Stuck in Flagstaff

Sedona, Az

A lot of friends have expressed how awesome the trails of Sedona are and Vanessa and I were excited to finally be on our way to experience them for ourselves.  But as luck would have it, the Summit Seeker started have problems about 5 miles from town.  Climbing up the hill the check engine light started flashing and we lost power and immediately dropped down to about 20mph.  This was also accompanied with misfiring and I released we had problems with our ignition coil once again.  I found a little side road to pull off onto and parked to cool the engine down in hopes of being able to continue onto town under our own power.  After a short while I started the engine back up but the problem was still present.  Power be damned, we're going to limp into town regardless how slow we have to go.

We parked at the library in hopes of getting some wifi but as we have found out before, the free wifi found at most libraries completely suck and so we limped down the road to a place called Famous Pizza that offered free wifi where we could park for the night and enjoy some pizza and beer and then surf the net all night.  The pizza wasn't so good but the beer selection made it worthwhile.  In the morning we drove over to a lovely coffee place called Java Love (excellent coffee!) where we called Good Sam for a tow truck.  Before starting our journey I had purchased a Good Sam membership, including roadside assistance, just in case.  The problem with Good Sam is that they will tow you for free to the nearest shop of their choosing.  If you need to go someplace different, you will have to pay for the tow yourself.  Earlier I had called the Scottsdale VW shop to see if they would cover the work and the said I'd have to go to the Flagstaff dealer, about 25 miles away, where they would assess it and see if the work and any parts replacement would be covered.  Of course Good Sam wanted to tow me to the auto shop around the corner where none of the work or parts would be covered.  This meant we would have to pay for the tow truck ourselves.

Seeing the Summit Seeker being hooked up to a tow truck was an interesting experience and not in a pleasant way.  Vanessa and I, according to law, had to sit up front with the driver but the dog and cat had to stay in back.

The ride from Sedona to Flagstaff was not what I had in mind when we first set out as I had hoped to run along the Red Rocks and stop at Slide Rock State Park to wash up.  I chatted up the driver to talk about the area around us while Vanessa slept.  Some day we will definitely have to spend some time in the area in more favorable conditions.  I'm almost tempted to backtrack on our journey but we must keep pressing onward if we wish to make it to Zion in time to do some training runs before the big race.

Missing out on Sedona - 

 

Flagstaff, AZ

We made it to the Findlay VW Dealership too late to get any work done but in the early afternoon the following day we were handing the keys back with an explanation that a couple spark plug wires were not properly attached thus causing our problems.  Damn those Scottsdale VW people!  Vanessa, Ginger, and myself piled into the RV and left for the local brewery.  About 5 miles later the check engine light started flashing once again and we pulled into a hotel parking lot and requested a tow back to the Findlay dealership.
Later on at the shop, it was determined that we either had back plug cables or a faulty ignition coil, neither of which were immediately available with the earliest arrival being Tuesday.  We asked if we hang out on their lot until Tuesday and now here we still sit.  But at least we have spotty wifi.  And there is a Safeway as well as a few other places to spend money about a half mile away.  

 

Meet Humphrey's Peak.  At 12,637', it towers over Flagstaff and is the tallest peak in Arizona.  It is also the reason we wanted to visit this city.  Last year Vanessa and I attempted to summit this beast but the winds were too strong and cold forcing us to turn around just a few hundred feet from the top.  If we can ever get the Summit Seeker running properly again, we wish to attempt the summit once more.