Mary Bailing Off the Backhoe
(1983)
Our first summer at the new 40 acre property, we felt we needed a backhoe for all the new construction. We found a used Case 530 backhoe with a front end loader. $500. That right there should have been a clue. But, with a lot of TLC, maybe it would work great for us. It was located in Central Colorado. So, we borrowed a big flatbed trailer and began the hauling of our “new” machine to Pagosa Springs. But, the trailer had no brakes and our old truck probably would not get us over the high mountain passes from Vail to Pagosa Springs. So, we went west to Utah, then south through Moab and then east through Durango to Pagosa. Easy. It just took some time and fuel but we made it safely.
Yes, it was an old machine but everything seemed to work ok. Just keep checking the fluids like oil and antifreeze. It worked well but it was very slow ie, the motor was well worn and did not have much power. But, it worked.
Mary was digging a 4 foot deep trench for a water line. She was out in the meadow so in plain site for all of us. We heard a big loud bang and looked up towards the noise. It was the backhoe. What we saw was Mary (who was the operator of the hour, as we took turns) bailing off the backhoe over the left rear fender. She was very high in the air and moving fast.
As we all ran out to see what was happening, Mary was ok and the backhoe had stopped. All quiet. We were in “oh my “ and then we laughed.
Upon examining the quiet backhoe, we noticed a large hole in the side of the motor, Maybe 3-4 “ in diameter. Wow! It blew the engine. As in a huge hole in the metal wall of the motor. OK !
Mary was safe. The Case 530 backhoe was dead in the water. Our water trench was not finished. But, kids were coming to Sonlight and we had a camp.