Some of the Story

I still don't have time to tell of all our adventures on vacation last week...but I figure I'll start with this.

We drove on Sunday from Jackson to Amarillo, TX. We took Kearsdad's folks' van, because we could all fit in it. The deal was, we wanted them to go with us, and we told them that if they would, and if they would let us drive the van, we would pay for gas and for the hotel. How could they pass that up?? So off we went, loaded comfortably into the van, with the luggage thingy on top.

The Parents had never been past Vicksburg on the ground. Years ago, they flew to Hawaii for a trip with their company. And I think they had flown west on another trip sometime, but that was also a long time ago. They do not like to travel by car. Actually, Mom doesn't like to travel by anything. They had definitely never traveled that far or for that long. Needless to say, Kearsdad drove. I co-piloted.

On day two, Monday, we drove from Amarillo into the northeastern corner of New Mexico. We couldn't decide if the Parents were as impressed with the scenery of the drive as we were. I think they were, but they were too stunned by the length of the drive to notice. We stopped in Capulin at the Capulin Volcano National Park. It is a stunning sight. Kat is always bothered by all the statements of "Millions of Years Ago". She says she is going to make a sign that says "In the Beginning God Created" and put it at the top. Everyone enjoyed the scenery, we hung around for an hour or so, and off we went.

Shortly after our stop, we crossed into Colorado and stopped for lunch. After that stop, Kearsdad began noticing a PROBLEM. The tachometer on the van began going haywire. We were running way too high. He was worried. Was it the altitude?? Hmmm....

We ran that way for an hour or more. Up steep inclines. Through barren land and tiny towns. Then we came into Pueblo. Pueblo is 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. It is also notable for its terrible interstate. Curvy, fast, short exits, lots of overpasses. On our way up to one of said overpasses, on a curve, the van died. It made a horrible noise and just died. No transmission. No way out. Guard rail up against us on one side, 70 mph traffic on the other. Scary.

Technology is a good thing. Dad started calling AAA for a tow truck. I called 911 for traffic control-they were on shift change, of course. Kearsdad called a buddy at work and asked him to Google Transmission shops in Pueblo. Then I sent a text to a friend that said "Pray, lost transmission on the interstate." She replied, "Praying". Kearsdad called the first transmission shop and told the guy where we were, and what had happened. He asked if we could bring the car there when we got a tow, and if he thought he could get it fixed by Friday when we needed to leave. He said, "Come on."

Within a few minutes (seemed much longer) a truck pulled up behind and a guy walked up to my side of the car and handed me a business card. It was Chris...the transmission guy! He said he got to thinking about where we were, and knew we were in a dangerous spot and decided to come see if he could help! He sure looked like an angel to me.

Long story short...he got us off the overpass and to the exit. He waited for the tow with us. He loaded all 6 of us and the dog into his really big truck and took us to his shop. He helped us find a rental van. He took us and all our luggage to the rental place and helped us reload. And he got the van fixed by Thursday.

The Parent's free vacation wasn't so free. But they would have lost the transmission anyway, and if they hadn't been with us already, they would have never gone and never seen the beauty of God's creation that they got to see. And we got to experience God's provision in an incredible way.

One extra side note...while standing in the transmission shop office, Mom says, "Dad, I TOLD you the van acted funny last week, like it wanted to quit on me."

EXCUSE ME???? And you thought it was a good idea to drive ACROSS THE COUNTRY without having it checked????

Here is a picture of the van before it died. I didn't ever think to get a picture of the rental.



Here is a pic of Kat, Banana, Mom and Dad, doing what they did for 1100 miles, each way...