Part Ten

"Good news and bad news AND good news"

Did you ever have one of those days where you thought it could be good, it could be worse and then be good again?? Well today, kemosabes and kemosabettes, was one of those days. But I am smiling, trust me, it gets better. Please read on.

The day begins with a call from Pit Stall Firestone tires in Valentine, Nebraska where we last left off. Good news was that they found a tire for my Hyundai. The bad news was that it was a used tire. Not having dealt with used tires that much, I figure go ahead and get my car ready. A long day's journey awaits. I get my car about 10am CDT and head back to my hotel to pack up and get going.  Once out on U.S. Route 83, the phrase "used tire" starts to make itself known and in a semi-loud way. Seems this tire had a worn spot and you could hear the thumping really well once you were above 40 mph. And I think to myself, "Self??" And I said, "Yes??" And I said, "It's gonna be a long day."

Still, it is fall and the colors are great:

 

Despite all of the noise, I made good speed and arrived in North Platte, Nebraska at 12:15 CDT, just about on schedule. Once I grab some lunch, I am on the phone with the folks at Alamo at Eppley Field in Omaha to see what I can do about this loud tire. I ended up being on the phone for almost 30 minutes which included 2 stops to jot down information on my iPad. It turns out that National, Alamo and Enterprise work together at getting resolutions to car issues. When the dust finally settles, I am told that I will be able to get a new tire in Cheyenne, Wyoming at a place called Jones Lube & More.  I tell the girl at Enterprise thank you very much and continue from North Platte. 

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As I drive westward, you cannot help but hear that tire. It’s more pronounced on smoother roads. On the non-smooth, not-real-asphalt roads, the road noise of the whole car drowns out the bad tire, so there is some relief. And time is on my side....as long as I keep driving at the pace I am at. And before I know it, I have crossed the time line and I am now in the Mountain Time zone which will be our host until Friday. And upon that crossing, I am greeted with an eastbound double-stack:

Complete with a helper unit and what looked like a few last minute added cars:

I enter Colorado via State Route 138 and I arrive in Julesburg. 

I so wanted to head to the Family general store for their delicious grinders but I had to grab lunch earlier due to time constraints. I will swing by there on my return trip on Friday. They are that good!!

Back onto U.S. Route 30 and its time to play tag with a westbound double stack:

And a couple of miles later, we meet an eastbound counterpart:

At Brownson, a westbound unit autorack:

And there is one neat meeting point on U.S. Route 30: just west over the border of Kimball County about 5 miles east of the town of Dix, you will find the Union Pacific, Route 30 and I-80 within a stone's throw of each other. And good news today: I managed to get my shot with a train in it. Been trying to that since I first came out to this part of the state. Jackpot!!!!

I enter our 4th and final state, Wyoming, at the border in the town of Pine Bluffs and soon I am up on Interstate 80 and I get a surprise: track speed is still 60 but road speed is now 80. Eighty on Eighty. As much as I would truly love to drive that fast, I hold back due to that bad tire. 

Hmmm.....need a cleaner windshield next time.

Thirty minutes later, I find College Drive off of I-80 westbound and few minutes later, I am at Jones Lube & More.  But are no stands to remove and install tires. I speak to Bernie Jones and we exchange info about my car and the bad tire. A few minutes later, Bernie gets behind the wheel and we go a couple of city blocks and arrive at Peerless Tires for Less. Bernie talks to the tire guys, signs off on my paperwork and says bye as he walks back the 2 blocks to his lube place. Ten minutes later and I have a new tire thanks to Ben and David. 

A leisurely drive on East Lincoln Way, aka U.S. Route 3,0 and arrive at my hotel for the night, the LaQuinta Inn of Cheyenne. The lovely Corinna at the front desk checks me in and once in my room, it is a swan dive into a nice hot shower. Dinner will be at the Outback Steakhouse just down the street.

Tuesday brings us west to the city of Laramie just over the first divide and then southeast to Bellvue, Colorado to hopefully find the tower of Greeley, Colorado's KUNC. And a visit that evening with an old family friend and her family in Littleton.

Sunny skies and low 70's are in the forecast for the week. A trip into the Rockies on Wednesday is looking very promising. Type to you tomorrow.

I'm Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Cheyenne, Wyoming.