Any good travel stories out there?

[StarvingHyena]

We have been having a likely record breaking warm winter so far …. but the rain has been horizontal in all the wind and each rain drop would fill a 5 gallon bucket. Anyone have some good stories to tell …. will admit that I'm getting tired of ones where something broke and "how do you fix it?" Especially when the broken part has been discussed sooooo many times already.

Anyway I'm marooned for the winter in Juneau …. desperately need travel / adventure stories!!!!

Tom

I did it to myself …..

[Mike Lewis]

Okay, I'll bite. Sorry if I told this before, I don't remember. It's travel but not Escape-related:

In the summer of 1981 I drove my 1968 Camaro SS convertible from my parents' house (now my house) in the Florida Panhandle to visit a friend in Denver. I was driving along at 10pm in rural Oklahoma when my car suddenly stopped running. I was in an isolated area, where the buffalo roam. I coasted to the side and got out with a flashlight to figure out the problem. It started to rain.

From the way the engine suddenly quit I guessed it was an electrical problem. Sure enough, the coil wire had burned in two. I found a Coors beer can on the side of the road and cut a rectangle of aluminum from it. I trimmed back the insulation on the coil wire, folded the conductor over the side of the wire, then wrapped it with the aluminum, making a new end cap for the wire. I put the end of the wire back into the coil and took off down the road. I made it into Dodge City, Kansas by 2 am. I was so proud of myself.

[MyronL]

You're in Juneau and it's raining and you need adventure? Go to this place, it's just up the street.

[cpaharley2008]

If you think it is bad now....

[Donna D.]

Back in the early 1970s I was a broke college student, didn't even own a car. But, my roommate owned a 1953 Ford F-100! It wasn't mechanically sound to say the least.

Someone who didn't know what they were doing dropped a Pontiac 428 into the engine bay and cobbled the carburetor linkage with mismatched parts including welding rod!

On the freeway coming back from grocery shopping, something broke. The accelerator peddle went to the floor, we had No Go.

Once on the shoulder, we spotted the problem... crappy linkage came apart. We dug around under the seat, found a long piece of bailing twine, using a stick shoved it through a hole in the firewall, tied it to what was left of the carburetor linkage, wrapped the other end around the stick. My roommate steered the truck and applied the brakes. I was the 'Gas.' We made it home, saved ourselves a towing bill and were thrilled with our ingenuity.

Made a memory!

[Mike Lewis]

Donna-- outstanding!

[cpaharley2008]

Way back in 1970 I had to transfer from San Francisco to Norfolk,VA naval base. I drove down to Bakersfield on a Friday and headed east where we were stopped at Arizona border. Road was closed unless you had chains. Being from Maryland, I carried mine with me and was allowed to continue. Later that night it started to stick and installed my chains. Now here on the east coast we drive slow with chains, but not out west. Going 20 mph with trucks flying by at 50 made it dangerous. I sped up and after hitting 30 you could no longer hear nor feel the chains thumping.

About 10 miles west of Flagstaff I started to slip, or I thought I was slipping, I was giving it gas and not moving. Well it seems I blew out my transmission seals due to driving too fast with chains. Stuck now in a snow storm I contacted AAA and state police stopped. After about 4 hours there was a tap, "You need a tow" I answered affirmatively and this man in a 1949 pickup truck attached a rope and warned me to stay off the brakes. Going down the mountain into Flagstaff I started to inch too close to his truck and hit my brakes, before I knew it I was 90 degrees to his front door and he was waving frantically, do not brake. We made it into Flagstaff and I gave the man $20. Next morning when the gas station opened I inquired as to why they did not come up to get me since they are AAA. He said, too dangerous. He informed me that no parts would be available until for following week. I said I had to be in Virginia by the next Friday. He offered to give me $500 for my 1966 Mustang and airfare to fly me home.

I knew I was being taken so I bought a case of trans fluid and a quart of bleach. I poured the bleach in and then refilled the transmission with fluid. I left on Saturday morning and made it to Oklahoma City where the seal blew out again. The bleach worked by swelling the seals but I was pushing the car. Saturday night I got a hold of a transmission place who was just closing. I explained my predicament and he said he would open his shop for me on Sunday and replace my seals. He knew I was on leave and had to get back east. H e charged me $40 and said these seals were guaranteed, if they failed to call him and he would refund my money. Those seals lasted me for another 50,000 miles before trading the car in 1974.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by StarvingHyena

We have been having a likely record breaking warm winter so far …. but the rain has been horizontal in all the wind and each rain drop would fill a 5 gallon bucket. Anyone have some good stories to tell …. will admit that I'm getting tired of ones where something broke and "how do you fix it?" Especially when the broken part has been discussed sooooo many times already.

