It was going to be a short drive before lunch, so we didn't take any water, blankets, or any other provisions... you know, in the event of an emergency? Well, we learned our lesson.In the picture you can see that we are FAR above the truck and in between is all rocks. With the understanding that this truck is a desert truck, a truck that we can take out and "destroy", you can understand that Chad had delusions of grandeur and suddenly, this desert Ford F250 King cab, was now a professionally tricked out rock crawler. Disaster is sure to follow.
As the kids and I were busy hunting for Ogres and buried treasure,
Chad successfully navigated the rocks clear to the top. I was certainly impressed, although glad that A) I wasn't in the truck and B) that I didn't have to watch and have a heart attack. But, this is where the fun begins.On the way up the hill, in the last few.... say 20 feet or so... the front axle broke. Now we have 2 wheel drive and have to get down the mountain and back home again. Easily said, not so easily done when the front left tire hits bottom in a rock hole while the rear left tire simultaneously loses contact with the ground. Sweet. Now, normally this wouldn't have been a problem if we had had lockers on the rear axle (to keep all the tires spinning relative to one another so I've been told). However, since we now have 2 wheel drive, are without a locking differential, and we failed... (ok, you know what...., I'm not taking credit for that), someone failed to bring the high lift jack, we are stuck!
The kids were good sports. They sat and watched as Chad and I tried to stuff rocks under the ONE tire that had power. They waited paitently as we then graduated to boulders that might not get spit out from under said tire. They amuzed themselves as I tried to sit over the wheel trying to gain traction on said boulders as they were spitting out from under the wheel. The kids then tried to help by giving us lucky rocks to hold, suggesting that we just start walking back home and all the while, keeping the complaining to a minimum. Finally, I'd had enough. It was getting down to the wire, because we had about an hour left of sunlight and if we had to walk, it was going to take us at least 3 to get home. So, I lifted.... and lifted... and lifted that truck up and down as Chad turned the wheel to get it just unstuck enough that if we managed to get even a fraction of traction, we just might be able to get going. Lift, lift, lift, grunt, scream. We did it. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but we finally got it out.... and now for the drive home.As Chad explained it to the kids, "4wheelin' is all about going slow and taking your time, but off road racers get away without 4 wheel drive by driving really really fast. So hang on, because this just became an off road racer." Well, that is until you hit a boulder at 25mph that is jutting out in the middle of the road! I'm sure we all got a little whiplash. Justin and Megan hit their heads on the windows and Chad got a nasty abrasion from hitting the steering wheel so hard. Manda seemed to be the only one to escape unscathed.
It was a fun day in all. I know that Chad had a blast and honestly that makes it all worth it. However, I'm not sure that the kids will ever go with us again. That is... after we fix the u-joint, tie rod, wheel thing-a-ma-jig, Bearing dingle-bopper, gear whatchamacalit, etc, etc, etc. I wonder, how much did that little excursion cost us??? And do I even really want to know?
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