MUDDSCAPE

Although I had recently hand-built a wireless repeater for the RV, it had no capability to add a high-gain antenna. So I was stuck with a pair of “rubber duck” antennas, and while they worked OK in campgrounds with good signal strength they were woefully inadequate as a wireless repeater if we weren’t parked close enough to a wireless source.

I’ve been asked “Why a repeater? Why not just connect to the source signal?” For a couple of reasons it’s good to have a repeater. A wireless repeater picks up the source signal, “cleans” and amplifies it to remove signal noise and to boost the power, then re-broadcasts it on a private network inside our rig. And if the campground source is “open”, requiring no password, I can install security for our internal network. That helps by discouraging any nearby campers from piggybacking on our signal and slowing us down. Let them buy their own repeater! It also lets us create a wireless Windows 7 Homegroup network so we can easily share our wireless printer, files on our 2 laptops, and our large photo library disk drive. As a side benefit, it keeps the “rig net” static; that means that all of computing gear and printers can permanently “remember” a network name and seamlessly connect when we power up. All that’s needed once we’re camped is to re-set the source network that’s supplying our repeater.

I acquired our kit from JefaTech (www.jefatech.com), who assembles and customizes off-shelf equipment to create a complete set ready to install. Ours came with a customized Linksys Wireless G router (it also has 4 hard wire ports), custom firmware to make it super easy to use and configure, an 8 dB high-gain antenna (they offer an even larger one if you want), 20 feet of high quality coax cable (you can order in any length you need), and a mounting kit to put the high-gain antenna onto the outside of the rig for best signal reception. I took a tip from the JefaTech user forum and decided to mount the antenna onto our existing crank-up TV batwing antenna. By doing this I can raise the antenna up so that it reaches 18 feet above ground for great long distance signal reception. I’m actually able to “see” wireless access point signals more than ¼ mile away, so if we’re parked near a Starbucks, we get free internet!

Reaching to the sky for a great signal

By using the batwing for our mount, I was also able to route the coax cable into the rig using the existing waterproof boot for the TV antenna cable. Not having to “breach the hull” was a relief as this almost ALWAYS creates a leak point. And with the winter we had, and the spring we are having, a leak is the last thing I want. A little routing of the cable inside the rig took it to a convenient shelf near our equipment. Note: JefaTech recommends having the router, which still has a single rubber duck antenna, relatively close to the external mast so they two antennas can “see” each other’s signals. Our two antennas are almost line-of-sight through our forward vent hatch.

Out with the old and in with the new

I did need to contact JefaTech support for one small detail. We recently camped in San Diego where the campground contracted with Tengo Internet for wireless service. The router wouldn’t connect, and it turns out JefaTech has published a firmware upgrade to fix this. It also makes the unit a whole lot easier to use, a big plus. Service was fast, friendly, and smart. As a result, I heartily recommend JefaTech for your RV wireless independence. Just don’t forget to crank the antenna down before you hit the road!

Our hearts go out to the victims and families affected by yesterday’s disaster in northern Japan. On the road we frequently fall into a news “black hole”, whether we are disconnected from cable tv, internet, or even cell phone service, and bad news often catches us by surprise. I didn’t know for almost a week that Egypt had undergone a “management change”. I really found out about Libya when we pulled in to fill up with gas. But this morning I awoke to my email with a message from my niece Morgan, another family blogger, telling her readers that today’s entry would be delayed. She simply didn’t feel any humor would be appropriate in light of the massive suffering, and we feel the same.

Many of our blog readers already know we were just recently in Smith River on the northern California coast, just a few miles north of Crescent City. All throughout that area are “tsunami zones” with signs clearly marking areas that become dangerous when big waves come in.

