Day Three:

Today was a slow start as we headed out of the Doubletree in Minneapolis, MN and got back on the road. It was slow because none of us wanted to get out of the cozy bed and we needed to fuel up and were having a hard time finding a station with our 3 requirements: Diesel, Pull-through access, and 13’ clearance. Once we found a station and fueled up the truck wouldn’t start. Waited & prayed until it finally started. Started to feel like we were entering the Twilight Zone. LOL!
Things were going great and we were blessed with some great K-Love music to roll down the road and sing along with. I pulled into a rest area to make a much needed coffee relief break and the truck would not start when we got back from the facilities. I floored it until I was sure it was flooded. I waited and turned everything off including the radio. It seemed to be draining the battery when I tried to turn it over. Finally after more prayer and about 5 more minutes (seemed like half an hour) it finally started up. Whew! I called Penske again, speed dial no less, and reported the weird behavior. As we drove along , Grammy Elaine remembered some old friends of ours from Kodiak, AK who had relocated to Minnesota and thought it would be neat if we could figure out where they lived. So I suggested she Google them and low and behold they not only still lived in MN but were directly on our route about 40 minutes up the road. She is brave and so called the number she found and before we knew it we were having lunch at Perkins restaurant in Fergus Falls, MN. with my former doctor and his wife, Rud & Timmie Wasson. I told Jennifer that it was sort of weird meeting my pediatrician for lunch after not seeing them for 32 years! It turns out that they were just like I remembered and so many memories came flooding back when I saw Timmie that it was like rereading an old favorite book. I hope to stay in touch from here on out.
Leaving the Perkins I was glad that the truck, nicknamed Penny, started right up and drove like a dream~ finally! Well, maybe I spoke too soon because we passed Fargo, ND and a yellow warning light appeared on the dash that we hadn’t seen before. I pulled over and pulled out the operator’s manual. There on page 39 I found the icon displayed on the dash and it said it was an Emissions Failure Warning. I speed dialed Penske SOS team once again and reported the warning and asked what they wanted me to do about it. Well, they talked me through some engine regeneration steps and that failed to work and they had me try it a few more times after turning Penny off and then back on. I finally asked if we could move off the shoulder to a more populated location in case it didn’t start again or we actually had to wait for a service vehicle. They had us drive on up to the next safe place to stop with facilities. Jamestown, ND. They call me back and tell me to push on to Bismarck, ND even though the warning light is still on and they will send someone to look at the truck when we arrive. They offered to pay for our accommodations and extended our contract due to the many delays. So we push on in the wind and the rain with yellow warning lights blazing from the dashboard and K-Love blasting from the radio! We went online and got a room at the Radisson for the night and after arriving around 10:30 pm I called Penske to let them know where we were and where the truck was parked. Eventually, we settled in for some much needed rest.
1:28am, yes, AM as in EARLY in the morning, I wake up to my phone ringing and it is the Penske guys letting me know I needed to leave the keys for the truck at the front desk. I stumble downstairs and try to speak coherently to the clerk and head back to bed. I don’t sleep well because I keep expecting a call saying they are taking the truck or they have to move our stuff to another one… something?! I finally get out of the bed at 4:55am and head to the gym and hot tub. If I am going to be awake I may as well be doing something constructive and so I take my Bible with me and spend some time with Jesus. I wait to hear back from Penske and they haven’t called by 8am so I call and wait for a call back because the one who handled the call in the night was not the same one on call in the morning. We finally get the word that the problems are all due to the truck being TOO new! Don’t worry until it quits running just keep on trucking! So we do just that.