LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan At this time last week, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write a newsletter like this. But here I am, writing to tell you that our Big Trip has come to an end—earlier than planned. To be fair, it didn’t end much earlier than planned. If everything had worked out, I would have sent this newsletter last Tuesday, sharing that we’d made it to Albuquerque. And today, Jason and I would be arriving home in southern California, bringing our Big Trip to its scheduled end. Instead, I’m writing this newsletter from California, and I’m sending it a week late. Because things got a little sketchy in Albuquerque. Let me back up: On Saturday, Nov. 16, we were driving from the Texas Panhandle to New Mexico when our truck’s dashboard lit up. Odd as this may sound, that’s not unusual for us. Our Ford F-150 has a finnicky check-engine light that turns on repeatedly. (I won’t go into detail about that here, but if you’re interested in learning more, check out the footnote.*) Long story short, we’ve learned to watch the truck’s performance and wait for the light to turn off, because the issue resolves itself every time. On Nov. 16, however, the light turned on again—and so did a little wrench icon in the dashboard’s corner. We pulled over to check the truck’s Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and found a DTC we’d never seen before. It indicated a problem with the powertrain system. Well, we thought, that doesn’t sound good. The Ford mechanics we contacted in Albuquerque agreed. Over the next few days, they ran diagnostics on our truck to track down the issue and ultimately presented us with two options:
The powertrain issue, they said, was not persistent. As long as we didn’t push the truck too hard, we could probably get home without a problem—but they couldn’t guarantee it. The issue could flare up again, and if it did, it could inflict serious damage to our engine. Well, we thought. Shit. We still had a week’s worth of the trip left. During that time, our planned route would take us to remote regions of northern Arizona, hundreds of miles from the nearest mechanics. (You know, the kind of place where no one wants to be stranded.) Thanksgiving was only 10 days away, too. We didn’t have a couple weeks to spare on repairs. We decided to go with Option 2: Skip the last week of our trip and head straight home. We weren’t happy with the decision. After everything we’ve done, it felt wrong to end the trip like this—running home with our tails between our legs. But stranding ourselves in the Arizona desert would’ve been a far worse ending. We didn’t want to risk it. So we crossed our fingers and held our breaths for the 11-hour drive to California. By the sixth hour of that drive, though, our disappointment began to ebb. Another feeling took its place. Joy. We stopped dwelling on our trip’s ending and thought more about its middle. How we’d traced the length of the Rockies, from Colorado to Alberta. How we’d driven coast-to-coast four times. How we’d crossed paths with grizzly bears and javelinas. How we’d seen the aurora borealis (twice). And how we’d checked off more bucket-list items than we could track. No, we didn’t end things the way we wanted. But our Big Trip was never about the destination. It was always about the journey. Where have we been?Baton Rouge, La.  Before our truck problems began, we made a stop in southern Louisiana for some po’boys, beignets, and football. Louisiana State’s Tiger Stadium hosts one of the best fan atmospheres in college football, and their annual rivalry game with Alabama seemed like our best chance to experience it in all its glory. Unfortunately, the home team performed terribly, and that great atmosphere lasted all of 10 minutes before the crowd quieted down. Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas  When we heard the Texas Panhandle is home to the second-largest canyon in the U.S., we made sure to check it out as we made our way west. Palo Duro Cayon State Park reminded us of Utah’s Capitol Reef, with its orange-streaked rock fins carving up the canyon walls and grassy desert stretching as far as we could see. For the last time on our trip, we had no cell service, and we didn’t mind at all. Just look at those views. Albuquerque and Petroglyph National Monument, N.M.  Things went awry in Albuquerque, but even with our truck in the shop, we’re not ones to sit around and twiddle our thumbs. Instead, we got a rental car and visited one of the nearby parks, Petroglyph National Monument. This park protects one of North America’s largest petroglyph sites, with approximately 25,000 images carved into rock surfaces throughout its 17 miles. Even as we worried about our truck’s future, this place took us into the past. Where are we going next?I’m relieved to report that we made it to California without our truck breaking down. We had to skip the last four stops of our trip along the way, but who knows? If we can sort out our truck’s problem, maybe we’ll get back on the road this winter and finish this thing the way we wanted. In the meantime, we’re settling in at home to enjoy the holiday with family.  144. Albuquerque, N.M. 145. Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz. 146. Page, Ariz. 147. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Ariz. 148. Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim) * Every time our truck’s check-engine light turns on, it comes with a couple Diagnostic Trouble Codes indicating an issue with the catalytic converters. Whatever that issue is, it doesn’t affect the truck’s performance; after a bit of driving, the codes always clear themselves and the light shuts off again. We had Ford look at the truck this summer, but even their solution didn’t keep the light dark for long. We’ll have to find another solution.
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