The Grand Tetons

After charging the Mini battery early AM, we extended our stay here by one day, knowing that we would be paying for it with a nearly 11 hour driving day the next day. It was well worth it. We ventured out for supplies, and then hit downtown Jackson for a brief walkaround.

Next stop, the raptor center in Wilson, where we were warned that the juvenile hawks were out, and playful, so please watch your toes. Unfortunately, we had missed the tours for the day, but saw plenty flying around. After a check on the animals, and a short nap, it was off to tour Teton Natl Park. We ended up having dinner at the Jackson Lake Lodge, with some awesome molasses spiced elk loin among the menu items. Beautiful sunset drive back down to Jackson and the RV park.

The Tetons, with the view from the Jackson Lake Lodge on bottom

The Great Northwest and Happy Birthday Gary

We awoke, refreshed on July 5th. Gary had been working some that morning, so we explored the beautiful Lake Pleasant RV park and hiked the trail around it. Gary stopped by after work and dinner plans were made. We met him at his favorite place in Edmonds, Bruno's Girardi's Osteria for a sumptuous birthday meal. The next day, we met up at Gary's where several batches of Pizzelle's were made, including one Gluten free for Jane using an almond flour which came out surprisingly well. After checking on the animals in the RV, we headed off to Mukiltio to the Diamond Knot Brewery for pub food and drink. I had to make a home depot stop as the new brake assist system in the Mini was not working properly, with the tension on the cable too loose to depress the brake pedal. My jury rigged solution was a clip to hold tension, but I wanted to find something that would work better. Not much luck.

The next morning, we were back on the road after a pancake breakfast with Gary at the Original Pancake House (although the original Original is in Portland apparently) destination Jackson Hole, by way of Coeur D'Alene, ID and Missoula, MT stopovers. Did I mention eastern Washington is really boring country? At least Coeur D'Alene was nice. Added bonus was that I got to see an old buddy from my Washoe Co SO Pistol Team days who is on the Idaho State Police now, and Charley and I had a nice breakfast getting updated on the past 21 years before we headed out. That night, upon arriving in Missoula, we actually found the cats favorite treats at a natural food store near our RV park. The KOA was nothing special, but we had a good reunion with my good friends Geof and Debbie that made the stopover well worth it.

Off to Jackson Hole, a long days drive, with Apple maps delivering us to the wrong campground not once, but twice actually. Given the long driving day, not suprisingly, the Mini was dead, Jim!

Things Settle Down For July 4th

After several grueling days of RV mishaps and mechanicals, with travel complications in the heat, we were looking forward to finally arriving at our destination. We did not have to get an early start for once, and were able to relax and pack up. My battery charger trickle charged the Mini to full. We stopped in town to shop for supplies for the barbeque and drinks which I really needed after the trip so far. It was a short couple of hours up to Spanaway, where Gary's friends Craig and Jennifer host the 4th of July Fireworks extravaganza put on by Gary. We arrived early afternoon and we were able to plug in to the hanger/garage power. Overcast but perfect temps. I went for a fireworks run (yes, more is better) and then helped Gary finish up stapling fuses to the racks, but mostly, prepared fresh blueberry ginger mojitos which were well received and   improved everyone's already jovial mood.

After dinner, the evening was spent watching the kids doing the kid friendly fireworks I got at the stand up the street, and sending up sky lanterns, ictured below. At the appropriate darkness level, the show went off. 16 minutes plus with a spectacular, professional quality finale. Kudos to Gary the show master. One last check prior to launch did reveal that the finale had not been linked to the rest of the show, something about those mojitos distracting the crew, and we will probably have to rethink that next time. Video has been posted to Facebook, so just a few photos here. After the show, we said our goodbyes to the hosts, and headed up to Bothell, where our site was awaiting. For once, the Mini did not have a dead battery!

Generalissimo Franco and my Battery is Still Dead

Day 4 from Weed to Woodland, Wa was yet another misadventure. We stopped in Yreka, CA to buy a battery charger and jumpstarter for the Mini which we could run off the motorhome's electrical system. I had actually read the manual for the auxiliary braking system which suggested that running with the rigs parking lights on would trickle charge the battery, something the installer at Camping World neglected to explain. We drove through Oregon without spending money as I have personal issues and a personal boycott against the state which I will not go into here. It took over an hour and a half to get through Portland traffic, and we arrived in Woodland at 7 pm. We were staying along the river at the Columbia River RV park, who were more than happy to inform us that we did not have a reservation there. I reminded them I called over a month ago, but hey were not hearing it. Fortunately, they had ONE cancellation, but it was a back in spot and we would have to unhook the tow vehicle, which again, despite running parking lights in the MH was now with dead battery again. No problemo, I turned on the generator in the rig, hooked up the battery jump starter and as I was getting into the Mini to jump it the generator stopped for lack of gas in the MH, so no power to run the charger to jump it. After backing into our space and hooking up, Jane insisted they check the reservation log for someone who had not shown up yet, perhaps with our phone number. Turns out, they found Mr "Crunchfield's" reservation, and that big empty space was ours after all, but after unhooking and and hooking up, I was not in the mood to do it again. I went to Walmart to do our 4th of July shopping and fell asleep on the couch.