Anyway I'm marooned for the winter in Juneau …. desperately need travel / adventure stories!!!!

Tom

I did it to myself …..

Hi: Starving Hyena... Every travel tale is good, just as long as it isn't a "Short story". Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Merlin]

Hi, I have a icy road story that will keep you on pins and needles (or will have you laughing your butt off).
Was visiting my sister in Clovis NM and felt the need to get back to Portales NM, about 20 minutes normally. Roads were snow packed with freezing rain coming in after, covering the snow. I don't recall why this seemed so important at the time.

At the time I had a 4x4 F250 with a 390 engine and huge tires to take on steep hills back home and the sand dunes here in eastern New Mexico... (had loads of fun in that truck back in my college days) Tires and engine were not exactly a good snow/ice match up.

Headed out of the trailer park at about 2:00pm, working thru a couple of gears, going slow. Turned onto the main 4 lane highway that would lead out of town. Caught the first red light and eased on the breaks to come to smooth stop without sliding.


Now things get more interesting...

Light turned green, eased on the gas and off the clutch. 4x4 was on, wheels were turning and truck was not moving, anywhere... Just sitting there with tires turning slowly. Worked thru the remaining gears, adding a little gas to get the next gear in sequence.

Finally started moving forward, and now thinking "this is going to be a long trip home". (Not thinking, and still don't know why... "I need to go back to sis' place and stay the night")

Progressed very slowly to the other side of town, fortunately all green lights. Still thinking "This is going to be a long trip..." and added in "I need to grab some food". The local McD's was coming up on the left.

No oncoming traffic - good. Moving slow still, time to turn left across the opposite lanes. I turned the wheel, very slightly.
About 1/2 second later I feel the back of the truck getting ahead of steering wheel turn that I have expertly controlled. No problem, just correct the turn and stay in my lane. I'll just loop back.


The truck had other plans.


I'm still turning right to correct the spin, the truck is still turning left. Now I run out of steering wheel turn as the wheels reach the stops.

Truck is still turning left, now turning a bit faster - I'm along for the ride. Nothing to do except maybe pump the brakes and spin off somewhere that I have no idea where it will end up. I stay off the brakes as the "left turn" seems to be heading in the right direction.

Ok, now I'm in the opposite lanes, facing 180 deg. the opposite direction, and the spin is stopped. But... I'm sill moving! Side ways!

Sliding to the right, moving gently across the ice covered road. The tires should hit the curb any moment now. But they don't...

Still sliding sideways, I feel the truck moving up the parking lot ramp. Nice gliding movement like riding on a cloud, up and over the ramp and across the parking lot.

Now I see the McD restaurant in front of me, along with the parking stops parallel to the front of the truck. The truck slows and comes to a perfect stop right between the parking stripes of the first bay!

I look around - Wow! How did that happen! Wait, who saw my perfect parking maneuver! Unfortunately, nobody. Rats!

I hop out to go get my big mac, slipping around on the ice. The restaurant door opens and the cashier yells out "We're closed because of the ice!"

Ok, fine, I'm off to Portales then... probably one of the dumber things that I've done. 2 1/2 hours later I make it in, safe and sound. Only saw 3 flipped cars on the way. ...can you say "Duuuhhh"

I've since learned that whatever it is that I think is so important... can probably wait till I get there, whenever that is.

[mimie]

Originally Posted by Merlin

Roads were snow packed with freezing rain coming in after, covering the snow. I don't recall why this seemed so important at the time.

...... truck slows and comes to a perfect stop right between the parking stripes of the first bay!

I look around - Wow! How did that happen! Wait, who saw my perfect parking maneuver! Unfortunately, nobody.

Love the story, haven't ever had one like it!

Reminds me of mid-70's, when I lived on a dirt road in Vermont, driving my first "bought-new" vehicle, a 1976 2WD Ford Courier pick-up.

