We briefly debated rerouting our trip. But there wasn’t anywhere within a reasonable distance where we could escape the heat. “How bad can it be?” we asked each other.
The answer is “very bad.”
A Flat Tire, A Blow Out, And The Kindness Of Strangers
Leaving Montgomery and heading for Huntsville, we had a flat tire. The tires were just over three years old, with very few miles on them. They looked brand new. And in case you’re wondering, Eric checks the tire pressure every morning before we travel. But apparently, very high temperatures on highways can do very bad things.
AAA sent someone out to change our tire. Lucky us, a tire store was only six miles away. We replaced the faulty tire and got back on the road after a quick inspection of the remaining tires.
“Still want to take the scenic route instead of the interstate?” asked Eric. “Of course!” said I. Six miles down the road, I yelled, “What’s that sound?” “What sound?” “THAT sound!!”
This was not just a flat. This was a rip-the-treads-off blowout. The good part is that we were on a peaceful country road. The even better part is that the explosion didn’t damage the trailer or cause a wreck.
AAA sent someone out again. The same guy, from the curiously named Lucky 13 Towing. “I should have eaten my Wheaties this morning,” he grunted, as he struggled to jack up our trailer for the second time. And then his floor jack blew a seal.
It was now 5:30, and the tire store closed at 6:00. I called, and must have sounded a bit teary, because the woman said, “Darlin’, are you safe? If you’re safe, don’t you worry. We’ll take care of you.”
And they did. They do not do service calls, but the owner came out with a heavy duty floor jack, removed the shredded tire and replaced it with our spare. We cautiously drove six miles back to the shop, not trusting our remaining tires. Jeff, the owner, (who doesn’t usually change tires) stayed until 7:30, long past closing time, to take care of us and replace all of our tires.
It all turned out well, thanks to the incredible kindness of strangers in Warrior, Alabama. Should you ever have a flat tire or a blow-out, I highly recommend that you try to plan it near Warrior Tire Pros. I’m kidding, of course—although if you need new tires and are nearby, these people are great.
This was more than just a tire fix, though. Sure, they benefitted by selling us five new tires. But the owner didn’t have to come out to help us 15 minutes before the shop closed. He didn’t have to stay an hour-and-a-half after closing to change our tires in sweltering 103 degree temperatures. We would have bought new tires from them even if we had to head to a motel for the night and return in the morning.
This was one of those experiences that nourishes my faith in humanity.
Huntsville, Alabama
Our stay in Huntsville was brief, made even briefer by our late arrival due to our tire adventure.
With only one full day to explore, we chose the Huntsville Botanical Garden. Even though we arrived near opening time, it was so blazing hot that we scurried through the garden, seeking respite wherever we could find shade. It’s a lovely garden, but it was crazy hot. We’ve never experienced anything like it. And as you know, we live in Florida now, so that’s saying something.
Click on photos for a larger image
We enjoyed our wooded, spacious, private site at Monte Sano State Park. If you ever stay there, choose a site on the perimeter (site #44, our site, was one of the best). The park offers water and electric hookups, mostly nonexistent cell coverage (the outer loop where we were staying offered the only chance of connection), and some nice hiking trails. It was so hot that the only trail we explored was the Japanese garden on the morning we were leaving.
Memphis, Tennessee: Take Two
We spent three days in Memphis in 2015 and had a fabulous time. We were very much looking forward to a return visit.
In 2015, we listened to blues on Beale Street, greatly enjoyed the Rock ‘n’ Soul museum, had a blast on a high-energy tour of Sun Records Studio, and were inspired by the excellent Civil Rights Museum.
Our visit this time was less inspiring. It was so hot that no musicians were playing outdoors on Beale Street. We had high hopes for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, but overall, felt it lacked “soul.” The best part of the museum is the ten-minute film at the entry. The exhibits were not particularly engaging, and there was a mind-numbing amount to read. Guided tours would improve the experience immensely.
We walked around town a bit, but it was too hot to do much outdoors
We did find a couple of other interesting small diversions that gave us a break from staying cooped up in our trailer with the air-conditioner running. And we found some excellent barbecue. We ordered enough smoked chicken and pulled pork at Central BBQ to have plenty of leftovers for pulled pork tacos and a couple of days of lunch salads with smoked chicken. We did our best to avoid cooking in the trailer during the heat wave.
