I came across this video on YouTube today, and had to share it with our bus conversion friends. It is a promotional piece for the Neoplan driver training course in Germany, and shows cool stuff like swerves and off-road driving. For our motorcycle buddies, think of it as a track day for buses. Dude, even buses can power slide.
The music is, um, really bad. I won't say what it reminds me of, because this is a "G" rated blog. You won't lose much if you turn the sound down.
And from Odyssey's blooper reel, driving through the Big Puddle. I now know we were just practicing off-road and wet-road skills, all sanctioned by the manufacturer:
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Back on the map
We finally wrapped up the relief operation here in Beaverton yesterday, shipping the last computer back while tractors arrived to haul away seven 53' semitrailers full of furniture and relief supplies. The walk-through with the landlord to turn the building back over was around 3pm, at which time we had to vacate our warm dry loading dock and leave our 15-amp power outlet behind. The entire complex is fenced and gated, and the landlord is graciously allowing us to stay in the driveway just outside the gate.
Now that the operation is over and the building has been handed back, I can reveal that the landlord is in fact General Motors, and we are staying at what used to be their parts distribution facility for the northwest (map). GM very generously donated the use of the space to the Red Cross for the duration of the operation, and it was a great space for us, with a comfortable office area attached to a voluminous warehouse, complete with enclosed docks with automatic lifts and levelers. There was even a real computer room, complete with raised floor, which we commandeered for installation of the server and satellite equipment.
We will be here for a few days yet. Raz Transportation has us scheduled in on Wednesday for replacement of the steering pump, so we will head down there Tuesday afternoon and spend the night in their yard. We'll probably stay put right where we are until then, unless our diesel supply drops below the pickup tube on either the generator or the diesel-fired heater (it's close now -- we put just enough fuel in down in California to get us here). In which case we will either need to put some fuel in, or find ourselves another power outlet for a few days, possibly at the same Elks lodge where we spent a week back in June.
Today we also need to turn our rental car back in. We're only half a mile from the light rail station here, and there is an Avis office downtown that's open till 4, so we'll drop it off just before closing, then have some dinner downtown before grabbing the light rail back home.
Now that the job is over, I'll be posting here on a more regular schedule. We're not sure where we will head after the steering is fixed. We definitely still have our sights set on Mexico this season, but the route from here to there is still open to discussion.
Now that the operation is over and the building has been handed back, I can reveal that the landlord is in fact General Motors, and we are staying at what used to be their parts distribution facility for the northwest (map). GM very generously donated the use of the space to the Red Cross for the duration of the operation, and it was a great space for us, with a comfortable office area attached to a voluminous warehouse, complete with enclosed docks with automatic lifts and levelers. There was even a real computer room, complete with raised floor, which we commandeered for installation of the server and satellite equipment.
We will be here for a few days yet. Raz Transportation has us scheduled in on Wednesday for replacement of the steering pump, so we will head down there Tuesday afternoon and spend the night in their yard. We'll probably stay put right where we are until then, unless our diesel supply drops below the pickup tube on either the generator or the diesel-fired heater (it's close now -- we put just enough fuel in down in California to get us here). In which case we will either need to put some fuel in, or find ourselves another power outlet for a few days, possibly at the same Elks lodge where we spent a week back in June.
Today we also need to turn our rental car back in. We're only half a mile from the light rail station here, and there is an Avis office downtown that's open till 4, so we'll drop it off just before closing, then have some dinner downtown before grabbing the light rail back home.
Now that the job is over, I'll be posting here on a more regular schedule. We're not sure where we will head after the steering is fixed. We definitely still have our sights set on Mexico this season, but the route from here to there is still open to discussion.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
In the Bat Cave
The loading dock bay that we've called "home" for over a week. I had to tweak the photo so Odyssey was viewable at all; it's quite dark in here, even with the ceiling lights.
But, we've been warm and dry. The view when parked immediately outside the garage isn't much better, just the building itself and the service department parking lot of a car dealer.
But, we've been warm and dry. The view when parked immediately outside the garage isn't much better, just the building itself and the service department parking lot of a car dealer.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
A White Christmas -- no dreaming required
A very merry Christmas to all of our readers.
Today it is snowing here in the Portland area, the first white Christmas here since 1990, according to local TV news station KGW (channel 8).
Speaking of KGW, local news anchor Wayne Havrelly stopped by operation headquarters yesterday with a camera crew to do a piece on Red Cross volunteers remaining here over the holiday. When they met us, that morphed into a piece on responding in Odyssey, and we ended up with a couple of minutes of local fame as the piece ran on both the 6pm and 11pm newscasts yesterday. We're hoping the clip will show up in digital form on the KGW web site, but, if not, we captured it on tape (albeit a bit fuzzy with rabbit ears here in the loading dock) and will try to get it digitized to put it here on the blog. Stay tuned.
Updated to add: Well, it took until March 30, 2009, but we finally managed to get the video transferred from VHS to digital format:
There are less than a dozen of us left, and Louise and I are basically just waiting around until the Materials Support folks close out their databases so we can take down the server and the satellite dish. I am hoping they will wrap up tomorrow and we can pack the rest of the gear on Thursday. That would make for a Friday shipment. With a bit of luck the steering pump will be in and we can get over to Raz Transportation to have it installed this week, too -- otherwise, I expect it will have to wait until the 2nd. In any case, we should be done with the Red Cross by this weekend, which will make for a total this year of nine weeks (and 3,500 miles) on deployment.
Tonight we have dinner reservations at the Stockpot Broiler, one of the few local establishments open for the holiday. It will be a quiet affair, just the two of us -- the "office" dinner was Saturday, when we were treated to a nice dinner at the Hall Street Grill courtesy of the local chapter.
We here aboard Odyssey hope that, whatever you celebrate at this time of year, your holiday is as peaceful, happy, and rewarding for you as it has been for us.
Today it is snowing here in the Portland area, the first white Christmas here since 1990, according to local TV news station KGW (channel 8).
Speaking of KGW, local news anchor Wayne Havrelly stopped by operation headquarters yesterday with a camera crew to do a piece on Red Cross volunteers remaining here over the holiday. When they met us, that morphed into a piece on responding in Odyssey, and we ended up with a couple of minutes of local fame as the piece ran on both the 6pm and 11pm newscasts yesterday. We're hoping the clip will show up in digital form on the KGW web site, but, if not, we captured it on tape (albeit a bit fuzzy with rabbit ears here in the loading dock) and will try to get it digitized to put it here on the blog. Stay tuned.
Updated to add: Well, it took until March 30, 2009, but we finally managed to get the video transferred from VHS to digital format:
There are less than a dozen of us left, and Louise and I are basically just waiting around until the Materials Support folks close out their databases so we can take down the server and the satellite dish. I am hoping they will wrap up tomorrow and we can pack the rest of the gear on Thursday. That would make for a Friday shipment. With a bit of luck the steering pump will be in and we can get over to Raz Transportation to have it installed this week, too -- otherwise, I expect it will have to wait until the 2nd. In any case, we should be done with the Red Cross by this weekend, which will make for a total this year of nine weeks (and 3,500 miles) on deployment.
Tonight we have dinner reservations at the Stockpot Broiler, one of the few local establishments open for the holiday. It will be a quiet affair, just the two of us -- the "office" dinner was Saturday, when we were treated to a nice dinner at the Hall Street Grill courtesy of the local chapter.
We here aboard Odyssey hope that, whatever you celebrate at this time of year, your holiday is as peaceful, happy, and rewarding for you as it has been for us.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Small Space Saturday: One Minute Projects
On Saturdays I write about strategies for living in 300 square feet
Over on the Clutter Control Freak Blog, Jan wrote a nice piece on One Minute Projects to Keep Control of Clutter. It's a room by room list of small tasks anyone can do to keep a home clean and organized.
