We went to Burley to hang with Chase and Rachel for the 4th. We went down the night before and actually came home before the fireworks because Justin had an early meeting the next day, so we missed actual fireworks but otherwise had a fun day playing in Chase's backyard. They have a sweet blowup toy that connects to the hose making for a perfect yard toy for the hot day. We loved it so much we bought one for ourselves!
We decided to take the camper for a spin to work out all the kinks before our camping trip to Redfish. Upon inspection we discovered we didn't winterize the water heater correctly so the tank split at the top! I called Bish's RV and they couldn't get it in to weld it shut until September, but Dad suggested I have someone in Arco weld it. I got a hold of Matt Nelson and he welded it for 50 bucks! He saved us a ton of money and time, for sure.
We did an overnighter to Wildhorse which was just right for that campground. We got there, set up camp, did our hike to Fall Creek, had dinner, and that was pretty much it! We woke up the next morning, loaded up and headed home. On the way home we actually blew a tire on the highway just north of the turnoff for Pass Creek. Thankfully Justin pulled off to the side right away where there was a dirt driveway and plenty of room to park the camper and leave it until Justin could come back with a jack to fix it. Dad loaned us some tools and we got it all sorted out. We drove to Les Schwab that afternoon and bought two new trailer tires and got them on the camper so we were all sorted ready to go to Redfish.
Well, our Redfish trip had some surprises. There were a few foreshadowing events that I now recognize were hints things were off. First, when Justin was replacing the wheels on the trailer he noticed the wheel was wobbly. That was our first hint that the bearings weren't right, but we didn't recognize it. Secondly, I went to dump the trailer from our Wildhorse trip the night before I left for Redfish and one of the wheels was about to fly off because Justin didn't tighten the nuts enough. When I first went to see how tight they were, the nuts were SUPER hot and greasy. What the heck? I thought either Justin or the guy who fixed the new tires to the rim used some kind of lubricant to get it on? Well, that was hint #2 that the bearings were going out and I didn't recognize it.
So - I headed up to Redfish through Challis with Emmett, Logan, and Colby. The plan was to have Justin come up later that night with Beckham. With all our previous tire drama I had my eyes on the trailer wheels half of the drive up. Things looked fine, so I kept on until we pulled into the campsite. I set everything up no problem, took the kids to the lake, and we had dinner that night when Justin got there.
It wasn't until the next morning as I walked around the camper that I noticed the left trailer tire rim was splashed with grease. I mentioned to Justin that something was up with the wheel. He took one look and said, "That's not good." I told him we might as well leave while we had the two of us together (the plan was to have Justin leave that night and I would come home early the next morning). He agreed but I suggested we ask some other experienced campers their opinion before we took off.
I did a lap around the campground with a prayer in my heart that I would be led to the right people. Right away there was a campground full of people that looked good, but I finished the loop just to be thorough. I looped around and decided to ask that group. They pointed me to Doug to ask the trailer question to. I showed him the pictures of our two wheels (normal, and not normal) and he said he'd better come and take a look. His friend Troy met us on the way and they both came to check things out. They had Justin take the wheel off and were astounded at what they saw. The wheel bearings had been completely welded to the axle with some of the parts totally disintegrated. There was nothing keeping the wheel from flying off the trailer. Losing a wheel on the windy Highway 75 along the Salmon River absolutely could have resulted in flipping the trailer/truck into the the river. Troy took one look at everything, looked at me, and asked, "How did you get this here?" As a retired mechanic, he said he had never seen bearings deteriorated to such a state, and he absolutely could not believe the camper was parked there with that wheel still on. As we learned the seriousness of the situation, I realized we were absolutely protected by our Heavenly Father. I answered him, "By the grace of God." There is no reason why that wheel should have stayed where it did. With the state of the bearings, Troy and Doug both agreed the rim must have been red hot coming off the highway. They determined the damage to the bearings was a result of damage to the axle so there was basically a cascade of problems from there. I wonder now if our original blown tire from our Wildhorse trip damaged the axle from the time it took to get the rig off the highway.
Well, obviously that made our trip take a turn. Justin spent the rest of the day trying to fix a few work problems while also trying to hunt down a mechanic to see if he could come out and get a new axle. Doug and Troy both knew of a mechanic in Stanley but he wasn't able to hunt him down. Compounded to all of this, Justin and I both don't have cell service up there, so we spent the majority of the day out of touch with no clue what Justin was finding out. I made the most of the day with the four kids, taking turns with naps and trying to fit in some lake time. Ultimately, Justin was able to get in touch with a tow company who came up from Hailey to take it away. We spent an hour or so at the lake, came back to pack everything out of the camper we needed, and watched the tow truck take the camper away. We were so grateful to Doug and Troy for their experience and sound advice to get us home safely. I know the Lord protects us and preserves us. Especially when - in our ignorance - we don't know any better.
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