Lesser Known Memphis Attractions
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens is a lovely little respite and offered us an entirely different perspective of Memphis. The gardens are a shaded mix of beautifully designed plantings with an appealing array of sculptures and seating areas. The gallery, once the home of philanthropists Hugo and Margaret Dixon, houses a very nice collection of Impressionist art that was part of the estate they bequeathed to Memphis.
I would really like to have that polka dot sculpture for our backyard. I love polka dots.
And we paid a visit to the giant shiny pyramid in downtown Memphis. The 32-story building houses an overwhelmingly large Bass Pro Shop, complete with a (fake) cypress swamp. We made a beeline for the Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center, where we spent an enjoyable hour browsing the excellent exhibits focused on the history of waterfowl hunting and wetland conservation.
We particularly enjoyed the hundreds of antique and contemporary carved wooden decoys. Fortunately for the waterfowl and for us, there have been some forward-thinking people, starting in the early 1900s, who realized that if they didn’t do something quickly about limiting hunting and preserving wetlands, there would be no waterfowl left at all.
Surviving A Heat Wave
Our Arctic Fox trailer has excellent insulation, and our air conditioner keeps us comfortable even in 100+ temperatures. However, the A/C runs almost constantly when temperatures are that high.
“Isn’t that noise driving you crazy?” I asked Eric. “Just ignore it,” he answered. Well, I tried. When I found myself giving our A/C the evil eye, I immediately repented, fearing that it might decide to croak since I wasn’t being grateful enough.
The reality is that it’s uncomfortable to travel in excessive heat. I had moments during the first three weeks of this trip when I questioned why in the world we had left home. Truthfully, we would have been much more comfortable at home, in a house where we can roam around freely with central air-conditioning. And the temperatures were 15-20 degrees cooler in north Florida than in Alabama or Tennessee.
When Magnolia is hot, she just sprawls out in the middle of the floor and we walk around her. I think she was wishing she brought something other to wear than her fur coat.
But as always, I’m glad we persevered, especially now that we’ve made it to Wisconsin and are in cooler temperatures. Traveling is harder than staying at home, but it’s still worth it.
Where We Stayed
For this visit to Memphis, we stayed at Tom Sawyer’s RV Park. Our friends Pam and John stayed here years ago, and highly recommended it. Although the park is actually in Arkansas, it’s only a 20-minute drive from downtown Memphis.
Our site was on the banks of the Mississippi beneath shade trees. We loved sitting outside and watching the boat traffic on the river. Barges, tug boats, and sternwheelers passed by at all times of day and night. (The opening photo of a sternwheeler was taken from our campsite.)
Riverfront campsite Tom Sawyer RV Park
The sun was relentless, even at 8:00 in the morning
A cute little tugboat chugs by on the Mississippi
The RV park offers full hookups, level cement pads, a nice little free laundry, and Verizon is decent. The views are absolutely delightful from the waterfront sites. There are several sections to the park. When I called to reserve a site, I specifically asked for a waterfront site in the shade. The newer section staked out in the blazing sun would have been unbearable in the heat. We were in site 74 and loved it.
Thanks for sharing! The heat these days in the south of the US is pretty awful. I’m glad you were able to make the best of it.
Hi Denise, yes, the heat has been absolutely awful this summer. And we certainly didn’t expect it to be hotter in Tennessee than in Florida!! We’ve had much better temps since we’ve been in Wisconsin, but today was 90. :-( I hope you’re doing well and staying cool.
Having lived through several of these kinds of heat waves in the RV, I feel for you guys. RV travels is synonymous with chasing 70 degrees and when you end up stuck in extreme heat or extreme cold, it just sucks. I’m glad you guys were at least in places that offered some indoor activities you could enjoy.
Speaking of being in good places, you really did luck out with your tire saga. First off, that is terrifying, and second, to find someone willing to help you after hours and in that crazy heat, no less? Wow. If you were going to have a terrible day, at least you had it in the perfect place.
Hopefully all this bad luck and bad weather is behind you now, and you can enjoy the rest of the summer in beautiful Wisconsin and Michigan!
Laura, I know you guys have experienced it all in the weather realm in your travels…heat, cold, rain, and smoke. It’s not fun to be in terrible conditions anywhere, but it’s definitely worse in an RV. Why is everything more extreme these days? It’s not my imagination, is it?? But as you said, we were so incredibly lucky with our tire saga.
We have generally been much more comfortable since arriving in Wisconsin and we’re looking forward to several months of outdoor adventures. And…so far, NO BUGS. Yay!!
