Thankful Thursday: A Safe Journey

On Friday morning, we set out on our adventure.  The temps were already climbing, but we knew that the location where we were heading was going to be cooler.  I set Munchkin up with a fun travel kit (more to come about that at a later date), and I packed a snack container filled with delicious snacks to eat.  All went well on our journey to the campground.  We picked out a nice wooded location and set up camp.

The campground that D chose had trails all through the campgrounds.  We were up on a mountain in the forest.  The trails had sand, rocks, trees…  D was more than excited to head off and explore.  They had a nice beginner trail and “pit” that was perfect for Munchkin to work on her riding skills.  Our days were filled with relaxing and exploration.  It was a simply wonderful weekend.  I am so grateful that the Lord provided this wonderful time for our family.

We had a few issues with the trailer, but we will be able to address most of them.  They didn’t hinder our fun.  The nice cool evenings allowed us to open the windows and enjoy the sounds of nature as we fell asleep.  Our final evening there, we decided to build a campfire and roast marshmallows.  It was so peaceful as most of the other campers had already left.

Tuesday morning, we packed up and started our journey home.  D only had a partial day off, so we left first thing.  (We had done the packing up the night before, so we had minimal things to do in the morning.)  On the road, we enjoyed talking while Munchkin worked on some of her activities.

All of a sudden, this gentleman came flying up next to us and wildly pointed at our trailer.  D pulled over to check things out.  One of the tires of the trailer had blown out and was completely shredded.  With a little work, D was able to put on the spare tire.  We looked closely at the tires and realized that the dealership had used something to cover up bad dry rot on some of the tires.  I point out one spot of really bad dry rot on one of the tires.  We prayed that we would be able to make it home without incident.

An hour or so later, we heard a huge POP!  D slowly pulled over again.  This time, when another tire blew, it also took off a huge piece of the plastic siding on the trailer.  (The tire blew in the exact spot where I had seen the really bad dry rot.)  It’s 110 degrees outside, and we’re stuck on the side of the road with no spare tire since we already used it not that far back on our trip.  We call the rv dealership because we’re about an hour away from home.  We explain the situation, and they end up being real jerks.  Eventually, they agree to contact a tire place not too far from our location and send someone out.

After a couple of hours, we are able to get back on the road and arrive safely home.  We praised the Lord through all of this.  Even though this was a horrible thing to deal with while traveling, it could have been much worse.  We went through lots of mountains, construction areas, and congested areas, but our blow-outs both occurred on flat stretches of highway.  No one was hurt, and we made is safely home.  D never did make it into work that day because we got home so late.

I am very grateful that we had a great long weekend, and that we arrived safely home.