OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
I hadn't heard that yet. If will probably cause total communication failure up here!
ALASKA- "Just the facts, Ma'am"
- Thread starter SargeW
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
ArdraF
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Posts
- 10,695
Or a great Aurora Borealis!
ArdraF
ArdraF
Alaskansnowbirds
Site Team
ArdraF said:
It may be there but you won't be able to see it in the daylight.
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
We did a little more exploration around Fairbanks yesterday. We stopped by a place that Diane found that makes wood bowls out of Alaskan birch trees. The business is called "The Great Alaskan Bowl Company" and the web site is www.woodbowl.com The retail store is also the factory and while shopping around we were able to watch them cut and shape a bowl out of a chunk of birch wood. Diane bought a 13" Arc shaped bowl that she will use for salads and such.
We also walked around Pioneer Village in Fairbanks. It is a collection of several old historic cabins that were moved and restored and now are available for touring. The entrance to the Park is free, and some of the small museums charge a few dollar entrance fee. There is also a play area for children and a few food concessions.
I did tour one of the small on site museums on site. It was a aeronautical based museum with a collection of several old aircraft with a connection to the Alaskan territory. I did come across one interesting display. Evidently Will Rogers died in a small plane crash in Barrow Alaska in 1935, which was being flown by Wiley Post. The mayor of Fairbanks commissioned two steel crosses that were to be flown to Barrow as a memorial for Rogers and Post. It was supposed to occur on the one year anniversary of their death. Bad weather delayed the flight several times, until the idea was shelved. Some 17 years later when the pilot that was supposed to fly the plane to Barrow for the ceremony died, the crosses for Rogers and Post were discovered in his garage. The crosses were then displayed for some 30 years in Alaska until a flood and mud slide buried the crosses and the entire site for several more years. Seven years ago the crosses were unearthed and returned to Pioneer Village were they remain today.
We headed to the Denali RV Park in Denali today. The drive to Denali was not too bad. The road from Fairbanks was all paved with no gravel spots. There were no frost heaves, but some of the roads does have "whoops" that you need to slow a little for in the motorhome. The posted speed is 65, but 55 MPH is easily doable.
We are staying at a park 8 miles north of the Denali Park entrance. We had originally planned on dry camping in the park for a few days. But after much research and discussions with Diane, we decided that the best option for us would be to stay outside the park and drive in. We have a National Parks pass, and we have made a unanimous decision not to take the 92 mile, 12 hour round trip bus ride to the end of the park road. Both Diane and I are NOT fans of extensive bus rides, and even the shorter ones didn't appeal to us.
The park here was nearly sold out when we pulled in. The couple at the counter said that for the previous 3 days they have been sold out. And they have 90 spaces for RV's. The Caravan's this year have been off the charts, with 2 or 3 caravans coming in at a time. This is a full hook up site with 30 amp service. We paid $36 a night with Good Sam discount. There is also a motel on site that sells out regularly. We will be here for a few days until we head further south down into Anchorage. I am actually looking forward to moving towards the coast and seeing the Kenai Peninsula.
On a side note, I was not able to get Direct TV in Fairbanks. I was able to get coordinates from the Direct box, and the elevation was only 8 degrees. My elevation sensor doesn't even start showing numbers until 9 degrees! But no signal in the last park. I was able to get a fairly decent signal without too much effort. However, when plugged I my zip code into the Direct box it wouldn't give me a EL or AZ readout. So I just estimated from the Fairbanks numbers and found the signal. The elevation where I hit signal was at EL of 10 degrees, and an AZ of about 120 degrees. The Verizon Air Card also hooked up here as well. The park does offer free WiFi, but with the capacity crowd it would probably be a little slow.
Happily the motorhome shifted normally today. But I did detect a slight water drip in one of the storage bays. The best I can determine so far is that it is most likely coming from one of the fresh water pipes somewhere in the bathroom. Well more detective work to do....