Dirt roads around here love to become utterly ice-glazed, in certain conditions. Thick ice, too - not that crunchy, malleable stuff. Most folks just rev up their 4WD tougher rigs, head on out and - slip, slide, and - gracefully or otherwise - end up off the road, in the ditch.

There I was with my dinky little pick-up. Oh, I had chains for it - needed 'em, lived in Montana when I bought it, for heaven's sake.

Well, a classic ice event happened, so I did what one does - added a bit o' weight in the bed for ballast, put on plain old fashioned metal chains. Hah! I was the only one ON that road of ours, for 2 days. Even pulled a couple of 4X4s out

In its own way, kinda satisfying.

[mimie]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

We dug around under the seat, found a long piece of bailing twine, using a stick shoved it through a hole in the firewall, tied it to what was left of the carburetor linkage, wrapped the other end around the stick.

My roommate steered the truck and applied the brakes. I was the 'Gas.' We made it home, saved ourselves a towing bill and were thrilled with our ingenuity.

All I can say is, "Wow!"

[dfandrews]

A long time a ago (actually 2 weeks) my buddy and I were fishing on Independence Creek (US-395 - east side of CA Sierra Nevada Mts., about 25 miles N of Mt. Whitney.). We had fished along the creek, around the campground, catching a few trout each day, to add to our meals. Day 3, we headed downstream in the morning, where the elevation drops much quicker, and the fishing trails petered out. Low and behold, some beautiful pools lay ahead. As we trail-blazed our way through the brush and rocks, we encountered some slick rocks, so I grabbed a 2" overhead branch for support. Crack! The branch broke, I went down, with my face ½" from the rocks. I now have plantar fasciitus on the right foot, and a very bruised left knee and calf. (Don't know which way to limp!) The good news is I saved my rod and reel from damage, and adrenaline kicked in and allowed me to continue.
Results: within 2½ hours, we had each caught our limit in beautiful rainbow trout, including a really fat one with a whale's tail (what a tale??). We hiked out to a road, and called my wife to drive down and pick us up, because there was no way I could walk back up the mountain to camp. (It would have been a bummer to be skunked after a fall!). Here's my buddy's string, trout in the pans, the whale tail, and camping under Independence Peak.

[mimie]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I knew I was being taken so I bought a case of trans fluid and a quart of bleach. I poured the bleach in and then refilled the transmission with fluid. I left on Saturday morning and made it to Oklahoma City

Jim - great tale! Between you, Donna, and the others here who clearly are mechanical geniuses (inventors-on-the-fly?!) - I am utterly outclassed!

Love the stories - kinda wish some of you lived nearby, you could teach me a thing or two

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by mimie

Love the story, haven't ever had one like it!

...Well, a classic ice event happened, so I did what one does - added a bit o' weight in the bed for ballast, put on plain old fashioned metal chains. Hah! I was the only one ON that road of ours, for 2 days. Even pulled a couple of 4X4s out
In its own way, kinda satisfying.

Very nice Mimi. I like your story too - got a good chuckle with "ON that road" while the 4x4s were digging the ditches deeper. BTW, I too have gotten that warm fuzzy when I pulled out others from the ditch. Got a $20 once for helping out - whoopee!

Yes on the chains and weight in the bed! I now keep a set in the back during the winter months. It took me a while to figure out chains are way cooler than big tires.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by mimie

Jim - great tale! Between you, Donna, and the others here who clearly are mechanical geniuses (inventors-on-the-fly?!) - I am utterly outclassed!

Love the stories - kinda wish some of you lived nearby, you could teach me a thing or two

We may try to make the rally in May up in your parts, I see you already signed up for the "Spring Fling" over on FGRV. I have penciled it in.

[Mike Lewis]

This is not about driving or towing, but it's a travel story:



In August 2002 I traveled from Maryland to Massachusetts on business. I had a carry-on bag and intended to stay overnight, but I wrapped up my task early and changed my flight to return the same evening. I was at Logan airport in Boston. Remember-- two of the hijacked planes in the 9/11 attack had flown out from Logan less than a year before.

As my carry-on bag was going through the scanner, suddenly everything stopped. Two of the security guards stared at the monitor screen on the machine with mouths open. Then they shut the machine down. They beckoned to another, who came over and told those behind me to go to the other scanner across the room. I stood there, curious. Two or three more screeners came over and stared at the monitor, all with eyes bugged out and some with mouths agape.

