The Little Things
~Wednesday, August 17, 2022~
Day 794
Day 58 of Alaska Trip
We’re so glad that we chose to do the Katchemak Bay tour yesterday rather than today. The weather was way worse this morning with wind, rain and cloudcover that blocked any potential views. All this wet and dampness with so little sunshine is not only a downer, it’s making it really hard to dry anything out as well…..rain geear, shoes, towels, you name it. So we’re thinking with all the wet clothes and the worthy amount of laundry we have anyway, it would be a good time to do laundry. When you’re full-time RV’ing and relying on laundromats, it can be an all-day event which is why I write about it. Do you think I’m looking forward to seeing my washer/dryer again? The answer is a big Y-E-S ‼️
But first, a few things to address at the campsite……
A key/lock replacement for one of the compartment doors. You may recall a few weeks ago, we showed up to one of our campsites unable to open one of the trailer compartment doors (the one that our choks are stored in). In the process of trying to get it open, Jeff broke the key and damaged the lock. We were about to order the parts from Amazon when Jeff asked me to hold off. Ever since we’ve owned the trailer, he’s wanted to replace all of the compartment locks…one of the main reasons being that nearly every other RV owner has the same key, same lock system. Yes, the key that comes with your rig has the ability to open anyone else’s compartments as well. You’d think this would be more of a problem, but you don’t hear too much about it. Regardless, it’s time to get ‘er done. So it looks like we’re going the route of ordering 12 new locks. It’s amazing how one broken compartment door can inspire a complete overhaul. Stay tuned for that video. One of the guys Jeff follows on Instagram, @RVWithTito has a reputable lock company to go through, so we’ll let you know what that is the closer we get to that project.
Lance is no longer carrying Dometic stovetop/ovens (though Dometic makes a lot of other great products, their forte is not ovens). The oven works great but the burners are crap. They’re constantly coming loose from all the vibration, and it’s simply a bad design. Obviously it’s been a problem for Lance. So now they install Suburban Elites in all their units. We found out from our favorite girl Raeshell at Lance, that going through a dealer was the best route. So we left a message with our favorite people at Meeks RV in Acampo, CA to find out the scooby if it would even work in our rig. We’ll let you know how that goes.
While on the phone with Raeshell, I ordered new handles for the black and gray tank pulleys. They break easily, so hopefully they’ve come up with a better design.
Isn’t it funny that I have nothing better to talk about than ordering RV parts and laundry while in Alaska? But the responsibilities continue, regardless. Now on to our laundry event. We found a place in Homer called the Washboard, hands down THE nicest laundry room we’ve ever been to. Complete with snack bar, shower facilities, and free w-fi with multiple A/C power outlets. No wonder the wash is $6.00/load. Ouch!! But hey, everything is expensive in Alaska. Doing Sadie’s bed in a $10.00 washer put us over the edge….total cost for the day…..$50 big ones! But it sure felt great having everything clean and fresh before heading to Denali. It’s the little things…….
Because the distance from Homer to Denali NP would be over 350 miles, our original plan was to stop in Anchorage for the night, but nothing that was available appealed to us. So we agreed that driving a little further back to the town of Palmer, where we were in mid July, would be a better alternative. And we love the town of Palmer!
With my evening just getting started around 11:00 p.m., after all the laundry was put away and dishes done, I began making a batch of my go-to banana muffins to give to Jordan to thank him for the generous amount of halibut and salmon he bestowed on our freezer. I mean, if you have a choice of using 3 over ripe bananas for smoothies or muffins, what would you pick? Now, I just hope Jordan’s around in the morning to receive it before we leave.