We also walked around Pioneer Village in Fairbanks. It is a collection of several old historic cabins that were moved and restored and now are available for touring. The entrance to the Park is free, and some of the small museums charge a few dollar entrance fee. There is also a play area for children and a few food concessions.
I did tour one of the small on site museums on site. It was a aeronautical based museum with a collection of several old aircraft with a connection to the Alaskan territory. I did come across one interesting display. Evidently Will Rogers died in a small plane crash in Barrow Alaska in 1935, which was being flown by Wiley Post. The mayor of Fairbanks commissioned two steel crosses that were to be flown to Barrow as a memorial for Rogers and Post. It was supposed to occur on the one year anniversary of their death. Bad weather delayed the flight several times, until the idea was shelved. Some 17 years later when the pilot that was supposed to fly the plane to Barrow for the ceremony died, the crosses for Rogers and Post were discovered in his garage. The crosses were then displayed for some 30 years in Alaska until a flood and mud slide buried the crosses and the entire site for several more years. Seven years ago the crosses were unearthed and returned to Pioneer Village were they remain today.
We headed to the Denali RV Park in Denali today. The drive to Denali was not too bad. The road from Fairbanks was all paved with no gravel spots. There were no frost heaves, but some of the roads does have "whoops" that you need to slow a little for in the motorhome. The posted speed is 65, but 55 MPH is easily doable.
We are staying at a park 8 miles north of the Denali Park entrance. We had originally planned on dry camping in the park for a few days. But after much research and discussions with Diane, we decided that the best option for us would be to stay outside the park and drive in. We have a National Parks pass, and we have made a unanimous decision not to take the 92 mile, 12 hour round trip bus ride to the end of the park road. Both Diane and I are NOT fans of extensive bus rides, and even the shorter ones didn't appeal to us.
The park here was nearly sold out when we pulled in. The couple at the counter said that for the previous 3 days they have been sold out. And they have 90 spaces for RV's. The Caravan's this year have been off the charts, with 2 or 3 caravans coming in at a time. This is a full hook up site with 30 amp service. We paid $36 a night with Good Sam discount. There is also a motel on site that sells out regularly. We will be here for a few days until we head further south down into Anchorage. I am actually looking forward to moving towards the coast and seeing the Kenai Peninsula.
On a side note, I was not able to get Direct TV in Fairbanks. I was able to get coordinates from the Direct box, and the elevation was only 8 degrees. My elevation sensor doesn't even start showing numbers until 9 degrees! But no signal in the last park. I was able to get a fairly decent signal without too much effort. However, when plugged I my zip code into the Direct box it wouldn't give me a EL or AZ readout. So I just estimated from the Fairbanks numbers and found the signal. The elevation where I hit signal was at EL of 10 degrees, and an AZ of about 120 degrees. The Verizon Air Card also hooked up here as well. The park does offer free WiFi, but with the capacity crowd it would probably be a little slow.
Happily the motorhome shifted normally today. But I did detect a slight water drip in one of the storage bays. The best I can determine so far is that it is most likely coming from one of the fresh water pipes somewhere in the bathroom. Well more detective work to do....
Betty Brewer
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2005
- Posts
- 4,778
I also have one of those bowls, plus I bought the piece of wood from which it was carved so it is a kind of planter. We did the long bus ride and at the end, the dog training session for the Iditarod going on and it was a neat thing to see. We saw lots of wildlife along the way. There were more mosquitoes there than anywhere else in AK .
The most disappointing thing for us in Denali was that we were there on July 4 and NO festivities happened. Seems owners of concessions there are not American.
So watch for my bowl at the next RVForum rally.
The most disappointing thing for us in Denali was that we were there on July 4 and NO festivities happened. Seems owners of concessions there are not American.
So watch for my bowl at the next RVForum rally.
