“Gas Shortages and Excesses”

Thursday, July 10, 2008, 11:59 pm

Wednesday was mostly a day of waiting. Scott and Kristen took Bessie babysitting duty while Kathy, Lee, and I returned the rental car to the Junction airport to prevent another day’s charge. We waited at the airport for the tranny to be done, and Scott would come pick us up in the RV when it was ready.

Mid-afternoon, the call from Scott came:
The good news: the transmission was done, in place, and ready to go.
The bad news: the RV still wouldn’t run.

It starts fine, but then immediately dies. Larry, Don, and Scott spent the rest of the afternoon pushing, pulling, and trying out many ideas, all without success. Larry called in some backup support in the form of mobile mechanic Craig, who determined that there was a gas line problem – a clogged filter, damaged line, or perhaps a bad fuel pump. I’m beginning to think that my sister may have some kind of psychic connection to Bessie. The harder it is to keep the gas flowing to Bessie, the easier it is flowing out of Kate. Man, that woman can clear an RV. I think the closer we get to Balcony House, the more her body remembers (see my Pop’s stories for further info, if you dare).

To make this long story slightly less long, it is now Thursday night, and we still don’t have a running RV. We are still in G.J. operating on a day-to-day basis, trying to get the RV rolling again. Scott, poor guy, has taken the worst duty by staying with Bessie every day, trying to help the various mechanics (and push them to do a better job). Craig still thinks there is a fuel line problem, and will pursue the issue again tomorrow. By the way, the crowd has pretty much agreed that Bessie is getting a new name – “Stationary Turd” – anyone who has seen Robin Williams ‘B’ movie “RV” will understand.

One piece of good news (pretty sure, anyway) – it looks like Kathy’s superior AAA coverage will qualify her to be reimbursed for many of the G.J. expenses while we are stalled here. It won’t pay for the repairs and tows (which are significant), but the hotels, rental cars, and eating out are also adding up. Unfortunately, that window closes tomorrow, so depending on how things go tomorrow (Friday), it’s probably time to make some difficult choices.

Meanwhile, we have made the best of our time here in the Junction. We had some good laughs at the expense of the Ramada Inn employees who didn’t realize that there was a Thrifty car rental literally next door to the hotel (dead shorts if ever there were any). We’ve stayed two nights in a decent Best Western, and today Kathy found a super nice B&B at an upscale vineyard (and for the same price – Pop would be so proud). Kathy’s adventuring skills have really been the saving grace for these diversions. She is always willing to take a detour when she thinks she sees something interesting, and it seems to always turn into something worthwhile. The winery is just the latest example. Both times we split up, she found awesome things for her and the girls to enjoy that they never would have seen if things had gone as planned.

Last night, we toured downtown Junction, another charming and pedestrian-friendly stroll. We ate at another local brew pub only to find that it was nearly identical to the one the girls visited up on the pass the day before. Our waiter insisted there was no connection, but the menus and the beer choices were the same, the decors were similar, and this one even had the same ‘growler’ half-gallon jugs of beer, only with a different label. He lies, I say!

Today we day tripped to the Colorado National Monument, another excellent introduction to canyon land territory, where we saw the 600 ton Balancing Rock (more precarious than GOG’s), Independence Monument, Coke Ovens, and we had a private porch talk from friendly ranger Briana about the geology and formation of the multiple canyons in the monument. The National Monument is much prettier than I remember another reminder that pictures never do these places any justice. After that, we went back to downtown G.J. as tonight was the weekly farmer’s market, and we had sushi and Japanese at a restaurant recommended by our latest mechanic.

We’re frustrated, but we are also having a blast, enjoying each other’s company, and making the best of it. Tomorrow’s a big day, I better hit the hay.