The alarm went off at 6:00 AM as we wanted to get an early start. Since we'd done pretty much everything yesterday, once the tow dolly was secured and the car loaded we were on the road by 8:20 AM headed toward I-215.
As we approached our on ramp we saw a traffic jam, fortunately it was almost cleared so we only had a fifteen minute wait before we were going north toward our rendezvous with Don and Diane. Surprisingly we both arrived at our meeting point within three minutes of each other. After a quick walk for the dogs it was back on the road headed up I-15 for Las Vegas, our first stop on the way to Yellowstone.Things went along well until we were about 80 miles from LV when our rig began to overheat. We managed to baby it along for another ten miles to the Cima Road Truck Stop where we pulled out to see if there might be a mechanic on duty. No such luck.
So I got out our "Emergency Roadside Service" card and called for a tow. I received very courteous help and as it turned out, there was a towing business located at the truck stop so our tow was set up quickly. While that was being handled, Don went and bought some fudge. We disconnected the tow dolly and receiver hitch and connected them to Don's RV and loaded the bikes onto the car rack.Amazingly, when the tow truck got there it was a big flatbed low boy. We watched as the driver dropped the back of the bed so it was on a tilt with the rear edge on the ground. Then the driver asked me to drive up onto the bed of the truck. With his help we got the rig up there and secured and were back on the road by 3:30 PM in a convoy headed for the Freightliner shop in North Las Vegas.
We got there by 5:00 PM and pulled into the yard. After talking to the office I drove the rig off the truck in the reverse of getting it up there. Eventually we were able to take a change of clothes, toiletries, etc., in our overnight bags then parked the coach in one of the service bays.
With the coach taken care of for the night, we drove back into Las Vegas to Arizona Charlies Casino and RV Resort. Once we got Don & Diane in their space and hooked up we all loaded into the ca rand went over to the casino/hotel so Tina and I could get a room. Then it was off to dinner.After a nice dinner in the Sourdough Cafe we went into the casino where Tina and Diane play the slots and I watched Don at the craps table. Forty-five minutes later, Don was up almost $50 and Diane had won a $200 jackpot on the penny slots. Tina donated twenty and I lost a dollar. Not bad!
After we took Don & Diane back to their rig we returned to our room to settle in for the night. I have instructions to call Freightliner in the morning so we'll see what happens from there.
Travel distance for this leg, 270 miles. Distance traveled to date, 6,740.
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