Trouble Trouble Trouble

Well here we are almost done with the summer run. It feels like it has flown by. It’s been quite interesting; I swear trouble can find us anywhere. The other night in Calgary we had just got through at a birthday party for Stran Smith and were headed back to the arena. As we stopped at the gate to show them our passes we could smell this awful smell and it was instant headache. We were like hmmm wonder what that is, smells a little like burning oil. Then we saw that there was smoke coming from under our hood and funneling right into our air conditioning and through the windows. GREAT!! Didn’t we just get this truck out of the shop the other day? We popped the hood and could see where everything was coming from. We called a dealership right there and they said they usually don’t fix trucks on a Saturday but to bring it in and they would do it for us. So the day of the wildcard round Hunter was running around crazy trying to get everything in order before the perf started. Hunter missed so that ended Calgary for us this year, but the good news was our truck was done and ready for pickup. We had some friends drop us off on their way out and the dodge guys tell us “oh by the way we didn’t fix your truck because there were 4 seals broken instead of just 1, but it’s drivable”….If you can handle carbon monoxide swirling around your face every time you stop at a red-light. So off we go headed back down to the good ole USA!! We drove about 5 hours to Great Falls, MT to stay the night. When we got there we were trying to find a level place to park and managed to bust our back window out because the truck turned to sharp. We cleaned up most of the glass but decided we could do the rest in the morning. The next day Hunter got up and went to find cardboard, duck tape and some stuff to put under the hood to help with the emissions. We taped the window up nice and tight and went to work on the seals. Hunter un-screwed a cap and all of a sudden fluid started spraying out. This caused him to drop the cap somewhere in the hood, and it’s impossible to drive without it. Another GREAT!! We looked everywhere for that dumb cap but it must have disappeared into thin air. Deacon decided to hop the fence and book it over to the ace hardware store to try and find a replacement. Finally after about 3 hours we had a new cap in place and got back on the road. What a way to start the day huh. We drove all day and stopped to eat in Burley, Idaho. There on the side of the road is where we found the newest member of our family. Hunter spotted a man holding a rather colorful sign that said dogs for sale. We drove over and found out that they had 9 baby pit bulls for sale. I guess a light bulb went off in Hunter’s head that he needed a new pig hunting dog. Now we have 3 dogs and a goat…just what we needed!! Hunter decided we would name him Burley, since that’s where we bought him. For some reason though, Houston cannot remember Burley so he started calling him Hurley and that stuck. For the most part that’s his name but if you ask Houston he may tell you that it’s Carlos, “because he kind of looks like a Carlos!” We finally got on the road again and were about 3 hours from our destination, Nampa, Idaho. It took us quite a bit longer than 3 hours though. First, we had another blowout. This time it rolled up our fender and pulled some of the trailer wires down a bit. We got that changed and the lights tied in a safe spot and were back on the road. As it started to get dark we noticed that our trailer light weren’t working so we pulled over again and got out to fix that. Hunter and Deacon figured out the problem and we were off again. This time we only made it about 100 feet before we noticed our speedometer and odometer wasn’t working. Then the brake and check engine light came on. GREAT GREAT GREAT. Once again we pull over and pop the hood. Hunter figured out that we blew a fuse. They tinkered with it for awhile but we decided we’d just drive on without that stuff. We have a Garmin and it shows the speed so weren’t driving completely blind. Finally we made it to Nampa and got everything put up and hit the sack. The next day the truck went back into the shop and Hunter roped in slack and was 11.2 on his first calf and 7.6 on second. He’s winning third in the second round right now, but it’s not over for a few more days. The next day was Salt Lake City and Hunter was 8.2 and then a No Time. We were at Spanish Fork yesterday and it didn’t go very well either. Tonight we are up at Ogden and then were off to Cheyenne. Cross your fingers that our rig makes it across there.

