Back on Sunday, June 15th, Lithus was scheduled to move the helicopter from Enterprise, Utah to Redding, California, by way of Reno, NV. I was scheduled to fly with him. For various reasons that aren't important to the story, except that they occurred, I ended up driving with My-Other-Mac, the mechanic. It's approximately a 4 hour flight to Reno from Enterprise, and an 8 hour drive.
So, M-O-M and I wave Lithus off and head out on our own adventure. I nap; he wakes me if I'm going to miss something interesting. We stop for food; I hand him his sandwiches, while he drives. It's a typical road trip. We get to 220 miles outside of Reno and cheer about the fact that we will, indeed, make it that same day. Until...
We hit the mountains outside of Austin, NV. Just as we are climbing up and around one mountainous curve, the truck does something. M-O-M and I have just enough time to look at each other and say "that wasn't good" before the truck stops. Just...stops. In the middle of the road. In the mountains. On the blind side of the curve.
Do I have cell service? A single bar. So, I call 911 ~ only I have enough cell service to place the call but not enough to connect. We agree I will walk up the hill and place the call. First, I make notes about what I am supposed to say.
But about halfway up the hill, 911 calls me back. The very nice dispatcher on the other end assures me she will send help ~ the Nevada Highway Patrol is on its way.
Meanwhile, it really registered that M-O-M had said we were on the blindside of a curve. The people cruising up the hill couldn't see us. And he couldn't find the emergency flares or triangles. Now, in a case of the Universe giving you what you need, I had been chilly that morning and had asked Lithus to unpack his jacket. His navy colored, but oh so warm, jacket. It also happens that it's his emergency jacket, so can be reversed to blaze SEE ME orange. Down the hill I headed, flipping the jacket as I went, to slow traffic (but not get hit myself). While I am slowing traffic, M-O-M is trying to get the truck going just enough to at least get it out of the middle of the road. Some how, because he is the Guy You Want With You, he managed to do just that.
Turns out, the NHP officer was 45 minutes out, but the Sheriff's department was close. We really didn't care at that point.
M-O-M managed to get the truck and the trailer (see above) off the road, unhitch the trailer, and then, with the lovely man from the sheriff's office following, we drove the 2 miles it took to get us into Austin, Nevada ~ in about 45 minutes, where the NHP trooper joined us.
Turns out, the trooper had a 1-ton truck and got off work at 8:00 pm. He offered to drive over the hill, and tow the trailer back to town, so it didn't sit out on the side of the road all night. On his own time, on his own dime. There is something to be said for small towns.
Which Austin, NV is. In 2010, the population was 192 people. That was up 8 people since the previous census in 2000, when the population was 184. Anyway, there are 3 motels in Austin. M-O-M managed to get us the last 2 rooms in the entire town. Not sure what was happening, but it was a boom night. We stayed here:
This was my room.
Sadly, there was no heat. Why was this sad in June? Because we woke the next morning to a snowstorm. Not light flurries. SNOW.
Dressed in light capri pants, and a t-shirt, I continued to be grateful for Lithus' jacket.
M-O-M and I had a couple of things happening. 1. We are both adaptable by nature. Enthusiastic, even. Life hands you lemons, once you bitch about it, do something with them. Tuck em down your bra, make lemonade, something. But don't just keep bitching about it. You could miss out on something cool. 2. We were trying to stay positive for the other.
That being said, the next morning, we had gotten breakfast, checked on the trailer, wandered a couple rock shops, made a couple of purchases, walked to the other end of town to get stamps from the post office only to discover the post office didn't open until 10:00. We figured it would only be 5 or 10 minutes. When I looked at my phone, it was 8:55. I looked at M-O-M and said "it's going to be a long day..." He replied "Not if we start drinking now." And my friends, it was tempting. Instead, we went exploring.
Here's Austin...
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| Check out that amazing trunk, just sitting there. |
There's a castle, up a hill. The hill is only a mile, so we went. Because, hello, there's a castle in Austin, Nevada.
By 11:30, Lithus had arrived in Austin, from Reno, in another 1-ton truck in order to tow us all back. Only, the truck worked just fine. Yep. By the next morning, it was running like a champ. Up hills, down hills, hitting 75 mph, no problems.
We convoyed in, stayed close and in radio contact, witnessed a car accident that should've been deadly but wasn't (TTG) when Lithus got out to check on her, got stopped at the California border to be checked for illegal recycling (it's a thing now), and rolled into Redding, California by way of Reno, Nevada about 9:30 that night. Like nothing had ever happened.
Except that little detour in Austin...Ah...the adventure.
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