WE WERE IN Salida, Colorado, headed to Gunnison on the Monarch Pass, the sun low in the quiet dawn. My husband, Adam, and I, along with our two young children, Pepper and Emilia, sat quietly in our Lexus GX 470, pulling a 20-foot Koala Super Lite travel trailer. As we began the aggressively-graded ascent on the Monarch Pass, I looked out the passenger window and saw a young billy goat munching away at the base of the mountain.
I was gearing up for the long drive ahead of us, leaning back in the passenger seat, sipping my coffee, and enjoying breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains, when the check engine light made its silent appearance.
“It’s probably just a glitch,” my husband said reassuringly. Before he could get
