Stuck in no-where-Colorado

Mariah Miller
Nov 30, 2024
5 min read

Hello everyone, it’s been a while. I know, I know, shame, shame, and bad Mariah for not blogging. Well, the reality is, my life wasn’t that interesting. All of October, I was coaching, substitute teaching, spending time with friends, and just living. Nothing super special, and it felt good to just live instead of trying to make a story out of everything that happened to me.

HOWEVER

I definitely have a story to share with you now. As some of you might know, Evelyn (a college friend) and I had been planning a trip to Colorado after the tennis season ended. And that's exactly what we did. We departed from Harrisonburg on November 6th, heading to Birmingham, Alabama (a 9-hour drive) to visit Zoe (a friend of Evelyn's, who has become my friend too). We spent a few days exploring her world, and early Saturday morning, we set off for Boulder, Colorado. We smoked through Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, taking turns driving, listening to music, chatting, eating, and genuinely having great time.

By chance, we ended up spending the night in Newton, Kansas, near Hesston. We visited Dillons market to buy some groceries, found a local park, and settled in for the evening. We cooked spaghetti on the camp stove, prepared for bed, and quickly fell asleep after our exhausting 13-hour drive.

The following morning, we got out of bed around six, leisurely prepared some coffee and oatmeal at a park picnic table, and got ready to hit the road. We had only seven hours of driving left to reach Boulder. Hurray! Before the final stretch, we stopped for our last fuel up and restroom break with just two hours remaining in the trip. The gas station we visited felt like it was from another world. Snow was everywhere (unplowed), no one was around, and it seemed a bit sketchy. We were eager to get back on the road, and as I cranked Marv to life for the last time... there was a popping sound, and Marv turned into a tractor. Loud and sputtering, Evelyn and I exchanged a glance, realizing this was not good news.

We slowly moved out of the way while we tried to figure out what to do. We ended up going into the gas station and asking the lady at the desk if there was anyone open nearby on a Sunday that could help us out. She said no but she could help us once she got off work in 30 minutes. With no other options we sat and waited, when she got off we watched her hop into her car and drive off.

Great.

After she took multiple trips in and out of the gas station she finally came over to the van to help us. We were relieved. Only for a minute though because she determined that nothing could be done today and we were going to have to stay the night.

We ended up trudging to Laura’s (the gas station lady's) yard so we could hook up to electricity and her mechanic friend (Jeff) could help us in a few hours. Right as we got to Laura’s she jumped out of her car and informed us that one of the old people she takes care of thought they were having a heart attack so she had to go. She ran into her house, grabbed a stethoscope and an AED and drove off. Evelyn and I found ourselves looking at each other wondering what had just happened.

Eventually, Jeff showed up. Now, Jeff is a character. He is, in short, a redneck ex-Ford mechanic, now a NAPA employee, with no family and lots of love life issues. And if you’re wondering how I know all of this, it’s because he told me in much more detail than ever necessary.

Four hours later (10 PM), it was dark, and Evelyn and I were taking shifts warming up in the van while the other entertained Jeff, who was cussing up a storm trying to fix the van. Over the span of time he worked on the van, I’m pretty sure he smoked a whole pack of cigarettes, lighting each one up with a blowtorch as it was between his lips. He took many trips back to his house and various places for tools and even tried to make his own part to fix the van. At one point welding was involved, I have no idea why. We eventually had to tell him we needed to go to bed and rest for the night.

Once he left we went straight to sleep.

Now it’s Monday. Jeff had to work (thank God) and Bryce was able to find a tow truck that would be able to tow us to the nearest mechanic at 1PM. Evelyn and I almost went crazy waiting around for the tow truck. The only thing giving us hope was the idea of diner food and a bathroom at the diner near the mechanics.

Now it’s Monday. Jeff had to work (thank God) and Bryce was able to find a tow truck that would be able to tow us to the nearest mechanic at 1 PM. Evelyn and I almost went crazy waiting around for the tow truck. The only thing giving us hope was the idea of diner food and a bathroom at the diner near the mechanics.

Once the tow truck was at the van, we watched the man (who looked a lot like Bryce) load Marv onto the truck. While he was loading, Laura came outside and was digging a path in the snow to a little hut. We walked over to ask what was in the hut. Turns out she had saved four guinea pigs (from where? Nobody knows) and they were all pregnant and had babies, and then the babies had babies. So now she has 30+ guinea pigs that she tries to sell as pets or food on Facebook Marketplace.

We are convinced that Laura's life is just a never ending series of side quests.

We dropped Marv at the mechanic, and the mechanic's wife kindly gave us a ride to the diner. We walked into the diner looking like zombies. The kind girl at the register asked what we wanted, and neither of us could even answer. Eventually, we got out that we wanted coffees, water, and some burgers. I don’t know if this food was actually that good or if it was just because we hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before, but we devoured our food. Shortly after eating, Aaron (Evelyn's boyfriend who lives in Boulder) came to pick us up. He took us back to Boulder as we had to wait a week for the mechanic to be able to work on the van.

We stayed a few days in Boulder, then went to Paonia, CO, where Evelyn's family lives, and hung out there for a bit over a week.

Now the van is well, and I am on my own.

This was a long overdue update, and I am hoping to become more consistent in the next few weeks. Keep an eye out for new posts coming your way!

-Mariah