Summer 2020 Wrap-up

We left Fall Lake about 8:30 Friday September 25 headed for home.  Our drive was uneventful and the weather was great, except for a moderate head wind.

Rest area in central Wisconsin

We drove 489 miles on Friday and spent the night at the Walmart in Roscoe IL

Camp Wally World in Roscoe IL

On Saturday we drove 560 miles and spent the night at the Walmart in Morehead KY.  We're movin' along!!!  We passed most of Friday and Saturday listening to an audio mystery novel by Jonathan Kellerman.

Our route

We arrived home on Sunday mid-afternoon after driving only another 325 miles.

We had a great trip.  We drove a total of 3384 miles.  I have learned that the fuel milage in our Dutch Star is significantly less than it was in the Allure; ~7 mpg vs ~9 mpg.  This is due to a number of reasons: the Dutch Star is heavier, has a more powerful engine and is equipped with certain emissions control equipment that the Allure didn't have.  I hope that our fuel milage will improve a bit as the engine continues to break in.

I'm still having problems with the air system after leveling and the Comfort Drive system.  Calls to the Freightliner service center in Greensboro and to the Freightliner factory service center in Gaffney reveal it will be owes or months before I can service performed.  I'm going to do some more homework and see if I can figure out what's wrong myself for now.

Dorcas' highlight of the trip was our limited TV service.  We had only about 10 cumulative days when we had a TV signal, so we were spared watching all the news relating to COVID-19, the elections, etc. My highlight was the 27.3 miles Dorcas drove the coach on the last day of our trip.  She did great.

It is good to be home.  Life is good.

On the Road Again - Fall 2020

In normal years Dorcas and I would leave home sometime early in the summer and wander around this great country of ours in our motor home, eventually landing in northern Minnesota for our annual trek into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).  But these are not normal years.  As everyone knows we are experiencing a global pandemic, which has devastated many and turned normal living upside down.  Dorcas and I have been very fortunate.  None of loved ones have been effected and our livelihood is unchanged.   We have been merely inconvenienced.   

Our original plan this year had been to spend the summer in the Rocky Mountains, attending a rally in Rock Springs WY hosted by the Newmar Kountry Klub, the manufacturer's owners club for our new Newmar Dutch Star motorhome.  However, that rally was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving us to consider other options.  Early in the summer, most parks and campgrounds were shuttered, and it looked like we may be staying home.  However, we discovered that the US Forest Service was accepting reservations for entry into the BWCAW and for our favorite US Forest Service campground near Ely MN.  The National Park Service was also taking reservations for campgrounds in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and also in 2 other National Park units: the Buffalo National River in the Arkansas Ozark mountains and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in southern Missouri.  

Thus we made a new plan.  We would do our customary wilderness canoe trip in the BWCAW in the late summer and travel to Minnesota via the Smokies, the Buffalo River in Arkansas and the Current River in Missouri.  Hopefully the pandemic would not worsen and force any of these parks to close in the meantime.

Our proposed route to Fall Lake MN

This would be the first extended trip in our new Dutch Star which we bought just before Christmas after the destruction of our beloved Country Coach Allure.  We spent much of July and early August tweaking and prepping the Dutch Star for the trip.  Finally on August 14 we left home.  Our first stop was in Morganton, my home town, where we lunched with our friend Donna.  Donna's husband Bob was a dear friend and passed in December.  Donna and Dorcas had being talking regularly, but we had not seen Donna since before Bob's death.  We met Donna at the Subway in Morganton, just off the interstate, and enjoyed a 3-hour lunch in the coach.  After lunch we continued westward and checked in on site F14 at Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just outside Cherokee.  

The most visited US National Park

None of the campgrounds in the Smokies have electrical power at the sites, so we could enjoy the experience of boondocking in our new coach.  Unlike our old Allure, this coach is "all electric" meaning we have no propane tank and have a residential style refrigerator and cook top, which run on standard household 120VAC power.  When not connected to 120V power they run off the batteries via an invertor which converts 12VDC to 120VAC.  We have 400 watts of solar, as we did in the Allure, but our site at Smokemont received little direct sunlight.  Thus we had to run the generator 3-4 hours per day to keep the batteries charged and the beer cold.  Thankfully the cool mountain weather was comfortable, so we felt no need to run the air conditioners.

