Update Part 2, June 5-June 9, 2009

Friday, June 5:
At 6:30 pm I am finally comfortable. The generator refused to start up yesterday evening, and no one could seem to figure out what was wrong with it. It has been raining heavily all last night and throughout the day (and rain expected to last through next Tuesday), and without any power at all I have been freezing all day long. By 5:30 this afternoon Lee brought over a Honda 3000 and hooked it up, and I have wonderful, blessed heat finally. The furnace runs on propane, of course, but needs power to run the fan.

Today I hooked up the truck to the power on the rig and charged the battery as far as I could get it, but it wouldn’t start the genny. As I was supposed to move over to Butte Lake Campground this morning, that was cancelled for today because I couldn’t even pull the slides in on the 5ver. The park staff wants to make sure everything is working ok before I move. I drove up to “the Jumbles” today, a spot on the park road where cell phone access is usually available, and called a mobile RV service out of Shingletown, but could only get an answering machine. They can’t even return the call to the park office because there is no phone connection or electricity to be had in the park. Lightning the night before last really messed things up, and I am really grateful to the staff for taking the time to take care of me. I need to get to work to repay some of this kindness.

Saturday, June 6:
I went to the Fee Office a while ago to call the mobile RV man. The Park finally got phone service back so I arranged that the repairman will call the Office and set up a time to be here, and I will just wait. Sheryl told me today they won’t let me go to Butte without a working generator. It is nice to have one that is operational.

I’m very surprised at the number of tent campers, especially those with small children. When my children were small we camped a few times in the rain, but at least it was warm weather. This is bone chilling--maybe just to older bones. Sheryl gave me a copy of the weather forecast, and I see it will only be in the upper 30’s at night and lower 60’s in the day. Evidently it is common for a thundershower to come through every afternoon, and I won’t mind that at all. The constant rain is getting to me, especially when I found a leak in one of the bedroom overhead cabinets. The water is only around the receptacle for the TV and nowhere else in the overheads.

Sunday, June 7:
Fred of Fred’s Mobile RV Service came out today to take care of my generator. He took it apart, piece by piece, and tested each element of the system before going on to the next. It looks like the trouble is in the regulator and I need a new part which he will try to get in Redding tomorrow. If he can’t get it there it will have to be ordered and sent overnight. If all goes well he will be out tomorrow with the part and I will be good to go. He is also going to get me a screen for the furnace exhaust to prevent mud daubers from nesting inside, and he replaced a light switch in the living area. This is going to cost me $$$, but at least I should be able to generate power at Butte Lake. I think the Park is installing electricity to the camp host sites in Manzanita at least, but I doubt if it will extend to Butte Lake any time in the near future. I can do without it. I certainly appreciate being able to plug in to electricity. The problem is that I use electricity very sparingly, and it doesn’t sit well with me to run a bunch of appliances I don’t need to use just to give the generator a workout. Oh well, if it isn’t one thing then it’s another.

It was great to see the sun today although it didn’t get all that warm - maybe 60 or so. Most of the campers left today and a few have come in for next week. All the tenters have camp fires burning, and the aroma is intoxicating! I’d feel dumb lighting a campfire when it’s just me alone, although I will probably do it at Butte Lake if the evenings get warm enough to sit outside. The deer came out today, and one doe came fairly close and stared at me for a while while I stared back at her. This was when I was outside watching Fred do his magic with the generator. The most amazing thing is that he knows how and where to put everything back in its proper place.

This morning I drove up to The Jumbles, an area of rockslides, and found a place where I could get a cell phone signal. I called each of the kids but the connection kept going in and out so I came back and wrote them all letters in longhand! I also took the laptop and tried the air card, which worked, although about as fast as paint drying. I got tired of seeing the “loading” message and just gave up. I realized I would never get my blog updated, so I thought maybe I could email someone
to say Hi for me, but couldn’t even access my email - it, too, was still “loading” when I gave up on technology.


Monday, June 8:
No word from the mobile RV repairman so I take it that he couldn’t find the needed part in Redding. I sure hope to get it fixed tomorrow and be on my way to “my” campground.

Today was just a cleanup day - the little things that make the RV more livable. It’s been a nice sunny day, probably in the low to mid-60’s, and I even had a window and door open to air out the place.

Tuesday, June 9:
Today I just played more of the waiting game. I spoke to the repairman who told me he ordered the needed part, and that it would be shipped overnight from “the east”. I think the biggest delays are when sending something from west to east, so I’m hoping it comes in tomorrow and he can get it running. To make matters more interesting, the space I’m in has a reservation for the 10th, so I will have to move tomorrow by Noon to a pull through space in the next loop over. They will need to send a couple of strong men to get the Honda generator into the bed of a truck as it is no lightweight. So it looks like I will not be taking over my duties at Butte Lake until at least the 12th.

I can only hope the Universe lets me in on the reason for the delays I’ve been experiencing since I made the decision to sell my house and RV full time. I just can’t figure it out, but I’m certain there is a reason for everything under the sun.