Frank Hurst
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2009
- Posts
- 589
We stayed at the camp 8 miles north of Denali and drove into the park. The 1st afternoon we drove into the park to the bridge (as far as they will let you drive your car) and saw several caribou up close. We took the bus all the way to Mirrow Lake. I would do the bus trip again but not the long trip to Mirrow Lake. The bus takes you to a point between the lake and the mountain so you don't get a very good view. And the mosquitoes were worse there than any other place in Alaska. We enjoyed the trip to Talkeetna. All the people who attempt to climb Mt McKinley must check their plans with the withThe National Parks Service there and get a permit the climb the mountain. We met a group the had just climbed the mountain. There was a 12 year old boy in the group who was the youngest person who had ever climbed Mt McKinley up to that time. I believe that 2 people younger than 12 have climbed Mt McKinley since then. Hilda and I I also flew on a plane and landed on the mountain. GREAT!!
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Boy Betty, that's amazing that there would not be a celebration on the 4th of July in Alaska. What a shame. When Diane learned that the bus ride was 12 hours round trip, that pretty much killed it!
Frank, we are going to do pretty much what you did. Except the fly to the mountain part. I would have more luck flapping my arms and flying there my self than getting Diane on a plane that was going to land on the mountain!
Frank, we are going to do pretty much what you did. Except the fly to the mountain part. I would have more luck flapping my arms and flying there my self than getting Diane on a plane that was going to land on the mountain!
tonyandkaren
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
- Posts
- 155
We're not fans of long bus trip either so we didn't take that long trip through Denali National Park but one thing that I'm sorry we didn't do was drive at least a short way on the Denali Highway. It's a 135 mile gravel road going east from Cantwell to Paxson. According to accounts that I've read it's a good way to get off the beaten path and see some specular scenery and wildlife. Here's a short article written about a trip along the road - http://www.icdc.com/~neubauer/denali.htm
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Great recommendation t&k! We are going to drive probably 60 or so miles down the highway and take some pics. I'll report when we get back!
The Denali Hwy is one of the better gravel roads in AK. Be sure to stop at the MaClaren River lodge for lunch.
The Krazy Dog Kennel is on the other side of the river and is also interesting. It's run by John Shandelmeier and his wife Zoya. Zoya quit a sucessful Modeling career to move to Alaska and start mushing.
The Krazy Dog Kennel is on the other side of the river and is also interesting. It's run by John Shandelmeier and his wife Zoya. Zoya quit a sucessful Modeling career to move to Alaska and start mushing.
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Well we did the Denali visitor center first (pretty spectacular BTW) then drove the park road to the point that the buses only start. We saw several caribou on the road side, a few with large racks. Then we took the highway to where the Denali Highway cuts off. It's about 20 miles from the park entrance. The first 2 miles or so was paved, then it went to a dirt gravel road. It must have been graded not too long ago because it was in perfect shape. We saw more caribou, some moose, and a fabulous view of the snow topped peaks of the Alaska Range. We went about 35 miles, then turned around and came back. Definitely worth the trip.
Tomorrow it's off to Anchorage. Not sure weather to get fuel here, or push it to Anchorage. Fuel here was $4.69 a gallon at the station were the Denali Highway cuts off. I could make Anchorage, but I don't like pushing it that far. I am sitting a about a half a tank now.
Tomorrow it's off to Anchorage. Not sure weather to get fuel here, or push it to Anchorage. Fuel here was $4.69 a gallon at the station were the Denali Highway cuts off. I could make Anchorage, but I don't like pushing it that far. I am sitting a about a half a tank now.
Derby6
Well-known member
My advice would have been to put $25-$50 in there as insurance and to off in Anchorage---But that advice is probably late now. 
As you head south, three places I would advise to top off or fill up.
1) On Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) if you have access
2) As you head south on the Seward Hwy--Just south of Bird creek there is a station with a Subway in it. Same or cheaper than Anchorage. If you wait to Girdwood Tersora, prepare to pay up--not to mention its a zoo.....lol
3) In Anchor Point; Either of the 2 stations--Always is cheaper there than Ninelcheck, Homer, Soldotna, etc....
I head South to Dipnet Wednesday!!!!! ;D
As you head south, three places I would advise to top off or fill up.
