Bumps along the way

Literally, on my left temple from a stinging insect that was in my hat while in Arizona and finally on the mend! Well the big one happened later on our journey a couple of days later. While traveling on Monday, May 9th going west on Central Avenue (old Route 66) in Albuquerque, New Mexico we were involved in a traffic accident. Fortunately no one was seriously injured, but we sustained body damage to the front passenger side of our truck.

The good news was the truck was still safe to drive back to Kirtland AFB where we had left the fifth wheel so we could run errands and do some sightseeing. Honestly, both Karen and I were not impressed with what we saw of Albuquerque. Even if we hadn't gotten into an accident, the city is dirty, has a crime problem and serious transient issues. The place has a spiritually dark feeling to it. We couldn't wait to get out of town and back on the road.

The biggest problem we had to work through before we left involved a detached passenger side towing mirror. I was able to reconstruct most of it from the broken parts with black duck tape and a couple of sheet metal screws. A large replacement mirror and a small convex mirror, totaling $15 dollars from the Auto Zone and we were good to go.

So we safely continued onto our next destination, Roswell, NM. We are on the lookout for aliens as we camp at Bottomless Lake State Park campground. Hoping the aliens know how to do body work....on the truck! I ordered an after-market replacement mirror on Amazon. It is getting shipped to our Livingston, TX address and should arrive before we do.

So life on the road is no different than in a stick and brick house. Things break and accidents happen. The new twist is dealing with this moving target! I have an appointment for an estimate on the truck's body work scheduled in Spring, TX while we are in Livingston. However, with the shortage of skilled labor, truck parts and the long waiting time for repair work we may be driving a damaged truck for a while. The unofficial USCG motto applies to this situation. Semper Gumby (literal meaning - always flexible).

Is it me or do you see it too? Gumby looks like an alien?