In the morning, Dan, Jude and I had a nice breakfast outside and they showed me around. I stayed a little too late, enjoying the company and thinking all I had to do was put some refrigerant in the air conditioning system [little did I know, ha ha ha], and all would be fine.
Well, after getting gas at Costco and food at Trader Joes, I realized that the air conditioning compressor was not running. By the time I got to Bishop CA [about 180 miles] I decided to try to get it to run. By making a connection to the alternator with a toggle switch [with a fuse], I was able to get the air conditioning compressor clutch to engage and the compressor to turn. Then I bought a cheap styrofoam cooler, ice and bottled water to be ready in case it didn't work as I hoped. And I called the Kingman hotel and said I would be arriving about midnight.
At the next town [Big Pine] after having run the air conditioning compressor for 15 miles, I tried to charge the air conditioner, but it didn't seem to make any difference [I later discovered it needed quite a bit more refrigerant]. And, for the rest of the trip, the overhead fan, blowing air directly on me, decided [like a petulant teenager] to work only when it 'felt like it'. So, good thing I had gotten the cooler, ice and water!!!
Adding to this, the starter motor was beginning to act up, so I figured it would die soon. Therefore, I decided that any time I would stop to check the oil [every 80-100 miles], I would park on a slight incline, so I could bump-start it if necessary.
I wasn't too worried. I had cellphone coverage the entire way, and had borrowed a GPS receiver from a coworker. So, if I broke down, I had 6 gallons of water, 3 gallons of oil, lots of food, and knowledge of exactly where I was located. Even if I broke down, I might be uncomfortable in the heat, but otherwise OK..I certainly wouldn't die of thirst/hunger, and I could lie underneath the van for shade. With cell coverage and GPS coordinates, help would be headed my way in little time.
Plus, I had been on this road a lot of times, going between San Diego and Lake Tahoe at Thanksgiving, as well as the summer I spent working with Dad's late brother George for the UCSB Geology Field Camp. I called Dad and Mom several times during the journey, assuring Mom everything was OK and giving Dad a progress report of the vehicle functionality and a description of the scenery.
I think Dad was having as much fun vicariously on the journey as I was, and it really made me realize that my brothers and I are fortunate that he raised us to skew the adventure/comfort ratio in the "adventure" direction. However, Dad didn't want us to assume that our wives would appreciate the same adventure/comfort ratio. So, although Irene is a trooper and has adapted darn well to going on trips with me, I knew this trip wouldn't be her idea of 'fun', so I didn't invite her along.
By the time I crossed the Colorado River at Needles CA [lowest altitude and the hottest part of the trip] it was dark but still about 108 degrees [42 degrees C]. I finally got to Kingman [elevation 3400 feet 1030m] about 11:30PM, and I think the weather had cooled down to about 100 [38 C] degrees. The kind people at the motel, knowing I would be coming late after a long drivew with no air conditioning, had turned on the a/c in my room, so it was very refreshing.
Six hundred miles of driving, mostly in 100+ degree heat, had sapped my energy. I refilled the cooler with ice [doing it now so there would be plenty available for other people in the morning], took a quick shower and I was out for the night.
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