Tuesday afternoon (the 13th)

Steve came by this afternoon and we went to get the propane. I tried to take the cans out of the RV but couldn't even unscrew the hoses. I must be losing strength. I also bought gauges for each tank because I can't stand not knowing how much I have left or running out, as I've done several times since fulltiming. I tried to lift one of the full tanks and could barely get it off the ground. I mentioned earlier that a propane service was going to come to the park to fill my tanks....well I told him I was in space 247, when it is actually 427. Needless to say he couldn't locate me and went to the park office. He told me on the phone that the office had called me but got no answer, although there were no missed calls on my cell phone. I will be very glad to have heat again - don't need it overnight while I'm sleeping, but it was so cold when I got out of bed I never did warm up and had the electric throw wrapped around me for most of the day.

This weekend I need to start looking for a park to move into on Feb 1st. I hate to move mostly because I am so convenient to everything and everyone now, and also know my way around the area from here. Wherever I go next will be a new area to me but I'm sure I'll learn it quickly.

While Steve was here I mentioned dripping water that I've noticed from the outside front right corner of the RV. I thought it might be condensation from overnight, but when he checked several points he came to the conclusion that it definitely wasn't condensation. He traced it back to the shower area, and when we took the picture off the wall at the entry and accessed the shower plumbing, sure enough there was a loose connection and the leak was coming from it. He tightened it up and I will continue to check it for a few days to make sure it doesn't happen again. He also installed a PUR filter at the kitchen sink and tightened up the faucet handles that kept coming loose. The filter was an inexpensive one that you just flip when you want filtered water. That's really all I need - I'm concerned about the water I drink but not so much for showering or washing dishes.

I'll have to admit that sometimes when I read blogs and the guys mention that they've been tightening screws & bolts in the rig, I laugh and think the wife probably handed him a wrench & a screwdriver and told him to go do something useful and stay out of her way. I now realize what a wonderful thing it is to have someone who knows what to look for and where to tighten. It's amazing how many things come loose in transit. The interstates are so bumpy I hate to think of the 6 miles of gravel road I will have to drive to get to my work campsite in June. Who knows, it may be smoother than the interstate! But anyway, hats off to the guys who work so hard to keep their rigs in fine condition.

Finally, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get new rear tires for my truck. The left outside rear keeps losing air, and while three different people checked them out and told me they were ok, I know something is wrong when you have to keep adding air, especially now that I'm in a park and not towing. Steve thinks there is dry rot from sitting in storage for so long, and I'm really worried that the 5th wheel tires will be the same way. The shame of it is that there is great tread on them and I'm sure they have very few miles on them. I will go directly to an RV service when I leave Cal Expo, so I can add that to the list of things I will probably be overcharged for. Now to figure out which one might overcharge me the least.

It was cold last night

I did it again and ran out of propane, and the RV is very cold this morning having had no heat last night. It didn't seem as cold when I went out to walk the dogs, so the sun will warm things up quickly everywhere except indoors. I have the blinds up where the sun shines in. Yesterday I called the man who delivers propane to the CG, but he had already been here earlier so I made arrangements for this morning. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to unhook and pull the tanks or not. I suppose I'd better do that soon.

Looking out over my section of the park I see many rigs where none had been before, so I think some may be here for an upcoming event at Cal Expo. There are some beautiful RVs here, but I am surprised that people aren't more friendly. A few will respond, but in almost every case I'm the one who says "good morning" first, and most don't even make eye contact. I'm also surprised that more people don't clean up after their dogs. If I'm constantly stepping into something, then I'm sure others are as well, and that alone should make a person want to keep from adding to the problem. Not so, apparently.

I am about to fix my breakfast, and I wanted to make french toast this morning. Just remembered that I can't use the stove until I get propane. Darn, it's Cheerios again. I'll be back later today.

Starting the day off right!