1) On Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) if you have access
2) As you head south on the Seward Hwy--Just south of Bird creek there is a station with a Subway in it. Same or cheaper than Anchorage. If you wait to Girdwood Tersora, prepare to pay up--not to mention its a zoo.....lol
3) In Anchor Point; Either of the 2 stations--Always is cheaper there than Ninelcheck, Homer, Soldotna, etc....
I head South to Dipnet Wednesday!!!!! ;D
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Yeah, thanks Derby but we filled in Cantwell, down the road from Denali anyway, at $4.65 a gallon. I did stop at the station you mentioned with the Subway. For lunch. Fuel there was only $4.12. I will probably top off before I head out of here towards Homer. Usually anything that you get near the coast will cost you more than it would in town.
A few words about the last park we were in, Denali RV park, 8 miles north of the Park entrance. It must be the location of the park, but the winds that occur there are tremendous. The second night we were there we had gusts so strong that our slides were rocking. I got up at 3 AM and pulled in the bedroom slide just so I could sleep a few hours. That was one of the reasons I gassed when I left the park as I was expecting more stiff winds. Nothing. Barely a breeze when we were down the road a few miles.
When I pulled into Anchorage I happened to park next to a guy who was in the same park a few days before us. He also had the same experience and pulled his slides in as well. Crazy.
One interesting note about Anchorage though. Being this is Alaska's biggest city, I was assuming that there would be several choices for nicer campgrounds. Several choices, yes. Nicer, not so much. We are in the highest rated park in Anchorage (Golden Nugget) and it's across the street from an older run down mobile home park. The other park that was rated well for what was inside the park, was literally next to the Anchorage train depot (Ship Creek RV park). So, do you want to be stabbed, or shot?
The spaces here are pretty close together, as many other parks are. This is however also one of the stops for the Caravan's so if you come here it is wise to call or e mail ahead a few days in advance as they do sell out. They have both full hook up and electric only sites the full hook up sites are $43 a night with Good Sam discount. This is the first park in a while though that the roads in the park are paved, but the sites are still gravel. The Verizon air card works well here, but there are too many trees for Direct TV. I was able to get a coordinates off the DTV box though, still only 10 degree elevation.
One thing I did discover while driving up here in the routine rain is that some of my storage bays have a water leak. So I will be buying some caulking and given the opportunity, try to caulk every seam I can find. I am getting tired of drying everything out every few days. And I have given up on the clean rig thing for a while. When it rains every few days/ minutes, it's kinda futile. On the up side, all the rain keeps most of the bugs washed off of the front of the coach.
This will be our last big city for a while so we will do some restocking of stuff, including some meds that are getting low. I am also buying a new vacuum today. The old one is not that old really, but the beater bar is not working well. And with a dog that sheds, a working vacuum is essential. I am going to look at a new one that Shark has come out with. It reportedly has the technology that Dyson uses, at about half the price.
Come on sunshine!!! After being this far north, I will never make fun of the people that live in Washington state again.......
A few words about the last park we were in, Denali RV park, 8 miles north of the Park entrance. It must be the location of the park, but the winds that occur there are tremendous. The second night we were there we had gusts so strong that our slides were rocking. I got up at 3 AM and pulled in the bedroom slide just so I could sleep a few hours. That was one of the reasons I gassed when I left the park as I was expecting more stiff winds. Nothing. Barely a breeze when we were down the road a few miles.
When I pulled into Anchorage I happened to park next to a guy who was in the same park a few days before us. He also had the same experience and pulled his slides in as well. Crazy.
One interesting note about Anchorage though. Being this is Alaska's biggest city, I was assuming that there would be several choices for nicer campgrounds. Several choices, yes. Nicer, not so much. We are in the highest rated park in Anchorage (Golden Nugget) and it's across the street from an older run down mobile home park. The other park that was rated well for what was inside the park, was literally next to the Anchorage train depot (Ship Creek RV park). So, do you want to be stabbed, or shot?
