(Angry) August

Mt Teewinot from Moose Ponds Loop, Jenny Lake District, Grand Teton NP

August quickly slipping away. The park's been particularly busy and being on the southside with major road, parking lot and trailhead renovations & closures has put some extra strain on the preserve. Doesn't help that a 5-year old TikTok video is telling everyone to go to a particular spot on Phelps Lake to enjoy the water. Now add the park - with the most innocent of intentions - telling everyone via social media that the trailhead & parking lot for that spot is closed for the season and to use the preserve's parking lot to get to that spot on Phelps Lake. Add in flaggers, guide cars and a 25-45 minute wait time at each flagger and the mixture boils quickly. And it's not just our district.

When we're on patrol, volunteers get a park radio where you can talk to anyone in the park (law enforcement, dispatch, other districts for example). Just listening to the radio is just, if not more, exciting that any reality TV show. You get to hear things from a temporary road closure where they block off the road and wait at each end to ticket anyone who had parked illegally on that section of the road, to someone who is too entitled to wait at a wildlife jam and drives on the wrong side of the road and has a vehicle accident. Now mix in the usual speeders, wildlife jams, wildlife/visitor conflicts, accidents, parking violations, DUIs, conflicts between visitors, food storage violations, camping out-of-bounds, and the rare law enforcement assistance needed to euthanize a horse with a broken leg and we get a national park (one of many) that's strained at both ends.

Sometimes you arrive each day wondering where the chaos is going to occur that day and glad (hopeful?) that it's unlikely that it's where you're assigned. Expect it all to get worse next year. 

This past weekend seemed to be a change is the type of visitor. Now our typical visitor at the preserve is older. Early evening parking at Jenny Lake is more available (though still busy). Expect the park to be packed for Labor Day weekend. Colter Bay Marina (highest elevation marina on Jackson Lake) closed a few weeks ago due to low water in Jackson Lake. (Significant amount of water in Jackson Lake is intended for agriculture usage in Idaho. Idaho needs that water and is using it. This results in low water levels for Jackson Lake. Colter Bay drains out first.) This frees up a lot of parking at Colter Bay and Donna & I always recommend people go there when their "Plan A" isn't available.

So August almost over. We're about a month away from our departure time. We're fine. We plan to travel to New River George when we leave here. Plan to be in Fredericksburg, VA by mid-October. As always, that's the plan. Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us! David

July Update

We're fine and in our "dog days of summer" here in Jackson Hole. We're not hitting any temp records, but we're hot and approaching those old heat records. Unlike previous seasons where the Tetons were hidden by wildfire smoke, we can still see the mountains as we drive by them. We do have some wildfire smoke making its way into the area from Utah, though. Consequently, we have a morning & afternoon haze that can interfere with photography. 

While we do get a dignitary or two from time-to-time where we volunteer, this local takes the top prize for interfering with normal activity. It's presence causes an "all hands on deck" response just to ensure visitors keep a safe distance while getting that "once in a life time" picture while not upsetting the moose. We believe it came down from around Phelps Lake and made a stop at our parking lot while traveling down to the Snake River.

Other than planning a day trip to Idaho Falls to get some things we can't get here in Jackson, it's a normal summer for us. Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. Until next month, David

June Update

Mt Moran as seen from Colter Bay picnic area, Grand Teton NP

We made it! We arrived May 28th in Grand Teton, tried to collect ourselves over the weekend, and hit the ground Monday June 1st working the parking lot & roving the trails at the Laurance S Rockefeller Preserve.

The Moose-Wilson Road (WY 390) is under construction and closed as of this date as Grand Teton spruces itself up & makes major improvements for its 100th birthday in 2029. Affecting us is the new trailhead and larger & more organized parking lot for Death Canyon. This makes the Preserve the closest parking lot for Death Canyon. As the Preserve is a Conservation Easement within Grand Teton, it's a small parking lot (50 parking spaces and becomes the park's initial visitor information point for those entering the park from Wilson, WY). As there's no overnight parking in the Preserve, it becomes frustrating to those wishing to stay overnight in the backcountry in the Death Canyon area. As Donna says, renovations are painful!

