Spared (but some expense...) - December 1, 2018
My cousin Jack, a Baptist pastor, has a wonderful saying. “You don’t know what you’ve been spared!” And I would agree with that for the most part, but I’ve had three things happened over the past few days where I have said a very loud “Phew!” and prayed “Thank you!”
Something you need to know about me is that, in spite of all the high-jinx, I get myself into, I am actually very cautious. Not out of common sense, oh no. Rather, because I am very anxious. When hubs Laur says, “What could possibly go wrong?!”, I have a list of responses. And while I am very friendly and helpful, I am not a positive thinker. I have a saying of my own. “Positive thoughts don’t keep planes in the air.” But I digress.
Thing One.
Laur and I decided to hike Pete Mountain in the Santa Rita Range. If you aren’t from around here and you aren’t a hiker, all you need to know is that there is a lot of very steep climbing and down-hilling in this hike. And not many people do it. I should have taken my first hint from there – you know, “Sometimes the road less taken is less taken for a reason…” The second hint was more than just a hint – it was a repeated number of piles. Piles of bear scat. OK, but it could have been left a day or so ago. And then we came across a pile that was just STEAMING!!!
We had already been making lots of noise, but now we started singing at the top of our lungs and banging our hiking sticks together. Songs like, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain…” You may be wondering why we just didn’t pull out the bear spray… One of us – the one who carries the heaviest pack – didn’t think we’d really need it. We will now not leave home without it AND we have bought a very loud whistle as well. (Thank you anyway, hubs.)
Thing Two.
I jog-walk twice around our RV park every morning, starting at 7 am. This is not virtuousness on my part. It’s a form of medication. It helps to burn off a little of my adrenalin before I start my day. I move slowly and am always careful not to land on those strips of asphalt that have been used to fill in cracks. Not out of superstition (Step on a crack, break your ___’s back.) No, I have been warned that these strips and rattlesnakes can look pretty similar once the sun sets.
Me, I was jog-walking in the morning and oh that Arizona sun. So bright and dazzling. So dazzling that I did not realize I’d sauntered over a rattlesnake until I was on the other side. I kept on going, I can tell you. And then I circled back. It wasn’t moving so it was likely sleeping because of the cold, or it was dead.
On round two I brought our phone-camera with me but by then the snake was gone. I expect one of our snake patrollers – this is a common feature in AZ senior trailer parks – had collected it or tossed it over the fence. Note to Jan. You know that advice about not landing on things that look snake-like? Keep on keepin’ on!
Thing Three.
On Monday morning, Laur and I had our hearts set on hiking the Butterfly Trail at Mt. Lemmon. I’m not a huge fan of hiking near the top of Mt. Lemmon – it’s a long drive to the base, and then there are miles and miles of a twisty-turny road with a steep cliff beside it. But I had brought a good book to read – thinking I would get through the first few chapters, but be too tired to read it on the way home. We had a 10 mile hike planned with lots of ups and downs. Turns out, because of the turn our day took, I ended up reading it all. Anyhoo…
A little more than half way up Mount Lemmon, an alarm went off in our car! I looked up from my book and looked at Laur who was looking horrified and who yelled...well, “Insert scared-shirtless language here.” I asked, “What’s wrong?!” while Laur veered left toward the cliff side but did a U-ey, landing us in a “stop here to view the sites” mini-stop.
He didn’t turn off the car – he sat there reading the messages it was spitting out, repeatedly.
STOP THE ENGINE
ENGINE OVERHEATING
COOLANT LOW
STOP THE ENGINE
ENGINE OVERHEATING
COOLANT LOW
STOP THE ENGINE
Something smelled funny and our hood looked kind of steamy. (Laur adds, “No, it didn’t!” He’s a little protective of our car.) And I think this message must have come up because he turned off the car…
STOP THE DANG ENGINE YOU IDIOT! (His words, not mine.)
We were both in a relative state of shock. Scared because of the messages and the smell and the steam and our precarious location. But in a qualified kind of way. Our 20 year old Caddie had just been to the shop for its annual physical and 21 point check-up, and the only thing we were advised to consider was changing our windshield wipers. Snow and rain are not a big thing here, so we took that under advisement.
We got out of the car. Laur opened the hood. Something was sure hot and bothered in there. He got out the owner’s manual and it was not terribly reassuring, warning things like “If you get this message (like the ones we got), your car could catch on fire and you need to get out before you burn to death.”
I sat on a post, reading my novel. Laur sat on another, reading the owner’s manual. And I must say, I was impressed by the number of people who stopped by to ask if we needed help. I wanted to say YES every time! But I knew my hubs wasn’t in a conversational kind of mood.
Finally, a couple stopped and asked if we could take their picture, and I volunteered my hubs (who initially was going to take their pic with our camera but was encouraged to used theirs.) And then the lad said, “Got some trouble with your car?” Laur could hardly say, “No, I just want the engine to see the views.”
The lad felt the coolant lid and thought it was fine to unscrew – which he did. We didn’t have a way to measure the level except – fortunately – we had a huge container of the stuff in our trunk. Our coolant container took the whole jug and asked for more. Which we got at the bottom of the mountain.
We did manage to get home without further incident and Laur phoned our mechanic right away. We got a 7 am appointment the next morning. That means serious business. And as it turns out, some serious money – new water pump, new thermostat, new hose. All of this much cheaper than buying a new used car, and far less stressful for us. Because when we get a new car, we have to replace the asphalt in our driveway, which means we have to replace our deck. This may not make any sense to you – but it does to us.
