Arizona and Alternators

A couple weeks ago, my uncle Kevin Morris called and asked if I'd have any interest in making a run down to his house in Gilbert, AZ to make a special delivery. The cargo? Three approximately 200 lb. barbeque grills.

The grills are pretty sweet, but are also quite large. It looked as though a truck would be necessary for the haul. This wasn't an extremely enticing option as gas has become decidedly expensive. A solution presented itself in the form of my father's 1990 Cadillac DeVille. I started taking dimensions of the grills and compared them with the potential carrying capabilities of the car. My initial response was- "No way". It pains me to admit that in this moment of weakness I doubted the Caddy.

I quickly corrected my faithless ways and we decided to try and fit one of them in the trunk. It fit like a glove- a snug one, but a glove nonetheless. Hope reinvigorated, we employed some serious packing wizardry and Tetris tactics to cram not one, but both of the remaining grills in the back seat.

My 1-2 day barbeque delivery turned into a really good and interesting 8-day trip. I had a great visit with my relatives down there in Mesa and planned to come home after a couple of days.

I received a call from my Dad while there. It turned out that he, my brother Kevin, and his wife Heather were on their way up to Lake Powell for a few days. I was invited me to meet up with them in Page, AZ on my way home. So, I extended my stay and planned to meet them in Page on Wednesday. It was a toasty 90+ degrees a couple of days down there. I went on a desert march around Usury Mountain one morning and saw a 3-4 foot rattlesnake laying out in the sun.

After I left Phoenix on Wednesday, I drove through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. Sedona is kind of a tourist trap, but is also really pretty and was worth the drive.

When I got to Flagstaff, I went bouldering for a few hours at a place called Priest Draw. There's some excellent footage of the area in the Josh Lowell film Rampage (see films- rampage-trailer). Although unable to spend much time there, I was able to do some fun problems, and had a great afternoon.

As I was leaving Flagstaff, The ‘charge battery’ sign popped up on the Caddy’s dash. I took a look at it and filled up the battery’s reservoirs. It appeared to be running fine, so I rolled the dice and decided to make a break for Page to meet up with Kevin, Heather, and my Dad.

After passing through Cameron, the cab/dash lights started to progressively dim and then go out (my bouldering trip ate up most of the day’s remaining daylight). I still had functional headlights, but they too were rapidly dimming. I punched it with the hopes of reaching Page before everything died in the middle of the reservation.

It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to make Page and would be fortunate to even make the little town Gap (where I knew there was a gas station.) I drove faster with my lights growing dimmer and dimmer all the while. Just as I was ready to concede and pull over, I saw the gas station lights of The Express floating a couple of miles in the distance like a beacon of salvation.

I pulled into the station lot with very minimal light left and the car shut off. I can’t remember if I turned it off or it died on its’ own, but am pretty sure that it died independently right when I pulled in. Either way, I attempted to start it again and it was completely dead. The alternator had gone out and had ruined the car battery in the process.

Fortunately (understatement), Kevin was in Kanab at the time. He dropped Heather off at the motel in Page and he and my Dad drove out to where I was taking in the sights and sounds of the Gap. It was pretty late, so I notified the gas station attendant that I’d be enjoying some mandated down time with the Caddy in his parking lot for awhile and not to be alarmed. He was fine with it.

There was hardly anyone around (just the occasional motorist pumping gas), and I saw a highway patrolman pull in, look the Caddy over with me inside, and then drive off. I figured he must have just been making the most of a rare opportunity to take in the beauty and prowess of the Caddy at close range. It turns out; however, that his glare wasn’t one of admiration or of reverence, but of suspicion. He circled through once more about ten minutes later and then left. 20-30 minutes later, he returned and parked across the road and just sat there for awhile. By this time I was pretty confident that he was on a stakeout and in the process of running background checks on my plates.

Sure enough, after a little time had passed, he drove straight at me and parked perpendicular to the Caddy with lights on and spotlight blazing. By this time I had anticipated an inquiry, so I made sure my hands were visible to discourage any unnecessary friendly fire, got out, and briefly explained the situation to him. He was nice and reasonable about everything and went on his way. Thinking back on it, it’s hard to fault the guy; he was just being cautious and alert- how can you not associate a sweet ride like the Cadillac with Mob affiliation?

Anyways, my Dad and Kevin brought an extra boat battery with them, on which we were able to make it to Page.

We had a great time at Lake Powell. Our family spent a lot of time there when I was growing up, bur it had been about six years since I'd been back. The water was a little chilly, but in comparison to the summer crowds we essentially had the place to ourselves. The weather was great and it was a nice, scenic trip.

We threw in a new alternator Saturday morning and the Caddy was back to its’ previous F1 form. The boat trailer blew a tire on the way home, but we had a spare. Other than that the return trip went off without a hitch.