I like these sorts of lists. Sometimes an item jumps out at me and I get up and go do just that one thing. On this list, it was number 4: Pick up dog or cat hair. That needs to happen a lot on Odyssey. And I really agree with the idea that doing a few fast, easy tasks every day beats letting it all pile up into a huge chore later.
Those of us who are lucky enough to live in moving homes could add a number of items that are specific to keeping the vehicle part clean:
Wash the windshield
Wipe the dashboard
Clean the crumbs out of the crease of the driver's seat
Shake out the floor mats
Neatly fold the maps
But what struck me even more about this list was the number of items that are just complete non-issues in an RV:
Clean the cobwebs in the corners
Wipe the dust off of picture frames
Dust a dresser
Dust the wall hangings (?!?)
Clean a light bulb of smoke and dirt
I'm glad I don't have to worry about those!
Most of the other items on the list would take much less than a minute to complete in a rig, which means there's really no excuse for things getting out of control. Which is good, because I've been so tired at the end of each day that I haven't been motivated to do much cleaning at all. A few swipes at the fur, a half-hearted dusting of the counter tops, and a daily commitment to making the bed is about as much as I've done. And yet the bus looks...about the same as always.
Over on the Clutter Control Freak Blog, Jan wrote a nice piece on One Minute Projects to Keep Control of Clutter. It's a room by room list of small tasks anyone can do to keep a home clean and organized.
I like these sorts of lists. Sometimes an item jumps out at me and I get up and go do just that one thing. On this list, it was number 4: Pick up dog or cat hair. That needs to happen a lot on Odyssey. And I really agree with the idea that doing a few fast, easy tasks every day beats letting it all pile up into a huge chore later.
Those of us who are lucky enough to live in moving homes could add a number of items that are specific to keeping the vehicle part clean:
Wash the windshield
Wipe the dashboard
Clean the crumbs out of the crease of the driver's seat
Shake out the floor mats
Neatly fold the maps
But what struck me even more about this list was the number of items that are just complete non-issues in an RV:
Clean the cobwebs in the corners
Wipe the dust off of picture frames
Dust a dresser
Dust the wall hangings (?!?)
Clean a light bulb of smoke and dirt
I'm glad I don't have to worry about those!
Most of the other items on the list would take much less than a minute to complete in a rig, which means there's really no excuse for things getting out of control. Which is good, because I've been so tired at the end of each day that I haven't been motivated to do much cleaning at all. A few swipes at the fur, a half-hearted dusting of the counter tops, and a daily commitment to making the bed is about as much as I've done. And yet the bus looks...about the same as always.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Fuzzy Friday: Oh, rats!
On Fridays I write about our pets
I was touched by this story about the loss of a pet rat. We become so attached to our animal companions.
I've always wanted to have a rat, ever since a friend in 4th grade had one. I don't remember the girl's name, but I remember the rat's: Sassy. I was amazed at how clean and affectionate the little rodent was. So alert and fun.
My god-daughter had a rat named Velvet for several years. That was one very spoiled and well-loved creature. We all shed a tear when Velvet passed over the Rainbow Bridge, even the Mom of the house, my friend L. L resisted getting a rat for many months and surprised herself at how fond she became of Velvet, I think.
We rat-sat Velvet once, and it didn't work out so well. Opal and our older cat, Granette, spent Velvet's entire visit staring at the cage. Granette managed to get her front leg into the cage up to her armpit and swung it wildly around at poor, cowering Velvet until we locked the predators out of the room. That unfortunate incident convinced me that cats and rats probably shouldn't cohabitate.
I would think a rat would make a pretty good RV pet. Anyone traveling with one?
I was touched by this story about the loss of a pet rat. We become so attached to our animal companions.
I've always wanted to have a rat, ever since a friend in 4th grade had one. I don't remember the girl's name, but I remember the rat's: Sassy. I was amazed at how clean and affectionate the little rodent was. So alert and fun.
My god-daughter had a rat named Velvet for several years. That was one very spoiled and well-loved creature. We all shed a tear when Velvet passed over the Rainbow Bridge, even the Mom of the house, my friend L. L resisted getting a rat for many months and surprised herself at how fond she became of Velvet, I think.
We rat-sat Velvet once, and it didn't work out so well. Opal and our older cat, Granette, spent Velvet's entire visit staring at the cage. Granette managed to get her front leg into the cage up to her armpit and swung it wildly around at poor, cowering Velvet until we locked the predators out of the room. That unfortunate incident convinced me that cats and rats probably shouldn't cohabitate.
I would think a rat would make a pretty good RV pet. Anyone traveling with one?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Steering conundrum solved
We are still at Red Cross headquarters in Beaverton. Latest word is that we will be here until the 29th, although I am hopeful we might actually wrap everything up by this weekend, with only the final shipping still to do on the 26th.
On recommendation from local fellow bus-nut Mark Renner, we called Raz Transportation, the local Coach USA franchise, who agreed to work on us as the time around the holiday is a slow one for them. So today we took a couple hours off and drove the ten miles (which equates to 45 minutes in Portland area traffic) to their shop so they could look at the pump to know what to order. Their 16,000lb column lifts were too smart to want to lift 17,000+lbs each on our drive axle (it was a four-lift set -- no lifts for the tags), so they could only get us up to the top of the tag suspension travel, but it was enough to squeeze under there for a look.
They thought the pump looked like the same Vickers model that MCI used on their 8V92-powered coaches, and so they ordered us a brand new pump from MCI on their super-duper discounted parts contract. $240 will get us a new pump, which is about what we'd spend to rebuild the old one, and this way, we won't have to wait around with no pump while it's out for rebuilding. The new pump should arrive just about when we wrap up with the Red Cross. Installing it will involve a very small technician climbing down the hatch below the bed, combined with their older 15,000lb column lifts that are not smart enough to refuse to lift our full weight. We'll also dump our waste tanks and all our fresh water first, which will knock close to a ton off the drive axle weight.
In other news, it has been nothing but constant rain here for several days, and it looks like it will continue for the foreseeable future. Temperatures have been in the 40's during the day, and hovering just above freezing at night. With all the leaks, including some that had gone away after the last sealing party but have since returned, it has been a very soggy experience. When we returned this afternoon from Raz, we decided to pull Odyssey into the enclosed loading dock here, and get it out of the rain. In addition to drier, this will also keep us a bit warmer (good thing, since running the Webasto in here is out of the question, so we are relying on just our electric heaters), and we were able to drop 50' out of our 10-gauge power cord, so our voltage is also up a bit.
The downside to this is that our satellite dish is off-line. Now that the equipment is back from the field sites, though, we were able to borrow a broadband wireless card to get on-line. It is working amazingly well considering I am inside the bus, which is inside an enclosed loading dock. Oddly, the one we have set up in the lobby of the building for other volunteers to check personal email (actually, it's the same card -- we don't dare leave it in the lobby overnight for fear it will walk off) suffers from marginal signal quality and periodic drop-outs. I can only guess the closest cell tower is on the loading dock side, which is opposite the lobby side.
We've managed to make reservations at a local eatery for Christmas dinner, and we're hoping to have enough time off over the weekend to drive around and look at some holiday lights.
On recommendation from local fellow bus-nut Mark Renner, we called Raz Transportation, the local Coach USA franchise, who agreed to work on us as the time around the holiday is a slow one for them. So today we took a couple hours off and drove the ten miles (which equates to 45 minutes in Portland area traffic) to their shop so they could look at the pump to know what to order. Their 16,000lb column lifts were too smart to want to lift 17,000+lbs each on our drive axle (it was a four-lift set -- no lifts for the tags), so they could only get us up to the top of the tag suspension travel, but it was enough to squeeze under there for a look.
