Another couple traveling with their dog were parked next to us at a campground. Probably when we were traveling to a lot of the national parks. Did you know that canyons were created by rivers slicing through mountains, tirelessly, for a very long time?
Shirley was discussing the joys and travails of life on the road with the couple parked next to us. I was busy trying make sure our black tank was emptying out. In our RV there is a little control panel that lets you know if certain functions are turned on and the status of the 3 water tanks, and the propane tank as well. Our black water tank is always showing full. I think the meter is broken, I hear water hitting metal after emptying it into the campsite sewer hookup, but the panel lights up full. The never-ending joys of RV camping. Shirley was telling our campsite neighbors about our difficulties with our refrigerator. The temperature is set only for the freezer, with the refrigerator compartment running at 32 degrees warmer. The control is manipulated by a plastic slider that fits on a freezer fin that is in the refrigerator. There are no numbers, just Warmer and Colder. We have been fiddling with it the entire trip, trying to prevent milk and other refrigerator foods from freezing. Two results. First, Shirley found that freezing milk from time to time actually makes the milk last longer. Second, I discovered that the best way to manage the temp was to check the thermometer we put in the freezer a few times a day, and to shut off the refrigerator whenever the freezer goes below 10, and turn it back on when it goes above 20.
Our neighbors for a day had a brand new top of the line trailer. Albeit, a small one. Besides pulling their trailer, they also pulled an Off the Road vehicle that looked really neat. Their refrigerator wasn’t working at all, and their freezer had just been stocked full for their trip. They lost it all. Makes one grateful for having long-lasting, occasionally frozen, milk.
Note: This is the first post of possibly many recounting anecdotes of the trip. The title, for those who don’t know, is from the Grateful Dead’s song “Truckin”. Our RV is named “Casey Jones” which is the title of a Grateful Dead song. When we leave a campground where you must travel at 5 MPH, my verbiage follows more in line with the Captains Kirk and Picard, who have absolutely nothing to do with the Grateful Dead. “Is everyone in position?” Shirley responds “yup”. I respond “Engaging impulse engines”. and we ease out of another campground.
