Homeward Bound

We arrived home safely yesterday, or should I say this morning.  As it was after midnight on Sunday.  We left the cabin Saturday morning, spry and excited.  As we packed up it was a cool crisp 35 degrees.  It was a wonderful morning.  We headed out at about 9:00 am mountain time.  We were all packed and moving along.  We made to the highway and into Creede, Colorado.  Not to long after getting on the highway, Jerry started slowing down.  We thought maybe he was just pulling over to catch on last glimpse of the mountain valley before we left.  Nope, he was having pickup trouble.  Oh, my.  This made for a really long, stressful trip home.  We made it to Creede and did a little shopping.  Jerry said the truck ran fine until the engine heated up.  It wasn't over heated just running at the normal temp.  Now onto South Fork.  After pulling over a couple times, and traveling at the speed of snails we finally made it.  I feel like I am going to panic.  Breathe,  No need in getting worked up.  Finding a diesel mechanic in the mountains is not easy.  We stopped at a tire shop in South Fork, but he did not work on diesel engines.  Jerry said lets just try and make it to Alamosa.  Surely, there is a mechanic there.  On a Saturday?  Ok, Cathy, be positive.  I was trying.  But seeing Jerry worry, made me worry.  In between South Fork and Alamosa there are two smaller towns,  Monte Vista and Del Norte.  At one of these towns we pulled over and Jerry decided to try opening the fuel cap.  So we sat there a while and waited.  We loaded up and whatever he did to the truck, it helped!  We were moving at a normal speed finally and hoping to make it on home.  We traveled on like this for a long time and then it happened again.  Back to snail speed.  As traffic backed up behind us, moving along with flashers on, we decided to pull over.  We rested on the roadside, letting the pickup cool down and then we were off again.  At this point, we were almost to Walsenburg, Colorado.  All in all we only had to pull over one last time. It was between Raton, NM and Clayton, NM.  Out in the middle of nowhere. 

This was our view most of the day.  Nothing for miles.  Seriously, out in the middle of nowhere.  Just all of a sudden after moving along a 65-70 mph we start slowing down and had to pull over.  At this point, I was a basketcase!  Are we ever going to make it?  The lights of home never looked so good.  To see the courthouse pop up over the horizon, was such a welcomed site.  Thank you God for watching over us and leading us safely home.