First thing in my email inbox this morning was the notification for my AT&T air card bill. It was for an amount approx $50 more than what I thought it should have been, so I finally got customer service on the line and was told it was an activation fee. I told her that the activation fee was waived when I purchased the card, so she went into the account and removed the charge. She also set me up for automatic monthly payments. I think this is a good way to start the day and the week, and I'm glad I don't have to worry about making sure my bill is paid each month, especially when I'm off to the wilderness in Northern California!

I spent some time last night looking at coverage maps for cell phone service in the area of Lassen Park and then comparing the maps with those of the park itself. It looks as though some areas have coverage while others may not, and it is pretty likely that I won't have it. That means I really need to get my laptop fixed so that I can carry it to a spot where I can connect. With the desktop I will be limited to the RV.

I got another query about workamping - this one from Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, for a volunteer visitor center host position. I think I would really like that and I'm sure I would be interested in Dinosaur National Monument. I will keep this one in mind for next year. I responded to this query and told them I would be very interested for next year, and got a reply already that they will put me on the mailing list for 2010. It's nice to know the jobs are out there and I won't have difficulty finding one. Having several months a year free of campground fees helps stretch the budget and that's important for a retiree.

There has been a lot of traffic into the RV Park today and I now have someone right next door to me on the curb side. I am on the end of a lane so the other side will remain free. I notice a lot more dogs being walked throughout the day so mine will be distracted from what it is that I take them out for.

I think I just ran out of propane, and I could swear I had at least half a tank left. I think I will buy a couple of extra tanks before I go to my job in Lassen. It's probably a lot more difficult to get the tanks refilled there than it is in Sacramento. This is one other job that I have never done for myself - that is, to pull the tanks out, get them refilled, and then back in and hooked up. I'm sure I can do it, and remember when I didn't think I could ever figure out how to dump the waste tanks, but after doing it on my own I realized it isn't difficult at all. With the propane, the hardest part for me will probably be lifting the full tanks up into the compartment and attaching the valves. I think I will buy a gauge for the tanks - they are pricey but it would help to know where I stand with propane usage. I obviously don't do a very good job otherwise.

Win some, lose some!

Thanks to comment from fellow RVer FD5, I think I will now have hot water when I need it. I really appreciate your help, FD.

My experience is that usually when something good happens, something will occur on the other end of the spectrum in order to keep you in balance. After I tweaked the valves on the hot water heater I returned to my laptop, which is set up on the dining table. Unfortunately I had also set a beverage on the table, although not close to the computer. I inadvertently knocked over the beverage and got a towel to mop up the floor, not seeing the liquid on the laptop keys. I haven't tried this morning, but as a veteran killer of keyboards due to spilled beverages, I don't think there is going to be any way to save the laptop. In the meantime I set up my desktop and it is running pretty well. I think I will be able to travel with it by placing the styrofoam packaging on the ends and putting away the monitor. I just love this monitor - it's lightweight, flat screen, and huge compared to the laptop. It is hard to find room to comfortably place the keyboard and mouse, though, but I think I can live with it. Just when I had come to terms with the laptop and didn't dislike it as I did at first....... The worst of it is that I have files and pictures on the laptop that, of course, I didn't back up properly.

What I need is a desk. I would love to get rid of this great big entertainment center and replace it with a small computer desk. I'll try to post a picture of it and perhaps someone has a comment on how I could do this, or maybe comment on the effects on the structure of the slide out if I should remove this thing. I got the picture added all right, but not exactly in the part of the blog where I wanted it.

Missing my washer & dryer

If there has ever been a time when I would like to be back in my stix & brix, it would have been this morning. I miss my washer & dryer, and getting one for the RV wouldn't be the same. I went out to a laundromat, but forgot my purse. I didn't have to drive far but just didn't feel like coming back home for it. I had two singles in the console, along with a whole bunch of change that I throw into a little box. In all, the washers used 38 quarters, and I think I had 12 quarters left for the dryers. Of course half of my laundry didn't get dry and I didn't have any money left so I just had to bring it home. It's too warm to turn up the heat and too cool for things to dry, so I have sweaters & jeans spread out over the bed and towels hung everywhere. It was a nice enough place, as laundromats go, but kind of expensive. The giant load washer took 22 quarters, and I'm sure I would have been better off to go to a couple of smaller ones. I went out because the woman at the CG office recommended it over the laundry room here at the park. She said it takes forever to dry the clothes, but at least I could have kept coming back for more $.

