Goo, it is a good thing.

Things around a RV are bound to rattle, shift and become...unglued.
I have tried a number of different glues to deal with such occurrences, specially inside the trailer.

I have tried a number of variations of Crazy-Glue with mainly disappointing results.
Recently a couple of Formica covered surfaces started to peel-off (again) and I ran out of Crazy-Glue.

So I tried the only glue that I had handy: Shoe Goo
I have used this Goo to repair hiking boots with good results. This glue is very sticky, thick and you can build it up to fill cracks and gaps.

Well, to my surprise, it worked wonders around the RV!
So, from now on, I will try to keep at least in tube handy.

Jacked up...

Getting things around your RV malfunction sucks, but it sucks a little less when they malfunction near to a nice RV repair shop.

While enjoying our visit to Albuquerque, when we tried to un-hitch, we discovered that our electric tongue jack was not working. This is the second time our electric jack acts up. The fist time was months ago in Canada while in Calgary. At that time, the culprit was water getting into the electric system of our Baker Level Rite 3000. This electric jack has a level bubble on its top, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately, that level bubble lets water right into the electric switch that operated the electrical motor.



At that time, we dried off the water, reconnected everything, and sealed the edges of the level bubble with silicon.



This second time around, the problem was not water. We feared a busted motor (~$300+ Labor), but some testing for 12v current reaching the jack circuits, suggested that maybe we had a bad cable somewhere.

We became acquainted with the "emergency/manual" procedure to operate the electric jack in case of malfunction. In the case of the Level Rite 3000, the procedure involved unscrewing 2 5mm allen bolts and remove the electric head to expose a T slot that can be operated with a small T wrench. Even with this small wrench, we needed to remove the propane tank cover, which is way too close to the jack. We realized that this close tight design wold limit our options to install a new electric jack (some are bigger than the Level Rite 300) and eliminates the option to install a manual operated jack.

We end up taking the whole thing for repair to the local Camping World. The service was fairly quick, and the mechanic confirmed that it was a bad cable. It was not clear how such a heavy duty cable went bad. According to the mechanic, motors like this, that go up and down, if reversed direction too quick, they will overload the cable or blow the fuse. But since our motor was equipped with a 30 amp slow blow fuse, the fuse did not blow, but the cable did.



The repair involved getting rid of the 30 amp slow blow fuse, and installing a regular fuse hook. A 40 amp fuse was installed and we will look for a 30 amp circuit breaker later to put in place.


So, after this, we are back at hitching up by the flick of a switch.
After this experience, I would say that for this size trailer, a manual jack is just fine, and one less thing to break and worry about. But as it turns, in our case this was not an option.

Is it winter yet?

We started our cross country RV journey with winter weather, and it looks like as our X-Mas break is approaching, we are closing 201o with record breaking low temperatures.

I think we turned on our furnace for the first time after this summer, about a month ago in the Coyote Buttes wilderness area. Then, I think the temperature was dropping into the 30's F early in the morning.

But as soon as we crossed into Colorado, we got our first snow and brutal dips into the 10's F
A couple of weeks ago, while camping in Raton Colorado, about 2 AM our furnace stopped heating.
I woke up because I could hear a clicking sound coming from the area where the furnace is, and the vents were blowing cold air.

I feared the worst, a busted furnace. I checked the stove for flame to make sure we had propane. The flame at the stove was very weak....I went out (14F) to check the propane tank levels: Both empty!



I have been checking the tank levels every two weeks. Last winter (cold spring) each tank was lasting 2 weeks.

The owner at our KOA campground heroically got up at 2AM an helped us by filling up one tank to heat us for the rest of the night.
Next morning we filled up both tanks, and checked for leaks. When the local RV repair place heard that we filled the tanks 2 weeks ago...their diagnostic was a busy furnace! Apparently in this part of the country, you can expect to use 1 gal of LP per day when the temperatures drop this low.

The night when we ran out of LP, I tried to use the roof Heat Pump, but it was too cold for the unit to heat the 14F cold air, and the panel was automatically reverting to the furnace. This event prompted us to buy a heater that we have seen in the rigs of some experienced RVers that we have meet in the road.