Our home at Smokemont Campground

Even the wildlife is COVID-aware

Elk were originally native to the Smokies but were hunted to extinction in the mid 1800s.  In 2001 the NPS  began reintroducing elk to the park.  There are currently over 200 elk in the park, most in the Cataloochee area, but a few reside in the Oconaluftee River valley outside Cherokee. We saw a few cows grazing along the road near camp but were unable to pull over and get a closer look.

Elk near Cherokee

One day we spent some time in the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.  A big part of the museum consisted of walk-through exhibits depicting the history, culture and persecution of the Cherokee.

Native Americans are also COVID-aware

Native Cherokee weaving

The Cherokee syllabary was invented by Sequoyah in the late 1810s and early 1820s to write the Cherokee language. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy as he was illiterate.

There was also a large exhibit with an extensive collection of traditional carved ceremonial masks.

Raven mask

Rattlesnake mask

Masks representing the Seven Clans of the Cherokee

Another day we visited Cades Cove.  A word of wisdom: never visit Cades Cove on a nice early fall weekend.

Solace in Cades Cove

Cable Mill in Cades Cove

Cades Cove

A cantilever barn in Cades Cove

Mill race at Cable Mill in Cades Cove

Old mill stones at Cable Mill

The trail head parking lot for the Chimney Tops trail and the Alum Cave Trail were filled to overflowing and hundreds of cars were parked haphazardly along the road for 1/2 mile in both directions at each trailhead.  Another reason not to visit the Smokies on a fine fall weekend.

The Chimney Tops

No visit to the Smokies is complete without a visit to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  On this day it was clear down below, but became increasingly cloudy as we climbed to the summit.

There were crowds at Clingmans Dome too

The observation tower at Clingmans Dome

It is a 1/2 mile walk with 500' elevation gain from the parking lot to the summit of Clingmans Dome.  That used to be an easy trot for us, but not so much any more.  But we made it and enjoyed the marvelous views.

Wonderful vistas from atop Clingmans Dome

Cow parsnip

Yellow Jewelweed

Who was that masked woman?  I wanted to thank her!

Mingus Mill is an historic grist mill built in 1886.  The mill is powered by a cast iron turbine as opposed to the more conventional water wheel.  

Mingus Mill

There are two mill stone sets and grinding operations at Mingus Mill, one for wheat which is a hard grain and one for corn which is relatively soft.  Each process uses a different style of stone and grinding settings. 

Inside Mingus Mill

A typical highway tunnel in the Smokies

 

After 3 relaxing days in the Smokies it was time to move along.  We planned an early departure, but fate had other plans.  Our new coach has air bag suspension and hydraulic leveling jacks.  When you park and level the coach, it is an automatic process.  I press a single button on the leveling control pad and first, the air bags are emptied, lowering the coach body to the frame, and then the jacks extend raising each corner of the coach until a state of levelness is achieved.  When preparing to travel I press a different button on the control panel and, first the jacks retract, and then the air bags are filled, raising the coach back to ride height.  Usually ....  On this day the air bags refused to fill.  I cycled the leveling and unleveling process a number of times but each time failed to air up the coach.  Thankfully, due to an onboard cellular booster and a barely usable cell signal, I was able to call Newmar, who patched Freightliner through on the line as well.  After about an hour and a half on the phone with all this technical expertise, we still could not air up the bags. We tried a number of things and cycled the leveling process a number of times.  The Freightliner tech believed that either the leveling control pad was not sending a signal to the air valve, or the air valve was not receiving the signal to raise the coach, or that the air bag valve had just plain failed.  That's good to know but not really helpful.  He directed me to the nearest Freightliner service center, about 40 miles away in Canton, and said they could provide mobile road service and get us on our way.  A call to Canton revealed they did not have mobile road service and that it would be 2 days maybe 3 before they could look at our coach, provided we could get a tow to their shop.  CRAP!

