At last we're nearly to our objective. By this afternoon, we should be in Wasilla, and be able to see Catherine and Robert (when they get off work). We set off fairly early and headed down the Tok Cutoff toward Glennallen and the Glenn Highway to Palmer and Anchorage. The highway was very good for the first few miles, then some rough spots began to appear. After about 40 miles, we heard a "pop" that didn't sound like anything that belonged on normal road noise, and we decided to pull over and check out the tires. Within a few hundred yards, there was a turnout on the left (east) side of the road, and we turned in there. Sure enough, a tire on the left side of the trailer had blown out. Okay, that's number three. Maybe these were all scheduled to wear out at about 4000 miles. I changed the tire (using my bottle jack and the new lug wrench) and now we were without a spare--again. According to the Milepost book, there was a gas station/restaurant/lodge a couple of miles ahead, so we decided to stop there and inquire about tires. We were still about 90 miles from Glennallen and, frankly, I was reluctant to test the strength of the fourth tire, or the spares that were now on the ground.
The folks at the Mentasta Lodge were wonderful. They didn't have a tire or wheel, but they knew people who did. They suggested that we go back to Tok and get the tire and wheel and bring it back. We dropped the trailer there and left it with them, and drove the 45 miles back to Tok to Willard's Towing to get the tire and wheel. And it was another $170 or so. By the time we got back to Tok and picked up the tire, it was lunchtime, so we grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Tok. Who knew? With only a thousand people or so in Tok, I was surprised to get such good food, but it was nice. It almost made the delay and ordeal worthwhile. But I'm not going to wait for that fourth tire to blow out. As soon as we get settled in Wasilla, I'm going to go find four good radial tires to put on the trailer. And I'll keep two spares, just in case.
Back to Mentasta, we loaded the wheel and hooked up the trailer and rolled on. We arrived at Robert Gordon's house, my future son-in-law, without further incident, and backed the trailer into his side yard and hooked up the water and electricity. Because we were so late getting there, both Robert and Catherine were already home from work. It was great to see them at last and to meet Robert's sons, Regan and Wyatt. We're here.
The folks at the Mentasta Lodge were wonderful. They didn't have a tire or wheel, but they knew people who did. They suggested that we go back to Tok and get the tire and wheel and bring it back. We dropped the trailer there and left it with them, and drove the 45 miles back to Tok to Willard's Towing to get the tire and wheel. And it was another $170 or so. By the time we got back to Tok and picked up the tire, it was lunchtime, so we grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Tok. Who knew? With only a thousand people or so in Tok, I was surprised to get such good food, but it was nice. It almost made the delay and ordeal worthwhile. But I'm not going to wait for that fourth tire to blow out. As soon as we get settled in Wasilla, I'm going to go find four good radial tires to put on the trailer. And I'll keep two spares, just in case.
Back to Mentasta, we loaded the wheel and hooked up the trailer and rolled on. We arrived at Robert Gordon's house, my future son-in-law, without further incident, and backed the trailer into his side yard and hooked up the water and electricity. Because we were so late getting there, both Robert and Catherine were already home from work. It was great to see them at last and to meet Robert's sons, Regan and Wyatt. We're here.
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