And I think I have a new saying … “Positive thoughts don’t keep cars from careening off high mountains.”
Something you need to know about me is that, in spite of all the high-jinx, I get myself into, I am actually very cautious. Not out of common sense, oh no. Rather, because I am very anxious. When hubs Laur says, “What could possibly go wrong?!”, I have a list of responses. And while I am very friendly and helpful, I am not a positive thinker. I have a saying of my own. “Positive thoughts don’t keep planes in the air.” But I digress.
Thing One.
Laur and I decided to hike Pete Mountain in the Santa Rita Range. If you aren’t from around here and you aren’t a hiker, all you need to know is that there is a lot of very steep climbing and down-hilling in this hike. And not many people do it. I should have taken my first hint from there – you know, “Sometimes the road less taken is less taken for a reason…” The second hint was more than just a hint – it was a repeated number of piles. Piles of bear scat. OK, but it could have been left a day or so ago. And then we came across a pile that was just STEAMING!!!
We had already been making lots of noise, but now we started singing at the top of our lungs and banging our hiking sticks together. Songs like, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain…” You may be wondering why we just didn’t pull out the bear spray… One of us – the one who carries the heaviest pack – didn’t think we’d really need it. We will now not leave home without it AND we have bought a very loud whistle as well. (Thank you anyway, hubs.)
Thing Two.
I jog-walk twice around our RV park every morning, starting at 7 am. This is not virtuousness on my part. It’s a form of medication. It helps to burn off a little of my adrenalin before I start my day. I move slowly and am always careful not to land on those strips of asphalt that have been used to fill in cracks. Not out of superstition (Step on a crack, break your ___’s back.) No, I have been warned that these strips and rattlesnakes can look pretty similar once the sun sets.
Me, I was jog-walking in the morning and oh that Arizona sun. So bright and dazzling. So dazzling that I did not realize I’d sauntered over a rattlesnake until I was on the other side. I kept on going, I can tell you. And then I circled back. It wasn’t moving so it was likely sleeping because of the cold, or it was dead.
On round two I brought our phone-camera with me but by then the snake was gone. I expect one of our snake patrollers – this is a common feature in AZ senior trailer parks – had collected it or tossed it over the fence. Note to Jan. You know that advice about not landing on things that look snake-like? Keep on keepin’ on!
Thing Three.
On Monday morning, Laur and I had our hearts set on hiking the Butterfly Trail at Mt. Lemmon. I’m not a huge fan of hiking near the top of Mt. Lemmon – it’s a long drive to the base, and then there are miles and miles of a twisty-turny road with a steep cliff beside it. But I had brought a good book to read – thinking I would get through the first few chapters, but be too tired to read it on the way home. We had a 10 mile hike planned with lots of ups and downs. Turns out, because of the turn our day took, I ended up reading it all. Anyhoo…
A little more than half way up Mount Lemmon, an alarm went off in our car! I looked up from my book and looked at Laur who was looking horrified and who yelled...well, “Insert scared-shirtless language here.” I asked, “What’s wrong?!” while Laur veered left toward the cliff side but did a U-ey, landing us in a “stop here to view the sites” mini-stop.
He didn’t turn off the car – he sat there reading the messages it was spitting out, repeatedly.
STOP THE ENGINE
ENGINE OVERHEATING
COOLANT LOW
STOP THE ENGINE
ENGINE OVERHEATING
COOLANT LOW
STOP THE ENGINE
Something smelled funny and our hood looked kind of steamy. (Laur adds, “No, it didn’t!” He’s a little protective of our car.) And I think this message must have come up because he turned off the car…
STOP THE DANG ENGINE YOU IDIOT! (His words, not mine.)
We were both in a relative state of shock. Scared because of the messages and the smell and the steam and our precarious location. But in a qualified kind of way. Our 20 year old Caddie had just been to the shop for its annual physical and 21 point check-up, and the only thing we were advised to consider was changing our windshield wipers. Snow and rain are not a big thing here, so we took that under advisement.
We got out of the car. Laur opened the hood. Something was sure hot and bothered in there. He got out the owner’s manual and it was not terribly reassuring, warning things like “If you get this message (like the ones we got), your car could catch on fire and you need to get out before you burn to death.”
I sat on a post, reading my novel. Laur sat on another, reading the owner’s manual. And I must say, I was impressed by the number of people who stopped by to ask if we needed help. I wanted to say YES every time! But I knew my hubs wasn’t in a conversational kind of mood.
Finally, a couple stopped and asked if we could take their picture, and I volunteered my hubs (who initially was going to take their pic with our camera but was encouraged to used theirs.) And then the lad said, “Got some trouble with your car?” Laur could hardly say, “No, I just want the engine to see the views.”
The lad felt the coolant lid and thought it was fine to unscrew – which he did. We didn’t have a way to measure the level except – fortunately – we had a huge container of the stuff in our trunk. Our coolant container took the whole jug and asked for more. Which we got at the bottom of the mountain.
We did manage to get home without further incident and Laur phoned our mechanic right away. We got a 7 am appointment the next morning. That means serious business. And as it turns out, some serious money – new water pump, new thermostat, new hose. All of this much cheaper than buying a new used car, and far less stressful for us. Because when we get a new car, we have to replace the asphalt in our driveway, which means we have to replace our deck. This may not make any sense to you – but it does to us.
And I think I have a new saying … “Positive thoughts don’t keep cars from careening off high mountains.”