Wheels Just Spinning...
There are days like today, when it seems that all I'm doing is spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere. That was actually literally the case this morning as The Kidling and I attempted to drive to town: I needed to check on something along the gravel road that borders the north side of the farm, and having done so, decided that instead of trying to turn around on the narrow road, I'd follow it (and its connections) into town. The Kidling said that this was the way the school-bus always went, since it had to pick up other kids along the way, so it seemed like it would be a safe route.
It was, at first...
At the second junction, I had the option of going West to the paved highway, or going East, and linking up with the road that would come into town through the back way. I'd driven that road once before, and recalled it being a pleasant drive. The Kidling also said that it was the route that the school-bus always used. Apparently, the school-bus never made the trip after there had been a good amount of rain the day before. The road was gravel at first, but just over the hill from a farm on the corner, it turned to just plain dirt, or in this case, MUD...
You couldn't tell at first either, because from the surface it looked the same until you hit it. So it was that I hit the slippery surface at about 40 km/hr, and darn-near wound up in the ditch! I slowed down considerably, and shifted into 4x4 mode. The road continued to be treacherous, and in fact, seemed to be getting worse as we went along. Trying to go uphill was a disaster - we barely crawled up the hill, zig-zagging back and forth like a drunkard and trying desperately to avoid sliding into the ditch. We finally crested the hill, but it was clear from that vantage point that several more hills lay before us, and there was no way I wanted to attempt that!
Very slowly and carefully, I managed to get turned around without sliding into the ditch, and we inched our way back down. There were a few alarming moments when the truck simply slid down the muddy hill, the anti-lock brakes chattering like crazy in an attempt to slow us down. We finally made it, and eventually got back onto the section that actually had proper gravel on it. That road really ought to be closed under such conditions; a two-wheel drive vehicle would have never been able to get out had it travelled onto it! The Ranger is now covered in mud, and I'm going to have to take the pressure-washer to it to get it clean again.
At the shop, for the second day in a row I have been unable to get any actual mechanical work done, as all I've been able to do is deal with customers walking in and calling in. I made some decent sales, but I really need to get some stuff fixed and sent back to their owners before they lose patience. Speaking of which - the Credit Union closed one of our savings accounts and transferred the funds to chequing because they deemed that it was an inactive account. No, it wasn't, and even if it was - you notify the customer before you do something like that! Now that's something else I have to go and deal with. :/
I really need a secretary, and a vacation... :/
It was, at first...
At the second junction, I had the option of going West to the paved highway, or going East, and linking up with the road that would come into town through the back way. I'd driven that road once before, and recalled it being a pleasant drive. The Kidling also said that it was the route that the school-bus always used. Apparently, the school-bus never made the trip after there had been a good amount of rain the day before. The road was gravel at first, but just over the hill from a farm on the corner, it turned to just plain dirt, or in this case, MUD...
You couldn't tell at first either, because from the surface it looked the same until you hit it. So it was that I hit the slippery surface at about 40 km/hr, and darn-near wound up in the ditch! I slowed down considerably, and shifted into 4x4 mode. The road continued to be treacherous, and in fact, seemed to be getting worse as we went along. Trying to go uphill was a disaster - we barely crawled up the hill, zig-zagging back and forth like a drunkard and trying desperately to avoid sliding into the ditch. We finally crested the hill, but it was clear from that vantage point that several more hills lay before us, and there was no way I wanted to attempt that!
Very slowly and carefully, I managed to get turned around without sliding into the ditch, and we inched our way back down. There were a few alarming moments when the truck simply slid down the muddy hill, the anti-lock brakes chattering like crazy in an attempt to slow us down. We finally made it, and eventually got back onto the section that actually had proper gravel on it. That road really ought to be closed under such conditions; a two-wheel drive vehicle would have never been able to get out had it travelled onto it! The Ranger is now covered in mud, and I'm going to have to take the pressure-washer to it to get it clean again.
At the shop, for the second day in a row I have been unable to get any actual mechanical work done, as all I've been able to do is deal with customers walking in and calling in. I made some decent sales, but I really need to get some stuff fixed and sent back to their owners before they lose patience. Speaking of which - the Credit Union closed one of our savings accounts and transferred the funds to chequing because they deemed that it was an inactive account. No, it wasn't, and even if it was - you notify the customer before you do something like that! Now that's something else I have to go and deal with. :/
I really need a secretary, and a vacation... :/