Back on the road, finally.   We are in Nevada.

Lahontan reservoir

I make reservations in Fernley NV for the 12th and 13th.  We had planned to go visit Uncle Richard and Aunt Rita in Dayton, but during our delay they went south for a few weeks in Arizona so we will catch up with them another time.  Fernley is a pretty little place just east of Reno and we take a breath to appreciate the fact that we are on the road.  We wanted to find a place to let Butter get in some water so we head down to Lahontan Reservoir and she played in the Carson River.

Fernley Turtle

While driving through town we saw a coin op car wash and decided to clean the dust off the truck.  Well we should know by now, these new fangled things will get us in trouble.  CaptDan took control of the power washer and it pushed him all over the bay, not to mention this is not a good activity for a man with a bed back.   Then there were some interesting public art on display and when we took the time to drive up to it we saw it was a turtle.

scenery in eastern Nevada

On the 14th we packed it in and headed to Elko, NV for 2 days and just rest!  Captan's back is feeling better some days and worse others, he has a very hard time not lifting ANYTHING! I am doing about half of the driving as that is hard on the back.












The 16th finds us saying goodbye to Nevada and crossing into Utah.

Lunch break at the Salt Flats in Western Utah 

nearing the Great Salt Lake

I do drive

 We planned for 4 days at the Golden Spike RV Park in Brigham City and it is a very nice place...Nice level sites on rocks, with grassy strips between rigs.... and we have a few places we really want to go see.  But first someone has a bad back night and takes a muscle relaxant....While eating breakfast he just starts to fad on me, there isn't much better description.  So I grab my phone, ask for the nearest urgent care center and head to FarrWest, about 15 miles away.....Great staff, no waiting.  diagnosis, bad reaction to the meds, do not take them again and a scrip for a different muscle relaxant.  We chatted with the Dr about Dans allergy to bee stings and get a script for an Epi-pen to have on hand from now on.  So another day of rest and I think we might get out to the Golden Spike National Park tomorrow.

We make it to the park and it was a great day.  This was on my bucket list from before I knew what a bucket list was.  I wrote a term paper in high school about this very thing and how the Central Pacific went about getting there.  Now I have seen it, and one great thing is that in the 1980 they had exact replica steam engines built and they run them up and down a short piece of track.

Then we head home and I grill that Tri-tip we talked about having.  This is part of CaptDan taking every chance to rest and I am capable of running the Traeger, really I am.  A long day.

We are keeping Friday pretty loose and talk about going out to the Willard Bay State Park, or maybe down to Ogden to the Museum, but first I take Butter for a walk and when I get far enough away from the rig I notice the undercarriage looks all wrong.  When we get down underneath, the plastic that is attached to protect all the tanks and wiring down there has come loose and water is everywhere, soaked fiberglass, just a real mess.  So remember CaptDan is on orders to REST, but that isn't going to happen, and he gets busy assessing the damage and trying to figure out what is happening.  I get on the phone to insurance and get very frustrated.  He gets all the Stuff pulled down, the fiberglass is a soggy mess, the aluminum sheet is just wet and a little torn, and the heavy plastic panel is ripped in a few places but other wise salvageable.  The next question is what can we do and what can't we do and where did the water come from!  There is no water inside the rig, no wet around the pipes and no water actively leaking anywhere!  I talked to a RV service in Rapid City SD as that is where we are heading in a week.  They can't see us for 6 weeks but they will have a technician call us to advise what we can do to get on the road.  So meanwhile we decide the only way to figure out what is causing the water to be where it doesn't belong is to empty the tanks and start filling them one at a time.   As all the tanks are currently reading 2/3 full we have to start somewhere, and as there is no active sewer smell it must be the grey water or fresh water that is the problem.  So I turn on the facet in the bathroom and after a nice long wait I hear whistling from the Capt who is on his back on a packing quilt under the rig.   We have water.   Yes we do, pouring down on him from the edge of the grey tank.    Turn off the water.  between 1/3 and 2/3 full the number 1 grey tank just pours out the side and we can see a big crack along the top.  Well the mystery is solved.  What next.  CaptDan makes his shopping list and we are off to the local Ace Hardware for self tapping screws, insulation, and the aluminum insulation sheets......I had already made a quick trip to Walmart for the Gorilla tape so he could get all the wiring taped up out of the way.  When we return home the phone call from the technician comes in and we explain our problem.  He at least says we aren't the first, the tanks do fail but the big thing is what do we have to do and what can we do to get on the road.  He tells us we are doing all the right things.  We don't have to put insulation back up in there so if more water pours out we will have wet, heavy, insulation.  He recommends we try our best to salvage the black plastic piece and don't cut holes in it, if we need to let water out cut a flap, open to the rear so it can be taped up when we are made whole again.  He thinks he can squeeze us in on Friday in a week......which means we can at least get an assessment for the insurance people.  I talked to a service center in Davenport Iowa, another stop along our route and they told me they would need to see it and assess it and if a new tank is needed then it is a 3-6 week wait on the parts...Wow.

So CaptDan asks me to stay out of the way while he goes out and plots the attack of this project, he'll call when ready for my help.  Now is when the surface we are parked on comes into play.  Big rough rocky surface.  He is trying to figure out how to hold the plastic up so we can re-attach it.  I hear loud banging on the side of our rig and run outside to find him holding his head and leaning on the steps dripping blood.  So grab a towel to pressure the cut, take a quick look and decide this needs more then a butterfly bandage, grab  the purse, get him in the truck. and just then one of the folks from the park walks by with his dog, I ask for the nearest urgent care and he tells me there is one at the end of the street, turn left and left into the parking lot.....REALLY?  It is a brand new facility and didn't appear when I searched 2 days ago.  But the staff is great! and 7 staples later we are on our way back home and we still have this project to do.

No concussion and we both get down on our backs, wiggle under the rig and start reattaching the plastic.  3/4 of the way around and we run out of washers and daylight.   Next day we planned on headed out so we are up early, run back to Ace, get the last of the screws put in and by 11 am we are on our way with 304 miles ahead. whew!

I take the wheel today and drive all the way, the Capt is back in lala land with a muscle relaxant.  It's a beautiful drive out of Ogden on I84, connect to I80 and head for Wyoming.  He opens his eyes occasionally to admire the scenery and then doses off again.

We take a nice lunch break at a rest stop 40 miles into Wyoming check the repair job, and then get back on the road.  Arrival at RV World in Rawlins Wyoming occurs about 5 pm.  We take it slow and steady setting her up and check the repair job again, still looks okay.  Now we get our shower kits together and head over for a nice long hot shower that won't fill the grey tank.  Then its time for dinner, and Rose, one of the owners of the park recommended a great Thai place, she was right, it was a nice relaxing dinner. By 9 I am ready for bed and with a hot pack around my shoulders we call it a day.

We have one free day here in Rawlins and decide after sleeping late, and having breakfast at 10 that maybe the Wyoming Frontier Prison tour would be just right.  We found the old Penitentiary building and wandered the museum waiting 30 mins for the next tour.  This building was used as the state penitentiary from 1901 to 1981.  Really amazing how little prisons had changed in 80 years.  We saw how they used to hang people and how they used a gas chamber,  gruesome.  This place has a very sad feeling hanging over it and while it was interesting it wasn't a fun and uplifting day.

So we came on home and took a break.  I am catching up on the blog and am determined to get this posted before the day is over.  A quick trip to Walmart and gased up the truck when we saw diesel at $2.12.  We are calling it another early night and tomorrow will be on our way to South Dakota.