A hose with my name on it.

Alaska is the kind of a state that you can't be a one trick pony and expect to thrive. Challenges and tribulations are a constant factor and nothing ever really goes to plan. Plan A and B usually get thrown out and plan C usually prevails, if you have "da skillz" or a dash of common sense. Whichever works for ya.

I am part of the school of thought that if you don't have multiple vehicles you are asking for trouble. Not so much in the summertime, but in the winter especially. Lucky for me it is warm this time of year which is why I'm thankful my big truck crapped the bed now instead of 4 months from now.

The dirt work is pretty much done at my property and now I am hauling rocks from my local dirt pit (don't worry I have a permit -- only $3 a yard for residents in need of rocks / gravel for private use - Thanks Department of Natural Resources!) out to the land to shore up all of my open terrace slopes. Erosion control is in dire need.  A wrench got thrown into the mix when I was heading out the driveway two nights ago.
"POP!" is not the noise you want to hear when you are going down the road from your truck. I thought to myself, "I bet it is a fan belt" so I tried to slow down at the next convenient turn around spot only to discover it wasn't my fan belt. There was no power steering (which could still be a belt) or brakes (this is what puzzled me) and I was heading downhill. Lucky for me my emergency brake works and I got the rig, after some muscling of the steering wheel, back in my driveway.

Nice feature on these old K30 rigs by Chevy is that if you lose a power steering hose and there is no pressure in the system you lose power brakes at the same time. Safety first people and to think this truck is older than all the recalls that GM is issuing now. Ha! So what...I love this truck.  

After a good bit of cussing, a requirement for auto work, I finally got the hose off and into town. I have to tell ya there is nothing like some good old small town service. People aren't just numbers here. They even put my name on it and spelled ukulele correctly!!! I love you Fairbanks and a tip of the hat to you Alaska Rubber and Rigging!

Down to Seward with the Trio for the Yukon Bar this weekend. 9pm both Friday / Saturday nights. Also on Saturday I'm doing an originals performance at the Resurrect Coffeehouse at 7pm and teaching two classes earlier in the day for ukulele enthusiasts

Until then... back to the rock.