They thought the pump looked like the same Vickers model that MCI used on their 8V92-powered coaches, and so they ordered us a brand new pump from MCI on their super-duper discounted parts contract. $240 will get us a new pump, which is about what we'd spend to rebuild the old one, and this way, we won't have to wait around with no pump while it's out for rebuilding. The new pump should arrive just about when we wrap up with the Red Cross. Installing it will involve a very small technician climbing down the hatch below the bed, combined with their older 15,000lb column lifts that are not smart enough to refuse to lift our full weight. We'll also dump our waste tanks and all our fresh water first, which will knock close to a ton off the drive axle weight.
In other news, it has been nothing but constant rain here for several days, and it looks like it will continue for the foreseeable future. Temperatures have been in the 40's during the day, and hovering just above freezing at night. With all the leaks, including some that had gone away after the last sealing party but have since returned, it has been a very soggy experience. When we returned this afternoon from Raz, we decided to pull Odyssey into the enclosed loading dock here, and get it out of the rain. In addition to drier, this will also keep us a bit warmer (good thing, since running the Webasto in here is out of the question, so we are relying on just our electric heaters), and we were able to drop 50' out of our 10-gauge power cord, so our voltage is also up a bit.
The downside to this is that our satellite dish is off-line. Now that the equipment is back from the field sites, though, we were able to borrow a broadband wireless card to get on-line. It is working amazingly well considering I am inside the bus, which is inside an enclosed loading dock. Oddly, the one we have set up in the lobby of the building for other volunteers to check personal email (actually, it's the same card -- we don't dare leave it in the lobby overnight for fear it will walk off) suffers from marginal signal quality and periodic drop-outs. I can only guess the closest cell tower is on the loading dock side, which is opposite the lobby side.
We've managed to make reservations at a local eatery for Christmas dinner, and we're hoping to have enough time off over the weekend to drive around and look at some holiday lights.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Home for the holidays...
I've just learned that we will be here at relief headquarters over Christmas. Nevertheless, we'd already told all our personnel to try to make pre-Christmas flight reservations, and so Louise and I will be the only ones left here in the Technology department after the 22nd. We even lost a person today -- transferred to the storm relief operations in the Midwest, which are really hurting for staff (and we thought this operation was tough to staff -- those responding to the ice storms will almost certainly be out over the holiday).
It's not really a big deal for us, especially since we were likely to have to wait around until after the holiday to get our engine serviced. And, this way, we'll have a built-in "family" with whom to dine on Christmas: the half dozen or so people (from all departments) that will still be here.
We've also contacted our friends in the area, in the hopes that we will be able to get together when we are done here.
I've posted a couple of pleas over on the bus bulletin boards for shop recommendations in this area. So far, I've come up empty. We need someone with either a pit or heavy lifts, since there is no way to get at the steering pump otherwise. When we find one, it is quite possible we'll have to wait until after New Year's to get in for service.
It's not really a big deal for us, especially since we were likely to have to wait around until after the holiday to get our engine serviced. And, this way, we'll have a built-in "family" with whom to dine on Christmas: the half dozen or so people (from all departments) that will still be here.
We've also contacted our friends in the area, in the hopes that we will be able to get together when we are done here.
I've posted a couple of pleas over on the bus bulletin boards for shop recommendations in this area. So far, I've come up empty. We need someone with either a pit or heavy lifts, since there is no way to get at the steering pump otherwise. When we find one, it is quite possible we'll have to wait until after New Year's to get in for service.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Fuzzy Friday: Fish Water
On Fridays I write about our pets
As many of you know, Odyssey has two clean water tanks. One is the large Fresh Water tank that we use for taking showers, washing dishes, and flushing the toilet. The other is a smaller Drinking Water tank with special spigots at the kitchen and bathrooms sinks. This water is used for drinking, brushing teeth, making coffee, and topping off the fish tank.
The drinking water tank has extra filters, one of which removes chlorine. This makes safe water for the fishes, and I haven't noticed any issues with water that has been in this tank.
Until now. It's cold here in Portland, hovering around freezing each night and only getting into the low 40's during the day. The heaters are keeping the inside of the coach comfortable, but the water tanks are chilly. In order to add water to the fish tank, I'd need to fill a cup and let it stand for hours to warm up.
Fortunately, my co-workers have solved this dilemma. We have bottled water available to drink on the job, so everyone totes around a bottle. We try to write our names on the bottles so they don't get mixed up, but at the end of every day there are several half-empty, unmarked bottles in our department.
Of course no one is willing to drink out of a mystery bottle, so they've been marking them "FISH" giving them to me. The fish don't care whose lips have touched the water, the temperature is a comfortable 70 degrees, and nothing is wasted. I'll top off the tank with those bottles for weeks. It's a win-win situation.
As many of you know, Odyssey has two clean water tanks. One is the large Fresh Water tank that we use for taking showers, washing dishes, and flushing the toilet. The other is a smaller Drinking Water tank with special spigots at the kitchen and bathrooms sinks. This water is used for drinking, brushing teeth, making coffee, and topping off the fish tank.
The drinking water tank has extra filters, one of which removes chlorine. This makes safe water for the fishes, and I haven't noticed any issues with water that has been in this tank.
Until now. It's cold here in Portland, hovering around freezing each night and only getting into the low 40's during the day. The heaters are keeping the inside of the coach comfortable, but the water tanks are chilly. In order to add water to the fish tank, I'd need to fill a cup and let it stand for hours to warm up.
Fortunately, my co-workers have solved this dilemma. We have bottled water available to drink on the job, so everyone totes around a bottle. We try to write our names on the bottles so they don't get mixed up, but at the end of every day there are several half-empty, unmarked bottles in our department.
Of course no one is willing to drink out of a mystery bottle, so they've been marking them "FISH" giving them to me. The fish don't care whose lips have touched the water, the temperature is a comfortable 70 degrees, and nothing is wasted. I'll top off the tank with those bottles for weeks. It's a win-win situation.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Website Wednesday: CNN
On Wednesdays I write about websites that I visit often.
We've been quite busy on our Red Cross assignment this week, so today was the first time I was able to visit a news website.
I prefer CNN for my overview of the news.
The main reason I took a look today is that we heard that U.S. Highway 30 near Clatskanie, OR was closed due to a very large mudslide. The mud oozed over about 300 feet of roadway, destroying three homes, and it affects our work here, making it harder for us to reach our outlying service sites in western Oregon.
When we helped after Hurricane Katrina, we visited some of the most damaged areas in Louisiana to see them for ourselves. It was extremely upsetting, and now we tend not to seek out images of the destruction that leads to our work. I understand that many seasoned Red Cross volunteers avoid "sight seeing" the disaster. Once you've served on a couple of disaster relief operations, you don't need to visit the disaster areas so much. The broken homes and faces full of pain don't change.
Looking at the photos of the mudslide and reading about this week's big ice storms in the midwest (where the Red Cross also has a relief operation under way) brought up those feelings of sadness and sympathy for those who have suffered losses. I don't want to read the news and feel helpless, so I usually don't.
But it is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do.
We've been quite busy on our Red Cross assignment this week, so today was the first time I was able to visit a news website.
I prefer CNN for my overview of the news.
The main reason I took a look today is that we heard that U.S. Highway 30 near Clatskanie, OR was closed due to a very large mudslide. The mud oozed over about 300 feet of roadway, destroying three homes, and it affects our work here, making it harder for us to reach our outlying service sites in western Oregon.
When we helped after Hurricane Katrina, we visited some of the most damaged areas in Louisiana to see them for ourselves. It was extremely upsetting, and now we tend not to seek out images of the destruction that leads to our work. I understand that many seasoned Red Cross volunteers avoid "sight seeing" the disaster. Once you've served on a couple of disaster relief operations, you don't need to visit the disaster areas so much. The broken homes and faces full of pain don't change.
Looking at the photos of the mudslide and reading about this week's big ice storms in the midwest (where the Red Cross also has a relief operation under way) brought up those feelings of sadness and sympathy for those who have suffered losses. I don't want to read the news and feel helpless, so I usually don't.
