Petra I

You've Got to be Kidding! Three!

Russ and I drove to Jordan across the northern half of Saudi Arabia. I had scouted the route for the latitude/longitudes of all our planned turns and had my GPS ready for the 1700 kilometer journey. All was going well until we were about one-third of the way when we had our first blowout, then our second and finally our third. All in less than 150 miles!

We kept putting on the new spare, continuing on to the next town and then buying a new spare. “New” is relative. When you are literally an hour from the nearest town and you need a spare then you pay for what they have available. The first two tires I bought were worn and didn’t look like they’d last long. One had been removed from a back room pile after I rejected the mechanics first offer. It lasted about 60 miles before giving out. We were driving slower than normal for safety and this kept putting us further and further behind schedule. The third tire I bought was actually new and it took us the remaining distance to the border and home again.

Aladdin's Treasure - City Art in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia