The Law of Averages

You may remember from the last blog, “God’s Mt. Rushmore,” that I touched upon the nature of uneventful British Car driving, which I described as theoretical.

I am compelled to report that revenge was swift. Lucas, the legendary Prince of Darkness, struck the next day. Not violently mind you, but rather in an invisible and more subtle way. But more on that later,

The day began…..

No wait – Short version.

Got up at first light and took the most beautiful two lane road I have seen in a while headed towards Bryce. This is about a two hour drive from Zion.

Arrived at Bryce….. No problem.

Toured the Park WOW! ….No Problem

Ate at Ruby’s Restaurant/Old West Museum/Outdoor Adventure Emporium …no problem.

But as we left Ruby’s, I noticed that the sky was threatening. The elderly gentlemen serving as the greeter and ambassador for Ruby’s establishment, was kind enough to reassure me with “Oh that ain’t nothing son, it will be gone in fifteen minutes.” So what was a fella to do, I was given no choice but to press on.

The Prince works in mysterious ways.

Fifteen minutes later, Diane and I are huddled under the relative protection of a Sinclair filling station canopy with wind and rain howling past us. All the locals were out and very excited because they haven’t seen rain like this all year.

Just then I began to realize that there was something up with what the old man told me.

Keep in mind that at that moment in time, Diane and I were in relatively good shelter, we had a soft top, and side curtains, stowed inside the car. Then would have been a good time to put the top up. But no….

Just then the Prince struck.

For some unexplained reason I thought why don’t I start the engine. Then I hear the sound that every British car owner fears……….click. The dreaded sound of the car failing to come to life.

Luckily, it seems, at that very moment we found ourselves surrounded by three local mechanics, admires all of the mighty Big Healey. Yup, one of them had even owned a Healey once, but lost it in a trade gone bad.

After pondering the disadvantages of a positive earth automobile, and debating weather it could be the starter or the solenoid, the collective wisdom of this group was to simply push start the car.

When questions about the benefit of waiting out the storm were expressed they were simply dismissed with, “the storm was damn near spent.” Again, I was left with little choice….

……so, with that encouragement, off we go; lil push, slip the clutch, feather the throttle and BAM….Diane and I are thrust out into the clutches of this reportedly dying storm.

The next few miles were a marvel in the physical sciences as we hurtled down the blacktop with the rain simply passing over our heads. Easy street!

Just then the hood pops up, just a wee bit. A not too subtle reminder that I had failed to fully engage the locking mechanism. Luckily for us we are able to pull over into the parking lot of a country store, where I could get out and slam the bonnet shut, theoretically.

This plan worked flawlessly until I jumped back into what was starting to look more like a bathtub than the cockpit of a sports car. Landing smartly into the seat, right foot firmly on the throttle, while the wet left foot simultaneously slips off the clutch……

Stalled it.

With the wind and rain engulfing us all we could do was to grab the tonneau cover and put it over our heads as a makeshift umbrella.

When the rain finally stopped we crawled out from under our makeshift shelter to access the situation. With pleads of, “we should call AAA being ignored I set off on yet another brilliant plan.”

So, I walk in the direction of the country store and just as I arrive a large SUV pulls up and 5 large young men pile out. When I explained the situation to them they were more than happy to give us a push start. On the way back over to the Healey I learn that they are from Munich and are on a tour of the western United States.

So with a hardy push from these Teutonic (post) teenage travelers, whoosh …..we were gone.

The balance of the trip home was great. As we drove out of the storm we were rewarded with the wonderful fragrance of high mountain meadows and glistening red cliffs.

All in all I think it was a pretty good day, but you might want to ask Diane for her opinion.

Sorry no pictures today. Tomorrow I will send pictures with no words. Well, maybe few words.

Tomorrow we are off to Evanston Wyoming to meet up with a few other Healey travelers.