Part Nine

“Carless in Valentine”

Got your attention, didn’t I?? The explanation for today’s title will come soon enough.

Sunday morning in Pierre begins as on any Sunday with the 10am Mass at St. Peter and Paul Church, a beautiful yellow brick structure up on a hill in Pierre.

A full house was in place for the 10am service. And during part of the Catholic mass, there is a point where the pastor will ask everyone to show each other a sign of peace. And you greet the stranger next to you, shake their hand, and simply say, “Peace be with you”. You will hear no preaching from this writer, but just a note to say that whatever religion or following you do, peace be with you. And so it goes.

It is the beginning of pheasant hunting season in South Dakota this weekend. There were many out-of-state cars and pickup trucks in the parking lot at my hotel this morning and the black and golden labs were getting their morning meal and water before heading out to the fields. With all of the hunters in town, it took a while to find a place that wasn’t too crowded for lunch. Jenn and I found the Guadalajara Mexican restaurant on U.S. Route 83 in downtown Pierre and it was grilled chicken sandwiches with a hearty side of salsa chips.

At about 3pm, I say bye to Jenn and Rebecca and begin my journey to Thedford, Nebraska. As I make the turn from Route 83 southbound to Interstate 90 westbound about 40 minutes later, I go about a mile and the tire pressure indicator pops up on the dashboard. I am now wondering what will happen as I head west and hope that I can make it to the truck stop rest area in Murdo, South Dakota about 25 miles out. Five miles into that 25 miles, the car is fighting for power and I can feel a vibration in the car. Up ahead is exit 208 at mile marker 208. I managed to get to the bottom of the ramp and come to find out the right front tire is flat. I find no noticeable nail or protrusion from the tire. 

I go pull out my suitcase from the trunk space and pull up the panel. THERE IS NO SPARE TIRE!!!

Just a stryofoam holder for some tolls and a battery powered tire pump. I'm thinking, "Seriously??!!

So I dig out my AAA card and give the 800 number a call. Brian gets on the line and takes my information and even he doesn't believe I have no spare tire and tells me that will take up to an hour from now for a tow truck to come out. I start my iPhone stop watch at 3:44pm CDT and listen to the Giants/Cowboys game on XM Radio. About a half hour later, a deputy sheriff from the local county shows up asking how I am doing. After exchanging pleasantries, he digs out his cell phone and calls the numbers he has on the tow truck operators out of Murdo. Deputy Sylva informs me that Mike from Mike’s Towing is on his way. I bid the deputy ado and about 30 minutes later, Mike shows up with a big Ford F450 extended cab pickup truck with a big diesel engine, 2–tire-per-axle rear axle, 4-wheel drive and a double axle flatbed trailer. Mike gets my car loaded up and we are on our way to Murdo.

Upon arriving in Murdo, Mike makes a few phone calls and apparently none of the tire vendors in town have a tire for me. We again go over my options. It turns out that my AAA card is a “Plus RV” card which entitles me to 100 miles of free towing. Mike asks me where I was originally going and I said Thedford, Nebraska. Mike says that my free towing will run out just south of Valentine, Nebraska on the way to Thedford. I tell Mike to get me to Valentine. After swinging by his house to retrieve his cell phone and tell the wife he’ll be home late, we grab some sodas at the Murdo truck stop and head south on U.S. Route 83. As we are heading south, I cancel 2 hotel reservations: one in Gordon, Nebraska (I wasn’t able to contact my friend and former News 8 worker Ray Waldron for a visit) and one in Thedford, Nebraska where I was originally supposed to stop for the night. With Verizon LTE service available, I use my iPad to search for hotels on Valentine and come across the EconoLodge by Choice Hotels. I book the reservation and confirm my email and I am good to go.

About an hour and 40 minutes later, we arrive in Valentine and look for a tire place. We find Pit Stall Firestone about a quarter of a mile from my hotel. I call the after-service hours on the main door and get ahold of Doug Pier, one of the mechanics. After explaining to him my predicament, we exchange phone numbers and he tells me where to drop off my note and car keys at the tire store.

Once that is done, Mike drops me off at my hotel and he takes with him a $20 tip. Could not thank the guy enough. I wish him safe travels and then meet front desk lady Julie of EconoLodge Valentine. When I give her my information, she says she has no record of my reservation on her system. I show her the page from my iPad and she confirms with me that she has the fax from Hotels.Com where I made the reservation. While she is on the phone with their Customer Service, my reservation pops up on her EconoLodge computer. A swipe of my credit card and next thing you know, I am in my room. A quick walk down the street to drop off my note and car keys at Pit Stall and a quick walk to the Conoco Road Runner convenience store across the street from the hotel for food and my journey for the day is done. A hot shower later, it is time for some well-deserved rest and dinner and the 49ers/Broncos game on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

And my New York Giants?? Um….no comment.

And with the overnight, we are halfway through our journey. Tomorrow, we should be back on the road and continuing our journey to our next stop and state which will be Cheyenne, Wyoming. Fingers crossed that it will be less eventful.

Again, my heartfelt thanks to Mike of Mike’s Towing of Murdo, South Dakota for his service today. Mobile safely, young man.

I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Valentine, Nebraska.