The Shower Works!!!

The only two times I have used the shower in the Sprinter, it has been rushed and unsatisfactory. Today seemed like a good time to try again. I started the water heater 45 minutes before I tested the water temperature, and it was hot. I had enough hot water to stay comfortable and get myself clean!!!! I guess that planning ahead, and patience are good lessons.

I did order a GPS on line last night. There sure are a lot of brands and options!!! I ended up buying a Magellan Maestro 4210 4.3-Inch Wide screen Portable GPS Navigator. It should get here in about a week, so I'll let you know how it works. Thanx to all of you who offered advice and recommendations.

The Continental Divide

Today I took the Sprinter and friend, Vicki over Trail Ridge Road.

The Sprinter got us up and over the mountains. I kept us on the road. We are quite a team.

What I re-learned today is: When I unplug the motor home from the power in my garage...I need to change the refrigerator (which is filled with food and drink) power source from electric to propane. This in not the first time that I have thawed food, because I forgot to make the change.

I have only 3 more weeks to prepare. I am considering the purchase of a GPS, any thoughts or recomendations??

Planning the route

Now it is time to look at the maps. I've done a lot of reading about the sites and have a number of places I would like to go:

Homer, the Kenai Peninsula, Talkeetna, Denali National Park, Dawson Creek, Glacier National Park, Canmore Alberta, Banff National Park, Lake Louise, Juneau, Skagway and Roslyn, WA, Vancouver Island and Victoria,BC. I want to see the northern lights and huge cabbages, moose, caribou, grizzlies, and eagles. I would like to catch and eat salmon and maybe even a halibut and a king crab.

It's time to see how this all fits together.

Diagnostics

As you can see, I haven't left yet. Over the week-end I thought that my generator quit!!!!! After reading about RV maintenance & how it is good to run the generator for 1-2 hours each month.....I started mu "Onen" (that's the brand) right up. After lest than one minute it died!!! I fiddled and read and tried and thought...then called my neighbor Carl, who offered to come over and take a look. As soon as I hung up from talking to him, I relaxed and knew everything would be OK. Then it happened.....I know what was wrong.... my gas tank was only 1/4 full. After my last trip to Wyoming, I came right home and didn't stop for gas first. When the tank gets to 1/4 full (as you RVer's know) the gas to the generator shuts off so that it doesn't use up the rest of the tank. It also is a nice warning that you need to head to a gas station.

I called Carl and told him of my diagnosis & he agreed that was probably what happened. He did come over to work on the water leak that I have been watching that seems to be coming from the overflow valve next to the fresh water holding tank. He tightened things we'll see what happens.

This Week-ends Trip

What a way to spend a Saturday night.......I took my neighbor, Nancy and her three dogs with Gracey and Red Fred to Encampment, WY. There we were treated to an evening of music played by our friends band.

I'm not sure that I would recomemend traveling with 5 dogs, but we had a great time.

The Sprinter is running well. Last week I couldn't add gas to the tank...a mechanic found a handful of lima bean sized rocks in the fuel line!! Now that the are removed I am starting to appriciate what a short distance I can drive on a full tank of gas. The only new development is a water leak somewhere near the overflow valve. I'm sure glad that I still have time to see what needs fixing before I head way north.

Our next adventure

Last Friday night Gracey, Red Fred and I took the Sprinter to a forest service camp site with no hook-ups. We didn't use our generator, but discovered that the heater, the water pump and the water heater work on the battery and propane. It was a great place and we all slept well.

We spent the evening with our friends, Heidi and her Mom, Bev. The food was great, and what a nice way to spend the evening.

I haven't left yet...

SeveraI of you have asked when I am going to get on the road. I was so excited about learning how to write a blog, and how to run my motor home, that I neglected mention that my Alaska journey starts July 19th, 2008. I have 6 weeks off work, so don't need to be back until September 1st!! Pretty neat, huh?

Again this week-end I plan to take the dogs out and spend a night or two in a forest service campground. This time we will camp without all the hook-ups that we had last Saturday. My propane tank is full, and I will top up my water tank, so I shouldn't notice much difference.

This is a work night, so I've gotta hit the sack. I may not be back online until the week-end.

I Slept!

I slept thru the night!! I got a bit chilly around 2:30am, but added another blanket & went back to sleep.

Before I made coffee, I turned on the water heater to get prepared for my first shower in the Sprinter. Gracie, Red Fred and I went for a short little walk around the campground, which was very quiet at 6 am.

I was able to get wet and clean, but the shower was mighty quick and not very warm. I'm not quite sure how I am supposed to wash my hair with one hand while holding the shower nozzle with the other. I may mount a hook on the wall so that I have both hands free. I will also figure out how to turn up the heat on the water heater, so the water lasts longer.