Otherwise, we're fine, somewhat settled in and becoming more acclimated as each day passes. Exciting for us this year is that we now have two couples that we've volunteered with in the past also volunteering in Jackson Hole. Both couples are volunteering at the Elk Refuge this summer. We do have a few common days off, so we'll be able to visit during the season. 

That gets you up to date with us. thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. Until next time, David

 

May Update

We're fine - running about two weeks behind schedule. Today we're in Kearney, NE and planning to get to Grand Teton on the 28th. We've had a good trip out of Howe, IN so far. Only one day of some rain and today was our first really windy, headwind day. We're also gaining elevation each day, so fuel mileage is on the low side.

We were able to get get most of our slide issues fixed. As is usually the case, when the trailer went into the Lippert shop in Howe, IN (old DRV Service Center), the shop couldn't duplicate the issue. We'd brought the trailer there with the bedroom slide empty (under bed storage empty). We pull all our stuff we typically carry under the bed back in that storage area and the slide worked OK. We started testing it out and while doing so, the kitchen slide failed. Started fooling with both slides and everything just stopped. Push any button you want, nothing moved. No slide, no leveling legs, nothing.

We metaphorically threw our hands in the air in frustration and left the shop. Walked some of Sturgis to get the frustration out and thought about the batteries. In the past we'd had a battery short itself out and created the same situation. Went back to the shop to tell them and when we got there, they had it all working. Turns out that we had the leveling legs fully extended (rare for us as we learned not to do that) plus all the slides out. We'd run too low on hydraulic fluid for things to work. We left for the day while the shop got all the air out of the hydraulic lines and repaired the kitchen slide. We got it back the next day. There's still work to do on the bedroom slide that we'll get taken care of when we get to North Carolina in the fall. Otherwise, all seems OK.

In other sad news, I've lost two mentors since we last posted. Kurt Shovestal was one of several people who trained me in what was called Earned Value Management when I retired. Kurt's calm leadership really aided me in learning how to present the information we gained and deal with various program offices and contractors when presenting that information. Two weeks later we learned Judy Bahnmiller past away. Greg & Judy taught us how to be fulltime RVers. When we were in the Gulf Shores area, Judy was always arranging lunches with fellow RVers and setting up game night. We think the world of Greg & Judy. She will be missed.

So from here the plan, what there is of it, is to travel to Sidney, NE (Cabela's) tomorrow. Go to Laramie, WY the next day. After that it's an overnight in Lander, WY. Move to Grand Teton the following day. We plan to be in Grand Teton until September 23rd.

That's it for us. Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. Until next time, David

 

April - Early May Update

Kider's "World Fair" Garden, Middlebury, IN

We're fine & in Elkhart, IN for awhile. We're in-between service appointments for the trailer - this upcoming one unplanned. And if you haven't guessed or read our history, it's hydraulics or at least something affecting hydraulics like a broken bracket or weld on our bedroom slide.

Now don't go beating up on Elkhart, IN. There's a lot of worse places to be "stuck" plus there's a lot of really nice places that if you get stuck, you're toast. No one can come help you. That's why we're staying here. Lippert factory service is 35 mins away. You just gotta get an appointment. We're currently scheduled for the 18th of May plus we're on the first-call list if someone cancels.

We'd had a good trip up from Virginia and visited an old repair shop in Lagrange, IN that's under new management to get a few things replace or repaired plus some general maintenance on the trailer.  Techs that worked on the trailer were great, but not experienced in a larger, multi-slide unit with hydraulics. When the work was finished, we went in to check the work before leaving. We were so excited to see & check things while the trailer was inside the shop that we forgot to level the trailer before doing anything. When Donna moved the bedroom slide there was a large pop. Donna retracted the slides, we leveled the trailer and reopened the slides. Didn't notice anything else wrong. The work that was done was excellent. We paid & left.  

