40 miles via MD 212, I-95, MD 32, US 29, I-70 and MD 97. Cumulative tow miles: 1559. Truck miles: 43. Cumulative truck miles: 2373. The 3 extra truck miles were due to a refueling trip.
Yes, just 40 miles, but that was enough to make a wrong turn. It was supposed to be 39 miles, but the wrong turn added a mile.
Perhaps more importantly, the travel day started with the appearance, when I went out to start the truck, of a “check engine” light. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw it. I had to take a quick drive around the campground before hitching up, to see if I could sense any problem. Nope – all gauges were nominal, the engine was running smoothly and power seemed intact. So I hitched up, held my breath and hauled the RV up a fairly steep hill, heading toward the exit. No problem. So I kept going.
I had the problem diagnosed in Frederick: a “glow plug controller fault.” That means… well, I have no idea what it means. But since glow plugs are used to make starting diesel engines easier in cold weather, I suspect that the problem, if real, exists only in cold weather. I am going to ignore the problem until I get to Massachusetts.
My forced night in College Park was at Cherry Hill Park. If you have to kill some time somewhere, this is a great place to do it. As always, this park was superb. This time I took an inexpensive – well, make that less expensive (still $85) – back-in site. Backing in would have been a breeze if no neighbors had been there, but they were. I had to thread the needle, but did it in 2 tries. Not bad.
College Park is only slightly closer than Dumfries, but there is a huge difference in the over-the-air TV reception. In Dumfries I got nothing cleanly. In College Park I got 17 channels, all crystal clear. Not that I needed them, really, because Cherry Hill has cable TV. But I had to find out.