We have been using this electric ceramic heater and it is great. It is very compact, heats great, rotates, and has a thermostat so it auto shuts off when it reached the desired temperature.


Here is Vicky with our friends Helen and Curt in Albuquerque New Mexico. The temperature up there in the Sandia Mountains was 14F, but the wind chill was brutal, we took this shot and went back into the car.

Now we are faced with the dilemma of keep exploring some beautiful areas when are practically deserted because the low temperatures...or run south to warmer temperatures, where surely we will be more crowded.

New Tires...

OK, finally some more RV'ing related stuff to write about.

The time for new tires for Blue Bailout (our 2009 GMC 2500 Sierra truck) finally arrived.
About a month ago, when I did the 25,000 miles tire rotation ( I rotate tires every 5,000 miles) the technician, told me that this was probably the last rotation that I will get on those tires. He gave me a gauge that you can insert in the thread and see a green, yellow and red zone indicating acceptable level of wear. The tires were barely in orange...

The truck came equipped with Bridgestone tires:
V-Steel Rib 265 LT245/75R-16/E1 120S

These tires are rated for 50,000 miles, and I was getting close to the end at 25,000 miles!
I managed to squeeze another 4,000 miles, and decided to get new ones.

I decided to go for a set of Michelins LTX M/S rated for 65,000 miles.

Here are some intersing tire related tid-bits. Did you know that...

• If you put diferent size tires on your Allison Tranmision equiped truck...you void the warranty?
• Tires rated at high millage are harder.
• Harder tires "chunk-out" (get chunks of tread off) in rocky off road conitions when they spin-off (especally the ones on the back of the pick-up)
• To Avoud "chunking-out" use 4x4 so the back tires are less prone to spin-off

We will see if we get better life on these new Micheine tires. I was not impressed with Bridgestone.

Capitol Reef No 61

Catching the first snow of the season. Capitol Reef, a place that keeps showing me love this second time around.

Death Valley No 93

Sand dunes in Death Valley...

Fire Canyon No 90

A cool evening in the high desert of Nevada.

Sentinel No 06

Sentinel No 06
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

The remains of The Sentinel, made famous by Ansel Adams.

Here are some photos and a very interesting article about Yosemite and its relationship with photography.

Yosemite No 30

Yosemite No 30
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

It is amazing to see bristlecones trees like this, grow and endure the test of time at the top of the granite boulders of Yosemite, where there is barely any soil.

Subway No 02

Subway No 02
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

A Subway in Utah?

Zabriskie No 61

Zabriskie No 61
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Death Valley...who knew that a place with the word -death- in its name could be so beautiful?

Zion No 96

Zion No 96
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Sunrise at Zion National Park Utah...

El Capitan No 06

El Capitan No 06
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Famous El Capitan under the stars and under the light of a full moon. When I realized that we were going to be at Yosemite during a full moon with clear skies, I knew that It was a good opportunity to shoot during the night. The lights in the face of the rock are actual climbers! spending the night hanging from ropes anchored in the rock. They are soo many that I wonder how they no get into each other's way. I bet that pretty soon, the National Park Service is going to restrict how many climbers per day can access El Capitan....or chances are, that they already do.

Vernal Falls No 59

Vernal Falls No 59
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Exhausted, after a 12 hour hike to the top of Half Dome, I came across the perfect setting for Vernal Falls. Just past sunset, a bit of bounced evening light with enough warm tones to lit the red hues. It was one of those light conditions where Aperture priority and Matrix metering comes just right due to the even EV values across the scene. Even the thin streak of water was not overexposed.

It took just a glance to know that I will have to unpack the camera and tripod and set up for 15 to 20 minutes of POV hunting and shooting.

Due to this last treat, I had to walk the last hour of the hike in the dark. Luckily, as always, I was prepared with my trusty Petzl head lamp.

Half Dome No 31

Half Dome No 31
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Half Dome after sunset in Yosemite National Park.

Zion No 18

Zion No 18
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Tall yellow glowing aspens in full autumn regalia

Half Dome No 14

Half Dome No 14
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

After 4 hours of uphill hike, this is the view just before the final push to the summit of Half Dome. I started this hike at 7 am and reached the top about 1pm. This is the south view of the dome.

