he or she is nodding off. I was having no problem with nodding off. I was wide awake and exhilarated as I was watching the early phases of a western Wyoming, Big Sky sunset. Well, running at sustained speeds of 82 mph for long durations (I had probably been driving at that speed for well over two hours non-stop) causes the tires to heat up – a lot. That causes the tires to change some of their properties during the heating process.

Well, when I hit the rumble strip, it was enough to destabilize the right front tire and it blew out instantly. WOW! Is that exciting at 82 mph. I don’t recommend trying it unless you either have a death wish or just totally love defying death. But, here is the thing. I never felt like I’d lose control of that Caddy Seville STS. It handled like a champ all the way. Now, it was a bit disconcerting to see smoke coming up from the right front of the car as I braked and brought the car over to the should – about a hundred yards before Exit 29. But, I never felt panic because the car was totally controllable. I love that car. It is probably the finest handling car I’ve driven out of the 22 or 23 cars I’ve owned over my lifetime.

Well, there I was – I gave myself a minute or so to relax and then got out to assess the damage. All I can say is I’ve never seen a tire with almost its entire side ripped wide open around almost the entire 360 degree circumference of the tire. It was totally destroyed – kaput. I then proceeded to unpack my carefully packed trunk to get to the “donut” spare tire that is located under the floor of the trunk. New challenge. That tire had never been out of there since the car was new.14 years ago. I couldn’t get the bolt that secures the floor piece over the tire and the tire – loose. I tried and tried with no luck.

My GPS has just happens to have a direct connection with AAA U.S. and uses a blue tooth connection through my cell phone. So I pushed the “Roadside Assistance” AAA button on my GPS and viola – like magic, within just a couple seconds I was talking to a AAA rep somewhere – it was like having God speak to me from on high. I was not a AAA member, so they had a special promotion that saved me money and they signed me up as I sat there disabled on I-80 near Dix, NE. They then transferred me to a NE AAA rep who within about 20 minutes located a AAA service center and had someone on the way.

So, tire changed, spare in place,.I threw all the stuff back in the car anywhere it would fit and I was back on the road from time of blowout until key in the ignition and rolling – in about an hour and 40 minutes (and considering that the AAA guy had about a 30 minute drive from the time he received the call. I consider that pretty darn good. But, it was now dark. New plans had to be made.

I didn’t think it was wise and prudent to limp on I-80 with 80 mph traffic – especially the 18 wheelers and me doing 55 to 60 mph – and that is pushing the envelope on those mini spare tires. So, I decided not to proceed to Cheyenne as originally planned, which, by the way, is where the next (and nearest) Walmart with a tire department was located. I decided to find a place a place to pull in for the night. I limped up the road to the next exit where motels were advertised – about 8 miles. And there I found a Super 8 motel with a vacancy. Welcome to Kimball, Nebraska – where they have a professional rodeo every Saturday from June 6th on through the summer.

I found an open Subway (one of only a very few places open in the little, old cowboy town of Kimball at 8:30 PM. I ordered a sandwich and went back to the Super 8. I secured a room, threw my bags down and fell on the bed, pretty darn tired. I ate half my sandwich and saved the balance for lunch the next day (Saturday). I was too tired to do a blog posting or much of anything else. So, I just relaxed and got a good night’s sleep.

The next posting will continue and conclude the “blowout saga.”

Enthusiastically,
Ed