Rocinante died. Well, almost. “What do you mean ‘the truck won’t make it’? It drives very well,” said Andy to the garage mechanic, after a mid-summer check of his Ford Ranger. “I know it has 189,000 miles, but it handles beautifully, and you replaced the clutch nine months ago. It doesn’t burn any oil, and it gets 23 miles to the gallon on the highway.” Andy figured that his 10-year old Ranger would be ready for the junk yard after our 15,000-mile trip, but it seemed such a shame to buy a new truck with the exact same gas mileage as his trusty Ranger. Often Andy commented, “The trucks today are a disgrace. Companies have done nothing in ten years to improve performance. I’d buy a new truck in a minute if they got better mileage than what I have now.” Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. Andy had even planned to buy a cheap box cover and sleep in the back bed if circumstances dictated. That was the master plan after a couple months of checking out new vehicles. Enlightening discoveries: new trucks are either four-cylinder or eight-cylinder and bed covers for old trucks don’t come cheap. "Fours" wouldn't even make it up the mountains, and the "eights" would bankrupt us in gas. I telephoned local junk yards and used parts dealers for Ranger tops… unsuccessfully. “All I can tell you, Mr. B,” explained the garage mechanic, “is that this truck isn’t going to make it in my opinion. The gas line looks rusty, the muffler and tail pipe clamps are falling off, and the head gasket shows major wear. The Ranger will probably last you a year around here, but I wouldn’t trust the long distances. Rangers are notorious for dying around 200,000 miles, and you are getting close.”
“Okay, so what are we going to do now?” asked Andy as he walked in the back door. “I don’t really want to buy a new truck.”
“My Saturn?” I offered, immediately regretting the suggestion.
“Sure, that would work,” he jumped at the mention. And from that point on, Little Red was our vehicle of choice, and the decree of one suitcase per person became the law of travel preparation.
I remember this car!! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat posts so far Mrs. B! Glad you guys are having a great time. :)
Sue, why am I up until almost eleven reading your blog!?!? Time to stop living vicariously, and get some sleep.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your blog very much. The writing is good, the pictures are good, but you're really capturing a lot thoughts I had about this great country when I saw it by car over ten years ago. Keep having fun!