Zion No 71

Zion No 71
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

More fall colors from Zion National Park in Utah.

Mono No 66

Mono No 66
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Mono Lake, a must stop in the Easter Sierras of California.

Yosemite No 27

Yosemite No 27
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

End of summer in the heart of the Yosemite Valley. Clear and crisp open skies and warm golden light.

Hives No 20

Hives No 20
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Some nice images coming from our first weeks in the desert.

Yosemite No 82

Yosemite No 82
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Yosemite Valley under the silver light of mid afternoon.

Zion No 20

Zion No 20
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

We interrupt the Yosemite stream to showcase the fleeting beauty of the fall colors at Zion National Park. Enjoy!

Half Dome No 05

Half Dome No 05
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

This is one of the first Half Dome images on the 2010 Landscape Tour at Yosemite. The last time I visited this place was in 2004. At that time, my focus was of the fall colors. This time around, I came with a more open agenda. Little did I know that throughout my 3 week photo study, Half Dome would become the visual gravitational center of attention, concluding with a one day dash to the top of this iconic piece of granite.

Florence No 53

Florence No 53
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

I arrived to this area with the preconceived idea of what I was looking for: Sand Dunes, smooth undulating lines, textures ready for abstract compositions. Instead, I was captivated by the tall waving grasses growing on top of the dunes, dancing against the blue Oregonian late summer sky.

Can you feel the wind blowing?

Canon Beach No 68

Canon Beach No 68
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Well...here we are again, this time doing what has been the northern star of this trip: Landscape & Nature Photography. 5AM at Cannon Beach Oregon, the full moon crowning one of the iconic haystack rocks at this famous beach.

Levity has been accomplished...

A big part of this trip was the hope that through the “magic” of a journey, I will let go of the seriousness and gravity that have plumbed my life and have left less room for joy and wonderment.

Alas, “hope” and “magic” are rarely your best bets for achieving anything. So, as the weeks, months, and miles rolled by, not only no change took place, but at times, it seemed that my stern approach to deal with the logistics of traveling worsen the heaviness...

Thus, leaving only humor to lessen the load. And beauty, yes, I need to give lots of credit to the stunning beauty of the places that we have visited.

At some point, I thought that it was a nice “hope”, but maybe it was too late to change.
And then, some days ago a couple of things went wrong with the trailer. But this time, somehow, I was not upset nor did I changed the whole leg schedule to fix them. Calmly I evaluated the malfunctions and how they affected (or not) the trip and continued to enjoy the visit to the place, Yosemite in this case.

Maybe the biggest changes need to be preceded by surrender...the only way to start clean?
Just the night before this happened I was reading the following passage in a book:

All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception. Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes that void. The imagination is constantly at work filling up all the fissures through which grace can pass.

-Simone Weil

So somehow now, life is lighter and the worries....well, less worrisome.
Maybe my imagination decided to give something else a chance.

Still, the trip and journey are on...
We completed the part of the journey where we planned to visit all the places that we have not visited before in the USA and Canada.
Now, we are re-visiting some of our favorite places, this time at a slower pace, living the places.

So far we have re-visited Olympic National Park, the Washington and Oregon coasts, San Francisco and Yosemite National Park.

Not sure if I will keep up this blog...now it seems too much on top of the other two about photography...who knows maybe some RV tips from time to time, some of the vignettes that I have not finished...

And if not, I will leave you with this line:

“Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone...”
-JCMC

Latest trend in coffee tables...

One thing that we miss on our RV is a real coffee table.
A lower than a regular table surface where we can put coffee cups and crumpets, sit around and deplore the state of our political system.

Well, recently we discover that we actually had one such coffee table right under our noses.
Not sure if discovering this was a testament of ingenuity, or just how RV live has reshaped our minds.

Presenting the Hensley Hitch Coffee Table!

Little video on it!

25 thousand miles without a flat...

