Angels in Overalls

We got up to overcast skies and a little bit of rain.  A bit different than the dry weather we have been having and even the forecast, which called for sunny and 87 degrees.  It did make the morning’s driving a little more pleasant and even cleaned the windshield nicely.

We bade our good-byes to Terry and Jill and drove south towards Sioux Falls.  There, after loading up on fuel, we headed west on US-20, hoping to make Valentine sometime in the afternoon.  There is a national scenic river near Valentine, listed by Backpacker magazine as one of the to 10 best rivers in the US for kayaking, so this sounded like a good destination.

It’s really great to be off the interstate.  The traffic is very light, the scenery is better, and it’s just a more pleasant experience all around.  Eastern Nebraska is very picturesque, with its rolling hills and corn fields and farms.  I enjoyed the view immensely while driving.  The landscape gradually flattens out and becomes more grassland and range land.  Must have been quite a sight early on before everything was developed into large farms.

It’s really great to be off the interstate ... until it isn’t.  Nine miles east of Ainsworth, a bridge was under construction, with a single lane open managed by traffic lights. Coming over the hill there were three rubber strips across the road to alert drivers that something is coming.  As we ran over these I thought immediately that they must be larger than normal because it was quite a bump going over them.

All of a sudden, the RV began to shimmy violently side to side and veer towards the side of the road.  I tried to correct but I seemed to have very little control over the direction of travel.  I was hard on the brakes at the same time but we were heading straight for a road sign.  I could hear on and off squealing of the tires in step with the swaying of the RV.  Must have blown a tire.

I managed to bring it to a stop a little over a foot from the sign. 

Once the dust cleared and we managed to put our hearts back where they belonged, I opened the door and looked at the tire.  It was not flat, but it was not pointing the direction that the steering wheel told it to point.  Looks like we broke a tie rod.  The two front wheels were pointing in wildly different directions.

We even left a stripe on the road with the front left tire:

We still had cell service so we got on the internet looking for some phone numbers.  Ainsworth seemed like a good start.  A small-ish town, but larger than many of the little bergs we have been driving through for the last few hours.

I called the only car lot in town.  The Ford dealer.  He said they didn’t do RVs, but that I should try Frontier Diesel.  I called them up and told them I was on the side of the road with a broken tie rod.  He said He could maybe get a part tomorrow, or maybe a week from now.  I asked him about towing.  He told me he had the only heavy tow truck in town, and it was down for repairs.  “You may be able to get a tow from North Platte,” he said.  North Platte is two and a half hours away, on the interstate.

I called another shop.  He suggested I call the local police department, which I did.  The woman told me she would contact the service they always use and get back to me.  Fifteen minutes later, she got back to me.  “They are on their way,” she told me.  “Frontier Diesel should be there in 15 minutes.”

Umm, wait a minute.  Their truck is broken.

I called Frontier Diesel.  He told me that Robbie was on the way.  I asked about the tow truck.  “We did get a call from the police, but I’m looking at the tow truck in the back, and it ain’t going anywhere,” he told me.  “Robbie is coming out with some zip ties and wire and will take a look.”

I told him that this was a bit beyond zip ties and wire, but that I would wait until Robbie got here.

I should have known better.

Robbie arrived, carrying zip ties and a roll of wire, and immediately crawled under the front end.  He cut off a section of wire, doubled it over a couple of times, and reached into the wheel well, grunting a few times with the effort.

Presently, he slid out from under the vehicle.  “That should hold for a little while, enough to get you into town, if you take it easy,” he said.  He then called his boss to figure out what to do next.  I stuck my head under the RV to see what he had done.

​Wow, who would have thought?  Held together with zip ties and wire.  No tow truck necessary.​  Any old-time farmer would have been proud.  A lot of their equipment is probably held together by zip ties and baling wire.

Robbie made several phone calls.  He then had a couple suggestions.  He told us he would back the RV up the hill to the intersection towards Long Pine, and then drive it into town, where there was a small RV park with some open spaces.

We did just that.  He backed the RV slowly up the hill and Deb and I hopped in his diesel pickup and drove behind him.  We drove the half-mile into Long Pine at 15 miles per hour.  Once the RV was backed into place in the Up Top Creek RV Park, we plugged it in and turned on the roof air conditioner.  The thermostat registered 99 degrees.  It may take a while to be comfortable.

Robbie told us they would have a new tie rod early tomorrow morning.  He will gather the necessary tools and come out here to replace the tie rod.  Then we’ll drive into Ainsworth, taking it easy to avoid damage to the tires.  They’ll put it on their alignment rack and do the final adjustments and then we’ll be on our way.

We talked with Robbie for a bit.  They are super busy as they only have two technicians.  They used to have four.  Hard to keep techs around when the larger cities pay more.

He hopped in his pickup and drove off.  We were looking at a tow from over two hours away, going to who-knows-where, and were rescued by this tobacco chewing, overall-clad angel who took pity on stranded strangers and went way above and beyond for us.

This reminded us of another incident from 25 years ago, in Dubois, Wyoming, when another RV stranded us in a gas station.  A guy in another flat-bed pickup truck went way above and beyond and helped get us on the road again.  But that’s another whole story.

We made dinner and then unloaded the bikes for a ride.  We discovered that this RV park is right next to the Cowboy Trail, which is one of the longest rail-trail projects in the United States.  We rode towards Ainsworth, stopping on the trestle above Long Pine Creek.  Really cool view of the creek far below and of the trestle itself, 115 feet above the creek.

Eight miles later, we arrived in Ainsworth.  We couldn’t make it there in the RV, so we accomplished it on bikes.  We looked around briefly for an ice cream store, but there was none.  The town is too small.  But it does have a diesel repair shop, and for that we are grateful.

We arrived back at the RV just as it got dark.  It felt good to get out and stretch the legs for a while.  So in the midst of this trouble, we were treated with a delightful bike ride, some great views, a great sunset and are staying overnight in a town we never even knew existed.

243 miles covered today.