Emmi was knocking at our door early in the morning looking for playmates. I didn’t know what the sound was and it scared the crap out of me, but when Dan yelled out, “Emmi, stop it!” it all made sense. Dan had a better night’s sleep than yesterday but was still sleepy by the time 9am rolled around. I got up, leaving him to snooze, and said good morning to Debbie, Ava and Emmi. Ava had a hard night since she’d had a couple of vaccinations the day before and just wanted her Mum.
Before breakfast, I went out to return the fuel pump I’d installed in Hanksville. I’d been in touch with Dave again and he’d sent me the receipt so I had a good chance of getting my $50 back. I started the car (no worries) and drove the ten miles over to the closest Napa (no worries). I presented the pump and explained the issue I’d had, acting like I was confident the fuel pump had been the issue. He couldn’t quite figure out why I hadn’t paid sales tax so he ended up refunding me more money than I’d actually paid. Wicked.
Back to the house, Dan was still in bed, but I got him up soon enough so he could make me breakfast. We had a simple one, just a smoothie each and a toasted croissant. Debbie struggled with Ava the whole time. The baby definitely wasn’t a happy camper. She concluded that the baby just needed her Mum so she got ready to take her home. Emmi went with them but was soon to return. Before we left for Flag, all we had to do was fix Dan’s coolant hose and I had to pack and somewhat put my car back together. It didn’t take too long. I’d had my fridge cooling in the garage all morning so my power system didn’t have to work too hard and once I had my bike on the roof I was pretty much ready. I helped Dan a bit with his coolant hose, but honestly didn’t do anything but watch. The access was a bitch so in the end he just moved the hose clamp to be on top of the pinhole leak and hoped that would be good enough.
Emmi and Debbie returned so it was time for me to get in the pool with Emmi. She was desperate for one last play in the pool and I liked the idea of getting a cool down before leaving so I was in. Dan finished off his car while me and Emmi had our last play time together. We did towers as usual and spun around and around until we were dizzy. Debbie commemorated the occasion with a few photos with us doing a no-hands tower.
I rinsed off in the shower so I wouldn’t spend my first few days back in dirtbag life with chlorine all over me and by the time I was done, Dan was ready to go too. After a quick dip in the pool for him and Cleo, we were all set. We all walked out to our cars to get a few family photos before leaving, hopefully for real this time. We made promises to meet again, whether it be in Australia of Phoenix, but we all felt like we’d see each other again some time. I gave Emmi a big hug, she gave me a kiss and we said goodbye to the stinking heat of Paradise Valley.
I was nervous but determined my car would make it this time. I followed Dan out of the suburbs and onto the highway. We got off before the 101 to stop in at a MetroPCS store so Dan could get rid of the piece of shit iPhone I’d given him months before. It was supposed to be a gift, but it turned out to be more of a curse. He got a sweet deal, getting a free phone for switching over from a different provider and not having to pay any sign up fee. He walked out a happy man. We filled up with petrol next door, me topping up with more premium to make sure I had a full tank of the good stuff.
Nothing left to do now but go. We drove the familiar highways until we reached the hill that had given me so much trouble. It wasn’t any cooler but I was helped by the heavy traffic that stretched the whole way up the hill and then some. We were lucky to be doing any more than a crawl so my engine temperature stayed low. The traffic was so bad since it was July 4th weekend and everyone was getting out of Phoenix but I didn’t mind one bit. I understand that it wasn’t a full test run so I won’t have full confidence just yet, but when I made it over the hill, I felt a little bit of accomplishment. The going was still slow all the way to Flagstaff and I drove like a complete granny, taking it slow up the hills and taking it easy on the engine in every way. It was a slow climb all the way, but the Astro steadily climbed and Dan sat dutifully behind me in case of issues. I think it was the most non-complacent I’ve ever been on that whole drive. I didn’t listen to any music, just focussed all of my attention on my temperature gauge and the spot on the dash where the “Service Engine Soon” light usually pops up.
Three hours later, we were in Flagstaff. Dan gave me a huge thumbs up out the window when we stopped at the first traffic light which I returned. There was only one thing on my mind as we came into town – beer and pool. I hadn’t been drinking since we got back from Mexico and I felt like it was finally time. I drove through the main stretch of Flag until we got to Beaver street and I parked with Dan right next to me. We were all smiles because we made it! Dan gave me a huge hug and spun me around the carpark to the surprise of onlookers. We hooked Cleo up with some water, then we were straight to the bar.
Brews and Cues was pretty quiet at 3:30pm which suited us just fine. We put a card down, got some pool balls and some happy hour drinks and set ourselves up at a corner table where we could be completely anti-social. Cleo came in with us and no one asked any questions. She happily recovered from the drive lying down on the alcohol drenched carpet before making it clear she wanted to hide underneath the pool table and so she did.
Dan was drinking beer but I was on spirits since I didn’t like any of the heavy brews they had on tap and this was just fine with me. I started simple with a rum and coke, then switched to the bar’s BS (bullshit) margaritas which were perfect for the summer weather. I forgot to mention the temperature in Flag was perfect. The sun was out, but there was a cool breeze and it wasn’t anything like the oppressive swelter we’d become accustomed to. We dug right into a pizza we’d ordered when it came out and followed it up with some sweet potato fries.
The pool was miraculous. I lost the first game because I sunk the eight ball, but the next three games I won by default when Dan did the same thing. We were so high just to be in Flag we were having so much fun. I spoke to Dad briefly between games elated that I made it but we shared the same confidence level about the fuel pump having been the issue. It wasn’t a sure thing yet!
Defeated, Dan was done with pool so I picked up the bill which came to $70 (not Mexico prices!) and we left to do some shopping and find a camp deep in the forest. We stopped at Walmart where Cleo took up her usual place inside a trolley and we waltzed in. It was kinda like coming home since neither of us had been inside a genuine Walmart for so long. We got the essentials like beer, cereal, bacon, eggs and enough to make burgers for lunch. We were set. Dan found a free campsite up towards the Snowbowl so I followed him there, giving him a love tap in my car whenever I got the opportunity.
Flagstaff looked so strange without snow covering the ground but it was a refreshing change. At the national forest turn off, we soon found that it was a busy spot. Makes sense since it was a holiday weekend and this was free accommodation. We drove past plenty of group sites where cars, hammocks and tents were strewn everywhere. After a couple of miles, we eventually came upon Site #10. There was a sign nearby that said sites 10 through 14 were closed between March and August, but we couldn’t understand the reason why so parked up anyway. There was a huge pile of firewood by the fire ring too so it was hard to resist. Dan levelled his car and we breathed in the forest air. We were near a valley surrounded by mountains so our shouts echoed in the air, which we had fun with for a while. I happily pushed my SPOT, amazed that we were out of Phoenix and on the road again. Everything felt right.
We were so happy to be out in the wilderness again and with our two vans! It wasn’t quite dark enough for a fire yet so we tagged the inside of Dan’s van with the white spray paint he’d bought at Walmart for spraying the pieces of his ceiling that were still exposed. I made sure to make my mark so there’s no way he’ll forget me. Still not dark or cold enough for a fire, we played some cards on Dan’s bed over a couple of beers before we got our chairs out and put them by the fire. Dan got the thing lit with some cardboard and trusty paper towel. Now we were really happy. We talked and talked all the way into the night drinking beers. We watched a few cars drive past, most of them slowing to suss us out before moving on. After putting a huge log on the fire and watching it burn, we called it a night, probably somewhere close to midnight. It had been a perfect first day back in the dirtbag life.
