We left home after my infusion of Orencia - at about 11:30 AM with plans to stop for the night in Lubbock at the KOA. We were making good time on the road and called ahead to Clovis, NM to make reservations at an RV park there. Not 20 minutes later, a trucker pulled up beside us and motioned to our rear. David rolled down the window. The man said we had a flat. It is hard to tell when you lose one tire on the trailer as it has 2 on each side. By the time we were able to pull off the road about 12 miles outside of Lubbock, 3 more motorists waved us down about the problem.
We pulled off the highway and assessed the situation. On the passenger side, the rear trailer tire was gone and we were riding on the rim, now cracked in several places. The front tire was bald with a large flap of rubber stuck between the tire and the axle - steel belting exposed. The blowout of the rear tire more than likely is what damaged the front one. We pulled the rear tire off and replaced it with the spare.
This is where it gets amazing. David had packed two extension cords and a portable air compressor just before we left the house. Also, I had asked about taking the portable video player to play my Jeff Cavins DVDs of The Great Adventure on the road. David said that since I was taking my computer, he would pack the AC/DC power converter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. That way, I could play the DVDs on my laptop. When it was time to air up the tires, the exact distance from the car's rear cigarette lighter to the rear tire was the lengths of all the cords - the converter, the 2 extensions, and the cord on the compressor. God is GOOD - all the time!
By the time we hit the road again, with one bald tire and the spare in place, it was 6:50. We prayed for God's continued help. I immediately got on the phone to the KOA to get info on places that sell tires - specifically trailer tires of a certain size. The Walmart had just the tire we needed, but no wheel rims and the automotive area would close at 7:00. But one young man was so nice and stayed past 7:00 to provide us with one new tire to replace the bald one.
Lubbock KOA (that's not us in the pic)
Please pray that the young man doesn't get into trouble for the overtime although David rewarded him under cover for the time. We wouldn't want him to lose his job for his kindness. As God would have it, I also had 2 free Schlotzky's sandwich tickets to give him. God gave me both of those on Monday one when I placed my order for lunch at Schlotzky's with a friend and another when I ordered a sandwich for my husband just before leaving that same day. Needless to say, we are tired after changing tires in the heat, so we are staying in the Lubbock KOA after all. It would have been unwise to continue on to Clovis in the dark with no spare. We have decided to return to the Walmart at 7:00 AM to purchase 3 more tires so we will have 4 NEW tires with another to put on a wheel rim when we find it. David was concerned that because the trailer has sat for 2 years without being run, the tires might all be bad. We will look for a wheel rim for the extra tire for a spare between here and Santa Fe 300 miles down the road. Tomorrow will be at least a 12 hour day with the stop to find a wheel rim and have the tire put on.
In the meantime, we have lost the keys to the trailer and are using the spare set. I'm figuring that we will find them at Walmart. St. Anthony is hard at work looking for them. So it's off to bed for a night of rest and a full day ahead of us. I have set my phone alarm for 6:00 AM. Prayers of thanksgiving have been said. We are so thankful to God for keeping us safe and providing for all our needs. All the time - God is GOOD!
More updates tomorrow.
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