At last, a story to renew one’s faith in people, thanks for sharing! We, too, love Tom Sawyer’s RV Park and stay there whenever we’re in that neck of the woods. When the river floods, they tow the laundry and office away and close the place down til it re-emerges from the river! Glad you’ve escaped the worst of the heat, seems the world is cooking right now. Love Magnolia in her fur coat!
Sue, we were so incredibly grateful to have such kind, generous people helping us in a very difficult situation. I will never forget their kindness. And it inspires me to make sure that I will always go out of my way to help someone in need.
Tom Sawyer’s RV Park is such a great little park! (If you’re in the shade, on the river.) It’s wild that they tow the laundry and office away in a flood…I saw the ‘high water’ signs. Don’t want to be there for that! Magnolia says thank you for noticing how lovely she is. :-)
A few years ago, if one used google satellite view to check out Tom Sawyers RV Park, one saw it underwater with just a suggestion of where the sites would be! Jesse called it to our attention when he looked to see where we were. He thought we had given him the wrong address… They’ve since taken an updated shot….phew!
Whoa….I wish I had seen that photo! That’s crazy! I hope there’s plenty of warning if the river is in danger of flooding. 😳
Oh, there is little worse for travelers than to be cooped up inside the rig during extreme temps. Flats and blowouts are, though. So glad it all worked out with a big dose of Stranger Kindness and Faith Restoration.
Just say NO to oversized polka-dotted garden pickles!
Your use of the term “sternwheeler” made me look up “sternwheeler” because we’ve always just called them paddleboats, which they are, of course, but now I know there are different kinds of paddleboats! And now I are smarter :D
Stay safe out there!
Ha! I love that oversized polka-dotted garden pickle, Joodie! It was soooo beautiful in person! But as I mentioned, I’m very partial to polka dots.
You are so right, being cooped up indoors in extreme temperatures is rough. I know you’ve experienced some of that! And flat tires and blowouts are even rougher. We were so incredibly fortunate in so many ways with that incident. I’m still humbled by the kindness and generosity of the folks at Warrior Tire.
And oh goodie, you is even smarter now that you know about sternwheelers, LOL!!
We have been so lucky (so far) to have temps in the 70s. When I read about what’s happening in much of the rest of the country, I am so, so grateful. Heat does make traveling more difficult, at least when you are out and about exploring. Those tire issues sound disheartening – and not cheap – but good that you are now safe. I’m looking forward to your post on St. Louis. I have many relatives there and have always enjoyed my visits.
Janis, you are really lucky to have temps in the 70s. This is the first summer in all of our years of travel that we’ve experienced such ridiculously high temperatures. I hope it’s not a portent of what’s to come. :-( Our tire problems were completely unexpected. We still aren’t completely sure what caused the tires to fail prematurely, but the folks at the tire shop said that it’s not uncommon in such high temperatures.
We absolutely loved St. Louis! It was our first visit, and we had a great time. I’m having fun going through the photos and writing a post about our adventures. I’m interested to hear about your favorite things to do there!
Thank you for sharing. What a wonderful life you have.
What does Magnolia do when you are visiting places in the hot heat do you leave the AC running ?
K~
Kathryn, I love that you’re concerned about Magnolia. We don’t like leaving her for very long when it’s so hot, but we always leave the air conditioner on so that she’s comfortable, and we make sure she has plenty of fresh water. Even in the heat she wants to go out and spend time in her ‘catio’ so we sit outside with her in the shade for an hour or so. She’s a good little traveler.
I hope you’re doing well and staying cool.
If you haven’t been to Graceland, be sure to go next time you’re in Memphis. We were lukewarm about going, but got encouragement from others and were happy we did! Elvis was remarkable in many ways, and Graceland tells his story with candor and grace. Hope you have a wonderful summer! We lived in Milwaukee for three years – check out the art museum and weekend festivals by the lakefront. There’s also a great coffee shop (Colectiva) downtown near the lake that makes a mean mocha shake. https://travelswithollie.com/2018/09/28/milwaukee-wi/
Well, darn. Now I wish we had gone to Graceland, Janie. We’ve gone back and forth about it both times we’ve visited Memphis, and both times decided against it. We really enjoyed our experience of Elvis’ music and history at Sun Studio, and also all that we learned about him at the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. So maybe we’ll have to make the pilgrimage to Graceland someday.
We have been loving Wisconsin and spent a week in Madison, a week on the Door Peninsula, and are now in Sheboygan. We didn’t plan to visit Milwaukee this trip, but it sounds like we need to go there at some point, too!
