Making lemonade

You don't know what you've got till its gone. Truer words were never spoken. We cursed the Turtle - the slow speeds, the door that wouldn't lock anymore, the new creak the developed every trip. Every time we loaded up our gear, we hoped for the best - reaching our destination! Most of the time we did - but not without stress and drama and Nick spending lots of times fixing crap. Or the engine was running so hot the interiore of the RV reaxhed over 100 degrees. Nick frequently drove with his left foot in a boot and his right foot in a sandle because of the heat from the engine and the cold air leaking in. But the conveience of the home on wheels outweighed it all. We could drive to the campsite and unload everything and just be comfortable. We had a quiet, warm and dry place to sleep. A private bathroom (so important!) And the ablility to cook. All of it worth the hassles.

We were so lucky this trip. Doesn't sound like luck to have our RV die but... Out of all the places to croak - the parking lot of a U-haul store is pretty damnable lucky. We drove a lot of quiet back roads on our way to Tucson - because the engine was acting up and we couldn't go more then 40 mph. Not speeds to take the interstate with! But the hazards of back roads include no cell coverage. If we'd broken down there... It would have been a long ride to the nearest town! Or we could have made it outside of Tucson before trouble started. Then we would have been stranded neither here nor there - in sight of 24 Hour Town but unable to get there. Talk about stress! I am not sure what we would have done in that situation.

So now comes the hard part. Trying to replace the turtle. We have a list of things we need based off our impromptu camping adventure at 24 Hour Town. Quiet - warm - dry - sleep - a bathroom - cooking. That and being able to get all our gear safely stowed! Doesn't sound easy on paper or in reality... And we may be car camping for the next 24 hour race on the schedule!