LEZLIE'S BIG ADVENTURE: DAY 8 & 9

"If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."

There was a heavy fog Sunday morning. I thought it best to wait until it lifted to pull out on the road. About 8:30 I said my goodbyes and continued my trip to Lubbock, Texas. The miles and hours past without incident. Just when I thought it would be smooth sailing the last four hours, I saw smoke bellowing from my right trailer tire. I pulled to the side of the road and got out to see what kind of damage I had. The fender was only about 1/2 inch from the top of the tire. A little of the tread was worn, but I couldn't immediately tell why. I creeped down the shoulder with my flashers on trying to reach the exit to the truck stop. When I was able to look closer, I could see the spring was not springing, and it appeared that the axel was not centered because the fender/tire location was not the same for both tires. It's 4:00 pm on a Sunday. What do I do? I call my brother. It was too late to do anything that day, so I spent the night in Cisco, TX.

Hanging over the red line.

DAY 9
Monday morning, the sun rose and it was beautiful.

My brother borrowed a trailer and headed to Cisco. He and a friend of his, got there about 3:00 Monday afternoon. The trailer he brought, was not quite wide enough to hold the boat and trailer. Plan B... do some Southern engineering to get it road worthy.
First we tried wood blocks to raise the frame, but my C clamps were not quite big enough. In the dumpster was a metal fence post. It was the perfect size to hold that shackle in the right position. We didn't have wire, but I had zip ties. Zip ties it is! That took care of the wheel on the right side, but the fender on the other side was too close to the tire and would rub if we hit a bump in the road. My brother pulled out a jack stand and used the saddle to elevate the left frame, providing more room between the fender and tire.

We filled our gas tanks and headed to Lubbock. When I was 38 miles from Lubbock, I looked at my gas gauge and it registered 1/4 full. I thought that would be plenty to get me there. Well, it did. However, the next morning when I was moving the boat into the drive, the Ford died and would not start. Turns out, my gas gauge isn't working right. I best not let it get below 1/4 tank full. But, I am here with all my stuff, and I am not going on any road trips for a long time!