About two weeks ago, while visiting family in California, someone asked:

"How many miles so far in your trip?"
-25K
"How many flats have you had so far?"
- None!
"That is incredible !!"
- I guess, we have been very careful and lucky

And it seems like that is all it takes...brag about care and luck to get your first flat!!
But there is bad luck, and not so bad luck. I think this time we got away with the not so bad type.

While in the Bay Area, I noticed that one of the trailer tires on the right side was a bit low. I checked its pressure, and sure enough it was 20 psi under its normal pressure.
I kept checking on it for the next days, and it looked OK.

Then, a couple of weeks after that, while in Yosemite National Park, I checked again, but this time I did not had to check the pressure, as when I got closer to the tire a big-fat-shiny-phillips screw head inserted in the tire was staring at me right in the face.

Sure enough, after closer inspection, that was the source of the very slow leak.
But not only that, the head of the screw looked so filled down that I suspect that has been in the tire for quite a while!

I figured that the best thing to do was to put the spare tire on the trailer and take the, literally screwed, tire to the nearest tire repair shop 20 miles away.

This very simple plan got thwarted when I tried to loosen the wheel lug-nuts...they were bolted so tight that my cross-bar was bending (using a cheater extension pipe!)

So...knowing that the dang screw has been holding so well for weeks now, we drove the whole thing to the tire shop. And while in there, we asked to have all the wheels' lug-nuts loosen and re-torqued at a sane rate.

Lesson:

a) Do not brag about not having flats
b) Make sure that you can loosen your wheel lug-nuts before starting your trip.

Our Alaska bridge to nowhere...

The last area in Alaska that we visited was the area of Hyder and Stewart, British Columbia.
This turned out to be a beautiful area. We enjoyed walks near the glaciers and on sub alpine meadows.

While walking in this area, we came across a creek. It was not quite shallow. I had my waterproof boots, but Vicky did not have hers. She was walking that day actually in her water shoes (??) but the weather and water were way too cold to get your feet wet.




So, I was about to bail out when Vicky said that we could build a little bridge made out of rocks and logs to cross the creek. I was about to shut down the impromptu project, as I was sure we could find some other route, but she was so enthusiastic about the project that I went along with it.

We started to haul rocks and wood to the edge of the creek. Building a dry path over the shallow side of the creek was cake, but as soon as we hit the knee deep section with a strong current, things got sketchy. We could not carry enough of a big rock to serve as a foundation, and the wood that we were laying down was being carried down by the current.

About 45 min. into the endeavor we started to get tired and we decided that what we had was "good enough." I went first. I made it though the first half, but the second was very rickety. I practically bypassed the whole section by jumping and splashing my feet on the other side.

Here I am giving a way too premature thumbs up to our Alaska Bridge to Nowhere.

I knew Vicky was not going to be able to jump that far, so I knew it was "funny video" time. I wiped my iPhone out to take a video. Yeah, sure enough, she got wet, not much, but enough to question why we spent 45 min. herniating our aging spinal columns.

Semi wet and tired we continued bush whacking our way to the edge of the glacier, just to find out that if we had backed away from the creek about a hundred yards, we would have seen the nice wide trail with a nice -real- bridge over the same creek. Oh! well....the memories!

Designing for failure...

Traveling full time in a RV will get you pretty intimate with its inner workings, materials and how it is put toghether.

After 6 months in our Airstream Safari, I am starting to appreciate the time honored design and materials of this legendary brand. This rig is tough and designed for traveling.

As the initial minor repairs demonstrated, the main issues with this production period of Airstream is materials and design in the interiors.

The latest minor repair was an interesting case on the lack of forethought on the part of Airstream, and how a minor failure, can snowball into a nightmare.

The issue started with the failure of this type of hook & lash system in the cabinetry. It failed in a couple of places. Basically the spring based catch looses its ability to retain the open position while un-hooked and you can no longer fully close and secure the drawers. The obvious solution...to replace the part....but it seems to be somewhat of a specialty item, as it is not available in any hardware store.