We left the Lagrange/Howe area the next day. I had opened the slides the morning we left and noticed that the bedroom slide didn't full extend. I figured we had an air bubble which we'd work out as time went on. We we arrived at Elkhart, we leveled and extended the slides. I watched the bedroom slide as it fully extended, then retracted about 4 inches. Donna re-extended the bedroom slide and it retracted (per Donna) about 2 inches. The third time it held.

As were doing all of this Donna sees the temp gauge in the freezer indicate 74 degrees and it's not dropping (but we have ice). OK, we got two things going whacky. Guess we stayed RV full-timer & kept the trailer one year too long! Once, again, we're coming out of service, we're in Indiana and we're developing a cascade of additional problems. It's a recurring theme for us.

Turns out the problem with the freezer is a bad battery in the thermometer. Confirmed by placed a different thermometer in the freezer. A new battery and it's all going well. 

Bedroom slide becomes a problem. We cannot see if any fluid is leaking. the slide frame and hydraulics is completely hidden from view. Do we travel and take our chances or be late to our volunteer position at Grand Teton. We chose to be late. Not an exciting proposition for a guy who, when I say we'll be there, intends to be there. Kinda like you word is your bond - no contract needed. Fortunately, all the staff at Grand Teton is great. While we've thrown a small wrench into the staffing schedule & will miss training, we were told to be safe and get there when we can.

So we wait. Now to see if I can get camping reservations over Memorial Day weekend! Anyway, that gets you up to date with us.  Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us! David 

March Update

Oak Hollow Family Campground, Section B, High Point, NC

OK, I'm late getting this out. We're fine. We're in the middle of our "Friends & Family" tour and currently in Fredericksburg, VA for our spring season doc & friends' visits. (We're also sampling all the various types of pollen along the way, too.)

From Gulf Shores, AL we stopped in Tallahassee, FL for a quick visit with Randy & Shirley. Then it was on to Eustis, FL to visit Donna's middle brother & sister-in-law before traveling a couple of days north to Atlanta, Ga to visit her older brother & Donna's niece. From Atlanta we traveled another couple of days to High Point, NC for a week-long visit with friends there. Last Thursday we traveled further north to Fredericksburg, VA where we sit. We plan to be in the area until April 16th.

Doc & friends visits have already started. We've still got a couple of near-to-below freezing nights to experience this weekend before we get warmer mornings. At least it'll be warmer until we head further north.

We were invited back to volunteer at Grand Teton NP this summer and expect to arrive by May 14th. It looks like it's going to be an interesting time this season on the Moose-Wilson Road (travels from Teton Village to Moose). Death Canyon trailhead (reached by a side road off Moose-Wilson Road) has been in need of a new parking lot & trailhead for some time. It appears all those improvements plus a Moose-Wilson Road alignment at the Moose intersection start this spring with significant travel impacts for the season to include closure of the Death Canyon trailhead. Since we volunteer at the Rockefeller Preserve Visitor Center which sits along the Moose-Wilson Road, this visitor center will be the only parking lot (50 cars only - no large vehicles, RVs, trailers, etc. and no over night parking for back country campsites) near Death Canyon. If you accidently came across this blog and have been routinely frustrated by the lack of parking at Rockefeller Preserve in the past, it appears you're not gonna have a lot of fun this summer for sure.

Current plans are to travel to Dayton, OH to visit friends before returning to Indiana for spring trailer service. After that we're on our way to Grand Teton. As always, that's the plan.

That gets you up to date with us. Thanks for dropping by and checking on us. Until next time, David

February Update

Happy Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Mardi Gras, Olympics, whatever. 

It's the middle of February, and we're counting down the days until we leave the first of March. We're fine, though achy. We've got at least one more doc appointment to get to. Pollen's out. Weather is trending warmer. Taxes are done. We've visited most of the friends we could get to. Truck is pretty much ready to roll. Now to get the trailer ready. 

We've donated our bicycles & bike rack. Donna's bike was worn out. We couldn't keep up with friends & their electric bikes, plus we're not ready for electric bikes. Consequently, our current bikes just hung on the back of the trailer. One less thing to keep up with.

That's all the big stuff and gets you caught up with us. Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. We'll post more when we start moving. David