But it is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Checking in
As Louise wrote on Thursday, we are at Red Cross relief headquarters, in Beaverton, just west of Portland. As usual, I can't post a direct map link here. HQ is in an empty warehouse facility, and, while we've been in the far reaches of the parking lot since we arrived, tonight we moved over to an empty bay of the loading dock, where we have access to a 15-amp receptacle. It's been dropping into the 30s at night, so this will cut down on the amount of diesel we are using for heat.
We have also not set foot off the property since we arrived. Red Cross has had three meals a day brought into headquarters, which is perfect, since we've been working 12-14 hours a day since we got here. Tonight is the first chance I've had to check in here at the blog. That being said, I do hope we get a chance to leave the building long enough for a meal, at least, before our first week is up.
I want to take this opportunity to say how gratifying it is to have such a loyal readership here. I sometimes wonder if people are really following along, and then a post like the one about the steering will generate several comments within less than a day, and I realize that we are blessed with many friends, some of whom we have yet to meet in person.
I am also sometimes awed by the interconnectedness of it all. Only a day after I posted the steering issue here, good friend and regular reader Jim Shepherd related the story as a cautionary tale over on one of the bus boards, generating a good deal of discussion. Similarly, perusing recent comments led me to catch up on "From the Lily Pad," the blog of fellow motorcycling-RV-fulltimer "Froggi Donna," wherein I noticed that she picked up and passed along the tidbit about the upcoming auction of Draco.
Speaking of comments, some answers to recent ones:
"Skysix:" wrote in to say that there was parking across from the Red Cross chapter, at Legacy Emanuel hospital. Thanks, and we very nearly might have needed it, as the operation ran out of the chapter office until just after we arrived. We reported, though, directly here to operation headquarters, where our first tasks were to string network cabling throughout the building, get the satellite dish up and running, and install the fly-away server system (297 pounds worth) to support the operation. We may yet get to spend a night or two there, as it is not unusual for us to transition the operation back to a chapter office as things wind down. I expect that will be sometime after Christmas.
Ron (prevost82) wrote in to say that Southern Oregon Diesel would be a good choice to do the steering pump work. Of course, we drove right past them, but had to keep on driving. We do know David Gregory (who, if I am not mistaken, is relaxing in Mexico right now) and would gladly have them do the work, but David has seen our bus, and I don't think he relishes working on it. They turned us down when we asked them to quote on our (first) engine rebuild. Perhaps replacing the steering pump would be a different matter.
Ted (f550man) wrote in to suggest a steering pump rebuilder in our old home town of San Jose. Thanks, and we'll keep them in mind. The real problem, though, is not the rebuilding but the removal/reinstallation. We will need to be on a lift or over a pit, and the bus will be immobile until the pump is replaced. So we need a shop that can do the whole job end-to-end (even if they send the pump out someplace) and is willing to let us live aboard while they do it. Suggestions for such a shop are welcome, and the closer to Portland the better.
Mac, editor of CasinoCamper.com, inquired by email about how the steering fluid could leak into the engine. On these big diesels, there are accessory drive mounts arranged around the perimeter of the engine flywheel, with intermediate pinion gears set into the case. Each accessory mount has a specific gear reduction from engine RPM and a specific direction of rotation, and many if not most engine-driven accessories on these big motors are gear-driven through this system, rather than belt-driven as they would be on smaller or automotive type engines. So on our engine, the air compressor, power steering pump, and even the alternator are gear-driven. The gear train is lubricated by engine oil, and so the bottom of the case is open to the oil sump, so the lube oil can drain. And the drive pinions on the accessory items protrude into the case, and thus into the main engine oil system. If a shaft seal fails on a hydraulic pump, the fluid will leak out towards the pinion gear, and, in this case, will drain into the oil sump. This is not a problem, obviously, with an air compressor, nor with an alternator (although our alternator is oil-cooled, the oil came from the main engine in the first place).
Thanks again for all the encouragement, support, and advice. As usual when we are on a relief operation, my posting here will be sporadic. I promise to return to a more regular routine when the operation is over.
We have also not set foot off the property since we arrived. Red Cross has had three meals a day brought into headquarters, which is perfect, since we've been working 12-14 hours a day since we got here. Tonight is the first chance I've had to check in here at the blog. That being said, I do hope we get a chance to leave the building long enough for a meal, at least, before our first week is up.
I want to take this opportunity to say how gratifying it is to have such a loyal readership here. I sometimes wonder if people are really following along, and then a post like the one about the steering will generate several comments within less than a day, and I realize that we are blessed with many friends, some of whom we have yet to meet in person.
I am also sometimes awed by the interconnectedness of it all. Only a day after I posted the steering issue here, good friend and regular reader Jim Shepherd related the story as a cautionary tale over on one of the bus boards, generating a good deal of discussion. Similarly, perusing recent comments led me to catch up on "From the Lily Pad," the blog of fellow motorcycling-RV-fulltimer "Froggi Donna," wherein I noticed that she picked up and passed along the tidbit about the upcoming auction of Draco.
Speaking of comments, some answers to recent ones:
"Skysix:" wrote in to say that there was parking across from the Red Cross chapter, at Legacy Emanuel hospital. Thanks, and we very nearly might have needed it, as the operation ran out of the chapter office until just after we arrived. We reported, though, directly here to operation headquarters, where our first tasks were to string network cabling throughout the building, get the satellite dish up and running, and install the fly-away server system (297 pounds worth) to support the operation. We may yet get to spend a night or two there, as it is not unusual for us to transition the operation back to a chapter office as things wind down. I expect that will be sometime after Christmas.
Ron (prevost82) wrote in to say that Southern Oregon Diesel would be a good choice to do the steering pump work. Of course, we drove right past them, but had to keep on driving. We do know David Gregory (who, if I am not mistaken, is relaxing in Mexico right now) and would gladly have them do the work, but David has seen our bus, and I don't think he relishes working on it. They turned us down when we asked them to quote on our (first) engine rebuild. Perhaps replacing the steering pump would be a different matter.
Ted (f550man) wrote in to suggest a steering pump rebuilder in our old home town of San Jose. Thanks, and we'll keep them in mind. The real problem, though, is not the rebuilding but the removal/reinstallation. We will need to be on a lift or over a pit, and the bus will be immobile until the pump is replaced. So we need a shop that can do the whole job end-to-end (even if they send the pump out someplace) and is willing to let us live aboard while they do it. Suggestions for such a shop are welcome, and the closer to Portland the better.
Mac, editor of CasinoCamper.com, inquired by email about how the steering fluid could leak into the engine. On these big diesels, there are accessory drive mounts arranged around the perimeter of the engine flywheel, with intermediate pinion gears set into the case. Each accessory mount has a specific gear reduction from engine RPM and a specific direction of rotation, and many if not most engine-driven accessories on these big motors are gear-driven through this system, rather than belt-driven as they would be on smaller or automotive type engines. So on our engine, the air compressor, power steering pump, and even the alternator are gear-driven. The gear train is lubricated by engine oil, and so the bottom of the case is open to the oil sump, so the lube oil can drain. And the drive pinions on the accessory items protrude into the case, and thus into the main engine oil system. If a shaft seal fails on a hydraulic pump, the fluid will leak out towards the pinion gear, and, in this case, will drain into the oil sump. This is not a problem, obviously, with an air compressor, nor with an alternator (although our alternator is oil-cooled, the oil came from the main engine in the first place).
Thanks again for all the encouragement, support, and advice. As usual when we are on a relief operation, my posting here will be sporadic. I promise to return to a more regular routine when the operation is over.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Successful arrival
We are at Red Cross headquarters in the Portland area. Both the engine and the power steering survived the trip, and we're well parked. Plenty of work for us to do right now, so Sean will hopefully post more later.
Thanks again to all our readers who offered help and advice in the last couple days. You folks are the best!
Thanks again to all our readers who offered help and advice in the last couple days. You folks are the best!
Blog readers to the rescue!