After having no success on the phone I decide to drive the coach a few hundred yards and see if that would un-stick the valve.  Believe me, if the valve could be unstuck, driving it with the body riding on the frame stops would likely do it.  Imagine driving your car with all four tires removed from the rims.  But that still didn't work.  I called once more and eventually talked to a Freightliner tech who was actually helpful.  She described a process to bypass the normal leveling logic and raise the coach manually.  She admitted she wasn't supposed to tell me this, because it involved crawling under the coach and activating one of two switches near the front axel. One switch would enable air to enter the bags, and one would release air from the bags. It is extremely dangerous go under a coach with air suspension and fiddle with the valves unless the coach is supported by hard jack stands.  Do the wrong thing and one could be crushed.  Well the coach was already down as far as it could go, so it was unable to drop any further.  In any case I was unable to get my body under the coach to reach the switch, in fact it was so low I couldn't even get my head under.  Luckily I had a 4-foot stick I used for a fireplace poker that was just long enough and just stiff enough that I could reach under and press the switch.  Remember, there are 2 switches, one that raises the coach and one that lowers the coach?  50/50 chance, right?  As you may well guess I first pressed the switch nearest the driver side: wrong.  I went to the other side and pressed the switch on the passenger side. VIOLA!  There was a pop and a hiss and the bags slowly began to fill.  Yea!!!!  After a few moments we were up to normal ride height and could safely drive the coach.  The tech had said that by performing this procedure it might clear the problem for good, but there was no way to know for sure until I leveled and then raised the coach again.  I had no desire to check that on this day, so we'll find out later if we still have a problem.  If it turns out the issue has not been corrected, hopefully I can repeat this manual leveling procedure until we can schedule service at a Freightliner facility.

When we pulled out of the campground I found out we had another problem.  The Dutch Star is equipped with a proprietary steering assist system known as Comfort Drive.  Comfort Drive is a computer controlled motor mounted to the steering column that assists the normal power steering function.  It reduces steering effort, helps to control the coach in cross winds and automatically returns the steering wheel to center.  While trying to resolve the air bag issue, one thing I had done was to disconnect the chassis battery.  That apparently bewildered the Comfort Drive computer such that it would not function.  This was not a show stopper; I still had normal power steering function, but it was one more thing I would need to deal with.  I later learned there is a procedure to reset the Comfort Drive, but I would need to deal with that later.

About 1:00 pm on August 17 we were off like a herd of turtles, 5 hours after our originally scheduled departure time.  But at least we were rolling.

Life is good again.

This guy has two flat tires. And I thought we had all the bad luck

Stay tuned for our next installment.

Making Repairs in Massachusetts

We departed Normandy Farms in Foxborough at 7am. I drove the coach at a steady 45 mph north on I-495 and then west on MA 9 and US 20, arriving at Tri State Truck Center at 8am. During the drive Dorcas followed me in the Pilot, both of us running our hazard flashers for the trip. Traffic was amazingly light for rush hour on the Boston loop, and no one seemed to be particularly irritated by our leisurely pace.

I checked in at the service desk, explained our dilemma, and we began our wait.  

This was the root of the problem

They put the coach in a bay about 11:00.  About 1:00 they told me they had removed the part, identified and located replacement bags and had prepared an estimate for repair.  The preliminary estimate was over $3100.  OUCH!!!!!  This included 2 new rear air bags for $700, $100 overnight freight from somewhere in Indiana and $2340 for labor (12 hours at $195/hr).  I had no choice but to authorize the repairs and suck it up.  Owning a luxury motor coach is not for the poor or the faint of heart.

And you think your mechanic's rates are high?

