Adventures
Stone Mountain: Native American Pow-Wow
Quite by accident we arrived at the Stone Mountain Park just in time for the start of the annual 4-day Native American Festival and Pow-Wow. It was an unexpected opportunity to meet some real Native Americans and to buy some authentic Indian gifts for the grandchildren. We also had, for lunch, Indian tacos (made with … Continue reading
Chickamauga Battlefield and Lookout Mountain
Monday was beautiful, though a bit coolish, in Chattanooga. I was feeling a bit sniffly, but decided to ignore my stuffy nose and take advantage of the clear skies to get some photos at Chickamauga National Military Park and Lookout Mountain, sites of two very significant Civil War battles. Significant for the outcome of the … Continue reading
Another day, another truck failure
This is getting ridiculous, in a sad, annoying way. It seems like every day there is a new problem with the truck. Because there is. Yesterday, as we were delivering donated food and towels to the local pet shelter on a cold, drizzly day, I shut off the truck… and the blower continued to run. … Continue reading
TS4-2 Hop 1: Swannanoa NC to Sevierville TN
110 miles via US 70, I-40 and TN 338. Cumulative tow miles: 110. Truck miles: 228. Cumulative truck miles: 228. The extra truck miles were largely due to the trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway as described in the preceding post. More truck problems. The “whooshing” sound that appeared on the long uphill slog into … Continue reading
Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville
Yesterday was a beautiful, cloudless, warm day in Asheville NC. I took a few hours to drive a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and take a few photos. There was some fall color, though very muted by Vermont standards. But it was a nice day for a drive and an opportunity to regain some … Continue reading
Disaster recovery, phase 3: the RV
The truck and brake controller have both been functioning well since our Binghamton disaster. The last phase of the recovery was to repair the damage to the RV: the leaking gray water tank and the bent spare tire flange. And, since we were planning on doing some long-deferred repairs to the #2 black water valve … Continue reading
TS4-1 Hop 4: Tremont PA to Herndon VA
158 mi via I-81, I-83, US 15, VA 267, VA 28 and local roads. Cumulative tow miles: 594. Truck miles: 410. Cumulative truck miles: 1192. The extra truck miles – nearly 250 – were incurred in making the innumerable trips into Binghamton and surrounding communities trying to get the brake controller fixed. This hop was … Continue reading
TS4-1 Hop 3: Chenango Forks NY to Tremont PA
154 miles via NY 12, I-81 and local roads. Cumulative tow miles: 436. Truck miles: 310. Cumulative truck miles: 782. This was the hop that extracted us from our 8-day nightmare. As expected, the most difficult part of the trip was the 200 yards to exit the Chenango Shores Campground. There were three distinct challenges: … Continue reading
Disaster recovery, phase 2: the brake controller
For those of you who never tow anything, I will enlighten you on what a brake controller is: it is a device that controls the brakes on whatever you are towing. When you press the brakes on the truck it sends a signal to the trailer to activate its brakes too. The truck and the … Continue reading
Disaster recovery, phase 1: the truck
Of the four known problems with our rig, two were truck-related and two were RV-related. Clearly, nothing could be done with the RV problems until the truck problems were solved. Unfortunately, one of the two GMC dealers in Binghamton NY would not book an appointment until Thursday and the other would only offer a Friday … Continue reading