Out West - Day 44

Friday, October 17, Day 44 - driving to Yosemite National Park.

This day could just as well have been a "Friday the 13th" for the trouble we've encountered since we left the LA area this morning. Before we even got out of the LA area, we had to climb several loooooonnnngg hills. At one point, the engine temperature warning light and alarm went off, so I had to pull over to the side of the road on a hill and shut everything down for about 20 - 30 minutes to let the engine cool down before we could resume. I was able to keep the engine temp from climbing to "alarm" levels, but at one point I decided to pull off the highway (I-405/I-5) to get fuel and to let the engine "rest" awhile. This turned out to be a disaster of epic proportions, as I caught the car on a post as I was pulling into a tight turn to get to the diesel pump. The passenger side front and rear doors are a bit dented and scraped, but the doors still work. We had to disconnect the car from the motor home to get it away from the post, and that took some doing, since the car was wedged against the post, thus twisted, and I was not able to release the hitch pins without the help of a couple of gentlemen who were kind enough to assist. They were also helpful in directing us to a truck repair shop in the town where we stopped. I wanted to get the radiator steam cleaned to get the "gunk" which was clogging the fins off. I was certain that this was the cause of the overheating. This took a couple of hours, but we got it done and got back on the road by 2:30PM. Everything was fine until about 5:15, or so, when we blew a rear tire!! I called my RV roadside assistance company (like AAA), and reported the problem to them. They contacted a tire dealer, and a tire repair truck showed up at about 7:00PM. The mechanic got the outside right-rear tire off and changed the blown tire with a new tire. Then, before he put the new tire on, he checked the other tire, the inside rear tire, and it was blown, as well. Great! Now I need to buy another tire. He had to call his garage to let them know that he needed another tire, and they got that one out to us in about 1/2 hour. They changed that tire, as well, and got us back on the road shortly after 8:00PM. We are now parked in a Rest Area on CA 99, hoping that the worst is over. We have an appointment at a Freightliner Truck Repair center in Fresno at 7:30AM, Monday, to have the radiator checked, and have the "gunk" problem resolved (we hope!). In the meantime, we will be checking out Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. After we get the motor home worked on, we will continue our trek north to Yosemite National Park.

I don't want to bore you with minor details about HOW F---ing MUCH THIS DAY HAS COST US, so let's leave it a "an arm, a leg, and then some!".

I have no pictures for you today, as we don't have time to post any (who wants to see pictures of a damaged car and motor home, anyway?).

Tune in again tomorrow (maybe) for more exciting details of our trip!

Go Red Sox!!!