Detour - Road Hazard

Oh, so much to tell...where should we begin?

What would a trip around the US be without some Road Hazard adventure? Let me just start by saying the Reta and I are fine but as for Road Hazard, there are a few pieces missing. I managed to salvage a few larger ones but there were to many small pieces laying about. Let me back up and give you the play by play of our journey from Moab to the Grand Canyon.

It started as usual, packing everything in the RV, stowing everything into the basement and hooking up the pickup truck. I was excited because we got out early and would avoid the mid-day heat. Moab is a beautiful city and one that I would definitely go back to visit again. Make sure you bring all your toys: bikes, kayaks, hiking shoes, and 4WD vehicle.

The entire drive from Moab to the Grand Canyon would be on 2 lane roads. My atlas has these roads marked as "Scenic Roads" and that they were. Once we reached the Navajo Territory the landscape changed into deep canyons and huge red rocks towering above. We switched off driving to stay fresh behind the wheel and when I resumed my second shift we had just crossed into Arizona. A little after that we turned onto route 64 that follows the South Rim of the Grand Canyon all the way into the park. It was turning into another beautiful drive. Once again we crossed into Navajo country and passed a roadside stand for the "Big Chief". All the nick-naks you could possible want was sold in this place, according to the sign by the freeway. Just as I finished reading the big red sign that said "You Passed the Chief" we heard this loud rattling sound. Were the Indians shooting at us because we hadn't stopped? My first reaction was to make sure the Pick -Up truck was not trying to pass us again. Nope, still there. It sounded like when you were a kid and would put a playing card in your bike's spokes to get that neat sound...rat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat tat. Only this sound was much louder as if it were amplified from a boom box.

Our previous experiences have taught us to remain calm as I gently steered the Road Hazard off the highway. Reta and I looked at each other as if asking what had just happened. I had seen previous signs in the road indicating "Soft Shoulder" and once the right wheels of RH hit it, I quickly understood its meaning. The whole thing leaned quickly to the right as if it were going to flip over. I gently steered the rig back onto the highway so that the left side was encroaching the highway driving lane but not leaning so badly.

We jumped out to inspect what had happened but by this point we had a feeling that we had blown a tire. When we do something we like to make sure we do it all the way. When the rear right outer tire blew it created a tongue of rubber and steel that ripped apart the rear basement and in the process tore the fender off the side of Road Hazard.

(note the basement door is fine it's open here so that you could see the hole in the floor)

As Reta proceeded to call our Road Side Assistance I tried to salvage the couple of flares that survived the pounding from the rubber tongue in that compartment. I called the police to come out to lay some more flares because the rig was sitting partially in the road and was leaning at a severe angle. About 25 minutes later an Arizona Highway officer showed up. I asked if he had any additional flares that we could lay out and he said that cones are used in this area because of the risk of starting a fire. Uh oh! I scanned the flares that I had laid out and the landscape around us to make sure I didn't start any wildfires. I don't want to be on CNN.

(Officer Brian and Reta enjoying the afternoon)

The police officer turned out to be a great guy. He laid out many cones and hung out with us until we were back on the road. We pulled some lawn chairs out, popped a few soda's open and sat in the shade of the RV. Brian, the officer, had some great stories to share with us. He also talked about some weapons that he had on his utility belt. Tazer, pepper spray, etc. About an hour and half went by before Floyd, the tire guy, showed up to change our flat. Now remember, this RV is heavy and you need the right tools to attempt to change a tire. We had a spare but it needed to be mounted on the rim. Floyd was a good ol' fellow. "Be'in changing tires for years." His deep raspy voice could be heard above the roar of the air compressor on the back of his truck. He pulled out this little jack that I thought was only big enough to lift a motorcycle. He assured me that size didn't matter. Remember the sign about "Soft Shoulder"? As Floyd began to lift the RV with this little jack it also started to bury itself into the soft shoulder. I asked if he wanted a piece of wood to prevent any sinking. NO, it'll be fine! I've heard that before...right before something bad usually happens.

Floyd showed his experience by quickly getting the flat shredded tire off and mounting the spare on the rim. He then put the new tire on and was under the RV securing some loose pieces so that we could drive without anything rubbing and causing another flat. WHAM! In a split second the RV had fallen off the jack. Officer Brian and I were standing close by and all we saw of Floyd was his two legs sticking out from under the RV! My first reaction was to put my hands up like I was going to stop the RV from leaning any further. Officer Brian was quick to see if Floyd was still alive. "Floyd? Do you want us to pull you out? Are you OK?" The only sound that came out from under the RV was the hissing sound escaping from the air bag suspension. After, what seemed like a lifetime, we heard Floyd reply that he was fine. We pulled him out and his eyes were wide as the gaping holes in his mouth where teeth used to be years ago. He brushed it off like it was nothing but I suspect that once he left us he had to put on some clean underwear. Can you imagine?

After our day of sitting by the highway for 3.5 hours with Officer Brian we decided to bypass the Grand Canyon and instead head south to Flagstaff for some much needed repairs. Tomorrow we'll find out more details about repairs. As for the tire? After Floyd inspected the tattered doughnut he concludes that we must have driven over something that caused the tire to explode and rip the huge tongue that licked the bottom of the RV until only pieces were left.

Chalk it up to another - ROAD HAZARD.