The spaces here are pretty close together, as many other parks are. This is however also one of the stops for the Caravan's so if you come here it is wise to call or e mail ahead a few days in advance as they do sell out. They have both full hook up and electric only sites the full hook up sites are $43 a night with Good Sam discount. This is the first park in a while though that the roads in the park are paved, but the sites are still gravel. The Verizon air card works well here, but there are too many trees for Direct TV. I was able to get a coordinates off the DTV box though, still only 10 degree elevation.
One thing I did discover while driving up here in the routine rain is that some of my storage bays have a water leak. So I will be buying some caulking and given the opportunity, try to caulk every seam I can find. I am getting tired of drying everything out every few days. And I have given up on the clean rig thing for a while. When it rains every few days/ minutes, it's kinda futile. On the up side, all the rain keeps most of the bugs washed off of the front of the coach.
This will be our last big city for a while so we will do some restocking of stuff, including some meds that are getting low. I am also buying a new vacuum today. The old one is not that old really, but the beater bar is not working well. And with a dog that sheds, a working vacuum is essential. I am going to look at a new one that Shark has come out with. It reportedly has the technology that Dyson uses, at about half the price.
Come on sunshine!!! After being this far north, I will never make fun of the people that live in Washington state again.......
Derby6
Well-known member
SargeW said:
Yea no kidding, but know this is NOT normal... We are on track for the coldest July on record.
Amazing considering the Lower 48 seems to be hotter than a $2 pistol..... :-\
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Marty, we are heading to Homer tomorrow and have reservations at Oceanview RV park on the bluff. We've been boondocking for almost a week and I need full hookups and laundry. Also plan a stop at the Fred Meyers in Soldotna. Diesel here in Seward is $4.69. It's been so cold we've been running the generator a lot, so probably need to top off the tank.
We FINALLY have sunshine....wahoo, it is beautiful here.
Marsha~
We FINALLY have sunshine....wahoo, it is beautiful here.
Marsha~
Derby6
Well-known member
Anchor point Diesel is $4.42 according to gas buddy. I'd only get enough to get there to top off...
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Hey Marsha, we will be in the Heritage RV park, we will try to come by and say Hi!
Derby6
Well-known member
Both of you beware of Serious Traffic between Soldotna and Anchorage. 120,000 Red Salmon hit the mouth of the Kenai yesterday, so the rush is on! ;D
;D
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Boy you weren't kidding Derby! The roads around Soldotna were jammed with folks trying to get to their favorite fishing hole.
We left Anchorage this morning and headed for Homer. Before getting on the highway we hit a Fred Meyer by the park. I still had about 3/4 of a tank of fuel, but since the prices were going to climb I figured I would fill where it was cheaper. I paid $4.07 for diesel. It was actually a little confusing and I almost got myself stuck. There was a Tesoro right next to the Fred Meyer pumps. I was originally planning on going to Tesoro when I pulled into the Fred Meyer parking lot. As I approached the Tesoro I could see the pumps to the left of the Tesoro pumps. It looked like because of the way that they were facing that they were a set of stand alone Tesoro pumps for trucks and big rigs. I thought "oh great, I'll use the set on the left". I pulled up to them to discover that they were not Tesoro, but a whole different station, and that there was no exit to pull straight out like I had thought. Instead there was a concrete curb on the other side of the pumps, and you had to turn to the left to exit between the concrete curb and the rest of the pumps. I was already committed so I had to pull in. I was thinking 'great, this will be the first time ever I had to unhook and back out of a gas station".
But I walked the drive out lane as the rig filled with fuel, and it looked like as long as no one pulled in next to me I could swing a little bit right then crank hard left to make the turn. So, sure enough as I am finishing pumping a little car pulled up next to my right. Figures. Fortunately she could only afford a few dollars worth of gas and she started to leave. I fired up the rig and started to move as soon as she did. Of course she pulled out of the pumps and was going to park right in front of me along the curb and get out of her car. Wrong! She looked up and saw me coming and thought better of stepping out of here car in front of me. So I managed to escape the gas station and get back out into traffic (my no unhook record still intact).
