Oct 05, 2022
More not so great news.
My blog has been offline for a few days. This was the explanation.
There’s been an hardware failure (hard disk). The RAID array was not picking the drives. Data center technician has replaced the faulty drive(s), reinstalled the RAID software and did a bare metal restore and recovered the website. Hopefully it will not happen again. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Terry
Mid August our Mountain Ash has more berries than we have ever seen.
So now you know why there have been no posts. However there hasn’t been much positive news to share other than the fact that the blog is once again functional.
DANG, dang, dang!!! I just right now noticed that the last post I had created the day that the hurricane landed as a Category 1 is missing. It must have been somewhere in space when my server went down. It took me over two hours to write that post. Colin just told me that he thought it was a really interesting post. If anyone was able to get it can you please send it to me. Very long story short, both Mazatlan and the Isla suffered no damage from the hurricane. At the very last moment Orlene turned to the south. The sun even came out that afternoon. I had some neat shots taken from some Mazatlan webcams for you. I am unhappy that I lost that post but it is not the end of the world.
Mid September and the berries are becoming more red.
So just two days ago Colin took the RV in for the third time to get the windshield installed. The shop looked closed when he got there but he proceeded to unhook the Jeep ( which he had hooked up only 40 minutes earlier ) and prepared to drive the RV into the shop. But the doors did not open. So Colin went around to the front of the building and walked inside to find the owner sitting at his desk with a stunned expression. He had just received an email from his main staff member saying that he was quitting via email right that moment. You might recall that his other main guy suffered a stroke a few weeks ago which delayed the install until now.
So this third attempt to install the windshield was a no go. Once again Colin hooked up the Jeep but instead of driving home he kept going east to Armstrong. What I have not told you is that either last Thursday or Friday Colin went to start the RV just to check it. The RV would not start.A yellow light kept coming on, a fault code light but which one? Eventually the RV started but it was a very rough start. Colin shut the engine off and waited 15 minutes, still the same hard start. So he called Cummins in Las Vegas. The technician that he spoke with said that likely some fuel filters needed adjusting. They had just been changed less than two weeks ago and perhaps one was not tightened enough. He then called the mechanical shop in Armstrong who did the work and they thought is was a simple fix as well. So seeing as Colin was more that halfway to Armstrong he took the RV there and left it for those easy repairs.
Just to remind you, we are leaving in 13 sleeps including tonight.
Finally Quality First Motors called us this morning, the first chance that they had a moment to look at it. They also experienced a hard start but it did start. They then attached the computer to the engine and the machine said the an engine sensor was not functioning. There are two sensors for our engine and the first one was what had given us so much trouble this past spring as we tried to get home. But we can’t understand why after working perfectly the past two months ( back and forth from Kelowna to Vernon re the windshield install that has not yet happened ) that suddenly the RV did not want to start.
By the end of September the berries are a lovely red colour. Most Mountain Ash trees have orange berries but we made sure to get this reddish colour. It looks stunning in the snow.
Colin then immediately called his contact at Cummins in Las Vegas where we hung out for a very long time this past April. The head of the service department called Quality First Motors and ran through their diagnostics. The local shop had already done a fuel check to make that there were no fuel problems. Las Vegas agreed with Armstrong, BC on the diagnostics. Fortunately the part was sourced in Memphis and hopefully will be here Friday. However this is the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend so we shall have to see. Meanwhile the glass shop is looking for people to install our windshield. It sounds to me that it will be another full week before we get it RV back. Yes stressful.
The thing is that we have prepaid 21 nights at our first RV park in the US.
Colin is somewhat down because of all these things happening. We can only keep trying to stay focused and positive. We have held back on buying our Mexican vehicle travel insurance as well as ordering MXN pesos. But it is getting close to D- Day!
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Contessa, I’ve noticed that prices are falling fast on motorhomes; that may be because the regular season is over in the lower 48 states and/or the people who bought new motorhomes when Covid came upon us used them as a way to enjoy travel without too much contact with hordes of people. Covid for all practical purposes is over, so they are dropping motorhomes left and right in order to go back to their old routine of traveling. Your motorhome is working and, therefore, would make a good trade or sale. Advertisements are all over the place selling a lot newer motorhomes here in the lower 48 states with “decent” prices. Just need to take it slow and look around. When you get ready to quit with it all together, sell your newer motorhome in the spring when everyone is buying for the season, and you will get your money back.
Sounds like a lovely plan Dee but we can’t afford to purchase another motorhome. Being the age that ours is won’t bring us much trade in value. Our Diesel engine is barely broken in but living on the ocean five months of the years does damage because of the salt air. We just have to keep limping along.
Just FYL yOur hurricane post is listed on your blog and I can read it! So not lost!
Sorry about the issues yet again! Hope they get done and you can be gone on time. You don’t normally spend 21 days at once in thenStates do you? Where you staying? Vegas?
That is the first blog post about the hurricane. I wrote the second showing landfall and the photos with the sun coming out a few hours later and even vendors on the beach. We have spent that much time in the US other years but not for a while. Yes 21 nights in Las Vegas and 5 elsewhere.
Yes, I read your second post on Hurricane Orlene turning South and thankfully sparing the Isla and Mazatlan. You posted some very interesting photos from EL CID Cam, I think? I no longer see that post.
The photos of the Ash tree with all the berries are so beautiful and thank you for sharing. So very sorry for the frustrations your are having with the RV and trying to make plans to leave on your Winter trip to Mexico. I surly hope that all falls into place soon so you can get on the road, again. RV’s are a wonderful way to travel but a bear to deal with when there are problems. Stay positive and I hope all will work out for the best trip to Mexico ever.
Yes from EL Cid and one other hotel,can’t remember which. Glad that someone saw it. Too bad I lost that post. So happy that all is well thus far hurricane wise and that you will still be coming.
A big huge BEAR!!!!
Contessa,
Your tree is so beautiful, it was my Momma’s favorite!
It must be very stressful for both of you, having problems with the RV. but better to solve it here at home before you cross into the states.
I do hope things get fixed before you hit the road, my fingers are crossed.
Love reading your blog
Catheline
I recall that we had a Mountain Ash as a child – just remembered that right this moment. Keep those fingers crossed.
Yes, Contessa, I did see your second report on Orlene and how it missed being a direct hit on the Isla and Mazatlan and for that I am thankful. There were some good web-cam photos from the El CID, I think. I no longer see that blog and what a shame to no longer have that info.
I hope all will fall into place and you and Colin will leave in a timely manner for your Mexico travels. Travel in an RV is wonderful but when things go wrong and sometimes they do it can be a difficult process to deal with those problems. Sending hugs and good thoughts and prayers for traveling mercies all the way to the Isla. See you early in 2023!
I am so sorry to read this and share your frustration. I know about the damage salt water/air can cause as my motorhome has been parked a hundred feet from the ocean for the past five years with only one break when my friend and I went to the Okanagan and had that wonderful visit with you and Colin. I have been lucky so far and the only damage has been it’s refusal to allow me to turn off the engine once during a run up. A mobile mechanic managed to shut it off but it has not been fixed and I am afraid to start the engine again for fear I will be unable to turn it off.
I was wondering why I could not get into your blog the last few days. That is horrible news about the windshield place and the RV itself. Stay positive, things will work out eventually.
VERY VERY eventually.