Magnolia clearly knows how to beat the heat. I’m glad that you were able to survive the high temperatures, even if your tires weren’t. What an ordeal.
Is the green polka dot ceramic sculpture a Jun Kaneko? I love his work.
Safe travels,
Sheila
Sheila, that is so cool that you recognized the artist! Yes, that sculpture is a Jun Kaneko. I absolutely loved it. It was actually white with black polka dots, but I think the green cast comes from the reflection of the trees surrounding it. The entire garden was lovely, and such a nice respite from the heat.
Magnolia definitely knows how to make herself comfortable. Cats are good at that, aren’t they? And letting us know exactly what they want. :-)
Your story about the tire tragedies significantly understates how difficult that whole experience must have been. I mean, the kindness of strangers is great but not having a major emergency on the road is even better. Glad you made it through safely; you know that it could easily have been a much bigger problem. I think the really hot weather really put a damper on everyone’s enjoyment of the central section of the country in late spring / early summer. It’s amazing how much weather influences our experiences of a place. It’s hard to like a place that you associate with sweating, possible heat stroke, and endless hours of A/C. But you found a few places to explore with indoor areas where you could be comfortable, and I commend you for making the most of the situation.
Shannon, I think we were so stunned by the double tire event that we just went into survival mode. As you said, we were incredibly fortunate that it wasn’t a real tragedy. With the help we got, it turned out to be not much more than an expensive several hour delay.
That heat dome, as you know, was just insane. I still can’t believe it was hotter where we were than it was in Florida. I sure hope we’re all going to find some consistently cooler temperatures during our travels in Michigan and Minnesota. Now we just need to hope for no bugs, LOL.
Hopefully, you have experienced the full downside of this adventure and things will look up from here. Poor little Magnolia looks spent. Umm…not feeling the polka dot thingy. Yes to pulled pork tacos. Hope you have landed in cooler temps. Thus far, we have been spared in South Florida. It’s hot, but not tire-blowing hot. Stay safe.
Suzanne, we’ve been having a great time now that we’re out of that horrible heat dome. You’re right, Magnolia did look spent, even though we’re very careful to keep her cool. Actually, we were all feeling pretty spent, LOL. I’m glad you’ve been spared the excessive temps in South Florida.
I’m surprised you don’t like the polka dot sculpture! Art is so subjective, and I think we either immediately like something or we don’t. I wanted it for our garden. :-)
I can so relate to your tire experience! Ours was central Tennessee and involved rain and snow instead of heat, but a similar tale of folks who worked way past closing time to help us. As you say: restorative vibes!
So glad you made it through the worst (for now). Stay cool!
Oh, so you’ve had a tire adventure, too, Gretchen! Yours sounds equally bad or worse with rain and snow. :-( I’m so glad you also had good folks come to your rescue. It really does nourish our faith in humanity, doesn’t it? I hope you guys are doing well and enjoying a beautiful Lopez Island summer.
I had no idea you’d had a flat tire AND a blow out. Add that outrageous heat and your life is beginning to sound like mine. Did you tell me about all this and senility has set in? You have lived my nightmare – a blow out. SO glad you had such helpful people to count on. Still problems are worse and everywhere is hard to enjoy no matter how possibly wonderful with SO MUCH HEAT. I feel like melting and when I can’t get outside I am not fit to be around. You have handled all of this so much better than I could have.
We did have quite a traumatic day, Sherry. And the three weeks of relentless heat were pretty daunting. You’re right, excessive heat makes everything more challenging. Although I’m grateful for our air conditioner, I don’t like being stuck indoors! Like you, I’m much happier when I spend a good part of the day outside doing something active. I hope you’re staying reasonably cool in North Carolina.
I really can’t complain, yes it was 91 degrees in Montana today but we have so little humidity and our nights usually cool down. With that said, July and August are my least favorite months in the year! Glad you have found some cooler temps in Wisconsin! Been there, done that with various rigs–Mike is fanatical about tires and we always have good tires and try to travel early in the AM if it’s hot. It happens and I’m glad all three of you are OK! Loved the photo of Magnolia all stretched out trying to stay cool. That tire shop story is truly a story to make you believe in the goodness of people! Safe travels!
Janna, it does make an enormous difference if it cools off at night—and if the humidity is low. For the most part, we’re finding lower humidity, lower temps, and cooler nights in Wisconsin. Magnolia is happy, and so are we.