Take these signs seriously, please

They stood out to us, and we never failed to remark to each other as we drove past the signs. But it’s hard to imagine what really happens when a tsunami hits. I watched some news video of the 23 foot wave that hit Sendai, Japan, and the video of the wave inundating the airport defies description. As I write this I’m listening to the news on TV. Crescent City reported a tide recession from the harbor about 30 minutes ago, and as I write we are watching the surges in Santa Cruz harbor tear boats loose and wash the harbor in and out repeatedly, so I can only imagine the damage that will occur in the much shallower Crescent City harbor, which will reportedly get about twice the surge we will see here (7 feet vs. 3 feet).

Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families in Japan, and all those who will be affected by the aftermath.

On the Level with your Finicky RV Furnace

Of all the appliances in your RV, the propane furnace will take the cake for acting badly. There are so many things that can go wrong, not only with the furnace itself but with all of the support systems that feed it. Propane gas pressure, electric voltage supply, air ducting (both intake and output), and thermostat signals can all act up to defeat the perfectly operational furnace without so much as giving a single clue to the camper.

Some simple RV furnace diagnostic calculations - thanks NASA!

And there is one more thing that can put the evil eye on your furnace. But if I told you that now you wouldn’t read through to the end, would you?

If you are the type to take diagnosis into your own hands instead of forking over fistfuls of hundred dollar bills to the mobile RV repair service, then you know the value (and satisfaction) of having a few (or maybe more than a few) proper tools. For diagnosing furnace problems you will need:

• A digital multimeter, a good one can be bought for about $20 in any home supply warehouse or hardware store, for reading voltage supplied to the furnace controls (Note: the stick-your-tongue-on-the-electrical-contacts method isn’t accurate enough)

• A good flashlight, furnace stuff is generally buried deep in the RV interior

• A manometer for measuring the static and operational propane gas pressure in your rig – don’t buy an expensive digital one, build your own to get perfectly accurate results for less than $10 (see http://www.campersmotorhomesonline.com/manometer for simple instructions with pictures)

• The usual small handful of screwdrivers and nut drivers, for removing Philips and hex headed screws

• A small torpedo level: you can buy one at Home Depot for $3, or you can buy an iPhone and download the “Spirit Level” app ($450), your choice
  

  The trusty Torpedo Level

You might not be too surprised at the first 5 items (well, maybe the manometer, but trust me it’s indispensable), but a torpedo level? Yes. After carefully logging the performance of my furnace for 6 months and observing that it really never quite behaved the same at any given RV park, I began to look back at what was different about each RV park and how that might contribute to furnace performance. Temperature, humidity, cold night and warm day versus cold night and cold day. Was the propane full or nearing empty? Had I just switched to a new propane tank? Nothing seemed to stand out as a protagonist. And then it hit me. Each time we dock the rig I level it up. Usually I use the “Good Enough for Government Work” standard and get it reasonably close to level. But on those few occasions where all the right parts of the universe lined up and the rig ended up perfectly level, the furnace worked just fine. On this last setup I left the rig listing just a slight bit to port and just an inch nose-down. The furnace refused to light, even after 2 days and many tries. So I re-setup the rig, adding just a little bit to the port side and a little more elevation to the nose until my torpedo level read dead-on both laterally and bow-to-stern. Bingo! The furnace fired right up! I’m not quite sure why yet, but maybe after a little more studying of the technical manual I might actually be able to figure out how even just a little out-of-kilter can make the furnace finicky. And I’ll be paying a whole lot more attention to leveling during the winter months!

Now, let’s let Tippy have HIS word!

This blog is being published NOW because, although it was written on Sept. 22, 2010, it has been quietly sitting in the “Draft” folder, unnoticed by me, for almost 6 months. This isn’t exactly like finding $20 in your freshly-washed jeans pocket, it’s more like finding an unwrapped holiday gift from your Aunt Milly that got stuck behind the couch. Anyway, enjoy (apologies to anyone’s Aunt Milly).

In a previous post Tippy had some good advice. When full-timing in an RV, don’t buy beans in bulk. We had no idea how many beans we had schlepped home from Costco until we had to clean out everything and pack all our food into the rig. #1 in volume: Beans, hands down. Baked beans, kidney beans, cannelli beans, garbanzo beans, refried beans, small navy beans. Every kind of bean I’ve never heard of, and more. And much more than one can each. Some types had many many cans. I think now that it’s all loaded we could probably qualify for a huge federal alternative energy grant. But I guess we’d have to eat them first, and I’m just not going to go there.

