My drive to Ellensburg. (Part 1)
Once I hit the Lewiston Grade, I realized something was very wrong with my car. On any other day my car would be passing fools left and right. On Sunday, I got to play the fool. I spent the majority of the climb capped out at a very weak 60mphs. I was quite disappointed. After sitting through that, I proceeded on my usual route to Pullman, since that was en route. After I arrived in Union Town, I noticed that my "Check Gages" light had begun to shine. I looked at my 'gages' and noticed that one of them was particularly threatening. My radiator was overheating. The needle had gone about half an inch past the "H" and was fluctuating quite wildly. I noted this and proceeded. I was thinking I could make it to Colfax before I would need to pull over and check on my engine, but when I noticed that my recently refilled gas tank was having its contents depleted in a hasty manner, I decided it would be beneficial to let my car have a break. The clerk at the Texaco was not a friendly individual and could not provide the kind of assistance I required to aid my feverish vehicle. His recommendation: There's a bucket in the back. I got to stand in front of a sink, filling up a bucket with cold water for about five minutes. Then came the fun part: I got to splash my engine and watch it steam. After enjoying myself a tad too much, I checked my radiator temperature once more. I was back in the green. I refilled the bucket and emptied it into the radiator, hoping that the water would suffice until I could find some engine coolant in Colfax since the clerk could not give me a specific location where I could purchase some. Back in my car, I notice a slight vibration. I remembered when I was driving around in the valley that it would vibrate on occasion, so I dismissed the vibration as merely my automobile's own way of dealing with the sudden cooling and the refilling of the radiator. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. At the next stop light, my car began to tremble even more violently. Just as the light turned green, my vehicle died. I received an entire ensemble of middle fingers and honks from the cars behind me. I waved them through as I hopped out to push my car to the side of the road. I realized I was in a most opportune location: right directly in front of an auto parts store. Another man, a nurse, I believe, assisted me. He came out of nowhere, really. He checked my engine, gave me his thoughts on the problem, helped me relocate my stubborn LeBaron, and departed. I thank you, Mike. You're a good man. Fortunately, I managed to get ahold of Bob and borrow his SUV. Quite nice, really. He showed me how the whole thing worked, but, before he left, he took off the face of his stereo and put it in the glove compartment. I suppose he was used to it because of habit. He even told me I could use the stereo if I wanted, but when I left, I realized that i had no idea how to replace the face. Thus, I condemned myself to a music-less trip. And for the next 3 hours I found myself singing anything from oldies, to pop, to rap, to anything else that came into my mind.