Travel Log 21: October 2010 - Puddle, Puddle, Tire Trouble!

Bound for Zion National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, we followed Nevada State 93 to Ely and then the 56 to Cedar City, Utah. Overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot there.

 

The next day, after a quick breakfast at McDonalds (inside the Wal-Mart) we hopped in the truck to leave. Just before driving out of the parking lot, I shout "MY PURSE!" I realized I left my purse in McDonalds. I did what I never do, and hung it over the back of the chair. I can hear Adrian's mom say "beware the unguarded moment!" So true, so true.

 

I sprinted across the entire parking lot -- which sounds graceful and athletic, but rather felt like I was churning butter. I arrive at the counter in McDonalds, on the verge of dry heaves from my exertion (note to self, more cardio needed), and breathlessly sputter "puh…puh…pur-r-r-rse?" An employee had indeed found my purse and returned it to me. Disaster averted, but I have to say my little voice was again telling me it was an omen for the day.

 

On our approach to Zion down Utah I-15 then Route 9 East, the weather turned…hard. Before entering the park, we went to the Visitor Center. We were told that we had missed -- by literally one day -- months of 100 degree weather. The downpour we drove through was welcomed by the residents, but highly unusual for this time of year. We asked about taking our RV through the accessible portion of Park road and were told no problem at all.

 

Upon arriving at the actual Zion park entrance, we were turned away because only RVs 50 feet or less in length are permitted to navigate the windy road. We are 60 feet long. The park rangers halted 4 rows of traffic while we drove through the entry gate, made a large U-turn, and returned the way we came. So, technically, we have been in Zion, but only by inches!  Another note to self;  more thorough research on the Park's particulars before changing our route at the last minute!

 

Back to I-15 and State Road 59/389 to Fredonia.  Then the 89 to Jacob Lake. Jacob Lake was as close as we could get to the North Rim and still enjoy a proper RV park with hookups. Within the North Rim Park itself there are dry camping opportunities, but we had dry-camped a lot in the Wal-Marts along our route south. We were desperate for a water fill and the luxury of electricity so we could spark up the satellites and check our email.

 

The rain just kept getting worse and worse. Thunder, lightning and hail. Three times with the hail!

 

For those of you still following our adventures on your maps at home, you will note that Jacob Lake is really in the middle of nowhere in northern Arizona. Miles and miles of nowhere. Jacob Lake itself is little more than a crossroads with a gas station, a store and large campsite in which we were booked. 

 

We drove into the campsite to find dirt and old, gnarly ponderosa pines so tall and close together they block out the sun (but not the rain!). It is gloomy, wet, dirty and we are pooped from our almost-travels to Zion and the resulting double-back. 

 

We also discover at this moment that the trailer has blown a tire. I mean blown. The tire we lost was the passenger-side front tire. We had stopped at a rest area approximately an hour before this arrival and all was fine. An hour later, we had a bare rim with only a literal ribbon of rubber as evidence that there was once a tire attached. We stood in utter amazement that neither of us felt any evidence of a flat tire -- no sound, no change at all in how the trailer tracked behind the truck -- and neither of us caught it in the mirror. 

 

We limped into our assigned gloomy campsite and called our roadside assistance program. Within two hours, someone was dispatched to this very remote area and changed our bad wheel out for the spare in the pouring rain. Really a great result, considering. 

 

The evidence of the hard rains of that day was further revealed when we rolled open our slides and found a large portion of the living room carpet to be soaking wet. Shortly after this, and somewhat later in the evening we realized that we did not, in fact, have any water pressure from our site. It seemed comical to be surrounded by water everywhere outside, have it seeping into the carpet, but have none from the tap. 

 

Turns out some campground employees were attempting repairs and had cut both the water and electrical lines. Some sites didn't have electric -- although we did -- but no one had water. With only a dribble left in our fresh water tank and nowhere else to go, we decided to cut short our stay. Instead of two nights we would just get through this one, make a run up to the North Rim very early in the morning, and head further south for the next night.

 

With all the (unexpected) rain, the ground in this camp was getting soggier and soggier. Even though we leveled the trailer after all was done with the tire change, our slide-side continued to sink throughout the evening. This meant that our bed was on an angle with the head-end on the low side. We put our pillows at the foot end and spent the night trying to sleep between the rain drops which sounded like pelting water balloons. 

 

The next morning, we went burning up to the North Rim, which is a 45 minute drive. The drive is desolate, and that day, socked in with fog becoming more and more dense as we approached the Rim. Temps were in the 39 to 48 degrees F (4 to 6 degrees C range). Quite understandable when you realize that our destination at the North Rim lodge is over 8,800 feet in elevation.

 

We arrived and, since we couldn't see anything, decided to have brunch at the lodge. The dining room was freezing cold and the floor-to-ceiling windows, which we supposed usually beheld the natural wonder, were completely fogged over. It was like dining in a dreary, grey cloud which in fact, we were.

 

After brunch, we hung around for another hour or so, and the weather did clear enough to reveal patches of the incredible North Rim. We snapped a few pics and sped back to the mud bog to pack up and get further south. Get us out of here!

 

More later

 

Love B (for A, B & b)