Saturday, September 7, 2013

THE CLIMB IS OVER…WE DID IT…ALMOST

Friday, September 6 – Paul thought about those mountains most of the night. They had him worried about the truck's ability to make the climb. He sure will be happy to see Utah and have today behind him!

It was a gorgeous day.
gorgeous day


We headed out early with frightening expectations! The anticipated climbs never happened! All the steep grades were downhill.....YEAH! Paul shifted into 2nd gear on those steep down hills and took it slow and easy. No problem......YET. (That should keep your interested).

Glad we didn't have to use this.
truck ramp


We did make a short climb to the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnel – elevation 11,158, highest point along the interstate highway system in the USA. Again, for us it was a mostly a downhill experience.

Eisenhower tunnel

inside tunnel

Downhill again.
downhill


So, if you plan on driving I-70 across Colorado travel from the East to West. I don't think I want to go the opposite direction......ALL BIG CLIMBS!

A little highway humor.
truckers sign


Once we reached Vail, CO, we were out of the worst of the mountains and were cruising right along. Bella just loved the ride through the White River National Forest. She really stretched her neck looking at the canyon walls. Neat!

bella

We crossed into Utah via I-70 having less than 90 miles to reach our destination (Moab, UT) suddenly Paul says....”Oh no....we got a problem!” A FLAT TIRE on the 5trh wheel. He quickly pulled over and hesitantly walked back to inspect the damage. The tire was destroyed and some of the tread was wrapped around the axle. Paul was disappointed that our Pressure Pro Tire Monitor did not give us any warning of the blowout.  The only indication of a flat was seeing the rubber flying all over the highway.

flat tire

tire

The only other damage was a broken ground wire and a missing docking light lens. Man, it could have been a HECK of a lot worse!

We called our Coach Net roadside assistance, and they dispatched a truck that arrived 90 minutes later as promised. The repair guy, Sheldon, was wonderful and had us on the road in no time. Luckily, we had a spare tire under the 5th wheel.

DSC06321

Sheldon under tire

fixing flat

blown tire

So our time in Moab will have to be shared with shopping for a new tire and fixing those few items in the wheel well. All-in-all it was a scary experience, but we came through in pretty good shape. We know the good Lord was looking over us!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!