Originally uploaded by Kiki Karia.
We stopped at the store to pick up a few items and then headed northwest on Hwy 395 towards a canyon that Mike wanted to explore. I later found out it was called Pine Creek Canyon. We took the Pine Creek Road exit. It was about 5:30 PM by now. We saw a sign that said the road we were on would end in six miles. Shortly after, we passed the small town of Rovana. Rovana is a community located in Inyo County. The elevation is 5,141 feet. Continuing further, we were headed into a narrow canyon up in the mountains. Below we could see the volcanic tablelands as we rose higher and went deeper into this towering mountain canyon. The snow-capped mountains further in the canyon loomed high and formidable above us. As we were taking in this fantastic scenery, Mike stopped the car and hurried outside. “What is he doing”? I wondered. In my side view mirror, I saw Mike looking at the rear tire on the passenger side of our SUV. He did not have a happy look on his face. I stepped out of the car and to my dismay; I saw that the rear tire was completely flat! We knew we had a spare tire under the vehicle. But Mike had never changed a flat tire on an SUV before. We had only owned our Sequoia two years. By now, it was almost 6:00 PM. I checked my cell phone thinking I could call AAA. To my dismay, we had absolutely no coverage up here. The winds were picking up in this narrow mountain canyon. The skies were darkening, and it would not be long before the sun would be setting behind the mountains. I felt panic rise up in my spirit. What would we do if we could not get down this mountain before dark? Would we have to spend the night here? There was not a single soul around who could help us. I felt like breaking down and crying and giving in to my fear. Instead, I began to pray to God and ask Him to help us. Mike found the auto manual in our glove compartment and began to read it. He placed heavy rocks under each wheel so our SUV would not roll over him. We had our bikes on the rack behind our vehicle. In order for him to get to the spare tire, he had to remove the bikes and the rack from our hitch. Next, He crawled under and began to move the spare tire down from its place. It was held in place by a winch. He had no real problems getting the spare tire out from under the vehicle. There was a hydraulic jack that came with our car, and after a couple of tries, he was able to raise the SUV enough to remove the spare. It was not easy work. I felt pretty helpless just standing there watching him and offering any help I could provide. We were in a race against time and the elements. After removing the flat tire, we saw a big screw inside. Thank God we did not have a blow out when we were on Hwy 395 driving 70 MPH. The spare tire was full of air. Thank God for small miracles! The tire was quite heavy, but Mike was able to hoist it in place and screw the bolts back in. It took about 40 minutes for him to complete the tire change and put the rack and bikes back in place. Before we left, Mike took three of the big rocks he had placed under our vehicle and piled them on top of each other as a memorial. The fourth rock we kept as a reminder of God’s provision. We then held hands and thanked the good Lord for helping us. Whew! This was our near peril miss, and we are grateful to God for His hand of protection and His help!
We made it back to our hotel about 7:00 PM. Mike called AAA and was told that they do not repair tires. We knew we were going to be leaving tomorrow and driving up to Yosemite, so we started looking in the local Yellow Pages for a tire repair location nearby. Most businesses by this time were closed. However, Mike called one place and was given the phone number of a man named Bill who had just left for the day. Bill agreed to meet us at his place of business and repair our damaged tire. He and his wife were there when we arrived. They were so kind and gracious to not only repair our tire, but to take the spare off and put the repaired tire back on our vehicle. And they only charged us $40. Bill and his wife Patty are around the same age as we are. They are recent empty-nesters like us. Patty is originally from the Midwest as we are. We had a lot in common. Sometimes I believe God sends people our way in times of urgent need to help us out. This was one of those times. If you are ever in the town of Bishop and need your car towed or a flat tire repaired, look up Bill’s Towing Service in the Yellow Pages.
We had not yet had dinner. It was about 8:15. We stopped at a KFC across from our hotel, and brought the food back to our room. It felt so good to know we would be sleeping in a warm hotel room and not on a mountain in our car. We fell asleep with grateful hearts.

Into the Foreboding Canyon

Memorial