Bright and early Mon. morning we left Harpers Ferry on what we’ve called the “mad dash” for points west. The goal was to make it from WV to the far southwest edge of Minnesota in 3 days (that’s a almost 1,300 miles!)
But on the way we had decided to make a slight detour to Shanksville, PA, so we could stop and pay our respects at the Flight 93 National Memorial. Currently it is a temporary memorial operated by the National Park Service. More than 150,000 people visit each year, and shortly after 9/11 a group of
local residents organized to staff it and are known as “Ambassadors”. They have familiarized themselves with all the details of what happened and are ready to answer any questions. They also provide a brief presentation, providing a personal and very human touch to the event and thos
e who lost their lives that day on Flight 93. When we arrived, a high school group was there for one of the presentations, and the mood was very somber. The benches on which they were seated are inscribed with the names of the passengers and crew. The first thing you see as you approach is a huge cross, flags, and a fence covered with various items. As you walk cl
oser, you realize these items have been left by people from all over the world as a tribute, paying their respects, some even writing notes on the wood shelves in back. There are flowers, crosses, ball caps, patches, coins, rocks, flags, stuffed animals, trinkets of all kind, just about anything someone might have with them or picked
up. In fact Russ picked up a rock near where we parked and together we placed it one of the shelves. One couple created Angels of Freedom, one for each crew member and passenger. Several groups and individuals have donated larger inscribed granite memorials that are also surrounded by trinkets. It is estimated that so f
ar over 25,000 objects have been left to honor these heroes. Items left at the memorial are being cared for by the volunteers and will become part of the permanent Flight 93 collection. The actual crash site is located several hundred yards away in the grassy field and is accessible only to family members of those killed on Flight 93. The crater created by
the crash is surrounded by a chain link fence and marked by an American Flag. It’s very quiet here at the memorial, a good place to meditate, pray, and remember…we shall never forget. 
Our goal the first night was a Wal-Mart parking lot in Columbus, OH, and we were cruising along just fine until we crossed from Wheeling, WV, over the state line into OH. It was about 3:30pm, and all of a sudden lights started coming on the dash, a high pitched beep could be heard, the transmission temp was rising, and we had no idea what was happening. Luckily we were close to an exit ramp, so Russ pulled off but then the power died! He managed to limp it along the rest of the way up the ramp, and there was a small commuter lot at the top where we pulled over. We got out and looking underneath we could see something hanging down from the engine area in the back. I told him whatever it was looked frayed on the end, and finally he crawled under and pulled it out. We could tell it was a belt of some kind, and a guy who stopped to see if he could be of any help said it was probably the alternator belt based on our description of what happened. We have roadside assistance through Good Sam, and Russ called them to find a mechanic in the area who works on Caterpillar engines but the gal seemed to have trouble finding Wheeling, WV, on her map much less figure out where we were! Good grief! She was going to check and call us back. In the meantime Russ called Caterpillar, and they proceeded to give us phone numbers for two Cat dealers who don’t work on RVs…okay, that was a lot of help. But one of those people gave us the number for a place called Fleet Service Co., Inc. just 10 miles down the road in Wheeling. T
he guy on the phone (John) was very nice and said he’d send someone as soon as he hung up. We called Good Sam back (this was now an hour later) and were told they were still trying to find someone in our area (not sure where they were looking) but we told them never mind, we found someone on our own. The young man who showed up, Scott, was great. He said it was definitely the alternator belt, looked underneath and said nothing else seemed damaged, none of the pulleys were frozen, which was great news. We had been worried we might have to be towed somewhere. Only issue now was whether or not he could find a replacement belt. He knew they didn’t have one, so he took the belt and all the info back to the shop to call around and see if he could fine one. Amazingly he returned a short time later with one that was about a half inch smaller but because of the idle arm, it would work fine. It was easier for him to reach the area from atop the engine, so he had to come inside, and we had to remove a portion of the bed frame so he could access the engine area. Never had seen that view of it before…very interesting. Scott’s been working on engines for years with the military and was just discharged from the Marines two months ago. He was very professional, friendly, thorough, and worked quickly. If you ever need service in the Wheeling, WV, area (or just inside OH), call Fleet Service at 800-441-6140. 
Finally we were back on the road at 7:15pm heading for Columbus, 123 miles away, watching a beautiful sunset as we drove and thankful the breakdown hadn’t been worse. We reached the Wal-Mart parking lot at 10:30 and got something to eat from what was left in their hot deli, dining on BBQ chicken wings and jalapeno poppers at 11pm. We had commented that this was the first time in two years we had driven the RV in the dark of night other than when returning from those football games in St. Louis. It’s not something you 
really enjoy doing.We were up early the next morning for the next leg of the mad dash, driving through the Chicago traffic, heading for the Camping World parking lot in DeForest, WI about 130 miles from the MN border. The day was so overcast and foggy in Chicago that we could barely see the top of the Sears tower. At th
e rest area just inside the WI border was a monument honoring the 62 Wisconsin Medal of Honor recipients dating back to the Civil War. A separate plaque describes the history of the Medal and to whom it is awarded, and then the individual names by war served are inscribed on granite monuments imbedded in a stone wall. Quite 
a lovely and moving sight to see at a rest area. As we continued down I-90 past acres and acres of farmland, suddenly there appeared this rock formation almost out of nowhere.
e rest area just inside the WI border was a monument honoring the 62 Wisconsin Medal of Honor recipients dating back to the Civil War. A separate plaque describes the history of the Medal and to whom it is awarded, and then the individual names by war served are inscribed on granite monuments imbedded in a stone wall. Quite 
a lovely and moving sight to see at a rest area. As we continued down I-90 past acres and acres of farmland, suddenly there appeared this rock formation almost out of nowhere. As we crossed the Mississippi River into MN Wed. morning, we could see Lock and Dam #7 and pulled off at th
e rest area for a slightly closer look and to pick up a MN map. Finally around 2pm we reached our destination, Blue Mounds State Park, home for the next couple of nights.
e rest area for a slightly closer look and to pick up a MN map. Finally around 2pm we reached our destination, Blue Mounds State Park, home for the next couple of nights. 
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