Speaking of bulk, by the time we sorted out what we needed on-board, and what was going to storage, I figured we added close to 800 lbs. to the rig. That puts us about 500 lbs under our road legal maximum if we’re full of gas, fresh water and propane. So job #1 is to eat our way through the larder so we can reduce enough weight to hope to climb the Rockies next spring on our way to Eastern Canada. Wendy thinks all we need to buy for the next 5 months is fresh fruit and veggies and dairy products. All our meals can chip away at the full cabinets until we get room to really put everything away.

This Super Blog Person of Interest is: Brandon Marks! And his co-POI is his little brother Dylan! On our last visit to see the grandkids, we challenged Brandon to read every single blog post because he would, at some random time, be featured as a Person Of Interest! And today, that time comes! Hey Bran, give Dylan a kiss for us. Eat your vegetables. Don’t play too much PlayStation. Root for UCLA. And keep reading these posts because you never know when you will get a repeat performance from us!

Brandon, Dylan and Dad

Here’s Tippy!

The Titanic thought IT had problems! We spent 3 days in Bellevue Washington on our way back south to visit with family. The first day, Tuesday, was a short travel day (mileage wise that is) from Orcas Island to Bellevue. We drove 5 miles to the ferry landing, spent 2 hours in line, drove 1 minute onto the ferry, sailed for 1 hour, drove 15 miles to Costco Gas, then added another 75 miles to get to Bellevue. Setup was a little chilly, but we got ‘er done. Wednesday we had a little snow in the morning, just enough to create an art deco Tiffany lamp atop the utility pedestal in our camping spot.

Our Tiffany Power Pedestal

So we got ourselves ready and drove to Julie and Glenn’s for dinner down in Kent. The forecast was for “some scattered snow showers”, but the weatherman had been wrong so many times we didn’t pay any attention. Besides, what’s a little snow shower when you have a big truck with big gnarly tires?

Big Gnarly Frozen Truck

Just before dinner we noticed a few small flakes start to wander down, and by the time we were eating they were getting really big and piling up. It was quite pretty, the kind of stuff that makes for great postcards. We visited for a while (also waiting for our laundry to finish) but eventually the time came to head for the barn. Now, Julie and Glenn neighborhood is in a small “hollow” at the top of a large hill, so you go up and then down to get there. Actually, you have to go up and then down a couple of times to get there. So, of course you have to go up and then down to get out. This was no issue getting there, but by the time we left there was about 4 inches of snow on the ground. We had great confidence in the truck, and the big gnarly tires. On our third try to get up the hill on their street, that confidence was wearing noticeably thin. And this was just the TINY hill we needed to climb in order to get the BIG hill. Luckily there was a very long flat stretch that allowed us to get up a good head of steam, and we slipped and spun our way to the top of that one as well. It was all relatively smooth sailing from there, although it did take us a little over an hour to go less than 20 miles. We arrived home safe (obviously), and it kept snowing, adding another 5 inches during the night.

It don't melt where the sun don't shine

Thursday dawned clear but cold. Clear is good because the sun melts the snow on the roads quickly. Cold is not because it freezes the stuff the sun doesn’t reach. So let’s get back to the Titanic part (I know you are dying to hear). On Friday we were scheduled to transit to McMinnville Oregon. From the INSIDE of the rig, everything looked dandy. Sunny, clear, roads plowed and looking dry. So let’s get ready and go! At 9AM I started the prep work outside to pack up, only to discover that the snow banks on the top of our slide-out rooms were really icebergs, and they had to be removed before folding up the rig. 2 hours later, me shoveling and chipping from the outside (has anyone seen The Deadliest Catch on The Discovery Channel where they crack the ice off of the boat with sledge hammers?), and Wendy using a spatula to remove the parts that managed to slip inside. So here we are chipping our rig out of an iceberg, or thawing it with a heat gun, and freezing in the process.