But of course, as luck would have it because things were just going so well, something had to happen. And it did. As I was pulling out of the RV park this morning I told Diane, lets check the brake and turn signals on the MH and Jeep before we get on the road. Yup, no lights on the Jeep at all. Nuts. Do I stay and start searching for the cause, or do I just hit the road and worry about it later. Well, against my better judgement I decided since I was already hooked up and blocking the exit row in the RV park that I would just make a run for it. Playing into my decision was the fact that it was sunny, day light, and the MH lights were still bright and visible over the top of the Jeep (thank goodness for high placed brake/turn signal lights).
So we pulled out and as soon as I got onto the road I looked down to check the Jeep in the rear view camera, and the screen is dark. Nuts, not that too! Yep, nothing I could do would make it come on. Even the turn signal side camera's would not come on. Crap, now what. Well, I still have mirrors and the TPMS is working fine and sending me pressures from the Jeep tires, and the brake indicator light that lets me know when the Jeep brake lights get activated is still working. OK, one more thing to look at in Homer. Oh, and the storage bays are still wet from the rain we drove through on the way to Anchorage.
On the up side, on the drive to Homer we saw some of the most spectacular scenery that we have seen on the whole trip. Giant blue (or green) lakes framing massive snow capped mountains at every turn. Diane was snapping pics like crazy both through the front window and out her side window. I will post a few when she gets them downloaded. The park we chose was all the way down on what is called the "Homer Spit". And it is just a long narrow spit of land about 3 or 4 miles long. The Heritage RV park is down about 3 miles from the mainland. Both sides of the road are ocean bays and the water is calm and bright. Framed in back of the large bodies of water are more snow capped mountains.
The park is nothing special to look at, but it does have 50 amp full hook ups, and motorhome sites that allow you to head in to the space so your front window looks out at the water. Gorgeous views. We paid $60 a night here, not cheap, but we paid $45 a night at the place we just left, and it's crammed in spots looking at your neighbor or a mobile home park. We are in for 2 nights but may extend if the weather stays decent for a few more days. It was sunny with patchy clouds when we pulled in with temps in the low 60's. We have a HUGE site, #82 that is about a triple wide site. Kinda nice after being in the last place. We got lucky, a Caravan just pulled out of here this morning.
When I got in and after setting up I started to look at some of my projects. First the Jeep lights. I had Diane work all the signals and such as I stood behind. Yep, everything worked. WHAT? I knew that there must be a bad connection somewhere. My best guess was the 4 pin connector at the front of the Jeep. I took it apart and it looked pretty dirty and gunked up. So I cleaned everything and put it back together. Hopefully that is one project solved.
Next the back up monitor. I was thinking maybe the connection at the rear camera got wet and was causing a short. BTW as I was pulling into Heritage RV and going to my site, the monitor blinked back on. Figures. So I still climbed the ladder in the back and removed the camera shroud and pulled out the wires. The camera was pretty dirty, but the connection looked clean and tight. Shoot, now I gotta start looking other places.
And tomorrow I start to dry out and caulk the storage bins that are getting wet in the rain. Man, I sure hope I don't get bored........
We left Anchorage this morning and headed for Homer. Before getting on the highway we hit a Fred Meyer by the park. I still had about 3/4 of a tank of fuel, but since the prices were going to climb I figured I would fill where it was cheaper. I paid $4.07 for diesel. It was actually a little confusing and I almost got myself stuck. There was a Tesoro right next to the Fred Meyer pumps. I was originally planning on going to Tesoro when I pulled into the Fred Meyer parking lot. As I approached the Tesoro I could see the pumps to the left of the Tesoro pumps. It looked like because of the way that they were facing that they were a set of stand alone Tesoro pumps for trucks and big rigs. I thought "oh great, I'll use the set on the left". I pulled up to them to discover that they were not Tesoro, but a whole different station, and that there was no exit to pull straight out like I had thought. Instead there was a concrete curb on the other side of the pumps, and you had to turn to the left to exit between the concrete curb and the rest of the pumps. I was already committed so I had to pull in. I was thinking 'great, this will be the first time ever I had to unhook and back out of a gas station".
