A Hippie and Her Ghosts

Hopefully, in a way.

Reset… I typed the above two sentences and then decided to go back and actually check my last post to see where I left off, and dang it. I’m really behind on here. I’ve been keeping people a tad more up to date on my facebook page. So I’ve got to back track a little bit and walk through everything. Hopefully, this is going to be therapuetic for me and not drive me crazy.

I got to spend a whole week in Overton, Nevada. I lived in my little camper in the parking lot of the repair place that I got the old car towed to (a lot has happened… we’ll come back to this).

Overton is a very small town, but very spread out. It took me about 15 min. to walk to the gas station. And about 30min to walk to the other side of town. It’s a cute little place. Besides going to the library a few more times to look for jobs and get info on how to vote, I tried to get out and go to a new place in town each day.

One of the days I finally had to do laundry. Luckily, I have a cute little laundry bag/backpack. I did have to do a minor sewing repair on it, as the drawsting had decided to try to escape. Its actually pretty comfortable to carry. I stayed and chatted with a few people while I was there. One lady lived in town and used the laundromat occasionally for larger comforters. Another woman and her husband were from Germany, and they had this huge truck that they had converted and were living out of. I thought it might be rude to take a picture, so I don’t have one, but it was intimidating. And awesome.

Overton was over all a good place to hangout while I tried to get the car fixed. Unfortunately, that did not happen though. I lived in the parking lot of the repair shop for a week waiting for the parts to arrive. The Friday before, the shop had already taken my car in and started taking it apart, so that when the parts got there Monday they could just tackle it and get it done. They ordered the wrong part, however. Which at first, I thought just meant that I’d be waiting longer while they got the correct part.

Then they told me that they couldn’t find the correct parts for my car. It was very upsetting and frustrating, and I didn’t understand. The car was only a 2020. Its not like they didn’t make them anymore. So, I also started trying to reach out to people and dealerships trying to figure out what else I could do. Some friends and family on facebook that work in the automotive industry were able to confirm that it was very difficult to find the clutch for my car. There seemed to be only a couple in The U.S. and one in Australia. I also started getting calls back from some of the Hyundai dealerships in Las Vegas to see if they could do anything.

Two of the dealerships, upon taking my car information and mileage, said that it should all be covered under warranty. I being the first and only owner, and the vehicle being less than 5years and under 100,000 miles should be covered to be repaired by the dealership. At first I was so upset with myself. Should I have just figured out a way to have gotten the car towed to a dealership in the first place? Should I have sat on the side of the road longer before I wasted money getting towed to this little repair shop for now reason? Hindsight is 20/20, and there probably are quite a few things I could have done differently. But there’s no going back in time. The best I can do now is to readjust with the knowledge I have now and keep moving. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

One of the dealerships was still having a hard time trying to figure out if they had the correct parts. But, the other dealership said they had the parts, everything would be covered under warranty, and to get the car in. That was Monday night, I set up a tow for first light the next morning. And went to sleep thinking that everything was going to work out after all.

And at this moment I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that pitched into my GoFundMe. Since the repair shop I was at had ordered the wrong piece and said they could no longer help me, I used part of that money to get the car towed to the dealership. I rode in the tow truck and left the camper at the repair shop for one more time, thinking I would be back with my car and back on the road.

Another pic of my car on another tow truck! Now I can kind of laugh about it. It still hurts, but I’m getting there.

So, when we got to the dealership the tow truck dropped me off at the front and said he knew where to take my car around to the back. That way I could get in line, as they were already getting busy, and he’d come back to charge me after getting it off his truck. Then things went downhill again. Very, very downhill. When I got to the desk to check in and let them know why I was there, they knew exactly who I was and what car I was talking about. But not because they had everything ready and were waiting to fix my car. No. The guy I had talked to the previous night was wrong. The clutch was not included in the warranty the employee had told me about (and the other dealership.) They said they could fix my car though. They had the part on hand. It would only cost hundreds more dollars than what the first repair shop quoted me. I went outside to lose my shit. And managed to hold it together long enough to pay $600 to the tow company that just brought me here. Not only did I not have that kind of money. I was now stranded in Las Vegas, my camper waaaaaay too far away to walk to. And completely lost on what to do. I called family and friends, and I spoke to one of the dealership employees who was really a salesman. They said they would help me figure out another option. In other words, sell me a new car. I told them repeatedly that wasn’t an option for me, but I didn’t really have any other options. I couldn’t drive my current car anywhere. I spent most of the gofundme I had on the tow (It takes days to process, so I hadn’t received all the amazing donations that people made). I ended up having to borrow more money from my poor mother, on the premise that I could return some of it to her as the rest of the donations would go through in the next couple of days. She told me not to worry about it, but it still bothers me to this day.

So here’s the new car. Its pretty fancy compared to the old car. I don’t even want to talk about how much the monthly payments are. But, I really had no other option. I needed to be able to leave, with a car that day. I am grateful to have the car. I have no idea what I would have done or where I would be without it. I just wish that I could have picked a car. Maybe even an SUV or a small truck. But, this car does have a higher towing capacity than the old car. I have, at the time I’m writing this, towed the camper and been fine. Plus, I love the crazy looks I get. The new car does have lane assist, which I go between absolutely loving it, and it absolutely driving me crazy. It has a much better screen that I get maps on. Which makes deliveries so much easier. I had my phone mounted in the old car, but the car screen is much bigger.

But, after going back and forth with the salesmen, and financing, and trying to get a different car, and then just any car for hours, and hours, and hours. That wasn’t the end to the day. I had to go remove my electronic brake controller from the old car. One guy from the shop ended up coming out and helping me, which was awesome. They wouldn’t help me take the hitch receiver off the old car, nor help me with getting one for the new car. As a dealership, they just wouldn’t handle that. So, I got everything I could out and off of the car and into the new car and began rushing back to the camper. I wouldn’t make it back in time before the first repair shop closed. So, I did call and get their permission to stay in their parking lot one more night and I’d be out of their way the next day. They were really awesome about it.

Frederick took up his post in the new car and we headed back to the camper. Then, I finally remembered at the last minute that it was election day! By the time I made it back to Overton I had just a little under 2hrs until voting closed. So then, after I fed Boreas dinner, I rushed down to their community center. It was kind of hilarious. Because I never planned for anything to go the way its gone. I ended up voting in Nevada with my Wyoming driver’s license after I filled out a paper declaring myself homeless and having to write what cross streets I had been staying at. It was slightly uncomfortable. Definitely got looks from people. And even though it didn’t go the way I’d hoped. I’m happy to say I at least voted. Even with everything else that was going on, I figured it out.

The next morning I had to drive the new car back to Vegas. Rent a U-haul truck to tow the camper with. (As the new car didn’t have anything to make that happen.) And tow the camper to a campsite that I could stay in until I got the new car all set up with a hitch receiver and the brake control. I ended up staying at Lake Mead again, but this time at the Callville Bay Campground. It was the cheapest I could find (which isn’t saying much) and had a 30day limit… which I was gonna get the new car up and ready to tow in no time… right? Well… stay tuned for more exciting adventures with me.