We are at a highway rest area at MM63 on I-5 in Oregon (map). The steering is working, mostly, and the good news is we did not blow up the engine.
Apparently, my timing last night was perfect, or the stars aligned somehow, but after yesterday's post, I got two direct emails first thing this morning, and a comment on the blog later in the day, suggesting that the fluid might be leaking past the pump seal and into the engine, rather than someplace external. Clearly, some folks who read the blog have some experience with this, and, I have to confess, it is a possibility that I did not know about. (Thanks, Mark, Leland, and Ron!) It's likely we would have run another couple hundred miles before we figured this out, possibly catastrophically.
The good news is that I got two of these messages before we hit the road this morning. A quick check of the engine oil dipstick confirmed that this was, indeed, exactly what was happening -- we were reading a couple gallons high. The bad news is that, by the time I got the emails, I had already put six more quarts of ATF in the reservoir, as I wanted some fluid in the pump when I aired up the bags, which I did first thing in order to squeeze under the coach looking for leaks. I did find seepage from a fitting near the steering box, and I did my best to tighten it with the only wrench that fit -- a 12" Crescent. And I noted some fluid around the tranny, which is under the steering pump. But no evidence of a major leak.
In hindsight, I should have known something more serious was amiss. When we left the Morongo Casino, I noticed some oil spotting on the rear of the coach during my pre-trip inspection. That's usually a sign of an overfilled sump, and I attributed it to having just put a gallon in, back at the Santa Clarita Elks, when a routine check found it low. (The steering reservoir sight glass, at that same check at the Elks, showed full.) I also started noticing some white smoke later that same day, as we pulled in to Palm Desert, and again when we were on 138 west of Palmdale (but before I noticed the steering go out). White smoke would be what you'd get from burning ATF, which easily slips past the rings on the big Detroit.
So there we were this morning, with 2+ gallons of ATF mixed into our engine oil, and realizing we had just driven something more than 300 miles that way. So I called the first person I could think of who could tell me how bad it was: Virgil Cooley, of PEDCO. PEDCO has already rebuilt our engine twice, and if I toasted it again this time, there's no question I would take it right back to them a third time. Fortunately, Virgil felt that if the oil pressure was still north of 40psi, we were probably OK. We'd been running at least 50psi at road speed, so I was a bit relieved.
When asked if we could somehow nurse it to Portland, or if we were dead in the water until we got the pump fixed, Virgil suggested that, at the rate the ATF was going in, we might be OK if we changed the oil every 200 miles, and made sure the pressure stayed above 40psi.
Well, I can't imagine how we'd manage to get to Portland if we had to find someplace to change the oil every 200 miles. Finding any shop at all that (1) has a pit and (2) will work on a bus is a challenge to begin with, and almost none of them stocks 40 weight. So I opted for plan "B": we stopped putting ATF in the steering reservoir, and started putting 15W-40 motor oil in instead. At least, this way, motor oil would be going into the engine sump, and not tranny fluid. So we proceeded carefully the 70 miles to Los Banos, where I cleaned out Wal-Mart's supply of DelVac 15W-40 (which is CF-2 rated -- rare for a multi-weight), and also stocked up on PowerTech 15W-40, because I knew the four gallons of DelVac was not going to be enough. The 15W-40 is rated by Allison as C-4, for use in their transmissions, and I figured if it could substitute for ATF in a tranny, it was probably fine in the steering system. In fact, I have no specs on our steering system at all, although many such systems run on 15w-40 by design. Lastly, the pump seal was already toast, so I figured we did not have much to lose.
The next priority was finding a lube shop to change the oil, which was, by now, way too thin as well as nearly four gallons or so overfull. We finally found ProFleet in Lodi, who was happy to do it, but, unsurprisingly, did not stock 40-weight. We opted to have them refill with DelVac 15W-40, which should be fine for the 600 miles or so that it will be in there. We also had them change the filter, since who knows what kind of crud the ATF was cleaning out of the motor. When I asked him how it looked coming out, he said I probably had the cleanest engine in town -- it was that thin. I have my fingers crossed that we did not do too much damage to the bearings. (As a side note, this episode completely ruined any possibility of getting meaningful results from an oil sample, and this oil was the first post-break-in batch since the last rebuild. We'll have to start over after we get the pump rebuilt.)
I had them put only a hair over six gallons in, knowing the steering pump would continue to dump into the engine sump. We immediately picked up a few PSI on our oil pressure, which was a welcome sight. I have no idea how much ATF is still left in the steering system, since I don't know the total capacity. But, by now, the percentage must be very low, and I am pretty confident that the engine oil viscosity will stay where we need it all the way to Portland. Now that it's running on mostly 15W-40, the steering system does not seem to be suffering any ill effects, although it transmits a bit more vibration from the engine than before.
We should be on the job by mid-day tomorrow. We had hoped to be a bit further north tonight, but the last-minute scramble this morning kept us off the road until past 10, and the stops at Wal-Mart, ProFleet, and to add fluid to the steering every hundred miles or so ate into our progress. Later in the week, I will start making calls about getting the pump repaired, preferably someplace close to Portland.
Apparently, my timing last night was perfect, or the stars aligned somehow, but after yesterday's post, I got two direct emails first thing this morning, and a comment on the blog later in the day, suggesting that the fluid might be leaking past the pump seal and into the engine, rather than someplace external. Clearly, some folks who read the blog have some experience with this, and, I have to confess, it is a possibility that I did not know about. (Thanks, Mark, Leland, and Ron!) It's likely we would have run another couple hundred miles before we figured this out, possibly catastrophically.
The good news is that I got two of these messages before we hit the road this morning. A quick check of the engine oil dipstick confirmed that this was, indeed, exactly what was happening -- we were reading a couple gallons high. The bad news is that, by the time I got the emails, I had already put six more quarts of ATF in the reservoir, as I wanted some fluid in the pump when I aired up the bags, which I did first thing in order to squeeze under the coach looking for leaks. I did find seepage from a fitting near the steering box, and I did my best to tighten it with the only wrench that fit -- a 12" Crescent. And I noted some fluid around the tranny, which is under the steering pump. But no evidence of a major leak.
In hindsight, I should have known something more serious was amiss. When we left the Morongo Casino, I noticed some oil spotting on the rear of the coach during my pre-trip inspection. That's usually a sign of an overfilled sump, and I attributed it to having just put a gallon in, back at the Santa Clarita Elks, when a routine check found it low. (The steering reservoir sight glass, at that same check at the Elks, showed full.) I also started noticing some white smoke later that same day, as we pulled in to Palm Desert, and again when we were on 138 west of Palmdale (but before I noticed the steering go out). White smoke would be what you'd get from burning ATF, which easily slips past the rings on the big Detroit.
So there we were this morning, with 2+ gallons of ATF mixed into our engine oil, and realizing we had just driven something more than 300 miles that way. So I called the first person I could think of who could tell me how bad it was: Virgil Cooley, of PEDCO. PEDCO has already rebuilt our engine twice, and if I toasted it again this time, there's no question I would take it right back to them a third time. Fortunately, Virgil felt that if the oil pressure was still north of 40psi, we were probably OK. We'd been running at least 50psi at road speed, so I was a bit relieved.
When asked if we could somehow nurse it to Portland, or if we were dead in the water until we got the pump fixed, Virgil suggested that, at the rate the ATF was going in, we might be OK if we changed the oil every 200 miles, and made sure the pressure stayed above 40psi.
