Day Five – Wichita
I have decided to head to Wichita and visit with my friend Diane. I left early and to avoid the Denver traffic I chose to avoid the I25 and take the 85. Just near Platteville I am taking off from the lights in an outside lane and I hear a scraping that sounds like my whole exhaust system just started dragging along the ground. I have trucks behind me, trucks beside me and a fence that gives me just inches to pull over to the left. I put the flashers on and with my heart racing I pull over and get out – trucks are sitting on their horns objecting to the move but I felt if I kept going and tried to get over to the right I could damage something worse. I crawled under the car hoping a truck would hit it while I was underneath and spotted something jammed between the car and road. It took some maneuvering but I eventually pulled out a pair of pliers….where they came from I dont know and what damage they did I still dont know but I got back in the car and hightailed it out of there. My heart didnt stop racing for at least 100 miles. Hours later on the long flat I70 I am getting into the zone, listening to music and eating up the miles… when “bing” suddenly a warning comes up that I have 27 miles to empty – OMG I can see the road ahead for 20 miles and there is nothing!!! I turn off the air conditioner and slow down and start panicking – next exit “no services” I keep going… next exit “no services” I am down to 15 miles… next exit well… it doesnt say no services, it just doesnt say anything is there… I take a chance – I go to the right – nothing … turn around and go left …. a tiny one pump convenience store int he middle of nowhere – how did I get so lucky … it is showing 5 miles left. Once again I am filled with gratitude.
The Traveling Kiwi 