I slowly realized they were looking at my bag. This didn't look good. From time to time they would point at the screen. They all refused to make eye contact with me. A tough-looking cop standing on their side of the machine about ten feet away also refused to look at me. He had on a white shirt, was bald, and looked like the actor Ed Harris, except bigger. He walked over to the monitor, grimaced, then slowly walked back to his post. I realized the group was afraid of the bag. They would peer inside the machine to stare at it, but wouldn't even start the conveyor belt to back it up. A couple of them looked truly frightened. This went on for a good five
minutes, at least. No one would look at me or talk to me.

Finally I got the attention of an older woman who looked like a
supervisor. "Is there anything I can do to help?", I asked.

"They're coming for you now", she replied sternly. Then she started asking for ID, what I was doing, where I was going, all kinds of questions. I answered them. Then the cop walked over to me, crossed his arms and stared down at me drill-sergeant style.

In a quiet voice he said, "Sir, are you carrying anything you
shouldn't?", as if I could confide in him and everything would be alright.

"No sir!" I answered.

"What is in the bag?"

"Uh, I was up here for an overnight stay", I babbled, "I have a change of clothes, um, a spiral notebook, a paper folder, a small travel case inside with medicine, toothbrush, a spare pair of glasses..."

"Is that all?" he asked. "Do you have any electronics?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so", I replied.

His eyes got big and his voice got louder. "You don't THINK so??!"

"No, no, I have NO electronics; no cellphone, no radio, no anything!"

About then a second cop came over. He was even bigger, with dark hair and a dark uniform with all kinds of stuff attached to it. He looked like Sylvester Stallone. He questioned me like the woman did, while the first cop looked on. He gingerly pulled the bag out of the scanner. I saw that the screeners were really terrified. He put the bag on the examining table that is after the scanner and looked through it. He then zipped it up and told me I could go. I walked on down to my gate, sort of shaken up.

I sat down for a minute, thinking, then a woman announced that my flight had been changed to a gate in a different part of the airport. As I walked over to the new gate I encountered one of the women who was at the screening, a person who worked for USAirways. I asked her if she was at the screening of my bag. She said yes. I asked what upset them so; whatever it is, I surely won't put it in the bag again. She wouldn't give a straight answer, I guess in order to not betray their procedures, but she said certain arrangements of objects in a bag can look like an explosive device. She mentioned the house keys I had in the bag.

My keys were attached to a small tape measure, which I guess under X-ray looks like a coil of wire. I stopped flying with that tape measure after that.

[mimie]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

We may try to make the rally in May up in your parts, I see you already signed up for the "Spring Fling" over on FGRV. I have penciled it in.

Yay!

[mimie]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I asked what upset them so; whatever it is, I surely won't put it in the bag again. She wouldn't give a straight answer, I guess in order to not betray their procedures, but she said certain arrangements of objects in a bag can look like an explosive device. She mentioned the house keys I had in the bag.

My keys were attached to a small tape measure, which I guess under X-ray looks like a coil of wire. I stopped flying with that tape measure after that.

All I can say is, better thee than me. That would have completely unnerved me!

And - lesson learned -- Remove Swiss Army knife AND 6' tape measure from purse before heading to airport!

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

...
About then a second cop came over. He was even bigger, with dark hair and a dark uniform with all kinds of stuff attached to it. He looked like Sylvester Stallone.

Yikes... Good story but yikes...

Reminds me of a trip out of Pheonix with some sort of TSA remodel going on.

Long lines, everyone seemed crabby. The guy behind me kept "bumping into me". Finally I got tired of it and stepped back to make it clear he could pass and said "Please, go ahead" but not in a nice way. He passed and saved exactly zero time. Then I got back in line and stared right at a TSA guy with a equally stern look.

When we finally got to the scanners the impatient guy got on the first scanner, I got the second. I sailed thru and turned back to see the guy's bags getting opened and emptied out.


Lesson... don't mess with other travelers in the TSA lines. You'll get there when you get there.

[cpaharley2008]

Yes, I remember being exposed to the mob crowd mentality right after an infamous killing. Mine was in 1968 when MLK was assassinated. They closed down U of Md and I drove home in my 1966 white Mustang (see #7 above). I was stopped on the 35 mile trip maybe 3 times by police. It seems that James E. Ray get away vehicle was identical to mine.....eek, an APB was out on that vehicle.