Dear Jake & Amelia,
We stopped at the Tuba City Truck Stop for Navaho tacos on our way to the Hopi Mesas. We pulled in next to an old wooden utility wagon. We thought about  the hard work of crossing the country in a covered wagon pulled by a team of horses. We were reminded of the repairs that we recently made to our wagon.

In the 1800’s travelers headed west across America to explore the country. They outfitted themselves with wagons, horses, and other gear needed for their long journey. Like those earlier travelers, we outfitted ourselves for our trek across America. Our wagon is a truck with a slide-on camper. 

A key piece of equipment for the horse and wagon outfit was the leather harness. Our truck has a wiring harness that our outfitter modified to work with our camper's electrical system. Our wiring harness began to fail as we reached the Southwest. One by one the lights on the camper stopped working until only the right turn signal functioned. We had no brake lights. Driving in  traffic, sandstorms or heavy rain was dangerous.

We brought our rig with its broken harness to a mechanic in Arizona. He told us that the outfitter back east just didn’t understand how to rig a harness to withstand the conditions of traveling in the west. We felt a connection to those earlier travelers who must have stopped  to repair worn or broken equipment.

The mechanic held our life in his hand for a few hours. He held it gently, consulting us about the necessary repairs. He fixed our broken harness. Within a short time we were back on the road, with a renewed feeling of safety.

Nancy & Peter

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