Well, I can't imagine how we'd manage to get to Portland if we had to find someplace to change the oil every 200 miles. Finding any shop at all that (1) has a pit and (2) will work on a bus is a challenge to begin with, and almost none of them stocks 40 weight. So I opted for plan "B": we stopped putting ATF in the steering reservoir, and started putting 15W-40 motor oil in instead. At least, this way, motor oil would be going into the engine sump, and not tranny fluid. So we proceeded carefully the 70 miles to Los Banos, where I cleaned out Wal-Mart's supply of DelVac 15W-40 (which is CF-2 rated -- rare for a multi-weight), and also stocked up on PowerTech 15W-40, because I knew the four gallons of DelVac was not going to be enough. The 15W-40 is rated by Allison as C-4, for use in their transmissions, and I figured if it could substitute for ATF in a tranny, it was probably fine in the steering system. In fact, I have no specs on our steering system at all, although many such systems run on 15w-40 by design. Lastly, the pump seal was already toast, so I figured we did not have much to lose.
The next priority was finding a lube shop to change the oil, which was, by now, way too thin as well as nearly four gallons or so overfull. We finally found ProFleet in Lodi, who was happy to do it, but, unsurprisingly, did not stock 40-weight. We opted to have them refill with DelVac 15W-40, which should be fine for the 600 miles or so that it will be in there. We also had them change the filter, since who knows what kind of crud the ATF was cleaning out of the motor. When I asked him how it looked coming out, he said I probably had the cleanest engine in town -- it was that thin. I have my fingers crossed that we did not do too much damage to the bearings. (As a side note, this episode completely ruined any possibility of getting meaningful results from an oil sample, and this oil was the first post-break-in batch since the last rebuild. We'll have to start over after we get the pump rebuilt.)
I had them put only a hair over six gallons in, knowing the steering pump would continue to dump into the engine sump. We immediately picked up a few PSI on our oil pressure, which was a welcome sight. I have no idea how much ATF is still left in the steering system, since I don't know the total capacity. But, by now, the percentage must be very low, and I am pretty confident that the engine oil viscosity will stay where we need it all the way to Portland. Now that it's running on mostly 15W-40, the steering system does not seem to be suffering any ill effects, although it transmits a bit more vibration from the engine than before.
We should be on the job by mid-day tomorrow. We had hoped to be a bit further north tonight, but the last-minute scramble this morning kept us off the road until past 10, and the stops at Wal-Mart, ProFleet, and to add fluid to the steering every hundred miles or so ate into our progress. Later in the week, I will start making calls about getting the pump repaired, preferably someplace close to Portland.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
About face: Mexico must wait
Well, notwithstanding that we were working our way, quite slowly, toward Mexico via Calexico, tonight finds us 300 miles further away from that goal, in a gravel parking lot at the Harris Ranch, along I-5 east of Coalinga (map). And there is no denying that we are at the Harris Ranch, as their feed lot is just north of us, within smelling distance.
As we were still dawdling around Wal-Mart in Palm Desert, figuring on heading perhaps to Salton Sea State Park for the night, we got a phone call around 2:30 from the Red Cross Disaster Operations Center. We are being dispatched to Portland, Oregon, where a relief operation is starting up for the massive flooding that has occurred due to a huge storm that moved onshore from the Pacific. There is also an operation starting up in Olympia, Washington, which will be a good deal larger, but I don't think we can get there -- I-5 and all the alternate routes north through the state are under water, and the only way around at the moment is to run up the Columbia gorge, north through the Yakima valley, and then over the Snoqualmie pass, where we could easily get waylaid by snow.
By 3:00 we were packed and on the road, although Louise is still under the weather with a cold. Based on my own experience, as I am about a day ahead of her, she should be on the upswing tomorrow. I myself had a pretty good day today, and the last lingering symptoms seem to be gone as of now.
So today we blasted past, in quick succession, most of the places we'd stayed in the last month: Morongo Casino, the Santa Ana river, San Manuel Casino, and even the Wal-Mart in Palmdale. We made pretty good time, stopping for fuel and to dump tanks at the Flying-J in Frazier Park, and for dinner in Buttonwillow.
Unfortunately, it seems we can never undertake this sort of journey without an obligatory problem cropping up with Odyssey. On the way from Florida to San Bernardino, we had to replace a tire, and fix a crack in the windshield. Today's problem was the power steering which started acting up on 138 as we made the grade up to the Grapevine. When I pulled off at the Flying-J we discovered that virtually all of the fluid had disappeared from the reservoir. I had a gallon with me, and we picked up another six quarts in the c-store, which was enough to get the steering working again but not quite enough to fill the reservoir up to the sight glass. We put another half gallon in at the bottom of the hill. We looked in all the usual places for evidence of what must be a good size leak, but found none.
The steering assist quit again about 25 miles from here, which calculates out to about 2-3 quarts an hour, or about an ounce a minute. Still, I could not see anything leaking when we pulled in. First thing in the morning I will have to crawl under the bus to see if I can locate the bugger. I suspect either a seeping fitting around the steering box, since that perennially seems to be a source of leakage, or the hose we had replaced back in Little Rock a few months ago, which was weeping when we had it checked in Nashville, but seemed to have cleared up, likely as the new hose swelled a bit, not long afterwards.
We're parked on mostly dirt right now, and with any luck, I will find a dark spot under the bus in the morning like a smoking gun. Whether or not I will actually be able to do anything about it before we get to Portland is another matter. At $4 per quart for ATF (what our steering uses for hydraulic fluid), that can be expensive, so we'll peel off at the next Wal-Mart for Power-Tech brand in the gallon jugs, about $10 each.
As we were still dawdling around Wal-Mart in Palm Desert, figuring on heading perhaps to Salton Sea State Park for the night, we got a phone call around 2:30 from the Red Cross Disaster Operations Center. We are being dispatched to Portland, Oregon, where a relief operation is starting up for the massive flooding that has occurred due to a huge storm that moved onshore from the Pacific. There is also an operation starting up in Olympia, Washington, which will be a good deal larger, but I don't think we can get there -- I-5 and all the alternate routes north through the state are under water, and the only way around at the moment is to run up the Columbia gorge, north through the Yakima valley, and then over the Snoqualmie pass, where we could easily get waylaid by snow.
By 3:00 we were packed and on the road, although Louise is still under the weather with a cold. Based on my own experience, as I am about a day ahead of her, she should be on the upswing tomorrow. I myself had a pretty good day today, and the last lingering symptoms seem to be gone as of now.
So today we blasted past, in quick succession, most of the places we'd stayed in the last month: Morongo Casino, the Santa Ana river, San Manuel Casino, and even the Wal-Mart in Palmdale. We made pretty good time, stopping for fuel and to dump tanks at the Flying-J in Frazier Park, and for dinner in Buttonwillow.
Unfortunately, it seems we can never undertake this sort of journey without an obligatory problem cropping up with Odyssey. On the way from Florida to San Bernardino, we had to replace a tire, and fix a crack in the windshield. Today's problem was the power steering which started acting up on 138 as we made the grade up to the Grapevine. When I pulled off at the Flying-J we discovered that virtually all of the fluid had disappeared from the reservoir. I had a gallon with me, and we picked up another six quarts in the c-store, which was enough to get the steering working again but not quite enough to fill the reservoir up to the sight glass. We put another half gallon in at the bottom of the hill. We looked in all the usual places for evidence of what must be a good size leak, but found none.
The steering assist quit again about 25 miles from here, which calculates out to about 2-3 quarts an hour, or about an ounce a minute. Still, I could not see anything leaking when we pulled in. First thing in the morning I will have to crawl under the bus to see if I can locate the bugger. I suspect either a seeping fitting around the steering box, since that perennially seems to be a source of leakage, or the hose we had replaced back in Little Rock a few months ago, which was weeping when we had it checked in Nashville, but seemed to have cleared up, likely as the new hose swelled a bit, not long afterwards.
We're parked on mostly dirt right now, and with any luck, I will find a dark spot under the bus in the morning like a smoking gun. Whether or not I will actually be able to do anything about it before we get to Portland is another matter. At $4 per quart for ATF (what our steering uses for hydraulic fluid), that can be expensive, so we'll peel off at the next Wal-Mart for Power-Tech brand in the gallon jugs, about $10 each.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Talkback Tuesday: Faux Pas
Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say
People comment on Odyssey every day. They often seem amazed about how big it is. Something about the unusual chassis design and paint job make the bus appear huge to some folks. We overheard one campground host (who should be familiar with RV lengths) tell another camper that our rig was at least 65 feet long.
