Coming Home in One Piece

So it's no surprise, but we made it home safely. There is just one thing that I really want to document about our trip home, and that is the adventure with the truck.

Grandpa Hamblin was kind enough to lend us his '87 Dodge Ram for the move out. We didn't take any furniture with us, but still couldn't fit everything we needed for our 5 month excursion to Houston in our little Civic. So, Dane drove to WY to pick it up, and it worked perfectly for the move out, and back. I am happy to say that it made it, both ways!! For those of you who didn't hear, though, we did have a tire blow out just a few hours outside of Dallas. It was no biggy, we called AAA and a true Texan came to our rescue with one of the thickest accents I have ever heard.

Anyway, so back to the drive home, we prayed the entire way home that we would not have another tire blow out and that the truck would just make it. And it did, but I can honestly say that we had angels beside us holding those tires together. I lead the way in the Civic most of the way home because I had the GPS and more importantly, cruise control. When we got to Price canyon though, Dane was feeling the need to lead, so I was happy to follow behind him. I was watching the truck, our stuff and the back, driver's side tire caught my eye. It was a bulge and it was huge. I had no idea how long in had been there, but it didn't look good. I didn't say anything to Dane, though, I guess because I felt it would make the tire explode or something? I donno.

We got out of the canyon and continued on Hwy 89 through Springville, and by this point I had to go to the bathroom really badly, and didn't have the patience to follow old faithful anymore, so I radioed Dane. Told him the situation, and that I would meet him at the house, oh and by the way that his back tire looked like it was about to explode. (I guess I figured we were close enough to home that if he had problems, we would be fine.)

I rushed back to the house, found the keys (thank you Ben and Rosa!) and relieved myself just in time to hear Dane pull up. He had made it! But we both agreed that we shouldn't move the truck until we could fix the tire because upon inspection we found the tread was separating and exposing the metal mesh underneath. Yikes!

This was Friday. (Can I just say here that it was sooooo good to be back in our little house! Ahhhhh. We missed it.) Two days later, on Sunday, when we got back from church, I could see the spare sticking out of the truck bed, where it always was, and asked Dane if he had changed the bulging tire in the back. "No, why?" he asked. To that I pointed out the spare that had apparently EXPLODED in the back of the truck bed.

I don't remember how hot it was that day, but there had literally been a mini-heat wave--the same day that canyon rivers were flooding the salt lake valley. I guess it was a combination of the heat and the pressure difference from the altitude. So were we grateful we made it home? Oh, yes. And with no blow-outs, so we didn't have to use the spare, that may have also blown out while driving.