Iam going to try the shower once more but have little hope. I turned on the kitchen tap and the water comes out hot, then cool, then cold, and so on. Frustrating! So I am going to go over to my daughter's house, finish drying the wettest of the laundry, and take a shower!

I have a job!

I talked to the manager at Lassen this morning, and we are planning for me to start in early June. I will be host at Butte Lake campground, a remote CG back about 6 miles off a gravel road! The only downside, if it can be called that, is that while water & sewer are furnished there is no electric hookup. He said there is a generator available for my use though. I have an Onan genny in my rig and I suppose I need to try it out and to learn all about it. I'm sorry to say I really don't know much about them except they run on propane and charge batteries. I will become enlightened by the time I need to be. I will work from June through about mid-September, which won't leave me a whole lot of time to get across the northern plains before cold and snow set it, but I will be ok.

I am just so excited about it. When given the opportunity to choose from among campgrounds there, I decided as an old backpacker to take the most remote. There is a ranger station right next to the CG, which makes me feel good. I will mainly deal with reservations and talking to campers - no latrine duty!

I was told today that my right eye will require cataract surgery. When they covered the left and asked me to read a chart I couldn't believe how bad my vision had become in the right eye. I will see the surgeon on the 16th of Jan and will probably be making arrangements for cataract removal. The doctor told me I could drive shortly thereafter, although not the date of surgery, but I can't do any lifting for a couple of weeks. I guess that will rule out hitching the 5th wheel, so I'm hoping Cal Expo will let me stay here until I'm ok to do everything on my own. I wonder about walking the dogs though - the big one usually doesn't pull the leash - it's when I have to pull her that there could be a problem. It will work out.

I'm riding on a cloud about the job, and plan to make a list of questions I need to ask, such as where is the nearest grocery resupply, laundry facilities, propane, etc. What an adventure!

For those of you who might wonder what this old gal looks like, I've added a picture. It's not the best picture of me,but the one showing the least grey hair!

If it isn't one thing, it's another

To use an old expression of my mother, I am madder than a wet hen! I have to leave for an appointment with the opthamologist at 10 am, so I turned on the water heater at 7:00 planning to take a shower when I returned from the dog walk at 8:00. The water was hot, then cold, and warm, and then cold again. So I decided I couldn't wait around and took my things up to the CG shower. There is a problem with the key to the shower doors which I've run into previously, so I selected a different door this time. Sure enough, I couldn't get the key out of the lock. I played around with it for a few minutes and then went into the office to ask the man at the desk for assistance. He came out to try to remove the key, and somehow the door got shut and was locked from the inside. The key came out but there was no way to get back in, where my backpack & toiletries were.

He called maintenance who said they would send someone over, but after waiting 20 minutes I decided to come back to my rig and heat water on the stove. I carried half a pan of boiling water into the shower, filled it up with cold, and surprisingly I got a fairly decent hot wash! No hair wash however. On my way to the eye doctor I will stop by the office to see if my belongings have been retrieved from the shower.

To make me even more irritated, while I was waiting in the office for maintenance to arrive, a woman who is obviously a manager stopped by and the man at the desk explained to her what had happened. She kept repeating that the door was locked because "someone" had pushed the inside lock. I finally spoke up and told her I didn't lock it intentionally, but when I couldn't get the key out of the lock once before, one of the staff had showed me how to hold down the inside lock while jiggling the key on the outside, and it worked for her. I didn't appreciate the manager's repeated reference to me as "someone". She should have looked me in the eye and said"you".

What a way to start the day! I hope things improve in a hurry, but I'm not sure. While I was at the campground office my son called to tell me his wife had twisted her ankle or did something to her leg and needed to be taken to the emergency room. That means he probably can't pick me up in the event my eyes are dilated. I'll just wait around until I can see well enough to drive. There is an IHOP nearby, so I can walk over there for breakfast!