Melting open hatches with my new heat gun

But we got ‘er done (again) and hit the road. After that it was smooth sailing, and we arrived in McMinnville safely (and grungy from the road melt) hoping that the next 3 days would bring a nice big thaw and maybe even a little rain to rinse the rig down. Stay tuned as we migrate south in search of warm weather!

Here’s Tippy!

View from our door at Jimmy's Place

 It’s not what you think so get your head outta the gutter! I’m talking about a little cardio and resistance workout. Really, we used to be so good about getting in some kind of exercise at least 5 days a week. It’s been a challenge just waking up early with the sun not coming up until 7 am and freezing temperatures up here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Even hiking becomes a challenge when it’s raining nearly every day…like it is right now! I really miss our 24 Hour Fit Lite workout because it was so effortless.

The big green ball at rest.

 A couple of weeks ago we bought a large green exercise ball because I left the silver one in storage thinking it was too big for the rig. The green ball found a place wedged between the side of the shower and the dresser and just over the cat’s water dish. It stays put until we start moving. We also bought two sets of resistance bands that each came with a workout DVD so now we have no excuse. Warren and I found that we can use the kitchen floor with my yoga mat and his kitchen mat and only bump into each other occasionally. Not perfect but we can get in some cardio and a pretty decent core workout in about 30 minutes with our new buff video partner, Mia. We still have discussions about whether Mia is POST transsexual operation or PRE. But that’s another story.

Space saving cardio.

 Yesterday we took off on a drive to see Doe Bay on the other side of the Island. It was sprinkling but not too wet. After driving around and exploring a part of the Island we had never been to, we ended up near Obstruction Pass State Park and decided that starting at 3:45 pm gave us just enough time to hike out to the ocean for a round trip of about 1.25 miles.  It’s a beautiful camping area with a large beach and an easy hike in and out. After spending some time combing the beach, we headed back to the truck just before the rain started. We know that we have to take advantage of opportunities like this to get in a little exercise while taking in the sights.

Check out the green stuff at the trailhead.

On our way back to town we stopped to take a photo of the big waves crashing on the shore at Crescent Beach. This is not a sight we see when we’re here in July. The wind was so strong that I took this photo standing next to the truck to keep me from blowing away. I tried to protect the lens from the rain but the picture reveals the drop that got to it.

You won't see Crescent Beach like this in July!

After seeing the huge surf on the shore next to Vern’s, a local hangout, we just had to stop for a snack so we could watch the storm from a great vantage point while filling our bellies and keeping warm. This is just one of the many shots I took of splashing waves. It was unreal!  Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to go on another hike after the rain stops to work off this meal.

Patio closed due to strong surf!

 We are looking forward to moving south soon to warmer weather and less rain. In preparation for some great hiking and since our sneakers are worn smooth, we just ordered new hiking shoes online. It’s all about getting rid of the excuses and finding new ways to get the old bods moving. We’re hoping that the late spring weather in the Rockies is pleasant enough to take in some great hiking around the Tetons. Until then, we’ll hike in the moist Northwest, and be careful to keep moving so moss doesn’t grow on our North sides!

My niece Pearl’s mother, Dorothy, passed away on Saturday. Dorothy was my brother Jimmy’s ex-wife .She had a long battle with breast cancer, and it finally got the better of her. She leaves Pearl and a half-sister (somewhere in Colorado), a tangled mess of trust fund issues, scattered properties and possessions, and an often-questioned legacy of Island Preservation that will linger on for many years. 

Pearl and Dorothy

Jimmy and Pearl

Many, if not all, of the people on Orcas either knew her directly or knew of her. She was simultaneously a source of inspiration and aggravation, depending on who you were and what your relationship was with her. She lived her entire life under the toxic influence of immense wealth that was used, in her younger years, to isolate her from the world, and in her later years to create situations that were both enviable and disastrous. It was that same fountain of wealth that sustained her after her parents died. She drew from a large trust fund that granted her a generous annual allowance in January. This made, in many years, for a feast at the beginning of Spring that became a famine at the close of Fall. She lived her life on a giant financial yo-yo, so to speak.

