Day 29: Spearfish, SD (J's Version)

Good morning! We never made it to Wyoming yesterday. (G left here about an hour ago and

technically IS in Wyoming right now. I have to finish some extra laundry before I head out.) After I left Sears yesterday, I went to Radio Shack and a few other places for stuff that we needed. When I got back to the car, the ENGINE LIGHT was on. Oh, and the truck was driving horribly. Like I thought it might not even make it on the highway! (But the AC was working great! lol)

Here's a Haiku I composed to sum up the rest of our day:

Oh, no! Not again.
Transmission is busted. F*$%
Bought a new truck. Yay!

Be honest. Did you just count on your fingers the number of syllables for each line? haha (5-7-5)
Buying a new truck was NOT on our list of things to do during our trip. We've had trouble with the blue Dodge Dakota for quite some time now, particularly with the transmission. Before we left CT, we had everything looked it and it was given the "good to go." G made it clear that we were going cross country back and forth, but all seemed fine at the time. This is now the second time just on the trip that the transmission is being funky. Yesterday was way worse than in Fort Wayne. When the light went on and as I was having a hard time accelerating, I didn't want to call G yet. I wanted to call around Rapid City first to see if someone could look at it. Did I mention it was a Saturday late morning? Either places were closed or about to be closed in a few hours. I went back to Sears but by that time their line was super long.

I found a random mechanic kind of in a boonies area. It looked really shady, and as I was going in through the back (It wasn't even a store front) I was thinking, "No one knows i'm here." I walk in and there's only two mechanics in the place with half naked chicks all over the walls. Thankfully, the guy was really helpful after he did the diagnostic test and said all transmission codes are coming up and probably the best place to go would be a dealer. I called the nearest Dodge dealer, but they couldn't squeeze me in until Tuesday!

Then, I started having a mini panic attack. 1. Not feeling safe driving the truck primarily by myself until we get to the Pacific. 2. Being alone in this vehicle. 3. If we do see a transmission guy we could lose a few days on our journey and never get back home. 4. I, finally called G twice and he didn't pick up. 5. Where's G???? 6. Duh, the highway, so he probably can't pick up. 7. G's calling me back.

He was having lunch in Spearfish, SD which was about 30 miles from Rapid City. Luckily, the truck made it there. I felt so much better being together. We made a ton of calls and kind of came up flat. Since it was Saturday afternoon most places wouldn't be open until Monday, and that's even if they could fix it. Then, he goes, "Let's just check out a Dodge dealer to see what they have to offer. We'll just look." I thought it would be a complete waste of time because we're obviously not going to buy a new truck....

We went to Juneks Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM in Spearfish and spent a good few hours wheeling and dealing with two really cool guys, Lex and Jason. G and I were actually both on the same page as far as the actual truck goes. Sometimes our tastes can differ. Thank god there wasn't a green truck. He's always liked green trucks, but i'm not a fan. The color is deep cherry and perfect. All night we kept saying in awe, "We just bought a truck."  The truck itself is a little bigger than the old one. The bed is still the same size though, but the frame is slightly larger. For ex. I have to kind of climb into it and hop out. Down the road, we'll probably get a step thingy added on. Also, I could totally see fine when I test drove it, but I might get a booster seat just to see if that makes it even better. (PS. It's a RAM. Not a Dodge Ram. Just RAM)

How's that for school spirit? RAM STRONG!

In all honestly, we were probably going to get a new truck in a year. Maybe two, but the timing was right. We weighed the pros/cons and the pros won. I'll feel much safer and it'll make the drive back east better, too. Although, I can't wait to be home and not have the whole back cab be filled with all our bags and junk. Wow. We were not expecting to be transporting all of our cr*p from one truck to another. The whole process happened in just a few hours. We were able to leave with the truck by 5 pm. Plus, G only missed 30 miles of his ride yesterday since he had to stop and today's ride would have been shorter, but making up the 30 miles puts him at 95, so we're still on track.

We did learn from the car guys that East and West South Dakota have a rivalry with each other. It's not over rap. I'm not sure what it's over, but it was interesting to learn.

We don't have any physical children, so I feel like we just bought a kid or something. Although, kids don't come with life time warranties.

Our nephew who is house sitting sent us a few pictures this morning! So adorable! I miss our kitties!

Tiger and M&J's dog, Shelby.

Staring contest

2 cats, a dog, and a baby. Sounds like a movie!

Have a great day!!