We have seen this before, but I have never received a satisfactory answer for why the labor rate is higher for motor homes than it is for trucks.  At one repair center in British Columbia they said it was because it took longer to do work on motor homes than trucks.  DUH???  The explanation here was only a little better, saying getting approval for repairs and locating parts was more difficult for motor homes.  He also said they didn't always charge the higher rate for motor homes, depending on the nature of the repair, and would likely charge the truck rate in our case.  Cool, I guess.

OK, the part is on order and should arrive on Saturday morning.  With any luck the repairs would be completed before closing time at 3:00 on Saturday, and we could be on our way home. The biggest concern was that on Saturdays they operated with a smaller skeleton crew and opened a fewer bays. They promised to do all they could to get us out on Saturday. Thankfully we could spend the night in their lot with the other broken trucks and RVs.

Our camp at Tri State Truck Center, space 235

The parts did indeed arrive Saturday morning about 11:30.  By 12:30 they had moved the coach back into the bay.  They removed the remaining, non-damaged left rear air bag and installed both new bags and had the coach out of the bay by 2:30. 

While the repairs were finally finished, but it seemed to take forever to get checked out.  There was only one service writer working on Saturday vs. three on Friday.  He was covered up with paperwork as all the mechanics were finishing their jobs at closing time.  He presented me a bill that was a bit less than the preliminary estimate, charging me just $145/hr vs $195/hr, but still logging 12 hours of labor. I questioned how they could possibly calculate 12 hours of labor when, on Saturday alone the coach was in the bay for only 2 hours to remove one old bag and to install 2 new bags.  At most they spent maybe one additional hour to remove and diagnose the broken bag on Friday.  After making an ass of myself and getting the service writer fairly irritated, he did reduce the number of hours to just under 6.  I felt that was still too high, but decided to cut my losses and drop it before he punched me out.  On the one hand I was very pleased with the way they worked so hard to get us out and on the road by Saturday. On the other hand I did not appreciate the cavalier way they calculated the labor charges.  All in all I believe we were very lucky to get repairs made and only lose 1 1/2 days of travel time.

Finally the bill was prepared and paid (a mere $1550) and by 4:00 Saturday we were on the road homeward bound.  Hopefully we could make it home without any more incidents.

Terrace Bay to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Today we drove a whopping 37 miles from Terrace Bay to Neys Provincial Park.  We had tried to camp at Neys Provincial Park in August 2016, but they were full up then.  Today the campground was practically empty, and we found a nice pull-through site that fronts the beach. When we parked we didn't see the site number, because it was facing the other way.  When we put our registration card on the post, we were dismayed to find we had chosen site 13.  Can our luck get any worse?  I don't think so. We kept the site and are proclaimed that our bad luck is over.

Neys Provincial Park

Please ignore the clutter on the dashboard.  That's just the way we roll. 

Site 13 at  Neys Provincial Park

Sunset on Lake Superior

Neys Provincial Park is located on the site of a WWII POW camp.  Click HERE to read more about the history of the park.

The Group of Seven visited the Algoma region as they traveled and painted all through the Algoma region and the North Shore of Lake Superior in the 1920-30s.  We have seen several monuments such as this one, documenting a site where one of the artists painted one of his works.

Lake trout sculpture 

The following photos show the beach at Neyes Provincial Park

"Clean Up Station": Canadians are very tidy.  They provide a broom to clean your campsite

Mouth of the Pic River

On Friday the 13th we moved 30 miles to Pukaskwa National Park. It was a rare sunny day and we survived Friday the 13th without any more bad luck.

At Pukaskwa NP we scored the only pull-through site in the campground. Ironically, it was the same site we stayed on in September 2015.   This time the electrical power was so bad it was practically unusable.  Anytime we cut on an appliance the voltage would drop to 102V. We were finally able to run the coffee maker by cutting off every other 120V device in the coach.  We learned the next day that in the north loop all the electrical pedestals are brand new and the power there is great.

We arrived at camp early and it was a rare dry day so Dorcas and I took a hike on the Southern Headland Trail, which took us to a point between Hattie Cove and Horseshoe Bay.