Sweet Summer Time

Well we’ve been gone a little over 3 weeks and our trip has been pretty eventful to say the least. We are currently sitting on the side of the road broke down…AGAIN! While the guys were gone to Canada last week they had 3 blowouts going up there. Hunter stopped and bought all new tires, again. We just bought brand new ones in Northplatte 3 weeks ago. So after making it back down to the States Robyn, Houston and I met the guys in Oakley, Utah. Hunter backed in the box to rope and when his horse left they hit the chute going out and Hunter banged his knee up pretty bad. It was instantly swollen and looked a little deformed. Of course we assumed the worst, but didn’t really have time to get it looked at as the guys were leaving right then to drive all night to get to Oregon. Robyn, Houston and I headed back to Spanish Fork to stay the night and load everything back up to get ready to head to Idaho where we’d meet back up. It wasn’t a terrible drive for us over to Blackfoot, only about 4 hours…well we got half way there and the temperature on the truck started to go up in a hurry. I called Dad and he told me to roll the windows down and pull over next stop. We found a truck stop and filled our fluids back up and got everything cooled back down then headed out again. We didn’t have any more trouble the rest of the way. The next morning the guys got there and we headed out for Red Lodge, Montana. The guys decided our best route would be to drive thru Yellowstone National Park. When we pulled up to the Yellowstone gait it cost 25 bucks just to pass thru and we weren’t allowed to have any hay showing or anything like that. The scenery driving thru the park was pretty amazing. Houston was in heaven with all the animals and rivers. He was a little disappointed because we didn’t see a bear though. Anyway were driving along and I’m telling Hunter I don’t think we’re going the right way. Of course there was absolutely no service so we had no way of telling RJ and Clint who were in front of us, to stop and turn around. Finally we caught a break and got a few bars of service. We told the other rig to turn around, but it wasn’t quite as easy for us since our rig was so big. Once we did get turned around RJ, Clint, Deacon and Robyn were long gone. That’s when the truck started getting a little warm. It got to the point where we were in the red so we pulled over. We were already running short on time since we had got lost and the traffic wasn’t helping any. We hooked our water hose up to the trailer and started spraying the radiator down and got stuff cooled down. After sitting on the side of the road for 30 minutes we decided that there was probably no way we were going to be able to make it to Red Lodge. The drive going to Cody was a little disappointing, however when we got there we loaded up on firecrackers for H and got some good rest that night. The next day Hunter roped at Cody and was 9.5 on his first calf and 8.1 on his second one. Hunter and RJ rented a car and were headed off to Denver to catch a flight to Prescott, Arizona and Deacon, Houston and I were headed back to Utah. Prescott didn’t go quite like we wanted. Anyway while we were waiting on Hunter and RJ to fly back in, we were planning on watching some firework shows and popping a few of our own but we learned that Utah doesn’t do fireworks on Sundays even if it falls directly on the 4th. Not what were used to at all seeing as how everyone we know pops them for a straight week before and after, but we went with it. After picking the guys up at the airport we headed off to Spanish Fork for a little R and R!! Thursday Hunter was up at Vernal, Utah and we were really excited because after he roped we were headed straight for Oklahoma!!! Hunter had planned on flying in to match rope Fred in OKC but after failing to find a horse down there we decided it’d be best if we drove down and had our own to ride. There were only a few people that knew we were coming and the rest we were going to surprise. We drove all night and finally pulled into Oklahoma around 6 a.m. Boy was everyone surprised to see Houston when they got there. My parents and grandparents thought they were picking Hunter up at the airport and everyone else was just planning on coming to watch. AHH I am the mastermind of surprises hahah. The match started off really great. It was definitely close and then Fred broke the barrier once which put Hunter in a pretty decent lead. Then it was Hunters turn for some crap luck as he had to 2 loop on and broke the barrier on the next. After it was all said and done Fred won the match by 8 seconds. It was sure great to see our friends and family but it was too short. We left the next day and headed back north to rope at Laramie and Casper. Neither went good and now we are headed to Calgary to rope for the big bucks!! You guys keep us in your prayers that we don’t break down again and that Hunter can rope fast. Until next time, we love and miss yall!!