Latch

With a screw driver, you can reset the catch open again...but eventually it fails again.
If not fixed promptly, the hook in the drawer starts to push onto the latch, which in turn is mounted on a horizontal piece of wood. This piece of solid wood in turn, is held in place with 2 wood screws that, unfortunately, go in into the kitchen cabinetry structure made out of particle board. With enough pushing form the failed hook/latch system, the horizontal piece of wood becomes loose.

Now, you have a bigger problem. Even if you find the rare latches, or...if you replace them with standard ones, the horizontal piece of wood that serves as the mounting base is loose.

View of the drawer area and the horizontal mounting boards on the back.
The top board with the new angle brackets.

By the way, just in case the how this affects day to day RV life is not clear...
In this condition, you can not safely tow the trailer, the drawer(s), if not closed properly will swing open in the first turn and cause further damage to the cabinetry and interior of the trailer.

Well, easy fix right? Just re-tighten those wood screws. Not so fast...
When you try to get access to those screws you find that they are about 1/2 and inch from the body of the trailer. You will need a fairy with a nano-screw driver to do the task for you...or dismantle the kitchen to re-tighten 2 miserable screws.

Even if you are successful at this daunting task, you will find that the screws become loose back very easily because they are going into particle board.

To be able to travel, I secured the mounting board with duct tape first...then with Gorilla Tape, which is better for this type of repairs.




After looking carefully at the whole assembly, concluded that the correct way to secure the mounting boards was with L angle brackets.
This way, the wood screws are not destroying the particle board, and the fix is accessible without major disassemble of the kitchen.


Designing for failure means designing with failure in mind.
What happens if this system or that piece fails?
Will it cause further damage?
Will it be easily repaired?

Whoa!! Bear!!

Whoa Bear No 02
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi (back from Alaska)

During this trip, we have hikes and camped in way too many places where Bears are a concern. Thus, we have read, seen, heard all sorts of bear stories, warning, descriptions on "what to do" and "what not to do" in case we encounter one.

We also became familiar with all sorts of bear related supplies: Bear sprays, bear bells, bear cans.

There are all sorts of suggestions and theories on how to avoid bears in the first place while hiking. All of these involve making some sort of noise.

Bear bells are popular with some people...mostly naive tourists visiting the area. Some locals think that the Bear Bells are for bears like a call saying "Diner is ready!! Come and get it!!"

But the suggestion that make the most indelible impression with us, was to shout:

"Whoa! Bear!"

We got this one while watching a mandatory video for anyone applying for a backcountry camping permit at Denali National Park.

After watching this video (we thought that it was funny) every time we hike we start the hike with a loud "Whoa!! Bear!!"

After doing this a lot....we have adopted the expression for all kind of moments....
like when we see something with a high sticker price: Whoa!! Bear!!

Or when we see a beautiful unexpected scene: Whoa!! Bear!!

On this photo...this is probably the closest we got to a Bear. It was a big Grizzly mama bear fishing on the shores of the Valdez Bay. There were so many people trying to get a shot of her...that she was scared and running away from humans.

Probably shouting "Whoa!! Humans!!

Eeeek! & Yheeew!

While resting and chilling on the shores of La Conner, Washington, we were lap-topping away on our respective blogs when a rumbling scratching sound came from the area where we have our trash can.

The sound had the ominous and distinctive signature of an animal roaming through the trash.
We both look at each other with the same expression:

-- OM F**** G -- How in hell did some critter get in there?

We went into DEFCON mode with some sticks and brooms in hand...prepared to open the door that hides the trash can and....

A little gray mouse jumped out. It was too small for all that racket, never the less, we started to chase it around the trailer, attempting to push it out of the door.
Eventually our three-stooges like efforts failed and the darn thing jumped into the main plumbing/electrical compartment behind the kitchen counter.

Well...
The good news is that there is only one way out of there as long as we do not open any cabinet or door.
The bad news is that there is only one way out of there as long as we do not open any cabinet or door.

At this point Vicky recalled and recoiled with horror while saying:

"Remember last night, when I woke up saying that I felt that something walking on my head, and you said...'Oh! It was probably a mosquito.' It was that darn mouse!!! Yheew!"

We blocked that access hole and I drove to the nearest hardware store in search of mouse traps.
With my trusty iPhone + GPS MotionX, I found a nearby ACE Hardware store.

