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May 02, 2008

Tick...tick...tick

Ever since I had the Lazy Daze' front brake rotors turned back in Demopolis AL I've been hearing this light tick..tick..tick from the left front wheel when passing a concrete barrier with the drivers window open. I jacked the wheel up and rotated it and I could hear the tick but I couldn't see into the wheel assembly well enough to definitely identify it. I was pretty sure it was the brake rotor lightly rubbing on a sheet metal shield and it didn't sound or feel like a wheel bearing so I ignored it. But darn, it didn't go away! The last couple of days I began to hear that tick..tick..tick even with the window closed and decided it was time to get that wheel pulled to check it out.

Turns out there is a Goodyear shop right handy by the Wal-Mart here in Sullivan MO and it didn't take too long to wander over there. And hang around in spite of a run in with poor customer service - at least the mechanics seem to know what they were doing.

Yep - it was indeed a bent shield.

But that's not all.

The tick..tick..tick was getting louder because the wheel was leaning harder and harder against the shield as the lower ball joint wore. Aha! - of course! That ball joint was one seriously worn puppy too. As was the right one. I knew there was a bit of looseness in the front end but it didn't seem serious and I was going to wait until I got home to check it out.Thank you ticking shield.

We're sporting nice new lower ball joints and the weather is going off the map. Life is good, Kate.

Night camp:

Wal-Mart parking lot, Sullivan, Missouri

Absolute Silence

I remembered hearing of a backcountry Park Service ranger who was cleaning up after dinner one evening when he heard a chilling scream. He ran out of his cabin in time to see a mountain lion standing with a dead deer next to her. The lion saw the ranger and bounded off. The ranger realized this might be a rare opportunity to closely observe a mountain lion, so he stationed himself a short distance away from the deer carcase. He sat in absolute silence, and listened closely as night deepened. After sitting in darkness for well over an hour, he gave up hope of the lion's returning and stood up. In the powerful beam of his flashlight, he could clearly see that the dead deer was no longer there. ...

Caught in Fading Light: Mountain Lions, Zen Masters, and Wild Nature by Gary Thorp

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