Disaster, but great jump school!

Long Wordy Post - you have been warned

So, yesterday I headed down the mountain for another jump school and disaster struck.  When I say I am heading down the mountain, I am literally heading down a mountain on a very twisty turney road.  As I was coming to the sharpest curves I heard a high pitch noise coming from the truck.  It was loud enough for me to turn the radio off to see if it was the radio, but quiet enough that I thought it might be the radio.  Well, I turned off the radio and it wasn't the radio.  I said, hmmm, maybe it is one of those weird diesel truck noises and just flipped the radio back on. 

As I was entering the first minor curve the steering felt really stiff.  Oh no!  No power steering and that makes me look down at the dash and I see a big old flashing red battery light and the digital screen said "battery not charging."  Now I am entering into the next curve and immediately call my husband.  Mind you, this is a narrow road going down a mountain with no shoulder and nowhere to pull over. I think the conversation went something like this with my husband:

As the phone is ringing (me): You better f'ing answer the damn phone right now, I am going to kill you if you don't answer the f'ing phone.

Husband: Hello

Me: (pretty calm) I am driving down the mountain with the horse trailer, Liam in tow, and I have no power steering, a red battery light is flashing and dash says battery not charging.  What do I do?

Husband: Where are you?

Me: (Not so calm anymore) DRIVING DOWN THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!!

Husband: How close are you to B* R* Farm?

Me: (calm again) maybe 5 miles 8-10 minutes at most

Husband: Keep going and get there

Me: (still calm) Ok

Now I am white knuckled on the steering wheel.  Decide to call my friend that helps me with the jumps schools.  Conversation goes like this:

Friend: Hello

Me: On my way, my truck is breaking down, I have no power steering with flashing battery lights, etc...

Friend: Oh no, do you need to turn around or do you need me to get my truck and come get you?

Me:  I am still moving and I am closer to you then turning around. I just want to get Liam somewhere safe.

Friend: Ok, we will figure it out when you get here.

Now I am coming into the last big curve and go to step on the brakes, still on the phone with friend, and the brake pedal is rock hard and barely slowing down the truck. 

Me: (not calm anymore) I GOT TO GO, I DON'T HAVE BRAKES!!!

I hang up the phone and reach down to use the trailer brakes and they are not working.  I think I scream out at this point, "OH SHIT!!!".  Then I start thinking, I can use the transmission to slow me down.  Thank goodness for Allison transmissions in Chevy trucks.  When in tow mode the transmission automatically slows you down going down hill by just not being on the gas.  I was already going slow, just coasting, and I was able to put the transmission into 3 and it slowed me down more, and then into 2 to get me around the big curve all while stepping as hard as I could on the rock hard brake pedal.  I got around the curve.  I made a huge sigh with relief.

Then I thought, Ok, it is a straight road from here with a left turn up ahead (about 1 mile), right turn onto the farm's road, and left into the farm driveway.  I can do this!!!

Got to the light with the left turn, and someone must have been looking over me, the light was green and no one was coming.  I was able to slow the truck down with the transmission and make the left.  That wasn't too bad. 

A half mile later I was able to slow the truck down again and make the right, this was a bit harder but I did it.  Then I creeped up the road and made the left into the barn driveway.

I immediately called my husband and said I made it.  He said he was on his way and about 5 minutes away.

I parked the truck and got out shaking, went back to the trailer and whipped open the door and gave Liam a huge hug.  My husband arrived 2 minutes later.  I got Liam off the trailer and into the barn while husband inspected the truck and discovered the belt broke that powers the power steering and power brakes, its called the serpentine belt.  That was probably the scariest 10 minutes of driving in my entire life.

I was able to tack up and jump school while my husband ran to the auto parts store and put a new belt on the truck.  He was finished by the time I was ready to head home.  What a good hubby!!!  Oh and the clip was (has been) broken where I plug my electric in from the trailer to the truck and for whatever reason yesterday I didn't push it all the way in and that is why I didn't have trailer brakes (of all the days).  That is fixed now too!

Stay tuned for the entire post on the jump school, but I will give you that it was AWESOME!!!