We still don’t understand exactly what happened with our tires. The folks at the tire shop said that it could be that our tires were older than we realized (they might have been sitting on the shelves for a couple of years before we bought them). They looked brand new, and they were a top brand, but obviously something was wrong! From now on, we’ll only travel really early in the day if it’s excessively hot.
The saving grace with this heat dome around where we are is the low humidity … and our elevation at around 7,000 ft. So far, we’ve not seen three digits, but have come close. Nonetheless, I’m glad we ran away up into the mountains where, as I sit on the patio, it’s only 58F. Nonetheless, any hiking will be done in the early a.m. as the sun tends to be brutal this high up even when the temps are low.
Your tire blow-out woes were scary to say the least … fairly new tires, too. It’s one of the things I always fear when we are out in the RV… more so when we were in our Phaeton. Glad you are OK and there was no damage to the rig. You did indeed encounter some nice people who were willing to take care of you.
I had an electricity incident in August … in Texas … when we were full timing in the Phaeton. I was alone … Mui was in Turkey. Turns out the transfer switch had blown. The repair guy was two hours away on a job, but when he heard I was without power, he drove back right away to effect the repairs. As he said it …” no power in the Texas summer … that’s what I consider an emergency!”
Wow, an electric failure in Texas in August is definitely an emergency, Erin! I’m so glad you had someone willing to drive two hours to help you. Despite the craziness in behavior that seems to have escalated over the last several years, it’s uplifting to experience first-hand how incredibly generous and kind people can be.
I agree that lower humidity is much more comfortable when temps are high. Still, even in low humidity, 90 degrees is hot! And as you said, the sun is intense at high elevation even in low temperatures. Enjoy your escape to the mountains!
Goodness, Laurel, tire stories are always a bit terrifying, even more so actually living them. I am sure you remember our tire stories. A blow-out on the winding road to Brookings with no cell service, a blow-out on the Atchafalaya Bridge with traffic moving at 80mph, and a long wait for help. Flat tire in New Port Ritchie while we sat overnight at a Cracker Barrel. Mo is really good about keeping our tires new and in good shape, that stuff still happens. So glad you got some good help in spite of the heat and the time of day. Rather an amazing story actually.
Now for Wisconsin. Glad you two are enjoying better conditions. I know you will explore in the kind of depth that we rarely manage to do when on the road. Then I get to read about it! Traveling is harder than not traveling, as I am sure I will remember when we hit the road east in August. I do hope it is worth it. After 120,000 miles and 15 years traveling in the MoHo sometimes being at home feels better…until I actually get on the road, and then I love it again. We will see.
Sue, your tire adventures were MUCH more stressful than ours!! I was so grateful that we weren’t on a highway, that we had cell coverage, and that we were able to quickly get help (twice!). It sounds terrifying to be on the side of a highway with traffic zooming by at 80 mph. And we’ve driven that winding road to Brookings many times, and a blow-out there (with no cell coverage!) would be a nightmare!
These kinds of challenges are some of the reasons that staying at home is so much easier than traveling. But as you know, we would have missed out on SO much if we weren’t willing to take the leap into the unknown. That is impressive that you’ve traveled 120,000 miles in the MoHo!
Ugh. Traveling in an RV during a heatwave is no fun. We suffered through 100+ temps last year as we drove through Southern and Central California. Our poor A/C just couldn’t keep up.
I’m so sorry about your flat and blowout! Aren’t you lucky that you weren’t on the interstate when that happened?! A blowout is my biggest fear about driving the RV. Jeff sounds like a great person and businessman.
Les, I remember that you and Rod suffered through a terrible heat wave in California last year. We’re lucky that our Arctic Fox will keep us as cool as we want to be, but listening to the A/C running constantly was really annoying. (But I really was afraid to be cranky about it, for fear that the A/C would croak, LOL.)
If we had to have a flat AND a blowout, we couldn’t have picked a better place for it. And we were very, very lucky to have such incredibly kind people to help us.
Yikes! I’ve never seen a tire looking like that. And I share your annoyance with the constant roaring of the AC. It drives me crazy and I’d turn it off but the heat would be worse. Yeah, RV in extreme heat is no good.
Thanks for the great views of the Mississippi.
Hi Nancy, you know exactly what I mean about the A/C! No matter how great our rigs are in terms of insulation, when it’s that hot, the air conditioner has to run a lot. We used our A/C more in the first three weeks of this trip than we did in our 7-1/2 years of full-time travel!
It was really fun having a front-row seat on the Mississippi watching the river traffic go by. And it was really fun seeing them at night!
Laurel,
Two blowouts on the same day – did it in Florida three years ago. Monte Sano State Park – our niece got married there, so we camped while everyone else had to drive to a hotel. Tom Sawyer RV Park is our first or last stop going to and from California. We have more in common than I realized. When I was in college at U of Tennessee, my friends from Memphis always marveled at the temperature difference between Knoxville and Memphis–especially at night. I’m sure things are better in Wisconsin, so enjoy. Joe
Haha, we do seem to run in the same circles, Joe! Our visit to Monte Sano State Park was a bit compromised by our tire adventure and the extreme heat, but it’s a lovely park and worth a return visit. And we absolutely loved Tom Sawyer RV Park! If we ever go back to Memphis, we’re definitely staying there again. But ONLY on the river in a shady site.
That’s so interesting that there’s such a big difference in temperature between Knoxville and Memphis. When temps drop at night, it really helps. We’re loving Wisconsin. Hope you and Helen are doing well and planning another summer getaway. :-)
So glad your good karma took care of you for the tire mishap! Always feels so good to get back on the road after break-down drama. Your heat sounds brutal though. Since you did all our Memphis favs back in 2016 it was interesting to see what else you found. I love visiting botanical gardens but remember we went to one in the heat a few years ago and swore we wouldn’t do it again. Tom Sawyer is a great destination park, definitely one we recommend after one stay – and after several recommendations from other campers! We’re getting into our own hot and humid as we move south, but family awaits :-)
Aww, thanks, Jodee! We felt so incredibly fortunate and were so grateful for the kindness of strangers. Truly, an experience like that does help to restore my faith in humanity.
Of course you guys are Tom Sawyer fans, too! It’s such a lovely park. We’re not sure if we’ll return to Memphis, but if we do, we will definitely stay there again. Hope your travels south are good…hot and humid is not fun, but family makes it worthwhile!
Thank goodness there are still many very good people out there in the world. So glad you met one of them when you so desperately needed help…even if he did have a gun on his hip. When John was an assistant principal in northern PA, he came home one day and said we couldn’t continue to live there. The school was full of behavior problems. I reminded him that as the assistant all he saw all day were behavior issues. He needed to get involved with the other students. Thankfully that opened his eyes and he realized it was full of great kids. I think we as a society are seeing so many of the degenerates in our society right now (and were even led by one) that we forget the world is full of good people. They just don’t make the news as much. The southern heat is brutal! At home you had the cooling water and breeze to help. Once you head inland, there’s nothing. Glad you finally arrived in the cooler north. I’m so glad you stayed at Tom Sawyer. What a wonderful park. Is the office still on wheels so they can pull it out for flooding? Is the laundry room still on the high second floor? Fingers crossed the temps stay down for you.
Pam, I was wondering if anyone would notice the gun. It’s not something we’re accustomed to seeing! It was definitely a lesson for me in not making assumptions. People are incredibly complex, aren’t they? Honestly, I’m still humbled by the fact that he did so much to help us, and under such difficult conditions. As you said, it’s good for us to remember that the world is full of good people, especially in these challenging times.
I’m so glad you recommended Tom Sawyer RV Park to us! We loved being by the river, watching the boats go by, and we enjoyed the breeze during those crazy hot temperatures. I sure wouldn’t want to be there during a flood, though. The little office is still on wheels. And the little laundry that was near us was on wheels, too. They’re prepared, LOL. I hope you two are staying cool!
SO happy to hear that your tire issues didn’t result in any injuries or damage – which is really amazing considering the condition of that tire! Incidents like that definitely put a damper on the day but, speaking realistically, if you log a lot of miles (especially with a lot of tires) the possibility of trouble is part of life on the road. Your benefactors went above and beyond the call of duty for you. Like Pam said, there are good people out there; we just don’t hear about them often enough. Thanks for sharing your story – the staff at Warrior deserves a round of applause!
As for your delightful campsite at Tom Sawyer, all those hours of research and planning are now paying off. That site is a gem!
Mary, we’ve been fortunate in all of our travels to have had minimal tire or mechanical issues (other than self-inflicted ones, like running over a boulder, LOL). But you’re right, the possibility of trouble is part of life on the road. I know you’ve had your share of unexpected and unwelcome problems! And as I recall, you also had people who went above and beyond to help you. We need to stay focused on all of the good people in the world. :-)
As far as campsites, those many hours of research and planning are definitely paying off! So far, every campsite on this trip has been fabulous!