A road tripper's greatest fear

Well, the free hot breakfast buffet I had this morning was only so-so.  At least it was free.  I didn't have anything on the agenda today except driving...lots of driving.  Things were uneventful as I left Crescent City, CA on my way to San Francisco on U.S. Hwy 101...otherwise known as the Redwood Highway.  That would change pretty quick.  As I was passing a slow moving car, my burst of acceleration brought an unexpected reaction from my Blazer.  The "Service Engine Soon" light started blinking yellow...then stayed on!  Oh, no!  It's what road trippers fear most...car trouble. 

I kept driving while thoughts started swirling in my brain.  What to do!  If I stop, and shut the engine off, what if it didn't start again?  As I drove on, nothing SEEMED amiss, except for that light staring me in the face.  The first thing I could think to do was find a Chevy or GM dealer and have them check it.  But, I was on Hwy 101, where good sized towns are few and far between.  Yeah, I COULD have returned to Crescent City, but I wanted to go south, not the opposite direction.  After about a 100 miles of driving, I stopped for lunch in Eureka, and checked my vehicle's owners manual.  It explained the "Service Engine Soon" light indicated an emissions system problem.  Okay, that didn't seem so bad.  Basically, it appeared my engine wouldn't just conk out on me. I had some time to deal with the situation.  The manual didn't have a whole lot of answers, but did mention something about the gas cap.  I checked it...taking it off and putting it back on...but, the light stayed on. 

At that point, I thought about calling my auto shop back in Bellingham for advice.  But, I decided to try one last thing.  I got back on the road and drove another 100 miles...yes, the light stayed on...then, stopped to fill up gas.  When I was done, I started the Blazer...and the light didn't come on!  Talk about relieved.  For the rest of the afternoon till I reached San Francisco, the light never came back on, and that was after doing some normal accelerations.  So, I'm not sure what happened.  When I checked into my hotel for the night, I Googled for an explanation of why the light came on.  I got some possibilities, but only a mechanic can tell me for sure.  I might call my auto shop tomorrow anyway to see what they say.  In the meantime, I'll just cross my fingers and pray I don't see any strange lights for the rest of my road trip.  My day wasn't all bad...I had a nice takeout dinner.  Check out my Greek lamb kabobs.