Day 42 – 44.1 km (total – 856.6 km)
Snow bank and ominous sky!
I have a sneaking suspicion that Newfoundland just doesn’t want to let us go! It’s almost humourous…. I’m sure it will be soon! After not being able to run yesterday because of high winds and blowing snow, I took a crack at it today. The TCH wasn’t in great shape, but it was pretty quiet out there… and it wasn’t snowing. Lunch entailed Sarah handing me a sandwich out the window because there was nowhere to stop. She found a spot another 7 km down the highway, so I was able to take a break at 30 k. After a break, I started back and got a text at about 37 k that the battery was dead. Perfect! But within a half hour, she had solved that problem and was coming to get me further up. I could really draw out the details here, but let me give you the lowdown. The alternator belt broke and so there was no juice to the battery. Right, and so the engine wouldn’t run properly. Oh ya, and so that blew the muffler out! We had to get it boosted about 4 times going down the TCH and the last 15 minutes were in darkness with a lovely gentleman named Brendan, who drove ahead of us or behind us to indicate there was a slow moving vehicle (as the battery didn’t have enough charge to turn the lights on). We rolled into a gas station in Doyles, where the engine cut out.
Oh… did I mention we couldn’t find propane in Corner Brook for the furnace and so we have been without heat for 2 weeks?! It turned cold last night… I’m kinda getting tired of seeing my breath when I wake up in the morning!
Before the news if the RV breaking down…
So tomorrow, I will hitchhike back to where I stopped today while Sarah gets the belt fixed. I will run and walk as far as I can which will bring us close to Port-Aux-Basques and the ferry. We are hoping to catch the ferry Tuesday morning, but it all depends on whether the Rock wants to let us go! We’re still smiling… the waitress at the Irving was hilarious, starting food fights with her coworkers. She bought my breakfast this morning! The cook who threw in a free piece of pie with dinner last night. Two gentleman along the TCH the other day who stopped and asked if I wanted a lift! Brendan and some other guys around South Branch today who really helped us out. This adventure is proving to have no shortage of interesting “moments”!