For most of us, childhood is a pretty straightforward thing. You are born, you sometimes get brothers and sisters, you grow up with pets and problems. You go to school with tons of other kids pretty much like you, you graduate and go on to college, and you then find a path and live your life and pay your bills. Not so much for Dorothy. She was born all right. But it all pretty much went off the standard life path from that moment on. I’ve been told she was raised by nannies and boarding schools, and knew little if anything about a normal childhood. It brings to my mind the story of Romulus and Remus, and the lessons they learned from being raised not by natural parents but by wolves. She was sent abroad for her college years to Florence, Italy to study art history. While this is probably one of the epicenters of art history in the world, it also represents the degree to which her life differed from most of those around her on the island. She had many privileges of the upper crust, but they didn’t necessarily serve her well.

Dorothy and my brother Jim were married in May of 1999 in a wild, sweeping ceremony in a hayfield in Deer Harbor on Orcas. A good deal of the island’s tourist housing was taken over for the guests that came from far and wide, and an elaborate feast was set up in a tent constructed over a temporary wood floor.

The wedding itself was at the incredibly small chapel in Victorian Valley that seated a fraction of the 350 or so guests, and Dorothy was literally carted away to the reception in a gypsy wagon that Jim had built for her, pulled by a stout team of horses. Fairy tale, romantic stuff. The wagon broke down less than a quarter of a mile into the 5 mile trip, perhaps an omen of the tumult that was to become their life after the birth of Pearl.

Dorothy had difficulty, to put it mildly, maintaining relationships in a manner that the rest of us would consider customary and “normal”. Her thoughts and opinions frequently starved any give-and-take in dealings with others. It wasn’t intentional, she simply hadn’t learned any of that in the dark cloud of her childhood because she didn’t need to. And so went her relationship with our family. Without going into too much detail, the mismatch between what she regarded as a normal relationship and what the rest of us would regard as normal was so great that it led to an inevitable divorce. And so, with great drama, the future of Pearl was debated. Custody was a painful issue, and in my opinion it worked out the best for all. Pearl eventually came to live with her dad, my brother, Jim. In truth, Dorothy didn’t have the skills and grip on reality that it takes to raise a child. Given the template she had been handed, the only formula she knew was comprised of money and the service of others. This was, clearly, no way to raise a daughter. The evidence of the inevitable bad outcome was glaring and overwhelming. And it certainly wouldn’t suit a Mudd. We’re apparently allergic to immense wealth; it makes us break out in foolish behavior and materialistic hoarding, and it’s likely that Pearl inherited that gene from her father.

We’ve had the unheralded pleasure of being with Jim and Pearl at this time simply because of fate. Even though Dorothy had been battling her disease since 2003, we hadn’t heard of any of it until last month. We had been planning on visiting the island for several months and when we talked with Jim to coordinate our pending arrival to his front yard, he informed us that he and Pearl would be “off island” for a week visiting her mother in Phoenix. Dorothy went there in December to be under the care of a nutritionist, but more likely just to die. Her last few months were not good, they rarely are for someone with cancer, and she was in and out of hospital with all sorts of ailments dealing with her lungs. It was in one of those hospitals, several days after Jim and Pearl returned home, that she finally slipped into a coma and passed on.

There seems to be a great deal of concern about Pearl from all of those around her. In my opinion, she is doing just fine. She’s a Mudd, a fine young woman, and people have to realize that she has been dealing with a dying mother for most of her life. She has come to terms with much of this, and will have much more to come to terms with as the years go by. But she’s pretty darn durable, and she has a great support network. I think people would do well to give her some space and just keep an ear open for her over time. While there is a cloud over the house in the last few days, I think most of it has to do with the long-winded, frequent phone calls from well-wishers and the need of some of the locals to try and express some sort of sympathy. Frankly, there is a palpable feeling of relief as well. It’s been a very long ordeal played out with some pretty strong personalities, and the sudden silence needs to be absorbed, not stirred.

