Farewell Redwoods and A Long Lesson About Diesel Coolant
After spending these 3 weeks in the redwoods, we really settled in and we were sad to say goodbye. We made a special trip to a beach that we had passed a dozen times but never stopped at. Wade all ready in the car with his googles on, even though we had at least a 30 minute drive. We said a temporary goodbye to the Pacific Ocean this day, knowing we were starting our journey back East the next day. There really is something intrinsically healing about the water, especially the oceans. The crashing of the waves. The exhilaration of the freezing water rushing over your feet (and my crazy kid’s entire body). The feel of the sand in-between your toes and fingers (and, for my kids, the way it weighs down on their body as they bury each other).
We returned home, had a great meal outside, and continued to work on our children’s building of responsibilities around the home. Then, armed with nets and a bucket, they set out on their bikes to catch (and release) tadpoles in the pond for the last time. This had been one of their favorite activities of our stay here.
The next morning we were on the road before 7, knowing that we had a long drive ahead. Kids were woken up and moved to the couches for seatbelts, and they dove right into some books. What we didn’t know was that hours would be added to our travel. Headed up a mountain Old Dan gave us a warning that the coolant was low. After 2 minutes we were warned that the engine would stop, and about 30 seconds later the engine just shut off. Luckily we were able to pull over to investigate. Aaron is the fix-it sort of type, he likes to handle everything on his own, but after spending some time with the manual we made some phone calls. Our road side assistance was the first, but after tales of waiting to be towed to a town where we’d have to wait for days for a shop to open, and after realizing we’d be perched on this narrow uneven shoulder for hours waiting for our tow truck, we called Cummins again. Aaron had a nice long chat with Gary and so began our education on diesel engines and their varied coolant needs. Turns out there are 4 different types of coolant that can go in a diesel engine. They all work, they just can’t be mixed, and of course we don’t know what is in ours.
So, after much discussion we decide the MacGyver route was what would work best for us. And to be fair, it is ALWAYS the route Aaron will choose to take. We just had to solve the issue of how to get some distilled water into the radiator so that the level would pass the sensor and the engine would start again. It in involved blades and a now destroyed hose and, of course, duct tape. So here we are, perched on the side of a mountain road, siphoning water into our coolant system, just hoping it would work. At this point I was REALLY wishing I had a photographer with me to document this ridiculous sight.
It worked! And we were on our way, checking the level frequently to make sure we weren’t dealing with a leak. The remaining ride was filled with copious amounts of radiator fluid research, a forest fire, a badly planned detour through a community shopping center, and Amelia teaching Wade how to draw people. Amelia’s new artistic love is creating fashion looks. We arrived at our overnight stop at 11:00pm to find someone had taken our “easy to get into” spot. As we parked in the tight leftover spot, with the RV park cat watching and judging Aaron’s every move, we were beat to hell, but safe and still on the road.
