A Hitch and Another Tractor ???

Rusty Bolts and Popped Hitches

To continue the Tale of Chilliwack we must add a little information about our knowledge about hitches. A few years or maybe 5 years back ... The Lim Family (including Kenny ... Dada Bear {daddy to his 3 little mice} and Peach {soul mate to Mama Bear}) decided to take a trip across Canada with our 19 ft travel trailer "Mama Bear's Den". Many long hours of driving in a hot car with 3 kids, a dog, and 2 grumpy parents doesn't always make for the best of trailer and hitch experiences. We would park after a long day ... backing up, fighting about backing up and crashing into things with the trailer while backing up. Finally we would get parked and often we would barely have the energy to unhitch, eat and get ready for bed. The better mornings were when we were able to leave the truck hitched to the trailer for the night. The insane mornings were the ones when we would have to unhitch the trailer at night and re-hitch it in the morning. Our trailer was old and so was its hitch ... we would generally line it up approximately then kick it or jump on it to get it to attach. We only lost the connection once over the whole trip and thanks God it was not while we were driving. We had parked and it rolled backward into a tree. Whew.

The Hitch Experts

Okay all this being said about hitches ... Mama and D-Y knew a little about faulty ones. D-Y used his skills and lowered and raised the trailer many times in order to change the tire. The true fact was that the bolts were rusty and hard to loosen. Mama and D-Y had to work together to get the old tire off. Boy we sure were glad for the "Tire Jack Thingy shaped like an X" (more commonly known as a "Lug Wrench") The Ditch jokes continued as D-Y jumped on the wrench while Mama leaned on the trailer with all her weight in strategic locations. Finally when we got it changed, the hitch decided to give us trouble. We knew it fit before we changed the tire ... so what the heck was happening now? We tried to roll the trailer back and forth on the ball ... no connection. We tried to back into the trailer with the truck ... no connection. We tried to jump on it ... a slight connection. Mama was losing it so we, (mostly Mama) decided to just hope it slipped into place while we were driving. We took off down the road from Chilliwack to Yarrow which isn't quite as close as you might think. Mama and D-Y were giggling again and fighting over sunglasses when Mama decided to hit some railroad tracks doing 50 km an hour. Okay maybe it wasn't a decision so much as a brief glance away from the road. Naturally the "slightly-Hitched Trailer" bounced off of it's small connection point and dragged along the road. Laughing and saying "of course" ... Mama pulled over and we assessed the damage. Surprisingly not much damage ... some more dents in the trailer front ... some twisting of the attached jack unit and some bending of the hitch itself. As we stood there checking it out ... a nice couple stopped and asked if we were okay. Apparently they had been behind us and watched the sparks fly. We told them we were fine and by jumping up and down on the hitch harder this time ... we got it connected. Really connected this time. By the way ... if any of you are wondering ... metal gets very hot when dragged along an asphalt road. Mama knows this cause she grabbed it to lift it onto the ball hitch (or hitch ball ... whichever that is).

Just drive across the Lawn

Through the rest of Yarrow ... Mama now drove at a slower pace. We arrived at a house with a bunch of Wooden Planter Wheelbarrows out in front. Wagon wheels, Milk Cans, and Watering Can planters were Mama's objects of desire at this location. We knocked on the front door and waited ... A big friendly dog came up and slobbered on D-Y. We heard a voice of welcome and waited a little longer. A heavy set man with a cane ambled over and greeted us ... Mama gave her usual greeting of "Howdy ... Cynthia from craigslist" D-Y isn't sure whether Mama thinks that she works for craigslist or are they just good friends? The man opened up his garage and Mama fell in love with some Amish Wagon Wheels. The difference in the Amish buggy wheels and the usual wagon wheels are the size and the materials used. The Amish wheels are almost double the height of the others and are made of Iron. The usual wheels sometimes use some iron in their construction and are mostly made of wood (which rots and decays quicker). 2 water-can planters, a wooden wheelbarrow planter, an old red milk can and two Amish buggy wheels later ... D-Y is loading up the trailer and the car. Mama barters a bit on pricing and the guy even throws in a free hanging planter full of purple petunias. D-Y continues to load everything up ... saying loudly for Mama to "really hear him" ... "We are all full up". The guy says to Mama come on out back and just look at what else I have ... maybe for next time. We amble off down a slight hill into the backyard which is full of old farming equipment (some rusty ... some painted Green and Yellow >>> John Deere colours?) Mama tells him she loves the Rusty old Equipment but our acreage is just too small. "Oh I have just what you need ... a Tractor" says the guy ... Didn't Mama just say that the property was "too small" ..... We come around a corner, and huddled under a tree are three little folk art tractors. Orange, Brown and Red ... they look like little lost orphans, and it was all Mama could do not to take them all. She chose the biggest, scruffy looking red one and back up the hill they went. Have to say though ... D-Y had been a little nervous to see Mama wandering off into the back acreage with some crazy looking guy who had just told us he was "on medication" and smelled a whole lot like Marijuana. Mama told D-Y later that she "figured she could take him because of the cane". Just as we are about to take off and were assessing how to back the trailer out of his driveway ... the guy says "just drive across the lawn ... I have to dig the whole thing up next week anyway" What a huge contrast the day had been .... from pristine driveway to "just drive across the lawn". Boy we love the country.

Thanks for reading and welcome to our barns,
The Lims