Step By Step

~Sunday, May 1, 2022~

Day 686

Despite our having to wash dishes like the old days of tent camping (boiling water on the stove), and overripe bananas begging to be used, I went ahead and made banana muffins for us and our friendly neighbors. And our plans for exploring Ouray today have now been put off at least another day until we get our water situation figured out. Thank goodness for our internet signal to load those handy dandy YouTube videos that aid in our troubleshooting. Jeff continues to try out a couple of things this morning to figure out the culprit of our water supply problems. One thing is certain. We definitely take running water for granted. I must have tried turning on the faucet at least a dozen times.😝

Troubleshooting Step #1: Luckily our hoses reach the community hose bib with our campsite only 20 feet from it. So Jeff drained the fresh water tank in case there was debris or something clogging the system. But this time, he filled the tank to the top to make sure there was no air in the tank, only water.

Troubleshooting Step #2: Bypass the old water filter/strainer to see if the water pump is doing its job. No air and a smooth flow of water. But we still have the same issue with the pump turning on intermittently (about every 20 seconds). The minute we connected the filter back on, it leaked again. So obviously, we need a new strainer/filter. Inspected for hairline cracks but nothing. But somehow having the filter on, is allowing air in the system. That’s a better issue to have than a crack somewhere in the water lines themselves.

Troubleshooting Step #3: Switch to the new water pump to see if the pump does not come on every 20 seconds, still bypassing the strainer/filter since that’s leaking. Fingers crossed that the pump stops when we turn the faucet off and doesn’t come back on every 20 seconds. Hah!!! It worked. But what Jeff was worried about was if he still bypassed the filter/strainer, that it might ruin the new pump with debris or what have you. So until we can get a new filter/strainer on Tuesday, hopefully from a local RV supply store in Montrose, he’s decided to put back the old pump without the filter. There’s always the Amazon back-up if necessary.

With my delivery of sustenance, I enjoyed visiting Dan, Trudy, Bill & Paula, exchanging RV experiences and Lance tips. I even got a tour of Bill & Paula’s Lance 2375 checking out a few of their clever installations. It was in that conversation, I found out that this campground DOES in fact have laundry facilities. What?? How did we miss that one? It would help if I actually read the campground information, I guess. So I took a trip over to the building and sure enough, a full-on laundry facility and way more affordable than the one in Ouray. ($2.00 less/load). And with my memory not serving me well, I realized we’d used this campground laundry room before. I recognized it right away. Ugh!! O.k. then, I guess we’ll fit in one more load before leaving.

Next to the laundry room are free showers too, and very nice. So, I thought I’d take advantage of their facility for my hairwash day. Ahh!! So nice to have a bigger shower stall and unlimited hot water (though I didn’t get too crazy). Sadie and Jeff took advantage of the many trails in the park, sneaking in a little off-leash time.

Our pups had a ball! With the cold mountain air, and the altitude difference, Jeff said it was very invigorating.

Being the RESPONSIBLE campers that we are, we decided it wasn’t the night for a campfire even though it would have been nice having our neighbors over before their departure tomorrow. The winds really picked up setting the tone for a rainy evening. But we did something miraculous…..We actually had an early dinner, finishing up before sunset even. I’m sure our bodies are finally enjoying an evening of not eating right before bed. We also had a fun talk with my sister and bro-in-law from Oregon. They’re getting ready for Tim’s sabbatical late summer, so enjoyed hearing about their itinerary. Between their African safari a few months ago and their upcoming trip to Switzerland, we’re so happy for them and their international travels.