For the record, Odyssey is 39 feet 4 inches long, and 13 feet tall. A bit taller than most, but a pretty normal length for a motorhome.
So, I suspect that he meant "monster" when the guy at the rest area asked:
"Is that your monstrosity?"
Here's a hint: if you'd like to start a conversation with someone about their vehicle, don't start out with an insult.
Sean says hindsight is 20/20, and that he should have retorted, "No, sir, that's my wife!"
People comment on Odyssey every day. They often seem amazed about how big it is. Something about the unusual chassis design and paint job make the bus appear huge to some folks. We overheard one campground host (who should be familiar with RV lengths) tell another camper that our rig was at least 65 feet long.
For the record, Odyssey is 39 feet 4 inches long, and 13 feet tall. A bit taller than most, but a pretty normal length for a motorhome.
So, I suspect that he meant "monster" when the guy at the rest area asked:
"Is that your monstrosity?"
Here's a hint: if you'd like to start a conversation with someone about their vehicle, don't start out with an insult.
Sean says hindsight is 20/20, and that he should have retorted, "No, sir, that's my wife!"
Missing a decision point
We are at the Wal-Mart in Palm Desert (map).
This store is so new that the aerial image still shows it under construction. And, despite "No Overnight Parking" signs sprinkled around the lot, the store does allow it, as verified by a number of RVers who've inquired over the past year. Sure enough, there were quite a number of rigs here last night, and we uncharacteristically parked among them. (We usually try to stay away from what we call the "RV ghetto," parking instead somewhere dark, quiet, and away from customer traffic, usually around back near the loading dock, or the lube bays. However, the folks who asked the store about parking were directed to a specific section of the lot, and we decided it best to follow suit.)
In any case, it was only half an hour from yesterday's stop, which was about as far as we wanted to drive, and there are a couple of dining options here. A good part of the surrounding shopping center is still under development -- I would guess that there will be more dining (and shopping) options in a few months. It remains to be seen whether the store will continue to allow RV parking. Which brings up an interesting conundrum -- the "No Parking" signs are already posted (they were put in when the store was built), but the policy of allowing parking anyway is already widely disseminated in the RV community (or at least the segment of the community that stays at Wal-Mart). So if and when the store decides to prohibit parking, they'll need to find another way to get the word out. Presumably, the roving security patrol will need to inform people somehow, after they arrive.
It has now been a full week since my dental work. Lingering pain in the tooth has prompted us to move slowly, and in that full week we have come only about 150 miles from the dentist's office. The idea being that we could turn around and head back easily if I needed a follow-up visit (which would likely be, unfortunately, for a root canal). The dentist, however, only works Mondays and Tuesdays, and so today would be the day I would have to go back, or else not until next Monday. So I have held in the back of my mind the notion that, by today, a decision would be made, and we would be picking up speed and heading for the border.
That, of course, was before I came down with this bug. I'm pretty much over the hump, and feeling better today than I did yesterday, which was the worst of it. But still in no shape to see a dentist -- I would be miserable in the chair, and he certainly wouldn't want me there either. Just as well, I suppose, because I am really on the fence about going back. About the only thing he is going to do now is pull the crown back off and do a root canal, and I'd rather keep the tooth alive if it is at all possible. And, while I am still having some pain, and sensitivity to hot and cold, the fact is that things have been improving steadily, albeit slowly, for a week.
What I remember from having an inlay done on this tooth a decade ago is that the prep is very, very close to the nerve, and I had residual pain for days and cold sensitivity for weeks after the inlay was done. So I am holding out some hope that this residual pain is still from the trauma of the prep work, which perhaps had inflamed the nerve area. In any case, there will be nothing I can do about it until Monday, but it does suggest that we should continue to dally here a while longer, rather than race off into Mexico. I welcome advice, BTW, from any dentists reading, or even folks who have had a similar experience. Email me or post to the comments.
We will likely continue on our planned route, past the Salton Sea and into Calexico. We have friends (and, apparently, readers) here in the Coachella Valley that we had talked about visiting, but neither of us is in any shape for a visit, so that will probably have to wait for our next time through.
This store is so new that the aerial image still shows it under construction. And, despite "No Overnight Parking" signs sprinkled around the lot, the store does allow it, as verified by a number of RVers who've inquired over the past year. Sure enough, there were quite a number of rigs here last night, and we uncharacteristically parked among them. (We usually try to stay away from what we call the "RV ghetto," parking instead somewhere dark, quiet, and away from customer traffic, usually around back near the loading dock, or the lube bays. However, the folks who asked the store about parking were directed to a specific section of the lot, and we decided it best to follow suit.)
In any case, it was only half an hour from yesterday's stop, which was about as far as we wanted to drive, and there are a couple of dining options here. A good part of the surrounding shopping center is still under development -- I would guess that there will be more dining (and shopping) options in a few months. It remains to be seen whether the store will continue to allow RV parking. Which brings up an interesting conundrum -- the "No Parking" signs are already posted (they were put in when the store was built), but the policy of allowing parking anyway is already widely disseminated in the RV community (or at least the segment of the community that stays at Wal-Mart). So if and when the store decides to prohibit parking, they'll need to find another way to get the word out. Presumably, the roving security patrol will need to inform people somehow, after they arrive.
It has now been a full week since my dental work. Lingering pain in the tooth has prompted us to move slowly, and in that full week we have come only about 150 miles from the dentist's office. The idea being that we could turn around and head back easily if I needed a follow-up visit (which would likely be, unfortunately, for a root canal). The dentist, however, only works Mondays and Tuesdays, and so today would be the day I would have to go back, or else not until next Monday. So I have held in the back of my mind the notion that, by today, a decision would be made, and we would be picking up speed and heading for the border.
That, of course, was before I came down with this bug. I'm pretty much over the hump, and feeling better today than I did yesterday, which was the worst of it. But still in no shape to see a dentist -- I would be miserable in the chair, and he certainly wouldn't want me there either. Just as well, I suppose, because I am really on the fence about going back. About the only thing he is going to do now is pull the crown back off and do a root canal, and I'd rather keep the tooth alive if it is at all possible. And, while I am still having some pain, and sensitivity to hot and cold, the fact is that things have been improving steadily, albeit slowly, for a week.
What I remember from having an inlay done on this tooth a decade ago is that the prep is very, very close to the nerve, and I had residual pain for days and cold sensitivity for weeks after the inlay was done. So I am holding out some hope that this residual pain is still from the trauma of the prep work, which perhaps had inflamed the nerve area. In any case, there will be nothing I can do about it until Monday, but it does suggest that we should continue to dally here a while longer, rather than race off into Mexico. I welcome advice, BTW, from any dentists reading, or even folks who have had a similar experience. Email me or post to the comments.
We will likely continue on our planned route, past the Salton Sea and into Calexico. We have friends (and, apparently, readers) here in the Coachella Valley that we had talked about visiting, but neither of us is in any shape for a visit, so that will probably have to wait for our next time through.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Under the weather
We are at the Morongo casino, in Cabazon (map).
I have been fighting back a cold for the last couple days, and yesterday it started to get worse. We did not want Monday morning to find us still on a city street, and I certainly did not want to have to scoot back and forth anyplace while under the weather, so we loaded up and headed east. Our directory showed this casino as the closest convenient stopping point, so here we are.
The casino itself is very nice -- a brand new facility with a 27-story hotel tower, complete with resort and spa. Too bad we are now both feeling crummy enough (Louise came down with it this morning) to go back inside for a massage, something we had talked about on our way here. We did avail ourselves of the restaurant last night -- neither of us felt like cooking.
