Friday morning I called over to Sauder's and found out the cost. The total was about $1,100. Not too bad to rebuild the engine. The warranty would cover all but the diagnosis costs and the deductible. My cost would be about $450. That was about what I had budgeted for the timing belt replacement so I was not too disappointed. Having a rebuilt engine was a bonus. They hoped to give me the keys later that morning. A few minutes later Serge called again. He asked if I had the total costs and I filled him in. I was more than a little shocked when he offered to pick up all my costs. He did not have to do this. Soon after I came home a check arrived. I would not hesitate for a moment to buy another car from Serge at RAP Motors in Philadelphia. Roger called me soon to say that the thermostat was not working correctly and they would change it and test the car again. I had had enough of Sidney, Nebraska by now and just wanted to get on the road.

     The next call was the one I wanted to hear. The car was ready! It was 9:00 am and I was ready to pick up my Outback. There had been some snow in Denver over night but it was still sunny in Sidney. I paid my portion of the bill and thanked Roger. I wish I could find such an honest and helpful shop in my area. If you break down in western Nebraska you can't do better than Sauder's. 50 minutes later I was across the border and into Wyoming. I cruised by Cheyenne and elected not to stop for gas. I didn't have enough to reach Laramie but I was sure to find some in between. Cheyenne is at 6062'. I was rapidly gaining elevation as I moved into the Rockies. Exit after exit went by with no gas stations. Now I was getting a little worried. I might make it to Laramie but if I ran out it would be near the summit of the mountains. That was not something I looked forward to. As I climbed up to near 8000' I saw a sign for gas. Thankfully I pulled off. There was no station at the end of the exit, just a sign pointing left. I crossed the freeway and saw nothing. Another left and the road turned to gravel. Finally I saw a tiny store with two pumps. The wind was really blowing now. Gusts must have been at least 45 mph.

     I pulled up to the pump and went inside to pay. When I made it back to the pump my fingers were going numb. I put on gloves and started to pump. A minute later I was up to $.04. At that rate I would have a full tank in about 12 hours. It seems that the pump had frozen. I pulled up to the other one and went inside to have the pumps switched. If this one didn't work I was in real trouble. Fortunately it worked and I was only semi-frozen when I got back in the car. The first thing I noticed that morning was that the engine temperature registered in the middle of the gauge. That verified that the head gasket was faulty when I picked up the car in Philadelphia. I was now worried because with single digit temperatures the gauge would drop all the way down to the 1/4 level before coming back to the middle. This continued all the way home and must have been due to the high speeds that I was moving in such cold air. It has worked fine in "normal temperature". At that time it was just one more thing for me to worry about. I reached the high point of the Rockies at 8640' with some ice on the road and a little fresh snow. It was all down hill from there to Laramie. Laramie is at 7165' so I was beyond the Continental Divide but still well up in the mountains. As I cruised through Laramie and out the other side I noticed a flashing light. Not again!! Yes, the "check engine" light was on again. This time the car was running great and the temperature gauge was right in the middle. As I moved out of town one part wanted to go on and another wanted to stop and have it checked. The conservative side won out. I turned around and headed back to Laramie.