Car repair cardio, pretty views, sky high
So first thing in the morning after eating breakfast I was out and under the van. I had tunnel vision and was going to fix this thing come hell or high water. So first order of duty was removing all of the remnants of the old belt, much of which was wrapped around the fan. A long snips I bought the day before was very handy in the process.
Next I installed the new idler pulley. Removing the air cleaner box made access to the area much easier. Installation of the pulley was no problem. All that was left was the belt.
I routed the belt around the various engine accessories and then was at the point where you need to push the tension arm down. It took me awhile to realize I could do this easily by inserting a socket into the arm and pushing down. However even after doing this the belt wouldn’t quite slide under the idler pulley. I even called Ali down to help me and still we couldn’t get it. I told the AutoZone guy the day before it looked short, damn it!
The original belt was a 2435, he sold me a 2425 and said it would still fit, wrong. So my only option was to haul ass back to AutoZone which I already knew opened at 9am.
Time was crucial so I went upstairs to the room and grabbed my running sneakers. I was going to run there and back. The day before my right knee had been hurting so I knew this wasn’t smart but I popped two Advil and headed out.
Surprisingly, it didn’t really hurt to run. Maybe the extra cushioning in my NB sneakers made a big difference. I jogged into the parking lot and saw my buddy inside. I slapped the too small belt on my hand like a bat and said jokingly, “I should beat you with this. I told you it looked short!” Christian was surprised it didn’t fit. He went and got the next largest size they had which was a 2440, slightly longer than what was on. I thanked him for the help and ran out the door, literally, and back to the hotel.
I was wearing my “work shorts” that I typically use a belt with because they are big on me. I didn’t wear a belt unfortunately so by the time I was on the run back they were hanging off my hips. In the process of them falling my boxers moved up, giving me a wedgie. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and dug my hands into my pants to readjust as non-stop traffic flowed by. I told Ali it probably looked like I was pleasuring myself.
The new belt fit just fine, imagine that. After routing the belt and making sure it was in place I cautiously turned the key and crossed my fingers. It fired right up and the belt and new idler pulley looked just fine. The deafening squeak at idle had now disappeared. I proudly called Ali with news of my success.
Unfortunately it took us awhile until we were actually ready to shove out by the time we loaded the van, finished up with laundry, grabbed stuff at the grocery store that didn’t accept credit cards (yes you read that right) and gassed up. Hey at least we were back on the road, something that seemed like a near impossibility less than 24 hours before.
On our way out of Twin Falls we stopped quickly to look at Snake River Canyon. It is a very cool steep but narrow canyon. Hell at the bottom of it there is a country club and golf course. Of course I did an L sit on the wall overlooking it.
Next was driving, endless driving. We covered roughly 700 miles during the day. The late start made the day seem even longer. I haven’t been able to figure out the electrical issue that keeps popping the circuit breaker for the power seat and power locks so I drove the entire way, not fun.
We saw some INCREDIBLE vistas along the way, especially on route 70. At points it looked like you were driving into the Grand Canyon, it was so beautiful.
As we were in the middle of one of the endless steep ascents the orange “Service Engine Soon” light came on in the van. I had to smirk in disbelief. Well the van was still running just fine although I did notice some surging under heavy load. I have a couple theories on it’s cause.
Right before this leg of the trip I filled up for the first time with 85 octane gas, something the van has never eaten before. Evidently because of the elevation, 85 octane is the starting point with gas grades. Perhaps the low octane caused a sensor to throw a code.
Another theory is when I had things ripped apart I could have bumped around a sensor, most likely the MAF sensor that is connected to the air box. Either way, once I see the next town with an Autozone I will stop and have the code read/cleared. Right now it isn’t a huge concern.
My belt/pulley repair seemed to hold up just fine for the 700 mile drive. All the gauges read perfectly and the van is much quieter at idle. I think I might try to get the oil changed though mid-trip. We are at 4000 miles so far and having the engine cook briefly when the belt broke makes me think it would be a good to get done sooner, rather than later.
It was our first day where we drove into the night, we didn’t arrive at the Sky hotel until 10:40 or so. As soon as you pulled up you could tell this place was ultra-chique.
Ali went inside to check us in. Within a minute of her coming out there was some dude that drove up to unload and park the van “valet parking only” he said. Any of you that know me know I HATE valet parking. As I hate in general paying money to have things done that I can easily do myself. Well it looked like I had no choice in the matter.
I didn’t expect to be unloading the van right there on the spot. I handed the stuff out to the bellhop. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being worked from my first interaction with the guy. He was very chatty and informative but it all felt very rehearsed. I felt like the location they were taking my van was top secret and all access to it could only be through the bellhops/valet guys. (so I can tip more) I found this very annoying.
Then came the time I hate the most, the tipping process. Since I avoid valet anything like the plague I never have any idea what is appropriate. I only had 4 ones and the rest 20’s in my wallet so I gave him the four ones, probably too little but who knows.
Our room was very modern as well albeit small. In reality it is probably the most cramped room of any we have stayed in so far. It did have a nice little balcony where the dogs could go outside and hang.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that in my rush to unload the van I forgot some stuff which isn’t surprising. I went back down to the lobby to tell them I needed to get back into the van for stuff. Luckily it hadn’t been whisked away yet to it’s secret hiding place.
Later, there was more stuff we realized we needed. This time the guy seemed to discourage us from going out to the van. He was saying he could bring it around for us. I’m like , “Where is the van, I will go get the stuff myself” He reluctantly revealed the location behind the hotel. It was bizarre.
I couldn’t help but think the staff thinks the Beverly Hillbillies just rolled up in their 96 conversion van filled with junk. The place seems way upscale. I think they are much more used to catering to millionaires than middle class folks from Florida.
As we scanned the room I had to laugh. Right in front of the bed is was a collection of food and items that you could help yourself to, at a price. There was the $6 bottle of water, the canister of oxygen for $60, $20 sunglasses for $100 and even sexual aids ranging from condoms to a mini-vibrator. Unreal.
I made various jokes to Ali about how ritzy the place was. I just felt uncomfortable. Ali soon tired of my jokes although they were quite funny. We were both exhausted and slept the latest of the entire trip, 8:45 am, a minor miracle.
This morning we took the dogs out to breakfast. There was a dog friendly place down a few blocks. Well the establishment was dog friendly, it’s patrons were not.
The outdoor seating area was very compacted. You had very little room in between tables. We had the bad luck to be sat in between some people that don’t like dogs.
On my right was a younger couple. The man cringed when Sadie moved towards him and inched his chair over showing his obvious dislike of sharing a space with a canine. On my left were two dumpy women. When one of the waiters came over to ask them if they minded moving their table a little closer to us one of them said in a decidedly snooty voice, “Oh no, I don’t want to be ANY closer to the dogs”
Great. Ali was instantly infuriated by the old battleaxe’s comments and started making her own comments loud enough for all to hear. I was trying to be the voice of reason. After all not everybody likes dogs and the area we were jammed into gave zero room.
As the meal continued Ali was getting more and more angry. I thought it was just because of the initial negative reaction from the people around us. Evidently Todd and Margot continued to make quiet little dog comments which I couldn’t hear because of pole between me and Todd.
Not knowing that this was going I told Ali to relax, that she was overreacting. She never told me that those two were continuing to make remarks until they left in a huff after some other dogs by other tables barked a bit. They left mostly full plates of food behind, surely disgusted.
Luckily after the grumps on either side of us left, a woman, her daughter and thier dog sat down next to us. It helped to wash that nasty taste out of our mouth that Aspen is filled with yuppie, elitist assholes. (although I still think there are a lot of them here)
Once Ali told me that Todd and Margot were firing little barbs the entire time I was pissed. I wished I knew because I would have gone from peace maker to war creator. It bothered me for awhile after we left. I mean it could have gotten real ugly which is the last thing anyone needed.
After breakfast we walked around Aspen and eventually found our way to some hiking trails. Once we were up on the trails we left the girls off leash and they LOVED it. They had so much fun hiking. The only problem was we didn’t bring a bowl to put water in. We cut the hike short so they could get drinks.
We discovered that Nicki has yet another irrational fear to go along with her collection of fears like the fear of water, the fear of rumble strips and the fear of cats. She is now afraid of gondolas.
Right near our hotel there are gondolas that go up the mountain. On our hike back down the trail took us right under the gondolas. As soon as Nicki realized the gondolas were close she turned around and literally ran a hundred yards back up the hill, ignoring our calls to stop.
Finally we caught up to her and put her leash on. We went down another much steeper area that did not go under the terrifying gondolas. Once we got back to the room the girls both gulped down tons of water. We might go back out on the trails later today.
I noticed a couple weird things on our trip. After we left Yellowstone, the next day an old man was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear outside the east entrance. Then, today I see that there was a bad tornado in Billings, Montana yesterday, another place that we stayed at. Pretty wild.
The picture collection is huge. So huge that I started a second album. The first album is here, the second one is here. There are some incredible shots in there, enjoy.