The only down side is that the RV lot is far away from the casino, and we had to call for a shuttle to get back and forth. (The lot is actually behind the old casino building, which now serves as a bingo hall. Clearly, the tribe's casino operations are thriving.)
We are struggling now with whether or not to move today. We don't particularly want to drive, but our only option here is to go back to the casino for dinner, and the lot we are in has limited appeal. We have heard the Wal-Mart in Palm Desert, just a few miles east, allows overnight parking, and we may head there for a night -- at least I'll be able to buy some more cough drops, and we're low on some other provisions, too. No one wants to have to deal with me if we run out of coffee.
I have been fighting back a cold for the last couple days, and yesterday it started to get worse. We did not want Monday morning to find us still on a city street, and I certainly did not want to have to scoot back and forth anyplace while under the weather, so we loaded up and headed east. Our directory showed this casino as the closest convenient stopping point, so here we are.
The casino itself is very nice -- a brand new facility with a 27-story hotel tower, complete with resort and spa. Too bad we are now both feeling crummy enough (Louise came down with it this morning) to go back inside for a massage, something we had talked about on our way here. We did avail ourselves of the restaurant last night -- neither of us felt like cooking.
The only down side is that the RV lot is far away from the casino, and we had to call for a shuttle to get back and forth. (The lot is actually behind the old casino building, which now serves as a bingo hall. Clearly, the tribe's casino operations are thriving.)
We are struggling now with whether or not to move today. We don't particularly want to drive, but our only option here is to go back to the casino for dinner, and the lot we are in has limited appeal. We have heard the Wal-Mart in Palm Desert, just a few miles east, allows overnight parking, and we may head there for a night -- at least I'll be able to buy some more cough drops, and we're low on some other provisions, too. No one wants to have to deal with me if we run out of coffee.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Just like old times
We are parked along the Santa Ana river again, just a couple hundred yards from where we spent three weeks working with the Red Cross (map). We were actually well situated at the casino, and would have spent another night there, but we were out of water, and knew we could find some down here. In any case, we knew it would be dark and quiet here, especially on the weekend, and we had a pleasant night.
We popped the big scooter out last night to go to dinner at the nearby Elephant Bar, and in a few minutes I will go run a couple of errands while we are in the neighborhood -- there is a Costco here, along with all the usual suburban-glotch stores. I did the first oil change on the scooter Friday, while we were at the casino -- the Kymco requires both the engine and final drive oil to be changed out at 300 kilometers (and, yes, the odometer is in km, even though the speedo is calibrated in MPH). It felt like I was working on a tinker-toy -- after getting used to adding oil by the gallon in Odyssey (sump capacity: 7 gallons), it was almost laughable to fill the scooter with less than a quart (sump capacity: 0.9 liter).
We'd really like to get out of the metroplex here, and I'm tempted to blast down to the Salton Sea today, but the tooth pain is still returning at seemingly random times, and it's still taking 400mg of ibuprofen to knock it down, so we will continue our very slow roll eastward. I may call the dentist tomorrow for a phone consultation.
We popped the big scooter out last night to go to dinner at the nearby Elephant Bar, and in a few minutes I will go run a couple of errands while we are in the neighborhood -- there is a Costco here, along with all the usual suburban-glotch stores. I did the first oil change on the scooter Friday, while we were at the casino -- the Kymco requires both the engine and final drive oil to be changed out at 300 kilometers (and, yes, the odometer is in km, even though the speedo is calibrated in MPH). It felt like I was working on a tinker-toy -- after getting used to adding oil by the gallon in Odyssey (sump capacity: 7 gallons), it was almost laughable to fill the scooter with less than a quart (sump capacity: 0.9 liter).
We'd really like to get out of the metroplex here, and I'm tempted to blast down to the Salton Sea today, but the tooth pain is still returning at seemingly random times, and it's still taking 400mg of ibuprofen to knock it down, so we will continue our very slow roll eastward. I may call the dentist tomorrow for a phone consultation.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Small Space Saturday: Holiday Decorations
On Saturdays I write about strategies for living in 300 square feet
Each year, we buy an inexpensive, pre-lit wreath and attach it to our front bumper. (We have a plug up there for the lights.) The artificial wreath is tough enough to withstand freeway driving. We prefer not to store such a bulky, limited-use item for 90% of its lifespan. So, after the season, we clean it up and donate it to the closest charity, such as Goodwill. Total investment each year: about $15.
This year the wreath has white lights, which is my preference. Last year, Sean got to choose the lights and selected the colored ones. One benefit of the white lights is that it is legal to drive with the wreath turned on.
This year for inside decorations, I bought five candles in the shape of evergreen trees. Different sizes, a variety of colors. We will burn them, so they are consumable. (We always monitor lit candles carefully, don't worry!) They are unscented, unbreakable and non-toxic, good for a moving vehicle with three pets.
(By the way, that's the view of the San Manuel Casino from the RV parking lot. Pretty nice!)
I used a match to melt the bottoms of the trees slightly, then quickly pressed them into place on the counter. They are stuck pretty well and haven't slipped while the bus is moving. Should one of them break loose, though, at least it won't shatter like glass or porcelain would.
We have a dark green couch, so I just added two red throw pillows. The striped fabric pieces are placemats. They look sort of "Christmas-y" with the red pillows and later would look nice with purple or brown. They were only $4 at Target (pronounced Tar-JAY), so I'm not overly worried about them becoming heirloom decorating items.
The pillows are actually dining room chair cushions. They are slightly larger than throw pillows so the red one shows up better when stacked behind the green one. For some strange reason, chair pads are almost always about 50% cheaper than throw pillows, even though they are more complicated. I guess it's a marketing thing: the practical is less expensive than the purely decorative? Something that's supposed to go under your butt must be less valuable? Who knows. I just tucked the little strings that tie the pillow to the chair out of sight and was happy to find the color I wanted. I like the little buttons, too.
Again, these will be donated to a charity later. In such a small space, these few touches add a festive air without too much bother, expense, or clutter.
Each year, we buy an inexpensive, pre-lit wreath and attach it to our front bumper. (We have a plug up there for the lights.) The artificial wreath is tough enough to withstand freeway driving. We prefer not to store such a bulky, limited-use item for 90% of its lifespan. So, after the season, we clean it up and donate it to the closest charity, such as Goodwill. Total investment each year: about $15.
This year the wreath has white lights, which is my preference. Last year, Sean got to choose the lights and selected the colored ones. One benefit of the white lights is that it is legal to drive with the wreath turned on.
This year for inside decorations, I bought five candles in the shape of evergreen trees. Different sizes, a variety of colors. We will burn them, so they are consumable. (We always monitor lit candles carefully, don't worry!) They are unscented, unbreakable and non-toxic, good for a moving vehicle with three pets.
(By the way, that's the view of the San Manuel Casino from the RV parking lot. Pretty nice!)
I used a match to melt the bottoms of the trees slightly, then quickly pressed them into place on the counter. They are stuck pretty well and haven't slipped while the bus is moving. Should one of them break loose, though, at least it won't shatter like glass or porcelain would.
We have a dark green couch, so I just added two red throw pillows. The striped fabric pieces are placemats. They look sort of "Christmas-y" with the red pillows and later would look nice with purple or brown. They were only $4 at Target (pronounced Tar-JAY), so I'm not overly worried about them becoming heirloom decorating items.
The pillows are actually dining room chair cushions. They are slightly larger than throw pillows so the red one shows up better when stacked behind the green one. For some strange reason, chair pads are almost always about 50% cheaper than throw pillows, even though they are more complicated. I guess it's a marketing thing: the practical is less expensive than the purely decorative? Something that's supposed to go under your butt must be less valuable? Who knows. I just tucked the little strings that tie the pillow to the chair out of sight and was happy to find the color I wanted. I like the little buttons, too.
Again, these will be donated to a charity later. In such a small space, these few touches add a festive air without too much bother, expense, or clutter.
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