Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Troubles in Paradise

September 16-18, 2012

Sunday:  Had some issues with the water today.   Our fresh tank is showing as 1/3 full, but the water ran out when I was taking my shower.   Missy had already had her shower and done the dishes.   If she had just skipped dishes, I would have had enough water.    The problem we’ve got is that the readout still showed 1/3.   Now, the tank readings have always been loose representations of reality, expect for the fresh.   That’s usually correct.   The second problem is that we usually can last 3 weeks at a time with our tanks.   Now we’re at the 2 week mark, AND we took 2 showers at the Temperance Campground (rather than in the rig).   So water should last longer than 3 weeks.   One theory was that since I cleaned out the faucets, they’ve both run faster and stronger.  So perhaps we burned through water faster that way.   Except….as Missy pointed out, that should mean our grey tanks filled up faster than usual.   And that is not the case.    Grrr.  Do we actually have water in the tank but somehow the pipes broke again and we’ve lost access to it?   Who knows.

So later that night, we were watching some shows on the laptop.   I kept hearing a mechanical noise.   I asked Missy if she heard it…she said no.   It kind of sounded like a nearby neighbor with a generator running.   3 times I asked Missy if she didn’t hear it.   Finally she said she did.    So I stuck my head outside to see where it was coming from.    And it turned out to be coming from the crawl space.   Shit!   It was the water pump running and running.   Neither one of us had thought to turn off the pump.    Crap…just like you’re never supposed to cross the streams, you should never run the pump with no water.    We got every container in our possession and went to the solar powered pump in camp.   We poured maybe 10-15 gallons into our tanks.   We held our breath and tried the pump…it worked!   We were both shocked.  I was fully expecting to have to go get it replaced.   So it was a mixed day.  

Monday:   Today was cold and started off rainy.  Seemed like a perfect day to go to the library.   We enjoyed our time on the nets until early afternoon.  After the library, we went to get our propane filled at the LP company.   I was shocked!   The price was the same as doing an exchange at the gas station. $27!!!!  Every time I did a fill before, the savings were significant.   It was honestly disheartening.   I mean, the last tank fill in CO cost me $14.   I don’t know if there’s been a spike in LP prices, or if I’m paying a North Shore premium…either way this totally sucks!

On the way back home, we took a tour of some other National Forest campgrounds.    We found one that has a premium site: huge long driveway, privacy, a park-like atmosphere, and it’s on a ridge overlooking the lake.   Gorgeous!    We decided that on Wednesday we’d dump and take on water in Grand Marais, and then move to this site.   I had been pushing for finding a spot with electric, since the temps in the 10 day are so low.   But Missy convinced me that we can just use the furnace liberally and enjoy the beauty of this spot.

Tuesday:  Furnace problems again.   I don’t know what else to say.  We woke up freezing this morning.  The furnace had been working all night, and it drained the battery.    So by the time we woke up, it had failed and the rig was quite cold.    We thought things would be fixed by just running the genny for a bit.   But, nope.   We’re still doing voodoo to try to get the thermostat and furnace to work as expected.   At night, we made the decision to run the generator all night long so that we could use our electric heater.  Not ideal at all.   Now we don’t know if we should move to the gorgeous spot…if we have to keep the generator on all the time, it makes more sense to try to find a campground with electric, or just go home and try to get the rig in for repairs.   So disappointing.

One fun thing from today:   we went 3 miles to the “Moose Viewing” sign off of the Gunflint Trail.   We brought the dogs and had a nice little hike through the fall colors in the forest.    When we got the viewing platform, there were zero moose.   Kinda what we were expecting since it was 11:00.  I think you have to get up with the sunrise if you want a better chance of seeing moose.   Oh well, it was still a nice outing.

We got the rig mostly loaded and packed up for the move tomorrow.   Still not clear what we’re going to do.   Really need a sign from my totem right about now.

No comments:

Post a Comment