There, I was presented with an array of choices for mice doom.
From the classic sprig loaded mouse trap, to boxes that looked like mice inviting condos with chemical poisons inside....hey just like human condos.

I decided to go classic with 4 loaded spring traps, and 4 sticky traps as backups.

Back at the trailer, we baited the traps with cheese and peanut butter (Vicky's Dad's recipe!).
We distributed the traps along the enclosed area behind the kitchen and...waited.

Within 30 min, the little SOB had fallen into one of the sticky straps. We heard the flopping and scratchy sounds right away.

We went to take a look and it was a sad, sorry scene. The poor little bastard was so cute, yet I hated his cute little guts for invading our trailer. And the darn thing was still alive and moving like crazy. I grabbed another sticky trap and put it on top of the mouse. Now it looked like a sandwich, but this allowed me to carry the sorry thing outside and put it out of its misery.

With a sigh of relief we went back to the trailer with plans to deep clean the whole thing with holy water for good measure.

But about 20 minutes later...."snap!!"
The snapping sound came from below one of the cabinets. Huh? Did one of the traps miss-fire or...No! another pinche mouse!

This time we went into panic mode.
Is the whole darn trailer infested? Where are these MOFOS coming from?

That night we peppered the trailer with more traps and slept with the bedroom door closed and sealed underneath with towels.
Vicky was freaked out...and as a joke, in the middle of the night, I ran my fingers over her hair and she jumped pretty good :)
The joke did not have the comic relief effect that I was shooting for.

But the next day, the traps were clean.
We proceeded to deep clean and exorcise the trailer and found no more traces of mice.

We started to figure out how they got in and recalled that we noticed that the Cascade National Park campground was filled with notoriously bad campers...the kind that have open food containers all over the place. In that place, we had a squirrel boldly jump on the steps and into the trailer looking for food. We figure that the same squirrel went and told the mice to come on in.

Anyway...lessons learned:

- Do not hold on to full trash cans inside the trailer for long. Empty them frequently.
- Sticky traps are better than spring loaded ones. You can move the trailer without triggering them

- Keep your trailer door closed, use the screen door.
- Do not be a messy camper. Keep a clean camp and a clean trailer.
- Keep food in plastic containers with lids rather than in boxes.

Sticky trap baited with cheese and peanut butter...deadly!

The perennial snack...

Vignette No 10
The perennial snack

It is hard to tell the gender of the person flagging traffic on the road, the choice of sunglasses and the refined nose holding them in place suggests that the person under the heavy construction clothes and bright colored overcoats is a woman. As I slow down next to her, I notice that next to her work boots lays a big lunch box and a bag of snacks. It is about 9AM and she is holding a stop sign in one hand and a snack in the other. I can see now that she is chewing as she tries to talk to the radio hanging from her shoulder. Her radio squawks something that prompts her to stop chewing and flip the stop sign to “Slow” and she motions me to move on.

About an hour after lunch time, I drive through the same busy “under repair” intersection again, and I meet the same flagger lady. This time, she is snaking and chewing something bigger, she is struggling to keep the “Stop” sign straight as she maneuvers the snacks from the bag in the floor to her mouth.

A couple of hours later, I drive by that spot again, and the snaking is still in full swing. All around the spot where she has been directing traffic all day, you can see crumbs delineating the dietary history of her day...and I start to realize that the clothing for this job along with her perennial snacking is quite fortunate.

Around Washington State...

Since we crossed back into the Lower 48, we have been hanging around northern Washington State.

We hit North Cascades National Park and the Olympic Peninsula.
What a beautiful area, the summer up here is pretty tame and almost cool.



In the Cascades mountains we hiked our brains out. We did a couple of long hikes. Eight and ten miles respectively. The hardest one was to Cascade Pass, it was both brutal and rewarding. The views from up there were spectacular.



After this, we drove to the coast to recover from the intensive hikes in the mountains.
We hit a couple of nice spots: Birch Bay and La Conner.






After chilling in these spots, we were ready to resume hiking duties at Olympic National Park.



Check the growing collection of the best photos of the tour so far!