Sunday morning we were hoping to go to mass in St. Johns, then do a scenic drive, but that plan was abruptly curtailed when we discovered, late on Saturday, that there was something very, very wrong with the van. It started when we were up in the mountains, when I heard what sounded like a clattering in one of the wheels. It seemed to improve as we picked up speed, and we made it back to the ranch without any mishaps. Unfortunately, it got much worse that evening, and it became clear that we would be going nowhere on Sunday if Paul could not figure out what was wrong.
He was able to borrow some tools from our neighbor, Gene, and Sunday morning got down to business trying to diagnose the problem. After we got home, Paul described what happened in a Facebook comment this way:
“The parking brake cable hooks up to a little lever on the rear caliper. That little lever snapped off, leaving the cable hanging there. After that, the parking break broke, periodically locking up that rear wheel. That meant I had to creep into town, throwing it into reverse to unlock the wheel whenever it locked up.
Of course, the shop was not open on Sunday, and Monday was Labor Day. We had to rely on the good graces of our neighbors to assist us in so many ways – with tools, with rides into town, and with contacting the mechanic, who agreed to come in Monday morning to give it a look see. Thankfully he was so generous as to fix it on his day off, by taking out the brake parts so it would no longer lock up and we could make it safely home. Like many people, he was interested in why we have such a big van, and he was so delighted to hear about our family, he insisted on charging only $20 for the job. Paul wouldn’t hear of it and gave him more, but wasn’t that cool of him?
In the meantime, since there was nothing to be done for the van on Sunday after he dropped it off at the shop, Laurent brought him back to the ranch and we had an afternoon spent outside running around, and some shooting up at the range under ominous skies that threatened, and then delivered on their promise of rain. While we were indoors, there was some fun with rope the kids had found lying on the ground down in the mud canyon on a previous trip. They played tug-of-war until the old fibers, deteriorated by sun and rain, finally broke. When the rain cleared, there was a little more shooting before an early supper.
Another unfortunate event of the weekend was that my recliner chair broke, meaning I would not be able to sleep at the ranch Sunday night. The up side was a night at the hotel with Laurent and Grandma, complete with the blessing of a shower.
Once Laurent delivered me back to the ranch, she then took Paul into town to meet the mechanic, while I stayed with the kids and waited to find out what was going to happen. We packed and swept the cabin, and then relaxed for a while. We were all very happy to see Paul back with the van so soon, and were able to load up the trailer and leave by noon.
