First Jedediah Smith Trail 1822 — 1824

Day 36: September 20th, 2009 Rapid City — Mitchell

Map Rapid City to Mitchell

Thanks to my ear plugs, I was able to sleep pretty well until seven in the morning. Because I will loose an hour today, I don’t want to depart too late. I quickly check the engine oil level. But due to the countless amounts of wasps around here, I skip the plan to fill up. However, the level is still a quarter above minimum.

I check out and ask for the Morningside Cafe. But the reception lady tells me, that she only picks up fast food when she runs from her first job to the second one. So I just drive over there and give it a try. When I arrive at the restaurant, I immediately remember everything. Unfortunately, they are closed on Sundays! Therefore I have no other choice than to drive over to Perkins or Denny’s.

I drive over to the latter one. The breakfast is okay, only the bacon is very thin. I pay and drive over to the next gas station.

I–90, SD

Around a quarter past ten I am on the road again. It warms up pretty fast and soon the temperature rises above 85 degrees.

I–90, SD

I–90, Cheyenne River, SD

I–90, SD

I–90, SD

I–90, SD

I–90, SD

I–90, Central Time Zone, SD

I–90, SD

I–90, SD

I–90, SD

Today, there is a real strong side and head wind. It almost blows me from the Interstate. Somehow, my truck is very sensitive on any side wind. And because of the head wind, I am forced to drive in third gear all the time. When putting in Overdrive, I must even be harder on the pedal and the engine revolutions are almost not lower. But the engine is allowed to rev up to 4500rpm. So, this should not be a problem.

I–90, Missouri River/Lake Francis Case, SD

At Chamberlain I have a brief stop to gas up and to have a lunch break. Then I drive on. I am passing Mitchell and Alexandria, when I suddenly smell something burned. But soon it stops again. Probably it was another car in front of me. Then, suddenly, the steering got very strong, the battery symbol turns on and the temperature literally jumps to the end: Now I realize that the driving belt is gone!

Immediately, I stop at the right shoulder and turn off the engine. Hopefully, the head gasket has survived. I open the hood and see, that the driving belt is almost gone! The single stripes are heavily turned around the fan. It takes me a while, until I have everything unwinded. Then I dig out my spare driving belt. Lucky me, that I always carry spare parts!

But when I start to put on the driving belt I must realize, that the idler pulley, which gives tension on the driving belt, seems to be stuck. The pulley itself has fallen down and the inner part is almost impossible to turn anymore. I try to get it going with some lubricant spray. But that doesn’t look good. Also, I am not able to find something which would help me to get the pulley lever up. It seems that I must look for another tool. When I am back, I must ask David on what is the best way to get the lever up.

But for now, I am definitely lost. At this point, I am not able to proceed with my tools. Also, there is no chance to try to drive without a working water pump. Therefore, I take a look at my map to see, where I am currently stuck. My laptop shows me, that I am east of Alexandria. Unfortunately, I am not able to find any AAA phone number. Therefore, I try to reach Helen first and try directly her mobile phone. But first, nothing works. Then I only reach her mailbox.

I search through my phone book and the next one, who comes to my mind, is my friend Matt. If someone is able to handle this situation, then Matt is the guy! So I call him and reach Jean first. I briefly tell her my problem, but she immediately hands me over to Matt. He immediately starts my rescue by searching the AAA phone number on the Internet. Because he is not able to easily locate it, he simply calls his AAA in Michigan and takes me in a three–party–call. He explains to the lady my problem, which saves me from a lot of trouble. Because here at the Interstate, with all the trucks and cars passing by, it is almost impossible to understand anything. Also this bloody mobile phone is so low in volume. But together, we are able to explain her my problem and she hands us over to AAA South Dakota.

Then we must explain the next lady again my problem and she asks for my membership number. I explain her the cooperation with the German ADAC and my number there. She also asks about the distance, which is covered with my membership. But this is something, I truly don’t know. But she is so nice to call the German ADAC and check with them. This is really a great service!

She immediately hands over the emergency ticket, but she says, it can take up to 45 to 60 minutes until the tow truck arrives. We say thank you and then it is time to wait. In the meantime, I collect my stuff together again. Then my mobile phone rings. Somehow, I had no reception for a short amount of time. But the lady from the AAA (I think her name was Jeannette) has called me back and left a message. She was not able to reach someone at the ADAC. Or better to say, everything was in German and she was not able to proceed. But for now, she has just put in 100 miles. This should be enough to get back to Mitchell. This is really nice!

I wish, I could say thank you in person. But this will be difficult. Now it is time to wait again. Then the tow truck driver calls me. But due to the noise, I am not able to understand a word. I get back in my car and close the door. But now the reception is completely lost. I get out again and try to call back. That works and after several attempts I was able to tell him my position once again. I am wondering, how often I must do this…

Soon after, the tow truck arrives. This is a really wild guy and completely dirty. First, he takes a look at my problem. Then he must realize, that there is nothing he can do. Only getting the truck in tow position is difficult, because he must lift my truck at the rear. He suggests, to only take out the driving belt and to drive this short distance without cooling. The engine has cooled down in the meantime. Therefore we do it like this.

But turning the truck around without power steering is really tough. And then I get stuck on the hillside. Therefore I put in 4WD and drive out again. Then back again and he is able to hook up my truck. The rest is done by himself. The car will be lifted and we hit the road.

While driving he tells me, that he just returned from a race, something like Mud Drag Racing or similar. He has collected all the prices this weekend. But that wasn’t much. The race has been stopped due to too much water. This was just enough to pay his expenses. Last night, he only slept for two hours and he is now dog tired.

As hotel he suggests to go to the Corn Palace Motel. This is in walking distance to the mechanic and there they have special rates. Originally, I wanted to go to a Super 8. But I agree anyways. I don’t want to ask him to drive around for too long.

When we arrive there, he asks for a room. They have one free for me. Then I ask him, if we could drive over to my room, because I have a lot of luggage. And even this he is willing to do! I am really happy, that he is so patient with me.

I check in, then I quickly pack everything in my car together — whereas I forget to take my mobile phone and some bottled water out. But that is now too late. Just next to my motel is the Chef Louie’s. Somehow I have the impression, that I have been here before. But I am not able to find something on my laptop with a brief search. And this bloody Windows search function is not really helpful. In Unix, it wouldn’t even take me a second to find this, but in Windows…

Therefore, I just walk over to the restaurant and when I enter, I start to remember. Definitely, I was here before. The restaurant is a really fine dining place. But instead, the price is really okay. It’s not more expensive than the Outback Steakhouse. Around nine I pay and walk back to my room. I quickly ask at the office about checking out tomorrow. Currently, I don’t know when the mechanic has finished his work on my truck. But I can simply leave my stuff here at the office. That is not a problem.

I have a chance for a chat with the owner and she tells me, that she has sold the restaurant to her son last year. I tell her, that I have been here a couple of years ago. But at that time, I stayed at the Super 8. Probably, she had been in the restaurant back then. We chat for a while about all kind of stuff before I finally say good–bye to start writing my diary — and to send a brief email to Matt and my parents.

There is no WiFi available in my room. Therefore I must go back to the office. But there, everything is already dark. Anyways, there is a bench outside. So I quickly type my email there. Then I walk back to my room and do my bookkeeping and write my diary. Then I am ready to go to bed. It is already half past eleven — and until I am eventually in bed it is almost midnight again…

The next day is in preparation…