Sunday, March 4, 2018

Texas Road Trip: Spring Break day 2

So it is Sunday and did not even think about places being closed or not opening after lunch which was too late for us to make our final stop of the day before dark.  So instead of visiting the The Buddy Holly Center to learn more about one of the most famous people from Lubbock; we had to settle to hang with the residents of Mackenzie Park instead.
They were so stinking cute!  It was back on the road and nothing but blue skies and empty highways!  Just outside of New Deal, Texas . . . singing in my head some Robert Earl Keen because now I know where New Deal and Idalou are located in Texas . . . the check tire pressure light came on.  I thought no big deal since it is colder and we have been driving for a couple of days so we pulled into the next truck stop and paid (I know crazy huh) for air . . . light was off and we were good to go!  This is my current mood . . .
How can one not be happy in Happy, Texas?  We are a bit ahead of schedule so decided to detour to Canyon, Texas for a snack and then to the Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge . . .
Why not?  We are in the middle of nowhere panhandle Texas and so beautiful!  We take the scenic car self driving tour . . .
Then stop at the observation point where I finally had time to eat my snack . . .
. . . The Donut Stop in Canyon was yummy especially my maple donut . . . and about at this moment things were turned upside down.  I happened to glance at the car and noticed the back tire looked low.  At first I thought it was in a hole, but then immediately yelled for Colin to get in the car so we could get to a paved road.  Yep the back passenger tire is flat . . .
So I am like you have got to be kidding me!  We are seriously in the middle of nowhere and what now?  I remembered that my car had free roadside assistance which I have never used but gave them a call.  No problem she located someone to come help me.  I could change the tire, but the problem was the spare/donut was flat and I had no way to air it up.  Well isn't this just getting grander by the minute.  I was given a time of about 45 minutes until arrival since the guy was coming from Amarillo.  No big deal . . . so while I waited I called to see if I could find a place to repair the tire or if needed to buy two new tires they were in stock.  The closest town isn't that large but has a Walmart that is open on Sunday until 6pm and has tires in store so at that point I figured it would all work out!  We waited and waited . . .
. . .  and waited some more . . . had a little bit of fun being silly . . .
. . . and continued to wait.  The person coming to help had no idea where we were located and could not find where we were.  He called me several times to let me know he was trying to get to us which  was super nice.  They finally pinged my cell phone and found us.  Now here is the kicker . . . several cars passed us and only one stopped to see if we needed help.  I mean a flat tire, spare on the ground, and two people sitting on the ground would sort of seem like you should offer to help, right?  Thanks to the five men in the USAF plated government truck who did not even bother to stop or wave . . . thanks to the employees of the BLNWR who drove by us twice and didn't even ask if we were okay.  The one lady who did stop was older and said she noticed we had been there for a couple of hours and wanted to see if we were okay.  Yes, it took over 2 hours for the helper guy to find us.  His first words to me were, "Is it just you and your son?  What on Earth are you doing out here?"  Hmmmm, I know, I know, I know.  At this point I was just worried we would not make it in time to Walmart to get the tire repaired.  You know how long it takes to drive 25 miles on a spare donut when you can't go over 40 miles per hour?  A long time but we pulled in at 4:45pm so we were good.  They were super nice and of course the hole was really big and could not be patched so two new tires we got on our second day of vacation!  We were on our merry way in less than 40 minutes which was amazing but here is the other problem.  Our spring break trip was planned around the reservation for a cabin I had booked for tonight in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  There are only 3 cabins inside the park so it is extremely difficult to get a reservation which I just happened to luck into a couple of weeks ago.  You must pick up the key between 3pm-5pm . . . it was after 5 and I had been calling to let them know about our problem but no one was answering.  I was so upset that we might not get to stay in the cabin after all.  At some point while waiting for help and looking around at the grasslands surrounding the refuge . . .
. . . I realized if it isn't meant to be it will all be okay.  We are healthy.  We are laughing.  We are safe.  Worst case we will find another hotel in town, drive to the park in the morning, and do our hike.  I mean it could be a lot worse . . . we were not hurt; it was just a tire after all.  I normally stress beyond belief over things like this but you know there are worst scenarios or bigger issues in life to stress over.  Colin was just thrilled he was able to use data on the cell phone while we waited.  Life  has required some tough decisions of me the last few weeks and this was just a tire.  So we get in the car and head to Palo Duro Canyon State Park . . . pulled in around 6:00pm and told the girl I had a reservation but was late and not sure what to do.  She said no worries we are here until 7:00pm tonight so you are good to go, just park and come inside.  At that point, I just wanted to cry because after all it really does work out.  Lately I have been a really negative, pessimistic person at times but need to really try harder working at being more positive and optimistic. With a key in hand we headed out to our cabin . . . you have to be kidding me!  Our cabin for the night . . .  
 It has to be a sign, right?  And then there it was . . .
. . . it was so cute, the views were beautiful, and we arrived just as the sun was setting.
You know what makes things better?
Yes, s'mores always make you happy!  The inside of the cabin was cute too . . .
. . . and much nicer than I expected.    These cabins were built as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that was formed in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  The CCC did all the original improvements on the park including to build these cabins.  Our cabin is named after Charles Goodnight who was an American cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas.  He is sometimes known as the father of the Texas Panhandle.
I was able to relax and just enjoy the moment!  In the end it all worked out . . . sometimes tears are required though!

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