Catch-up Post

May 3, 2013

So…yeah…it’s been awhile.   There’s a lot that’s happened since the last post, so I’m just going to do some good ol American bullet points to try to document some of it.

-The drive back was hairy.   We demolished the springs on the fitty 20 miles into our 2000 mile trip home.  Spent 10 hours getting emergency repairs.   That put our whole driving plan into the crapper.   Had to do some serious reconsiderations to outrun stupid winter storms.

-Could not dump tanks prior to arriving in freezing weather in MN.   Last 6 hours of the trip was in scary fog.   We were happy to be home!    Enough rain melted the snow at our house that Jeremiah was able to park us on the driveway.

-Mom went into the hospital again for a fall right as we got home.   We had to do some scrambling and have meetings to figure out the next step.   By some miracle, she got a coveted opening at Good Sams.   So some plans had to be rearranged so we could get her moved into the new place and moved out of the old.

-Had a blast visiting Dad’s in Detroit Lakes.   Still tons of snow on the ground, which was a little disappointing.   But, Jeremiah ran the snowmobile to make us paths in the woods.   Made for nice walks with the dogs and nephews.   Love me some good plow piles!

-Brought the fitty to Camping World.   The following items were addressed:  new springs (driver’s side), axle/bearings maintenance, new brakes, new brake controller, new LP tank hoses, slide maintenance, new landing legs switch, welding fix for the ramp door.    We were going to get the black tank leak fixed for a big cost.  But, due to the freezing weather, no work of the plumbing type was possible.   This turned out to be a blessing, because I happened across an RV forum post where people talked about external valves.  Instead of costing $300 in labor to fix, we bought a $20 part.    Haven’t tried it yet, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

-Waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for spring to arrive and kayaking to start.   This is the longest and coldest winter in a long time.   Aborted one weekend at the Kehn Cabin due to cold.  

-Finally got a weekend with sunny skies and temps in the 70s.   Drove the fitty to the KC (where Jeremiah got it parked).   Enjoyed a 3K run on the Kettle.   Tried to find some creeks to run in the Duluth area, but with snow on the ground and ice still on the creeks, it was no good.   Jeremiah and Chad did a portage-heavy run on the Knife, and a low run on the Lester.   Left for Kettle again (5K) to get a run and some play time in (boys only).

-Camped at Banning.  New dump on site!   Cool!   Of course, it’s not open due to cold.   Only 2.5days of warmth.  Then back to freezing temps.   Hard to believe it’s May.   We dithered on what to do.  Go home and give up on kayaking…or head to the North Shore and wait for warmer temps and running creeks.   We ended up deciding to head north.  So right now we’re camped at Gooseberry Falls State Park.    We’re all alone.   The water isn’t on here either.    There’s lots of wildlife, and of course it’s great to be on Lake Superior again.

-Some notes on new issues:  looks like we’re going to come off kind of lucky with regards to the not winterizing.   The shower nozzle cracked, but that was fine because I’d already purchased a new one (to have better flow).   It took FOREVER to fill the fresh tanks at KC.  There’s some issue with the air valve.   I can't work on it until we get to a campground with full hookups.    Another problem: the landing legs are not working right.   The switch is fine, but the motor is on its last legs.   Missy and Jeremiah keep having to use manual and tools to get parked and unparked.    Looks like we might have to get a new motor.   Sigh.