Following are photos from that hike.

A pair of iconic red Adirondack chairs are placed at a number of scenic and out of the way spots all through Ontario.  We frequently stumble onto some of them.

Another of many monuments to the Group of Seven

Horseshoe Bay

On Saturday we left Pukaskwa NP headed south and east towards Sault Ste. Marie.  It was again raining, and we had a terrible cross wind.

We stopped for lunch at White River ON, which as it turns out was the origin of Winnie the Pooh.  A Canadian soldier was waiting for a train at the White River station and bought a black bear cub from a trapper.  He named the cub Winnipeg or Winnie, after his home town.  The soldier carried the bear to Quebec and then to London.  Eventually he gave the bear to the London Zoo, where it became a favorite attraction.  It was at the zoo where A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin Milne met the bear, and it became the inspiration for the Winnie the Pooh stories.  You can read the whole story HERE.

Winnie the Pooh in White River ON

We stopped for a while in Wawa.  Wawa means “Wild Goose” in Ojibway, and the big goose was built to lure tourists up the hill and into town, about a mile off the highway.  You can read more about the big goose HERE.  Somehow I can't think of "Wawa" without thinking of Gilda Radner.  I loved Gilda Radner.

Wawa is also the site of the final link completing the Trans-Canada Highway.

I didn't stop much this day, but took some windshield photos on the fly.  Dorcas did a lot of sucking and hissing with every one.  The drive across the Superior north shore and the Canadian Shield is spectacular.

We are starting to see a little fall color on  the Superior shore

Finally, after 258 soggy and windy miles we arrived at Sault Ste. Marie. 

We parked at The Gateway Casinos, a place where we have camped twice before.  In this case another coach, an MCI bus with Ontario plates, was parked in our spot. Of all the nerve!  With 20 acres of parking they were parked in the exact space where we usually park. We like that spot because it is the farthest corner of the parking lot and is the closest space to the Ontario Travel visitor center, which has free wifi.

Camp Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie 

We are not alone

While traveling in Canada internet access is always a challenge.  Several months ago I switched my cell plan the Spectrum Mobile, which is significantly cheaper than it was on our Verizon plan.  Unfortunately Spectrum does not support free use in Canada.  Dorcas' phone is still on Verizon, which allows free calling, text and data in Canada, but is limited to 0.5 GB/day of data before her bandwidth is throttled.  When throttled, the internet is basically useless.  That's why it is nice to be able to park with free wifi access.  Actually, even though we are parked about 60 feet farther from the wifi at Ontario Travel than before, their wifi signal is still quite strong.  Also, we are parked just across the river from Michigan and the USA.  We are picking up US TV stations, and our cellular data service is good ol' Verizon (which also provides the signal to my Spectrum phone), and which is less restrictive for us than the Canadian carriers.  Surf's up!  Blog on!

On Saturday we ate breakfast at the Westside Cafe, just one block from our camp.  I know it is cliche to take pictures of our meals, but I have never had a patty of homemade Italian sausage like this for breakfast. The leftovers fed me for two more breakfasts. 

It rained early, on Saturday but the rain ended, and then it was merely overcast, windy and cold for the remainder of the day, so we took a walk.  Our camp is within walking distance of the St Marys river and the historic Sault Ste. Marie Canal and locks.

The Canadian locks are used primarily for pleasure craft, tour boats and other smaller vessels.  The large lake freighters use the "Soo Locks" operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers on the American side of the river.

The Saulte Ste. Marie Canal with the international bridge to Michigan in the background

More iconic red Adirondack chairs

A gate valve like this one is used to drain and fill the locks

A tour boat locks down-bound

Who pulled the plug?

The original electric gear and cable mechanisms driving the lock gates

We seem to have survived Friday the 13th and all our recent bad luck.  Just to be safe Dorcas and Matilda visited the "Lucky Moose" at the Gateways Casinos.

On Sunday it was raining early, but cleared by daybreak. At 9:00 we broke camp and continued our trek east and south across Ontario.