Shoutout to Little Ray's in Sublette, Kansas

[Nathandeuel]

Just got back from an epic, two-month trip in our Chevy with a Co Camper van poptop. LA-Malibu-Santa Cruz-Mendocino-Oregon Coast-Washington State, surfing all along the way, mostly camping. Then a burn through MT and SD (excellent boondocking in both) to get to a wedding in Michigan, where we all got Covid. Mildly ill but nowhere to go, we drove quiet 2-lane roads along every great lake, Lake Superior being my favorite. Those rocks! Then a fast run to NYC for a week, followed by a week on Cape Cod (sleeping in the van on the East Coast is terrible, mostly. I am eying one of them new 12V AC units... But will probably just stay mostly on the west coast instead.) Then a big drive back to New Mexico and home to Venice Beach.

But the most fun....
The most surprising...
My favorite night?

It's when we broke down in Sublette, Kansas. The van had trouble 6k miles earlier, going up a hill in Colorado, losing acceleration. I figured it was the alternator, as we had some kind of goofy water heater plugged in to the lighter socket at that moment. But a great shop in Illinois checked it out, no prob there, and we drove to East Coast and back with no problems. Maybe it was nothing? But in KS we had the same problem again! I coasted to a stop. Rested the van. So hot outside! Then fired it up. No prob for a few miles, but then it happened again. We coasted to a stop in Sublette and hit up Google. Then we cautiously drove to Little Ray's.

Did the shop have a Confederate flag on the wall? Yes. And was that unwelcome? Yes. But Ray dropped everything he was doing, at 5pm, worked for an hour til closing, then told us we could *try* to drive on to New Mexico. We made it 100 feet down the highway then crapped out again.

Needing to get parts he didn't have to make sure our van was ready to go, Ray offered to drive the three of us, our dog, and some gear to the local motel. He waited 20min with the AC blasting (it was 105 degrees or something beastly) and made sure we got a room. While we hyperventilated in the weak motel AC he worked for another hour or two on the van, well past closing, and diagnosed a bad fuel pump.

My kid, raised in Venice Beach, was astonished by how quiet a town of 1000 could be. We walked through deserted streets to the little mostly dead Main Drag, where we ate at the only open restaurant in town. I ate something called a chopped beef steak? (Basically two charbroiled burger patties in gravy. Yum.) We walked back in the dark, to the sound of crickets. My kid was a bit rattled by it all. Ray woke up super early the next day to get the pump from a parts store.

The next morning at 9:30am, Ray picked us up in our own van. At the shop, I had to nudge a big pile of 9mm ammunition out of the way so I could find room to sign the credit card receipt. The bill was only $600.

Some lessons in here probably. Good to be home but excited to hit the road again! That Chevy of ours is a 2015 with 160K miles on it.

[N147JK]

Many folks from the east and west coasts don't really understand the midwest. If it were solely up to me, I'd move back there in a heartbeat.

[snomad]

Originally Posted by N147JK

Many folks from the east and west coasts don't really understand the midwest. If it were solely up to me, I'd move back there in a heartbeat.

Wouldn't move back at all - can't abide the humidity however, whenever life takes me back to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa or Nebraska I acknowledge: these are my people.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by Nathandeuel

Some lessons in here probably. Good to be home but excited to hit the road again! That Chevy of ours is a 2015 with 160K miles on it.

Many, many lessons there my friend----the first of which would be don't judge a book by its first appearance. Second is thanks for sharing what a gem of a man running a service business you've found---I'm sure Good Karma will be his for a long time in the future.

I don't want to come across too judgey which is impossible now but the details about his flag of choice, unused ammo laying about (both not that appealing to me either BTW)--for me it would be just too too easy overlooking such personal choices by a man who just busted his arse helping me.

I'm sure you're thankful for Ray's generosity and willingness to look past a strangers appearance and do someone a favor AND charging a fair price too!

Kudo's to Ray---there's fewer and fewer folks like that these days---not appreciating them probably one reason they're disappearing.

Glad you're back on the road once again!

[Vanimal]

Gotta agree with you JWA!
Sorry but the mear mention, in the manner presented, of the flag and ammo makes a statement that is appauling to me. Something Americans are tired of being called today. Your saying "I'll accept it because I need him" without saying it. That just does not sit right with me and probably many here. As a Californian I am embarrassed. Californians are already disliked enough moving to states and dragging choices with them. I for one am stuck here. We don't know Ray's past so immediately the label goes up and the comment spiews. We need to stop thinking we are better than others and unite this greatest COUNTRY that ever existed. Why do so many still want to come, the border itself shows it. Even in the 1800's people died trying to come here. Did a flag stop them then? If you felt enough to mention it then you should have refused his service. Sorry members...just not right.