But I walked the drive out lane as the rig filled with fuel, and it looked like as long as no one pulled in next to me I could swing a little bit right then crank hard left to make the turn. So, sure enough as I am finishing pumping a little car pulled up next to my right. Figures. Fortunately she could only afford a few dollars worth of gas and she started to leave. I fired up the rig and started to move as soon as she did. Of course she pulled out of the pumps and was going to park right in front of me along the curb and get out of her car. Wrong! She looked up and saw me coming and thought better of stepping out of here car in front of me. So I managed to escape the gas station and get back out into traffic (my no unhook record still intact).
But of course, as luck would have it because things were just going so well, something had to happen. And it did. As I was pulling out of the RV park this morning I told Diane, lets check the brake and turn signals on the MH and Jeep before we get on the road. Yup, no lights on the Jeep at all. Nuts. Do I stay and start searching for the cause, or do I just hit the road and worry about it later. Well, against my better judgement I decided since I was already hooked up and blocking the exit row in the RV park that I would just make a run for it. Playing into my decision was the fact that it was sunny, day light, and the MH lights were still bright and visible over the top of the Jeep (thank goodness for high placed brake/turn signal lights).
So we pulled out and as soon as I got onto the road I looked down to check the Jeep in the rear view camera, and the screen is dark. Nuts, not that too! Yep, nothing I could do would make it come on. Even the turn signal side camera's would not come on. Crap, now what. Well, I still have mirrors and the TPMS is working fine and sending me pressures from the Jeep tires, and the brake indicator light that lets me know when the Jeep brake lights get activated is still working. OK, one more thing to look at in Homer. Oh, and the storage bays are still wet from the rain we drove through on the way to Anchorage.
On the up side, on the drive to Homer we saw some of the most spectacular scenery that we have seen on the whole trip. Giant blue (or green) lakes framing massive snow capped mountains at every turn. Diane was snapping pics like crazy both through the front window and out her side window. I will post a few when she gets them downloaded. The park we chose was all the way down on what is called the "Homer Spit". And it is just a long narrow spit of land about 3 or 4 miles long. The Heritage RV park is down about 3 miles from the mainland. Both sides of the road are ocean bays and the water is calm and bright. Framed in back of the large bodies of water are more snow capped mountains.
The park is nothing special to look at, but it does have 50 amp full hook ups, and motorhome sites that allow you to head in to the space so your front window looks out at the water. Gorgeous views. We paid $60 a night here, not cheap, but we paid $45 a night at the place we just left, and it's crammed in spots looking at your neighbor or a mobile home park. We are in for 2 nights but may extend if the weather stays decent for a few more days. It was sunny with patchy clouds when we pulled in with temps in the low 60's. We have a HUGE site, #82 that is about a triple wide site. Kinda nice after being in the last place. We got lucky, a Caravan just pulled out of here this morning.
When I got in and after setting up I started to look at some of my projects. First the Jeep lights. I had Diane work all the signals and such as I stood behind. Yep, everything worked. WHAT? I knew that there must be a bad connection somewhere. My best guess was the 4 pin connector at the front of the Jeep. I took it apart and it looked pretty dirty and gunked up. So I cleaned everything and put it back together. Hopefully that is one project solved.
Next the back up monitor. I was thinking maybe the connection at the rear camera got wet and was causing a short. BTW as I was pulling into Heritage RV and going to my site, the monitor blinked back on. Figures. So I still climbed the ladder in the back and removed the camera shroud and pulled out the wires. The camera was pretty dirty, but the connection looked clean and tight. Shoot, now I gotta start looking other places.
And tomorrow I start to dry out and caulk the storage bins that are getting wet in the rain. Man, I sure hope I don't get bored........
