The van is dead.

The van broke down last night on I-15, just north of Vegas. It's a long story, and it's 2:30 in the morning, and I've been driving for like 9 hours, so I'll get into more detail in the morning. But right now, it's sitting in Pahrump, NV. And I'm back in SLC via a fast little rental car, courtesy of AAA. I'm gonna load up the trusty ol Saturn tomorrow, and continue my trip as if nothing ever happened...

Alright it's morning. Time for the full story: So there I was, cruising along on I-15, just North of Vegas, headed to LA to visit a buddy of mine. When all of a sudden, and sudden realization started to sink in: the gas pedal doesn't work any more. Crap. I pulled over, and the engine was dead. After a few failed attempts at resuscitation, I whipped out my trusty AAA card.

"Hi, it's me."

"Oh hey Kevin, is the van broken down again?"

"You bet."

"What's your 20?"

"Just outside Vegas. Send a tow, some strippers, and a shrimp cocktail."

"Shrimp's not covered under your policy. Shell fish allergy premiums spiked last year."

"Alright forget the shrimp. Just come get me."

I settled in and cooked some dinner, did some reading, and took pictures of this little critter, who came and hung out with me for almost 20 minutes. I think he was a baby coyote or something.

"Looks like your pretty broke down, mang."

"Uh yeah coyote, I'm broken down. Not sure what the problem is."
"You got gas in that ting?"

"Yeah, should be move than half full."

"Oh mang it's probably your timing chain."

"No the E250's have meshing gears, no timing chains."

"Whatever esse. Hey have you seen a delivery truck go by? I ordered a shrimp cocktail and it's been like more than an hour."

"Sorry Coyote, I haven't seen anything. But i'll let you know."

And with that, he took off into the night.

So eventually the tow truck arrives, and takes me into Vegas. At least I got to see Vegas at night, which is always impressive. He dropped me off outside a garage, and I went to sleep in the van.

In the morning we pushed her into the garage, and a few hours later I had my diagnosis.

"$1033 if it's the timing chain, $1600 if it's the cam shaft. Which it might be. *Serious look.* It might be."

"Wait, I thought the E250's didn't have a timing chain?"

"Oh. Right yeah, there's actually meshing gears. $1033 for those too. If it's those. Which it might be."

"K lemme make a few calls."

I got on the phone with my Uncle, who's rebuilt his old van a zillion times. The thing's probably a 76 or something, and I think it's been his main ride for as long as I've been alive. He agreed that the guy at the shop was probably full of it, and that I should tow it to his property, which is coincidentally 70 miles away. Even though he lives in New York.

A few hours later, I was having a really hard time keeping the rental car under 90 mph. When you're used to driving a 12 year old half ton van, a 2007 Corolla feels like a Corvette. And they're surprisingly roomy - I fit everything that was in the van, and my haul bag didn't even have to ride shot gun.

So now I'm back in SLC, getting a little work done on the Saturn, which will become my ride for the rest of this trip. It won't be as comfortable as the van, but it'll work just fine. Meanwhile the van will chill in Pahrump, NV until I can get down there to fix her with Uncle Tom.

I'm psyched to get out to California, if the gods ever will it to be.