So, I guess I’ll leave it at that. While it’s strange times lately, a lot of strange stuff has gone on under Jim and Pearl’s roof. And I’m sure there will be lots more to come. Pearl is on the verge of her teen years (OMG) and starts middle school next year. We wish her, and Jimmy, the best.

We’re closing in on 3 months for our stay in the Northwest. It started on the Oregon coast in Florence back in mid-November, took us to Portland for a short visit with cousins Sue and Larry (where we also visited with an early season blizzard), then up to Thanksgiving with the family at Julie and Glenn’s in Kent, Washington, from there to the Olympic Peninsula for 2 months. On the last day of January, after many snowy and freezing days, and lots of warm and beautiful ones too, we packed it up and spent the day on ferries and roads moving up to brother Jimmy’s property on Orcas Island in Puget Sound. We’re having a great time here, in spite of the mishap with electrical service.  Amazon.com did a great job of finding us great prices on replacement appliances and shipping them to us for free, and we’re back up to full strength. And thanks to Peter for his help with the installation of a new 50 amp electrical service that we can safely plug into, he’s our hero!

We plan to stay through the President’s Day weekend, then we’re off back to the mainland to begin our migration south. We plan to spend the month of April in the LA area to visit with family prior to our drive east for the remainder of the year. And here is a map of our planned itinerary to get there, for those of you who might wonder where we will be passing through, and when that will be. Remember, this is the PLAN, no guarantees!

Our PLANNED trip!

As many of you already know, Wendy and I have included “Gelato Quest” in the many activities of our nationwide RV tour. And while we are here on Orcas Island (see the previous installment dealing with the eChaos) we stumbled upon a delightful Italian deli that also has a gelato bar. Enzo’s, in downtown Eastsound (pretty much the only “downtown” on the Island) has some of the best we’ve had. Enzo, the owner, is Swiss but spent much of his younger years in Italy as well. He handcrafts the batches to suit his fancy, and also to suit the season.

Its winter here on “The Rock” as the island is known to the locals. It’s known as that as much for the fact that everything around here is rock, but also for the fact that most of the islands in the San Juan’s have Lime Kilns. In their heyday these large wood-burning stacks were built at the base of large limestone cliffs, abundant in the San Juan’s because these islands are all just huge chunks of it. Workers would blast slabs out of the cliffs which would crash down to the cliff base, and other workers with air hammers would chisel them to smaller pieces, which would then be carted off to the hoppers at the top of the kilns.

Rocks, lots of fire, and voila! Quicklime!

Lime Kilns at Roche Harbor, San Juan Island

Large chunks of wood, mostly clear cut from nearby islands and then barged over to the kiln site, would be loaded into the burn box at the bottom and the fire would generate up to 2800F, hot enough to burn the rock down to a sooty powder we know as lime. It was primarily used to make concrete or to put on crops. There was a man named John McMillin who made an enormous amount of money when he founded Roche Harbor (on San Juan Island) as a “company store” town which operated his lime kilns 24 hours a day, paying the workers in “scrip” that was redeemable at the company store and for paying rent in the company bungalows. We sometimes think OUR jobs are tough, but there were 100’s of men who worked up to 16 hours a day lifting and moving 100 lb. sacks of lime, and they didn’t even get paid in cash!

Friends Joe, Barbara, Frankie and Wally and The McMillin story

Wendy in the "Adit", where the Quicklime poured out

Anyway, when we discovered Enzo’s gelato here on The Rock, it was quite a delight. Rich, creamy, smooth, and perfectly flavored. He gets his ingredients from Italy, and it shows in the finished product. And the prices are right. On The Rock where it can cost upward of $6 to wash and dry a load of laundry, the gelato was very affordable at a total cost of $7.50 for 2 servings, including the tip!

Here’s Tippy with a touring tip!