Last night's camping at Lake Havasu State Park was the best night on this trip (so far!). I shared my little campsite with about a dozen rabbits, several quail, a surprisingly friendly road-runner and a skunk who I was very careful not to startle. Fortunately, the skunk was just passing thru. Quiet, peaceful and a velvet sky full of stars. Even saw three shooting stars in the early a.m.
Woke up around 4am, ready to hit the road. Problem is, today I'm not going anywhere. I don't leave Havasu until tomorrow early afternoon. After a nice run, some book reading etc. I'm actually kind of antsy/bored. Bad bad combination....
So I decide to check the spark plugs. At the advice of the engine builder, I had installed a slightly less cool set of plugs. I was curious how they looked after this many miles. Ahh...Curiosity...why does it ALWAYS get me into trouble?
I'm working my way around the engine. All is well, the plugs are great, definately the "right" ones exactly for this engine. As I pull #2, I hear not the usual "pop" that the wires make leaving the plug, but an odd sort of "slurp" sound. I look in the hole and find the metal contact end of the plug wire on the plug, not on the wire.
First thing that goes thru my mind is not "oh $hit I'm 1000 miles from home and I do NOT have a spare of this.." but rather "Oh $HIT - Steve (husband) is going to KILL ME this is a really $$$ set of plug wires!!!"
A slow excruciating process to repair this Clewett plug wire. I fix it, then grab the ohm meter. It doesn't ohm out. NUTZ. Tear it apart a second time - just sure that I've lost contact in the "hidden" spot of the end of the wire and fix it again. Still doesn't ohm out... Tear down and try a third time. Same result... By this time, I've spent about an hour and a half with no success and I'm growing greatly concerned. I've also cut my thumb and bled profusely inside of my latex glove. On a whim, I pull another plug-wire and ohm it - with the same no-result. Oh DUH - apparently the plug wire material does not act exactly like a copper wire and it doesn't "ohm" or at least not for me today. Nervously I put the plug wire back on the plug.
Car fires, runs great. What do you think are the odds of Richard Clewett selling me one plug wire? Okay - note to self: LEAVE THE GOOD RUNNING THING ALONE YOU STUPID HAIRLESS HALF-WITTED MONKEY!!!
That is the second Rule of Roadtrips. First is a good car and spares. Second is don't fix what isn't broken!!!! Right now I'm at a Starbucks enjoying a green tea Frappaccino. What an amazing bit of decadance after three days of camping and some 1000 miles of open top driving. Check with all-you-all later! angela