Gremlins in the Machinery

After the first two days debacles, I was up at 8 sharp calling a repair place I have used successfully in the past for RV repairs in Reno. They were able to get us in right away, so we went there and the cats and humans hung out in the dank waiting room while the mechanics diagnosed our overheating problem. Turns out, it was actually quite simple. After the mechanic in Yerington changed the belt, he had not checked the coolant levels. I had added a gallon of coolant through the overflow system and that was all  it would take. Now, however, they found that we were 3 gallons low. After replacing it, we had no temperature gauge problems, and pressure testing and visual inspection did not suggest a leak. We were back on the road by noon. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to diagnose the non-functioning refrigerator, and we had to throw out all our food and go shopping. At this point, the fridge side was to be used as a pantry, and the freezer was staying at about 40 deg so we used that as a fridge. Off to the Sierras and we were scheduled to stop in Weed, CA at the Friendly RV park, which was somewhat friendly, but did allow for good views of Mt Shasta and a mountain T storm.

Oh, and did I mention we had to jumpstart the MINI because the damn battery ran down again?

At The End of The Day, Your Battery is Dead

July 1, 2013 finds us in Las Vegas in the RV in the middle of a heat wave. We awoke to find that the refrigerator, which was also tuned up prior to traveling, was not functioning. Odd, but the freezer seemed to be keeping up. Decision was made to seek cooler climate for repairs, rather than the triple digit high teen heat in Las Vegas with AC that was questionable. We hooked up and left early, making good time to Tonopah for fuel and rest stop. AC was holding up in the 90+ deg heat. As we passed Walker Lake, I had never seen it so calm and pictures were obtained of the clouds perfectly reflected in the lake.

 

We thought we had left yesterday's calamities behind until going over a pass on US 95a from Schurz into Yerington we heard a loud bang in the engine compartment and I immediately lost power steering, AC and it began overheating rapidly. There was no place to pull over safely for a few miles, and when we were finally able to, luckily there was cell phone service. We called the Good Sam Club Emergency Road Service, and after talking with them, their tech recommended that they send a mobile repair tech out. 4 hours later, We were finally back on the road after the serpentine belt was replaced. We were still close to overheating, but able to run the heater to keep temps under the red for the most part. Yes, I said the HEATER. Oh, and did I mention the batteries in the MINI were dead? Well, we limped into Reno around midnight, exhausted.

Murphy's Law Vacation Prep

Jane and I have not had a real vacation since 2008 other than a couple of weekend getaways, usually centered around family reunions of one sort or another. This year, since I have had more time available and she has not summer school for her masters, we decided to make use of the big motor home parked in our driveway to allow us to travel with the family pets for an extended period. The stated purpose for said trip was to visit brother Gary in the Seattle, WA area for his birthday and 4th of July fireworks extravaganza. We also wanted to get out of the Phoenix heat and explore more northerly climes.

We got a one day late start due to the fact that Camping World had to order an additional part to complete the auxiliary braking system on the 2008 Mini Cooper S which I had traded in my little 03 Audi A4 specifically to tow behind this rig. For this trip, I had decided to do something different, and actually plan ahead, months in advance. I booked RV campgrounds almost 2 months in advance since it was around the Independence Holiday. Three weeks before, I had ordered all the equipment to tow the Mini behind the RV, with installation scheduled around my work schedule one week ahead of time. When I took it in to get finished however, I was told that there was a problem getting the lights to work, and after calling Roadmaster, there was additional part that needed to be ordered. I had to pay extra to insure expedited shipping so that it would be ready, but arrangements were made and we could still get out on schedule. The plan was to take it in the morning we were going to leave, complete the hookup, and hit the road.

Last year, I had a laundry list of repairs done to the RV, but seeing as we were going to be heading across the desert in summer, I had also decided for them to do annual service on the AC, generator, refrigerator, water heater, and oil change and safety checks. The great heat wave of '13 was due to hit the day before we left on this trip, so rather than drive across the Sonoran desert at the hottest time of day, we decided to allow for a little extra prep time and leave a day late, early the next morning. We loaded the rig late at night, under cover of darkness, and finished after Sunrise to head out on Sunday, June 30.

The first event, and in retrospect, I should have taken as an omen, was the phone call we received from out neighbors not 1 mile down the road. "Hey, did you know something fell off your motor home as you were pulling out of your driveway?" No, said Jane. We began looking for a place on the highway to turn around, but they said they were going into town, and would meet us at the shopping center and bring the item. Turns out it was the mud flap off the back of the coach which would be protecting our little MINI tow vehicle. This was one of the laundry list items I had fixed prior to the trip. Apparently, not. Back on the road anyway.

Heading up US 93 through Wickenberg, we saw some SO units heading for the Yarnell fire which was quite visible from the road. Later on shocked and saddened to hear about those 19 firefighters who lost their lives later that afternoon. Coming through Kingman, AZ, there was construction on I-40 and narrowed into one lane. There was a motorcycle laying in the left lane, a semi on the right stopped, and the rider who had passed us a minute before laying limp and lifeless about 50 feet down the center divider. There was nothing that could be done, so we headed on again. By the time we hit Las Vegas, it was 118 F and our generator quit working, and so no AC. Even after plugging in at the Las Vegas Motorcoach resort, both roof units which I had serviced pre trip were spewing nothing but hot air. Naturally, being Sunday, no mobile RV service companies would answer their phones. We shut the units down, and made plans to evacuate to a hotel with the cats and birds, but after giving the units some rest, they began working again and I went to air conditioned Target to get some fans and ice.

We did have a shortened, but nice visit with Genevieve and Matthew that evening. This was the lone bright spot in an otherwise miserable first day on the road. More misadventures to come!